Sinop, historically known as Sinope (/sɪˈnoʊpi/; Greek: Σινώπη, Sinōpē), is a city on the isthmus of İnce Burun (İnceburun, Cape Ince) and on the Boztepe Peninsula, near Cape Sinope (Sinop Burnu, Boztepe Cape, Boztepe Burnu) which is situated on the northernmost edge of the Turkish side of the Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey. It is the seat of Sinop Province and Sinop District.[2] Its population is 57,404 (2022).[1]
History
Over a period of approximately 2,500 years, Sinope has at various times been settled by Colchians, PontianIranics such as the Kizzuwatna, then the Greeks (in the late 7th, late 5th, and 4th–3rd centuries BC) and by Turkic people beginning in the 13th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries it was also settled by the muhacir who immigrated from the Balkans and Caucasus.[3]
Evidence for Hittite Kingdom settlement along the Black Sea's southern shore remains murky. Researchers in the 1940s and 50s debated whether the "Great Sea", mentioned on the Boghazkoy tablets describing war between the Kizzuwatna tribe and the Hittites, could mean the Black Sea. Albrecht Goetze argued that the Hittites had never reached the northern Black Sea shore, instead drawing the northernmost boundary of the Hittite Kingdom to the south of the North Anatolia mountain range. D.S. Hogarth similarly concluded that the northern boundary of the Hittites never reached the shore. Hogarth's boundary was based on the distribution of Hittite monuments. Some objects found at Sinope are believed to be of Hittite origin.[4]
The Greek colony of Sinope (Greek: Σινώπη, romanized: Sinṓpē) was founded by Ionians from the city of Miletus.[5] Sinope issued its own coinage, founded colonies, and gave its name to a red earth pigment called sinopia, which was mined in Cappadocia for use throughout the ancient world.[6] Some scholars have dated the earliest Greek colonization of Sinope to the 7th c. BC, while others have proposed an earlier date in the 8th c. While literary evidence exists supporting earlier settlement, archaeological evidence has been found of Greek settlement around the Black Sea region beginning in the late 7th century.[7][8]
Sinope was strategically located among the trade routes that were developing on the southern Coast of the Black Sea, but remained relatively isolated from other inland communities until the 4th century BC.[3][9] There is literary evidence of early links between Colchis and Sinope in mythological tradition. Strabo's writings link the legendary founder of Sinope, Autolycus, with Jason and the Argonauts. Polybius described Sinope as being "on the way to Phasis".[10] The Persian Achaemenid Empire's northward expansion in the 4th century disrupted Sinope's control over its eastern colonies, including Trapezus (present day Trabzon). The satrapDatames briefly occupied the city around 375 BC.[11][12] There is archaeological evidence of increased economic activity between the port city of Sinope and the surrounding inland areas during between 4th and 1st c. BC. Sinope appears to have maintained its independence from the dominion of Alexander the Great, and with the help of Rhodes turned back an assault led by Mithridates II of Pontus in 220 BC. Sinope eventually fell to Pharnaces I in 183 BC, after which it became the capital of the Pontic Kingdom.[3][12]
After the division of the Roman Empire in 395, Sinope remained with the Eastern Roman Empire. Its history in the early Byzantine period is obscure, except for isolated events: it was used by Justinian II as a base from which to reconnoitre Cherson, participated in the rebellion of the Armeniac Theme in 793, was the site of Theophobos' proclamation as emperor by his Khurramite troops in 838, and suffered its only attack by the Arabs in 858.[13]
After 1265, Sinop became home to two successive independent emirates following the fall of the Seljuks: the Pervâne and the Jandarids. During his march on Trebizond, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II overawed Ismail, the emir of Sinop, and forced him to surrender the city without a fight. Mehmet took possession in late June 1461, exiling Ismail to Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv) in northern Thrace.[15]
Ibn Battuta visited the city and stayed for about forty days. He noted it was "a superb city which combines fortification with beautification."[16]
In 1614, Sinop was targeted by Cossack raiders and extensively looted and burned in an event which shocked Ottoman contemporaries.[17]
In November 1853, at the start of the Crimean War, in the Battle of Sinop, the Russians, under the command of Admiral Nakhimov, destroyed an Ottoman frigate squadron in Sinop, leading Britain and France to declare war on Russia.
As of 1920, Sinop was described as populated mainly by Greeks with an approximate population of 8,000. It was also considered the "safest" port "between Bosphorus and Batum", at the time. During this period, the port was exporting wheat, tobacco, seeds, timber and hides. They imported produce, coal and hardware.[18] The Greek inhabitants left in 1923 after the Population Exchange between Greece and Turkey, with many settling in Nea Sinopi.
Sinop hosted a US military base and radar that was important for intelligence during the Cold War era.[19] The US base was closed in 1992.
