Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...
, Russia, situated on the
Don River
The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire.
Its ...
just from the
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...
, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mouth of the Don River has always been an important commercial center. At the start of the 3rd century BCE, the Greeks from the
Bosporan Kingdom
The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (, ''Vasíleio toú Kimmerikoú Vospórou''), was an ancient Greco-Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, ...
founded a colony here, which they called ''
Tanais
Tanais ( el, Τάναϊς ''Tánaïs''; russian: Танаис) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in the Don River (Russia), Don river delta, called the Maeotian Swamp, Maeotian marshes in classical antiquity. It was a bishopric as Tana ...
'' (after the Greek name of the river). Several centuries later, in the last third of 1st century BCE, the settlement was burned down by king
Polemon I of Pontus
Polemon I Pythodoros ( grc-gre, Πολέμων Πυθόδωρος; fl. 1st century BC – died 8 BC) was the Roman Client King of Cilicia, Pontus, Colchis and the Bosporan Kingdom. Polemon was the son and heir of Zenon and possibly Tryphaena. Ze ...
. The introduction of Greek colonists restored its prosperity, but the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
practically annihilated it in the 3rd century. The site of ancient Tanais, now occupied by the ''
khutor
A khutor ( rus, хутор, p=ˈxutər) or khutir ( uk, хутiр, pl. , ''khutory'') is a type of rural locality in some countries of Eastern Europe; in the past the term mostly referred to a single-homestead settlement. '' of
Nedvigovka, has been excavated since the mid-19th century.
In the 5th century, the area was populated by
Karadach Karadach or Kuridach (in Greek Κουριδαχος, ''Kouridachos'', la, Curidachus) was an important chieftain of the Akatziri tribe of the Hunnic confederation during the reign of Attila. According to Priscus he rose to prominence when he was co ...
and his
Akatziroi
The Akatziri or Akatzirs ( gr, Άκατίροι, Άκατζίροι, ''Akatiroi'', ''Akatziroi''; la, Acatziri) were a tribe that lived north of the Black Sea, though the Crimean city of Cherson seemed to be under their control in the sixth centu ...
. They were ruled by
Dengizich the Hun. Byzantium gave the land to the Hunugurs in the 460s; it became known as
Patria Onoguria
Old Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria (Medieval Greek: Παλαιά Μεγάλη Βουλγαρία, ''Palaiá Megálē Voulgaría''), also often known by the Latin names ''Magna Bulgaria'' and ''Patria Onoguria'' (" Onogur land"), was a 7th- ...
under his brother,
Ernakh Ernak was the last known ruler of the Huns, and the third son of Attila. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his Empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. He succeeded his older brother Ellac in 454 AD, a ...
. Its Hun inhabitants became known as the Utigur Bulgars when it became part of the
Western Turkic Kaghanate
The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after t ...
under
Sandilch
Sandilch (''Σάνδιλ'', ''Σάνδιλχος''; Turkic "boat) was a chieftain of the Utigur Bulgars in the 6th century. The origin of the name is probably Turkic."The Histories, Volume 2, Part 1", Agathias, https://books.google.bg/books?id=Pqs ...
. Then in the 7th century Khan
Kubrat
Kubrat ( el, Κοβρᾶτος, Kούβρατος; bg, Кубрат ) was the ruler of the Onogur–Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in ca. 632. His name derived from the Turkic words ''qobrat'' — ...
, ruler of the Unogundurs established Old Great Bolgary there before his heir
Batbayan
Batbayan ( bg, Батбаян) ruled the Khazarian Bulgars mentioned by Theophanes and Nicephorus after the Khazars defeated the Bulgars and Old Great Bulgaria disintegrated.
There is a scholarly theory that he may have been the same person as ...
surrendered it to the
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
.
In the 10th century, as the Khazar state disintegrated, the area came under the control of the Slavic princedom of
Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan ( rus, Тмутарака́нь, p=tmʊtərɐˈkanʲ, ; uk, Тмуторокань, Tmutorokan) was a medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea ...
. The
Kipchaks
The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the Se ...
, seizing the area in 1067, renamed it Azaq (i.e., lowlands), from which appellation the modern name is derived. The
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
claimed most of the coast in the 13th and 14th centuries, but the
Venetian and
Genoese merchants were granted permission to settle on the site of modern-day Azov and founded there a
colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
which they called .
Archaeological digs
In autumn 2000,
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography.
Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...
wanted to further investigate his idea that Scandinavians may have migrated from the south via waterways. He was on the trail of Odin (Wotan), the Germanic and Nordic god of the mythologies of the early Norse
Eddas
"Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poem ...
and
Sagas
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Play ...
