Pontic Greeks

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Pontic Greeks
nowrap|Έλληνες του Πόντου (Ρωμιοί)

Pontic Greek man

population = c. 3,000,000
regions = Greece, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey
religions = Greek Orthodox Christianity, Sunni Islam
langiages = Predominantly Modern and Pontic Greek; also the languages of their respective countries of residence.

The term Pontic Greeks, Pontian Greeks, Pontians or Greeks of Pontus ( _el. Πόντιοι, Ποντιακός Ελληνισμός or _gr. Έλληνες του Πόντου, _tr. Pontus Rumları) refers to generally all Greeks from the shores of the Black Sea and Pontus, an area which was also inhabited and invaded by the Persians, Romans, Mongols , Georgians, Russians and Turks. They traditionally speak Pontic, a distinct form of the Greek language which, due to the remoteness of Pontus, has had a process of linguistic evolution different from that of the rest of the Greek world.

Greek colonization of the Black Sea area

The first intimations of Greek presence in the Black Sea area can be traced back to Greek mythology. It is the region where Jason and the Argonauts sailed to find the Golden Fleece. The myth was formally documented by Apollonius of Rhodes in his work, "the Argonautica". Modern historians date the expedition of the Argo around 1200 BC, based on the description given by Apollonius.

The first recorded Greek colony, established on the northern shores of ancient Anatolia, was Sinop, circa 800 BC. The settlers of Sinop were merchants from the Ionian Greek city state of Miletus. After the colonization of the shores of the Black Sea, known till then to the Greek world as "Pontos Axeinos" (Inhospitable Sea), the name changed to "Pontos Euxeinos" (Hospitable Sea). In time, as the numbers of Greeks settling in the region grew significantly, more colonies were established along the whole Black Sea coastline of what is now Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania.

The region of Trapezus, later called Trebizond, now Trabzon, was mentioned by Xenophon in his famous work Anabasis, describing how he and other 10,000 Greek mercenaries fought their way to the Euxine Sea after the failure of the rebellion of Cyrus the Younger whom they fought for, against his older brother Artaxerxes II of Persia. Xenophon mentions that when at the sight of sea they screamed 'Thalatta! Thalatta! ("The sea! The sea!"), the local people understood them. A whole range of trade flourished among the various Greek colonies, but also with the indigenous tribes who inhabited the Pontus inland. Soon Trebizond established a leading stature among the other colonies and the region nearby become the heart of the Pontic Greek culture and civilization.

This region was organized in circa 281 BC as a kingdom by Mithridates I of Pontus, whose ancestry line dated back to Ariobarzanes I, a ruler of the Greek town of Cius. The most prominent descendant of Mithridates I was Mithridates VI of Pontus, who between 90 and 65 BC fought the Mithridatic Wars, three bitter wars against the Roman Republic, before eventually being defeated. Mithridates VI the Great, as he was left in memory, claiming to be the protector of the Greek world against the barbarian Romans, expanded his kingdom to Bithynia, Crimea and Propontis before his downfall after the Third Mithridatic War.

Nevertheless the kingdom survived as a Roman vassal state, now named Bosporan Kingdom and based in Crimea, until the 4th century AD, when it succumbed to the Huns. The rest of Pontus and particularly the Trebizond region were fully incorporated into the Byzantine Empire during the centuries to come. Pontus was the birthplace of the Komnenos dynasty, which ruled the empire from 1082 to 1185, a time in which the empire resurged from its ashes to recover much of Anatolia from the Seljuk Turks.

In the aftermath of the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Empire of Trebizond was established by Alexios I of Trebizond, a descendant of Alexios I Komnenos, the patriarch of the Komnenos dynasty. This empire lasted for more than 250 years until it eventually fell at the hands of Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire in 1461, thus becoming the last part of the Greek world to succumb.

