Trapezuntines refer to the people across the mountains as "Halt," a contemptuous term which might derive from Haldi, the Sun God of the Urartians who lived beyond the mountains. Whatever its origins the name has a long lineage. The Chaldaioi in turn gave their name to the ninth-century Byzantine theme and later bishopric of Chaldia.
Climate is responsible from the contrast in landscape. The typical plateau landscape is an arid plain bounded by ochreous hills, with a watercourse running through it where poplars and willows provide a relieving touch of green, the whole being encompassed by a clear blue sky. The consciousness of change comes along the Pontic mountain ridges where the divide is marked by dense masses of billowing cumuli trying in vain to spill southward over the plateau country, and breaking up into a few thin cloudlets, thence to become mere wisps which dissolve into the clear plateau air. Northward of the watershed the heavy rainfall sustains a lush green landscape of crops or forest-lined narrow valleys which for the most part extend northward from the watershed down to the sea.
On the seaward side of the mountains, the traditional houses are either constructed of wood with a masonry fireplace and chimney, or else of a timber frame with an infilling of brick or stone,whereas on the plateau houses are either of mud brick of stone, with wooden beams used only to support a flat mud roof. Timber is the fuel of the coastal peoples, whereas on the southern side of the mountains they burn a fuel composed of cattle dung and mud. The typical Pontic village is composed of houses scattered over a valley with only a church to mark its center, whereas the plateau village is a small nucleated huddle of houses, not much different from the settlements of five thousand years earlier.
On the seaward side goods are transported by horse, mule, donkey or woman, since the steep valleys are only traversed by narrow tracks unsuited to carts, whereas on the plateau transport is for the most part by the solid-wheeled ox cart, admirably suited to the conditions in which it operates, and little changed in design since the Bronze Age. On the coastal side carts or wagons are only to be seen at the western end of Pontos where gentler hill slopes and delta plains make the use of them practicable.
Sea fish are not eaten by the inland peoples, and the area within which villagers partake in the annual autumn feast of the gavros is a good rough guide as to the boundaries of the coastal region. Water buffalo are the common cattle of the plateau, whereas they are hardly to be seen on the Pontic coast except on the deltas. The Pontic village has always farmed hazelnuts and walnuts as cash crops, and grown little in the way of cereals, where as the plateau village grew cereal extensively. Common to both sides of the mountains are sheep and goats, but different again are the dogs that guard them. On the plateau it is the aristocratic karabas, a large animal of the mastiff breed that fights off the wolves, whereas on the coast the dogs are smaller: typical of them is the zerdava, a thoroughbred animal somewhat resembling a collie, which is bred in the Tonya valley.
These few impressions may serve by way of introduction to a more detailed survey of the land and its people, revealing that while contrasting impressions are first and strongest in the mind of the traveler, there is a blurring of distinctions where the land is studied in more detail, and no clear line can be drawn between the Pontic coast and the Anatolian plateau.
In defining the limits of this survey I have tried to make a reasonable compromise between the claims of geography and the needs of the saga. Historically, I have taken the Empire of Trebizond at its greatest extent, and its peripheries, as the boundary. Ethnically, it represents, very roughly, the area of ancient and medieval Greek settlement or influence. So, geographically I have set the westward limit at Cape Karambis, most northerly geographical point of Anatolia and most westerly of Trebizond's medieval outposts, and the eastward limit at Bathys, the historic border where the coastline turns northward and the river Akampsis breaks through the mountain barrier to force its way to the sea. Southward the boundaries are not marked by the watershed of the first mountain chain, as would appear to be good geographical sense, but by the east-west valleys of the rivers Lykos, Iris and Akampsis, all of which turn north to flow into the Black Sea and are vital to the history of the region. The southern limits will be, however, as untidy as the history of these regions. A fourth river, the Halys flows into the Black Sea at Paurae. The greatest of Anatolian rivers it pursues a course through central Asia Minor. The headwaters of the Halys are east of Sebasteia and not far south of the boundaries of the central Pontos; from where it winds its way southwestward into Cappadocia and central Anatolia and thence makes a great bend northward to the sea near Paurae.
Within the geographical limits defined I shall includes most of the old provinces of Hellenopontos and Pontos Polemoniakos, parts of Armenia and an undefined extra area in the east which in the middle Byzantine period coincided roughly with the Georgian principality of Tao.
