Greeks of Pontus

Vezinköy and the chapel of Prophet Elias, recorded as the only village inhabited by Greek population in 1878 when Kars came under Russian rule, constitutes the main theme of this paper. Kars was left to Russians in accordance with Article 19 of the San Stefano Treaty signed in 1878 after the Ottoman-Russian War, known also as the ’93 War.
Vezinköy, currently known as Ölçülü, is a village situated 5 km to the southeast of Kars, where Greeks were settled who were brought from Trabzon in 1860s to work as stone masons in bastions.
The Vezinköy Chapel of Prophet Elias is located on a hill overlooking the village which is also a place of visit today. The chapel was examined architecturally and documentation studies were completed within the scope of 2010 and 2011 surface surveys. Although the exact construction date of the chapel is unknown, it is likely to have been built before 1872. The Vezinköy Chapel of Prophet Elias has survived to the present day in a relatively good condition. The structure is in the form of a rectangle with 12.32 m length including the apse and 6.98 m width externally. It is composed of a single nave and a single apse and covered with a barrel vault.
The Chapel of Elias built in Vezinköy, the only Greek village in Kars during the Ottoman Period is especially important regarding that it conveyed the traces of the Greek population’s life once inhabiting the region, to the present day.
Key words: Kars, Vezinköy, Ottoman, Greek, Chapel, Elias, Russian

Σύμφωνα με διάφορες εκτιμήσεις, ο αριθμός των μουσουλμάνων Ελλήνων στην Τουρκία φθάνει σήμερα τις 700.000. Κατά κανόνα οι Έλληνες μουσουλμάνοι χωρίζονται σε διάφορες ομάδες. Λόγω της βίας και της καταπίεσης που ασκήθηκε στους χριστιανούς της Κρήτης κατά τη διάρκεια του Οθωμανικού ζυγού, χιλιάδες Έλληνες αναγκάστηκαν να ασπαστούν το ισλάμ και να αφομοιωθούν με τους Τούρκους που έφθασαν αργότερα. Η ομάδα αυτή των εξισλαμισθέντων Ελλήνων ήταν συνυφασμένη με την τουρκική ταυτότητα. Ζούσαν στις νότιες και νοτιοανατολικές περιοχές της Τουρκίας – στο Αϊδίνι, την Αττάλεια, την Άγκυρα, τη Μερσίνα, την Αλεξανδρέττα, την Κωνσταντινούπολη, το Τεκίρνταγ και τα Δαρδανέλια...

Celestial objects and events shown on ancient coins can help us understand them and their times. An ancient Greek coin with a horse head and stellate designs attributed to an uncertain Pontic mint until now can be described more specifically and confidently. The obverse horse is Pegasus and its star is Enif of the constellation Pegasus. The coin was almost certainly minted at Amisus or nearby Chabacta during the time of King Mithridates VI Eupator who reigned between 120 and 63 BCE. The coin's design is related to local mythology and other more common types in the Mithridatic series that show Perseus and Medusa. Celestial objects and events greatly influenced ancient civilizations and were sometimes shown on their coins. Based on such depictions, we can now attribute with greater precision and confidence an uninscribed ancient coin that shows a horse's head and stellate designs, and whose provenance is an uncertain location in the region of Pontus (Greek Pontos, meaning " sea " or " ocean ") in northeastern Anatolia or Asia Minor: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG) January 29, 2014. Electronic Auction 319, Lot: 55. Estimate $150. PONTOS, Uncertain. Circa 130-100 BC. AE 13mm, 2.21 g, 9h. Head of horse right, with star of eight points on its neck / Comet star of eight points with trail to right. SNG BM Black Sea 984; SNG Stancomb 653 corr. (same dies); HGC 7, 317. Above image and description reproduced courtesy of CNG. The starred equine must be the mythological flying horse Pegasus (in Greek, Pegasos). The ancients recognized a major astronomical constellation that seemed to show the forepart of a horse and named it for Pegasus. The constellation encloses a square that can be seen as the body of Pegasus, and crooked lines that can be seen as its two forelegs and its head on its neck. Pegasus' wings are not apparent in the constellation, or on the coin. The star shown on Pegasus' neck and near his muzzle is the constellation's brightest though extremely variable star known as Enif (from Arabic meaning " nose "), or star Epsilon of Pegasus. Though Enif is extremely variable, when peaking it ranks among the twelve brightest stars in the sky, certainly qualifying it for prominent depiction on ancient coinage.

