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The Pontic Greeks ( pnt, Ρωμαίοι, Ρωμίοι, tr, Pontus Rumları or , el, Πόντιοι, or , , ka, პონტოელი ბერძნები, ), also Pontian Greeks or simply Pontians, are an ethnically
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
group indigenous to the region of
Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, in northeastern
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
(in Turkey). Many later migrated to other parts of
Eastern Anatolia The Eastern Anatolia Region ('' tr, Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Se ...
, to the former Russian province of
Kars Oblast The Kars Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was the city of Kars, presently in Turkey. The ''oblast'' bordered the Ottoman Empire to the west, the Batum Oblast ...
in the
Transcaucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
, and to
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
in various waves between the Ottoman conquest of the
Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
in 1461 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829. Those from southern
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, and
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
are often referred to as "Northern Pontic reeks, in contrast to those from "South Pontus", which strictly speaking is Pontus proper. Those from Georgia, northeastern Anatolia, and the former Russian Caucasus are in contemporary Greek academic circles often referred to as "Eastern Pontic reeks or as
Caucasian Greeks The Caucasus Greeks ( el, Έλληνες του Καυκάσου or more commonly , tr, Kafkas Rum), also known as the Greeks of Transcaucasia and Russian Asia Minor, are the ethnic Greeks of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia in what is now ...
, but also include the Turkic-speaking
Urums The Urums, singular Urum (, ; el, Ουρούμ, ''Urúm''; Turkish and Crimean Tatar: ''Urum,'' ) are several groups of Turkic-speaking Greek Orthodox people in Crimea and Georgia. History There are two main theories covering how the Urums m ...
. Pontic Greeks owe their genetic ancestry to multiple sources, specifically ancient Greek colonists, indigenous Anatolians, Greeks who had moved relatively recently to Pontus and other people who migrated to Pontus and converted to Christianity. They traditionally speak the
Pontic Greek Pontic Greek ( pnt, Ποντιακόν λαλίαν, or ; el, Ποντιακή διάλεκτος, ; tr, Rumca) is a variety of Modern Greek indigenous to the Pontus region on the southern shores of the Black Sea, northeastern Anatolia, ...
dialect, a distinct form of the standard
Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...
which, due to the remoteness of Pontus, has undergone
linguistic evolution Evolutionary linguistics or Darwinian linguistics is a sociobiological approach to the study of language. Evolutionary linguists consider linguistics as a subfield of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. The approach is also closely linked ...
distinct from that of the rest of the Greek world. The Pontic Greeks had a continuous presence in the region of Pontus (modern-day northeastern Turkey), Georgia, and
Eastern Anatolia The Eastern Anatolia Region ('' tr, Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Se ...
from at least 700 BC until the
Greek genocide The Greek genocide (, ''Genoktonia ton Ellinon''), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christians, Christian Ottoman Greeks, Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia which was carried out mainly during World War I ...
and the
population exchange Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration, often imposed by state policy or international authority and most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion but also due to economic development. Banishment or exile is a ...
with Turkey in 1923. Today, most Pontic Greeks live in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, especially in and around
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
in
Greek Macedonia Macedonia (; el, Μακεδονία, Makedonía ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is ...
.


Population

Nowadays, due to extensive intermarriage (also with non-Pontic Greeks), the exact number of Greeks from the Pontus, or people with Greek ancestry still living there, is unknown. After 1988, Pontian Greeks in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
started to migrate to Greece settling in and around
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
, and especially Macedonia. The largest communities of Pontian Greeks (or people of Pontian Greek descent) around the world are:


Ancestry and ethnicity

Pontic Greeks are an ethnic
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
subgroup, indigenous to the region of
Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, in northeastern
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. Greeks lived in Pontus since "the time of the
Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...
,
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
and
Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
and the
Ten Thousand The Ten Thousand ( grc, οἱ Μύριοι, ''oi Myrioi'') were a force of mercenary units, mainly Greeks, employed by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Bat ...
". The Pontic Greeks are believed to be descendants of Greeks who in the 8th century BC had moved from the Ionian cities located in the islands and shores of the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
, to the area of 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 ...
called
Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
. According to the
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
, an ethnicity is made up of people with ancestry or cultural background in common. Self-identification is an important part of belonging to an
ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
. Pontians have a lot in common with other Greeks; for example, they speak
Romeika Pontic Greek ( pnt, Ποντιακόν λαλίαν, or ; el, Ποντιακή διάλεκτος, ; tr, Rumca) is a variety of Modern Greek indigenous to the Pontus region on the southern shores of the Black Sea, northeastern Anatolia, ...
, a Greek language variety. Pontians also traditionally follow the
Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
faith, although a minority in Turkey are
Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
. Pontian Greeks also share traits with other ethnic groups. Like Turks, they cook (
kuymak Kuymak is a regional meal of Turkey. Its primary ingredients are corn meal and cheese. and is typically served with bread and a spoon. It is also popular in Georgia, Azerbaijan and some regions of Caucasus. Similar dishes Muhlama, also refer ...
),
boortsog Boortsog or bawïrsaq ( ba, бауырһаҡ, kk, бауырсақ; baýyrsaq , ky, боорсок , mn, боорцог , uz, boʻgʻirsoq , tr, kabarcık, pişi, bişi, tuzlu lokma, halka, tk, pişme) is a type of fried dough food fo ...
, and
İmam bayıldı İmam bayıldı (literally: "the imam fainted") is a dish in Ottoman cuisine consisting of whole eggplant stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes, and simmered in olive oil. It is a ( olive oil-based) dish and is found in most of the forme ...
. They share other aspects of their culture with Lazes, Persians, and Armenians. They may owe some aspects of their culture to ancient Anatolian peoples. According to Sam Topalidis, a Pontic Greek historian, Pontians owe their genetic ancestry to multiple sources: Ancient Greek colonists, Indigenous Anatolians, Greeks who had moved recently into Pontus and other people who converted to Christianity upon moving to the Pontus. The region of Pontus has been diverse since at least the Middle Ages; in 1204, the Matzouka (
Maçka Maçka ( el, Ματζούκα, Matzoúka, the "club"; Laz: მაჩხა ''Maçxa'') is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The name derives from the medieval Greek '' Matzouka'', which was one of the pro ...
) region alone contained Greeks, Italians, Lazes and a few Armenians. A genetic study of male Georgians, including Pontic Greeks in Georgia, revealed that the latter had high incidences of haplogroup L, which is also prevalent among
Laz people The Laz people, or Lazi ( lzz, ლაზი ''Lazi''; ka, ლაზი, ''lazi''; or ჭანი, ''ch'ani''; tr, Laz), are an indigenous ethnic group who mainly live in Black Sea coastal regions of Black Sea Region, Turkey and Georgia (countr ...
. Haplogroup G2 and haplogroup J2 were also prevalent among the Pontians studied. Pontians in Georgia and Lazes are genetically similar. Armenians in Georgia and Pontians in Georgia are also genetically similar. Pontian self-identification is also important. The Pontic label is relatively new. Anton Popov writes, "Anthony Bryer states that 'at the beginning of the nineteenth century a Pontic Christian might describe himself in the old way as a Douberites, Phytanos or Tsitenos first, and then as a “Roman” (Rum) Orthodox subject of the sultan; by the end of the century he was calling himself a Greek, and after he had finally left the Pontos in 1923, a Pontic Greek.'" Anton Popov studied Caucasus Greeks in former Soviet territories. Most of the Romeika speakers that Popov interviewed referred to themselves as "Romei." He also mentioned that many Caucasus Greeks only began referring to themselves as Pontians when they went to work in Greece. During Ottoman times, most Pontian Greeks did not see themselves as "Greeks" ''per se''. Neal Acherson, in his book ''Black Sea'', writes, "Who did they think they were, in this pre-nationalist age? In the first place, they did not think of themselves as 'Greek' or as a people in some way rooted in the peninsula and islands we now call 'Greece.' Sophisticates in Trebizond might address one another in the fifteenth century as 'Hellenes,' but this was a cultural fancy rather than an ethnic description. Outsiders, whether Turks or northern Europeans, referred to them and to all the inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire as 'Rom' or 'Rum' people, or as 'Romanians' omans— citizens of the Roman Empire, in other words, who were also distinguished by their Orthodox Christian faith. Struggling with these categories, a Pontic Turk whose village had once been Greek told Anthony Bryer: 'This is Roman (Rum) country; they spoke Christian here...'" This identification mirrored the identification of other non-intellectual
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
at the time. Greek nationalism only began to spread to the Pontos in the 1800s after the Greek nation gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. This nationalism came during a time of commercial prosperity in the Pontos. Again, Acherson writes, "The teachers and the school curricula came from Athens, bringing with them a new concept of Greekness which linked the Greek-Orthodox communities of the Black Sea and the 'nation' of Greece." He goes on to explain how the Greek government encouraged nationalist thinking: "A speaker in the Greek parliament in 1844 expounded this newly designed identity: 'The Kingdom of Greece is not Greece. It constitutes only one part, the smallest and the poorest. A Greek is not only a man who lives within the Kingdom, but also one who lives in Yoannina, Serrai, Adrianople, Constantinople, Smyrna, Trebizond, Crete and in any land associated with Greek history and the Greek race." The newly established Kingdom of Greece set up consulates in the Ottoman Empire to spread the ''
Megali Idea The Megali Idea ( el, Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megáli Idéa, Great Idea) is a nationalist and irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, by establishing a Greek state, which would include the large Greek popul ...
''. While the Anatolians recognized a shared cultural heritage, most weren't involved in an irredentist movement. Few Pontic Greeks supported the ''
Megali Idea The Megali Idea ( el, Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megáli Idéa, Great Idea) is a nationalist and irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, by establishing a Greek state, which would include the large Greek popul ...
'' except for some Greek nationalists such as
Nikos Kapetanidis Nikos Kapetanidis ( pnt, Νίκος Καπετανίδης, 1889–1921, aged 32) was a Greek journalist and newspaper publisher. He was one of the notable Pontians hanged by Turkish nationalists serving under Mustafa Kemal. Life and career Kape ...
. Very few wanted an independent Pontic state, and few had ambition to join with Greece, even in the early 1900s. The reason for this is unclear.
Benny Morris Benny Morris ( he, בני מוריס; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. He is a member of t ...
and
Dror Ze'evi Dror Ze'evi (born 1953, Haifa) is an Israeli historian who studies political, social and cultural history of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey and the Levant. Ze'evi's father, , was deputy head of Mossad, and his mother, Galila, is an interior designe ...
give three theories on why most Pontic Greeks distanced themselves from nationalism and separatism: poorly developed political consciousness, tradition of submissiveness to Islamic hegemony, or fears of massacres and economic harm. More generally, Greek nationalism in Asia Minor mostly appealed to "the most enlightened and liberal", to the medical, legal and literary professionals and to the rising middle class. It was opposed, however, by the "ancient
reek Reek may refer to: Places * Reek, Netherlands, a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant * Croagh Patrick, a mountain in the west of Ireland nicknamed "The Reek" People * Nikolai Reek (1890-1942), Estonian military commander * Salme Reek ( ...
nobility, the superior clergy, the lay dignitaries of the church and the wealthy merchants". There are also some Turkish-speaking Pontic Greeks, living in the Greek region of
Western Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen Modern regions of Greece, regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. Located in north-western ...
, specifically in
Metamorfosi, Kozani Metamorfosi is a community of the city of Kozani in northern Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the c ...
. These Pontians follow the Greek Orthodox Church and profess a strong Greek identity. After the Greek-Turkish population exchange in 1923, even though the state never considered them a "national threat", many of these Pontians saw their language as a "cultural flaw" and desired to get rid of it. Historian and psychologist Stavros Iason Gavriilidis states that this was a result of the trauma they faced from the
Greek genocide The Greek genocide (, ''Genoktonia ton Ellinon''), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christians, Christian Ottoman Greeks, Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia which was carried out mainly during World War I ...
.