The main geographical feature of the Pontos is a range of mountains running from the hinterland of Themiskyra in the west to Apasaros in the east. This east-west chain of mountains forms the spine of the Pontic Alps and from it lateral ranges branch out to north and south forming an intricate pattern of ribs. This elevated mountain backbone with its diverging ribs is the determining factor in the character of the major and minor features of the region. The line of the central spine is irregular, with the watershed now nearer and now farther from the coast: south of Trebizond where the river Philabonites cuts its way deeply into it, this central chain doubles back on itself. West of Themiskyra the Iris runs southward through a gap which cuts off the mountain spine, while the Akampsis at the eastern end divides the Pontic Alps from the Caucasus. The remaining coastal strip at the west end between Themiskyra and Sinope resembles the coastline of Bithynia more than the Pontos proper. The land rises steeply southward from the sea to 1,000 meters or more, reaching the mean height of the Anatolian plateau, so that while a watershed exists to divide the coastal valleys from the insland valleys, it is not the spectacular feature that it becomes in the Pontic Alps.
The geological skeleton of the Pontic region took on its present form in the last era of great earth movements which threw up the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes, and determined the general shape of the sea and land as we know them today. The major part of the chain consists of Upper Cretaceous volcanic rocks, while at the eastern end the mountains rise to a height of nearly 4,000 meters, south of Rhizaion at Kackar, and this massif of the Tatos mountains consists of intruded granites and diorites. Lesser formations of the same intruded rocks are to be found at high points westward along the mountain chain. The great east-west valleys south of the Pontic Alps mark faults which developed when the mountains were thrown up, and they are still subject to earthquake; majestic in scale, they are far to vast to have been formed by mere erosion, even on a geological time scale. The most important of these rifts now form the river valleys of the Akampsis flowing eastward and the Lykos flowing westward. On a secondary scale are the rift valleys of the upper reaches of the Philabonites south of Kotyora; the valley of the thrice-named river which is a tributary of the Iris and starts as the Bag, continues south of Oinaion as the Karakus and becomes in its upper reaches the Bakircik; and the valley of the river Amnias south of Sinope and Paurae. The aspect of these river valleys varies from that of a wide and fertile valley bottom, with sloping hulls on either side of a meandering river, to gorges of cliffs, containing raging torrents. The Akampsis and the Philabonites have far to fall in their short courses and gorges are frequent, while the Lykos and the Iris are larger rivers and tend to run through stretches of gorge which widen out into valleys and even into large hospitable basins of fertile land. This pattern is important in determining the location of towns.
Much of the basic geological structure is still bare to the eye but the valley bottoms, coastal deltas and some coastal terraces have been modified by deposits of more recent sedimentary rocks, clays and gravels.
The volcanic period of Pontic geological history produced quantities of mineral-bearing ores of different kinds, and some of these have been worked since the earliest ages of metalworking. Indeed the Chalybians are credited with the invention of ironworking, and gave their name to steel in medieval Greek. Skilled metalworking is a tradition along the coast.
While in modern times there are mines of argentiferous lead, copper, iron and coal, there is little direct evidence that any of these mines were worked in Byzantine times. There were silver mines somewhere in the mountains to the south of the upper Philabonites valley in the medieval period.
Among other minerals the red earth of Sinope was famous for its quality in antiquity, and in the medieval period "sinoper" became synonym for red earth. Probably other earth colors were also produced in the region in medieval times, since they are not difficult to find even today.
According to Pliny, alum was mined in antiquity; in the Byzantine period it was mined near Koloneia and this was probably the source of alum known to Pliny. It was an important export of the region.
The climate of the Pontic region is dictated by the land forms outlined above, and falls into two distinct categories. Along the coastal strip and inland as far as the watershed of the Pontic chain it falls between the mild temperate and the warm temperate type of climate with considerable variations in temperature and rainfall. The high rainfall along the whole coast is caused by the prevailing northwesterly winds sweeping across the Black Sea and precipitating their moisture as they hit the Pontic land barrier and rise with the mountains. There is no great seasonal variation in the rains and certainly no dry season, and overcast grey days seem to the resident there to be almost as frequent in the summer as in the winter. While the seasonal variation in rainfall is not so very great, there are considerable differences in the amount of precipitation along the coast; and it is to be noted that, while rainfall is heavy over the whole region, there is less of it at the western end and in the Trebizond area; more of it in the Kerasous, Tripolis, and Kotyora areas; and most of it at the eastern end from Rhizaion onward to Bathys. These variations are due to the lie of the land. Stretches of coast which face the prevailing winds have the highest rainfall while those at an oblique angle to the winds and to some extent protected from them are subject to a lesser precipitation.
Temperature variations are of course primarily dependent on the height of the land and there is no simple way of reducing them to sea level equivalents. In general the coastal climate is humid with moderate temperatures. while the northern slopes of the mountains remain humid right up to the summit ridges, but the range of temperature becomes greater with the rise in altitude.