MÖ 301 yılında Paphlagonia civarında I. Mithradates Ktistes tarafından temelleri atılan Pontos Krallığı, Hellenistik Dönem Anadolusu'nun en küçük krallıklarından biriyken, sonraki kralların yayılmacı politikalarıyla giderek bölgesel bir güç hâline gelir. Krallar ilk zamanlarda Roma Cumhuriyeti ile ters düşmemeye özen gösterir; ancak, özellikle VI. Mithradates Eupator Dionysos döneminde bu denge sağlanamaz ve Mithradates Savaşları gerçekleşir. Üç aşamada ele alınan bu savaşlarla Pontos, Anadolu'nun son kurtuluş yolu addedilir. Bu çalışmanın kapsamını, Pontos Krallığı'nın siyasi tarihine kuruluşundan Eupator'un ölümüne kadar geçen süre zarfında darp edilmiş sikke örnekleri üzerinden katkı sağlamak oluşturur. Pontos Krallığı'nın kurucusu olan ve esasen Pers soyundan gelen Mithradates Hanedanlığı'na mensup krallar kronolojik olarak ele alınarak sikkelerine yansıyan ikonografinin tarihsel bağlamla ilişkisi açıklanmaktadır. Kolonizasyon Dönemi'nden itibaren Pontos Bölgesi de dâhil Karadeniz kıyılarında kurulan Yunan koloni kentleri, daha sonra kurulan Pontos Krallığı sikkeleri üzerindeki konu seçiminde etkilidir. Zeus, Hera, Apollon, Dionysos gibi Yunan pantheonundan tanrılar özellikle sikkelerin arka yüzünde yerini alır. Bazı sikkelerde Yunan tanrıları, Yakındoğu tanrılarına ait kimi ikonografik ayrıntılarla birlikte betimlenir. Bunlar, aynı zamanda krali kültlerle ilgili de bilgi edinmemizi sağlar. Sikkeler üzerindeki en önemli sembollerden biri ise, krali bir arma olarak ilk sikkelerden itibaren görülen sekiz kollu yıldız ve hilal motifidir. Bu çalışma kapsamında hazırlanan katalog sikkenin basıldığı metal, ağırlık, birim, konu, yazıt ve sembollerini kapsar.

