1.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
2.
Empire of Trebizond
–
The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was a monarchy that flourished during the 13th through 15th centuries, consisting of the far northeastern corner of Anatolia and the southern Crimea. The Emperors of Trebizond pressed their claim on the Imperial throne for decades after the Nicaean reconquest of Constantinople in 1261, the Trapezuntine monarchy survived the longest of the Byzantine successor states. The Despotate of Epirus was slowly decimated, and briefly occupied by the restored Byzantine Empire c. 1340, thereafter becoming a Serbian dependency and later inherited by Italians, ultimately falling to the Ottoman Empire in 1479, having long ceased to contest the Byzantine throne. While the Empire of Nicaea had become the resurrected Byzantine Empire, the Empire of Trebizond continued until 1461 when the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquered it after a month-long siege and took its ruler and his family into captivity. The Crimean Principality of Theodoro, an offshoot of Trebizond, lasted another 14 years and its demographic legacy endured for several centuries after the Ottoman conquest in 1461 and the region retained a substantial number of Greek Orthodox inhabitants until 1923. These are usually referred to as Pontic Greeks and their displacement was formalized, and the few still remaining were required to leave, in 1923 with the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Many were resettled in Greek Macedonia and those living in the Crimea and the Russian province of Kars Oblast, much of which lies in modern Georgia, stayed longer, with some Greek speaking villages remaining in both locations today. Anthony Bryer has argued that six of the seven banda of the Byzantine theme of Chaldia were maintained in working order by the rulers of Trebizond until the end of the empire, helped by geography. This territory corresponds to an area comprising all or parts of the modern Turkish provinces of Sinop, Samsun, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon, Bayburt, Gümüşhane, Rize, and Artvin. In the 13th century, some believe the empire controlled the Gazarian Perateia. However, after Michael VIII Palaiologos of Nicaea recaptured Constantinople in 1261, in 1282, John II Komnenos stripped off his imperial regalia before the walls of Constantinople before entering to marry Michaels daughter and accept his legal title of despot. However, his successors used a version of his title, Emperor and Autocrat of the entire East, of the Iberians, rulers of Trebizond were also known as Prince of Lazes. Its wealth and exotic location endowed a lingering fame on the polity, cervantes described the eponymous hero of his Don Quixote as imagining himself for the valour of his arm already crowned at least Emperor of Trebizond. Rabelais had his character Picrochole, the ruler of Piedmont, declare, other allusions and works set in Trebizond continue into the 20th century. The city of Trebizond was the capital of the theme of Chaldia, the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos confirmed him as governor of Chaldia, but kept his son at Constantinople as a hostage for his good conduct. Nevertheless, Gabras proved himself a worthy guardian by repelling a Georgian attack on Trebizond, one of his successors, Gregory Taronites also rebelled with the aid of the Sultan of Cappadocia, but he was defeated and imprisoned, only to be made governor once more. Another successor to Theodore was Constantine Gabras, whom Niketas describes as ruling Trebizond as a tyrant, although that effort came to nothing, this was the last rebel governor known to recorded history prior to the events of 1204. Henceforth, the links between Trebizond and Georgia remained close, but their nature and extent have been disputed, both men were the grandsons of the last Komnenian Byzantine emperor, Andronikos I Komnenos, by his son Manuel Komnenos and Rusudan, daughter of George III of Georgia
Empire of Trebizond
–
Alexios III, from the
chrysobull he granted to the
Dionysiou monastery on
Mount Athos.
Empire of Trebizond
–
Empire of Trebizond (violet) and surrounding states in 1300
Empire of Trebizond
–
A 14th-century miniature Greek manuscript depicting
Byzantine Greek soldiers from the Empire of Trebizond.
Empire of Trebizond
–
Manuel I Megas Komnenos, "The Great Captain", "The Most Fortunate"
3.
Crimea
–
The peninsula is located south of the Ukrainian region of Kherson and west of the Russian region of Kuban. It is connected to Kherson Oblast by the Isthmus of Perekop and is separated from Kuban by the Strait of Kerch, the Arabat Spit is located to the northeast, a narrow strip of land that separates a system of lagoons named Sivash from the Sea of Azov. Crimea has historically been at the boundary between the world and the Pontic–Caspian steppe. Crimea and adjacent territories were united in the Crimean Khanate during the 15th to 18th century, in 1783, Crimea was annexed by the Russian Empire. It became the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within newly independent Ukraine in 1991, with Sevastopol having its own administration, within Ukraine, since 1997, after the Peace and Friendship Treaty signed by Russia and Ukraine, Crimea hosts the Russian Black Sea Fleet naval base in Sevastopol. The ex-Soviet Black Sea Fleet and its facilities were divided between Russias Black Sea Fleet and the Ukrainian Naval Forces, the two navies shared some of the citys harbours and piers, while others were demilitarised or used by either country. Sevastopol remained the location of the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters with the Ukrainian Naval Forces Headquarters also based in the city, most of the international community does not recognize the annexation and considers Crimea to be Ukrainian territory. Russia currently administers the peninsula as two federal subjects, the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Ukraine continues to assert its right over the peninsula, the classical name Tauris or Taurica is from the Greek Ταυρική, after the peninsulas Scytho-Cimmerian inhabitants, the Tauri. In English usage since the modern period the Crimean Khanate is referred to as Crim Tartary. The Italian form Crimea also becomes current during the 18th century, the omission of the definite article in English became common during the later 20th century. The name Crimea follows the Italian form from the Crimean Tatar name for the city Qırım which served as a capital of the Crimean province of the Golden Horde, the name of the capital was extended to the entire peninsula at some point during Ottoman suzerainty. The origin of the word Qırım is uncertain, suggestions argued in various sources include, a corruption of Cimmerium. A derivation from the Turkic term qirum, from qori-, other suggestions that have not been supported by sources but are apparently based on similarity in sound include, a derivation from the Greek Cremnoi. However, he identifies the port, not in Crimea, no evidence has been identified that this name was ever in use for the peninsula. The classical name was revived in 1802 in the name of the Russian Taurida Governorate, in the 8th century BCE the Cimmerians migrated to the region and subsequently the Scythians as well it being the site of Greek colonies. The most important city was Chersonesos at the edge of todays Sevastopol, the Persian Achaemenid Empire expanded to Crimea. Later occupiers included the Romans, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, the Byzantine Empire, Khazars, the Kipchaks, the Golden Horde, consideration of the succeeding residents of the peninsula by their linguistic grouping is also of relevance
Crimea
–
Ruins of ancient Greek colony of
Chersonesos
Crimea
–
Satellite image of the Crimean peninsula
Crimea
–
Swallow's Nest, built in 1912 for oil millionaire Baron von Steingel, a landmark of Crimea
Crimea
–
Armenian
monastery of the Holy Cross (Սուրբ Խաչ), established in 1358
4.
