Sinop ||Karadenizin incisi Sinop ||

SINOP in Ancient Times(Eski Zamanlarda Sinop - 1960) - Leslie Payne DELANEY

CHAPTER ONE

Pre-history

Searching for the northern most tip of Asian Turkey, (1) we find the great peninsula of Lepte, as it was called in ancient times. Today the Turks style it by its two capes, calling them, the Ince Burun (2) and the Sinop Burun. The Sinop Burun is of our immediate interest here, although much later in our history the Ince Burun also plays some part.

The Sinop Burun is, practically speaking, an island of the average elevation of six hundred feet, stretching to a length of two miles and to a width of one mile. It is joined to the mainland by a near sea-level isthmus, which has an average width of a quarter of a mile. The Sinop Burun extends from the peninsula almost due east, which gives it a northern and southern buy. The southern bay is well protected, having the Sinop Burun on one side and the mainland on the other.

Inland, the peninsula is isolated from the rest of Asian Turkey by the northern chain of mountains called the Kuzey Anadolu Daglari. The highest peak near the peninsula is Mt. Yaraligoz which is an elevation of 6512 feet. The peninsula is divided by the Karasu River, which separates the lace Burun from the Sinop Burun. About sixty miles to the east, lies the Kizil River, better known as the Halys River in ancient times.

The origin of the peninsula is a pleasure to illustrate, because the strata in the bill of the Sinop Burun are so well defined, Long before man came on the surface of the earth or even before Asian Turkey in its present geography was located, the Black (3) was disturbed by under water volcanoes. The lowest stratum of the Sinop Burun reveals these ancient eruptions. Later in ancient times, as the sea gathered its dead life, fossilization occurred. This caused the rich limestone deposits above the volcanic rock. And then almost certainly before the dawn of man, when the seas began to form from the great ice ages and land was formed from earthquakes, the Sinop Burun was projected from the sea. The isthmus does not seem to have limestone, but rather volcanic rock and then earth accumulated there long after the Sinop Burun was formed. Even in historical times, the isthmus was flooded and the water has deposited more sand there, even though some parts of the isthmus seemed to have slipped into the sea.

The weather is rather mild with the rain season in the early spring, and hot summers with cool breezes from the Black Sea. The autumn months are afflicted with occasional cold waves with snow and ice for not more than a few weeks at a time.

FIRST FOUNDATION

It is often theorized that the Assyrians, and especially the Hittites, inhabited the Sinop precincts. Some historians claim that it was Sinop that the Hittites referred to as Sinuwa However, if the Assyrians or the Hittites ever came to Sinop, they didn't leave any trace which the archaeologists, Drs. Akurgal and Budde,, could discover in 1951 and 1953. As early as 1200 B.C. we read on Assyrian tablets of people known as the Gasgas. These people were believed to have lived in the Sinop area, but their remains have yet to be found.

After 1184 B.C., Greeks known as the Argonauts began to explore the Black Sea. It was known to some as the Pontos, which means the open sea. Others called it the Euxine Sea, or the Hospitable, as if to pacify its treacherous waters. The Black Sea was a challenge to the young Greek seeking adventure and wealth. The tales of Jason and the Golden Fleece of the land of Colchis (4) promised all these. The Odyssey of Homer, which has today been misconceived, referred to the Black Sea. The straits of the Dardanalles and the Bosphorus were the hazards of Scylla and Charybdis. Our own subject, Sinop, could well have been the home of the Cyclops. During the early spring, low hanging clouds and blankets of mist vanish the hill of the Sinop Burun; until an unsuspecting sail is too close to the rising cape to ******* the treacherous rocks under which the waters suck violently, boats even today fear to tread near it. One of the followers of Heracles the Argonaut, Autolycus, fell victim to the Cyclops; but managed to save himself and was marooned for a time on the Sinop Burun. It was during this time that he probably made friends with the natives and made it possible for future Greek colonists to establish a settlement there. He was later rescued by Heracles. Since he is accredited with having founded Sinop, it is believed that he later returned with a group of colonists. Autolycus found interested Greeks in Miletus, (5) and between 780 and 756 B.C., the Milesians founded a settlement in the isthmus of the Sinop Burun calling it Sinop. In naming it, they had in mind the Cyclops which Homer so poetically named the hazard of the Sinop Burun. The name Sinop comes from the Greek, 'sinomai' which means to injure or to destroy. Thus, Sinop was appropriately named the Destroyer. Some historians try to trace the name of Sinop to the moon-god, Sin, of the Assyrians, but this is highly unlikely since the Assyrians never established themselves in Sinop. Sinop was also spelled by the by the ancient Greeks as Sinope; but the last 'e' was short, and not pronounced. In English, it is more appropriate to spell it as it is today for the sake of less mis-pronounciation. The early settlers experienced great hardships in this land still inhabited by the uncivilized natives. Many of the Milesians backed out of this great task of colonization; for Sinop was still in the middle of the unknown world as far as they were concerned, and the likelihood of their survival was thin.

