Sudak ( Ukrainian and Russian: ; ; ; sometimes spelled Sudac or Sudagh) is a city, multiple former Eastern Orthodox bishopric and double Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. It is of regional significance in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, a territory recognized by most countries as part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

but annexed by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

as the Republic of Crimea. Sudak serves as the administrative center of Sudak Municipality, one of the regions Crimea is divided into. It is situated to the west of Feodosia (the nearest railway station) and to the east of

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

, the republic's capital. Population: A city of antiquity, today it is a popular resort, best known for its Genoese fortress, the best preserved on the northern shore of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

History

Foundation and early Middle Ages

The date and circumstances of the city's foundation are uncertain. The first written reference to the city dates to the 7th century (in the ''

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' (, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a work describing the Ecumene, known world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. It consists of five books describing ...

''), but later local tradition places its foundation in 212 CE, and archaeological evidence supports its foundation in Roman times. The city was in all likelihood founded by the

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

, as its name in Greek sources, ''Sougdaia'' is a cognate of the adjective ''sugda'' ("pure, holy") or derives from the word ''sugded''/''sogdad'' in the

Ossetian language Ossetian ( , , ), commonly referred to as Ossetic and rarely as Ossete, is an Eastern Iranian language that is spoken predominantly in Ossetia, a region situated on both sides of the Russian-Georgian border in the Greater Caucasus region. ...

. In the early Middle Ages, the city appears to have been under very loose

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

control, like other cities in the region. Archaeological remains indicate considerable construction activity near the shore in the 6th century. Under Byzantine influence, the city was subject to

Christianization Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

, and became the seat of a bishopric under the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

, attested for the first time in the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics and others. ...

in 787. Although a Greek-speaking population was probably settled in the city, the area remained dominated by the Alans: a 9th-century hagiography of Apostle Andrew places "Upper Sougdaia" elsewhere, between Zichia and the Cimmerian Bosporus, "in the land of the Alans", while the hagiographer of Constantine the Philosopher mentions the tribe of ''Sougdoi'', situated between the

Iberians The Iberians (, from , ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among others, by Hecataeus of Mil ...

and the

Crimean Goths The Crimean Goths were either a Greuthungi- Gothic tribe or a Western Germanic tribe that bore the name '' Gothi'', a title applied to various Germanic tribes that remained in the lands around the Black Sea, especially in Crimea. They were the ...

, which the historian Francis Dvornik identifies as the Alans. The period between the 8th and 11th centuries is obscure, but the available evidence points to a sharp decline in Sougdaia's fortunes. Archaeological evidence shows that the 6th-century constructions were abandoned in the 8th/9th century, while later Russian legends (probably apocryphal) claim that the city was captured by the Rus' chieftain, Bravlin, at around the same time. Byzantine control lapsed, and the city probably came under

Khazar The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

suzerainty thereafter, which lasted until the early 11th century. In the early 10th century, the local see was promoted to an archbishopric.

High and late Middle Ages

The 11th–14th centuries represent a period of prosperity for the city, as shown in archaeological evidence of renewed activity both in the harbour as well as the hinterland and the area of the citadel. It became an important location for trading on the

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

in the 12th and 13th centuries, as a terminus for Black Sea trade. The 14th-century Arab traveller

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

even compares its harbour with that of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. The 13th-century chronicler Ibn al-Athir writes of it as the "city of the Qifjaq from which (flow) their material possessions. It is on the Khazar Sea. Ships come to it bearing clothes. The Qifjiqs buy from them and sell them slaves. Burtas furs, beaver, squirrels ..." By the mid-11th century, Sougdaia had returned to Byzantine control, probably following the defeat of the Khazar warlord Georgius Tzul in 1016. An inscription of 1059 mentions Leo Aliates, "''

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

'' of Cherson and Sougdaia". By the end of the century, however, the city passed under

Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...

control, which lasted until the 13th century. In the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

besieged it, followed by destructive raids by the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

in 1223 and 1238. Finally, in the city came under the control of the Mongol

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

, although it retained considerable autonomy. Contemporary sources place its population at the time to 8,300, including Greeks, Alans, Mongols, Armenians, Latins, and Jews. Caffa and Theodoro 2

Under Tatar rule, the city was governed by the notables of the city and the 18 villages surrounding it. In the Greek sources they are mentioned by the Byzantine title ''

sebastos ( , ) was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of . The female form of the title was (). It was revived as an honorific in the 11th century Byzantine Empire and came to form the basis of a new system of co ...

'', while the Latin sources use the Latinized Greek term ''proti'' ("first men"). Sometime between 1275 and 1282, the local see, which after being united with Phoulloi in the late 11th century was known as ''Sougdophoulloi'', was raised to the status of a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

. The city's prosperity was increased by the establishment of Venetian and Genoese commercial colonies in the Crimea during the late 13th century, but at the same time, the area was drawn into the constant disputes between these two rival cities. In the early 14th century, the city was eclipsed by the Genoese colonies of Tana and Kaffa: the Florentine merchant Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, who visited the area in , neglects to mention the city altogether. At about the same time, the Tatars converted to Islam, which led to a deterioration of their relations with the Greek-speaking and Christian inhabitants of the city, many of whom were forced to leave it. As a result, on 19 July 1365, the Genoese from Kaffa seized the city, which became a Genoese trading colony. The Genoese refortified the city, constructing the citadel that is still visible today, and induced a large part of the deported Greeks to return. Genoese rule lasted until 1475, when the Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Gedik Ahmed Pasha Gedik Ahmed Pasha (; died 18 November 1482) was an Ottoman statesman and admiral who served as Grand Vizier and Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy) during the reigns of sultans Mehmed II and Bayezid II. Very little was known abo ...

captured it after a long siege.

