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Pontus (Πόντος)
Ancient Region of Anatolia
Traditional rural Pontic house
Location	North-eastern Anatolia
Ethnic Groups	Pontic Greeks, Laz, Hemşin, Chepni, Turks
Historical capitals	Amasya, Neocaesarea, Sinope, Trabzon
Notable rulers	Mithradates Eupator
The modern definition of the Pontus: the area claimed for the "Republic of Pontus" after World War I, based on the extent of the six local Greek Orthodox bishoprics.

Pontus^{[pronunciation?]} or Pontos (Greek: Πόντος, "sea"^[1]) is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος Εύξεινος Pontos Euxeinos ("Hospitable Sea"^[2]), or simply Pontos. Having originally no specific name, the region east of the river Halys was spoken of as the country εν Πόντοι en Pontôi, "on the [Euxeinos] Pontos", and hence acquired the name of Pontus, which is first found in Xenophon's Anabasis. The extent of the region varied through the ages, but generally it extended from the borders of Colchis (modern Georgia) until well into Paphlagonia in the west, with varying amounts of hinterland. Several states and provinces bearing the name of Pontus or variants thereof were established in the region in Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times.

Geography[link]

The north-eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, historically known as Pontus, has a steep, rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges. A few larger rivers, those cutting back through the Pontic Mountains (Doğu Karadeniz Dağları), have tributaries that flow in broad, elevated basins. Access inland from the coast is limited to a few narrow valleys because mountain ridges, with elevations of 1,525 to 1,800 m in the west and 3,000 to 4,000 m in the east in Kaçkar Mountains, form an almost unbroken wall separating the coast from the interior. The higher slopes facing southwest tend to be densely wet. Because of these natural conditions, the Black Sea coast historically has been isolated from the Anatolian interior proper.

Pontus was a mountainous country—wild and barren in the east, where the great chains approach the Euxine; but in the west watered by the great rivers Halys and Iris, and their tributaries, the valleys of which, [p. 1301] as well as the land along the coast, are extremely fertile. The eastern part was rich in minerals, and contained the celebrated iron mines of the Chalybes.

The area is known for its fertility. Cherries were supposed to have been brought from Pontus to Europe in 72 BC.^[3]

History[link]

According to some researchers,the original inhabitants of Pontus were called generically Leucosyri,^[4] even though Leucosyri were the people living in Cilicia and Cappadocia. So Leucosyri are probably what the Greeks called the Persians who lived in Anatolia (Asia Minor). Various Colchian tribes were also inhabitants of Pontus. By the end of the Ancient ages, these groups started to become hellenised into the Pontic Greek society. The first travels of Greek merchants and adventurers to the Pontian region occurred probably from around 1000 BC, whereas their settlements would become steady and solidified cities only by the 8th and 7th centuries BC as archaeological findings document. This fits in well with a foundation date of 731 BC as reported by Eusebius of Caesarea for Sinope, perhaps the most ancient of the Greek Colonies in what was later to be called Pontus. The epical narratives related to the travels of Jason and the 50 heroes to Colchis, the tales of Heracles' navigating the Black Sea and Odysseus' wanderings into the land of the Cimmerians as well as the myth of Zeus constraining Prometheus to the Caucasus mountains as a punishment for his outwitting the Gods can be seen as reflections of the early contacts of Greek navigators with the broader region.

Kingdom of Pontus[link]

Map showing the Middle East in 89 BC, with the Kingdom of Pontus, under Mithridates VI the Great, in green.

The term did come to apply to a separate state after the establishment of the Kingdom of Pontus, beyond the Halys River (today Kızılırmak River). The Persian dynasty which was to found this kingdom had during the fourth century BC ruled the Greek city of Cius (or Kios) in Mysia, with its first known member being Ariobarzanes I of Cius and the last ruler based in the city being Mithridates II of Cius. Mithridates II's son, also called Mithridates, would become Mithridates I Ktistes of Pontus ("Ktistes", Κτίστης meaning "The Founder", Constructor in greek).

During the troubled period following the death of Alexander the Great, Mithridates Ktistes was for a time in the service of Antigonus, one of Alexander's successors, and successfully maneuvering in this unsettled time managed, shortly after 302 BC, to create the Kingdom of Pontus which would be ruled by his descendants mostly bearing the same name, until 64 BC. Thus, this Persian dynasty managed to survive and prosper in the Hellenistic world while the main Persian Empire had fallen.