The second type of climate is to be found on the southern slopes of the Pontic chain; this is the cool, temperate continental climate that is typical of the Anatolian plateau as a whole. The rainfall is low and confined to the winter months, leaving long dry summers with frequent years of drought. The seasonal temperature variation is extreme, with frost and snow in winter and relentless summer sun; the temperature variations between night and day are also marked.
Climate makes the coastal side of the watershed very fertile and the vegetation becomes more lush as the traveler moves eastward along the coast, so much so as to suggest a subtropical climate rather than a temperate one. In eastern Pontos the primordial landscape of mountain, forest and sea is but little marred by the encroachment of humanity. Up to a height of about 1,200 meters there are broad lead forests, with beech, oak, chestnut, maple, alder, elm, hornbeam, lime and plane trees - all native to these mountains. In the hinterland between Themiskyra and Kotyora, beech and hornbeam predominate the forests. The principal trees of the broad lead belt at the western end are beech, oak, maple, hornbeam and alder. Above the 1,000 to 1,2000 meter contour line the forest becomes primarily coniferous, with spruce, firs and Scots pine predominating. Towards 2,000 meters the forest thins out to give way to patches of ground scrub and the rich summer pastures which play an important part in the economy of the region.
The main undergrowth of the forest is Rhododendron Ponticum and Azalea Pontica which have impressed many a traveler in the spring with the brilliance of their purple and yellow flowers. The flower of the azalea may be responsible for the intoxicating "mad honey" which caused such havoc among Xenophon's Ten Thousand. Paphlagonia is famous for its masts, while eastward of Trebizond the denser forest has an undergrowth of box, the wood of which us used for making spoons.
Game is abundant in the mountains, where wild boar and bear inhabit the forests, ibex live close above the line of the summer pastures, and hare dart along the slopes of the valleys south of the watershed. Partridge and pigeon are to be found everywhere, while the peasant (Phasianus Colchicus) is native as far west as the delta of the river Iris and may be found far beyond oftentimes. The rivers and mountain streams on both sides of the watershed are inhabited by trout, and there are coarse fish in the large rivers. The edible snail flourishes in the lush coastal undergrowth. Among migratory birds, the qual provides a significant item in the diet; in lesser quantity there are woodcock, snipe and varieties of duck, and the smaller birds suffer the twice-yearly massacre that is their fate as they migrate across the Mediterranean world.
Since antiquity, walnut, hazelnut and chestnut trees have all been grown along the coast, and among the fruits the fig is plentiful and the cherry a native of the Kerasous region, from whenceit is said to have been brought to Europe by Lucullus. The flora of the coastal region is much to rich and varied to be described in detail. Among the flowers, Colchicum and the autumn crocuses remain vivid in the mind of the traveler. In the spring, the native aristocrat, Lilium Ponticum rears its single and many-headed varieties in golden glory above the surrounding flora. Vegetables are cultivated in abundance, with the pea and bean families being dietary staples. Cereal crops have never been easy to produce because of the high rainfall and humidity, although some are grown, while Procopius mentions that the Laz grew millet. Chestnut flour, however, proves to be a staple substitute for cereal flours throughout the region. The vine has been known since antiquity and the Venetians and Genoese export wine from Trebizond. Olives are common. Flax and cotton are grown in small quantities, and the mulberry flourished though there is no native silk industry; while hemp is grown in the mountain villages for ropemaking.
From Amisos (Samsun) to Sinope the coastal region is differentiated from the inland valleys in the same way as described above, but the contrast is less striking. The coast is fertile and there is a greater extent of arable land further eastward where the mountains come right down to the sea. From Alacam to Gerze the land rises steeply from the coast, with broad leaf woods and villages in the clearings, and then again the mountains fall back in the hinterland of Sinope to leave a wide area of easily cultivable rolling lands.
For the whole coastline, the sea provided salt and fish in surplus quantities sufficient for trade. There are a great number of varieties of fish which are caught in large quantities, among the most popular are: horse mackeral, grey mullet, red mullet, gurnard, tunny, whiting and anchovy (gavros).
The inland vallets south of the coastline between Sinope and Themiskyra partake of a similar climate and character to the coastline because these valleys and basins are formed by the rivers Iris, Halys and their tributaries. The rivers form gaps in the mountain barrier through which a certain amount of moisture-laden air can pass, thereby increasing the amount of rainfall in these valleys. The basins and valleys of the Domanites, the Phazimonites, the Ohaneroia, Amazeia and the Dazimonites are mostly under 600 meters in height and relatively well watered. They are eminently suited to agreiculture in all its forms. Cereals, fruit and vines grow there in abundance.