TEMPORARY DESTRUCTION

In 700 B.C., Phrygia (6) under King Midas, the king fabled for his golden touch, established control of the new settlement of Sinop in hopes of stopping the barbaric Cimmerians, infiltrating from the north through the Caucasus Mountains. German and Turkish archaeologists, in 1951 and 1953, found several examples of Phrygian pottery in Sinop; so it seems that Sinop reached a peak of prosperity under Phrygia. But the horse-equipped Cimmerians streamed through the Black Sea coastal area, and Sinop fell to their plunder and destruction in 677 B.C. They had been momentarily defeated already by the great Assyrian power under King Assarhaddon. who boasted his victory over Teuspa the Cimmerian. Halted then, by the Assyrians, they succeeded in crushing there the rest of Midas' Phrygian kingdom and advanced to the borders of Lydia. Gyges, who claimed descent from Heracles the Argonaut, and was born in Sinop in 716 B.C., had become king of Lydia in 687 B.C. He appealed to King Assurbanipal of Assyria for aid and succeeded in halting the Cimmerian advance. Gyges, confident that his wealth would substantiate his power, broke his relations with Assyria, and was faced with a renewed attack from the Cimmerians. In 657 B.C., he was killed in battle, and his capitol, Sardis, was taken. Finally, with a joint effort, Ardys, the new king of Lydia, with the help of Assyria, scattered the Cimmerians to the extent that they ceased to be a threat A wave of Scythians came down from the north in 635 B.C., and destroyed the remainder of the Cimmerians in the Sinop area. The Scythians retired, however, when they met the superior forces of Assyria.

CHAPTER TWO

Second Foundation

The Milesians, seeing that the Cimmerians were defeated and the Black Sea coasts safe again for colonization, once more began to establish their trade. They arrived in Sinop about 635 R, C.. and the date for the second and permanent founding of Sinop is 73 B. C. From Sinop, the Milesians were thus able to trade their woolen goods for the flax. steel, silver, and the slaves of Coichis. The Milesians constructed two harbors for Sinop, one on each side of the city. The north harbor soon grew unsuitable and only the south harbor was protected enough for their fragile ships against the unpredictable Black Sea waters. As their commerce became greater, they established another harbor on a crescent shaped land-head with a small island in the harbor. They named this harbor, Harmene, from the Greek, 'armena', which means 'rigging of ships'. Here were located shipyards and refitters.

Sinop began to prosper overnight with its trade in the Black Sea area. It was so well located, that it became the central point of local trade as well as the headquarters for all merchants from Greece and even far away Egypt, who were dealing with Colchis and Crimea. (7) Sinop was chiefly famous for its fish. Its catches of mullet were considered delicacies by the wealthy. Great schools of tunny on their way to the Bosphorus from their spawning places would pass near Sinop, Great catches of these fish were taken, easily salted, and exported to great distances. As Sinop grew in trade, it began to establish colonies of its own. Amisus, (8) Trapezus (9), Cotyora, and Cerasus soon became important colonies of Sinop. From them, along with her own produce, Sinop exported wheat, corn, barley, rice, figs, peaches, apricots, pears. plums, apples, nuts, and olives. From the colony of Cerasus and Sinop's outlying districts came great abundances of cherries. In addition, Sinop mined iron in the mountains south of Cotyora and manufactured steel tools. From inland Cappadocia was brought a red dirt called Sinopic because it was a chief export of Sinop for medicinal and color pigment purposes. The Greeks displayed their ships proudly with various colors and Sinopic red was widely used. Lumber from the forests near Sinop which comprised of maple, walnut, and chestnut went into the making of furniture. Other woods such as pine were used in the construction of ships.

The Milesians also began to enhance the beauty of their city. Where a Turkish castle and prison are today, stood once the Greek acropolis of the time (see fig. 1). Here was located the chief temple and treasury of the city. The Milesians also were famous for their physical culture and competition in the Greek games. Sinop youths were notable participants in games all over the Greek world. A gymnasium must have been one of the chief constructions of the Milesians. Temples to the favorite gods were built. They were dedicated to Poseidon and Apollo and later to Zeus, Athena, Hermes, Ceres, Demeter, Dionysus, Asclepius, the Diocuri, Serapis, and Isis. Even the argonauts, Autolycus, Phlogius, Perseus, and Heracles, were deified. By 560 B.C., Sinop businessmen (see fig. 2) enjoyed a higher standard of living which enabled them to use elaborate pottery imported from Corinth (10). Sculptures were also imported, and many tombs were highly decorated. The Istanbul Museum contains from Sinop, a decorated tomb of boys bearing grapes. Many terracotta figurines (see figs. 4, 5, & 6) were molded and some were used for decoration for both interior and exterior (see fig. 7) of buildings. Mosaic floors were used in their temples as revealed in the excavations of the temple dating to the 7th century B.C. in Sinop (see fig. 8). Many other sculptures and reliefs of Sinop have since been placed in other museums or have been removed to private collections. The Sinop museum contains a few items of this period (see figs. 9, 10, & 11), but in its present status, it is inadequate to contain any valuable pieces.

In 560 B.C., Croesus became king of Lydia and established his domain throughout Asian Turkey. The Sinop area was still isolated from the rest of Asian Turkey due to inadequate roads. But Sinop, since it was colonized by Milesians, and Miletus was not a part of Lydia, had to pay tribute to Lydia in order to enjoy her freedom, even though she was isolated.

Within a short time, in 546 B.C., Cyrus of Persia conquered Lydia and Sinop's tribute switched to Persia, and again her isolation discouraged invasion. Under this isolation period, Sinop enjoyed her freedom as before and continued to grow and prosper.