As the greater part of this kingdom lay within the immense region of Cappadocia, which in early ages extended from the borders of Cilicia to the Euxine (Black Sea), the kingdom as a whole was at first called "Cappadocia towards the Pontus", but afterwards simply "Pontus," the name Cappadocia being henceforth restricted to the southern half of the region previously included under that title.

This kingdom reached its greatest height under Mithridates VI or Mithridates Eupator, commonly called the Great, who for many years carried on war with the Romans. Under him, the realm of Pontus included not only Pontic Cappadocia but also the seaboard from the Bithynian frontier to Colchis, part of inland Paphlagonia, and Lesser Armenia.

Roman province[link]

The Roman client kingdom of Pontus (in union with Colchis), ca. 50 AD.

Mentioned three times in the New Testament, inhabitants of Pontus were some of the very first converts to Christianity. Acts 2:9 mentions them present during the Day of Pentecost. Acts 18:2 mentions a Jewish couple from Pontus that had converted to Christianity. And 1 Peter 1:1, Peter the Apostle addresses the Pontians in his letter as the "elect" and "chosen ones".

With the subjection of this kingdom by Pompey in 64 BC, in which little changed in the structuring of life, neither for the oligarchies that controlled the cities nor for the common people in city or hinterland, the meaning of the name Pontus underwent a change. Part of the kingdom was now annexed to the Roman Empire, being united with Bithynia in a double province called Pontus and Bithynia: this part included only the seaboard between Heraclea (today Ereğli) and Amisus (Samsun), the ora Pontica.

Hereafter the simple name Pontus without qualification was regularly employed to denote the half of this dual province, especially by Romans and people speaking from the Roman point of view; it is so used almost always in the New Testament. The eastern half of the old kingdom was administered as a client kingdom together with Colchis. Its last king was Polemon II.

In AD 62, the country was constituted by Nero a Roman province. It was divided into the three districts: Pontus Galaticus in the west, bordering on Galatia; Pontus Polemoniacus in the centre, so called from its capital Polemonium; and Pontus Cappadocicus in the east, bordering on Cappadocia (Armenia Minor).

The Diocese of Pontus and its provinces in ca. 400 AD.

With the reorganization of the provincial system under Diocletian (about AD 295), the Pontic districts were divided up between four provinces of the Dioecesis Pontica:

• Paphlagonia, to which was attached most of the old province Pontus
• Diospontus, renamed Helenopontus by Constantine the Great after his mother, containing the rest of the province Pontus and the adjoining district, eight cities in all (including Sinope, Amisus and Zela) with Amasea as capital
• Pontus Polemoniacus, containing Comana, Argyroupolis, Polemonium, Cerasus and Trapezus with Neocaesarea as capital
• Armenia Minor, five cities, with Sebasteia as capital.

Emperor Justinian further reorganized the system in 536:

• Pontus Polemoniacus was dissolved, with the western part (Polemonium and Neocaesarea) going to Helenopontus, Comana going to the new province of Armenia II, and the rest (Trapezus and Cerasus) joining the new province of Armenia I Magna
• Helenopontus gained Polemonium and Neocaesarea, and lost Zela to Armenia II. The provincial governor was renamed to moderator.
• Paphlagonia absorbed Honorias and was put under a praetor.

This rearrangement gave place in turn to the Byzantine system of military districts (themes) in the late 7th century.

Pontus under the Byzantines[link]

Under the Byzantine Empire, the Pontus came under the Armeniac Theme, with the westernmost parts (Paphlagonia) belonging to the Bucellarian Theme. Progressively, these large early themes were divided into smaller ones, so that by the late 10th century, the Pontus was divided into the themes of Chaldia and Koloneia. After the 8th century, the area experienced a period of prosperity, which was brought to an end only by the Seljuk conquest of Asia Minor in the 1070s and 1080s. Restored to the Byzantine Empire by Alexios I Komnenos, the area was governed by effectively semi-autonomous rulers, like the Gabras family of Trebizond.

Following the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Pontus was set up as an independent successor state, the Empire of Trebizond, under the Komnenos dynasty. Through a combination of geographic remoteness and adroit diplomacy, the Empire managed to survive, until it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1461.