Chersonesus
–
Chersonesus, in medieval Greek contracted to Cherson is an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2,500 years ago in the southwestern part of the Crimean Peninsula. The colony was established in the 6th century BC by settlers from Heraclea Pontica, the ancient city is located on the shore of the Black Sea at the outskirts of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, where it is referred to as Khersones. It has been nicknamed the Ukrainian Pompeii, the site is now part of the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos. The name Chersonesos in Greek means peninsula, and aptly describes the site on which the colony was established and it should not be confused with the Tauric Chersonese, the name often applied to the whole of the southern Crimea. During much of the classical period Chersonesus was a democracy ruled by a group of elected archons, as time passed the government grew more oligarchic, with power concentrated in the hands of the archons. A form of oath sworn by all the citizens since the 3rd century BC has survived to the present day, in 2013, Chersonesus was listed as a World Heritage Site. Greek colonies In the late 2nd century BC Chersonesus became a dependency of the Bosporan Kingdom and it was subject to Rome from the middle of the 1st century BC until the 370s AD, when it was captured by the Huns. It became a Byzantine possession during the Early Middle Ages and withstood a siege by the Göktürks in 581, Byzantine rule was slight, there was a small imperial garrison more for the towns protection than for its control. Among its more famous inmates were Pope Clement I and Pope Martin I, according to Theophanes the Confessor and others, Chersonesus was the residence of a Khazar governor in the late 7th century. It remained in Byzantine hands until the 980s, when it fell to Kiev. Vladimir the Great agreed to evacuate the fortress only if Basil IIs sister Anna Porphyrogeneta would be him in marriage. The demand caused a scandal in Constantinople, as a pre-condition for the marriage settlement, Vladimir was baptized here in 988, thus paving the way to the Baptism of Kievan Rus. Since this campaign is not recorded in Greek sources, historians have suggested that this account actually refers to the events of the Rus-Byzantine War and to a different Vladimir. In fact, most valuables looted by the Slavs in Korsun made their way to Novgorod, one of the most interesting items from this Korsun Treasure is the copper Korsun Gate, supposedly captured by the Novgorodians in Korsun and now part of the St. Sophia Cathedral. After the Fourth Crusade, Chersonesus became dependent on the Byzantine Empire of Trebizond, in 1299, the town was sacked by the Mongol armies of Nogai Khans Golden Horde. In 1333 a Latin Church diocese of Chersonnesus was established, but it appears that it had only a bishop, later Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, President of Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church Chersonesus ancient ruins are presently located in one of Sevastopols suburbs. They were excavated by the Russian government, starting from 1827 and they are today a popular tourist attraction, protected as an archaeological park. The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture, the defensive wall was approximately 3.5 kilometres long,3.5 to 4 metres wide and 8 to 10 metres high with towers at a height of 10 to 12 metres
Chersonesus
–
St. Vladimir's Cathedral overlooks the extensive excavations of Chersonesus.
Chersonesus
–
Greek Coin from Cherronesos in Crimea depicting Diotimus wearing the royal diadem r., in exergue, ΧΕΡ ΔΙΟΤΙΜΟΥ Chersonesus in Crimea. 2nd century BCE.
Chersonesus
–
Viktor Vasnetsov: Baptism of
Saint Prince Vladimir in Korsun.
Chersonesus
–
The
Saint Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesus was built in the 19th century in the
Byzantine Revival style.
5.
Kerch
–
Kerch is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of the Crimea. Founded 2,600 years ago as an ancient Greek colony, the city experienced rapid growth starting in the 1920s and was the site of a major battle during World War II. Today, it is one of the largest cities in Crimea and is among the republics most important industrial, transport, archeological digs at Mayak village near the city ascertained that the area had already been inhabited in 17th–15th centuries BC. Kerch as a city starts its history in 7th century BC, Panticapaeum subdued nearby cities and by 480 BC became a capital of the Kingdom of Bosporus. Later, during the rule of Mithradates VI Eupator, Panticapaeum for a period of time became the capital of the much more powerful. The city was located at the intersection of routes between the steppe and Europe. This caused it to grow rapidly, the citys main exports were grain and salted fish, wine-making was also common. According to extant documents the Melek-Chesme river was navigable in Bosporan times, a large portion of the citys population was ethnically Scythian, later Sarmatian, as the large royal barrow at Kul-Oba testifies. In the 1st century AD Panticapaeum and the Kingdom of Bosporus suffered from Ostrogoth raids, from the 6th century the city was under the control of the Byzantine Empire. By order of Emperor Justinian I, a citadel named Bospor was built there, Bospor was the centre of a bishopric, the diocese of Bosporus and developed under the influence of Greek Christianity. In 576, it withstood a siege by the Göktürks under Bokhan, aided by Anagai, in the 7th century, the Turkic Khazars took control of Bospor, and the city was named Karcha from Turkic karşı meaning opposite, facing. The main local government official during Khazar times was the tudun, Christianity was a major religion in Kerch during the period of Khazar rule. Kerchs Church of St. John the Baptist was founded in 717, thus, the Church of the Apostles existed during the late 8th and early 9th centuries, according to the Life of the Apostle Andrew by Epiphanius of Salamis. Following the fall of Khazaria to Kievan Rus in the late 10th century and its ruler, Georgius Tzul, was deposed by a Byzantine-Rus expedition in 1016. From the 10th century, the city was a Slavic settlement named Korchev, Kerch was a center of trade between Russia, Crimea, Caucasus and the Orient. In the 13th century, the Crimea including Korchev was invaded by Mongols, after Mongols, the city became the Genoese colony of Cerco in 1318 and served as a sea harbour, where townspeople worked at salt-works and fishery. In 1475, city was passed to the Ottoman Empire, during the Turkish rule Kerch fell into decay and served as a slave-market. It repeatedly suffered from raids of Zaporizhian Cossacks, in response to strengthening of Russian military forces in Azov area, the Turks built a fortress, named Yenikale, near Kerch on the shore of Kerch Strait
Kerch
–
Kerch. Obelisk of Glory on Mount Mithridates
Kerch
–
Ruins of
Panticapaeum. 6th century BC
Kerch
–
Yenikale fortress in Kerch.