AN ATHENIAN COLONY

With the danger of their trade along the Black Sea coasts threatened by pirates, Athens was concerned over the assurance of continued imports of corn, fish, and wood which she vitally needed. So to exert her naval power to protect trading, Pericles in 444 B. C., sailed into the Black Sea and visited Sinop. Desiring to make allies and to establish Athenian supremacy, he decided to make Sinop an Athenian foothold. He left his lieutenant, Lamachus, with thirteen ships to expel Timesilaus, who had seized control of the government of Sinop for himself. When Pericles returned to Athens, the city voted in favor of Sinop's colonization and sent six hundred volunteer colonists to occupy the houses and lands of the defeated tyrant and his men. When the Peloponnesian war took place in 431 B.C., Sinop sent men to fight on the side of Athens. The Athenians also established themselves in Amisus and renamed the city Piraeus. They made it a free city-state independent of Sinop. With the coming of roads, Piraeus began to rival Sinop in trade. Sinop's prosperity depended on sea trade, and was hardly accessible by land, as Piraeus was. But Sinop retained her colonies of Trapezus, Cotyora, and Cerasus, and continued to do well in trade. Milesian traditions in the city were retained, Poseidon Heliconicus, the patron of the Ionian confederation, and Apollo, the favorite deity of Miletus, still kept their high places. The black glazed pottery of Athens (see figs. 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, & 15), and the double-handled pottery of the Greek island of Cos (see fig. 16), found in abundance in excavations at Sinop, attest to the extensive importance that the Athenian settlement brought. Sinop, after its Athenian colonization, went into a golden period of democracy. Aristotle was later to consider Sinop worthy of a constitution, Geographers began to determine their maps with special relation to Sinop. The two greatest rivers known to the Greek world were the Nile and the Danube. Greek geography considered that both flowed straight north and south and that they were in the same meridian. This same meridian they drew through Sinop.

In 412 B.C., the famous cynic philosopher, Diogenes, was born in Sinop. However, he did not gain his fame as a philosopher there. His being born in Sinop is comparable to President Dwight D. Eisenhower's being born in Texas. Neither gained his fame in either place. Diogenes' father was a banker who was convicted by the citizens for counterfeiting money on the side. However, Diogenes and his father, Icesias, managed to ******* the angered Greeks. At Athens, Diogenes joined the school of Antisthenes, and from there gained his fame. He died in Corinth in 323 B.C.

MARCH OF THE TEN THOUSAND

401 B.C. witnessed the revolt of the Greeks under Persian domination. Citizens from all the Greek city-states banded themselves together to fight Their generals having been murdered, continued war seemed unfeasible. The remainder of the army, ten thousand Greeks, elected Xenophon to lead them back to their homes in Greece, They decided to march from inland Asian Turkey and return by way of the Black Sea coast by sea. The Greek settlers in Trapezus, Cerasus, and Cotyora, the colonies of Sinop, were quite upset by the imposing number of ten thousand Greeks that came down on them from the mountains. Here was an enormous band of men, citizens from all the various city-states, paying homage to no king, and not having allegiance to any country; but joined together only as soldiers by electing their generals and deciding their courses of action in general assemblies. At the same time, these men, under the conditions of retreat and lacking good facilities for food, clothing, medicine, and shelter, can be said to have been amazingly organized. The fact that they respected the rights of the Greek colonist was truly heroic. The Greeks of Trapezus and Cerasus provided them with food; and the rest that they needed, the soldiers took from the native Colchians. However, a misunderstanding a-rose when the Greeks of Cotyore did not give them food and shelter. The soldiers proceeded to steal what food they needed and obtained shelter for the sick. The Greeks of Cotyora sent complaints to Sinop and within a short time, Sinop sent its delegation. The leader of the delegation was Hecatonymous, a renowned orator. It might do well to quote his speech to the ten thousand here:

"Soldiers, the city of Sinop congratulates you, Greeks, who have conquered barbarians. We are sincerely happy that you have arrived here safely; for we have heard of the trials and hardships of your journey. However, since we are Greeks ourselves we expect you to treat us as Greeks. We have done you no harm and the people of Cotyora tell us that you have taken food and quarters by force. We do not consider this just, and may feel it necessary to make alliances to defend ourselves."

Xenopbon replied, "Citizens of Sinop, we feel proud and thankful that we have arrived here with our bodies in one piece. We have had no baggage room or time to carry booty and fight at the same time. Here we are now ... among Greek cities. At Trapezus, they gave us food and we paid for it. We also offered sacrifices in their name for the gifts that we received from them. Any favors within our power to give them, we gave. Ask them for yourselves what kind of guests we were. So far, we have taken from the natives only what we have needed without any uncalled-for aggression. What we have taken from your people of Cotyora, they would not give when we asked to buy. Their loss by our. necessary needs is their own fault They have actually given us the impression that they don't want our friendship, since they even refused to take In our wounded and sick. However, if you wish to make these alliances that you speak of, we are prepared to fight you and your allies. Already we have fought superior forces and won. There are rumors that the king of Paphlagonia has desires to the effect of including your city and its possessions in his kingdom. If needs be, we can help him realize his ambition."Then one of the ambassadors of Sinop spoke, "Evidently, there has been a misunderstanding. Because, we have no desire for war. When you come to Sinop, we will welcome you with the best of our hospitality. At the present, we will tell the people of Cotyora to give you what they can."