Further eastward, to the south of Kerasous, Trebizond and Rhizaion, are basins and valleys formed by the upper reaches of the Lykos and its tributary streams, and the eastward flowing river Akampsis and its tributaries. These valleys, at heights of up to 1,200 meters, are good for cereal growing and fruit, but the slopes that overlook them are for the most part barren and rocky. Here there is no forest and the only trres, apart from apple, pear and mulberry, are lines of poplars and willows along the water courses, after the manner of the Anatolian plateau. The landscape is softer and better watered than that of the Anatolian plateau proper, but it is nearer to the plateau in climate and vegetation than to the valleys north of the watershed. At the eastern end are the high lava plateaux of Theodosioupolis (Erzurum), Kars and Ardahan, at heights of about 2,000 meters, where cereal crops will grow, and there is good pasturage for herds of cattle and horses.
Common to the whole region, as indeed to the whole of Anatolia, is the raising of sheep, goats and cattle. In the Pontos this is rarely the main farming activity and is usually organized on the basis of transhumance. Shepherds of the lower valleys of either side of the Pontic Mountains take their flocks in the spring amd drive them up to the summer pastures above the tree line where they have a simple summer village.
The Pontic coastline provides very few natural harbors, with the notable exception of that of the city of Sinope, where the peninsula provides ideal protection against weather; it is a tribute to the wisdom of the Milesians that they founded there their first Black Sea colony. Along this coast a good harbor must provide deep enough water free from rocky hazards, and protection from the prevailing northwesterlies that often develop quickly into gale force winds sufficient to endanger shipping. The harbor also needs to be defensible and situated near to, or at the terminus of, a route across the mountains so that it might function as a center of commerce or as a military supply base and not just as a refuge for ships in bad weather. A further consideration is the need for a fertile and accessible hinterland of sufficient size to provide for a harbor city.
Sinope fulfilled the requirements of a natural harbor, and its rocky peninsula provided a naturally strong defensive site with a softly rolling hinterland stretching some 30 km to the south of it to provide ample arable and pastoral land for the support of a city. A southern trade route crosses the mountains by a pass at 1,300 km giving access to the valley of the Amnias where, in the Roman period, there flourished the city of Pompeiopolis and in the Byzantine period Kastamon with the castle and, perhaps, family estates of the Komnenoi.
Reviewing the coast eastward of Sinope the next town of importance is Paurae on the banks of the river Halys. The city of Amisos, coming next to the east, is on a headland that provided an acropolis site for defense, and some protection for shipping. In addition, the city constituted an emporium for the produce of the plateau. The low barrier of hills to the south of it rises only to a thousand meters. The trade route over these hills connected the port with the rich plains of the Suluova and the Phaneroia, and with the cities of Amaseia and Laodikeia. Euchaita lies approximately due south in a tributary valley of the Halys. Zela, Komana Pontica and Dazimon also stand to the south in the Dazimonites plain.
The hills come down to the sea for a short distance on either side of Amisos and then, on the eastern side, the coast opens up into a wide plain formed by the deltas of the Iris and the smaller river Thermodon (Terme). Here in classical times stood the city of Themiskyra, now little more than a small town. Here also was the port of Limnia, an important town for geopolitical reasons. Limnia and Themiskyra are delta ports on the banks of one of the two rivers which here reach the sea. These deltas prove satisfactory harbors for the ships of ancient and medieval times, with good protection from the weather, though silting is becoming a growing problem in the smaller town of Themiskyra's port. The flat and marshy hinterland secured the towns from easy attack by land, and provided an ample area for cultivation and pastoral use in good years; but these two towns are ill-suited for trading with the interior, making them nothing more than backwaters.
The next port is Oinaion that is provided with a sheltered anchorage and a defensible headland, though the latter is less striking than the headland of Aminsos. The anchorage is shallow, barely adequate for the ships of medieval times, requiring them to anchor alongside a mole. A castle built by the Emperor Andronikos I near the shore in the most sheltered part if the bay serves as a balwark for the town. From Oinaion a road runs south across the mountains to Neokaisareia giving the port access to the plain of the Phaneroia and the Lykos valley, and southwest of the latter to Komana Pontika and the plain of the Dazimonites. About eight kilometers inland from Oinaion along this route is the castle of the Kaleoglu family; the castle serving to protect the city from attacks from inland and as a point of control for the inspection of caravans along this road. This castle has great age and has been rebuilt many times.