Crimea
Kerch
–
Church of St John the Baptist, 8th century
6.
Byzantine Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Byzantine Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
7.
Trabzon
–
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a gateway to Persia in the southeast. Trabzon formed the basis of states in its long history and was the capital city of the Empire of Trebizond between 1204 and 1461. During the early period, Trabzon, because of the importance of its port, became a focal point of trade to Iran. The Turkish name of the city is Trabzon and it is historically known in English as Trebizond. In Latin, Trabzon was called Trapezus, which is the latinization of the Ancient Greek Τραπεζοῦς, both in Pontic Greek and Modern Greek, it is called Τραπεζούντα. In Ottoman Turkish and Persian, it is written as طربزون, during Ottoman times, Tara Bozan was also used. Some western geographers used this name instead of the Latin Trebizond, in Laz it is known as ტამტრა or Trapuzani, in Georgian it is ტრაპიზონი and in Armenian it is Տրապիզոն Trapizon. The 19th-century Armenian travelling priest Byjiskian called the city by other, native names, including Hurşidabat, in classical antiquity the city was founded as Τραπεζοῦς by Milesian traders. It was one of a number of Milesian emporia or trading colonies along the shores of the Black Sea, others include Sinope, Abydos and Cyzicus. Like most Greek colonies, the city was an enclave of Greek life. Early banking activity is suggested occurring in the city according to a silver coin from Trapezus in the British Museum. Trebizonds trade partners included the Mossynoeci, when Xenophon and the Ten Thousand mercenaries were fighting their way out of Persia, the first Greek city they reached was Trebizond. The city and the local Mossynoeci had become estranged from the Mossynoecian capital, xenophons force resolved this in the rebels favor, and so in Trebizonds interest. The city was added to the kingdom of Pontus by Mithridates VI Eupator, when the kingdom was annexed to the Roman province of Galatia in 64–65, the fleet passed to new commanders, becoming the Classis Pontica. Trebizond gained importance under Roman rule in the 1st century for its access to roads leading over the Zigana Pass to the Armenian frontier or the upper Euphrates valley, new roads were constructed from Persia and Mesopotamia under the rule of Vespasian. In the next century, the emperor Hadrian commissioned improvements to give the city a more structured harbor, a mithraeum now serves as a crypt for the church and monastery of Panagia Theoskepastos in nearby Kizlara, east of the citadel and south of the modern harbor. Although Trebizond was rebuilt after being pillaged by the Goths in 258, only in the reign of Diocletian appears an inscription alluding to the restoration of the city, Ammianus Marcellinus could only write of Trebizond that it was not an obscure town
Trabzon
–
1. Uzun Street; 2. Trabzon at night; 3. Zagnos valley; 4. Faroz port; 5. Walls of Trabzon; 6.
Hagia Sophia; 7.
Sümela Monastery; 8.
Uzungöl; 9. Atatürk pavilion
Trabzon
–
Walls of Trabzon
Trabzon
–
On his return voyage from Asia,
Marco Polo ended his overland journey at the port of Trebizond and sailed to his hometown
Venice with a ship.
Trabzon
–
Port of Trabzon in the 1920s.
8.
Comneni
–
Through intermarriages with other noble clans, notably the Doukai, Angeloi, and Palaiologoi, the Komnenos name appears among most of the major noble houses of the late Byzantine world. The first known member of the family, Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, acquired estates at Kastamon in Paphlagonia. The family thereby quickly became associated with the powerful and prestigious military aristocracy of Asia Minor, the Romanian historian George Murnu suggested in 1924 that the Komnenoi were of Aromanian descent, but this view too is now rejected. Modern scholars consider the family to have been entirely of Greek origin, Manuel Erotikos Komnenos was the father of Isaac I Komnenos and grandfather, through Isaacs younger brother John Komnenos, of Alexios I Komnenos. Isaac I Komnenos, a Stratopedarch of the East under Michael VI, in 1057 Isaac led a coup against Michael and was proclaimed emperor. Although his reign lasted only till 1059, when his courtiers pressured him to abdicate and become a monk, the dynasty returned to the throne with the accession of Alexios I Komnenos, Isaac Is nephew, in 1081. By this time, descendants of all the dynasties of Byzantium seem to have disappeared from the realm. Thereafter the combined clan often was referred as Komnenodoukai and several individuals used both surnames together, several families descended from the Komnenodoukai, such as Palaiologos, Angelos, Vatatzes and Laskaris. Alexios and Irenes youngest daughter Theodora ensured the success of the Angelos family by marrying into it. Under Alexios I and his successors the Empire was fairly prosperous, Alexios moved the imperial palace to the Blachernae section of Constantinople. Much of Anatolia was recovered from the Seljuk Turks, who had captured it just prior to Alexios reign, Alexios also saw the First Crusade pass through Byzantine territory, leading to the establishment of the Crusader states in the east. Remarkably, Alexios ruled for 37 years, and his son John II ruled for 25, after uncovering a conspiracy against him by his sister, the chronicler Anna Komnene, johns son Manuel ruled for another 37 years. The Komnenos dynasty produced a number of branches, the Angeloi were overthrown during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, by Alexios Doukas, a relative from the Doukas family. Their first emperor, named Alexios I, was the grandson of Emperor Andronikos I and these emperors – the Grand Komnenoi as they were known – ruled in Trebizond for over 250 years, until 1461, when David Komnenos was defeated and executed by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II. Mehmed himself claimed descent from the Komnenos family via John Tzelepes Komnenos, the Trapezutine branch of the Komnenos dynasty also held the name of Axouchos as descendants of John Axouch, a Byzantine nobleman and minister to the Byzantine Komnenian Dynasty. A princess of the Trebizond branch is said to have been the mother of prince Yahya, another branch of the family founded the Despotate of Epirus in 1204, under Michael I Komnenos Doukas, great-grandson of Emperor Alexios I. When the eastern Empire was restored in 1261 at Constantinople, it was ruled by a closely related to the Komnenoi. The Palaiologoi ruled until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 and his claims to descent from the imperial dynasty of Trebizond, however, are most likely a fabrication
Comneni
–
Alexios I Komnenos.
