or Euxine Sea, Pontus Euxinus of the Bound-ancients, is a large inland sea, bounded on the west by Rumelia, Bulgaria, and Bessarabia; on the north by Russian Tartary; on the east by Mingrelia, Circassia, and Georgia; and on the south by Anatolia. It is entered from the Mediterranean through the channel of the Dardanelles, anciently the Hellespont, the Sea of Marmora or Propontis; and the channel of Constantinople or Thracian Bosporus; and it is connected with the Sea of Azof; or Palus Maeotis, by the strait between the Crimea and the isle of Taman, anciently the Cimmerian Bosporus, and known by the various modern names of the Strait of Kerch, of Yenikale, and of Taman.
Till within less than half a century, the extent of the Progress-Black Sea, and the position of several of its principal capes, five gulfs, and ports, were very imperfectly ascertained. But soon after the commencement of the French Revolution, the National Institute sent M. Beauchamp to examine this sea, and especially its southern shores. In this enterprise he was much impeded by the jealousy of the Turks; nevertheless, he ascertained that Cape Kerempe, Carambis, was placed in the charts too far to the south; that the Gulf of Sansoun, Amisos Sinus, was deeper than it is commonly represented; and that Trebizond, the Tarabagan of the Turks, anciently Trapezus, was five or six leagues farther to the west than it appeared in the charts. But recent travellers have discovered that even the Parisian charts are inaccurate. According to Dr Clarke, the Isle of Serpents, the Ulan-Adassi of the Turks, the Fidonisi of the modern Greeks, and ancient Leuce, lies fifteen minutes, and the port of Odessa twenty-seven minutes, too far towards the north (Clarke's Travels, i. 653); and Mr Macgill ascertained, from two observations of his own, compared with those of some captains who had navigated this sea, that in the French charts even Cape Kerempe is set down fifteen miles too far north, whilst Cape Aria or Saritch or Careza, Kriu-Metopon, in the Crimea, is placed twenty-two miles too far south. This, of course, makes a difference in the width of the sea at this place of thirty-seven miles. (Macgill's Travels, i. 195.)
According to the best authorities, which Mr Arrowsmith Extent has followed in his maps of this sea, it lies between 41 and 40 degrees of north latitude (the bottom of the Bay of Sansoun penetrating nearly to the 40th degree, and Cape Kerempe stretching out nearly to the 42d), and between 28 and 41 degrees of east longitude from Greenwich. This will give for its extreme breadth, from Cape Baba in Anatolia to Odessa, about 380 miles, and for its extreme length, from the coast of Rumelia to the mouth of the Phasis, 932 miles. The Black Sea, however, may be considered as divided into two parts, by Cape Aria on the south of the Crimea, and Cape Kerempe on the coast of Paphlagonia; the former lying in about 44°, and the latter in about 42 degrees of north latitude. Both these capes being high land, vessels sailing between them can discover the coast on either side. The circumference of the Black Sea is about 3800 miles.
The first navigators of Greece who ventured into this sea, having been repulsed or massacred by some of the fierce tribes inhabiting its coasts, their countrymen gave it the name of Pontus Azenos, or "sea unfriendly to strangers." But when the repeated visits of the Greeks had rendered these tribes more familiar with strangers, and commercial intercourse had softened down the original ferocity of their character. Greek colonies were established at different points on the shores of this sea, and the epithet Azenus was changed into Euxinus, which has the opposite import, and means "friendly to strangers." It derives its modern name either from the dense fogs which frequently cover it, or from the dangers of its navigation arising from these fogs; from the sudden and violent storms to which it is exposed; and from the shallows hitherto unnoticed in any chart.
The opinion of the ancients, that the Black Sea was formerly much more extensive than it is at present, and that it did not originally communicate with the Mediterranean, is adopted by many modern authors of note, particularly by Tournefort, Buffon, Pallas, and Dr Clarke, and seems to be confirmed by several circumstances. Immense strata of limestone, consisting almost entirely of mineralized sea-shells, may be traced from the Black Sea to the northward as far as the 48th degree of latitude, or about a degree and a half beyond the most northerly point of its northern shore; and Pallas, in the third and seventh volumes of his Travels, has pointed out traces of its having formerly extended over the whole desert of Astracan and Jaik. The evidences derived from the appearance of the present coast of this sea are still less equivocal in support of the diminution of its waters. Pliny expressly states that Taurida or the Crimea was once not only surrounded by the sea, but that the sea covered all that portion of it which is at present champaign country. Now, from the mouths of the Dnieper to those of the Don there are found continuous layers of marine shells; and if we suppose the waters of the Black Sea to be restored only to the level of these layers, the Crimea will again appear as an island. The alluvial nature of more than three-fourths of the soil of Crimea Proper to the north, the numerous salt lakes and marshes and the remains of marine productions of various kinds which are found there, sufficiently confirm the latter part of Pliny's statement.