During the Ottoman period many Pontic Greeks converted to Islam, either forcibly or voluntarily. On the eve of World War I, the Young Turk administration exerted a policy of assimilation and ethnic cleansing of the Christians in the Empire, which affected Pontic Greeks too. In 1916 Trabzon fell at the hands of the Russian Empire, fomenting the idea of an independent Pontic state. As the Bolsheviks rose to power with the October Revolution (7 November, 1917), the Russian military withdrew from the region to participate in the Russian Civil War (1917–1923).

Once the Russians had evacuated Pontus, Greeks and Armenians in the region became the targets of irregular bands. Seeing the fate of Armenians, Pontic Greeks decided to resist in what became known as the Pontus resistance (αντάρτικο του Πόντου in Greek), which lasted up to 1924, the year when the population exchange between Greece and Turkey was agreed under the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne. While Christian Pontics were expelled to Greece the Muslim ones stayed.

Rumca, as the Pontic Greek language is known in Turkey, survives till today, mostly among older speakers. After the exchange most Pontic Greeks settled in Macedonia and Attica. Pontic Greeks inside the Soviet Union were predominantly settled in the regions bordering the Georgian SSR and Armenian SSR. They also had notable presence in Black Sea ports like Odessa and Sukhumi. About 100,000 Pontic Greeks, including 37,000 in the Caucasus area alone, were deported to Central Asia in 1949 during Stalin's post-war deportations. Big indigenous communities exist today in former USSR states, while through immigration large numbers can be found in Germany and Australia.

Persecution and population exchange

Like Armenians and Assyrians , the Pontic Greeks faced persecution and suffered ethnic cleansing at the beginning of the 20th century, first by the Ottoman Empire and later by Kemalist forces. Death marches [ [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0312262116/ Library Journal Review of "Not Even My Name" by Thea Halo.] ] through Turkey's mountainous terrain, forced labour in the infamous "Amele Tamburu" in Anatolia and slaughter by the irregular bands of Topal Osman resulted in thousands of Pontic Greeks perishing during the period from 1915 to 1922. In 1923, after hundreds of years, those remaining were expelled from Turkey to Greece as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey defined by the Treaty of Lausanne. In his book "Black Sea", author Neal Ascherson writes:

The Turkish guide-books on sale in the Taksim Meydane offer this account of the 1923 "Katastrofĕ": 'After the proclamation of the Republic, the Greeks who lived in the region returned to their own country [...] .' Their own country? Returned? They had lived in the Pontos for nearly three thousand years. Their Pontic dialect was not understandable to twentieth-century Athenians. [cite book |title=Black Sea |isbn=978-0809015931 |year=1996|last=Ascherson|first=Neal|page=p. 184]

The suffering of the Pontic Greeks did not end upon their violent and forceful departure from the lands of their ancestors. Many Pontic Greek refugees perished during the voyage from Asia Minor to Greece. Notable accounts of these voyages have been included in Steve Papadopoulos’ work on Pontic culture and history. Pontic Greek immigrants to the United States from that era were quoted as saying:

Many children and elderly died during the voyage to Greece. When the crew realized they were dead, they were thrown overboard. Soon the mothers of dead children started pretending that they were still alive. After witnessing what was done to the deceased,they would hold on to them and comfort them as if they were still alive. They did this to give them a proper burial in Greece.Fact|date=August 2007

ettlements

Some of the settlements historically inhabited by Pontic Greeks include:
* In Crimea and the northern Azov Sea::Chersonesos, Kerkinitida, Panticapaeum, Soughdaia, Tanais, Theodosia.
* On the Taman peninsula,Krasnodar Krai and the Colchian coast::Batis, Dioscurias, Germonassa, Gorgippa, Heraclea Pontica, Phanagoria, Phasis, Pitsunda, Sebastopolis.
* In "Pontus"::Amasia, Aphene, Kerasounta, Kissa, Kromna, Amisos, Sinope, Themiscyra, Trapezounta, Bafra, Argyroupolis, Xeroiana (Sheroina), Ofis, Santa, Tonya, Matsouka, Galiana, Sourmena, Imera, Rizounta, Mouzena, Kotoiora, Livera, Platana, Kel Kit, Nikopolis, Kakatsis, Merzifounta, Tokat, Oinoe, Neokaisareia, Fatsa, Tripoli, Thermi, Hatzi-koi, Komana, Hopa, Athina, Koloneia, Gemoura, Ak-Dag Maten.
* Outside Pontus::Kars, Kioumush Maten, Sevasteia, Tsoroum, Baibourt, Ata Pazar.
* On the southwestern coast of Ukraine and the Eastern Balkans:: Mariupol, Antiphilos, Apollonia, Germonakris, Mesembria, Nikonis, Odessos, Olbia, Tira.