Mythology

In
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
the Black Sea region is the region where
Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
and the
Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...
sailed to find the
Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...
. The
Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
, female warriors in
Greek Mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
lived in
Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, and a minority lived in
Taurica The recorded history of the Crimean Peninsula, historically known as ''Tauris'', ''Taurica'' ( gr, Ταυρική or Ταυρικά), and the ''Tauric Chersonese'' ( gr, Χερσόνησος Ταυρική, "Tauric Peninsula"), begins around the ...
, also known as
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
, which is also the minor unique settlement of Pontic Greeks. The warlike characteristics of Pontic Greeks were once said to have been derived from the Amazons of Pontus.


History


Antiquity

The first recorded
Greek colony Greek colonization was an organised colonial expansion by the Archaic Greeks into the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea in the period of the 8th–6th centuries BC. This colonization differed from the migrations of the Greek Dark Ages in that i ...
, established on the northern shores of ancient Anatolia, was
Sinope Sinope may refer to: *Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea, historically known as Sinope ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *Sinop Province * Sinope, Leicestershire, a hamlet in the Midlands of England *Sinope (mythology), in ...
on the Black Sea, circa 800 BC. The settlers of Sinope were merchants from the Ionian Greek city state of
Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
. After the colonization of the shores of the Black Sea, known until then to the Greek world as ''Pontos Axeinos'' (Inhospitable Sea), the name changed to ''Pontos Euxeinos'' (Hospitable Sea). In time, as the numbers of Greeks settling in the region grew significantly, more colonies were established along the whole Black Sea coastline of what is now
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, and
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. The region of Trapezus (later called Trebizond, now
Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...
) was mentioned by
Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
in his famous work ''
Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), a ...
'', describing how he and other 10,000 Greek mercenaries fought their way to the
Euxine 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, Rom ...
after the failure of the rebellion of
Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ''Kūruš''; grc-gre, Κῦρος ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC i ...
whom they fought for, against his older brother Artaxerxes II of Persia. Xenophon mentions that when at the sight of sea they shouted "
Thalatta! Thalatta! ''Thálatta! Thálatta!'' ( el, — "The Sea! The Sea!") was the shouting of joy when the roaming Ten Thousand Greeks saw Euxeinos Pontos (the Black Sea) from Mount Theches (Θήχης) in Trebizond, after participating in Cyrus the Younger's ...
" – "The sea! The sea!", the local people understood them. They were Greeks too and, according to Xenophon, they had been there for over 300 years. A whole range of trade flourished among the various Greek colonies, but also with the indigenous tribes who inhabited the Pontus inland. Soon Trebizond established a leading stature among the other colonies and the region nearby become the heart of the Pontian Greek culture and civilization. A notable inhabitant of the region was
Philetaerus Philetaerus (; grc, Φιλέταιρος, ''Philétairos'', c. 343 –263 BC) was the founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon in Anatolia. Early life and career under Lysimachus Philetaerus was born in Tieium (Greek: ''Tieion''), a small ...
(c. 343 BC–263 BC) who was born to a Greek father in the small town of Tieion which was situated on the Black Sea coast of the
Pontus Euxinus 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 ...
, he founded the
Attalid dynasty The Kingdom of Pergamon or Attalid kingdom was a Ancient Greece, Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Anatolia, Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; g ...
and the Anatolian city of
Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...
in the second century BC. This region was organized circa 281 BC as a kingdom by Mithridates I of Pontus, whose ancestry line dated back to Ariobarzanes I, a
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
ruler of the Greek town of
Cius Cius (; grc-gre, Kίος or Κῖος ''Kios''), later renamed Prusias on the Sea (; la, Prusias ad Mare) after king Prusias I of Bithynia, was an ancient Greek city bordering the Propontis (now known as the Sea of Marmara), in Bithynia and in ...
. The most prominent descendant of Mithridates I was Mithridates VI Eupator, who between 90 and 65 BC fought the
Mithridatic Wars The Mithridatic Wars were three conflicts fought by Rome against the Kingdom of Pontus and its allies between 88 BC and 63 BC. They are named after Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus who initiated the hostilities after annexing the Roman provinc ...
, three bitter wars against the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
, before eventually being defeated. Mithridates VI the Great, as he was left in memory, claiming to be the protector of the Greek world against the barbarian Romans, expanded his kingdom to
Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...
,
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
and
Propontis The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
(in present-day Ukraine and Turkey) before his downfall after the
Third Mithridatic War The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies dragging the entire east of the ...
. Nevertheless, the kingdom survived as a Roman
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
state, now named
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, ...
and based in Crimea, until the 4th century AD, when it succumbed to the
Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
. The rest of the Pontus became part of the Roman Empire, while the mountainous interior (
Chaldia Chaldia ( el, Χαλδία, ''Khaldia'') was a historical region located in the mountainous interior of the eastern Black Sea, northeast Anatolia (modern Turkey). Its name was derived from a people called the ''Chaldoi'' (or ''Chalybes'') that i ...
) was fully incorporated into the
Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
during the 6th century.


Middle Ages

Pontus was the birthplace of the
Komnenos dynasty Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
, which ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1082 to 1185, a time in which the empire resurged to recover much of Anatolia from the
Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...
. In the aftermath of the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders of the
Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
in 1204, the
Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
was established by
Alexios I of Trebizond Alexios I Megas Komnenos ( el, Αλέξιος Κομνηνός; c. 1182 – 1 February 1222) or Alexius I Megas Comnenus was, with his brother David, the founder of the Empire of Trebizond and its ruler from 1204 until his death in 1222. The two ...
, a descendant of
Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
, the patriarch of the
Komnenos dynasty Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
. The Empire was ruled by this new branch of the Komenos dynasty which bore the name
Megas Komnenos Axouch Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
(or Axouchos or Afouxechos) as early rulers intermarried with the family of Axouch, a Byzantine noble house of Turkic origin which included famed politicians such as
John Axouch John Axouch or Axouchos, also transliterated as Axuch ( el, , flourished circa 1087 – circa 1150) was the commander-in-chief (''megas domestikos'') of the Byzantine army during the reign of Emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143), and durin ...
This empire lasted for more than 250 years until it eventually fell at the hands of
Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
of 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) ...
in 1461. However it took the Ottomans 18 more years to finally defeat the Greek resistance in Pontus. During this long period of resistance many Pontic Greeks nobles and aristocrats married foreign emperors and dynasties, most notably of
Medieval Russia Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
,
Medieval Georgia The nation of Georgia ( ka, საქართველო ''sakartvelo'') was first unified as a kingdom under the Bagrationi dynasty by the King Bagrat III of Georgia in the early 11th century, arising from a number of predecessor states of ...
, or the
Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
Persian dynasty, and to a lesser extent the
Kara Koyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...
rulers, in order to gain their protection and aid against the Ottoman threat. Many of the landowning and lower-class families of Pontus "turned-Turk", adopting the Turkish language and Turkish Islam but often remaining crypto-Christian before reverting to their Greek Orthodoxy in the early 19th century. In the 1600s and 1700s, as Turkish lords called
derebey A derebey ( tr, valley lord) was a feudal lord in Anatolia and the Pontic areas of Lazistan and Adjara in the 18th century, with considerable independence from the central government of the Ottoman Empire. Derebeys were required to provide militar ...
s gained more control of land along the Black Sea coast, many coastal Pontians moved to the
Pontic Mountains The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Kuzey Anadolu Dağları'', meaning North Anatolian Mountains) form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the ''Parhar Mountains'' in the local Turki ...
. There, they established villages such as
Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...
. Between 1461 and the second
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
of 1828–29, Pontic Greeks from northeastern Anatolia migrated as refugees or economic migrants (especially miners and livestock breeders) into nearby Armenia or Georgia, where they came to form a nucleus of Pontic Greeks which increased in size with the addition of each wave of refugees and migrants until these eastern Pontic Greek communities of the South Caucasus region came to define themselves as
Caucasian Greeks The Caucasus Greeks ( el, Έλληνες του Καυκάσου or more commonly , tr, Kafkas Rum), also known as the Greeks of Transcaucasia and Russian Asia Minor, are the ethnic Greeks of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia in what is now ...
. During the Ottoman period a number of Pontian Greeks converted to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and adopted the Turkish language. This could be willingly, for example so to avoid paying the higher rate of taxation imposed on Orthodox Christians or in order to make themselves more eligible for higher level government and regular military employment opportunities within the empire (at least in the later period following the abolition of the infamous Greek and Balkan Christian child levy or '
devshirme Devshirme ( ota, دوشیرمه, devşirme, collecting, usually translated as "child levy"; hy, Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak′. or "blood tax"; hbs-Latn-Cyrl, Danak u krvi, Данак у крви, mk, Данок во крв, Danok vo krv ...
', on which the elite Janissary corps had in the early Ottoman period depended for its recruits). But conversion could also occur in response to pressures from central government and local Muslim militia (e.g.) following any one of the Russo-Turkish wars in which ethnic Greeks from the Ottoman Empire's northern border regions were known to have collaborated, fought alongside, and sometimes even led invading Russian forces, such as was the case in the Greek governed, semi-autonomous Romanian Principalities, Trebizond, and the area that was briefly to become part of the Russian Caucasus in the far northeast.


Modern

Large communities (around 25% of the population) of
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
Pontic Greeks remained throughout the
Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
area (including
Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...
and
Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...
in northeastern Turkey/the Russian Caucasus) until the 1920s, and in parts of Georgia and Armenia until the 1990s, preserving their own customs and dialect of Greek.