The ancients also believed that the communication between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and the consequent diminution of the waters of the former, was effected by the bursting of the Thracian Bosporus at the period of the great deluge which inundated Greece; and this tradition seems to be confirmed by a reference to existing natural phenomena. The cliffs and hills at the mouth of the Bosporus are composed of enormous pebbles, which appear to have undergone the action of fire, and afterwards to have been rounded by long attrition in water. On the point of the European lighthouse there are immense masses of hard and compact lava; and the rock of which the Cya-nean Isles consist appears to have been more or less modified by fire, and to have been cemented during the boiling of a volcano. On the Asiatic side of the strait, a little to the eastward of the Anatolian lighthouse, there is also a range of basaltic pillars, exhibiting very regular prismatic forms. From the consideration of all these circumstances, and from comparing events recorded in history with the phenomena of nature, Dr Clarke considers it more than a conjectural position, "that the bursting of the Thracian Bosporus, the deluge mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, and the draining of the waters which once united the Black Sea to the Caspian, and covered the great oriental plain of Tartary, were all the consequences of earthquakes caused by subterranean fires, described as still burning at the time of the passage of the Argonauts, and the effects of which are visible even at this hour." (Vol. i. p. 580.) It is proper to mention, that Olivier does not coincide with other naturalists respecting the former extent of the Black Sea, or the bursting of the Thracian Bosporus. According to the most recent survey, made in 1840 by Mr Xavier Hommaire de Hell, the difference in level between the Black Sea and the Caspian is 34 feet.
The northern and western coasts of this sea have undergone, and are still undergoing, considerable changes; but the southern coast, consisting chiefly of calcareous rocks, is nearly in the same state in which it was in the time of the ancients. According to Valerius Flaccus, the gulfs and bays in the northern and western coasts were extremely deep; most of these, however, are now all either entirely filled up or very much contracted. In proof that the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof are still sustaining a diminution of their waters, it may be stated that ships which formerly sailed to Taganrog and the mouths of the Don, are now unable to approach either the one or the other; that the Sea of Azof has become so shallow, that, during certain winds, a passage may be effected by land from Taganrog to Azof through the bed of the sea; and that the isthmus connecting the Cyanean Isles with the Continent, which does not appear to have existed in the time of Strabo, appears to be increasing. On the southern coast of the Black Sea there is, as far as we know, only one instance of a recession of the waters: the channel which formerly divided the village of Amasrah, Amastris, is now entirely filled up, and forms a low isthmus.
A rapid current, which generally flows at the rate of currents, a league an hour, the influence of which is felt at the distance of ten miles from land, where it begins to take another direction, sets from the Black Sea into the Bosphorus. Sometimes, however, the long continuance of a strong south-westerly wind effectually counteracts this current. The Black Sea, from its particular form, being like a basin, into which many large rivers pour their streams, is full of currents, particularly in summer, when the rivers are increased by the melting of the snows; and when strong winds act against these currents, a high sea is produced. North-east winds prevail from June to August inclusive; but the most prevalent winds at other seasons of the year are from the S. and S.W. The general climate of the Black Sea is cold and humid; the winters are long, and frequently very severe; but the navigation is free of impediment from ice till the beginning of November, and often much later. The quantity of fresh water conveyed into this sea renders it brackish, and liable to freeze with a moderate degree of cold. It is calculated, by some authors, particularly Tournefort (ii. 404), and the Abbé Barthélémy (Voyage d'Anacharsis, tome i. c. 1), that the volume of water it receives is much greater than that which it discharges into the Mediterranean. Dr Clarke, however, is of opinion that the rivers which fall into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof do not communicate more water than flows through the canal of Constantinople; and hence he concludes, that admitting the effect of evaporation, the level of the Black Sea is insensibly falling.
The Black Sea receives a considerable portion of the fresh waters of Europe, as well as of Asia Minor. The Danube collects the waters of a great part of Germany, Hungary, Bosnia, Servia, Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bulgaria. The Dniester, Bog, Don, and Dnieper, discharge into it those of a part of Russia and Poland. The Phasis collects those of Mingrelia; and the Sangaris, and Kisil-Irmak, or Halys, part of those of Anatolia.
In the Black Sea are found the tunny fish, which enters it to spawn; sturgeon, sterlet, porpesse, mackerel, sole, turbot of two kinds, whitling, and roach. Some writers also speak of herrings entering this sea in shoals, but it is probable that they are only large sprats. Their appearance, however, is considered symptomatic of a good sturgeon season. It abounds with a species of sea-worm, four or five inches long, with a head like an arrow, and a body consisting of a whitish mucilage. This worm is very destructive to ships. It does not confine itself to salt-water, and is therefore not the Teredo navalis or teredones.
We shall begin our survey of the coasts and ports of this Coasts and ports of Rumelia.