9.
Fourth Crusade
–
The Fourth Crusade was a Western European armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III, originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, a sequence of events culminated in the Crusaders sacking the city of Constantinople, the intention of the crusaders was then to continue to the Holy Land with promised Byzantine financial and military assistance. On 23 June 1203 the main fleet reached Constantinople. In August 1203, following clashes outside Constantinople, Alexios Angelos was crowned co-Emperor with crusader support, however, in January 1204, he was deposed by a popular uprising in Constantinople. In April 1204, they captured and brutally sacked the city, Byzantine resistance based in unconquered sections of the empire such as Nicaea, Trebizond, and Epirus ultimately recovered Constantinople in 1261. Ayyubid Sultan Saladin had conquered most of the Frankish, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the ancient city itself, the Kingdom had been established 88 years before, after the capture and sack of Jerusalem in the First Crusade. The city was sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews, Saladin led a Muslim dynasty, and his incorporation of Jerusalem into his domains shocked and dismayed the Catholic countries of Western Europe. Legend has it that Pope Urban III literally died of the shock, the crusader states had been reduced to three cities along the sea coast, Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch. The Third Crusade reclaimed an extensive amount of territory for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the key towns of Acre and Jaffa, but had failed to retake Jerusalem. The crusade had also marked by a significant escalation in long standing tensions between the feudal states of western Europe and the Byzantine Empire, centred in Constantinople. The experiences of the first two crusades had thrown into relief the vast cultural differences between the two Christian civilisations. For their part, the educated and wealthy Byzantines maintained a sense of cultural, organizational. Constantinople had been in existence for 874 years at the time of the Fourth Crusade and was the largest and most sophisticated city in Christendom. Almost alone amongst major medieval urban centres, it had retained the civic structures, public baths, forums, monuments, at its height, the city held an estimated population of about half a million people behind thirteen miles of triple walls. As a result, it was both a rival and a target for the aggressive new states of the west, notably the Republic of Venice. Crusaders also seized the breakaway Byzantine province of Cyprus, rather than return it to the Empire, barbarossa died on crusade, and his army quickly disintegrated, leaving the English and French, who had come by sea, to fight Saladin. There they captured Sidon and Beirut, but at the news of Henrys death in Messina along the way, many of the nobles, deserted by much of their leadership, the rank and file crusaders panicked before an Egyptian army and fled to their ships in Tyre. Also in 1195, the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos was deposed in favour of his brother by a palace coup, ascending as Alexios III Angelos, the new emperor had his brother blinded and exiled
Fourth Crusade
–
Conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204
Fourth Crusade
–
The Crusader attack on Constantinople, from a Venetian manuscript of Geoffreoy de Villehardouin's history, ca. 1330
Fourth Crusade
–
Capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204
Fourth Crusade
–
The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (
Eugène Delacroix, 1840). The most infamous action of the Fourth Crusade was the sack of the Orthodox Christian city of
Constantinople
10.
Constantinople
–
Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Latin, and the later Ottoman empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex defences. The first wall of the city was erected by Constantine I, Constantinople never truly recovered from the devastation of the Fourth Crusade and the decades of misrule by the Latins. The origins of the name of Byzantion, more known by the later Latin Byzantium, are not entirely clear. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas. The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honour of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was likely just a play on the word Byzantion. During this time, the city was also called Second Rome, Eastern Rome, and Roma Constantinopolitana. As the city became the remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently, the medieval Vikings, who had contacts with the empire through their expansion in eastern Europe used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr, and later Miklagard and Miklagarth. In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-kubra and in Persian as Takht-e Rum, in East and South Slavic languages, including in medieval Russia, Constantinople was referred to as Tsargrad or Carigrad, City of the Caesar, from the Slavonic words tsar and grad. This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις, the modern Turkish name for the city, İstanbul, derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning into the city or to the city. In 1928, the Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script, in time the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpolis/Konstantinoúpoli or simply just the City, apart from this, little is known about this initial settlement, except that it was abandoned by the time the Megarian colonists settled the site anew. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c.150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and had in the Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbour. He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina, fortifying it with a new city wall in his name, Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, yet it had been the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Constantinople was built over 6 years, and consecrated on 11 May 330, Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis
Constantinople
–
Constantinople in the Byzantine era
Constantinople
–
Map of Byzantine Constantinople
Constantinople
–
Emperor
Constantine I presents a representation of the city of Constantinople as tribute to an enthroned Mary and Christ Child in this church mosaic.
Hagia Sophia, c. 1000
Constantinople
–
Coin struck by Constantine I to commemorate the founding of Constantinople
11.
