MushkiThe Mushki (sometimes transliterated as Muški) were an Iron Age people of Anatolia who appear in sources from Assyria but not from the Hittites. Several authors have connected them with the Moschoi (Μόσχοι) of Greek sources and the Georgian tribe of the Meskhi. Josephus Flavius identified the Moschoi with the Biblical Meshech. Two different groups are called Muški in Assyrian sources (Diakonoff 1984:115), one from the 12th to the 9th centuries BC near the confluence of the Arsanias and the Euphrates ("Eastern Mushki") and the other from the 8th to the 7th centuries BC in Cappadocia and Cilicia ("Western Mushki").
MacronesThe Macrones (მაკრონები) (Μάκρωνες, Makrōnes) were an ancient Colchian tribe in the east of Pontus, about the Moschici Mountains (modern Yalnizçam Dağlari, Turkey). The name is allegedly derived from the name of Kromni valley (Κορούμ, located 13 km north-east of Gümüşhane) by adding Kartvelian ma- prefix which denotes regional descendance. The Macrones are first mentioned by Herodotus (c. 450 BC), who relates that they, along with Moschi, Tibareni, Mossynoeci, and Marres, formed the nineteenth satrapy within the Achaemenid Persian Empire and fought under Xerxes I.
Hemshin peopleThe Hemshin people (Համշէնցիներ, Hamshentsiner; Hemşinliler), also known as Hemshinli or Hamshenis or Homshetsi, are a bilingual small group of Armenians who practice Sunni Islam after they had been converted from Christianity in the beginning of the 18th century and are affiliated with the Hemşin and Çamlıhemşin districts in the province of Rize, Turkey. They are Armenian in origin, and were originally Christian members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but over the centuries evolved into a distinct community and converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of the region by the Ottomans during the second half of the 15th century.
Sumela MonasterySumela Monastery (Μονή Παναγίας Σουμελά, Moní Panagías Soumelá; Sümela Manastırı, სუმელა) is a Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Theotokos located at Karadağ (Greek: Sou Melá, meaning "Black Mountain") within the Pontic Mountains, in the Maçka district of Trabzon Province in modern Turkey. Nestled in a steep cliff at an altitude of about facing the Altındere valley, it is a site of great historical and cultural significance, as well as a major tourist attraction within Altındere National Park.
DiogenesDiogenes (daɪˈɒdʒɪniːz ; Diogénēs di.oɡénɛːs), also known as Diogenes the Cynic (Διογένης ὁ Κυνικός, Diogénēs ho Kynikós) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism. He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia (now Türkiye) in 412 or 404 BC and died at Corinth in 323 BC. Diogenes was a controversial figure. He was banished, or fled from, Sinope over debasement of currency.
GümüşhaneGümüşhane (ɟyˈmyʃhaːne) is a city in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Gümüşhane Province and Gümüşhane District. Its population is 39,214 (2022). The city lies along the Harşit River, about southwest of Trabzon. The city lies at an elevation of . It is suggested that the ancient Thia (Θεία in Greek, a settlement of Roman, Late Roman and Byzantine periods) was located west of modern Gümüşhane, in modern Beşkilise.
RizeRize (Ρίζα; რიზინი; რიზე; ريزه) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District. Its population is 119,828 (2021). Rize is a typically Turkish provincial capital with little in the way of nightlife or entertainment. However the border with Georgia has been open since the early 1990s, the Black Sea coast road has been widened and the town is much wealthier than it used to be.
LazicaLazica (ეგრისი, Egrisi; ლაზიკა, Laziǩa; Λαζική, Lazikí; لازستان, Lâzestân; Եգեր, Yeger) was the Latin name given to the territory of Colchis during the Roman/Byzantine period, from about the 1st century BC. By the mid-3rd century, Lazica was given partial autonomy within the Roman Empire and developed into kingdom. Throughout much of its existence, it was mainly a Byzantine strategic vassal kingdom that briefly came under Sasanian Persian rule during the Lazic War. The kingdom fell to the Muslim conquest in the 7th century.
PotiPoti (ფოთი ˈphɔthi; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis and deriving its name from the same, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also home to a main naval base and the headquarters of the Georgian Navy. The name Poti is linked to Phasis, but the etymology is a matter of a scholarly dispute.