Eastward of Oinaion is the city of Polemonion. Here there is no natural anchorage, and other factors must have led King Polemo to place his capital at this point. The site is not naturally defended, but the town is built on a gravel terrace a few meters above sea level on the west bank of the delta of the river Boloman and it is possible that reasons of health may have partly dictated the choice of this site. The ancient city of Side is said to have preceded Polemonion. From Polemonion a Roman road ran southward across the mountains to the Lykos valley to join the great Roman highway across Anatolia from Nikomedeia to Satala, and there is also a route to Neokaisareia. These routes across the mountains are the primary reasons for the importance of Polemonion; further advantages to the site are the presence of ample fertile land in the immediate neighborhood and a good source of local limestone for building.
Just east lies the flanks of Cape Jason, largest of the headlands east of Sinope. The headland itself is scattered with many small settlements, but it is on the eastern shore that the important anchorages are situated. Kotyora (Ordu) occupies a position well sheltered from the northwesterlies, and there is a defensible headland above the town that is the ancient site of the acropolis. The gently rising country of the hinterlands to the east of the town provides plenty of rich arable and pastoral land for the support of the city. There is a large castle with a cistern tunnel in the hinterlands and there are many signs of the settlement of humanity scattered throughout.
From Kotyora a route runs across the mountains to Anniaca. It does not run across very high ground but has to traverse a notable ascent and descent through the valley of the Melanthios west of Matuasco. This route to some extent duplicates the road inland from Polemonion; both connect with the Lykos valley and from thence to Sebasteia but, whereas Polemonion seems to have had a more natural line of communication westward to Neokaisareia and the cities of the western plains of the Dazimonites, the Phaneroia and Amaseia, Kotyora seems to have communicated more naturally southeastward with Koloneia and the plain of Nikopolis. Kotyora at this time is nothing more than a village built out of the ruins of the ancient city, as the town of Boon on the cap westward assumed greater importance due to its better anchorage and its better defensibility as a site.
Next in our eastward survey comes the city of Kerasous. Between Sinope and Trebizond the city is a significant place. The salient feature of the site is the great rocky peninsula that juts out into the sea and provides, with Sinope, the best defensive site along the coast. As a harbor and anchorage it appears to have little to recommend it. There is deep water on the western side, but deep moles would have been necessary to protect shipping, while on the sheltered eastern side the shallows are littered with rocks, both submerged and above water, which would constitute a hazard to even ships of small tonnage. The hinterland of Kerasous does not offer the rich resources of extensive arable and pastoral lands such as extend around the towns further westward. Southward across the mountains, the city is connected by a difficult route over two passes to the town of Koloneia, a Mithraditic fortress that became the capital of a theme in Byzantine times, and which was a center for the mining of alum. This route is snowed in five months of the year, yet serves as the outlet for alum exports from Koloneia.
The eastern side of Cape Zephyrios on which stands Kenchrina, provides an obvious anchorage near the mouth of the river Yagli, overlooking it is a high rock with the fortifications of the castle of Holy Anthony. The terraces to the east of the river and the comparatively gentle sloes of the lower part of the river valley provide a food producing hinterland, and it is strange that there are no significant occupation before the period of the Empire of Trebizond. There is a route inwards from here that leads by indirect ways to Koloneia.
Tripolis is the next site of importance, situated to the west of the delta of the river Philabonites and named perhaps after the three promontories that here lie close to each other. On the western promontory is an ancient church. The eastern promontories are each fortified; the sheltered anchorages on the eastern side of these spits are to some extent spoiled by rocks, but that of the easternmost promontory could have been useful for smaller shipping. The ground behind the town rises more steeply than is the case with any other coastal town, although there are flat terraces a few kilometers to the west . The silver mines of Argyria lay about twenty stadia east of Tripolis. There are no easy or accessible routes inland from Tripolis, even the gorges of the Philabonites river valley are so narrow and precipitous to make transportation extremely difficult. The site of Tripolis owes its importance to its advantageous defensive position combined with a moderate anchorage and to the silver mines the product of which need secure storage while awaiting shipment to its destination.
On the eastern shore of the Holy Cape is the monastery of St. Phokas on the classical site of Kordyle. The fortified monastery site is on a headland with a natually sheltered harbor to the south of it. It is well proected by the great bulk of the Karadag mountains which rise behind it. Since there is no obvious route inalnd from this site and there are no real agricultural or mineral products, the principal reason for its existence was to serve as a harbor in stormy weather for shipping bound to Trebizond. The same is true for the next site at Platana. There is no deep-water harbor and moles were never built here, but there are gently sloping beaches which are reasonably protected from storms. It is possible to round the Holy Cape by road from the west in gale force winds with high seas smashing against the rocks, and to follow the shore down to Platana a few minutes later to find the waters there scarcely disturbed. Like Kordyle, Platana lies under the shadow of the Karadag, which forms the spine of the cape. Its great height gives excellent protection from the weather. Defensive reasons do not seem to have entered into the choice for this site and there is no defensive walling. However, Platana controls fertile land along the shore to the east where there are gently sloping hulls and the fertile valley of the river Kalenima. The major reason for the existence of Platana is that it is a useful dependency of Trebizond, providing the safe anchorage that the town itself lacked, and a source of food for the population of the city.