. According to
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
, the Icelandic author of an Edda and as least one Saga, who wrote in the 13th century, Odin was supposed to have migrated from the region of the Caucasus or the area just east of the Black Sea near the turn of the 1st century CE. Heyerdahl was particularly interested in Snorri's reference to the land of origin of the
Æsir
The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, res ...
people. Heyerdahl wanted to test the veracity of Snorri's claims and as a result organized the Joint Archaeological Excavation in Azov in 2001. He had wanted to undertake a second excavation the following year, but it never happened due to his death in April 2002.
Fortress
![azov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Azov.jpg)
In 1471, the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
gained control of the area and built the strong fortress of Azak (Azov). The fort blocked the
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До ...
from raiding and trading into the Black Sea. The Cossacks attacked Azov in 1574, 1593, 1620, and 1626. In April 1637, three thousand
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До ...
and four thousand
Zaporozhian Cossacks
The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...
besieged Azov. The Turks had four thousand soldiers and two hundred cannons. The fort fell on June 21 and the Cossacks sent a request to the
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
for re-enforcements and support. A commission recommended against this because of the danger of war with Turkey and the poor state of the fortifications. In June 1641,
Hussein Deli, Pasha of Silistria, invested the fort with 70,000–80,000 men. In September,
they had to withdraw because of disease and provisioning shortfalls. A second Russian commission reported that the siege had left very little of the walls. In March 1642, Sultan Ibrahim issued an ultimatum and Tsar Mikhail ordered the Cossacks to evacuate. The Turks reoccupied Azov in September 1642.
In 1693, the garrison of the fortress was 3,656 of whom 2,272 were
Janissaries
A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
.
The fortress, however, had yet to pass through many vicissitudes. During the
Azov campaigns
Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mout ...
of 1696,
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
, who desired naval access to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
, managed to recover the fortress. Azov was granted town status in 1708, but the disastrous
Pruth River Campaign
The Russo-Ottoman War of 1710—1711, also known as the Pruth River Campaign, was a brief military conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The main battle took place during 18-22 July 1711 in the basin of the Pruth riv ...
constrained him to hand it back to the Turks in 1711. A humorous description of the events is featured in
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
's ''
Candide
( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...
''. During the
Great Russo-Turkish War, it was taken by the army under
Count Rumyantsev and finally ceded to Russia under the terms of
Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
(1774). For seven years Azov was a seat of
its own governorate, but with the growth of neighboring
Rostov-on-the-Don
Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East ...
it gradually declined in importance. The Germans and Austrians occupied Azov in 1917–1918, during World War I. It was occupied by the Germans between July 1942 and February 1943 during World War II.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, Azov serves as the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
of
Azovsky District
Azovsky District (russian: Азо́вский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #340-ZS and municipalLaw #239-ZS district (raion), one of the forty-three in Rostov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the oblast. The area of the ...
, even though it is not a part of it.
[Law #340-ZS] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Azov
Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
.
As a
municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.
[Law #234-ZS]
Government
Sergey Bezdolny of the
United Russia
United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...
party was elected Mayor of Azov on April 3, 2005 and re-elected on October 11, 2009 by 72.9% of the voters.
The current head of administration (city-manager) Vladimir Rashchupkin holds office from December 2015.
Geography
Climate
Azov's climate is
humid continental
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dfa''), featuring hot summers, cold winters (though quite mild for Russia), and fairly low precipitation.
Attractions
There are many monuments and museums In Azov.
Built in 1799, the
Powder Cellar Museum
The Powder Cellar Museum is a museum in the city of Azov, Rostov Oblast, Russia. It is a branch of the Azov Museum of History, Archaeology and Palaeontology. The place it occupies was recognized as a cultural monument of federal significance of ...
in Azov is the only remaining fortress of Catherine's time in all of what was once southern Russia. Fortresses she built in Rostov, Taganrog and elsewhere have been completely destroyed, so Asov's deserves to be considered an architectural monument to the art of military engineering in the 18th century. A wooden cellar served a quarter century, but in 1797 had become dilapidated, so it was dismantled, and replaced with a cellar made of stone. In 1799, in the
bastion
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
of St. Anne, a new powder cellar was built. From the beginning of the 19th to the 20th century the cellar was used to store of ice. From 1961 to 1965 the cellar was renovated and handed over to the
.
In 1967, to celebrate the 900-year anniversary of Azov, Soviet officials opened the exposition diorama
"The Taking of Azov by the troops of Peter the Great in 1696". The author of the diorama was the Russian artist Arseniy Chernyshov.