Pontus under the Ottomans[link]

Christian population in 1896

Under the subsequent Ottoman rule which began with the fall of Trebizond, particularly starting from the 17th century, some of the region's Pontic Greeks became Muslim through the Devşirme system. But at the same time some valley's inhabited by Greeks converted by own will, most notably those in the Of-valley; and large communities (around 25% of the population) of Christian Pontic Greeks remained throughout the area (including Trabezon and Kars in northeastern Turkey/the Russian Caucasus) until the 1920s, and in parts of Georgia and Armenia until the 1990s, preserving their own customs and dialect of Greek.

A remarkable change during the last period of the Ottoman empire is the creation of "the Republic of Pontus" and the "Ponto-Armenian Federation" that did not take place as it was aimed to be and had as a result the genocide of at least 353,000 Pontian Greeks at the same time that the Armenian genocide took place. The number is based at facts from the relatives of murdered persons, Red Cross, French, and American reports from that period.

The Greek Genocide 1914-23

Present[link]

The Black Sea Region (Turkish: Karadeniz Bölgesi) is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions.

Turkey Black Sea Region

Turkey Black Sea Region

Famous Pontians[link]

• Strabo, a Greek historian, geographer, and philosopher.
• Evagrius Ponticus, a Greek theologian/monk of the 4th century
• Chrysanthos Theodoridis Singer
• A.I. Bezzerides, an American novelist and screenwriter. Famous for writing Humphrey Bogart movies, and co-creator of the TV series The Big Valley. Born in Samsun.
• Mike Lazaridis,CEO of Research in Motion and creator of BlackBerry phones.

See also[link]

• Republic of Pontus
• Greek genocide
• Pontic Greek
• Pontic Greeks

Notes and references[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Sources[link]

• Bryer, Anthony A. M. (1980), The Empire of Trebizond and the Pontos, London: Variorum Reprints, ISBN 0-86078-062-7 
• Ramsay MacMullen, 2000. Romanization in the Time of Augustus (Yale University Press)

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• History of Pontus
• The Greek Genocide 1914-23
• PontosWorld
• MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies. International Hellenic University-School of Humanities

v t e Provinces of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent (117 AD) Achaea Aegyptus Africa Alpes Cottiae Alpes Maritimae Alpes Poeninae Arabia Petraea Armenia Asia Assyria Bithynia et Pontus Britannia Cappadocia Cilicia Corsica et Sardinia Creta et Cyrenaica Cyprus Dacia Dalmatia Epirus Galatia Gallia Aquitania Gallia Belgica Gallia Lugdunensis Gallia Narbonensis Germania Inferior Germania Superior Hispania Baetica Hispania Tarraconensis Italia Iudaea Lusitania Lycia et Pamphylia Macedonia Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Tingitana Mesopotamia Moesia Inferior Moesia Superior Noricum Pannonia Inferior Pannonia Superior Raetia Sicilia Syria Thracia

Pontus Wernbloom

Playing for CSKA Moscow in 2012.
Personal information
Full name	Pontus Anders Mikael Wernbloom
Date of birth	(1986-06-25) June 25, 1986 (age 26)
Place of birth	Kungälv, Sweden
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Central midfielder
Club information
Current club	CSKA Moscow
Number	3
Youth career
1998–2001	Herrljunga SK
2001–2003	Kongahälla
2004–2005	IFK Göteborg
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2009	IFK Göteborg	94	(26)
2009–2012	AZ	67	(7)
2012–	CSKA Moscow	11	(0)
National team‡
2006–2009	Sweden U21	24	(6)
2007–	Sweden	22	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:03, 13 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:31, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Pontus Anders Mikael Wernbloom (born 25 June 1986 in Kungälv, Bohuslän) is a Swedish footballer who plays for CSKA Moscow in the Russian Premier League.

Career[link]

After playing for a local club, he joined the youth team of IFK Göteborg in 2004, before being promoted to the senior team in 2005.^[1] He quickly made a name for himself with his hard tackles, fighting spirit and generally fearless playing style. When Håkan Mild retired after the 2005 season, Wernbloom secured a place in the starting line-up. However during the following season he struggled to retain his place as the club changed its playing style under new management. When striker Marcus Berg left to play for FC Groningen in the summer of 2007, Wernbloom switched to forward and was able to be a starter once again.