Population

Nowadays, due to extensive intermarriage, the exact number of Pontic Greeks is unknown. After 1988, Pontic Greeks in the Soviet Union started to migrate to Greece with their often-mixed families and settling in and around Athens and Thessaloniki. They are known as "Russian Pontians" ("Ρωσσοπόντιοι") by the Greek public. In his 1998 movie "From the Edge of the City" ("Από την άκρη της πόλης"), [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181547/ Apo Tin Akri Tis Polis] ] with dialogues in Greek, Pontic Greek and Russian, the film director Constantinos Giannaris, describes the life of a young "Russian Pontian" from Kazakhstan in the Athens' prostitution underworld. The largest communities of Pontic Greeks (or people of Pontic Greek descent) around the world are (according to "Pontian Diaspora 2000"):
* Greece >2,000,000
* USA c.200,000
* Germany c.100,000
* Russia c.98,000
* Ukraine c.91,500
* Australia c.56,000
* Canada c.20,000
* Georgia c.15,166
* Kazakhstan c.12,703
* Uzbekistan c.9,500
* Armenia c.2,000
* Syria <1,000

There is also a sizeable Greek-speaking Muslim Pontian community of around 300,000 (in 1996) in Turkey, see Pontic Greek Muslims.

Culture

The culture of Pontus has been strongly influenced by the topography of its different regions. In commercial cities like Trebizond, Samsunda, Kerasounda and Sinopi upper level education and arts flourished under the protection of a cosmopolitan middle class. In the inland cities such as Argyroupolis, the economy was based upon agriculture and mining, thus creating an economic and cultural gap between the developed urban ports and the rural centers which lay upon the valleys and plains extending from the base of the Pontic alps.

Education

The rich cultural activity of Pontic Greeks is witnessed by the number of educational institutions, churches, and monasteries in the region. These include the Frontistirion of Trapezeus and Argyroupolis, built in 1682 and 1722 respectively, 38 highschools in the Sinopi region, 39 highschools in the Kerasounda region, a plethora of churches and monasteries, most notable of which are the St. Eugenios and Agia Sophia churches of Trapezeus, the monasteries of St. George and St. Ioannes Vazelonos, and arguably the most famous and highly regarded of all, the monastery of Panagia Soumela.

Music

Pontian music retains elements of Greek, Turkish, and Celtic music. The music is often fast in tempo and can sometimes be high-pitched. It is played primarily to be danced to, with dance steps substantially different from that of Greek and Turkish dancing. [http://www.scimitarmusic.com/pontos/]

The prime instruments in Pontian musical are the kemenche or lyra which bears resemblance to its Cretan, Cypriot and Thracian counterparts. Also the davul, a type of drum, the zurna which varied from region to region with the one from Bafra sounding differently due to its bigger size, the Violi which was very popular in the Bafra region, the Kemane, an instrument closely related to the one of Kappadokia and highly popular in the Kerasounta and Kars regions. Finally worth mentioning are the Defi and Outi.