Genocide and population exchange

Between 1913 and 1923, the Turkish leadership attempted to expel or kill its native Greek population, including the Pontic Greeks. The genocide was first perpetrated by the
Three Pashas The Three Pashas also known as the Young Turk triumvirate or CUP triumvirate consisted of Mehmed Talaat Pasha (1874–1921), the Grand Vizier (prime minister) and Minister of the Interior; Ismail Enver Pasha (1881–1922), the Minister of War; ...
and later by the rebel government under
Mustafa Kemal Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mo ...
. Different scholars have made different estimates for the death toll; most estimates range from 300,000 to 360,000 Pontic Greeks killed. Some notable victims include
Matthaios Kofidis Matthaios Kofidis ( el, Ματθαίος Κωφίδης, 22 March 1855 – 1921) was an Ottoman Greek businessman, historian and a politician, who was a member of the Ottoman Parliament. He was elected in three successive periods from 1908 to 1 ...
and
Nikos Kapetanidis Nikos Kapetanidis ( pnt, Νίκος Καπετανίδης, 1889–1921, aged 32) was a Greek journalist and newspaper publisher. He was one of the notable Pontians hanged by Turkish nationalists serving under Mustafa Kemal. Life and career Kape ...
. Many were executed, for example during the
Amasya trials The Amasya trials in 1921, were special ad hoc trials, organized by the Turkish National Movement, with the purpose to kill en masse the Greek representatives of Pontus region under a legal pretext. They occurred in Amasya, modern Turkey, during t ...
; others were subject to massacres; many Pontic men were forced to work in labor camps until they died; still others were deported to the interior on
death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convent ...
es. Rape, primarily of Pontic women and girls, was prominent. In 1923, after hundreds of years, those remaining were expelled from Turkey to Greece as part of the
population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...
defined by the
Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the conflic ...
. In his book ''
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 ...
'', author
Neal Ascherson Charles Neal Ascherson (born 5 October 1932) is a Scottish journalist and writer. He has been described by Radio Prague as "one of Britain's leading experts on central and eastern Europe". Ascherson is the author of several books on the history ...
writes: According to the 1928 census of Greece, there were in total 240,695 Pontic Greek refugees in Greece: 11,435 from Russia, 47,091 from the Caucasus, and 182,169 from the Pontus region of Anatolia. In Turkey, however, together with
Crypto-Armenians Hidden Armenians ( tr, Gizli Ermeniler) or crypto-Armenians ( hy, ծպտեալ հայեր, tsptyal hayer; tr, Kripto Ermeniler) is an umbrella term to describe Turkish citizens hiding their full or partial Armenian ancestry from the larger Turk ...
surfacing it has also given the Pontic community in Turkey more attention, estimates are up to 345,000


Remaining architecture and settlements

During their millennia-long presence on the Black Sea's southern coast, Pontic Greeks constructed a number of buildings, some of which still stand today. Many structures sit in ruins. Others, however, enjoy active use; one example is
Nakip Mosque The Molla Nakip Mosque is a mosque in Pazarkapi district of Trabzon, Turkey. History It was built in the 10th or 11th century, during Byzantine times as a church, and received its present name and function after the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman conques ...
in Trabzon, originally built as a Greek Orthodox church during the 900s or 1000s. Ancient Greeks reached and settled the Black Sea by the 700s BCE;
Sinope Sinope may refer to: *Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea, historically known as Sinope ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *Sinop Province * Sinope, Leicestershire, a hamlet in the Midlands of England *Sinope (mythology), in ...
was perhaps the earliest colony. According to the Pontic Greek historian
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
, Greeks from the existing colony of
Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
settled the Pontus region. Some walls from an early fortification stand in the modern Turkish city of
Sinop Sinop can refer to: * Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea ** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018 ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...
(renamed from Sinope). These fortifications may date back to early Greek colonization in the 600s BCE. During late Ottoman and recent Turkish times, the fortress housed a state prison. Between 281 BCE and 62 CE, the Mithridatic kings ruled the Pontos region and called it the
Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( grc-gre, Πόντος ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty (of Persian origin), which possibly may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemeni ...
. While the ruling dynasty was Persian in origin, many kings had Greek ancestry, as Pontic rulers often married
Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
nobility. Some of these Persian/Greek rulers were interred in the
Tombs of the kings of Pontus The Tombs of the kings of Pontus ( tr, Kral Kaya Mezarları), located in Amasya, northern Turkey, are rock-carved tombs of different sizes, forming the royal necropolis of the Pontic kings. The site was added to the tentative list in the cultura ...
. Their
necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...
is still visible in Amasya. One Pontic king,
Pharnaces I of Pontus Pharnaces I ( el, Φαρνάκης; lived 2nd century BC), fifth king of Pontus, was of Persian and Greek ancestry. He was the son of King Mithridates III of Pontus and his wife Laodice, whom he succeeded on the throne. Pharnaces had two sibling ...
, may have built
Giresun Castle Giresun Castle is a fortress built in the 2nd century BC in what is now Giresun Province, Turkey. History Giresun Castle was built on the order of Pharnaces I of Pontus (king of Kingdom of Pontus and son of Mithridates III of Pontus). Then, city ...
in the 100s BCE. There's also a chance it was built during medieval times. From the castle, the Black Sea and much of
Giresun Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. Etymology Giresun wa ...
are visible. Many other structures date back to Greek occupation in ancient times. Ancient Greeks inhabited
Giresun Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. Etymology Giresun wa ...
, then called Kerasous, from the 5th century BCE. During this time, they must also have used
Giresun Island 300px, Giresun Island from sky. 300px, Giresun_Castle.html"_;"title="Giresun_Island_from_Giresun_Castle">Giresun_Island_from_Giresun_Castle. Giresun_Island_(_tr.html" ;"title="Giresun_Castle..html" ;"title="Giresun_Castle.html" ;"title="Giresun ...
. The poet
Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...
mentioned this island in his best-known epic, the ''
Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason a ...
.'' Altars on the island date to the Classical or
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
period. Its use as a religious center continued after the rise of Christianity in the region. During Byzantine times, likely in the 400s or 500s, a monastic complex was built on the island, dedicated to either St Phocas of Sinope or
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
. It functioned both as a religious center and as a fortress. Many old Pontic Greek city-states remain in ruins. One is Athenae, an archaeological site near modern Pazar. It sat on the Black Sea coast and housed a temple to Athena. After Christianity spread to the Pontus region in Roman times, Pontic Greeks began constructing a number of churches, monasteries, and other religious buildings. The
Virgin Mary Monastery The Virgin Mary Monastery ( tr, Meryem Ana Manastırı) is a ruined monastery in the Giresun Province of Turkey. Built into a cave in the Pontic Mountains, the monastery sits high above ground, up a steep flight of stairs. The four-story buildin ...
in
Şebinkarahisar District Şebinkarahisar District is a district of Giresun Province in northeastern Turkey. It is inland from the Black Sea in the Giresun Mountains (Paryadres Mountains). The administrative seat is the town of Şebinkarahisar. Its area is . History Arch ...
, Giresun Province may be one of the oldest Greek Orthodox monasteries in the region; Turkish archaeologists suspect it may date to the 2nd century. The monastery is made of carved stone and built into a cave. As of the mid-2010s, it's open for tourism. Other religious buildings were constructed later. Three ruined monasteries lie in
Maçka Maçka ( el, Ματζούκα, Matzoúka, the "club"; Laz: მაჩხა ''Maçxa'') is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The name derives from the medieval Greek '' Matzouka'', which was one of the pro ...
, Trabzon Province: Panagias Soumela Monastery, Saint George Peristereotas Monastery, and
Vazelon Monastery Vazelon Monastery ( el, Μονή Βαζελώνος, Moni Vazelonos) is a ruin located in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It was built in 270 and is south of Trabzon. Justinian I, a ruler of the Byzantine Empire, ordered the monastery to be rep ...
. These were built during early Byzantine times. Vazelon Monastery, for example, was built around 270 CE, and it retained great political and societal importance until its abandonment in 1922/3. While St. George Monastery (also called Kuştul Monastery) and Vazelon are abandoned, Sumela is a prominent tourist attraction. Pontic Greeks also constructed a number of non-religious buildings during
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
times. In the 500s, for example, a castle was built in
Rize Rize (Greek language, Greek: ρίζα, Laz language, Laz: რიზინი, Georgian language, Georgian: რიზე, , Ottoman Turkish: ريزه) is the capital city of Rize Province in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Rize ...
on the order of
Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
. It was later expanded. The old fortress still stands today, serving tourists. Later, the Pontians built further churches and castles.
Balatlar Church Balatlar Church or Sinope Koimesis Church was built in A.D. 660 by the Byzantines as a rectangular basilica. The church is located in the northern province of Sinop, Turkey, on the shores of the Black Sea. All frescoes of Jesus, Mary, mother o ...
is a Byzantine church dating back to 660. It lies on the Black Sea coast. Despite vandalism and natural deterioration, the church still has old frescoes, which have been of interest to modern historians. The actual structure itself may date to Roman times. It likely had different uses over the centuries, potentially being a public bath and gymnasium before its use as a church. Pottery found at the site dates to the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
and
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
eras. There is also speculation that a piece of the
True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
was found at Balatlar Church; however, it's more likely that the materials found were actually the
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s of a saint or other holy person. Trabzon has at least three more late Byzantine churches that stand today. St. Anne Church, as the name suggests, was dedicated to
Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
, the mother of
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
. While the actual date of construction is uncertain, it was restored by the Byzantine emperors in 884 and 885. It had three
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
s and a tympanum over the door. Unlike many churches in Trabzon, there is no evidence of it being converted into a mosque following Ottoman conquest in 1461. Two other structures in Trabzon, built as churches in Byzantine or Trapezuntine times, are now functional mosques. The New Friday Mosque, for example, was originally the Hagios Eugenios Church dedicated to
Saint Eugenios of Trebizond Saint Eugenios ( el, Άγιος Ευγένιος) or Eugene was martyred under Diocletian and a cult devoted to him developed in Trebizond. His feast day is 21 January. Eugenios along with the martyrs Candidus, Valerian and Aquila was persecuted ...
. Another is
Fatih Mosque The large Fatih Mosque ( tr, Fatih Camii, "Conqueror's Mosque" in English) is an Ottoman mosque off Fevzi Paşa Caddesi in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. The original mosque was constructed between 1463 and 1470 on the site of the Ch ...
. It was originally the Panagia Chrysokephalos church, a cathedral in Trabzon. The name is fitting; means "conqueror" in both Ottoman and modern Turkish. Another church, Trabzon's Hagia Sophia, was perhaps built by
Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), w ...
. It was used as a mosque after Turkish conquest; the frescoes may have been covered for Muslim worship. Hagia Sophia underwent restoration work in the mid-20th century. After European invaders sacked Constantinople in 1204, the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
fractured. The Pontus region went into the hands of the Komnenos family, who ruled the new
Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
. During the Empire of Trebizond, many new structures were built. One is Kiz Castle in
Rize Province Rize Province ( tr, Rize ili) is a Provinces of Turkey, province of northeast Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon Province, Trabzon and Artvin Province, Artvin. The province of Erzurum Province, Erzurum is to the south. It was ...
. The castle sits on an islet just off the Black Sea coast. According to
Anthony Bryer Anthony Applemore Mornington Bryer (31 October 1937 – 22 October 2016) FSA FRHistS was a British historian of the Byzantine Empire and founder of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Birmingham. Bio ...
, a British
Byzantinist Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman Empire. T ...
, it was built in the 1200s or 1300s on the order of Trapezuntine rulers. Zilkale Castle is another fortress in Rize Province. According to the same historian, it may have been built by the
Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
for local Hemshin rulers. Yet another fortress, the Kov Castle in
Gümüşhane Province Gümüşhane Province ( tr, Gümüşhane ili ) is a province in northern Turkey, bordering Bayburt to the east, Trabzon to the north, Giresun and Erzincan to the west. It covers an area of 6,575 km2 and has a population of 129,618 in 2010. Th ...
, may have been built by Trapezuntine Emperor Alexios III. Alexios III, one of the last emperors under whom the
Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
flourished, built
Panagia Theoskepastos Monastery The Panagia Theoskepastos Monastery ( gr, Παναγία Θεοσκέπαστος, "Panagia the God-guarded"), today known in Turkish as Kızlar Monastery, is a former female monastery built during the Empire of Trebizond. It lies at the foot o ...
in the 1300s. It was an all-female monastery in Trabzon. The monastery may undergo restoration work to boost tourism. After
Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
lay siege to Trabzon in 1461, the Empire of Trebizond fell.Franz Babinger
"La date de la prise de Trébizonde par les Turcs (1461)"
''Revue des études byzantines'', 7 (1949), pp. 205–207
Many church buildings became mosques around this time, while others remained in the Greek Orthodox community. Pontic Greeks continued to live and build under Ottoman rule. For example, Pontians in Gümüşhane established the valley town of Santa (today called
Dumanlı Dumanlı ( pnt, Σάντα, Sanda or Santa) was formerly a mid-sized community in Gümüşhane Province, Turkey, close to its border with Trabzon Province. History Established in the 17th century by Greeks who fled the coast of Pontus in order t ...
) in the 1600s. Even today, many of the stone schools, houses, and churches built by Santa's Greek Orthodox residents still stand. They weren't divorced from Ottoman society, however; Pontic Greeks also contributed their labor to Ottoman construction projects. In 1610, Pontians built the Hacı Abdullah Wall in Giresun Province. The wall is long. Trabzon remained an important center of Pontic Greek society and culture throughout Ottoman times. A scholar named
Sevastos Kyminitis Sevastos Kiminitis or Sebastos Kyminites ( pnt, Σεβαστός Κυμινήτης) (1630-1703) was a Pontic Greek scholar who was born in a village close to Τrebizond, Pontus. He was principal of the Patriarchal Academy in Constantinople in t ...
founded the
Phrontisterion of Trapezous The Phrontisterion of Trapezous ( el, Φροντιστήριο Τραπεζούντος, "Trapezous College") was a Greek educational institution that operated from 1682/3 to 1921 in Trabzon (Gr. Τραπεζούς, ''Trapezous''), in the Ottoman ...
, a Greek school operating in Trabzon from the late 1600s to the early 1900s. It was an important center for Greek-language education across the whole Pontus region. Some students came from outside of Trabzon to learn there (one example being
Nikos Kapetanidis Nikos Kapetanidis ( pnt, Νίκος Καπετανίδης, 1889–1921, aged 32) was a Greek journalist and newspaper publisher. He was one of the notable Pontians hanged by Turkish nationalists serving under Mustafa Kemal. Life and career Kape ...
, who was born in Rize). After the
Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856 The Imperial Reform Edict ( ota, اصلاحات خط همايونى, ''Islâhat Hatt-ı Hümâyûnu''; Modern tr, Islâhat Fermânı) was a February 18, 1856 edict of the Ottoman government and part of the Tanzimat reforms. The decree from O ...
guaranteed more religious freedom and civic equality for the Ottoman Empire's Jews and Christians, new churches were constructed. One of these was the church at
Cape Jason Cape Jason ( tr, Yason Burnu; ( grc, Ιάσων or Ἰασώνιον, Iason or Iasonion; la, Iasonium or Jasonium) is a cape located at Çaytepe / Çaka (officially ''Aziziye'') villages, Perşembe (formerly Vona) district, Ordu Province, Turkey ...
in
Perşembe Perşembe ( tr, Perşembe,originated from Persian word "پنج شنبه(/pændʒʃænbɛ/)" meaning Thursday) (formerly ''Vona'', Βόνη in ancient Greek, also ''Heneti'', ჰენეთი in Georgian and Laz languages) is a town and district ...
, Ordu Province. Local Georgians and Greeks built this church in the 1800s; it remains today. Another was the small stone church in Çakrak, Giresun Province. Still another was Taşbaşı Church in Ordu, built in the 1800s; after the Greek Orthodox were expelled from Turkey, it saw some use as a prison. Many other less-notable churches remain throughout the Pontus region. Some of the old houses once belonging to Pontic Greeks still stand. For example, Konstantinos Theofylaktos, a wealthy Greek, had a mansion built for him in Trabzon. It now functions as
Trabzon Museum The Trabzon Museum ( tr, Trabzon Müzesi), also known as Kostaki Mansion (''Kostaki Konağı''), is a historic house museum with archeological and ethnographic exhibitions located in Trabzon, Turkey. History The mansion was built in the beginni ...
. Many structures have not survived to the present day. One example of this is
Saint Gregory of Nyssa Church, Trabzon Saint Gregory of Nyssa ( el, Εκκλησία Αγίου Γρηγορίου Νύσσης) was a church and monastery of Trabzon. It's believed the church was built around 1280-1297 by the wife of John III, Emperor of Trabzon. After 1665, St Gregor ...
, which was dynamited in the 1930s to make way for a new building.