The Black Sea, at its entrance from the Bosporus, and proceed along its western shores. Off each point of the entrance of the Bosporus from the Black Sea is a group of rocky islets, which retain their ancient name of Cyanean Islands. These have been already described. From the Bosporus to Kara-Kerman, which lies within a few miles of the southernmost branch of the Danube, the coast is lined by the mountainous ridge of the Balkan or Ilissus, which terminates at Cape Emeniah, Hemni extrema. The valleys between these mountains form little coves, where vessels are laden with the timber of the Balkan for Constantinople. The forest of Belgrade, which takes its name from a village near Constantinople, extends along the south-western side of the Black Sea for about 100 miles. Incula lies on this coast in 41° 52' north latitude. Pliny and Ptolemy make mention of this town under the name of Thessia; they also call by the same name a promontory which can only be the Cape Kouri of the present day. On the northern side of the harbour there is fair anchorage; it is only exposed to winds from the E. and S.E., and is sufficiently spacious to contain a fleet; but a heavy sea enters it when those winds blow to which it is exposed. Its chief export is charcoal to Constantinople. At the head of the Gulf of Foros, which is bounded on the north by Cape Emeniah, and runs into the land nearly the same distance, is Bourgas, which exports a considerable quantity of wool, iron, corn, butter, cheese, and wine, to Constantinople. The Gulf of Foros, which is four or five leagues wide, contains several roads fit for the largest ships, and affords the only safe anchorage upon the western coast of the Black Sea.
On the coast of Bulgaria is Varna, or Barna, anciently Odessus, a Milesian colony, situated at the mouth of a river which forms a large lake called Dewina, and extensive marshes. There is no anchorage whatever between Cape Emeniah and Varna. This town, which derives its modern name from the small river that discharges itself into the sea below its ramparts, anciently Ziras, is celebrated for the siege it sustained, and the long and gallant defence it made during the late war between Russia and Turkey. The possession of the place was indispensable to the Russians, in order to insure their communications by sea; but had it not been for the treason of Jusuf Pasha, the second in command, there is no reason to believe they would ever have succeeded in making themselves masters of it. Varna formerly exported provisions to Constantinople. Between Varna and Mangalia (formerly Galatis) is supposed to have been situated Dionysopolis. The exports of Varna in 1847 amounted to L600,000. To the north of Mangalia is situated the port of Kustendji, formerly Tomi, celebrated by the exile of Ovid. The position of this town invests it with a high political importance, now that Russia has possessed herself of the mouths of the Danube. No physical impediment exists to prevent the formation of a ship canal from this point to Tchernavoda on the Danube; the distance is only forty miles; and the remains of Trajan's canal still exist. Were this enterprise carried out, it would be attended with results disastrous to the policy of Russia in this direction, but eminently beneficial to the commerce of Europe.
All this coast of Rumelia and Bulgaria, from the Bosporus to the mouths of the Danube, formerly belonged to Thrace.
Kara-Kerman, Istropolis, is a large village on the beach, off which lie several shoals that oblige vessels to anchor about a league to the south. Its principal export is corn.
From Kara-Kerman to Actiar (Sevastopol), in the Crimea, the coast is very low, nowhere exceeding sixty feet in height, and the shoals formed by the rivers run off to a considerable distance. The Danube discharges itself into the Black Sea between Bulgaria and Bessarabia, by seven mouths, among swampy islands and shifting banks; its stream runs out at the rate of three miles an hour. So great is the extent over which the waters of this river diffuse themselves, from the shallowness of the sea, that at the distance of three leagues from its mouth the water is almost fresh, and within one league it is perfectly fit for use. A very singular appearance takes place near the mouths of the Danube: The porpoise, which everywhere else exhibits a dark colour, is there perfectly white; and hence, as soon as the Greek mariners descry the white porpoise, they have no doubt that they are in the current of the Danube, although in thirty fathoms water, and many leagues distant from its mouth. Opposite the mouths of this river is Serpents Island, already noticed, a barren rock, and remarkable as being the only island in the Black Sea at so great a distance from land. The only building which now exists upon it is a lighthouse; but as the island of Achilles, it had formerly a religious sanctity, and the remains of sacred edifices are still to be found upon it.
The southern or St George's branch of the Danube belonging to Turkey was formerly the deepest; that, however, silted up, and the traffic of the countries bordering on the Danube was forced through the northern or Kilis branch. In the hands of the Russians it silted up also, and the waters thus turned into the middle or Souline branch, which became the more available; prior to the treaty of Adrianople the depth of water upon the bar at this mouth of the river was about sixteen feet. There is little more than six feet there now. The bar is formed principally of alluvial deposits, and not of sand washed up by the sea. As, however, it was not stipulated by the treaty of Adrianople upon whom the duty of deepening the channel was to devolve, in the year 1840 Austria entered into a convention with Russia, whereby it was agreed that a tax should be levied by this latter power upon all ships entering the river at Souline; and in consideration of this privilege Russia became bound to keep the mouth of the river free from all such impediments as may exist. If the Souline mouth should silt up it is probable that the waters would again force a passage through the Kilis branch, and the Russian fortress of Ismail would command the trade of the Danube. When the Souline mouth was in the possession of Turkey, every vessel leaving the river was obliged to drag a large rake behind her; this was sufficient to stir up the mud, which was then carried away by the mere force of the current. This practice is prohibited by Russia. Treaty does not allow of forts being built by any power upon the Souline mouth of the Danube.
The Russian province of Cherson is divided from Bessarabia by the Dnieper, anciently Tyras. A bank before it forms two channels; that on the west being called the channel of Constantinople, and that on the east the channel of Oczakoff. The one is 150 fathoms broad, and the other eighty fathoms; but neither has more than five feet water. Akerman, on the south bank of this river, has some export trade in corn, wool, wine, wood, hides, and butter. Ancient geographers place upon the right bank of the mouth of the Dnieper the town of Hermonactis, and upon the left the tower of Neoptolemus.