Greek coins featuring an eagle holding a dolphin or marine animal in its talons have been found in Sinope, Istria and Olbia. Located in present-day Turkey, Romania and Ukraine respectively, all three were colonies of Miletus. The coins circulated between c. 450 and 325 BC.[20] Coins of the "Sinope type" continued to be issued by Persians under Achaemenid rule in the 4th century BC. At least two Persian issuers of such coins have been studied in some detail: the satrapDatames in Cappadocia and Ariarathes.[21]
Geography
Sinop is located on a promontory at the narrowest point of the Black Sea. It has two harbors and is located along the southern shore of the Black Sea, near the shortest crossing to the Crimea. The nearby mountainous terrain is green and noted for its timber.[3][12]
Sinop has warm summers with an average daytime high of 26 °C (79 °F), and temperatures rarely exceed 30 °C (86 °F). The winters are cool and wet, the average for February is just below 7 °C (45 °F). Snowfall is occasional December to March, sometimes lasting a week or two.
Climate data for Sinop, Turkey (1991–2020, extremes 1936–2020)
As of 1920, Sinop was producing embroidered cotton cloth. They also were known for boatbuilding. The boats produced in Sinop were described by a British observer as being of "primitive design but sound workmanship."[24]
Pasha Bastion (Turkish: Paşa Tabyası) is a half-moon coastal bastion, a semi-circular fortification, situated southeast of Sinop Peninsula. It was constructed to protect the city against attacks coming from the Black Sea during the Russo-Turkish War, Crimean War (1853–1856). It features an artillery battery of eleven cannons, an arsenal and basement. Today, it is used as a place for refreshments premise.[28]
Historic Water Tunnel (Turkish: Tarihi Su Kanalı) is an ancient underground water supply channel situated at Sülüklü Göl (literally: Lake of Leeches. Dug in rock, it is about 230 m (750 ft) long and has a clearance of 1.50 m (4.9 ft). There exists a 20–30 m (66–98 ft) high cylindrical ventilation shaft of 1.50 m (4.9 ft) diameter.[28]
Balatlar Church (Turkish: Balatlar Kilisesi) is a ruined church from the Byzantine Empire period. It is partly preserved as only the chapel vault is in undamaged condition while other parts of the church have no roof any more. Fresco paintings on the chapel's ceiling and on the nave walls are still intact.[28]
Pervane Medrese is a former Islamic religious school, which was closed down after the proclamation of the Republic. The 13th-century building was used as a depot for archaeological artifacts and ethnographic items from 1932 on, and served as a museum between 1941 and 1970. It hosts souvenir shops today.[30]
Sinop Fortress (Turkish: Sinop Kalesi) is a fortification surrounding the peninsula and the isthmus of Sinop. It was built initially by migrants from Miletus in the 8th century BC. The fortress underwent reparation and expansion to its current extent during the reign of King Mithridates IV of Pontus in the 2nd century BC after its destruction by the Cimmerians in the 7th century BC. Some parts of the fortress, especially the north walls, are ruined.[31]
Sinop Fortress Prison (Turkish: Sinop Tarihi Cezaevi) is a defunct state prison situated inside the Sinop Fortress. Served between 1887 and 1997, the prison rose to fame when it featured in many literature works of notable authors, who were inmates of the prison for political reasons. It became also a shooting set for many movies and television series. It is a prison museum today.[32]
Sinop Archaeological Museum (Turkish: Sinop Arkeoloji Müzesi) is a 1941-established archaeological museum exhibiting artifacts dating back to Early Bronze Age and from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods as well.[33]
Sinop Ethnographic Museum (Turkish: Sinop Etnografya Müzesi) is a museum of ethnographic exhibits belonging to the cultural history of the region. It is situated in a large 18th-century mansion.[34]
^ abcdDoonan, Owen P. (2004). "Colonizing the Lands of Sinop". Sinop Landscapes: Exploring Connection in a Black Sea Hinterland. University of Pennsylvania Press, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. pp. 69–92. ISBN9781931707657. JSTORj.ctt3fj358.11.
^SeeStrabo XII.iii.1 1; Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library 14.31.2; Pseudo-Scymnus 995-96; Eusebius, Chronographia 631/30 BCE; See also Doonan, Sinop Landscapes p. 71 for details of archaeological research
^Tezgör, Dominique Kassab (6 October 2011). Sinope, The Results of Fifteen Years of Research. Proceedings of the International Symposium, 7-9 May 2009: Sinope, Un état de la question après quinze ans de travaux. Actes du Symposium International, 7-9 May 2009. BRILL. ISBN978-90-04-22388-2.
^A. KAKHIDZE; I. IASHVILI; M. VICKERS (2001). "Silver Coins of Black Sea Coastal Cities from the Fifth Century BC Necropolis at Pichvnari". The Numismatic Chronicle. 16: 282–287. JSTOR42668025.
^ abcBroughton, Thomas Robert Shannon; Mitchell, Stephen (2005). "Sinope". The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-860641-3. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^J.G.F. HIND (2007). "City Heads/Personifications and Omens from Zeus (the Coins of Sinope, Istria and Olbia in the V-IV Centuries BC)". The Numismatic Chronicle. 16: 9–22. JSTOR42666926.
^Cynthia M. Harrison (1982). "Persian Names on Coins of Northern Anatolia". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 41 (3): 181–194. doi:10.1086/372949. JSTOR544997. S2CID162353204.
^"Diyojen" (in Turkish). Rota Senin. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
Further reading
John Garstang, The Hittite Empire, Being a Survey of the History, Geography and Monuments of Hittite Asia Minor and Syria (London: Constable and Company Ltd, 1929).