Republic of Genoa
–
It began when Genoa became a self-governing commune within the Regnum Italicum, and ended when it was conquered by the French First Republic under Napoleon and replaced with the Ligurian Republic. Corsica was ceded to France in the Treaty of Versailles of 1768, before 1100, Genoa emerged as an independent city-state, one of a number of Italian city-states during this period. Nominally, the Holy Roman Emperor was overlord and the Bishop of Genoa was president of the city, however, actual power was wielded by a number of consuls annually elected by popular assembly. The Adorno, Campofregoso, and other merchant families all fought for power in this Republic, as the power of the consuls allowed each family faction to gain wealth. The Republic of Genoa extended over modern Liguria and Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica, through Genoese participation on the Crusades, Genoese colonies were established in the Middle East, in the Aegean, in Sicily and Northern Africa. The collapse of the Crusader States was offset by Genoa’s alliance with the Byzantine Empire, as Venices relations with the Byzantine Empire were temporarily disrupted by the Fourth Crusade and its aftermath, Genoa was able to improve its position. Genoa took advantage of opportunity to expand into the Black Sea and Crimea. Internal feuds between the families, the Grimaldi and Fieschi, the Doria, Spinola, and others caused much disruption. However, this prosperity did not last, the Black Death was imported into Europe in 1347 from the Genoese trading post at Caffa in Crimea, on the Black Sea. Following the economic and population collapse, Genoa adopted the Venetian model of government, the wars with Venice continued, and the War of Chioggia -- where Genoa almost managed to decisively subdue Venice—ended with Venices recovery of dominance in the Adriatic. In 1390 Genoa initiated a crusade against the Barbary pirates with help from the French, though it has not been well-studied, the fifteenth century seems to have been a tumultuous time for Genoa. After a period of French domination from 1394–1409, Genoa came under rule by the Visconti of Milan, Genoa lost Sardinia to Aragon, Corsica to internal revolt and its Middle Eastern, Eastern European and Asia Minor colonies to the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Under the ensuing economic recovery, many aristocratic Genoese families, such as the Balbi, Doria, Grimaldi, Pallavicini, according to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and others, the practices Genoa developed in the Mediterranean were crucial in the exploration and exploitation of the New World. At the time of Genoa’s peak in the 16th century, the city attracted many artists, including Rubens, Caravaggio and Van Dyck. The architect Galeazzo Alessi designed many of the city’s splendid palazzi, as did in the decades that followed by fifty years Bartolomeo Bianco, a number of Genoese Baroque and Rococo artists settled elsewhere and a number of local artists became prominent. At the time of its founding in the early 11th century the Republic of Genoa consisted of the city of Genoa, as the commerce of the city increased, so did the territory of the Republic. By 1015 all of Liguria fell under the Republic of Genoa, after the First Crusade in 1098 Genoa gained settlements in Syria. In 1261 the city of Smyrna in Asia Minor became Genoese territory, in 1255 Genoa established the colony of Caffa in Crimea
Republic of Genoa
–
View of Genoa and its fleet by Christoforo de Grassi (1597 copy, after a drawing of 1481); Galata Museo del Mare, Genoa.
Republic of Genoa
–
Flag
Republic of Genoa
–
Siege of
Antioch, 1098
Republic of Genoa
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Galata Tower (1348) in
Galata,
Istanbul.
12.
Tatar
–
The Tatars are a Turkic people living in Asia and Europe who were one of the five major tribal confederations in the Mongolian plateau in the 12th century CE. The name Tatar first appears in form on the Kul Tigin monument as
Tatar
–
Persian miniature of the
Szigetvár campaign showing Ottoman troops and
Tatars as vanguard.
Tatar
–
Contemporary distribution of
Kipchak languages: Kipchak–Bolgar Kipchak–Cuman Kipchak–Nogay and Kyrgyz–Kipchak
Tatar
–
Map of Tartaria (1705)
Tatar
–
Drawing of Mongols of the
Golden Horde outside
Vladimir presumably demanding submission, before sacking the city.
13.
Seljuk Turks
–
The Seljuqs established both the Seljuk Empire and Sultanate of Rum, which at their heights stretched from Anatolia through Iran and were targets of the First Crusade. During the 10th century, due to events, the Oghuz had come into close contact with Muslim cities. Around 985, Seljuq converted to Islam, in the 11th century the Seljuqs migrated from their ancestral homelands into mainland Persia, in the province of Khurasan, where they encountered the Ghaznavid empire. In 1025,40,000 families of Oghuz Turks migrated to the area of Caucasian Albania, the Seljuqs defeated the Ghaznavids at the battle of Nasa plains in 1035. Tughril, Chaghri, and Yabghu received the insignias of governor, grants of land, at the battle of Dandanaqan they defeated a Ghaznavid army, and after a successful siege of Isfahan by Tughril in 1050/51, they established an empire later called the Great Seljuk Empire. The Seljuqs mixed with the population and adopted the Persian culture. The Great Seljuqs were heads of the family, in theory their authority extended over all the other Seljuq lines, turkish custom called for the senior member of the family to be the Great Seljuq, although usually the position was associated with the ruler of western Persia. Muhammads son Mahmud II succeeded him in western Persia, but Ahmad Sanjar, the rulers of western Persia, who maintained a very loose grip on the Abbasids of Baghdad. Several Turkic emirs gained a level of influence in the region. Kerman was a province in southern Persia, between 1053 and 1154, the territory also included Umman. Kerman was eventually annexed by the Khwarezmid Empire in 1196, the Empire of the Steppes, a History of Central Asia. Early Seljuq History, A New Interpretation, New York, NY, Routledge,2010 Previté-Orton, C. W
Seljuk Turks
–
History of the Turkic peoples Pre-14th century
Seljuk Turks
–
Seljuq dynasty
Seljuk Turks
14.