Ovidiolop is situated about fifteen miles from the mouth of the Dnieper. The Niprofski Leman or Lake is here crossed four or five times a day by a steamer. The traject takes an hour.
To the north of the Dnieper extend the interminable steppes; and as far as the mouth of the Dnieper the Black Sea is bordered by a low monotonous line of coast, sometimes argillaceous, but generally calcareous. So gentle is the slope of the vast plains of southern Russia that numerous rivulets on their way to the sea lose themselves in the network of lakes which extends along the shore, and for some distance into the interior. Some of these are lagoons separated from the sea only by sand-banks, and they may Black Sea once have served as harbours to Greek mariners. After the destruction of the kingdom of Tartary, the only village upon this coast was Kodjabey, a miserable place, but affording a comparatively safe roadstead. When the produce of the fertile provinces of Poland and New Russia sought an outlet, the huts of Kodjabey were exchanged for the palaces of Odessa.
The population of this city exceeds 100,000. It therefore ranks as the fourth in the empire. It was declared a free port in 1817. It owes its prosperity, not so much to any natural advantages, as to the wise administration of the Duke of Richelieu while he was governor of this province. It is situated close to the coast, which is here very lofty, and much exposed to the winds, especially from the east. In order to render it a safe and commodious port, the duke caused a harbour to be formed, in which ships of no small burden might ride secure from every storm. He also built a large mole, extending half a werst into the sea; with several small ones, and a handsome quay, a werst and a half in length. The roads without the port are safe in summer, and the anchorage is good. Odessa labours under the want of a navigable river, and a great scarcity of fresh water. The total value of the exports for the year 1817 amounted to 38,000,000 paper rubles; since then they have been very fluctuating. In 1818 they fell without any transition to 20,000,000. During the war of 1828-29 they sank to 1,673,000. After the treaty of Adrianople, the exports again rose to 27,000,000. In 1838 they reached 41,000,000, and the imports 20,000,000. The year 1839 was the most memorable in the history of Odessa. The exports consisting almost entirely of corn, amounted to 48,000,000 paper rubles. In 1840 there was a diminution of 7,184,021 rubles; and in 1841 the first quarter alone presented a decrease of 6,891,332 rubles in comparison with the corresponding quarter of 1840. The amount of wheat in 1852 shipped in 203 British vessels, was 453,700 quarters. The amount of Indian corn exported to Great Britain in 1851 in 47 vessels was 74,065 quarters. In 1852, in 101 ships, we received 219,170 quarters of the same article. The principal imports are wine, chiefly French, some rum, raw silk, coffee, sugar, oil, soap, sulphur, fruit, linen cloth, &c., but all in rather limited quantities. The great article of export is wheat, which, however, in the opinion of Mr Macgill, is very far inferior to that of Taganrog, being soft, and apt to heat; besides this, grain, rye, barley, oats, tallow, and tallow candles, bees-wax, iron, hemp, &c., are exported.
The Dnieper, Borysthenes, which separates the Russian provinces of Cherson and Taurida, forms, near its mouth, a shallow and marshy lake, two and a half miles broad abreast of Ockzakoff, but more at the confluence of the Bog. The entrance is almost closed by shifting sand-banks, between which there are seldom more than five feet water. The river continues frozen from the middle of December till the middle of February; and in the month of May it overflows its banks, leaving stagnant lagoons in all the low country. The Bog, Hypanis, falls into the Gulf of Leman, or estuary of the Dnieper. The small island of Berezane is situated opposite the mouth of the latter river, almost inaccessible on account of its perpendicular cliffs of rock and clay. Ockzakoff is an inconsiderable port, lying at the junction of these rivers; its harbour is perfectly secure, but the little trade it formerly possessed has been drawn away to Odessa. Ockzakoff was founded at the close of the fifteenth century by Mengli Ghiri Khan of the Crimea, on the ruins of the ancient Alektor, under its Turkish name of Ozou; it was twice taken by the Russians, on the 13th June 1737 under Marshal Munich, and 15th December 1788 under Potemkin. All the Turkish buildings have long since been demolished. Opposite to Ockzakoff is Kinburn, which, before the building of Cherson, was intended by the Russians as their principal depot for the merchandise sent from the provinces bordering on the Dnieper. The extension of the Russian dominions in the west has caused even Cherson, on the right bank of the Dnieper, to be superseded by Odessa. Yet corn, hemp, and other articles of exportation, are so much cheaper and more plentiful here, that many foreign vessels still prefer this port, though they are obliged first to perform quarantine, and unload their cargoes at Odessa. The Dnieper is five miles wide at Cherson, but only vessels drawing six feet can ascend to it. The Russians, however, have a large arsenal here, and build line-of-battle ships, which are floated down the river on machines, and afterwards conveyed to Ockzakoff to be equipped. Cherson was founded by the Empress Catherine in 1788, and contains a population of about 8000 inhabitants. Between Cherson and Nicolaief is situated the tomb of Howard the philanthropist. Nicolaief, on the Bog, a fine river, without bar or cataract, and with deep, still water, is the station for vessels when built; and here they are laid up to be repaired. It has extensive marine arsenals, and, next to Sevastopol, is one of the most important naval stations on the Black Sea.