After this, things went along more smoothly. Hectonymous warned them of marching any farther inland to avoid meeting the hostile barbarians there. He assured Xenophon and the general assembly that despite the inconvenience to Sinop, it would lend and help them with ship passage. "What ships Sinop can not provide, some may travel overland to Heraclea (11) where they may obtain more ships." Xenophon and the assembly agreed to most of the plan of Hecatonymous; but Xenophon did not wish to divide the army and stated, "We must all sail out together or not at all." He then appointed his own delegation to travel back to Sinop with Hecatonymous to make the necessary arrangements. Meanwhile, there was some argument in the assembly as to whether or not some should stay behind in the colonies, rather than return to their homeland. Xenophon said, "The ides would be fine, if the entire army of ten thousand would found a new city; but in any case, we must stick together, because it is our great number that decides our power and ability to succeed in whatever course we take."

A vote was taken, and the decision was that the entire army would continue its journey to the homeland rather than stay and found a city. They then proceeded to march to Sinop and made camp outside of Harmene on the Ince Burun, which was the port of Sinop at that time. They stayed there five days until they obtained sufficient ships to depart. After receiving four thousand bushels of barley-meal and fifteen hundred jars of wine from the people of Sinop, Xenophon offered two victims to Zeus on the sacred hill of Harmene in thanksgiving for the people of Sinop, the safety of the ten thousand, and for their continued success in their journey home. Then they set sail for Heraclea.

LAST BID FOR FREEDOM

Again, due to Sinop's remote position, it continued to ******* Persian domination and continued to be s free city-state. For a brief period, however, in 370 B.C., it was seized by Datames, the rebellious satrap of Cappadocia. After his rule, Sinop regained its former position.With the prospects of Alexander's invasion, Sinop was not much concerned. Its nominal subjection to the king of Persia was a humiliation, but they were able to continue their independence under it. The prospects of a new rule and many Greek mercenaries through the land might have meant new trouble. In 334 B.C., Alexander began his conquest of Persia. He took notice, however, of the Greek cities on the northern coast of Asian Turkey. When he defeated the Persian king and met the ambassadors of Sinop, he sent them back home to keep the same independence that they had enjoyed before. Piraeus was under a Persian tyrant at this time; and at the victory of Alexander over Persia, they revolted in his name and became free again and renamed the city Amisus.

After Alexander, Sinop remained independent of the Seleucids and even the kings of Pontus. But Sinop suffered internally from the divided rule of the Diodochi. Mass rule and anarchy followed their downfall and the tyrant Scydrothenis took the power for himself. It was during this time that Ptolemy of Egypt acquired for a great sum of money, the famous statue of Serapis from Sinop for his own new temple in Egypt. Sinop's government remained in the hands of benevolent tyrants and possessed independence as a city during the third century B.C. To gain allies, it entered into friendship with the powerful Greek island of Rhodes. Sinop would exchange produce goods for the weapons and arms of Rhodes. It was this alliance that repulsed the attack of Mithridates II on Sinop in 220 B.C. and discouraged this king of Pontus all further plans he might have had to take the city.

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CHAPTER THREE

Rise of Pontus

When Pharnaces I became king of Pontus in 185 B.C., he inherited a powerful kingdom that had been strengthened by his predecessors. The first thing that came to his attention was the fact that one independent city existed within the precincts of his domain. Sinop had previously repulsed his grandfather's attack, while other cities like Amisus had already been incorporated into the kingdom. He saw that attacking Sinop's colonies of Cerasus and Cotyora would prepare the city for battle, so he planned to surprise the city under pretenses of friendship. With the use of intrigue and surprise, Pharnaces I was suddenly in possession of Sinop in 183 B.C. The annexation of the colonies followed. Rhodes immediately was aroused to the fact that her friend Sinop had lost its independence. Rhodes' leading citizen, Eumenes, made stirring protests to the Roman senate. Not too interested in the East at this time Rome passed over the protests with promises of investigation. One of the senators however made a speech before the senate condemning Pharnaces I and praising Eumenes and Rhodes for their faithful friendship with Sinop. Sinop, however, remained a possession of Pontus. Pharnaces I continued his war against Pergamum by seizing Paphlagonia and several other kingdoms. Rome soon intervened and warned the Pontic king that if he did not cease his aggression, they would take action. In 178 B.C., he made peace with Rome, giving up all his conquests Sinop, the only exception again, remained part of Pontus.

Sinop became more important in the eyes of its new king. It soon became his favorite city and he began to conduct his administration of his kingdom from there. Sinop had the best harbor in Pontus, and Pharnaces depended a great deal on this advantage. Since he was hindered by treaty from further aggression in Asian Turkey, he turned his eyes across the Black Sea to Crimea. His greatest commercial relations were with this region. Before Pharnaces I died, he moved his capitol from Amaseia (12) to Sinop. Sinop itself had already grown affection for the king who had shown it so much attention. Now he made it the capitol of his kingdom. His son, Mithridates V, came to the throne and built his palace in Sinop. He also fortified the walls and constructed a harbor of which the jetty may still be seen today. Mithridates V ignored the former treaties that his father had made with Rome and began his conquest of Phrygia, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia, and Galatia, and even annexed the island of Crete. His queen, Laudice, looking for an excuse to take the power for herself, had her husband assassinated in 120 B.C. To secure the friendship of Rome, she withdrew the Pontic forces from their conquests and began to reduce the army. She then began a rich courtlife in the royal palace at Sinop.