The Azov Fortress is a fortified complex overlooking the
Don River
The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire.
Its ...
and the Port of Azov to the north. It includes a rampart, watchtowers and gates.
Monument to Peter I is a bronze monument of Peter the Great in the center of Azov. It was designed by sculptors Oleg Komov and Andrey Kovalchuk. The opening ceremony took place on 19 July 1996 and was held in conjunction by the 300-year anniversary of the Russian Navy.
Monument to Aleksei Shein is a sculpture of Russian statesman, general, Boyar (from 1695), and the first Russian Generalissimo (1696) Aleksei Semenovich Shein. The monument was opened on June 12, 2009. The authors of the project were M. Lushnikov and V.P. Mokrousov.
Monument to the sailors of the Azov Flotilla is dedicated to the Flotilla, which heroically fought in Taganrog Bay and the Don Delta during the Great Patriotic war. The monument is considered to be an object of local cultural heritage.
The
is one of the biggest southern museums of Russia hosting the richest palaeontological collection in the south of Russia. The museum was established on 17 May 1917 by Michail Aronovich Makarovskiy.
Twin towns – sister cities
Azov is
twinned with:
*
Aglandjia
Aglandjia ( el, Αγλαντζιά []; tr, Eğlence) is a suburb and a municipality of Nicosia, Cyprus. The municipality has a population of 20,783 (2011) and is contiguous with Nicosia Municipality.
Aglandjia is near the United Nations Buffe ...
, Cyprus (1990)
*
Chillicothe, United States (1991)
*/
Feodosia
uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe
, official_name = ()
, settlement_type=
, image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg
, imagesize = 250px
, image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa
, image_shield = Fe ...
,
[Disputed territory] Russia/Ukraine
*
Pylos-Nestor
Pylos-Nestoras ( el, Δήμος Πύλου - Νέστορος) is a municipality in the Messenia regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Pylos. The municipality has an area of 554.265 km2.
Municipality
The m ...
, Greece (2017)
*
Sečanj
Sečanj (, hu, Torontálszécsány) is a town located in the Central Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town itself has a population of 2,373, while the Sečanj municipality has 13,267 inhabitants.
Name
"Sečanj" ...
, Serbia (2018)
*
Courbevoie
Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...
, France (2018)
*
Bijeljina
Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. Administratively, Bijeljina is part of the Republika Srpska e ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2018)
See also
*
Azov campaigns (1695–96)
Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mo ...
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
Khvalkov E. The colonies of Genoa in the Black Sea region: evolution and transformation. L., NY : Routledge, 2017
* Khvalkov E. Due atti notarili rogati a Tana, colonia veneziana sul Mare di Azov, e alcune considerazioni sull'età dei veneziani che hanno visitato Tana // Studi veneziani. 2017. Vol. 73-74
* Khvalkov E. A Regionalization or Long-Distance Trade? Transformations and Shifts in the Role of Tana in the Black Sea Trade in the First Half of the Fifteenth Century // European Review of History: Revue europeenne d’histoire. 2016. Vol. 23. No. 3. P. 508 -525. doi
* Khvalkov E. ‘The society of the Venetian colony of Tana in the 1430s based on the notarial deeds of Niccolò di Varsis and Benedetto di Smeritis.’ In Studi storici 57 / 1 (2016): 93–110. // Studi Storici. 2016. Vol. 57. No. 1. P. 93–110.
* Khvalkov E. Forms of Social Organization in the Venetian Trading Station in Tana, 1430s // Ricerche storiche. 2015. Vol. 45. No. 3. P. 381–392.
* Khvalkov E. ‘Trading Diasporas in the Venetian and Genoese Trading Stations in Tana, 1430 – 1440.’, in: Union in Separation. Diasporic Groups and Identities in the Eastern Mediterranean (1100-1800). Heidelberg : Springer, 2015. P. 311–327.
* Khvalkov E. Everyday Life and Material Culture in the Venetian and Genoese Trading Stations of Tana in the 1430s (Based on the Study of Notarial Documents) // Medium Aevum Quotidianum. 2012. Vol. 64. P. 84–93.
* Khvalkov E. The Slave Trade in Tana: Marketing Manpower from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean in the 1430s // Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU. 2012. Vol. 18.
*
External links
Official website of AzovUnofficial website of AzovDirectory of organizations in Azov
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Rostov Oblast
Crimean Khanate
History of the Don Cossacks
Don Host Oblast
Port cities and towns in Russia
Bosporan Kingdom
Coastal fortifications