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Pontus (former nation/state/empire) |
Coordinates: |
| Lat: 40 18 36 N degrees minutes |
Lat: 40.3100 decimal degrees |
| Long: 036 33 36 E degrees minutes |
Long: 36.5600 decimal degrees |
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Note: Region and ancient country on the southern coast of the Black Sea, including the coastal region and its mountainous hinterland (rising to the Pontic Alps in the east). It was inhabited in prehistoric times; one of the earliest Pontic tribes was called the Leucosyri. It was established as a kingdom in the 4th cen. BCE, in the wake of Alexander's conquests. Superficially Hellenized, the kingdom retained its Persian social structure, with temple priests and Persianized feudal nobles. Flourished under Mithradates VI (ca. 131-63 BCE); incorporated into Roman Empire after Pompey defeated Mithradates in 66 BCE; Christian center in 1st cen. CE. The historic region of Pontos roughly encompassed most of the eastern Black Sea coast of northeastern Asia Minor, stretching on the coast from just west of Ayancık to just east of Hopa (most of this area is in modern Turkey). Greeks have been active in the area for a long time, with evidence of trading journeys taking place in the area around 1000 BCE. In the 8th century BCE, trading posts began to develop into permanent and increasingly prosperous settlements. The region briefly resisted Rome's hegemony in Asia Minor in the 1st century BCE. An independent Pontic kingdom with its capital at Amaseia (modern Amasya) was established at the end of the 4th century BCE in the wake of Alexander the Great's conquests. While superficially Hellenized, the kingdom retained its Persian social structure, with temple priests and feudal nobles ruling over a heterogeneous population. Pontus gradually asserted itself among the petty Hellenistic states of Asia Minor in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, annexing Sinope (modern Sinop) as its new capital (183 BCE). The Pontic kingdom reached its zenith under Mithradates VI Eupator (ca. 115-163 BCE), whose expansion programs brought about disastrous conflict with Rome, resulting in the incorporation of the kingdom into the Roman Empire (63-62 BCE). After the fall of Constantinople (1453) and of Trebizond (1461), many Pontian Greeks fled to Russia where they founded new villages and cities. The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne brought about the expulsion of Christian Greeks living on Turkish territory. It is estimated that of the 700,000 Greeks living in Pontus in 1914, 300,000 were killed and the remainder became refugees. Despite this so-called "Catastrophe of Asia Minor," there are currently about 300,000 Muslim Grecophone Pontians on Turkey's Black Sea coast. Many Greek myths have connections to this region, including the trip of Jason and the Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece; the adventures of Ulysses in the land of the Cimmerians; and the sailing of Hercules on the Black Sea. |
Names: |
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| Pontus (preferred,C,V,English-P,U)
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| Pontus (Turkish (transliterated)-P,U)
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| Pontus (Latin-P,U,N)
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| Pontos (C,V,Greek (transliterated),U)
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| Pontic Empire (C,V)
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| Πόντος (C,V,Greek,U)
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| Pontian (C,O)
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Hierarchical Position: |
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Asia (continent) (P) |
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Pontus (former nation/state/empire) (P) |
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Place Types: |
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| former nation/state/empire (preferred, C) |
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| former administrative division (C) |
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| historical region (C) |
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| kingdom (H) |
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Sources and Contributors: |
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