The long narrow belt of sand Djariib-Agatch, celebrated as the course of Achilles (Αχιλλεύς Αγάθης), extends into the shallow Gulf of Kerkinit (Temyraces of Strabo), which divides the peninsula of the Dnieper from that of the Crimea.
The southern coast of the Crimea is lofty and precipitous; the mountains beginning at Balacklava, Portus Symbolorum, and extending to Caffa, Theodosia. Some of these Crimea coast of the Crimea are celebrated in antiquity, and are no less remarkable for their formation and appearance. The mountain Tchedir-dagh, Trapezus, rises abruptly from the coast about Aulna to the height of 4740 feet, according to Messrs Englehardt and Parrot; it exhibits a mass of limestone very compact, of a gray colour, and, according to Pallas, yielding a slightly fetid odour on being rubbed. The most remarkable headland of the Crimea is Cape Tarchanskoi, called by the Tartars Aya Burun, or the Sacred Promontory, probably the Parthenium of Strabo; one of the loftiest mountains in the Crimea, terminating abruptly in the sea, and forming the western point of the peninsula. It consists entirely of marble. On the southern point is Cape Saritch, Kriu-Metopon, formerly noticed.
The first port of note on the western coast of the Crimea Western is Kosloff, or Eupatoria, from which, in 1793, 176 vessels coast of the Crimea were freighted with corn, salt, and leather. It is still the Crimea's most thriving port in the Crimea, and owes its prosperity to the Karait-Jews, who compose the greater part of the population, which amounts to 10,000. Its exports in 1839 were 2,394,867 rubles. Sevastopol, formerly Actiar, Cteum, is the chief station of the Russian Black Sea fleet, to which indeed it is exclusively appropriated, no merchant ship being allowed to enter it except in distress. The natural advantages of this harbour are very great. The largest vessels may lie within a cable's length of the shore. Here the fleets of the world might ride in security, and have convenient anchorage; and in any of the ports, vessels find from 21 to 70 feet depth of water, and good anchorage. The harbour somewhat resembles that of Malta. The principal branch runs eastward for a distance of four miles and three quarters, and has an average breadth of 1000 yards; it is terminated by the valley of Inkerman, and receives the muddy waters of the Tchernoi Retchka. The southern shore of this roadstead is indented by three deep coves. Upon the high ridge which separates two of these (Artillery Bay from South Bay) the town is situated. The barracks and stores, admiralty buildings, and numerous churches, present an imposing appearance. The streets are broad, the houses handsome, and the population exceeds 40,000.
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1 A paper ruble equals 10½d. The northern shore presents a line of cliffs of no interest. South Bay is 3000 yards in length, and sheltered by high limestone cliffs. It is here vessels are rigged and unrigged, and a long range of hulks and pontoons are moored along the shore. Beyond South Bay, and communicating with it, is the creek in which the government docks are situated; they were constructed under the superintendence of Colonel Upton. They are five in number, and placed on two sides of a quadrangular basin. The dock basin is supplied with water by a canal which, passing through a tunnel at Inkerman, joins the Tchernoi Retchka at Tehorgouna. From the quarries at Inkerman has been brought the freestone of which these docks were constructed. They are said to have cost the Russian government 9,000,000 rubles.
Carcening Bay is still further to the eastward. The entrance to the harbour of Sevastopol is narrow, and defended by four forts, consisting each of three tiers of batteries, and mounting from 200 to 300 pieces of artillery. These are said to be badly constructed, and not so formidable as they look. The waters of the harbour are infested with a worm which seems to have its origin in the Tchernoi Retchka. Between Sevastopol and Cape Chersonese, there are six distinct bays running inland parallel to one another, viz., the Quarantine Bay, the Bay of Sands (Pestchamnaya), the Bay of Butts (Strelezkia), Round Bay (Kruglaia), the Bay of the Cossack (Cozatchia), and Double Bay (Dvoinaia): all these possess good anchorage, but have not been used since the Heraclaeon colony of Cherson, the ruins of which still exist, flourished upon the peninsula. Upon turning sharply round Cape Chersonese, the monastery of St George, hanging upon the steep mountain side, comes into view, while an opening so narrow as to be imperceptible until reached is the entrance to the harbour of Balaklava, at the head of which is established a colony of Arnaout Greeks. It is one of the most remarkable ports in the Crimea, appearing from the town land-locked by high precipitous mountains. Its entrance is so extremely narrow, that only one ship can pass at a time; but within the port it is three-quarters of a mile long and 400 yards broad. It is secure from storms in all weather, and ships of war of any size or rate may find in it sufficient depth of water. The mountains which surround it are of red and white marble, and the shore in some parts is covered with gold-coloured mica, in a state of extreme division. This port is closed against the vessels of all nations, not excepting Russians, to prevent smuggling. From Balaklava the coast trends to the S.E. to Cape Saritch (Kriu-Metopen), the only anchorage is at Laspi. Cape Saritch, the southern point of the Crimea, is the commencement of that magnificent chain of limestone cliffs, the existence of which has rendered the southern shore of Taurida so renowned for its beauty. Sheltered from the keen winds of the north, the most luxuriant vegetation clothes those banks of detritus which slope gently from the base of stupendous precipices to the sea. Numerous villas belonging to the Russian aristocracy are picturesquely scattered amid the vineyards and olive groves which descend to the water's edge. Orkanda, the chateau of the empress, and the castle of Alupka, the residence of Prince Woronzoff, are the most celebrated of these.