Settlements

Some of the settlements historically inhabited by Pontian Greeks include (current official names in parenthesis): ;In Pontus proper : Amasea, Samsunda (Amisos), Aphene, Argyrion (Akdağmadeni), Argyropolis (Gümüşhane), Athina (Pazar),
Bafra Bafra is a district of Samsun Province of Turkey. It is a settlement located from the Black Sea, in the fertile delta of the Kızılırmak River. The Bafra Plain is famous in Turkey for its rich soil and high quality tobacco growing conditions. ...
, Comana Pontica (Gümenek), Etonia (Gümüşhacıköy),
Fatsa Fatsa is a town and a district of Ordu Province in the central Black Sea region of Turkey. Population from Fatsa is more than 115,000. Name The oldest recorded name of the town is Polemonion ( grc, Πολεμώνιον, Latinized as Polemonium), ...
, Galiana (Konaklar), Gemoura (Yomra),
Hopa Hopa ( Laz and , Hamshen ) is a city and district of Artvin Province in northeast Turkey. It is located on the eastern Turkish Black Sea coast about from the city of Artvin and 18 kilometres from the border with Georgia. Geography Hopa is on t ...
, Imera (Olucak), Kakatsis,
Kelkit Kelkit is a town and district of Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. According to the 2010 census, population of the district is 39,547 of which 13,784 live in the town of Kelkit. The district covers an area of , and the town ...
, Cerasus(Giresun), Kissa (Fındıklı), Kolonia (Şebinkarahisar), Nikopolis (Koyulhisar), Kotyora (Ordu), Kromni (Yağlıdere), Livera (Yazlık), Matsouka (Maçka), Meletios (Mesudiye), Myrsiphon (Merzifon), Mouzena (Aydınlar), Neocaesarea (Niksar), Ofis (Of), Oinoe (Ünye), Platana (Akçaabat), Rizounta (Rize), Santa (Dumanlı), Sinope (Sinop), Sourmena (Sürmene), Therme (Terme), i.e. the ancient of the Themiscyra, Evdokia (Tokat), Thoania (Tonya), Trebizond (Trabzon), Tripolis (Tirebolu), Cheriana (Şiran). ;Outside Pontus proper :
Adapazarı Adapazarı () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the central district of Sakarya Province. The province itself was originally named Adapazarı as well. Adapazarı is a part of the densely populated region of the country known as the Marmara Regi ...
, Palea (Balya), Baiberdon (Bayburt), Efchaneia (Çorum), Sebastia (Sivas), Theodosiopolis (Erzurum),
Erzincan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is ...
(see below on Eastern Anatolia Greeks) and in the so-called ''Russian Asia Minor'' (see
Batum Oblast Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
, Kars Oblast' and Caucasian Greeks) and the so-called ''Russian Trans-Caucasus'' or
Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
(see Černomore Guberniya, Kutais Guberniya, Tiflis Guberniya, Bathys Limni, Dioskourias (Sevastoupolis),
Gonia Gonia (Greek: ''Γωνιά'') is a village in the Rethymno regional unit in Crete, Greece, lying at an altitude of ca 222 m amsl, about 10 km southwest of the town of Rethymno. Gonia was the seat of the former municipality Nikiforos Fokas ...
, Phasis, Pytius and
Tsalka Tsalka ( ka, წალკა, tr , , or , az, Barmaqsiz) is a town and municipality center in southern Georgia's Kvemo Kartli region. Population The district had a population of 2,326. According to the 2014 census, 47% of its population is Ge ...
). ;In
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
and the northern
Azov Sea 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, ...
:
Chersonesos Chersonesus ( grc, Χερσόνησος, Khersónēsos; la, Chersonesus; modern Russian and Ukrainian: Херсоне́с, ''Khersones''; also rendered as ''Chersonese'', ''Chersonesos'', contracted in medieval Greek to Cherson Χερσών; ...
, Symbolon (Balaklava),
Kerkinitida Yevpatoria ( uk, Євпаторія, Yevpatoriia; russian: Евпатория, Yevpatoriya; crh, , , gr, Ευπατορία) is a city of regional significance in Western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative ...
,
Panticapaeum Panticapaeum ( grc-gre, Παντικάπαιον , from Scythian , "fish-path") was an ancient Greek city on the eastern shore of Crimea, which the Greeks called Taurica. The city lay on the western side of the Cimmerian Bosporus, and was found ...
, Soughdaia (Sudak),
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 ...
, Theodosia (Feodosiya). ;On the
Taman peninsula The Taman Peninsula (russian: Тама́нский полуо́стров, ''Tamanskiy poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia, which borders the Sea of Azov to the North, the Strait of Kerch to the West and the ...
and
Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...
,
Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai (russian: Ставропо́льский край, r=Stavropolsky kray, p=stəvrɐˈpolʲskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a Krais of Russia, krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North ...
(in particular
Essentuki Yessentuki ( rus, Ессентуки́, p=jɪsɪntʊˈkʲiˑ) is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the shadow of Mount Elbrus at the base of the Caucasus Mountains. The city serves as a railway station in the Mineralnye Vody—Kislov ...
) :
Germonassa 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 Se ...
, Gorgippa (Anapa),
Heraclea Pontica __NOTOC__ Heraclea Pontica (; gr, Ἡράκλεια Ποντική, Hērakleia Pontikē), known in Byzantine and later times as Pontoheraclea ( gr, Ποντοηράκλεια, Pontohērakleia), was an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asi ...
,
Phanagoria Phanagoria ( grc, Φαναγόρεια, Phanagóreia; russian: Фанагория, translit=Fanagoriya) was the largest ancient Greek city on the Taman peninsula, spread over two plateaus along the eastern shore of the Cimmerian Bosporus. The ci ...
. ;On the southwestern coast of Ukraine and the Eastern
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
: Antiphilos, Apollonia (Sozopol), Germonakris,
Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...
, Mesembria (Nesebar), Nikonis, Odessos (Varna),
Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...
, Tira.