MITHRIDATES THE GREAT

Mithridates the Great was born in the Pontic palace of Sinop in 132 B.C. Not long after his father was assassinated, he feared that he too would be murdered and fled to live in the interior of Pontus. In Pontus proper were the great Persian fief a, and their lords recognized Mithridates for his royal Persian blood of the Achaemenid line. Mithridates preferred the Greek language and culture, but retained many Persian customs, as if to accentuate his ancestral blood. But in 111 B.C., Mithridates led a force against his mother and without much resistance took his rightful throne. To end the intriguing of his mother Laodice and his brother Chrestus, he was forced to execute them. Mithridates also continued to beautify the city of Sinop by building for it a gymnasium, theatre, library, and many fine temples. Almost immediately he began his plans for aggression. Sinop was only affected in that it was to become the seat of an empire now, instead of just the capitol of Pontus. Mithridates took control of Crimea. (13) He occupied Cappadocia, Paphlagonia and Galatia until 95 B.C., when L. Cornelius Sulla, the famous Roman general, came as an envoy and demanded that Mithridates and his ally Nicomedes of Bithynia withdraw their occupation. Mithridates broke his alliance with Bithynia for one with Armenia, and again he overran Cappadocia and included Bithynia this time. With the protest of Rome again, he withdrew. Shortly thereafter, the Romans, under Manius Aquilius and Nicomedes in Bithynia, Cassius from Galatia, and Oppius from Cilicia and Cappadocia planned to invade Pontus. However, they were decisively defeated by Mithridates and his invincible corps of chariots with wheels having razor-sharp projecting blades. Together with his massive army, phalanx, and Armenian cavalry, he pursued his invaders until they were out of Asian Turkey. Mytilene, Pergamum, and many other cities and Greek islands were now his subjects. Cassius fled to Rhodes, where he helped to fortify its great walls. During this time, Mithridates set up his base of war operations from Pergamum, but Sinop always remained on the receiving end for all of his treasures and booty of his victories. In 88 B.C., Mithridates in his hatred for Roman imperialism, slaughtered eighty thousand Roman colonists, men, women, and children, and was to incur the wrath of Rome for the remainder of his life. When Mithridates sent the treasures of the shrine of Apollo on the island of Delos to Athens, Athens, Sparta, and Thebes allied themselves with Mithridates. By 87 B.C., Sinop was capitol of an empire conquered by Mithridates from the Euphrates River to the Gulf of Corinth. Little wonder then, that Rome refers to Mithridates, rather than Hannibal, as the most formidable enemy it ever faced.

However, Sulla sailed from Rome with an army of five legions, and after retaking Athens, began to defeat the Pontic forces and put them into retreat. Since troubles were brewing at home for both Sulla and Mithridates, the war was concluded with an armistice in 83 B.C., and Mithridates returned to Sinop. There he was to pass his time by quelling a rebellion in Crimea and the Colchis area of his kingdom.

SINOP IN WAR

Murena, the Roman legate in Asian Turkey, desiring to enrich himself, ignored Sulla's armistice and invaded Pontus. He was defeated by Mithridates at the Halys River, and Murena was replaced by Rome for breaking the treaty. Nicomedes of l3ithynia died in 76 B.C., and bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Mithridates, fearing Roman power near his borders, and the revenge of his slaughter of 88 B.C., invaded Bithynia in 75 B.C.

Lucullus, (14) at the head of a large Roman force, pushed Mithridates back into Pontus. While LAicullus was waiting to receive orders from Rome to invade Pontus, Mithridates equipped a gigantic fleet of ships and intended to invade the western shores of the Black Sea and join other anti-Roman forces and invade Italy. However, his fleet was shipwrecked and his navy, for the most part, destroyed. Lucullus now began his invasion of Pontus. He began by laying siege to Heracles, Amisus, and Sinop. Mithridates retired to Cabira, (15) where he gathered his defense army. However, through treachery, his camp was revealed to the Romans and his entire army scattered. Mithridates himself fled to Armenia where he was given refuge by his son-in-law, King Tigranes. In the year 70 B.C., while Mithridates remained in exile, Heraclea surrendered, but Sinop and Amisus remained steadfast. Food was supplied to the besieged Sinop from Crimea, and its fleet assured it safe delivery. Mithridates' pirate friends, Leonippus, Cleochares, and Seleucus had been left in control of Sinop. Leonippus, however, entered into secret negotiations with Lucullus and admiral Censorinus. He had heard that Lucullus was a great lover of Greek culture and was particularly favorable toward Sinop since it had been an Athenian colony. Besides, Lucullus believed himself to he a liberator and was superstitious about a dream of Autolycus, the founder of Sinop, that he had. Unfortunately, Leonippus' plot to hand over the city was discovered, and he was quietly assassinated. The Sinop navy then defeated the Roman navy. Machares, the son of Mithridates, who was regent of Crimea, decided to break his trust with Sinop and his father and send Sinop's food to Lucullus instead, to acquire the friendship of Lucullus and Rome. Cleochares and Seleucus, despairing of further resistance, decided to abandon Sinop. They sacked the city, set it on fire and killed the resisting inhabitants. They then set sail for the open sea. Lucullus, seeing the city in flames, gave orders for immediate attack. Entering the city without resistance, he ordered that the flames be extinguished and that no plunder and killing of the citizens be made. He managed to kill many of the fleeing soldiers, however, before they *******d in their ships. Afterwards, he granted Sinop the status of a free and independent city. The surrender of Amisus and Amaseis soon followed, and all of Pontus was in Roman hands. As long as Lucullus remained in Pontus, the Greek cities suffered no harm. In return, he was lavished with many gifts from both the country of Pontus and from Machares of Crimea. Oddly enough, when he returned to Rome to retire in 66 B.C., he was one of the wealthiest Roman generals, and had the reputation of never obtaining it by plunder. Lucullus, after straightening up affairs in Pontus, turned to invade Armenia. He met with some victories, but his army mutinied; and lacking further orders, he withdrew.

