Sudak (
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
&
Russian: Судак; crh, Sudaq; gr, Σουγδαία; sometimes spelled Sudac or Sudagh) is a town, multiple former Eastern Orthodox bishopric and double Latin Catholic
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...
. It is of regional significance 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 p ...
, a territory recognized by most countries as part of
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 inva ...
but annexed by
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
as the
Republic of Crimea. Sudak serves as the administrative center of
Sudak Municipality, one of the regions Crimea is divided into. It is situated to the west of
Feodosia (the nearest railway station) and to the east of
Simferopol
Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...
, the republic's capital. Population:
A city of
antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to:
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
*Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
, today it is a popular resort, best known for its
Genoese fortress, the best preserved on the northern shore 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, Rom ...
.
History
Foundation and early Middle Ages
The date and circumstances of the city's foundation are uncertain. The first written reference to the city dates to the 7th century (in the ''
Ravenna Cosmography''
), but later local tradition places its foundation in 212 CE, and archaeological evidence supports its foundation in
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 lett ...
times. The city was in all likelihood founded by the
Alans, as its name in Greek sources, ''Sougdaia'' is a cognate of the adjective ''sugda'' ("pure, holy") or derives from the word ''sugded''/''sogdad'' in the
Ossetian language.
In the early Middle Ages, the city appears to have been under very loose
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 ...
control, like other cities in the region.
Archaeological remains indicate considerable construction activity near the shore in the 6th century.
Under Byzantine influence, the city was subject to
Christianization, and became the seat of a bishopric under the
Patriarch of Constantinople, attested for the first time in the
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...
in 787. Bishop Stephen, who attended the council, was an
iconophile persecuted by Emperor
Constantine V. He was later canonized (St. Stephen of Surozh; russian: св. Стефан Сурожский), and buried at the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Sougdaia, which according to later tradition was built in 793.
Although a Greek-speaking population was probably settled in the city, the area remained dominated by the Alans: a 9th-century hagiography of
Apostle Andrew places "Upper Sougdaia" elsewhere, between
Zichia
Zichia (; gr, Ζιχία) or Zekchia was the predecessor of Circassia and a medieval kingdom on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea, inhabited by Circassians.Колли Л. Кафа в период владения ею банком св. ...
and the
Cimmerian Bosporus, "in the land of the Alans", while the hagiographer of
Constantine the Philosopher mentions the tribe of ''Sougdoi'', situated between the
Iberians
The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (amon ...
and the
Crimean Goths, which the historian
Francis Dvornik
Francis Dvornik (14 August 1893, Chomýž – 4 November 1975, Chomýž), in Czech František Dvorník, was a Catholic priest and academic. He is considered one of the leading twentieth-century experts on Slavic and Byzantine history, and on rela ...
identifies as the Alans.
The period between the 8th and 11th centuries is obscure, but the available evidence points to a sharp decline in Sougdaia's fortunes. Archaeological evidence shows that the 6th-century constructions were abandoned in the 8th/9th century, while later Russian legends (probably apocryphal) claim that the city was captured by the
Rus' chieftain,
Bravlin, at around the same time. Byzantine control lapsed, and the city probably came under
Khazar suzerainty thereafter, which lasted until the early 11th century.
In the early 10th century, the local see was promoted to an
archbishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
.
High and late Middle Ages
The 11th–14th centuries represent a period of prosperity for the city, as shown in archaeological evidence of renewed activity both in the harbour as well as the hinterland and the area of the citadel. It became an important location for trading on the
Silk Road in the 12th and 13th centuries, as a terminus for Black Sea trade. The 14th-century Arab traveller
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim ...
even compares its harbour with that of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
.
The 13th-century chronicler
Ibn al-Athir
Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian ...
writes of it as the "city of the
Qifjaq from which (flow) their material possessions. It is on the Khazar Sea. Ships come to it bearing clothes. The Qifjiqs buy from them and sell them slaves. Burtas furs, beaver, squirrels ..."
By the mid-11th century, Sougdaia had returned to Byzantine control, probably following the defeat of the Khazar warlord
Georgius Tzul in 1016. An inscription of 1059 mentions Leo Aliates, "''
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...
'' of
Cherson and Sougdaia".
By the end of the century, however, the city passed under
Cuman
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many sough ...
control, which lasted until the 13th century. In the
Seljuk Turks besieged it, followed by destructive
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragmen ...
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different raids in 1223 and 1238. Finally, in the city passed under Tatar control, although it retained considerable autonomy. Contemporary sources place its population at the time to 8,300, including Greeks, Alans, Tatars, Armenians, Latins, and Jews.
[Members of the Polo family and other Venetian merchants having resided in the town since the 12th century.]
Under Tatar rule, the city was governed by the notables of the city and the 18 villages surrounding it. In the Greek sources they are mentioned by the Byzantine title ''
sebastos'', while the Latin sources use the Latinized Greek term ''proti'' ("first men").
Sometime between 1275 and 1282, the local see, which after being united with
Phoulloi in the late 11th century was known as ''Sougdophoulloi'', was raised to the status of a
metropolitan see
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a t ...
.
The city's prosperity was increased by the establishment of
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
and
Genoese commercial colonies in the Crimea during the late 13th century, but at the same time, the area was drawn into the constant disputes between these two rival cities.
In the early 14th century, the city was eclipsed by the Genoese colonies of
Tana and
Kaffa: the Florentine merchant
Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, who visited the area in , neglects to mention the city altogether.