Eastern Anatolia Greeks

Ethnic Greeks indigenous to the high plateau of
Eastern Anatolia The Eastern Anatolia Region ('' tr, Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Se ...
to the immediate south of the boundaries of the
Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
– essentially the northern portion of the former Ottoman Vilayet of Erzurum between
Erzinjan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city i ...
and
Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...
province, that is the western half of the Armenian Highlands – are sometimes differentiated from both Pontic Greeks proper and Caucasian Greeks. These Greeks pre-date the refugees and migrants who left their homelands in the
Pontic Alps The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps ( Turkish: ''Kuzey Anadolu Dağları'', meaning North Anatolian Mountains) form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the ''Parhar Mountains'' in the local Turkish and Pontic Gr ...
and moved onto the Eastern Anatolian plateau after the fall of the Empire of Trebizond in 1461. They were mainly the descendants of Greek farmers, soldiers, state officials and traders, who settled in Erzurum province in the late Roman and
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
period. Unlike the thoroughly Hellenized areas of the western and central Black Sea coast and the Pontic Alps, the Erzinjan and Erzerum regions were primarily Turkish- and Armenian-speaking, with Greeks forming only a small minority of the population. The Greeks of this region were consequently more exposed to Turkish and Armenian cultural influences than those of Pontus proper, and also more likely to have a strong command of the Turkish language, particular since the areas they inhabited had also been part of the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...
and other pre-Ottoman Turkish powers in Central and Eastern Anatolia. Many are also known to have "turned Turk" in both the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, and consequently to have assimilated into Turkish society or reverted to Christian Orthodoxy in the 19th century. Erzurum province was invaded and occupied by the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
several times in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and large numbers of Eastern Anatolia Greeks are known to have collaborated with the Russians in these campaigns, particularly that of the 1828–29
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
, alongside Pontic Greeks inhabiting areas to the immediate north of Erzinjan and Erzurum. As with Pontic Greeks proper, those Eastern Anatolia Greeks who migrated eastwards into Kars province,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
,
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
and
Southern Russia Southern Russia or the South of Russia (russian: Юг России, ''Yug Rossii'') is a colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia generally covering the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasian Federal ...
between the early Ottoman period and 1829 generally assimilated into the branch of Pontic Greeks usually called Caucasian Greeks. Those who remained and retained their Greek identity into the early 20th century were either deported to the
Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...
as part of the
exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...
in 1923-4 or massacred in the Greek genocide that occurred after the larger
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
in the same part of Anatolia.


Culture

The culture of Pontus has been strongly influenced by the topography of its different regions. In commercial cities like Trebizond,
Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun reco ...
da, Kerasounda, and Sinopi upper-level education and arts flourished under the protection of a cosmopolitan middle class. In the inland cities such as Argyroupolis, the economy was based upon
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
, thus creating an economic and cultural gap between the developed urban ports and the rural centers which lay upon the valleys and plains extending from the base of the Pontic alps.


Language

Pontic's linguistic lineage stems from
Ionic Greek Ionic Greek ( grc, Ἑλληνικὴ Ἰωνική, Hellēnikē Iōnikē) was a subdialect of the Attic–Ionic or Eastern dialect group of Ancient Greek. History The Ionic dialect appears to have originally spread from the Greek mainland ac ...
via
Koine Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
and
Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...
with many archaisms and contains
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...
s from Turkish and to a lesser extent,
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and various
Caucasian languages The Caucasian languages comprise a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than ten million people in and around the Caucasus Mountains, which lie between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Linguistic comparison allows th ...
.


Education

The rich cultural activity of Pontian Greeks is witnessed by the number of educational institutions, churches, and
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in the region. These include the
Phrontisterion of Trapezous The Phrontisterion of Trapezous ( el, Φροντιστήριο Τραπεζούντος, "Trapezous College") was a Greek educational institution that operated from 1682/3 to 1921 in Trabzon (Gr. Τραπεζούς, ''Trapezous''), in the Ottoman ...
that operated from 1682/3 to 1921 and provided a major impetus for the rapid expansion of Greek education throughout the region. The building of this institution still remains the most impressive Pontic Greek monument in the city. Another well known institution was the Argyroupolis, built in 1682 and 1722 respectively, 38 highschools in the Sinopi region, 39 highschools in the Kerasounda region, a plethora of churches and monasteries, most notable of which are the St. Eugenios and
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
churches of Trapezeus, the monasteries of St. George and St. Ioannes Vazelonos, and arguably the most famous and highly regarded of all, the monastery of Panagia Soumela. During the 19th century hundreds of schools were constructed by Pontic Greek communities in the Trebizond Vilayet, giving the region one of the highest literacy rates in the Ottoman Empire. The Greeks of Caykara, who according to Ottoman tax records converted to Islam during the 17th century, were also recognized for their educational facilities. Teachers from the Of-valley provided education for thousands of Anatolian Sunni and Sufi students in home schools and small
madrassas Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , Plural, pl. , ) is the Arabs, Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. T ...
. Some of these schools taught Pontic Greek alongside Arabic (and to a lesser extent Persian or Ottoman Turkish as well). Although Atatürk banned these madrassas during the early republican period, some of them remained functioning until the second half of the 20th century because of their remote location. The effects of this educational heritage continue to this day, with many prominent religious figures, scientists and politicians coming from the areas influenced by the Naqshbandi Sufi orders of Pontic Greek extraction in Of, Caykara and Rize, among them president Erdogan, whose family originates from the village of Potamia.


Music

Pontian music retains elements of the musical traditions of
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
,
Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
, and the Caucasus (especially from the region of
Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...
). Possibly there is an underlying influence from the native peoples who lived in the area before the
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
as well, but this is not clearly established. Musical styles, like language patterns and other cultural traits, were influenced by the topography of Pontos. The mountains and rivers of the area impeded communication between Pontian Greek communities and caused them to develop in different ways. Also significant in the shaping of Pontian music was the proximity of various non-Greek peoples on the fringes of the Pontic area. For this reason we see that musical style of the east Pontos has significant differences from that of the west or southwest Pontos. The Pontian music of Kars, for example, shows a clear influence from the music of the Caucasus and elements from other parts of
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. The music and dances of Turks from Black Sea region are very similar to Greek Pontic and some songs and melodies are common. Except for certain
lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethin ...
s and
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
s, this music is played primarily to be danced to. An important part of Pontic music is the
Acritic songs The Acritic songs ( "frontiersmen songs") are the epic poems that emerged in the Byzantine Empire probably around the ninth century. The songs celebrated the exploits of the Akritai, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzantin ...
, heroic or
epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...
set to music that emerged in the Byzantine Empire, probably in the 9th century. These songs celebrated the exploits of the
Akritai The ''Akritai'' ( el, , singular: ''Akritēs'', ) is a term used in the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries to denote the frontier soldiers guarding the Empire's eastern border, facing the Muslim states of the Middle East. Their exploits, ...
, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire. The most popular instrument in the Pontian musical collection is the kemenche or lyra, which is related closely with other bowed musical instruments of the medieval West, like the
Kit violin The pochette is a small stringed instrument of the bowed variety. It is essentially a very small violin-like wood instrument designed to fit in a pocket, hence its common name, the "pochette" (French for ''small pocket''). Also known as a pocket ...
and
Rebec The rebec (sometimes rebecha, rebeckha, and other spellings, pronounced or ) is a bowed stringed instrument of the Medieval era and the early Renaissance. In its most common form, it has a narrow boat-shaped body and one to five strings. Origi ...
. Also important are other instruments such as the Angion or
Tulum Tulum (, yua, Tulu'um) is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribb ...
(a type of
Bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...
), the
davul The davul, dhol, tapan, atabal or tabl is a large double-headed drum that is played with mallets. It has many names depending on the country and region. These drums are commonly used in the music of the Middle East and the Balkans. These drums ...
, a type of drum, the Shiliavrin, and the Kaval or Ghaval (a flute-like pipe). The
zurna The zurna (Armenian language, Armenian: զուռնա zuṙna; Classical Armenian, Old Armenian: սուռնայ suṙnay; Albanian language, Albanian: surle/surla; Persian language, Persian: karna/Kornay/surnay; Macedonian language, Macedonian: з ...
existed in several versions which varied from region to region, with the style from Bafra sounding differently due to its bigger size. The Violin was very popular in the Bafra region and all throughout west Pontos. The
Kemane Kemane ( Macedonian: ќемане, ; sr, ћемане) is a bowed string instrument traditionally used in the Balkans and Anatolia. It is the Macedonian and southern Serbian version of the kemenche, it is very similar to the violin or viola and r ...
, an instrument closely related to the one of Cappadocia, was highly popular in southwest Pontos and with the Pontian Greeks who lived in
Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
. Finally worth mentioning are the Defi (a type of
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
), Outi and in the region of Kars, the
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
and
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
. Popular singers of Pontic music include
Stelios Kazantzidis Stelios Kazantzidis (Greek: Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης; 29 August 1931 – 14 September 2001) was one of the most prominent Greek singers. A leading singer of Greek popular music, or Laïkó, he collaborated with many of Greece's fore ...
, Chrysanthos Theodoridis, Stathis Nikolaidis, Theodoros Pavlidis, Giannis Tsitiridis, and Pela Nikolaidou.


Dance

Pontian dance retains aspects of
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
dance styles. The dances called Horoi/Choroi ( el, Χοροί), singular
Horos A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other ty ...
/Choros (Chorus) ( el, Χορός), meaning literally "Dance" in both Ancient Pontian and Modern Greek languages, are circular in nature and each is characterized by distinct short steps. A unique aspect of Pontian dance is the tremoulo ( el, Τρέμουλο), which is a fast shaking of the upper torso by a turning of the back on its axis. Like other Greek dances, they are danced in a line and the dancers form a circle. Pontian dances also resemble Persian and Middle Eastern dances because they are not led by a single dancer. The most renowned Pontian dances are
Tik (dance) Horon ( pnt, χορόν, khorón) is a traditional folk dance from Pontus or Eastern Black Sea Region in Turkey. Name Etymology The term ''horon'' derives from Greek ''choros'' ( el, χορός, khorós), which means "dance." The earliest ins ...
,
Serra Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil *Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *Ampar ...
, Maheria or Pyrecheios,
Kotsari Kochari (, , , , ) is a folk dance originating in the Armenian Highlands. It is performed today by Armenians, while variants are performed by Assyrians, Azerbaijanis (yalli, uchayag, and tello), Kurds (dilan, delîlo, and sêxanî), and Pontic ...
and
Omal The Omal (also called ''Duz Horon'' or ''Flat Horon'') was one of the first Pontic Greeks, Pontic Greek dances to be developed from the region of Pontus (region), Pontos. In the Pontic Greek, Pontic language, means "regular" or "smooth." It is a ...
. Other, less common, dances include
Letsina Letsina ( pnt, Λετσίνα), also called Letsina Kars, is a Pontic Greek dance. Pontian refugees from Turkey brought the dance to Greece. The Letsina also exists in the Caucasus region. The dance comes from eastern Pontus, particularly Kars Pro ...
,
Dipat Dipat is a Greek spiritual dance. It is the second-most popular Pontian dance, behind only the Horon. See also *Greek dances *Greek music The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its History of Greece, history. Greek music separates ...
,
Podaraki Podaraki (Pontic Greek: ) is a Greek dancing song from the region of Pontos. The dance dates to the 10th century. It is now danced in modern-day Turkey as well as the northern Thrace. The dance is called Podaraki (meaning "small foot" in Greek) ...
, and
Atsiapat Atsiapat (), also spelt atsapat (), is the first in a sequence of three Greek traditional male dances performed in the region of Pontus, as well as by refugees of Pontos. Atsapat is characterized by short steps and exaggerated movements that resem ...
.