In 66 B.C., Lucullus was relieved of his command by Pompey. (16) Seizing the opportunity, Mithridates returned to Pontus with an Armenian force. He defeated Fabius and Triarius at Cabira, but he didn't bother to retake Sinop and Amisus. The coastal cities were useless to him without a navy. Pompey then arrived in Pontus with a vast army and Mithridates was forced again to flee. He was refused refuge in Armenia, so he went to Crimea. Gathering friendly forces there, he marched against his son, Machares, who had broken faith with him. Machares took poison, and Mithridates executed the others who participated in the Treason. Meanwhile, Pompey marched into Armenia and received the surrender of King Tigaranes, whose kingdom he restored. Instead of following Mithridates to Crimea, Pompey turned to Judea and Arabia.Mithridates made one last attempt against Rome by organizing a force to cross the Danube and invade Italy. However, the force mutinied and Mithridates was left without a following. His son, Pharnaces II, rose up as his successor and declared himself king. Mithridates commanded his personal bodyguard to accept his son as their king, and retired to a castle where he had himself killed. It was the year 63 B.C., and it ended the life of a man who for forty-eight years had been a constant thorn in the side of Rome. He had almost become a legend for his many wars and narrow *******s. Pharnaces sent the body of his dead father to Sinop, his home and place of birth. He also sent gifts and a message to Pompey that his father was dead and pledged his friendship in return for the rule of Crimea. Pompey quickly left his operations in Arabia for Sinop. There he saw the body of Mithridates and authenticated his death. Because Mithridates' fine armor and crown had been stolen by a Roman souvenir seeker, Pompey paid for an honorable burial. Mithridates Eupator VI, called 'the Great', sixteenth in descent from Darius Hystaspes, the Great King and eighth in descent from the first king of independent Pontus, was laid away ceremoniously in the royal tombs of Sinop. (17) Pharnaces was confirmed as king of Crimea and friend of Rome. Pompey modified the government installed by Lucullus. In all the communities, including Sinop, of the newly organized province Bithynia-Pontus, all were citizens, and the communities were controlled by s council of elected magistrates who were responsible to Roman appointed censors. (18) Pompey then returned to Rome. In 50 B.C., civil war broke out between Pompey and Caesar. (19) Pharnaces II of Crimea, desiring his ancestral kingdom of Pontus, sailed across the Black Sea and was welcomed in Sinoph he defeated the Roman legion under Calvinus and become master of Pontus. He began to plunder the Roman settlers and the native Pontians alike. In Amisus, where the city held out against him over a long siege, he killed all the men of fighting age and mutilated the youths. His brutality and reign in Pontus was checked only by the arrival of Caesar from Egypt. In 47 B.C., at Zela, (20) Pharnaces' army was completely destroyed. Pharnaces fled to Sloop where he tried to hold out against Domitius Calvinus whom Caesar had sent to pursue him. Finally, he agreed to depart with his safety guaranteed. When he returned to Crimea, however, he met a rebellion and was killed. Thus, a great dynasty had ended. Caesar's victory over Pharnaces had been such an enormous one, that he sent back to Rome the famous message, "Veni, vidi, vici'".Caesar then left Zela for Nicea in Bithynia.

CHAPTER FOUR

After having been give its freedom both by Lucullus and Pompey, and still breaking faith with Rome, Sinop should have suffered some consequences. However, Caesar met some Roman colonists in Nicea and decided to send them to Sinop. In 45 B. C., the new Roman colony named Colonia Julia Felix Sinopensis was founded. The people on the colony continued to be Roman citizens and they had full rights, complete ownership of their land, and exemption from payment of taxes to Rome. The community of Sinop had two magistrates called the duoviri, who were aided by two aediles and a council of decuriones. The new coins put out by the new colony were abbreviated with the letters, 'C.I.F.' or 'C.I.F.S.' (21) The community was under the governor of the province during the Republic and it suffered when it had a greedy one. Under Augustus, however, Bithynia and Pontus became a senate guardianship. The Roman senate appointed a proconsul once a year. When Augustus returned to Rome in 19 B.C., he invested the husband of his daughter Julia, Marcus Agrippa, as his deputy and proconsul of the eastern provinces. In 16 B.C., Agrippa, his wife Julia, and their two sons, set out for a tour of the East. To the Greek cities of the Asia provinces, Agrippa was considerably favorable. Agrippa was very interested at this time in Crimea, and when he heard that an insurgent calling himself Scribonius having overthrown Asander, (22) was falsely asserting Roman recognition, he decided to intervene for the sake of Roman prestige. When Agrippa arrived in Sinop in 14 B.C., the Crimeans had already assassinated Scribonius. Agrippa then selected Polemo to be their new king. But until Agrippa showed that he intended to install his candidate by force, the Crimeans did not accept him. While Agrippa was yet in Sinop, he was joined there by King Herod of Judea who had arrived by ship. The two personages then set out on a grand tour of Crimea and the rest of Asian Turkey. During the time of Augustus, the cult of emperor worship was instituted and was continued under the various emperors.