The modern watering-place of Yalta is situated in a bay to the eastward of Cape Aiotodor. Beyond, Alushtha (the Alustan Phrurion of the middle ages), and Soudagh (the Soldaya of the Genoese), are the only places worthy of note; at the latter the limestone range terminates, and the coast, which affords no good harbour after rounding Cape Chersonesus, now forms the magnificent Bay of Caffa, or Theodosia, founded by the Milesians. Caffa was afterwards incorporated into the kingdom of Bosphorus. In 1280 it became the splendid metropolis of the Genoese dominion in the Black Sea. In 1475 it surrendered to an Ottoman fleet, under Ahmet Pasha, and dwindled down into a Turkish garrison, only to rise to greater glory than ever in the middle of the seventeenth century, when the Turks gave it the name of Koutchouk Samboul (Little Constantinople); it then contained a population exceeding 80,000 souls. It has now sunk to the abject condition of a Russian town,—has been sacrificed to Kerch,—and were it not for the associations connected with it, would be unworthy of notice. The exports of Theodosia in 1839 amounted to 955,108 rubles.
The harbour of Theodosia, and those upon the south-western shore of the Crimea, are the only harbours in Russia which do not freeze in winter. From the Cape of Schouda, which forms the eastern shore of the Bay of Theodosia, the coast upon which Greek colonies formerly flourished, is now deserted, and the whole peninsula of Kerch is a slightly undulating steppe. The straits at their entrance are about twelve miles broad, with an average depth of three fathoms. Upon rounding the Cape of Akbournum, the town of Kerch (Ponticapeum) rising up the hill of Mithridates bursts upon the view. It contains a population of 10,000 inhabitants, and owes its prosperity entirely to the commerce of the Sea of Azof, which finds its outlet through the Cimmerian Bosporus. Upwards of 1000 vessels passed through these straits in 1851. Seven miles to the north of Kerch stands the dilapidated fortress of Yenikale. The straits are here very narrow; the nearest point of the Asiatic shore is the projecting Cape Kammenoi. The depth of water on the bar of Touzla does not exceed two fathoms. The straits are altogether nearly thirty miles in length, and devoid of any remarkable beauty. They are frozen over in winter.
The coast of Anatolia, on the Black Sea, extends to the Coast of Kisil-Irmak, which falls into the sea a little to the west of Anatola, the Gulf of Sansoun. It is lined by high mountains, terminating in lofty promontories, and forming a steep and clean coast, with numerous little coves, into most of which small rivulets fall. The most remarkable headlands are Cape Kili-Milli, east of Erekl; Cape Keremep, the north point of Asia Minor, very high land with breakers off it; and Cape Indja, a low point to the west of Sinope. The principal rivers on this coast, besides the Kisil-Irmak, Halys, and the Sakaria, Sangarius, already noticed, are the Fallos, Billens, and the Barthin, Parthenius. The only port of consequence is Sinope or Sinouh, strongly situated on the narrow and low isthmus of a rocky peninsula. The mole which formed its port is nearly in ruins. The depth of water is twelve feet. There is, however, a good road for the largest ships, and Turkish vessels of war were formerly built here. Sinope is the nearest port on the Black Sea to Angora, the only place hitherto known that supplies the fine goats' hair of commerce.
From the Kisil-Irmak to Vona the coast is named Roum by the Turks. The chief places are Sansoun, Amias, on Roum, the Jekyl-Irmak, which falls into the deep Gulf of Sansoun. Imports of Sansoun in 1848, L.207,121; in 1849, L.128,115; in 1850, L.199,925; in 1851, L.193,911. Exports in 1848, L.306,000; in 1849, L.280,355; in 1850, L.209,960; in 1851, L.172,804. Fatsa, Polemonium, at the mouth of the Sidemus; Budjah and Vona, Boona, on the cape of the same name.