Sport

Pontic Greek history with organised sports began with extra-curricular activities offered by educational institutions. The students would establish athletics clubs providing the Pontic Greek youth with an opportunity to participate in organised sporting competition. The Hellenic Athletic Club,
Pontus Merzifounta Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, founded in 1903 was one such example formed by students attending
Anatolia College Anatolia College (Greek: Κολλέγιο Ανατόλια, , also known as the American College (Greek: Αμερικάνικο Κολλέγιο, ), is a private, non-profit, educational institution located in Pylaia, a suburb of Thessaloniki, G ...
in Merzifon near
Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th e ...
. The college's forced closure in 1921 by the Turkish government resulted in the schools relocation to Greece in 1924, along with much of the Greek population of Asia Minor in the aftermath of genocide and a subsequent treaty that agreed upon a population exchange between Greece and Turkey. This resulted in the establishment of Pontic and Anatolian Greek sporting clubs in Greece, of whom football is the sport in which they are most commonly associated. Today a number of these clubs still compete; some at a professional and intercontinental level. Such as: *
Apollon Pontou FC Apollon Pontus Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Πόντου) is a Greek professional football club based in Kalamaria, Thessaloniki, Greece. The club currently competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league ...
* AE Pontion Verias * AO Ellas Pontion * AE Ponton Evmirou * AE Ponton Vatalakkou * AEP Kozanis * Pontikos Neas Santas' Outside of Greece, due to the widespread Pontic Greek diaspora,
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
clubs also exist. In Australia, the
Pontian Eagles SC Pontian may refer to: * Pope Pontian (died 235), 3rd-century Catholic Pope * Pontian Greeks, a group of ethnic Greeks traditionally from the Pontus and Pontic Mountains regions in northern Turkey * Pontian Islands, a group of islands on the coast o ...
are a semi-professional team based in
Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
and in
Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, FC Pontos have an academy relationship with PAOK FC. Pontic Greeks have also contributed to sporting successes internationally, not limited to but mostly representing Greece, with several team members a part of sports triumphs in major international basketball (
2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...
,
Eurobasket 2005 The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as Europe qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, giving a berth ...
) and football tournaments (
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
). Champion individuals of Pontic Greek origin have also emerged in World Championship and
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
levels of competition for athletics (
Katerina Stefanidi Katerina Stefanidi (Greek: Κατερίνα Στεφανίδη; born 4 February 1990) is a Greek pole vaulter. She won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a jump of 4.85 meters and has also competed at the 2012 London and the 2020 Tokyo ...
,
Voula Patoulidou Paraskevi ("Voula") Patoulidou ( el, Παρασκευή "Βούλα" Πατουλίδου, born 29 March 1965) is a Greek former athlete and politician. Born in Tripotamo (part of Florina prefecture), Patoulidou throughout her athletics career c ...
), gymnastics (
Ioannis Melissanidis Ioannis Melissanidis ( el, Ιωάννης Μελισσανίδης; born 27 March 1977) is a retired Greek artistic gymnast and the 1996 Olympic champion on the floor exercise. He was also the first Greek gymnast ever to medal at the World Champ ...
), diving (
Nikolaos Siranidis Nikolaos Siranidis (Greek: Νικόλαος Σιρανίδης; born 26 February 1976) is a Greek diver who competed in the synchronised 3 metre springboard competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics. After a bizarre event where the Chinese, Russi ...
), taekwondo (
Alexandros Nikolaidis Alexandros Nikolaidis (17 October 1979 – 14 October 2022) was a Greek taekwondo athlete. He was named the 2008 Greek Male Athlete of the Year. Initially the home favorite, he won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics held in At ...
) and kick-boxing (
Mike Zambidis Michalis "Iron Mike" Zambidis ( Greek: Μιχάλης Ζαμπίδης; born 15 July 1980) is a professional Greek kickboxer and martial artist. He is an 18-time World Champion, including former World version W5, SUPERKOMBAT and in a series of ...
,
Stan Longinidis Stan "The Man" Longinidis (born 25 June 1965) is an Australian retired heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time world kickboxing champion. Born in Melbourne of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to win world titles in four differen ...
).


Military tradition

On 19 May of each year, the
Evzonoi Evzonoi ( el, Εύζωνοι, , before 1927: Ματσίκοβο - ''Matsikovo'', , mk, Мачуково, bg, Мачуково, ''Machukovo'') is a town in Kilkis regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. The main border crossing between Greec ...
of the Greek Army Presidential Guard ceremonial unit wear the traditional black Pontic uniform to commemorate the
Pontic genocide The Greek genocide (, ''Genoktonia ton Ellinon''), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christian Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia which was carried out mainly during World War I and its aftermath (1914 ...
.


Cuisine

Pontic cuisine specialities include: * ''Felia'' (), Pontian French toast * ''Kinteata'' (),
nettle soup Nettle soup is a traditional soup prepared from stinging nettles. Nettle soup is eaten mainly during spring and early summer, when young nettle buds are collected. Today, nettle soup is mostly eaten in Scandinavia, Iran, Ireland, and Eastern Eur ...
* ''Otía'' ( pnt) (), fried dessert * ''
Pirozhki Pirozhki ( rus, пирожки́, r=pirožkí, p=pʲɪrɐʂˈkʲi, plural form of ; uk, пиріжки, ''pyrizhky'') are Russian and Ukrainian baked or fried yeast-leavened boat-shaped buns with a variety of fillings. Pirozhki are a popular stre ...
'' () * '' Pishía'' ( pnt) (), Pontian boortsog *
Pita Pita ( or ) or pitta (British English), is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, als ...
, flatbread * ''Sousamópita'' () * ''Tanoménon sorvá'' or ''Tanofái'' (), soup made with onions and yogurt * ''Tsirichtá'' ( pnt) (), type of
loukoumades Lokma, also known by their Greek name, loukoumades, are pastries made of leavened and deep fried dough balls, soaked in syrup or honey, sometimes coated with cinnamon or other ingredients. The dish was described as early as the 13th century by a ...
* '' Siron'' ( pnt) (), pasta * '' Varenika'' (), type of ravioli * ''Sourva'', wheat or barley porridge * ''Tan'', drink *''Stupa'' or ''stupa torshi'', pickled vegetables *
Pilav Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...
, rice dish. In coastal Pontus, it was sometimes made with mussels. Other versions included pilav with saffron, chicken, or anchovies. *
Dolma Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with whol ...
des, stuffed leaf dish *
Kibbeh Kibbeh (, also kubba and other spellings; ar, كبة, kibba; tr, içli köfte) is a family of dishes based on spiced ground meat, onions, and grain, popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. In Levantine cuisine, kibbeh is usually made by pounding ...
made with lamb and/or beef * ''Briami'', roasted vegetables * '' Havitz'' ( pnt) (), porridge *'' Perek'' (), pie similar to the Greek
tiropita Tiropita or tyropita (Greek: τυρóπιτα, "cheese-pie") is a Greek pastry made with layers of buttered phyllo and filled with a cheese-egg mixture. It is served either in an individual-size free-form wrapped shape, or as a larger pie that is ...
*''
Avgolemono Avgolemono ( el, αυγολέμονο or literally egg–lemon) is a family of sauces and soups made with egg yolk and lemon juice mixed with broth, heated until they thicken. They are found in Greek, Arab, Sephardic Jewish, Turkish, Balkan a ...
'', egg-lemon soup *
Kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...
, roasted meat *'' Mantía'' (), dumplings *'' Lalággia'' (), pancakes *''Foustoron'', type of
omelette In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives, ve ...
*''Mavra laxana'', cabbage soup *''Lavashia'' (), bread similar to Armenian
lavash Lavash ( hy, լավաշ) is a thin flatbread usually leavened, traditionally baked in a tandoor (''tonir'') or on a ''sajj'', and common to the cuisines of South Caucasus, Western Asia, and the areas surrounding the Caspian Sea. Lavash is one ...
*''Tsatsoupel'', a condiment similar to
salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...
made from
quince The quince (; ''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' in the Malinae subtribe (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits) of the Rosaceae family (biology), family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard ...
, tomato, chili peppers, bell peppers, and a variety of spices *, stuffed eggplant; shared with Turkish cuisine


Pontic Greeks in popular culture

*In the 1984 movie ''
Voyage to Cythera ''Voyage to Cythera'' ( el, Ταξίδι στα Κύθηρα, translit. ''Taxidi sta Kythira'') is a 1984 Greek film directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos. It was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize and ...
'' (Ταξίδι στα Κύθηρα), directed by
Theodoros Angelopoulos Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (; ; 27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely re ...
, the protagonist is a Pontian Greek who was deported to the Soviet Union after the
Greek civil war The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
. He returns to Greece after 32 years. *In his 1998 movie ''
From the Edge of the City ''From the Edge of the City'' () is a 1998 Greek film directed by Constantinos Giannaris. It was Greece's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but did not manage to receive a nomination. Plot A company of yo ...
'' (''Από την άκρη της πόλης''), the film director
Constantinos Giannaris Constantine Giannaris, also Constantinos Giannaris ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γιάνναρης; born 1959), is a Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic g ...
describes the life of a young "Russian Pontian" from Kazakhstan in the prostitution underworld of Athens. *In the 1999 movie ''Soil and Water'' (Χώμα και νερό), one of the characters is a Pontian Greek from Georgia who works as a woman's trafficker for a strip club. * In the 2000 memoir '' Not Even My Name: From a Death March in Turkey to a New Home in America, A Young Girl's True Story of Genocide and Survival'' by
Thea Halo Thea Halo (born 1941) is an American writer and painter of Assyrian and Pontic Greek heritage. Born in New York City, she is the 8th child of Abraham and Sano Halo (original name Euthemia "Themia", Pontic Greek: Ευθυμία). Thea began writ ...
, life in the Pontus region is described by her mother Sano Halo before and after the Greek genocide. *In the 2000 movie ''The Very Poor, Inc.'' (Πάμπτωχοι Α.Ε.), one of the characters is a Pontian Greek from the Soviet Union named Thymios Hloridis. A mathematician with a specialty in
chaos theory Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics focused on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and were once thought to have co ...
, Hloridis is forced to make a living selling illegal
cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
s in front of the stock-market. *In the 2002 novel ''
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
'' by Jeffrey Eugenides, one of the side characters is a Pontian-American career criminal named Zizmo. *In the 2003 Turkish movie ''
Waiting for the Clouds ''Waiting for the Clouds'' (Bulutları Beklerken) is a film from 2003, Turkey. The film was directed by Yeşim Ustaoğlu. It is based on a novel by Georgios Andreadis titled ''Tamama''. The film was produced by Setarh Farsi, Helge Albers and Behr ...
'' (Bulutlari Beklerken, Περιμένοντας τα σύννεφα), a Pontian Greek woman who didn't leave Pontus as a child with her brother during the
population exchange Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration, often imposed by state policy or international authority and most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion but also due to economic development. Banishment or exile is a ...
, meets Thanasis, a Pontian Greek man from the Soviet Union, who helps her to find her brother in Greece. The movie makes some references to the Pontic genocide. *In the 2008 short movie '' Pontos'',Pontos (2008)
imdb.com
written, produced, and directed by Peter Stefanidis, he aims to capture a small part of the genocide from the perspective of its two central characters, played by Lee Mason (Kemal) and Ross Black (Pantzo). *A 2012 poetry collection, ''The Black Sea'' by
Stephanos Papadopoulos Stephanos Papadopoulos (born 1976) is a Greek-American poet. Biography Stephanos Papadopoulos was born in North Carolina and raised in Paris and Athens. He is the author of three poetry collections: ''The Black Sea'' (November 2012, Sheep Meadow ...
, depicts the imagined trials and voyages of the Pontic Greek exodus from the region. It was published by Sheep Meadow Press.


Notable Pontian Greeks


Ancient

*
Diogenes of Sinope Diogenes ( ; grc, Διογένης, Diogénēs ), also known as Diogenes the Cynic (, ) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy). He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea ...
*
Bion of Borysthenes Bion of Borysthenes ( el, Βίων Βορυσθενίτης, ''gen''.: Βίωνος;  BC) was a Greek philosopher. After being sold into slavery, and then released, he moved to Athens, where he studied in almost every school of philosophy. It ...
*
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
*
Philetaerus Philetaerus (; grc, Φιλέταιρος, ''Philétairos'', c. 343 –263 BC) was the founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon in Anatolia. Early life and career under Lysimachus Philetaerus was born in Tieium (Greek: ''Tieion''), a small ...
(ca. 343 BC–263 BC) *
Mithradates VI Eupator Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...
*
Marcion of Sinope Marcion of Sinope (; grc, Μαρκίων ; ) was an early Christian theologian in early Christianity. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ who was an entirely new, alien god, distinct from the vengeful God of Israel who had created ...
*
Aquila of Sinope Aquila (Hebrew: עֲקִילַס ''ʿăqīlas'', fl. 130 AD) of Sinope (modern-day Sinop, Turkey; la, Aquila Ponticus) was a translator of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, a proselyte, and disciple of Rabbi Akiva. Relationship to Onkelos Opinions d ...
*
Evagrius Ponticus Evagrius Ponticus ( grc-gre, Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Georgian: ევაგრე ქართველი), also called Evagrius the Solitary (345–399 AD), was a Christian monk and ascetic from Heraclea, a city on the coast of ...


Medieval

*
Alexios II of Trebizond Alexios II Megas Komnenos ( el, Αλέξιος Μέγας Κομνηνός , translit=Alexios Megas Komnēnos; Sept./Dec. 1282 – 3 May 1330), was Emperor of Empire of Trebizond, Trebizond from 1297 to 1330. He was the elder son of John II of Treb ...
* Ecumenical Patriarch John VIII * Ecumenical Patriarch Maximus V *
Michael Panaretos Michael Panaretos ( el, ) (c. 1320 – c. 1390) was an official of the Trapezuntine empire and a Greek historian. His sole surviving work is a chronicle of the Trapezuntine empire of Alexios I Komnenos and his successors. This chronicle not only pr ...
*
George Amiroutzes George Amiroutzes (; 1400–1470) was a Pontic Greek Renaissance scholar, philosopher and civil servant of the late Byzantine era. He was praised and respected for his outstanding knowledge, not only of theology and philosophy, but also of the nat ...
*
Gregory Choniades Gregory Chioniades ( el, Γρηγόριος Χιονιάδης, Grēgorios Chioniadēs; c. 1240 – c. 1320) was a Byzantine Greek astronomer. He traveled to Persia, where he learned Persian mathematical and astronomical science, which he introduc ...
*
George of Trebizond George of Trebizond ( el, Γεώργιος Τραπεζούντιος; 1395–1486) was a Byzantine Greek philosopher, scholar, and humanist. Life He was born on the Greek island of Crete (then a Venetian colony known as the Kingdom of Candia), an ...
*
Basilios Bessarion Bessarion ( el, Βησσαρίων; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called great revival of letter ...