The classical city of Trebizond is protected on its eastern and western sides by ravines, and on the north side by a cliff overlooking a low foreshore. The site is trapezoid in form with the narrow side at the southern end; here there are no natural defenses and a strong wall was built to close off the town from the rest of the neck of land.
The ancient and medieval Trebizond, like many other Greek coastal towns, possessed no natural harbor lying within the shelter of its defenses; but there was a good natural protection for boats about a mile to the east where a headland protects a little bay, called Daphnous, with fairly deep water; in times of peace this would no doubt have been in regular use. Eastward of Sinope this is the best of all anchorages along the coast.
There is no level hinterland to the city but the hills rise gently behind it for some way inland. This hilly territory would have provided the necessary food-producing area for much of the needs of the city and it is likely that all of the land westward as far as Kordyle and the Karadag ridge would have supplied it.
The routes inland from Trebizond have been of continuous importance since antiquity, and the fact that Xenophon and his men chose to come to this city is sure evidence that at an early date it was an established trade route. The preeminence of Trebizond along the cities on the southern shore of the Black Sea must In the first place be attributed to this route inland, which allowed the town to function as an emporium for the reception of goods from Anatolia and Central Asia on their way to Europe, and for goods from Europe on their way eastward into Asia. The good defensive site, adequate food and water supplies, and equable and healthy climate provides the necessary basis for it to have expanded as a commercial city rather than vegetate as a small coastal market town.
The last town of importance before Bathys is Rhizaion. It is on the eastern side of a cape and the site of the ancient town and harbor is right in the most sheltered part of the bay. Rhizaion takes advantage of a good defensive position and a sheltered harbor. It conforms to a type of many Greek coastal colonies in forming a triangle with the base on the sea coast, and the point on a hill a little way inland. Curtain walls connect the sea with the hilltop, which thus forms a natural acropolis, with the township between it and the sea.
The harbor does not offer a deep water anchorage but it does offer the necessary shelter for boats pulled up on the shore. The fortifications of the city are large and serve as a forward garrison city. The foundation of Satala made Trebizond into a military supply port of importance; in a like manner the foundation of Theodosioupolis gave rise to the walled city of Rhizaion. The hinterland of Rhizaion rises gently for some miles inland, and it provides ample soil for the cultivation of the necessary food supplies for the town and for surplus cash crops such as nuts.
Coastal settlements of Pontos fall into two categories. The seven important towns of Sinope, Amisos, Polemonion, Kerasous, Trebizond, Rhizaion and Bathys all serve as coastal termini for routes inland across the mountains and only the easterly towns of Rhizaion and Bathys are not on the Hieroclean lists. Six of them are on sites of good defensive value and bear the common imprint of acropolis and town which stamps them as Hellenistic and links them with so many other coastal sites in the Mediterranean world. The same six are all on the sides of headlands which protect them from the worst of the weather, although the harbor facilities which they offered were of varying quality; all have survived as towns of some note. All of these towns served as military supply depots as well as commercial emproa. Some of the remaining towns and settlements were termini for less important routes across the mountains, but most of them were more of the nature of fortified trading stations and markets serving for the import and export of produce into the particular groups of valleys which they serve. A few are forts designed to curb the activity of pirates.
A second and much smaller group of townshipsin the coastal region are those which are to be found some distance up the valleys leading from the coast to the watershed ridge. Some of these are along the routes across the mountains and in this case thier prime function is that of staging posts. Two on the route inland from Trebizond are Magnana and Gizenenica. These intermediate mountain townships of the coastal range are often situated at the confluence of a river and its tributary where two valleys merge and widen out providing some flat land and gentle slopes suitable for habitation and cultivation.
The siting of inland cities and towns depended primarily upon the availability of a surplus food supply and a good water source; but these alone did not make a town important. The secondary factors were the existence of routes of military, administrative or commercial significance, and a good defensive position. It is the interplay of these secondary factors which account for the rise and decline of the inland cities.
