Sudak Судак Sudaq | |
|---|---|
 Sudak | |
 Coat of arms | |
.jpg)  Sudak Location of Sudak (red dot) within Crimea Show map of Crimea Sudak Location of Sudak within Ukraine Show map of Ukraine Sudak Location of Sudak within the Black Sea Region Show map of Black Sea | |
| Coordinates:44°51′5″N34°58′21″E / 44.85139°N 34.97250°E /44.85139; 34.97250 | |
| Country |  Ukraine (occupied byRussia) |
| Autonomous republic | Crimea (de jure) |
| Raion | Feodosia Raion (de jure) |
| Federal subject | Crimea (de facto) |
| Municipality | Sudak Municipality (de facto) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Vladimir Serov |
| Area | |
• Total | 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Population (2014) | |
• Total | 16,492 |
| • Density | 1,086.6/km2 (2,814/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK) |
| Postal code | 98000 — 98015 |
| Area code | +7-36566 |
| Former names | Soldaia (until 1475), Sougdeia, Sidagios |
| Climate | Cfa |
 | |
Sudak (Ukrainian andRussian:Судак;Crimean Tatar:Sudaq;Greek:Σουγδαία; sometimes spelledSudac orSudagh) is a city, multiple former Eastern Orthodox bishopric and double Latin Catholictitular see. It is of regional significance inCrimea, a territory recognized by most countries as part ofUkraine but annexed byRussia as theRepublic of Crimea. Sudak serves as the administrative center ofSudak Municipality, one of the regions Crimea is divided into. It is situated 57 km (35 mi) to the west ofFeodosia (the nearest railway station) and 104 km (65 mi) to the east ofSimferopol, the republic's capital. Population:16,492 (2014 Census).[1]
A city ofantiquity, today it is a popular resort, best known for itsGenoese fortress, the best preserved on the northern shore of theBlack Sea.
The date and circumstances of the city's foundation are uncertain. The first written reference to the city dates to the 7th century (in theRavenna Cosmography[2]), but later local tradition places its foundation in 212 CE, and archaeological evidence supports its foundation inRoman times. The city was in all likelihood founded by theAlans, as its name in Greek sources,Sougdaia is a cognate of the adjectivesugda ("pure, holy") or derives from the wordsugded/sogdad in theOssetian language.[3]
In the early Middle Ages, the city appears to have been under very looseByzantine control, like other cities in the region.[3] Archaeological remains indicate considerable construction activity near the shore in the 6th century.[2] Under Byzantine influence, the city was subject toChristianization, and became the seat of a bishopric under thePatriarch of Constantinople, attested for the first time in theSecond Council of Nicaea in 787. Although a Greek-speaking population was probably settled in the city, the area remained dominated by the Alans: a 9th-century hagiography ofApostle Andrew places "Upper Sougdaia" elsewhere, betweenZichia and theCimmerian Bosporus, "in the land of the Alans", while the hagiographer ofConstantine the Philosopher mentions the tribe ofSougdoi, situated between theIberians and theCrimean Goths, which the historianFrancis Dvornik identifies as the Alans.[2]
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 theRus' chieftain,Bravlin, at around the same time. Byzantine control lapsed, and the city probably came underKhazar suzerainty thereafter, which lasted until the early 11th century.[3][2] In the early 10th century, the local see was promoted to anarchbishopric.[3]
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 theSilk Road in the 12th and 13th centuries, as a terminus for Black Sea trade. The 14th-century Arab travellerIbn Battuta even compares its harbour with that ofAlexandria.[2] The 13th-century chroniclerIbn al-Athir writes of it as the "city of theQifjaq 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 ..."[4]
By the mid-11th century, