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As a colony, Trapezous initially paid tribute to Sinope, but early banking (money-changing) activity is suggested occurring in the city already in the 4th century BC, according to a silver drachma coin from Trapezus in the British Museum, London. Like most Greek colonies, the city was a small enclave of Greek life, and not an empire unto its own, in the later European sense of the word. Others included Abydos and Cyzicus in the Dardanelles, and nearby Kerasous. It was one of a number (about ten) of Milesian emporia or trading colonies along the shores of the Black Sea. Īccording to Greek sources, the city was founded in classical antiquity in 756 BC as Tραπεζούς ( Trapezous), by Milesian traders from Sinope. One of the dominant Caucasian groups to the east were the Laz, who were part of the monarchy of the Colchis, together with other related Georgian peoples. Later Greek authors mentioned the Macrones and the Chalybes as native peoples. The Hayasa, who had been in conflict with the Central-Anatolian Hittites in the 14th century BC, are believed to have lived in the area south of Trabzon.
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It is possible that the settlement origins of Trabzon go back to these tribes. On display in the British Museum.īefore the city was founded as a Greek colony the area was dominated by Colchians (Caucasian) and Chaldian (Caucasian) tribes. BC bronze statue of (possibly Anahit as) Aphrodite, found near Kelkit to the south of Trabzon province. In Spanish the name was known from chivalric romances and Don Quixote.īecause of its similarity to trápala and trapaza, trapisonda acquired the meaning "hullabaloo, imbroglio" History Iron Age and Classical Antiquity These versions of the name, which have incidentally been used in English literature as well, include: Trebizonde ( Fr.), Trapezunt ( German), Trebisonda ( Sp.), Trapesunta ( It.), Trapisonda, Tribisonde, Terabesoun, Trabesun, Trabuzan, Trabizond and Tarabossan. Western geographers and writers used many spelling variations of the name throughout the Middle Ages. The 19th-century Armenian travelling priest Byjiskian called the city by other, native names, including Hurşidabat and Ozinis. In Laz it is known as ტამტრა ( T'amt'ra) or T'rap'uzani, in Georgian it is ტრაპიზონი ( T'rap'izoni) and in Armenian it is Տրապիզոն Trapizon. During Ottoman times, Tara Bozan was also used. In Ottoman Turkish and Persian, it is written as طربزون. Both in Pontic Greek and Modern Greek, it is called Τραπεζούντα ( Trapezounta). In Latin, Trabzon was called Trapezus, which is a latinization of its ancient Greek name. The first recorded name of the city is the Greek Tραπεζοῦς ( Trapezous), referencing the table-like central hill between the Zağnos (İskeleboz) and Kuzgun streams on which it was founded ( τράπεζα meant "table" in Ancient Greek note the table on the coin in the figure). It is historically known in English as Trebizond. The coin promotes the colonial Greek city as a 'table of plenty'. During the early modern period, Trabzon, because of the importance of its port, again became a focal point of trade to Persia and the Caucasus.Ĭoin of Trapezous from the 4th century BC in the British Museum. Trabzon formed the basis of several states in its long history and was the capital city of the Empire of Trebizond between 12. The Venetian and Genoese merchants paid visits to Trabzon during the medieval period and sold silk, linen and woolen fabric.īoth republics had merchant colonies within the city – Leonkastron and the former "Venetian castle" – that played a role to Trabzon similar to the one Galata played to Constantinople (modern Istanbul). Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Persia in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast. Trabzon ( Turkish pronunciation: Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα, ( Trapezounta), Georgian: ტრაპიზონი, (Trapizoni), Armenian: Տրապիզոն, romanized: Trapizon), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province.