In April 2009 he signed a contract with the Dutch club AZ,^[2] which he joined in June.

In January 2012 Wernbloom left AZ for signing a long-term contract with the Russian top club CSKA Moscow. Plagued by injuries, Wernbloom was plunged into the deep end against a highly-favored Real Madrid side in the knockout stages of the Champions League. He scored a dramatic half-volley in the dying minutes of the game to equalize 1-1.

International[link]

He debuted for the Swedish U-21 team in 2006, scoring a goal in the 12th minute of the match. On 7 January 2007, he was picked for the Swedish national team's January Tour in South America, and he made his debut on 18 January against Ecuador.^[3]

Personal[link]

Wernbloom married girlfriend Nina in 2010 who gave birth to their son Mille the following year.^[4]

He openly took a stance against Sweden Democrats prior to the 2010 Swedish general election, and stated his support for the socialist side in Aftonbladet.^[5]

International goals[link]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	3 September 2010	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Hungary	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
2.	3 September 2010	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Hungary	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours[link]

IFK Göteborg

• Allsvenskan: 2007
• Svenska Cupen: 2008
• Supercupen: 2008

AZ

• Johan Cruijff Shield: 2009

References[link]

External links[link]

• Wernbloom on national-football-teams.com
• Statistik/ligor – svenskfotboll.se

Sweden squads v t e Sweden squad – 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Dahlin 2 Lustig 3 Bjärsmyr (c) 4 R. Bengtsson 5 Johansson 6 Karlsson 7 Toivonen 8 Landgren 9 Berg 10 Avdić 11 Söder 12 Hansson 13 Svensson 14 Molins 15 Harbuzi 16 P. Bengtsson 17 Olsson 18 Elm 19 Wernbloom 20 Bajrami 21 Özkan 22 Ekstrand 23 Nordfeldt Coach: Söderberg & Lennartsson v t e Sweden squad – UEFA Euro 2012 1 Isaksson 2 Lustig 3 Mellberg 4 Granqvist 5 M. Olsson 6 Elm 7 Larsson 8 Svensson 9 Källström 10 Ibrahimović (c) 11 Elmander 12 Wiland 13 J. Olsson 14 Hysén 15 Antonsson 16 Wernbloom 17 Safari 18 Holmén 19 Bajrami 20 Toivonen 21 Wilhelmsson 22 Rosenberg 23 Hansson Coach: Hamrén

This biographical article related to an association football midfielder from Sweden is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article related to an association football forward from Sweden is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Pontus Sven Gustav Jansson (born February 13, 1991 in Arlöv) is a Swedish footballer. He is currently playing for Malmö FF in Allsvenskan.

Career[link]

Club career[link]

Malmö FF[link]

Jansson started his career at local club Arlövs BI. In 2006 at age 15 he transferred to Malmö FF. He played in youth teams until he made his first debut in 2009. Jansson played in a variety of positions in the early stages of his career until deciding on centre back in the start of the 2010 season, he had made his first team debut as forward the year before. When teammate Jasmin Sudić was long term injured in the beginning of the year the manager decided that Jansson would take Sudićs place in the starting eleven. Jansson played in 18 games in the 2010 league winning season for Malmö. He missed the latter part of the season due to injury problems. Starting out the 2011 season on the bench, Jansson gained new manager Rikard Norlings trust and once again took a spot in the starting eleven. Jansson finished the season with 15 played league matches and nine matches in Europe. Many considered Jansson to be the clubs best player of 2011 even though he only played for half of the season. Jansson was also mentioned as a potential candidate for becoming the clubs new captain as Daniel Andersson announced that he would step down during the 2012 season.

International career[link]

Sweden U21[link]

Jansson made his debut for the Sweden U21 national team in a friendly game against Portugal on 9 February 2011. On 2 June 2011 he captained the team in a match against Norway where he also scored the first goal in a 4–1 win for Sweden U21.^[1]

Sweden[link]

Jansson was selected for the annual training camp for the Sweden national team in January 2012. The squad selection for the camp traditionally feature the best Swedish players in domestic and other Scandinavian leagues.^[2] He made his senior debut for Sweden in the training match against Bahrain on 18 January 2012.^[3]

Career statistics[link]

As of 24 May 2012^[4]

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Malmö FF

• Allsvenskan: 2010

Footnotes[link]