Modern

*
Ioannis Amanatidis Ioannis Amanatidis ( el, Ιωάννης Αμανατίδης, ; born 3 December 1981) is a Greek football manager and former player. As a player, Amanatidis played as a striker and winger, and was active professionally in Germany. He also rep ...
*
George Andreadis George Andreadis ( el, Γιώργος Ανδρεάδης; 1936 – December 30, 2015) was a Greek novelist of Pontic Greek descent. He was born in the refugee quarters of Kalamaria on the outskirts of Thessaloniki. His family had originally migra ...
*
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Diana Anphimiadi Diana Anphimiadi (, also Romanized ''Anpimiadi, Anfimiadi''; born 1982) is a Georgian poet, journalist, publicist, linguist and teacher. Early life Anphimiadi was born in Tbilisi in 1982. She has Pontic Greek ancestry. She attended Ivane Javakhish ...
*
Antonis Antoniadis Antonis Antoniadis (Greek: Αντώνης Αντωνιάδης, born 25 May 1946) is a former Greek footballer. He scored 243 goals during his 22-years long career. He started his career in 1964 playing for Aspida Xanthi before moving to Pana ...
*
Joannis Avramidis Joannis Avramidis ( el, Iωάννης Aβραμίδης; born 23 September 1922 – 16 January 2016) was a contemporary Greek-Austrian sculptor. He was born in Batumi, Soviet Union to a family of Pontic Greeks. He began studying painting at t ...
*
Konstantin Bazelyuk Konstantin Sergeyevich Bazelyuk (russian: Константин Сергеевич Базелюк; born 12 April 1993) is a Russian football forward. He plays for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. Career Club Born in Krasnodar Krai to a Russian father a ...
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Georges Candilis Georges Candilis ( el, Γεώργιος Κανδύλης; 29 March 1913 – 10 May 1995) was a Greek-French architect and urbanist. Biography Born in Azerbaijan, he moved to Greece and graduated from the Polytechnic School of Athens between 19 ...
* Alexander Deligiannidis *
Lefter Küçükandonyadis , ''Lefteris Antoniadis''; 22 December 1925 – 13 January 2012) was a Turkish professional footballer of Greek descent, who played as a forward. He is often recognized as one of the greatest strikers to play for Fenerbahçe and Turkey. Having won ...
*
Alex Dimitriades Alex Dimitriades (born 28 December 1973) is an Australian actor and DJ. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Nick Polides in the 1993 romantic comedy film '' The Heartbreak Kid'', and Nick Poulos in the 1994 television teen drama spin-off ' ...
*
Odysseas Dimitriadis Odysseas Dimitriadis (7 July 1908 – 28 April 2005) was a Georgia (country), Georgian of Greek descent and Soviet Union, Soviet classical music conductor. During his 70-year career, Odysseas had conducted a number of the world's leading orchestras, ...
*
Ioannis Fetfatzidis Giannis Fetfatzidis ( el, Γιάννης Φετφατζίδης; born 21 December 1990) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for Italian club SPAL. Primarily a winger, Fetfatzidis is praised for his dribbling skills, his pac ...
*
Adonis Georgiadis Spyridon-Adonis Georgiadis ( el, Σπυρίδων-Άδωνις Γεωργιάδης; born 6 November 1972), better known as Adonis Georgiadis, is a Greek right-wing populist politician, telemarketer and publisher. A former member of the Popular O ...
*
Georgios Georgiadis (footballer, born 1972) Georgios Georgiadis ( el, Γεώργιος Γεωργιάδης, born 8 March 1972) is a Greek former professional footballer, now a football coach. He made 61 appearances for the Greece national football team, and played for several Greek club ...
* Georgios Georgiadis (footballer, born 1987) *
George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (; rus, Гео́ргий Ива́нович Гурджи́ев, r=Geórgy Ivánovich Gurdzhíev, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪd͡ʑ ɡʊrd͡ʐˈʐɨ(j)ɪf; hy, Գեորգի Իվանովիչ Գյուրջիև; c. 1 ...
*
Nikos Kapetanidis Nikos Kapetanidis ( pnt, Νίκος Καπετανίδης, 1889–1921, aged 32) was a Greek journalist and newspaper publisher. He was one of the notable Pontians hanged by Turkish nationalists serving under Mustafa Kemal. Life and career Kape ...
*
Michael Katsidis Michael Alan Katsidis ( ; el, Μιχάλης Κατσίδης; born 15 August 1980) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO interim lightweight title twice between 2007 and 2010, and challeng ...
*
Stelios Kazantzidis Stelios Kazantzidis (Greek: Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης; 29 August 1931 – 14 September 2001) was one of the most prominent Greek singers. A leading singer of Greek popular music, or Laïkó, he collaborated with many of Greece's fore ...
*
Yevhen Khacheridi Yevhen Hryhorovych Khacheridi ( uk, Євген Григорович Хачеріді, el, Ευγένιος Χατσερίδης, ''Evgenios Chatseridis''; born 28 July 1987) is a Ukrainian footballer. Club career Dynamo Kyiv In 2010 he moved ...
*
Matthaios Kofidis Matthaios Kofidis ( el, Ματθαίος Κωφίδης, 22 March 1855 – 1921) was an Ottoman Greek businessman, historian and a politician, who was a member of the Ottoman Parliament. He was elected in three successive periods from 1908 to 1 ...
*
Savvas Kofidis Savvas Kofidis ( el, Σάββας Κωφίδης; born 5 February 1961) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. Career Born in modern-day Kazakhstan to Pontic Greek parents, he started his career in Iraklis, debuting on 18 J ...
*
Venetia Kotta Venetia Kotta (; 1897 or 1901 – 1945) was an archaeologist, museum curator, and Byzantine historian from Sampsunta in the former Ottoman Empire. Biography and historical background Venetia Kotta was born in 1897 or 1901 in Sampsunta, then par ...
*
Arkhip Kuindzhi Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi (; rus, Архи́п Ива́нович Куи́нджи ; ; 27 January 1841 – 24 July 1910) was a Ukrainian Landscape art, landscape Painting, painter active in the Russian Empire, of Pontic Greeks, Pontic Greek des ...
*
Filon Ktenidis Filon Ktenidis (Φίλων Κτενίδης; 1889 – 13 July 1963) was a Pontic Greek playwright, accountant, journalist, medical doctor and the founder of Panagia Soumela in Kastania, Vermiou in Greece. Biography Early life and education Bor ...
*
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*
Angeliki Laiou Angeliki E. Laiou ( el, Αγγελική Λαΐου; Athens, 6 April 1941 – Boston, 11 December 2008) was a Greek-American Byzantinist and politician. She taught at the University of Louisiana, Harvard University, Brandeis University, and Rutgers ...
*
Yuri Lodygin Yuri Vladimirovich Lodygin (russian: Юрий Владимирович Лодыгин, el, Γιούρι Λοντίγκιν; born 26 May 1990) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Super League club Panathinaikos. A ...
*
Stan Longinidis Stan "The Man" Longinidis (born 25 June 1965) is an Australian retired heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time world kickboxing champion. Born in Melbourne of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to win world titles in four differen ...
*
Takis Loukanidis Takis Loukanidis ( el, Τάκης Λουκανίδης, 25 September 1937 – 11 January 2018) was a Greek footballer of the 1950s–60s. Career Born in Paranesti, a village in the broader area of Drama, Loukanidis' father was killed by Bulgari ...
*
Dimitris Melissanidis Dimitris Melissanidis (Greek: Δημήτρης Μελισσανίδης; born 8 March 1951) is a Greek business shipping and oil tycoon who is one of Greece's most successful businessmen. He is the current owner of AEK Athens Football Club. He ...
*
Ioannis Melissanidis Ioannis Melissanidis ( el, Ιωάννης Μελισσανίδης; born 27 March 1977) is a retired Greek artistic gymnast and the 1996 Olympic champion on the floor exercise. He was also the first Greek gymnast ever to medal at the World Champ ...
*
Kostas Nestoridis Kostas Nestoridis ( el, Κώστας Νεστορίδης, born 15 March 1930) is a Greek former professional footballer, who played as a forward and a former manager. He is amongst the best players in the history of AEK Athens and one of the gr ...
*
Alexandros Nikolaidis Alexandros Nikolaidis (17 October 1979 – 14 October 2022) was a Greek taekwondo athlete. He was named the 2008 Greek Male Athlete of the Year. Initially the home favorite, he won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics held in At ...
* Apostolos Nikolaidis *
Demis Nikolaidis Themistoklis "Demis" Nikolaidis ( el, Ντέμης Νικολαΐδης; born 17 September 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was the forty second president of AEK Athens, and is considered one of the fi ...
*
Lazaros Papadopoulos Lazaros Papadopoulos (Greek: Λάζαρος Παπαδόπουλος; born 3 June 1980) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He was listed at 7 ft (2.13 m) 265 lbs (120 kg), and he played the center position. During hi ...
*
Stephanos Papadopoulos Stephanos Papadopoulos (born 1976) is a Greek-American poet. Biography Stephanos Papadopoulos was born in North Carolina and raised in Paris and Athens. He is the author of three poetry collections: ''The Black Sea'' (November 2012, Sheep Meadow ...
*
Pantelis Pantelidis Pantelis Pantelidis ( el, Παντελής Παντελίδης; 23 November 1983 – 18 February 2016) was a Greek singer, songwriter and lyricist. He died on 18 February 2016 in a car crash. Biography Born on November 23, 1983, Pantelis Pantel ...
*
Mimis Papaioannou Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou ( el, Δημήτριος "Μίμης" Παπαϊωάννου; born 23 August 1942) is a Greek former professional football player, who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens and a former manager. His nickname wa ...
*
Theodoros Papaloukas Theodoros Papaloukas (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παπαλουκάς; born May 8, 1977), commonly known as Theo Papaloukas or Thodoris Papaloukas, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. He was a four - time All-EuroLeague selection, a me ...
*
Lefteris Pantazis Lefteris Pantazis ( el, Λευτέρης Πανταζής) who is often called by the nickname ''LePa'' by the media and his fans, is a Greek singer. He was born Eleftherios Pagkozidis (Ελευθέριος Παγκοζίδης) on 27 March 1955 to ...
*
Dimitrios Partsalidis Dimitrios "Mitsos" Partsalidis ( el, Δημήτρης "Μήτσος" Παρτσαλίδης) (1905–1980) was a Greek Communism, communist politician. Biography Partsalidis was a Pontic Greeks, Pontic Greek born in Trabzon in the Trebizond Vi ...
*
Ioannis Passalidis Ioannis (Yianis) Passalidis ( el, Ιωάννης Πασαλίδης; 1886–1968) was a prominent member of the Greek Left and founder of the United Democratic Left party. He was born in the village of Kutaisi, in nowadays Georgia (country), Geo ...
*
Voula Patoulidou Paraskevi ("Voula") Patoulidou ( el, Παρασκευή "Βούλα" Πατουλίδου, born 29 March 1965) is a Greek former athlete and politician. Born in Tripotamo (part of Florina prefecture), Patoulidou throughout her athletics career c ...
*
Dimitris Psathas Dimitris Psathas ( el, Δημήτρης Ψαθάς; 1907 – 13 November 1979) was a modern Greek satirist and playwright. He was born in Trabzon of Pontos, then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1907. He went to Athens in 1923 and finished his s ...
*
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*
Ivan Savvidis Ivan Ignatyevich Savvidi (russian: Иван Игнатьевич Саввиди, , el, Ιβάν Σαββίδης, translit=Ivan Savvidis, , ka, ივან ეგნატეს ძე სავიდი, ''Ivan Egnates dze Savidi'', , also ...
*
Giourkas Seitaridis Georgios "Giourkas" Seitaridis ( ; born 4 June 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back and occasionally as a centre-back. He has last played in 2013 for Greek Superleague side Panathinaikos, having played previ ...
*
Nikolaos Siranidis Nikolaos Siranidis (Greek: Νικόλαος Σιρανίδης; born 26 February 1976) is a Greek diver who competed in the synchronised 3 metre springboard competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics. After a bizarre event where the Chinese, Russi ...
*
Georgios Skliros Georgios Konstantinides (b. Trabzon, Trebizond, 1878 - d. Alexandria, 1919, ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Skliros, el, Γεώργιος Κωνσταντινίδης, «Σκληρός») was an early Greek socialist, who published social realism, rea ...
*
Pamphylia Tanailidi Pamphylia Tanailidi, often spelled as Panfilia Tanailidi ( az, Panfiliya Tanailidi, el, Παμφυλία Ταναϊλίδη; 1891, Bashkand – 15 October 1937, Baku) was an Azerbaijani actress of Pontic Greek origin. Life and career Tan ...
* Takis Terzopoulos * Chrysanthos Theodoridis *
Vasilis Torosidis Vasilis Torosidis (Greek: Βασίλης Τοροσίδης, born 10 June 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Club career Skoda Xanthi Torosidis made his senior debut for Skoda Xanthi on 19 April 2003 at ...
*
Vasilis N. Triantafillidis Vasilis N. Triantafillidis ( el, Βασίλης Ν. Τριανταφυλλίδης, 7 May 1940 – 21 May 2018), also known by his artistic nickname Harry Klynn (Χάρρυ Κλυνν), was a Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, ...
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*
Matthaios Tsahouridis Matthaios Tsahouridis (Greek: Ματθαίος Τσαχουρίδης; born 18 September 1978) is a Pontic Greek musician and composer who plays a range of stringed musical instruments. He was born in Veria, Greece, and started performing music ...
*
Iovan Tsaous Iovan Tsaous ( el, Γιοβάν Τσαούς, from the Turkish word ''çavuş'', meaning "sergeant") (1893–1942), was a Greek musician and composer of rebetiko songs from Pontus. His real name was Yiannis Eitziridis or Etseiridis (Γιάννη ...
*
Markos Vafiadis Markos Vafeiadis (also spelled as Vafiadis and Vafiades; el, Μάρκος Βαφειάδης; Tosya, – Athens, ) was a leading figure of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) during the Greek Resistance and the Greek Civil War. Pre-war life Vaf ...
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Video

*Documentary on the Pontic Greeks culture, dances and songs: *Documentary showcasing Pontic Greek music and dance tradition:


Gallery

File:Pontus Rumlarının.JPG, alt=Old photo of five Pontic Greeks in western dress, seated or standing inside., A wealthy Pontic Greek family in Geneva File:Pontic Greeks.JPG, alt=Photograph of Pontian woman, man, and children seated inside., A middle-class Pontic Greek family File:Yunanlilar Trabzon.JPG, alt=Family photograph of Pontians at a house. Some old women wear traditional clothes. A young boy holds a rifle., Pontic Greek family in the courtyard of a Trapezounta house (modern
Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...
, Turkey) File:Greeks Trabzon.JPG, alt=Photograph of Pontian women and girls in western dress., Pontian Greek ladies and children of Trapezounta File:Yunan Trabzon 1900.JPG, alt=Photograph of elaborately dressed Pontian man and woman inside., Pontic Greek couple in Trapezounta File:Yunanlılar Karadeniz Giresun Kerasounta.JPG, alt=Photograph of Pontian boys in sports uniforms., Pontian Greek athletics team from Kerasounta (modern
Giresun Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. Etymology Giresun wa ...
, Turkey) File:Trabzon Yunan Okulu.JPG, alt=Rows of Pontian girls in school uniforms with their teacher., Pontian Greek female students of Trapezounta File:Greeks Georgia Batumi.JPG, alt=Two rows of short Pontian men in suits., Pontic Greeks in
Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
File:Pontus Yunan kano.JPG, alt=Pontian men wearing western suits in a canoe, Black Sea. Some wear fezes or carry instruments., Pontian Greek Canoe, off the coast of Trapezounta File:Caucasus Greek Major in the Russian Imperial Army, Christos Adamidis from Muzarat, Ardahan district..JPG, alt=Pontian man in old military uniform posing with a gun., Pontic Greek from the Caucasus as member of the Russian Imperial Army


See also

* Amaseia, a city with Pontic Greeks *
Laz people The Laz people, or Lazi ( lzz, ლაზი ''Lazi''; ka, ლაზი, ''lazi''; or ჭანი, ''ch'ani''; tr, Laz), are an indigenous ethnic group who mainly live in Black Sea coastal regions of Black Sea Region, Turkey and Georgia (countr ...
*
Yannis Vasilis Yannis Vasilis Yaylali (born Ibrahim Yaylali) is a former Turkish ultra-nationalist turned Turkish-Greek pacifist and activist, promoting and defending Greek heritage in Turkey. An avowed Turkish nationalist, he joined the Turkish army in 1994 to ...
, a former ultra-nationalist Turk turned pacifist and promoter of Greek heritage after finding out his Pontic Greek heritage.


References


Bibliography

* Halo, Thea. ''Not Even My Name''. Picador. 2000. . * Hofmann, Tessa, ed. ''Verfolgung, Vertreibung und Vernichtung der Christen im Osmanischen Reich 1912–1922''. Münster: LIT, 2004. * Berikashvili, Svetlana. ''Morphological aspects of Pontic Greek spoken in Georgia''. LINCOM GmbH, 2017. *


External links


Pontian Federation of Greece


* ttps://turkiyekulturvarliklari.hrantdink.org/ An interactive map featuring historic sites in Turkey, which can be filtered to show only Greek sites {{authority control Ethnic groups in Greece Ethnic groups in Georgia (country)
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
Ethnic groups in Russia Russian people of Greek descent Ethnic groups in Turkey Turkish people of Greek descent Ethnic groups in Ukraine Ukrainian people of Greek descent Ethnic groups in Abkhazia Peoples of the Caucasus Ancient peoples of Anatolia Sub-ethnic groups Indigenous peoples of Western Asia