[Among the most interesting of the irredenta regions
of Asia Minor, from many points of view, is Pontus, on
the southeast coast of the Black Sea. So strong is the
anti-Turkish feeling in this intensely Hellenic land
that a strong movement has recently arisen among her
expatriated sons to establish an independent Republic of
Pontus. Its mountainous inland districts have been so
isolated from the rest of the Greek world and its coast
regions have so strongly preserved their individuality
that language, blood and national feeling have been
maintained in quite a different way from elsewhere in the
Greek world. It has seemed fitting that Pontus therefore
should receive special consideration in this number of
the American-Hellenic Society’s publications, and we are
glad to present this scholarly treatise by Demosthenes
E. Oeconomides, a philologian of no mean repute, who is
a native of this region and has written amongst other
things an authoritative treatise on the Pontic dialect
entitled: _Lautlehre des Pontischen_, Leipzig, 1908.]
Pontus is bounded on the north by the southeast shore of the Euxine
or Black Sea, on the east by the Phasis River and Iberia, on the
south by the Argaeus and Antitaurus mountains, and on the west by the
Halys River. The whole country has at several epochs been variously
divided and has gone under different names, thus, for example, in
the time of the Parthians, the region that extended from the Phasis
to the Bosporus was called the Kingdom of Pontus; in the time of the
Romans, preserving the same boundaries, it was called the Polemoniac
Pontus. The best known cities of Pontus are Rizus, Trapezus, Kerasus,
Kotyora, Oenoe, Amisos, Sinope, Inepolis and Heraclea, all of which are
coast cities, while in the interior are Amasea, Paphra, Neocæsarea,
Nicopolis, Argyropolis, etc. Ecclesiastically it is divided into six,
or if Cæsarea be included, into seven Metropolitan districts: Trapezus,
Rhodopolis, Chaldia, Neocæsarea, Amasea, Cæsarea and Colonia. Of the
many monasteries in Pontus, the most important is that of Mela (now
called Soumela) founded by the Athenian monks, Barnabas and Sophronios,
in 376 A.D. in the time of Theodosius the Great.
Since Trapezus, even in ancient times, was the most important of the
Pontic cities and in the Middle Ages was, in fact, the capital of the
Trapezuntian Empire of the Comnenes, we must give a brief sketch of its
history.
Trapezus, which was founded by a colony of Sinopians 756 B.C. on a site
peculiarly adapted to the cultivation and development of commerce, is
a most ancient and illustrious city. “The city Trapezus,” as Eugenicus
says, “most ancient and best of all the cities in the East,” and “most
venerable of all” according to the expression of Besarion (MS. Ven.
p. 133). We learn from Xenophon’s “Anabasis” (Book V. 5, 10) that
Trapezus paid tribute to its metropolis Sinope. Since, according to
this historian, neither the Colchians nor Chaldians recognized the
Persian sovereignty, we may infer from this that the Trapezuntians
never submitted to the Persians. Xenophon also furnishes us historical
and geographical information about Trapezus and the countries and
peoples round about it, for he was hospitably entertained there for
thirty days on the return of the 10,000. The fine coins of gold and
silver struck both before and after the time of Alexander the Great
testify that it was a free and prosperous city. It certainly maintained
its independence and freedom under Alexander the Great, for it is well
known that he drove out the Persian satraps and rulers wherever these
existed in Pontus and left all the districts and cities autonomous,
among which, under Persian rule, Amisos (Samsun) had been deprived
of its democratic government. During the time of the Diadochi,
(Alexander’s successors), there are recorded as ruling in Cappadocia,
Paphlagonia and a part of Pontus as far as Trapezus, Eumenes (322-315
B.C.), Perdiccas, Mithridates and in particular Seleucus I, called
Nicator (312-208 B.C.), until the Mithridates again gained control up
to 63 B.C., when upon the final dissolution of their empire, Pontus,
under the Romans, entered upon a new period of life.
From that time there was sent there by them annually a special governor
until in 46 B.C. Polemon from Tralles in Phrygia was established as
king of Pontus from Bosporus to Colchis. Many of the coast cities which
had been the allies of the Romans during the wars waged by them from
89-63 B.C. against Mithridates VII, called Eupator, and among them
Trapezus, were, however, still left autonomous. The Polemoniac Empire
lasted till 63 A.D., when Nero made Pontus a Roman province.
After a short period of decline Trapezus rose again in the time of
Julian in 333. It had accepted Christianity from the first apostle,
Andrew, who came there from Samsun in 34 A.D. and transmitted it to the
surrounding peoples. Its first bishop was Eugeneos, known as the patron
and protector of the city, who endured martyrdom in 216 under the reign
of Diocletian (a Byzantine church, still existing, preserves his name).
He was succeeded by a long line of bishops who honored the Church. In
fact, some of them participated in Ecumenical Synods.
In the time of the great Constantine, Trapezus continued to be a
provincial city under a pro-consul, as also in the time of Justinian
(6th century). As such it belonged, along with Cerasus, to Polemoniac
Pontus, the capital of which was then Neocæsarea. From then up to the
time of Leo the Isaurian, unfortunately, we know nothing about it,
but in the time of the Isaurians it appears as a starting point for
political and warlike operations undertaken against the Persians, the
Turcomans and the Arabs, having become the metropolis of the large and
important “thema” (district) of Chaldia, while it was, at the same
time, and even before the time of the Isaurians, a home of learning, as
the Siracene Ananias, a trustworthy Armenian writer of the 7th century,
testifies.