Most of the cities and towns are in the southwestern part of our region. They are situated in broad basins formed by the river valleys. The most westerly, Pompeiopolis, in the district of the Domanites, watered by the Amnias. Situated on a plain which ensures an abundant supply of food and water, the position of Pompeiopolis on a branch of the main highway from Nikomedeia to Satala ensures its importance, while lesser routes communicate with the coastal towns to the north.
Traveling eastward along the Satala road, the enxt cities of signigicance were Neoklaudioupolis in the region of the Phazimonites, and Laodikeia and Eupatoria-Magnopolis in the plain of the Phaneroia. All of these cities are in fertile well-watered country; Laodikeia possesses additional distinction in that it lay on the north-south road from Amisos to Amaseia and Zela. The city of Amaseia has been of continuous importance since the Hellenistic period, when it was the capital of the Mithridatic kingdom. The Danishmends made it their capital in the twelfth century when it passed out of Byzantine hands. The city was never in a plain though it is served by small plains to the east and to the south, and the great plain of Suluova to the northwest. It is built against a massive rock where the valley of the Iris narrows into a defile. The citadel rock is a defensive site of great natural strength and the city at the food of it enjoyed the natural protection of the river on the side opposite to the citadel. To the west of Amaseia lay Euchaita, on the road from Amaseia to Gangra and Ankyra. It also lies on an alternative north-south route from Amisos to Ankyra via Phazimon but missing Amaseia, and it was on the road south to Tavium. The prominence of Euchaita is partly the result of its religious significance as the cult center of St. Theodore Stratilates; John Tzimiskes built a new church here in honor of the Saint in thanksgiving for his victory over the Russians in 971. To the southeast of Amaseia and higher up the Iris valley lay Gaziora and Komana Pontika, while to the south lies Zela on a tributary stream of the Iris.. These three cities lay off any of the great highways and were never of the first rank, but all three prospered on the fertility of the great plain of the Dazimonites. Komana has declined till it has been replaced by Dazimon, a fortress site at the top end of the Dazimonites plain.
Returning to the main highway from Nikomedeia to Satala and moving eastward from Laodikeia, the road comes down into the valleys of the rivers Iris and Lykos. These form the broad plain or basin of the Phanaroia, which stretches up the Lykos valley as far as Neokaisareia. Eupatoria, near the confluence of the two rivers, is just a small village, but Neokaisareia is a city of some standing as the home of St. Gregory the Wonderworker. The site is on the north bank of the Lykos, a mile or two from the river at the foot of the mountains. The town straggles around a long, low spur, which serves for an acropolis. Apart from the fertility of the country around it, the city lies on a route northward across the mountains to Oinaion, while southward it is connected by a direct road to the Dazimonites. East of Neokaisareia, the Lykos flows in a deep narrow valley and through gorges which only widen out into small basins at Resadiye and Anniaca. At Anniaca a large castle rises on a hill spur above the valley; with a small village below. The valley bottom and nearby slopes provide enough arable land for the support of a small town, and the position gained further standing as a station on the road across the mountains from Nikopolis and Sebasteia to Kotyora. This is the most easterly route over the mountains which does not require a climb over very high passes. The crossings eastward of this all traverse higher and more difficult country.
Nikopolis lies on the southern slopes of the wide basin of Susehri. It was founded by Pompey to commemorate hus victory over Mithradites. It flourishes as a city of some import since it is situated on the Nikomedeia-Satala road, near the junction of branch roads running southwest to Sebasteia, and southeastward to Melitene and north to Koloneia.
Koloneia appears in Hierokles' Synekdemos, but nothing is known of its beginnings. The name suggests that it may have been founded as a colony for veteran legionaires, but the great fortress rock was almost certainly a Mithraditic stronghold before the Romans occupied the site. Its situation is explained by nearby alum mines, and by a broad-stretch of arable land around it. However, above all, it is a magnificent defensive site, which accounts for its choice (rather than Nikopolis) as a Byzantine theme capital. It enjoys the communication system of Nikopolis without the drawbacks of the Roman site's artificial defenses. In addition, it is linked to Kerasous, on the sea, by a summer route north over the mountains, and reaches the fertile valleys of Alucra, Cheriana and Kelkit by a route east that ends at Satala.
Alucra lies in the region of Kovata, it is a small township surrounded by a fertile basin. In the broad and fertile stretch of the Lykos valley around Camoluk is the junction station of Carsagis Dracontes. The road from Nikopolis to Satala mets at a branch point which leads southward to Melitene.
The Lykos narrows east of Camoluk, and then widens again into a small basin between Kâ and Hayduruk, where stands the basilica of St. Eustathios of Arauraka, after Euchaita and Neokaisareia the third great pilgrim town of the Pontos.