Dance

Pontian dance retains aspects of Persian and Greek dance styles. The dances called Horoi ( _el. Χοροί), singular Horon ( _el. Χορός), meaning literally "Dance" in both Ancient Pontic and Modern Greek languages, are circular in nature and each is characterized by distinct short steps. A unique aspect of Pontian dance is the tremoulo ( _el. Τρέμουλο), which is a fast shaking of the upper torso by a turning of the back on its axis. Like other Greek dances, they are danced in a line and the dancers form a circle. Pontian dances also resemble Persian and Middle Eastern dances because they are not led by a single dancer. The most renowned Pontian dances are Tik, Serra, Maheria or Pyrecheios,
Kotsari and Karsilamas.

Notable Pontic Greeks

* Johannes Bessarion
* George of Trebizond
* Michael Panaretos
* George Amiroutzes
* Gregory Choniades
* Ecumenical Patriarch John VIII
* Ecumenical Patriarch Maximus V
* Strabo
* Diogenes
* Dimitris Psathas
* Evagrius Ponticus
* Fyodor Yurchikhin
* Mithridates the VI of Pontus
* Dimitris DiamantidisColBreak
* Theodoros Papaloukas
* Lazaros Papadopoulos
* Antonios Nikopolidis
* Alexios I Komnenos
* Savvas Kofidis
* Takis Loukanidis
* Kostas Nestoridis
* Demis Nikolaidis
* Dimitrios Partsalidis
* Giannis Ioannidis
* Stelios Kazantzidis
* Apostolos Nikolaidis
* Pamphylia Tanailidi
* Mike Zambidis

See also

* Ömer Asan
* Trabzon
* Ancomah
* Urums
* Hamshenis
* Pontian Greek Genocide

Notes

References

* Asan, Ömer. "Pontos kültürü". İstanbul: Belge Yayınları, 1996.
* Halo, Thea. "Not Even My Name". Picador. 2000. ISBN 978-0-312-26211-2.
* Hofmann, Tessa, ed. "Verfolgung, Vertreibung und Vernichtung der Christen im Osmanischen Reich 1912-1922". Münster: LIT, 2004. ISBN 978-3-8258-7823-8

External links

* [http://barthes.ens.fr/clio/revues/AHI/livres/pontiq.html Michel Bruneau (ed.), Grecs pontiques: Diaspora, identité, territoires, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Cnrs) Éditions, Paris, 1998] ( [http://www.cnrs.fr/Cnrspresse/Archives/n362a6.htm recension and presentation] )
* Omer Asan: Greek-speaking writer from Turkey and a guide to the Pontian culture, Tuesday April 25, 2000 International Herald Tribune
* [http://www.e-grammes.gr/2002/02/pontos_en.htm Nikos Doukas, The Pontian muslims at the target of Turkey]
* [http://www.karalahana.com/ About Pontic Culture of Anatolia]
* [http://www.pontos.gr/ The official web site of the Pontian Federation of Greece]
* [http://www.pontian.info/ Web site of everything Pontian]
* [http://www.pontosworld.com/ World wide Pontian Forum]
* [http://www.pontos.org.au/ Pontian Federation of Australia]
* [http://www.pontos-stuttgart.de/ Pontian Association in Stuttgart, Germany]
* [http://www.hyos.nostos.gr/ Pontian Association in South Russia]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/folk/pontian_net/links.html Pontian web site catalogue]
* [http://www.pontos-ffm.de/ Pontian Association in Frankfurt, Germany / Verein der Griechen aus Pontos in Frankfurt]
* [http://www.pontos.org/ Pontian International site]
* [http://sc5.audiorealm.com:11128/listen.pls Internet Radio "Akrites tou Pontou"]
* [http://www.dunav.org.il/balkan_music_greece.html Pontian folk music]
* [http://lahana.org/index.php?topic=74.0 Trebizond Greek: A language without a tongue]
* [http://www.karalahana.com/english.html All about Pontic culture]
* [http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/bondyrev.html#* Website with map showing colonization of the Black Sea by Greek]
* [http://www.karalahana.com/english/pontians.htm The Incredible Odyssey of the Black Sea Greeks]
* [http://www.karalahana.com/english/greeks_black_sea.htm Greek Penetration of the Black Sea]