With regard to the thema of Chaldia (the eighth in Asia Minor), it is
to be noted that this originally extended as far as Colonia, Kamak
and Keltzene, but in the time of Leo the Wise the two last districts
were added to the thema of New-Mesopotamia. We know that the archons
and dukes of Chaldia in the 11th century, seeking little by little
to free themselves from Byzantine rule, began to call themselves
dukes of Trapezus and their country Trapezousia. One in particular,
Theodore Gabras, from a noble family in Trapezus, and most skillful in
war, saved Trapezus and the surrounding country from two invasions,
one by the Seljuk-Turks in 1049 and the other under David, the king
of Georgia. He, therefore, regarded the country as his own private
possession and held it up to his death, as a prince, independent of
Byzantium. Of these Gabrades dukes of Trapezus, Theodore’s son Gregory
and his grandson Constantine Gabras are known to us. In the time of
the former Trapezus was again made dependent on Byzantium, but in the
time of the latter, since the dukes had offered important services to
the Byzantine Empire, it gained its independence again and held it
till Manuel I (Comnenos) 1143-1180, succeeded in attaching it to his
realm by taking advantage of a faction that had risen there against the
Gabras family, and from that time on Trapezus continued to be dependent
on Byzantium until its capture by the Latins, because at that time the
Trapezuntian Empire of the Comneni was established.
From the foundation of this new empire until its fall through the
capture of Trapezus by the Turks, that is from 1204-1461, the following
rulers occupied the throne:
(1) ALEXIOS I., the great Comnenos, the son of
Manuel, Sebastocrator and the founder of the
Trapezuntian Empire 1204-1222
(2) ANDRONIKUS I. Ghidus, son-in-law of the preceding 1222-1235
(3) JOHN I. Axouchus 1235-1238
(4) MANUEL I., the great Comnenos, who built the
beautiful church of St. Sophia in Trapezus
(still existent) 1238-1263
(5) ANDRONIKUS II., oldest son of the preceding 1263-1266
(6) GEORGE I., brother of the preceding 1266-1280
(7) JOHN II., brother of George I. 1280-1297
(8) THEODORA 1285
(9) ALEXIOS II., the great Comnenos 1297-1330
(10) ANDRONIKUS III., oldest son of Alexios II. 1330-1332
(11) MANUEL II. 1332
(12) BASIL 1332-1340
(13) IRENE, Palæologina 1340-1341
(14) ANNA, Comnenos 1341-1342
(15) JOHN III., Comnenos 1342-1344
(16) MICHAEL I. 1344-1349
(17) ALEXIOS III., the great Comnenos 1349-1390
(18) MANUEL III. 1390-1417
(19) ALEXIOS IV. 1417-1446
(20) JOHN IV., Kalogiannes 1446-1458
(21) DAVID Comnenos, brother of John IV. and last
emperor in the Trapezuntian Empire of the
Comneni 1458-1461
The fall of Trapezus which occurred a few years after the capture of
Constantinople dealt the final deadly blow to Hellenism as a whole.
At this time, in the very nature of things, it was impossible for the
Trapezuntian Empire to escape its fate, being compelled, as it was, to
fight against innumerable and well organized enemies, while previously,
during the 257-year period of its life, it had repulsed many barbarian
invasions and had shown great political and military efficiency. But
even in her fall she contributed not a little to the dissemination
of the seeds of civilization and literature in the West through her
illustrious sons, such as Bessarion, George the Trapezuntian and
other learned men. By a strange coincidence the two last emperors of
Hellenism, Constantine Palæologus of Byzantium and David of Trapezus,
fell as soldiers, the first fighting for his fatherland like a hero
on the fortifications of his capital, the second for his religion
in Constantinople itself, preferring with nobility of soul and true
Christian fortitude to see his children fall beneath the ax of the
executioner and then to fall himself exclaiming, “Just art Thou, O
Lord, and righteous are Thy judgments” rather than to forswear his
faith as proposed by the conqueror Mohammed.
As everywhere, so, too, in Pontus, the Greek, though subjected to harsh
slavery, did not lose courage and hope, but by uniting the strength
left him and taking courage anew, he endeavored, just in so far as
he could, to render his living with his conquerors as endurable as
possible, an attempt in which he succeeded by enlisting their sympathy
and esteem whenever they made use of him for high positions, or in the
arts and trades in which they needed his help. Those that had special
skill in iron-working in Chaldia and others in other places were even
granted special privileges.
The services rendered to the Ottoman Empire by the Hypsilanti,
Mourouzae and Carotsades of Pontus, were indeed invaluable, services
which brought honor and profit to their own fatherland and the Greek
race in general. Thus, Hellenism in Pontus partly by its steadily
honorable and sincere character, and partly by its intellectual
superiority generally, has made its impress on the conquerors and has
succeeded in distinguishing itself in education, in trade, in the
arts and sciences as the only element that makes for civilization.
Unceasingly cultivating Greek letters under the shield of the Greek
church, now in the monasteries or under the roof of the church, now in
special schools, it keeps alive the national feeling and sentiment,
which it has preserved and is preserving in a high degree, with the
hope of a more auspicious future and of some day recovering its full
freedom.
Never has it forgotten its glorious past. Glorying in this, with
beating heart it sings, as it has always sung, of the Greek name and
of Greek courage. A clear testimony of this is the preservation of the
name “Hellene” and the words “Hellenic spear” in the demotic songs
of the period after the fall of Constantinople. Having succeeded in
preserving even in the times of slavery its language and nationality
and the faith of its fathers, it takes pride in this and cherishes
unshaken the conviction that at the proper time the historical rights
that it possesses will not be overlooked.