North of the Lykos at this point is the plain of Cheriana. The Lykos runs in a narrow valley east of Hayduruk and then once again opens out into a plain west of Kelkit. From this point it flows in gentle upland country which forms the catchment area for its sources. The road from Trebizond to Satala probably crossed the river east of Kelkit and south of Domana. At their eastern end these uplands are barely separated by a low watershed from the great plain or basin of Paipertes where the tributary streams of the Akampsis have their source. The plains and hills are at a height of 1,500 meters and more, and they are ideal for cereal growing and grazing.
In the tributary valley of the river Seyran, Lerion is a brishopric. Its situation among hills with gentle slopes may be compared to that of the intermediate towns inland from the coast on the other side of the watershed. However, the Philabonites and its tributaries run for the most part in deep valleys. When these open, as at Ardasa, it is only into a very modest basin which could never have provisioned a large town.
East of the Philabonites and northeast of Satala lies the upland plain of Paipertes (Bayburt), with the town of this name at its center. The plain and the river Akampsis assures to Paipertes food and water supplies, while the acropolis rock provides a fine defensive site. The town also lies on the great trade route from the east, via Theodosioupolis to Trebizond, at a point where a branch route crosses the mountains to the coast at Sousourmaina or Ophis. Paipertes serves as a market town for the villages of the extensive plain. At the northern end of the plain lies the village of Charton.
Southeast of Paipertes the transit road crosses the high range of the Kop Daglari to come into the the plain of Erzurum at a height of about 2,000 meters. This plain, together with those of Kars and Ardahan, are the modest forerunners of the great upland plateaux of the continent of Asia and they may be said to mark the geographical boundaries of Asia Minor. Life there is bleak and windswept for six months of the year, but they grow cereal crop and support famous herds of cattle. At Eregia at the western end of the plain of Erzurum, the transit road from Trebizond eastward meets the road coming up the Euphrates valley from Melitene, Eriza (Erzincan), and Bizana (Cerxene, region of Tercan). At the northern end of the Derxene basin is the castle of Bagaritson. Here Basil II wintered on his eastern campaign of the years 1000-1001; and here the princes of Georgia and Armenia came to pay him homage.
At Eriza the Euphrates valley opens out into a wide basin, the richness of which has long been attested. Apart from the fertility of the land, which grows cereals and fruit, Eriza is at the junction of a route north to Satala.
Theodosios chose the new site for his city of Theodosioupolis on the southern edge of the plain itself, at the foot of the Palandöken mountains, so that it had the advantage of rising ground providing some natural defense. From Theodosioupolis the trade route runs eastward to Tabriz; not far east of the town there is a route branching southward to the region of Lake Van. As a garrison town, Theodosioupolis needs a route to the coast with a supply port, and this ran via Ispir across to Rhizaion. This route runs due north of Theodosiouplos across the plain and up the valley of the river Dumlu, which is one of the sources of the Euphrates. The pass is appropriately named the "Georgian Throat" since it markes the southern limit of Georgian settlement. It is a watershed whose southern stream ultimately flows into the Indian Ocean, while only a kilometer or so to the north the tributary stream of the river Tortum flows into the Akampsis and thence into the Black Sea. The road branches off over a minor ridge into a larger valley to descend in anortheasterly direction to Tortomi. The castle and township are important since they lie at a junction where the road from Ispir to Theodosioupolis Is met by a route into the Narman and Olti valleys to the east; a third route leads northward into the Akampsis valley. The castle bars the way to any invader marching northward into Georgian lands; Basil II took it on his way to Oltu. The routes which it commands are of some commercial usefulness and the town, which was situated in a wide stretch of valley, serves as a halting place and market town for the surrounding area. From Tortomi the route crosses over into the valley of the monastery of Haho; from there it runs northwestward over the mountains to Ispir.
The township and castle of Pharangion, Syspiritis (Ispir) are on a rocky outcrop at the eastern end of a basin where the Akampsis widens out to form a valley suitable for crop growing. Its significance derives partly from its gold and silver mines, and partly from its position halfway along the Rhizaion-Theodosioupolis road, together with its position as a market town and administrative center for the surrounding mountain villages.
This short survey of the coastal and inland towns and settlements suggests a general point of interest. One is that the regions with which we deal are relatively rich at the western end, with cities of some distinction, and that the land becomes poorer and more rugged toward the east, so that the size of cities and settlements gets progressively smaller.
In general the Pontos is rural in character and except in the west it was a province not of towns but rather of military posts and villages. While in classical periods it was a poor backwater, in the Byzantine period it grew in importance, to under the Empire of Trebizond its primary cities were as rich as any other city in this part of the world.
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