This study examines the use of historical Pontus on the Black Sea in the European
theatre and opera from the 17th to 20th century. The vast majority of European artists of the time take as their point of inspiration king Mithridates VI (134-63 B.C.), whose reign coincided with the brake of three wars against the Romans that ended with the submission of Pontus to Rome. From the European dramatic works exploiting these events, this study focuses on two French theatrical works from the 17th century, which became a source of inspiration for later librettos: La Mort de Mitridate by Calprenède (1636) and Mithridate by Jean Racine (1673). In the 18th century, Mithridates inspired over 20 operas, three of which are discussed in this study: Mitridate Eupatore by Alessandro Scarlatti (Venice 1707), Mitridate, re di Ponto by Nicola Porpora (Rome 1730) and its namesake by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Milan 1770). On the above works, emphasis is laid upon their political as well as ideological dimensions. The study closes with the presence of Mithridates in the European literary production of the 19th century, by poets such as A. E. Housman and authors such as Al. Dumas (in Conte Monte Cristo), as well as the 20th century (mainly in novel writing).
Στην παρούσα εργασία εξετάζεται η χρήση του ιστορικού Πόντου στο ευρωπαϊκό
θέατρο και την όπερα από τον 17ο έως και τον 20ο αιώνα. Το πρόσωπο που
προβάλλεται περισσότερο είναι ο Μιθριδάτης ΣΤ’ (134-63 π.Χ.), η βασιλεία του
οποίου συνέπεσε με την έκρηξη των τριών Μιθριδατικών πολέμων με τους Ρωμαίους
που έληξαν με την καθυπόταξη του Πόντου στους Ρωμαίους. Από τα ευρωπαϊκά
δραματικά έργα που αξιοποιούν αυτά τα γεγονότα, η εργασία εστιάζει σε δύο γαλλικά
θεατρικά έργα του 17ου αιώνα, που αποτέλεσαν πηγή έμπνευσης μεταγενέστερων
λιμπρέτων: τον Θάνατο του Μιθριδάτη του Gauthier de Costes de Calprenède (1636)
και τον Μιθριδάτη του πιο γνωστού Jean Racine (1673). Από τις 20 και πλέον όπερες
του 18ου αιώνα, συζητούνται οι τρεις σπουδαιότερες: ο Μιθριδάτης Ευπάτωρ του
Alessandro Scarlatti (Βενετία 1707), ο Μιθριδάτης, βασιλιάς του Πόντου του Nicola
Porpora (Ρώμη 1730) και η ομώνυμη όπερα του Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Μιλάνο
1770). Στα παραπάνω έργα έμφαση δίνεται στην πολιτική τους διάσταση και κάποιες
ιδεολογικές τους προεκτάσεις. Η εργασία ολοκληρώνεται με την παρουσία του
Μιθριδάτη στη ευρωπαϊκή λογοτεχνική παραγωγή του 19ου αιώνα, από ποιητές όπως ο Α. Ε. Housman και ο συγγραφέας Αλ. Δουμάς (στον Κόμη Monte Cristo), καθώς και του 20ου (κυρίως στη μυθιστοριογραφία).

Bu çalışma ÇAYELİ KÜLTÜR ENVANTERİ adlı kitaba yazılan Önsöz'dür. ÖNSÖZ İnsanoğlunun ürettiği maddi ve manevi varlıkların tamamı "kültür" olarak nitelendirilmektedir. Çayeli kültür envanteri tabiri; geçmişten günümüze Çayeli'nde yaşayan insanların ürettiği, geliştirdiği, var ettiği, yaşadığı ve yaşattığı tüm değerlerin bir dökümünün çıkarılması anlamına gelmektedir.

Ancient Coin Commemorates Trojan War’s Kilikian King Eëtion?
Robert M. Cutler, 2016
Abstract: Ancient Roman provincial coins long described as a possible first-century BCE issue of Pontos are considered further. The coins appear to be inscribed EETIA, possibly preserving the Latinized name of legendary King Eëtion of the Kilikians as applied to his people and their progeny, or to a festival or other observance in his honor. Eëtion was the father of the exemplary Princess Andromache and father-in-law of Troy’s valiant Prince Hektor. Both men were killed during the Trojan War by the Greek hero Achilles, as Homer relates in the Iliad. EETIA coins do not appear to be from the area of Eëtion’s Thebe, but elsewhere in Anatolia, probably either along its north or southeast coast. If the northeast is correct, the coins may be from provincial Bithynia or Pontos. If the southeast is correct, the coin may be from the area of historical Kilikia and its reverse design could refer to the legendary soothsayers Mopsos and Kalchas. The coin issue, wherever it was minted, may be the only one that explicitly memorializes Eëtion, though it was not issued until some twelve centuries after his supposed defeat and death, and seven centuries after Homer told his story.

