Trabzon, formerly known as Trebizond or Τραπεζούντα (Trapezoúnda; see also List of traditional Greek place names) in Greek, is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey (Lat (DMS) 41° 2' 60N Long (DMS) 39° 43' 37E). It is the capital of Trabzon Province. It lies astride the road from Istanbul to Iraq and was an important meeting point for international trade. It formed the basis for several empires over its history, including one of the same name.
Originally founded as Trapezus by traders from Miletus (traditionally in 756 BC), the city was one of a number (about ten) of Milesian emporia, or trading colonies along the shores of the Black Sea. Others include Sinope, Abydos and Cyzicus (in the Dardanelles). 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. When Xenophon and the "ten thousand" Greek mercenaries fighting their way out of Persia, reached Trapezus, it was the first Greek city they had reached (Xenophon, Anabasis, 5.5.10).
The city was added to the kingdom of Pontus by Mithridates VI Eupator and it became home port for the Pontic fleet.
When the kingdom was annexed to the Roman province of Galatia in 64-65 AD, the fleet simply passed to new commanders, becoming the Classis Pontica. Trapezus gained importance under Roman rule in the 1st century AD because from its roadstead a road over the Zigana Pass led to the Armenian frontier or the upper Euphrates valley. New roads were constructed from Persia and Mesopotamia under the rule of Vespasian, and Hadrian commissioned improvements to give the city a more structured harbor. A Mithraeum now serves as a crypt for the church of Panaghia Theoskepastos in nearby Kizlara, east of the citadel and south of the modern harbor. The city was pillaged by the Goths in 258, and, although it was afterwards re-built, Trapezus did not recover until the trade route regained importance in the 8th to 10th centuries.
After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, a Byzantine Successor state was founded there with support of Queen Tamar of Georgia, the Empire of Trebizond, which ruled part of the Black Sea coast from Trabzon until 1461, when its ruler, David, surrendered to Mehmed II, ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Following this takeover Mehmet sent many Turkish settlers into the area, but the old ethnic Armenian, Greek and Abkhaz communities remained. During the late Ottoman period, the city had a great Christian influence in terms of culture, and a wealthy merchant class who created several Western consulates.
Trebizond was captured during World War I by forces under the command of the Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich of Russia. Following the Treaty of Sevres and subsequent Treaty of Lausanne, Trabzon has been in the hands of Turkey. The city is still a busy trading centre, more so after the collapse of the USSR, although the shipping industry fell into decline after the rail route between Ankara and Erzurum, and the road to Iran.
Trabzon is famous throughout Turkey for its anchovies, which are the main meal in many restaurants in the city. Major exports from Trabzon are hazelnuts and tea.
Trabzon still has a sizable Pontian Muslim community, as Muslims were not deported from Turkey after the Treaty of Lausanne. However, the Pontic Greek language is spoken mostly by older generations, and most people regard themselves as Muslims or Turkish citizens.