Sudak
–
Sudak serves as the administrative center of Sudak Municipality, one of the regions Crimea is divided into. It is situated 57 km to the west of Feodosia and 104 km to the east of Simferopol, a city of antiquity, today it is a popular resort, best known for its Genoese fortress, the best preserved on the northern shore of the Black Sea. It is believed that the city was founded in 212 CE by Alani settlers on the territory of the Bosporan Kingdom, merchants from the Roman Empire founded Sougdaea, in Greek Σουγδαία in the 3rd century. In the 6th century, the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I ordered the construction of a fortress, the Khazars attacked in the 7th century, giving it the name Suğdaq. The Life of St. Stefan of Surozh describes the 8th-century town as a dependency of the Byzantine Empire, around the start of the 9th century, it was supposedly attacked by the Rus chieftain, Bravlin. It is thought that the Khazars retained the town from the early 9th century until 1016, afterwards, the town seems to have preserved some sort of autonomy within the Byzantine Empire. From the 9th century until around the 12th century, there were important trade exchanges between the then Surozh and the Kievan Rus. It became an important location for trading on the Silk Road in the 12th and 13th centuries, despite attacks by the Cumans-Kipchaks in the 11th century and further damages inflicted by the Tatars. The city was controlled by the Cumans-Kipchaks, as reported by Ibn al-Air, ships come to it bearing clothes. The Qifjiqs buy from them and sell them slaves, the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum army and fleet from Sinop held and fortified Sudak in 1224. Whereupon, the Sultan of Rum, Kayqubad I, built a mosque in 1225, the Venetians also came to Sudak at the beginning of the 13th century to take their share, naming the fortress Soldaia, before ceding it to Genoese control in 1365. The Ottomans took control of Soldaia and all other Genoese colonies, in 1771, Sudak was occupied by Rumyantsevs army. In 1783, it passed to the Russian Empire, with the rest of Crimea. Though sometimes contested, it seems that a mass emigration occurred as a result of the instability in that period. Even Potemkin 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 was opened there, the present status of the town was acquired in 1982. Under Venetian/Genoese rule, a Latin Catholic diocese of Soldaia was established in 1390, in 1933 the Ancient see was nominally restored as Titular bishopric of Sugdæa, which was promoted in 1948 to Metropolitan titular archbishopric. Stefan of Surozh Theodora, the basilissa of Sugdaia The murder of the Jews of Sudak during World War II, at Yad Vashem website
Sudak
–
The Sudak Bay in the evening.
Sudak
–
Panorama of Sudak
Sudak
–
Nature in Sudak
15.
Sinop, Turkey
–
The city serves as the capital of Sinop Province. Long used as a Hittite port, which appears in Hittite sources as Sinuwa, Sinope flourished as the Black Sea port of a caravan route that led from the upper Euphrates valley. It issued its own coinage, founded colonies, and gave its name to a red pigment called sinopia. Sinope escaped Persian domination until the early 4th century BC and it was ruled by Scydrothemis from 301 to 280 BC. In 183 BC it was captured by Pharnaces I and became capital of the Kingdom of Pontus, the Roman general Lucullus conquered Sinope in 70 BC, and Julius Caesar established a Roman colony there, Colonia Julia Felix, in 47 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in 395, Sinope remained with the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. After the sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, it was captured for the Empire of Trebizond by David Komnenos, the city returned briefly to Trapezuntine rule in 1254, but returned to Turkish control in 1265, where it has remained since. After 1265, Sinop became home to two successive independent emirates following the fall of the Seljuks, the Pervâne and the Jandarids. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II overawed Ismail, the emir of Sinope on his march on Trebizond, the emir was exiled to Philippopolis in northern Thrace. In 1614 Sinop was targeted by Cossack raiders and extensively looted and burned in an event which shocked Ottoman contemporaries, in the late 19th and early 20th century, Sinop was part of the Kastamonu Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. As of 1920, Sinop was described as populated mainly by Greeks with a population of 8,000. It was also considered the safest port between Bosphorus and Batum, at the time, during this period, the port was exporting wheat, tobacco, seeds, timber and hides. They imported produce, coal and hardware, Sinop hosted a US military base and radar that was important for intelligence during the cold war era. The US base was closed in 1992, explorer Bob Ballard discovered an ancient ship wreck north west of Sinop in the Black Sea and was shown on National Geographic. Sinop has warm and humid summers with a daytime high of 26 °C however temperatures rarely exceed 30 °C. The highest recorded temperature for Sinop was 34.4 °C on 6 July 2000, the winters are cool and wet. The average for winter ranging around 5 °C, the lowest recorded temperature for Sinop was -7.5 °C on 21 February 1985. Snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two, as of 1920, Sinop was producing embroidered cotton cloth
Sinop, Turkey
–
A collage of Sinop,
Turkey. Top left: view of Sinop North Wall, nearby Demirci and Bezirci area; top right: Sinop Fortress and Port of Sinop; middle right: View of Plaj Yolu, nearby Sinop Anadolu Imam Hatip College from Baris Manco Park; bottom left: Panorama view of downtown Sinop, from Hippodrome Hill; bottom right: Hamsilos resort area
Sinop, Turkey
–
Sinop old city, Ottoman era postcard
Sinop, Turkey
–
Black Sea and Sinop port.
Sinop, Turkey
–
Sinop museum
16.
Gabras
–
The Gabrades are attested for the first time in the late 10th century, when Constantine Gabras participated in the revolt of Bardas Skleros. The general Theodore Gabras captured Trebizond and ruled it and the theme of Chaldia as an autonomous state. He was celebrated for his exploits, and was later venerated as a saint in the region. His son, Constantine Gabras, also became governor of Chaldia, a branch of the family also became rulers of the Principality of Theodoro in the Crimea. The family first appears in the corner of the Byzantine world. The familys ethnic origin is unknown, some scholars like Alexander Vasiliev and Alexander Kazhdan suggested an Armenian origin, as with many other aristocratic families of the time, but the surname Gabras is neither Armenian nor Greek. Persian and Aramaic origins for the name have suggested, including a suggestion by Konstantinos Amantos that it is a corruption of the name Gabriel. The first known member of the family, Constantine Gabras, participated in the 976–979 revolt of Bardas Skleros, in 1040, a Michael Gabras was one of the leaders of a failed aristocratic conspiracy against the Domestic of the Schools Constantine, a brother of Emperor Michael IV. He too was blinded along with his fellow conspirators, the first important member of the family was Saint Theodore Gabras. A native of Chaldia, he was an energetic and valiant man and he recaptured Trebizond from the Turks in 1075, and was appointed governor of Chaldia by Alexios I Komnenos in 1081. Gabras ruled Chaldia as an independent ruler, and until his death in battle in 1098, he fought with success against the Danishmend Turks. He became a figure in both Pontic Greek and Turkoman poetry, and was recognized by the Orthodox Church as a martyr. Theodore tried to kidnap him in 1091, but failed, nothing further is known of Gregory Gabras, but he may be identical to Gregory Taronites, who as doux of Chaldia in 1103–1106 also led a rebellion against Alexios. Another member of the family, Constantine Gabras, whose relation to Theodore is unknown, was also appointed doux of Chaldia by John II Komnenos ca. He ruled it independently from 1126 until 1140, when John II subdued him. His exploits also formed part of an oral tradition in the Pontus. 1900, has shown to be a modern work drawing from other medieval sources. The Gabrades Turkish counterpart and main rivals were the Danishmendid emirs of Neokaisareia and Sebasteia, already in the 1140s, a nameless member of the family fought on the side of the Seljuks and was captured and executed by Manuel I Komnenos in 1146
Gabras
–
Copper
follis minted at Trebizond under Theodore Gabras
17.