This paper focuses on the results of excavations undertaken by the team of archaeologists of the University of Bucharest in the Acropolă Centru-Sud Sector at Histria (Constanţa County). The general stratigraphy so far consists of the vegetal layer, under which there are two layers of debris marking the initial moment of destruction and the moment of the final collapse after the abandon of the buildings affected by the fire. Underneath we identified the living surfaces of the last dwelling level, of which we have identified a large Late Roman building (CR01) S of street c. The latter has at least two construction phases, as well as two streets to its E and W (ST01 and ST02). ST02 also has two construction phases ; the first is perpendicular to street c, and was probably paved with large stone slabs, while the second is oblique to it and it is made up of a highly solidified layer of stones bound with earth, covered by a highly solidified layer of yellow clay (the same structure was identified in ST01).

Interweaving history and migration Michael in his chapter scopes the often polarized conversation hidden in Australia’s multiculturalism involving the ‘Ottoman diasporas’. By untangling the Ottoman discourse in Australia, Michael focuses on the in-congruencies pertaining to those non-Turkish diasporic communities who fled Ottoman Anatolia and eventually settled in Australia. In an attempt to reconcile conflicting memories, politics, and narratives, Michael argues for a less state-centric discourse as more befitting of the 2015 Centenary.

Το συγκεκριμένο άρθρο παρακολουθεί τη ζωή και τις μετακινήσεις ενός Ποντίου στη Ρωσική Αυτοκρατορία των αρχών του 18ου αιώνα. Συμβάλλει με αυτόν τον τρόπο στην κατανόηση των διαύλων μέσω των οποίων άτομα και ομάδες από την ευρύτερη περιοχή του Εύξεινου Πόντου ενσωματώθηκαν στα σχέδια αντίπαλων αυτοκρατοριών.

Ο συγκεκριμένος Πόντιος Ρωμιός ονομαζόταν Αλέξανδρος Λεβαντίνος και ήταν από το Gümüşhane (Αργυρούπολη). Αυτός και ο αδερφός του, Βενιαμίν Λεβαντίνος, περιγράφονται ως «ορυχοτεχνίτες» και επίσης «χρυσοχόοι» σε κείμενα της εποχής, και θα πρέπει να θεωρηθούν χαρακτηριστικά παραδείγματα των ανθρακωρύχων και μεταλλουργών του Πόντου, που κινούνταν εντός της Ρωσικής και της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας, και των ενδιάμεσων περιοχών, αναζητώντας νέα κοιτάσματα («φλέβες») προς εκμετάλλευση.

Ο Αλέξανδρος Λεβαντίνος και ο αδερφός του συνόδευσαν τον Αρχίλ Ημερέτι (1647-1713), γιο του Βαχτάνγκ Ε΄ Σαχναουάζ, ως μέλη της αποστολής του Γεωργιανού πρίγκιπα στη Μόσχα. Στη Ρωσία, ο Αλέξανδρος Λεβαντίνος είχε αρχικά την πρόθεση να αναζητήσει χαλκό στην περιοχή του Νίζνι Ταγίλ, στα Ουράλια, στη συνέχεια μετεγκαταστάθηκε στο Τομσκ με σκοπό τον εντοπισμό και την επεξεργασία αργύρου. Τέλος, του δόθηκε η άδεια να μετακομίσει στην περιοχή του Νέρτσινσκ (Nerchinsk) για να συνεχίσει τις έρευνές του. Από το 1704 έως το 1709, ο Αλέξανδρος Λεβαντίνος –πραγματικός πρωτοπόρος– δημιούργησε μεταλλεία αργύρου κοντά στο Νέρτσινσκ και μετέδωσε τις απαραίτητες δεξιότητες για την εξόρυξη αργύρου σε τοπικούς εργάτες.

Ταυτόχρονα, ασχολήθηκε με το εμπόριο με την Κίνα. Οι αναφορές του Αλέξανδρου Λεβαντίνου και άλλων από το Νέρτσινσκ φωτίζουν τη ζωή στα ρωσο-κινεζικά σύνορα στις αρχές του 18ου αιώνα.