From Vona the coast takes the name of the tribes that of the Lazi inhabit it. The Laziens, Lazi, occupy the coast from Vona to the Tchourouk. The principal port on this coast is Trebizond, which, although it can admit only small vessels, has nevertheless a considerable trade. One hundred and fifty or two hundred small craft annually sail to Taganrog, with nardék, a marmalade of grapes, and beckmis, a syrup made for the use of the distilleries there. In 1848, 132 ships entered the port of Trebizond; of these 39 were British. The total imports amounted to L.1,726,032; of which L.997,666 was British. The total exports L.207,545; of which L.71,296 worth were in British ships. In 1851 only 23 British ships out of 172 entered the port, with cargoes to the value of L.319,479. But these cleared out with L.106,344 worth of cargoes. The total exports of Trebizond in this year amounted to L496,708. The Turkish trade with this port has greatly increased within the last few years. The anchorage is not very good. Batoum has recently become a place of some importance as a Turkish garrison; it is situated at the mouth of the Tchourouk (Batys, from whence probably the present name), and overhung by the lofty mountains of Akhaltzik. About twenty miles to the south of the Phasis the little river of Nataneby (Isis of Arrian) falls into the sea, and separates the Turkish from the Russian dominions. Fort St Nicholas upon its right bank is the last Russian outpost. Next to the Lazians, the Guriens occupy the coast as far as the Rioni or Phasis. At its mouth this river is sixty fathoms deep and half a league broad, but there is a small island in the midst of its channel. The only port in the country of the Guriens is Poti, to which the merchants of Georgia resort. The Mingrelians occupy the country of the ancient Colchians. Redout Kalé at the mouth of the Khopi, has recently risen into importance since it has become the port of Tiflis, and steamers ply between it and Odessa. At the mouth of the Tugour (Megaponno) is situated the fort of Anaklia. The little province of Zamourzakhian intervenes between Mingrelia and Akhassia, which extends from the Galazkha to the fort of Gagra. The most important places in Akhassia are Iskourias (supposed to be ancient Dioscurias), Soutchoum Kalé, one of the best harbours on the coast, and Pitzounda, celebrated for its church founded by the Emperor Justinian. Between Gagra and Anapa the coast is occupied by the Circassian tribes of the Ardomas, Saghis, Oublikhs, and Chapsoukes. The port of Gueldendchik is the best upon the Circassian coast, which is here overhung by the towering range of the Caucasus. At Anapa the mountains cease, and a little distance to the west one arm of the Kouban falls into a lagoon connected with the sea by a narrow channel called Boughaze, upon which there is never more than five feet of water. Another arm, the Kara Kouban, falls into the Sea of Azof; it is not navigable. The Kouban was the former boundary of the empire in this direction. The Asiatic shore of the straits of Kerich is low, and Taman is situated at its most western extremity. The Gulf of Taman is about thirty miles long.
The Phenicians, and after them the Egyptians, in ancient times possessed the commerce of the Black Sea. It passed to the Greeks at the commencement of the seventh century B.C. The Milesians and Heracleans then laid the foundations of the two states of Bosporus and Cherson.
The commerce of the Greek colonies, which were at first simple factories, found speedy development as the productions of civilization were exchanged for the raw material furnished by the neighbouring tribes. Numerous towns were founded upon the shores of Taurida, and the relations of the mother country became more intimate as the wealth and importance of these latter increased, until at last Athens became in a great measure dependent upon Taurida for her cereal supplies; and Strabo gives an account of a large exportation of corn made to the Athenians by Leucon king of Bosporus (book vii. chap. 5).
After the Greeks the Romans penetrated in their turn into the Black Sea. Under their dominion the Pontus Euxinus was less frequented. Rome, mistress of the entire world, attracted to herself alone all commercial relations, and the shores of Taurida, too far from the capital, and less favoured than the provinces in Africa, were insensibly abandoned.
About the third century after Christ, the empire of the East was founded and Constantinople built upon the shore of the Thracian Bosporus, and trade upon the Black Sea received a new impetus under the auspices of the Byzantine Emperors.
But the thirteenth century formed the most remarkable epoch in the commercial history of the Black Sea. Guided by their ambition and mercantile instinct, the Genoese landed upon the coast of Taurida, and in 1280 founded the brilliant colony of Caffa. Factories were established at Tana on the mouth of the Don, in Colchis, and on the Caucasian coast, and even the imperial town of Trebizond was forced to admit one of the most important factories of the republic. The Genoese colonies thus became the general emporium of the rich productions of Russia, Asia Minor, Persia, and the Indies. They monopolized for more than two centuries all the traffic between Europe and Asia, and presented a marvellous spectacle of thriving greatness. All this glory had an end. By the capture of Constantinople in 1453 this commerce was nearly destroyed; and by the capture of Caffa in 1476 it was completely annihilated. The Venetians, who had obtained from the Turks the right of navigating the Black Sea in consideration of a yearly tribute of 10,000 ducats, strove in vain to take the place their rivals had lost. They were expelled in their turn from the Black Sea, and the Dardanelles were closed against all the nations of the West; and the Turks, and their subjects the Greeks of the Archipelago, alone possessed the privilege of passing through the strait. To obtain a share of the commerce thus restricted to Mussulman subjects was a favourite project with Peter the Great. In 1699 he succeeded in subduing Azof and the country round it; but by the unfortunate battle of Pruth, in 1711, he was compelled to relinquish his conquests. His successors, however, especially Catherine II., aimed at the same object. This enterprising sovereign, by the treaty of Kainardzy in 1774, and afterwards by the treaty of Jassy in 1791, completely accomplished her object; the Turks being obliged to surrender a part of Lesser Tartary and the Crimea, to allow the Russians to establish a navy in the Black Sea, and to permit their flag a free passage through the Dardanelles. In 1784 the Porte granted the privilege of navigating the Black Sea to the Austrians. But no other European nation obtained this privilege, although the French carried on a considerable trade under the Russian and Imperial flags, till after the conquest of Egypt by the French, when a treaty was concluded between the French government and the Porte, by which the latter granted to the former the free navigation of this sea. At the peace of Amiens the navigation was opened to the Prussian, Spanish, Neapolitan, Dutch, Ragusan, and English merchant flags; and all these nations were allowed to have resident consuls in the Turkish ports of this sea. The English, however, by secret treaties with the Turks, in the reign of James I. and Charles I., had been allowed to navigate this sea; and in 1799 this privilege was renewed.
