Komnina () is a town in the Kozani regional unit,

West Macedonia Western Macedonia (, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional units of Florina, Grevena, Kastoria, and Kozani. Wi ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It was the seat of the municipality of Vermio. As of 2021, it had a population of 517 permanent residents. The town's altitude is 688 meters (2260 feet) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. In the square of the village exists a splendid park with the Monument of the Fallen and the Municipal School. The vast majority of the population is Pontian. The predominant language of the area is the Pontian language, a dialect of ancient

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

that was spoken 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 ...

. Between the 1950s and 1990s about half of the population emigrated abroad, mostly to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The name Komnina refers to the residents, who are considered descendants of Emperor Komninos of Trapezounta (Trabzon). Previously, Komnina was referred to as Paleohori in the Byzantine era, before it was destroyed after the conquest of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

. During the Ottoman rule, Komnina was known as Utsena or Üçane, from the Turkish words üç(three) and ane(mother).

Archeological sites

In the top of the mountain Mavro Pouli is a small cave, called the Crypt of Kara-Ali'. Traces of the walls of two fortresses and settlements exist in the vicinity of Komninos. The first is the hill DELTA and the second is Ovon (Pontian for egg). Their existence is testified to by objects such as shells of vessels, copper coins, the base of a pillar, various marbles from buildings, two rings made of glass, a small cupbearer from

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

times and a marble

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, in which is pictured a feminine form with

tunic A tunic is a garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The name deri ...

, helmet, spear and shield.

References

Populated places in Kozani (regional unit) Eordaia Byzantine sites in Greece Populated places in ancient Greece Archaeological sites in Macedonia (Greece) {{Greece-archaeology-stub