The black sea : a history / Charles King.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

King, Charles, 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civilization.

Politics and government.

History.

Black Sea Region--History.

Black Sea Region.

Black Sea Region--Politics and government.

Black Sea Region--Civilization.

Physical Description:

xx, 276 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps (some color) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Summary:

The lands surrounding the Black Sea share a colorful past. Though in recent decades they have experienced ethnic conflict, economic collapse, and interstate rivalry, their common heritage and common interests go deep. Now, as a region at the meeting point of the Balkans, Central Asia, and the Middle East, the Black Sea is more important than ever. In this lively and entertaining book, which is based on extensive research in multiple languages, Charles King investigates the myriad connections that have made the Black Sea more of a bridge than a boundary, linking religious communities, linguistic groups, empires, and later, nations and states.

Contents:

1. An Archaeology of Place 3

People and Water 3

Region, Frontier, Nation 6

Beginnings 12

Geography and Ecology 15

2. Pontus Euxinus, 700BC-AD500 25

The Edge of the World 26

"Frogs Around a Pond" 29

"A Community of Race" 33

How a Scythian Saved Civilization 37

The Voyage of Argo 40

"More Barbarous Than Ourselves" 42

Pontus and Rome 45

Dacia Traiana 50

The Expedition of Flavius Arrianus 52

The Prophet of Abonoteichus 55

3. Mare Maggiore, 500-1500 65

"The Scythian Nations are One" 67

Sea-Fire 71

Khazars, Rhos, Bulgars, and Turks 73

Business in Gazaria 81

Pax Mongolica 87

The Ship from Caffa 91

Empire of the Comneni 93

Turchia 98

An Ambassador from the East 101

4. Kara Deniz, 1500-1700 111

"The Source of All the Seas" 113

"To Constantinople

to be Sold!" 116

Domn, Khan, and Derebey 119

Sailors' Graffiti 125

A Navy of Seagulls 129

5. Chernoe More, 1700-1860 139

Sea and Steppe 141

A Flotilla on Azov 143

Cleopatra Processes South 147

The Flight of the Kalmoucks 150

A Season in Kherson 154

Rear Admiral Dzhons 157

New Russia 161

Fever, Ague, and Lazaretto 168

A Consul in Trabzon 172

Crimea 177

6. Black Sea, 1860-1990 189

Empires, States, and Treaties 192

Steam, Wheat, Rail, and Oil 195

"An Ignoble Army of Scribbling Visitors" 200

Trouble on the Kostence Line 204

The Unpeopling 207

"The Division of the Waters" 215

Knowing the Sea 219

The Prometheans 224

Development and Decline 227

7. Facing the Water 239.

Notes:

Col. map on lining papers.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [251]-261) and index.

ISBN:

0199241619

OCLC:

52696138