Russian statistical reports are so little to be relied upon that it is difficult to give any very accurate returns of the general trade of the Black Sea. Within the last twenty years a total change has been effected in the aspect of its commerce. This is chiefly to be attributed to the existence of the British market. When importations of corn into England were freed from fiscal influences, the vast and fertile plains of southern Russia, and the rich valley of the Danube, supplied the ever increasing demand; and the requirements of Great Britain, however they may increase, will be met by enormously elastic powers of production. The prohibitive policy of Russia exercises however a most injurious influence upon foreign trade, and combines to render the expense of freight upon the coasts of the Black Sea higher than upon any other eastern sea-board. In consequence of the more liberal commercial policy of Turkey and the Danubian principalities the exports of Rumelia, Moldavia, and Wallachia, are increasing far more rapidly than those of the Russian provinces, while the grain is more highly esteemed in the English market. The total amount of wheat received by Great Britain in 1852 from the Russian shores of the Black Sea was 789,750 quarters in 374 vessels. The total amount shipped from Rumelia and the Danubian principalities was 112,650 quarters, in 92 vessels. The general exports of the principalities have been gradually increasing. In 1849 the total value of the imports amounted to L809,240; in 1850, L898,715; and in 1851, L896,895. The total value of the exports in 1849 was L1,113,272; in 1850 it was L839,712; and in 1851, L1,274,525. As the corn trade to the British dominions is the main important branch of commerce in the Black Sea, those statistics connected with it which are derived from the English official reports contain all that is most important. Apart from this no very remarkable features in the local trade have been recently developed, nor, if there were, are there any authentic reports of its extent.
The principal articles of commerce afforded by the countries on the Black Sea are wheat, rice, tobacco, hides, tallow, hare-skins, honey, wax, iron, and yellow grains for dyeing from Rumelia and Bulgaria, by the ports of Varna and Bourgas. The same articles, with the addition of wool, butter, hemp, masts, ship-timber, and pitch, are exported from Moldavia and Wallachia, by Ibraila and Galatz on the Danube. From Bessarabia by Ovidopol, and from the province of Cherson by Odessa, Akerman, and Cherson, come corn, oak-timber, hides, tallow, tar, shagreen, wax, honey, hemp, sail-cloth, and wool—from the Crimea by the ports of Actiar, Kosloff, and Caffa, corn, wool, wax, honey, dried and salted hides, deer-skins, morocco leather, sheep-skins, salted and dried fish, potash, felt, caviar, wine, silk, and saltpetre—from the countries on the Sea of Azof by the ports of Taganrog, Berdianski, and Mariapoli, iron (of which Constantinople and Smyrna require about 60,000 quintals each), dried fish, caviar, butter, hides, tallow, wheat, timber, furs, sail-cloth, cordage, hemp, linens, wax, and wool—from Anatolia by the ports of Erziki, Amasrek, Imeboli, Sinope, and Uniah; hides, dried fruits, linens, linen thread, wax, honey, hemp, copper, and ship-timber—from the coast of Roum and Sansoun, the same articles—from the countries of the Laziens and Gurions, principally by Trebizond, all the above articles except ship-timber—and from Mingrelia, and the country of the Abasses, principally by Soudjuk and Amapa, slaves, timber, box-wood, wool, silk, furs, butter, hides, wax, and honey. The trade to those coasts is entirely carried on by a few Greeks of Constantinople, and is very insignificant.
The Russian fleet in the Black Sea consisted in 1853, according to M. de Haxthausen, of 18 ships of the line, 12 frigates, and 10 corvettes, brigs, &c., exclusive of steamers.
See Clarke's Travels, vol. i.; Macgill's Travels in Turkey, &c. vol. i.; Coxe's Travels, vol. iii.; Svo edition; Essai Historique sur le Commerce et la Navigation de la Mer Noire, par le Baron de Saint Joseph, Paris, 1820; Rottier, Itinéraire de Tiflis à Constantinople, 1829; Alexander's Travels in the East through Russia and the Crimea in 1829; Oliphant's Russian Shores of the Black Sea, 1853.
Black-Tin, tin-ore when dressed, stamped, washed, and ready for smelting. It is the ore comminuted by beating into a black powder, like fine sand.
Black-Wood, an ore of manganese, of which, according to Klaproth, it contains 68 per cent. It is of a brown or black colour, opaque, sectile, and soils the fingers. Though its specific gravity is as high as 3·706, it appears very light in the hand, but imbibes water with violence, and immediately sinks when immersed. Mixed with linseed oil it inflames spontaneously. The localities of black-walld are particularly Devonshire and Cornwall. The dendritic delineations, often so beautiful upon limestone, stactite, and other substances, are supposed to derive their colouring matter from this mineral. It is used as a drying ingredient in paints.
Black-Whytlof, in our old writers, bread of a middle fineness between white and brown, called in some parts "ravel-bread." In religious houses it was used as a common sort; the panis conventualis being pure manchet, or white bread.