In 17 B. C., when Germanicus Caesar celebrated a triumph in Rome, his uncle and adopted father, Tiberius Caesar, conferred on him 'Prince Extraordinary', and gave him supreme command of all the Asian provinces. His travels took him as far as the Black Sea, where he visited the colony of Sinop, and the community erected there a statue to his wife, Agrippina. (23) (See fig. 20.)

CHRISTIANITY

After 35 A.D., after the first Christian feast of Pentecost, the disciples of Jesus Christ of Judea began to journey throughout the world preaching the new religion. To St. Andrew it was alloted to preach in Bithynia and Pontus. While he was in Amasein, he received a message from a Roman magistrate of Sinop by the name of Gratinus, whose son was very ill. St. Andrew left Amaseia in haste; and when he arrived in Sinop, found that the boy had been seized by a demon after he bad bathed in the women's bath. St. Andrew drove out the demon and reprimanded his father, Gratinus, and his mother for their own loose lives, which had given scandal to their son. St. Andrew cured several other people, and converted them to the new faith. He celebrated the Breaking of the Bread giving it to the new Christians to eat and after giving thanks he departed for Nicea.

It is most likely that the reason that St. Paul and St. Luke did not travel into Bithynia and Pontus, is because of the fact that St. Andrew was preaching or had preached there already. St. Peter, mindful of the new Christians and wishing to confirm the preaching of St. Andrew and the rest, wrote two letters. Both of the letters were directed primarily to the province of Bithynia-Pontus of which Sinop was an important community. He wrote them from Rome saying, "The Church in Babylon salutes you." He seems to he speaking to the Gentile converts. He told them in his first letter that the prospect of eternal inheritance counterweighs present trials and sufferings, he also exhorted them to be faithful to God and their civic duties. In his second letter, he warned them against false teachers and immorality,Under Trajan, Bithynia and Pontus were made into an imperial province with Pliny as governor, having been appointed about 110 A. D. Pliny was obliged to consult the emperor on matters of detail; and among his writings, we find that he was much concerned with the welfare of his subjects, including those of Sinop. In Sinop, he took contributions from its citizens to build an aqueduct to supply water for the city. The aqueduct was finally built and extended sixteen miles into interior. Today parts of it may still be seen built into the wall at the entrance into Sinop. Pliny was also concerned about the spiritual welfare of his province, because many of the people had adopted Christianity. In the first half of the second century, Sinop ranked high enough to have a bishop and at about the same time, one of its Christians by the name of Marcion went into heresy and was expelled from the city.

In the later persecutions of Decian in 250 A. D., and those of Diocletian, the Christians in the Asian provinces suffered greatly. The Emperor Decian ordered that all the members of the Roman Empire offer sacrifices to the official deities of Rome. This worship was performed before one or more commissioners. and those who complied, received certificates testifying to their act of loyalty. Those who did not comply were either imprisoned, exiled, fined, or put to death. Although Decius and many of the other emperors were scorned for their savage persecutions, they looked after the general welfare by building roads and public works.

BYZANTIUM

In 315 A.D., Christianity was established by Constantine the Great as the official religion of the empire. And in 333, he founded the city of Constantinople to become his new capitol. From that time on, Sinop was meshed with the rest of Byzantine history. Roman tradition persisted up through the sixth century. In the fifth century, the East was ravaged by all the great heresies of the time. In 518, Justinian came to the throne. It was probably during this time that a monastery and chapel were built in Sinop (see figs. 24, 25, & 26). Also a castle was built (see fig. 27). The frescoes that may be seen in the monastery today, date much later than its original frescoes that are not extant and the rest of the construction. Many Sinop youths enlisted in the Byzantine forces when Heraclius held the Persians back in the seventh century in the first crusade. In the eighth century, Sinop witnessed the wave of iconoclasm, in which its monastery was all but destroyed. By 832, the Arab invasions into the empire made it possible for Theophobus, a local general, to declare himself king of Sinop. The greater inability of Constantinople to cope with the invasions led to many other splits. In the ninth century, the monastery was restored and the city imported a beautiful copy of the gospels which was probably made in Caesarea. (24) The manu****** of the gospel of St. Matthew is extant and preserved in the Paris National Library. It was discovered in the middle of the nineteenth century, when a French naval officer went ashore to Sinop to buy some tobacco. The proprietor of the store wrapped up his tobacco for him with some of the pages of the illuminated manu******. He quickly secured the rest of it under the counter. Today, it is known as the Sinop Codex and is one of the finest of early Byzantine manu******s. In 863, Byzantine Amisus was sacked by the Arabs under Omar. However, the Byzantines under General Petronas from Sinop, intercepted and destroyed the Arab army and Omar was killed. When Basil II, the Byzantine emperor, died in 1025, the empire was at its peak of prosperity; for its territory and wealth had doubled during his reign. However, in 1101, the Byzantines received a fatal blow, when Emperor Romanus IV was defeated by the Seljuk Turks at Mantzikert. The Comneni dynasty then took the throne until 1204. Before then, the Seljuks were halted at Iconium. But in 1204, when the Latin rule was established with the Palaeologi family, the Greeks split and formed two separated empires outside of Constantinople, one at Trebizond, and the other at Nicea. With this division, the empire could not fight the Turks effectively. In 1205, Sinop was annexed by David Comnenus for the Trebizond Empire. Theodore Lascaris the Emperor of Nicea, held Sinop for a short time, but it was retaken again by David Comnenus. Finally, in 1215 A. D., Sinop witnessed a battle in which the Byzantine forces were destroyed and David Comnenus killed. The city had fallen into Seljuk hands.