Principality of Theodoro
–
Its capital was Doros, which was also sometimes called Theodoro and is now known as Mangup. The state was closely allied with the Empire of Trebizond and was distinctive for its East Germanic population and its population was a mixture of Greeks, Crimean Goths, Alans, Bulgars, Cumans, Kipchaks and other ethnic groups, which confessed Orthodox Christianity. The principalitys official language was Greek, the territory was initially under the control of Trebizond as part of its Crimean possessions, the Gazarian Perateia. Further references occur over the course of the 14th century, with several scholars identifying the Dmitry, the name in this case may possibly be the baptismal name of a Tartar lord of Mangup, named Khuitani. The name Theodoro appears for the first time in a Greek inscription also dated to c, 1361/2, and then again as Theodoro Mangop in a Genoese document of 1374. A narrow strip of the land from Yamboli in the west to Aluston in the east initially part of the principality soon fell under Genoese control. Local Greeks called this region Parathalassia, while under Genoese rule it was known as Captainship of Gothia, after they had lost harbours on the southern coast Theodorites built a new port called Avlita at the mouth of the Chernaya River and fortified it with the fortress of Kalamita. On 6 June 1475, the Ottoman commander Gedik Ahmet Pasha conquered Caffa and at the end of the year, after six months of besieging Mangup, the city fell to the assailants. While much of the rest of Crimea remained part of the Crimean Khanate, now an Ottoman vassal, the first named prince is Demetrios, attested c. 1362/3 at the Battle of Blue Waters and he is possibly to be identified with the hekatontarches Khuitani, who erected the stone inscription mentioning the name Theodoro on the walls of Mangup at about the same time. The princes following after Demetrios are known solely through Russian sources, the prince Stephen, emigrated to Moscow in 1391 or 1402 along with his son Gregory. His patronymic implies the existence of a father named Basil, who preceded him as prince. Stephen and Gregory became monks, and Gregory later founded the Simonov Monastery in Moscow, the Russian noble families of Khovrin and Golovin claimed descent from them. In Gothia, Stephen was succeeded by son, Alexios I. Alexios heir was his eldest son John, who was married to Maria Asanina, a lady connected to the Byzantine imperial dynasty of the Palaiologoi, the couple had a son, also named Alexios, who died young c. His epitaph, titled To the Princes son, was composed by John Eugenikos, a daughter of Alexios I, Maria of Gothia, became in 1426 the first wife of the last Trebizondian emperor, David. Olubei is no longer mentioned after c,1458, and no princes are known by name for some while, Genoese documents only mention the lord of Theodoro and his brothers. In 1465, prince Isaac is mentioned, probably Olubeis son, in the face of the mounting Ottoman danger, he engaged in a rapprochement with the Genoese at Caffa and wed his sister Maria Asanina Palaiologina to Stephen the Great, ruler of Moldavia
Principality of Theodoro
–
Stone inscription of the Principality at the fortress of Funa
Principality of Theodoro
–
Theodoro shown in green
18.
Ukraine
–
Ukraine is currently in territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014 but which Ukraine and most of the international community recognise as Ukrainian. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2, making it the largest country entirely within Europe and it has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world. The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC, during the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the powerful state of Kievan Rus forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation in the 13th century, the territory was contested, ruled and divided by a variety of powers, including Lithuania, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, two brief periods of independence occurred during the 20th century, once near the end of World War I and another during World War II. Before its independence, Ukraine was typically referred to in English as The Ukraine, following independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state. Nonetheless it formed a limited partnership with the Russian Federation and other CIS countries. In the 2000s, the government began leaning towards NATO, and it was later agreed that the question of joining NATO should be answered by a national referendum at some point in the future. Former President Viktor Yanukovych considered the current level of co-operation between Ukraine and NATO sufficient, and was against Ukraine joining NATO and these events formed the background for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, and the War in Donbass in April 2014. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine applied the economic part of the Deep, Ukraine has long been a global breadbasket because of its extensive, fertile farmlands and is one of the worlds largest grain exporters. The diversified economy of Ukraine includes a heavy industry sector, particularly in aerospace. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate powers, legislative, executive. Its capital and largest city is Kiev, taking into account reserves and paramilitary personnel, Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe after that of Russia. Ukrainian is the language and its alphabet is Cyrillic. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodoxy, which has strongly influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature, there are different hypotheses as to the etymology of the name Ukraine. According to the older and most widespread hypothesis, it means borderland, while more recently some studies claim a different meaning, homeland or region. The Ukraine now implies disregard for the sovereignty, according to U. S. ambassador William Taylor. Neanderthal settlement in Ukraine is seen in the Molodova archaeological sites include a mammoth bone dwelling
Ukraine
–
Gold
Scythian pectoral, or neckpiece, from a royal
kurgan in
Ordzhonikidze, dated to the 4th century BC
Ukraine
–
Flag
Ukraine
–
Principalities of
Kievan Rus', 1054-1132
Ukraine
–
The baptism of the Grand Prince Vladimir led to the adoption of Christianity in
Kievan Rus'.