At about the same time, the Tatars converted to Islam, which led to a deterioration of their relations with the Greek-speaking and Christian inhabitants of the city, many of whom were forced to leave it.
As a result, on 19 July 1365, the Genoese from Kaffa seized the city, which became a Genoese trading colony. The Genoese refortified the city, constructing the citadel that is still visible today, and induced a large part of the deported Greeks to return.
Genoese rule lasted until 1475, when the Ottoman
Grand Vizier Gedik Ahmed Pasha captured it after a long siege.
Ottoman and modern periods
The
Ottomans took control of ''Soldaia'' and all other Genoese colonies, as well as the
Principality of Theodoro
The Principality of Theodoro ( el, Αὐθεντία πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας), also known as Gothia ( el, Γοτθία) or the Principality of Theodoro-Mangup, was a Greek principality in the southern p ...
in 1475. Although Sudak was the strategical center of a ''
qadılıq'', the smallest administrative unit in the Ottoman Empire, the town lost much of its military and commercial importance, until the
Crimean Khanate took over.
In 1771, Sudak was occupied by
Rumyantsev's army. In 1783, it definitively passed to 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 ...
, with the rest of
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 p ...
. Though sometimes contested, it seems that a mass emigration occurred as a result of the ensuing instability in that period. Even
Potemkin
Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...
ordered in 1778 the eviction of the Christian population from Crimea. The town rapidly turned into a small village, and according to the 1805 census, Sudak had just 33 inhabitants.
In 1804, the first Russian school of
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, r ...
was opened there.
The town acquired its present status in 1982.
Ecclesiastical history
Byzantine metropolis of Sougdaia
It is unknown when the Byzantine see of Sougdaia was established, but it is attested for the first time in 787. It was in the sway of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople, where it ranked 35th according to the ''
Notitia Episcopatuum'' edited by
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
Leo VI (). In the 10th century it was promoted to an archbishopric. After merging with the nearby see of
Phoulloi towards the end of the 11th century, it was known as ''Sougdophoulloi''. It was raised to metropolitan status in 1275/82.
Its historical bishops were :
* St. Stephen, 787
* Constantine, in 997.
See also
Russian Orthodox Diocese of Surozh for Surozh, the old name of the city as an
episcopal see
An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
in the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
, which has been nominally transferred to the Russian Orthodox Diocese in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
.
Latin bishopric of Soldaia
Under Genoese rule, a Latin Catholic diocese of Soldaia was established in 1390, which has had the following residential bishops :
* Bonifacius (19 August 1393 – ? death)
* John Greenlaw,
O.F.M. (18 September 1400 – ?)
* Ludovico,
O.P. (? – 15 December 1427)
* Agostino di Caffa, O.P. (23 July 1432 – ? death)
* Giovanni di Pera, O.P. (9 July 1456 – ? death)
* Leonard Wisbach, O.P. (6 October 1480 – ? death)
It was suppressed circa 1500 after the Ottoman conquest of the Crimea in 1475.
Latin titular metropolitan see of Sugdaea
In 1933 the see was nominally restored as titular bishopric of Sugdæa (Sugdaea), which was promoted in 1948 to metropolitan
titular archbishopric.
It is vacant for decades, having had a single incumbent :
* Titular Archbishop Thomas Roberts,
S.J. (1950.12.04 – 1970.12.07), emeritus as former Metropolitan Archbishop of
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
(India) (1937.08.12 – 1950.12.04).
Latin titular episcopal see of Soldaia
In 1933 the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin Catholic
titular bishopric.
It has been vacant for decades, having had a single incumbent:
* Titular Bishop José Romão Martenetz,
Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat (O.S.B.M.) (1958.05.10 – 1971.11.29), as
Auxiliary Bishop of
Brazil of the Eastern Rite (Brazil) (1958.05.10 – 1962.05.30); succeeded as
Apostolic Exarch
An exarch (;
from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.
In the late Roman Empire and e ...
of Brazil of the Ukrainians (Brazil) (1962.05.30 – 1971.11.29), later Eparch (Bishop) of
São João Batista em Curitiba of the Ukrainians (Brazil) (1971.11.29 – 1978.03.10).
See also
*
Gazaria (Genoese colonies) - the name for Genoese communities in Crimea
*
List of Catholic dioceses in Ukraine
*
Roman Crimea
*
Krasnokam‘yanka - Qızıltaş - Krasnokamyenka
References
Sources
* Sugdea, Surozh, Soldaia in History and Culture of the Ruthenian Ukraine - Scientific conference materials, Kiev-Sudaq, 2002 ''(prints only)''
* Sugdea Collection, Kiev-Sudaq (Академпериодика, 2004)
* Miscellaneous publications by A. Yu. Vinogradov
* Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, p. 428
* Michel Lequien, ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus'', Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 1229-1232
* Daniele Farlati-Jacopo Coleti, ''Illyricum Sacrum'', vol. VIII, Venice 1819, p. 126
* Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. 1, p. 457; vol. 2, p. 240
*
Библиотека Якова Кротова
External links
Monastery of St. Stephen of Surozh
The murder of the Jews of Sudakduring
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, at
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
website.
{{Authority control
Sudak Municipality
Cities in Crimea
Khazar towns
Populated coastal places in Ukraine
Populated coastal places in Russia
Populated places established in the 3rd century
Seaside resorts in Russia
Seaside resorts in Ukraine
Territories of the Republic of Genoa
Stato da Màr
Feodosiysky Uyezd
Cities of regional significance in Ukraine
Holocaust locations in Ukraine