Ottoman and modern periods

The

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

took control of ''Soldaia'' and all other Genoese colonies, as well as the Principality of Theodoro in 1475. Although Sudak was the strategical center of a '' qadılıq'', the smallest administrative unit in the Ottoman Empire, the town lost much of its military and commercial importance, until the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

took over. In 1771, Sudak was occupied by Rumyantsev's army. In 1783, it definitively passed to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, with the rest of

. Though sometimes contested, it seems that a mass emigration occurred as a result of the ensuing instability in that period. Even

Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

ordered in 1778 the eviction of the Christian population from Crimea. The town rapidly turned into a small village, and according to the 1805 census, Sudak had just 33 inhabitants. In 1804, the first Russian school of

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

was opened there. The town acquired its present status in 1982.

Ecclesiastical history

Byzantine metropolis of Sougdaia

It is unknown when the Byzantine see of Sougdaia was established, but it is attested for the first time in 787. It was in the sway of the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...

, where it ranked 35th according to the ''

Notitia Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') were official documents that furnished for Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the mos ...

'' edited by

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Leo VI (). In the 10th century it was promoted to an archbishopric. After merging with the nearby see of Phoulloi towards the end of the 11th century, it was known as ''Sougdophoulloi''. It was raised to metropolitan status in 1275/82. Its historical bishops were : * St. Stephen, 787 * Constantine, in 997. See also Russian Orthodox Diocese of Surozh for Surozh, the old name of the city as an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

in the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, which has been nominally transferred to the Russian Orthodox Diocese in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Latin bishopric of Soldaia

Under Genoese rule, a Latin Catholic diocese of Soldaia was established in 1390, which has had the following residential bishops : * Bonifacius (19 August 1393 – ? death) * John Greenlaw, O.F.M. (18 September 1400 – ?) * Ludovico, O.P. (? – 15 December 1427) * Agostino di Caffa, O.P. (23 July 1432 – ? death) * Giovanni di Pera, O.P. (9 July 1456 – ? death) * Leonard Wisbach, O.P. (6 October 1480 – ? death) It was suppressed circa 1500 after the Ottoman conquest of the Crimea in 1475.

Latin titular metropolitan see of Sugdaea

In 1933 the see was nominally restored as titular bishopric of Sugdæa (Sugdaea), which was promoted in 1948 to metropolitan titular archbishopric. It is vacant for decades, having had a single incumbent : * Titular Archbishop Thomas Roberts, S.J. (1950.12.04 – 1970.12.07), emeritus as former Metropolitan Archbishop of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

(India) (1937.08.12 – 1950.12.04).

Latin titular episcopal see of Soldaia

In 1933 the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin Catholic

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

. It has been vacant for decades, having had a single incumbent: * Titular Bishop José Romão Martenetz, Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat (O.S.B.M.) (1958.05.10 – 1971.11.29), as

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Brazil of the Eastern Rite (Brazil) (1958.05.10 – 1962.05.30); succeeded as

Apostolic Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

of Brazil of the Ukrainians (Brazil) (1962.05.30 – 1971.11.29), later Eparch (Bishop) of São João Batista em Curitiba of the Ukrainians (Brazil) (1971.11.29 – 1978.03.10).

Demographics

As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, Sudak had a population of 29,448. More than half of the population were ethnic

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

. In a addition to the ethnic Russian majority, the city is also inhabited by big Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar minorities, which combined make up 35% of the population. Smaller minority groups include

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

and

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

Notable people

* Zlata Ognevich (born 1986), Ukrainian singer * Nikolai Ziber (1844-1888), Ukrainian economist

References

Sources

*Vus, Oleh; Sorochan, Serhiy. Early Byzantine Burgs on the Coast of the Taurica and the European Bosporus (regarding the Question of the Military Presence of the Romans in the South-Eastern Crimea in the 4th—6th centuries) 2021. https://www.academia.edu/86219660/Early_Byzantine_Burgs_on_the_Coast_of_the_Taurica_and_the_European_Bosporus_regarding_the_Question_of_the_Military_Presence_of_the_Romans_in_the_South_Eastern_Crimea_in_the_4th_6th_centuries_ *Vus, Oleh. Defense doctrine of Byzantium in the Northern Black Sea region: engineering defense of Taurika and the Bosphorus in the late 4th — early 7th centuries. 2010. https://www.academia.edu/85524504/Defense_doctrine_of_Byzantium_in_the_Northern_Black_Sea_region_engineering_defense_of_Taurika_and_the_Bosphorus_in_the_late_4th_early_7th_centuries *Sugdea, Surozh, Soldaia in History and Culture of the Ruthenian Ukraine - Scientific conference materials, Kiev-Sudaq, 2002 ''(prints only)'' * Sugdea Collection, Kiev-Sudaq (Академпериодика, 2004) * Miscellaneous publications by A. Yu. Vinogradov * Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, p. 428 * Michel Lequien, ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus'', Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 1229-1232 * Daniele Farlati-Jacopo Coleti, ''Illyricum Sacrum'', vol. VIII, Venice 1819, p. 126 * Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. 1, p. 457; vol. 2, p. 240 *
Библиотека Якова Кротова

External links

Monastery of St. Stephen of Surozh

The murder of the Jews of Sudak
during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website. {{Authority control Sudak Municipality Cities in Crimea Khazar towns Populated coastal places in Ukraine Populated coastal places in Russia Populated places established in the 3rd century Seaside resorts in Russia Seaside resorts in Ukraine Territories of the Republic of Genoa Stato da Màr Feodosiysky Uyezd Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Holocaust locations in Ukraine