19.
History of Ukraine
–
The territory of Ukraine was inhabited by Neanderthals for at least 44,000 years. After a 1648 rebellion against dominantly Polish Catholic rule, an assembly of the agreed to the Treaty of Pereyaslav in January 1654. Soon, the portion of the Polish-Lithuanian empire east of the Dnieper River came under Russian rule. After the Partitions of Poland and conquest of Crimean Khanate, Ukraine was divided between the Tsardom of Russia and Habsburg Austria, a chaotic period of warfare ensued after the Russian Revolution. The internationally recognised Ukrainian Peoples Republic emerged from its own civil war, the Ukrainian–Soviet War followed, in which the bolsheviks Red Army established control in late 1919. Initial Soviet policy on Ukrainian language and Ukrainian culture made Ukrainian the official language of administration, policy in the 1930s turned to russification. In 1932 and 1933, millions of people, mostly peasants, in Ukraine starved to death in a devastating famine and it is estimated that 6 to 8 million people died from hunger in the Soviet Union during this period, of whom 4 to 5 million were Ukrainians. Nikita Khrushchev was appointed the head of the Ukrainian Communist Party in 1938, after the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union, the Ukrainian SSRs territory was enlarged westward. Ukraine was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, during World War II the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought for Ukrainian independence against both Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the members of the United Nations. After Stalins death, as head of the Communist Party of Soviet Union, nevertheless, there were further political repressions against poets, historians and other intellectuals, like in all other parts of the USSR. In 1954, the republic expanded to the south with the transfer of the Crimea, Ukraine became independent again when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. This started a period of transition to an economy, in which Ukraine suffered an eight-year recession. Since then, however, the economy has experienced an increase in GDP growth. Ukraine was caught up in the economic crisis in 2008. GDP fell 20% from spring 2008 to spring 2009, then leveled off, the prolonged Ukrainian crisis began on 21 November 2013, when then-president Viktor Yanukovych suspended preparations for the implementation of an association agreement with the European Union. This decision resulted in protests by its supporters, known as the Euromaidan. After months of protests, Yanukovych was ousted by the protesters on 22 February 2014
History of Ukraine
–
Overseas Guests by
Nicholas Roerich, 1899
History of Ukraine
–
Archaeological cultures associated with
proto-Slavs and
early Slavs:
Chernoles culture (before 500 BC),
Zarubintsy culture (300 BC to AD 100),
Przeworsk culture (300 BC to AD 400),
Prague-Korchak horizon (6th to 7th century, Slavic expansion)
History of Ukraine
–
The baptism of
Princess Olga in
Constantinople. A miniature from the
Radzivill Chronicle.
History of Ukraine
–
The Galician–Volhynian Kingdom in the 13th–14th centuries
20.
History of Russia
–
The History of Russia begins with that of the Eastern Slavs. The traditional beginning of Russian history is 862 A. D. Kievan Rus, the state adopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988, beginning with the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Kievan Rus ultimately disintegrated as a state because of the Mongol invasion of Rus in 1237–1240, after the 13th century, Moscow became a cultural center. By the 18th century, the Tsardom of Russia had become the huge Russian Empire, expansion in the western direction sharpened Russias awareness of its separation from much of the rest of Europe and shattered the isolation in which the initial stages of expansion had occurred. Successive regimes of the 19th century responded to such pressures with a combination of halfhearted reform, peasant revolts were common, and all were fiercely suppressed. Russian serfdom was abolished in 1861, but the peasant fared poorly, from its first years, government in the Soviet Union was based on the one-party rule of the Communists, as the Bolsheviks called themselves, beginning in March 1918. The Russian Federation began in January 1992 as the successor to the USSR. Russia retained its nuclear arsenal but lost its superpower status, Russias treatment of Ukraine led to severe economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. In 2006,1. 5-million-year-old Oldowan flint tools were discovered in the Dagestan Akusha region of the north Caucasus, arctic Russia was reached by 40,000 years ago. During the prehistoric eras the vast steppes of Southern Russia were home to tribes of nomadic pastoralists, in classical antiquity, the Pontic Steppe was known as Scythia. Remnants of these long gone steppe cultures were discovered in the course of the 20th century in places as Ipatovo, Sintashta, Arkaim. In the latter part of the 8th century BCE, Greek merchants brought classical civilization to the trade emporiums in Tanais, gelonus was described by Herodotos as a huge earth- and wood-fortified grad inhabited around 500 BCE by Heloni and Budini. At about the 2nd century CE Goths migrated to the Black Sea, and in the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, a Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled the lower Volga basin steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas through to the 8th century. Noted for their laws, tolerance, and cosmopolitanism, the Khazars were the commercial link between the Baltic and the Muslim Abbasid empire centered in Baghdad. They were important allies of the Byzantine Empire, and waged a series of wars against the Arab Caliphates. In the 8th century, the Khazars embraced Judaism, some of the ancestors of the modern Russians were the Slavic tribes, whose original home is thought by some scholars to have been the wooded areas of the Pripet Marshes. The Early East Slavs gradually settled Western Russia in two waves, one moving from Kiev towards present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk towards Novgorod, scandinavian Norsemen, known as Vikings in Western Europe and Varangians in the East, combined piracy and trade throughout Northern Europe. In the mid-9th century, they began to venture along the waterways from the eastern Baltic to the Black, thus, the first East Slavic state, Rus, emerged in the 9th century along the Dnieper River valley
History of Russia
–
The
Millennium of Russia monument (was opened on 8th September 1862) on a postage stamp dedicated to the 1140th anniversary of the
Russian statehood in 2002
History of Russia
–
The Sacking of
Suzdal by
Batu Khan in February 1238: a
miniature from the 16th-century chronicle
History of Russia
–
Alexander Nevsky in the
Golden Horde.
History of Russia
–
During the reign of
Daniel, Moscow was little more than a small timber fort lost in the forests of Central
Rus'