EPILOGUE

After Sinop fell, its loss to the Byzantine was greatly felt; for it cut off the Byzantines at Constantinople from those at Trebizond. Sinop was glorified a great deal by the Seljuks who rebuilt the wall still standing today. It prospered to a very high degree until 1460, when it was taken by Mehmet for the Ottoman Empire and remained a part of that empire, except for a small period in 1654, when the Russians, after having sunk the Turkish navy in its harbor, held Sinop. The rest of Sinop's history has been one with Turkey up to the present day.

The author sadly admits that though this picture of Sinop's ancient history is as complete as he can make it, there is much lacking. Only segments of Sinop's history come down to us, when the world was focused in that area; otherwise, Sinop was so isolated during other periods, that its history has thus been lost. However, with continued historical research and more archaeological work on Sinop, these dark periods will come to light. To the speculator, there are many monuments in Sinop today the origins of which are unknown. In the northeast section of the Sinop isthmus, along the coast, are tunnels of Roman origin which appear to be catacombs (see fig. 21), but this is again speculation. On the sacred hill of Harmene of the Ince Burun, are many deteriorated monuments; archaeology will some day reveal their origin. Most of the artifacts in the Sinop Museum have not been labeled; but again, each has its place, and each has a story to tell.

Sinop…..Part Five…..

Mithridates I was impressed enough by Sinop to switch his capital from Amisus. Thus Sinop became the central city of the Pontic Empire. Greek was made the official language and a new monetary system was established. Mithridates II, Pharnaces' son, constructed huge walls completely encircling the city. Before this time Sinop had maintained walls only on the north and west sides. In doing this he made Sinop the strongest and best fortified city along the Black Sea. Using Sinop as an impregnable base of operations, Mithridates II began to expand the Pontic Empire. He conquered all the coastal cities and the Black Sea area, extending his authority in the Mediterranean. The island of Cyprus was annexed into the Pontic Empire.

Mithridates III sent a delegation to Crete for mercenary forces; and while there they aided the Gnosanst against the Cortynianum; thus the Pontic kingdom became a force to be recognized; and a growing empire named Rome turned a cautious eye to Mithridates III. Mithridates III participated in the third Punic War, sending ships to assist the Roman fleet. For his aid he was given Phurigia, but because of both empires' desire for expansion Mithridates and Rome were unable to maintain friendly relationships. His wife, fearing he would overreach himself, urged Mithridates to make friends with Rome, unify his present conquests, and attempt no more. When he refused, she assassinated him, and after concluding a treaty of peace with the Romans, began leading a life of leisure.

Mithridates III left two sons behind him upon his death, the oldest of whom, Mithridates IV, Eupatro, was destined to become known as Mithridates the Great. When still quite young, Mithridates the Great, fearing that his ambitious mother would assassinate him, left the capital city and fled into exile. Later, at the age of 20, he returned to Sinop and after a brief fierce struggle, regained his rightful throne. To prevent any more misadventures, he ordered the execution of his mother and brother.

The career of this strange and typical combination of Oriental savagery and despotism with Greek culture and comprehensiveness is difficult to follow. The mists of time obscure his history and no two historians seem to agree on many points. The magnificence of his character whispers of Sinope Helenism while his barbarities and quick cruel decisions may be charged to the Persian blood mixed with that of barbarians that he claimed ran in his veins. He was legendary for his powerful build and stamina, and in addition, considered a man of intellect reputed to possess a working knowledge of 22 different languages. The peak and climax of the Pontic Empire occurred during the reign of this king, whose military genius baffled the powers of Rome for nearly half a century.

Mithridates the Great began to rebuild the small Pontic kingdom, which had been deteriorating under his mother's rule. The capital city of Sinop was remodeled and another gymnasium, a theater, library, and many new temples were built. He began to enlarge the empire, extending his rule southward in Asia Minor. Colonies at the east end of the Black Sea, the kingdom of the Bosporus in the Crimean Sea, and Cappadocia were absorbed. At the same time, he gave his daughter in marriage to Tigranes I, king of Greater Armenia. Expansion was destined to bring him into conflict with the Romans as it had with his father.

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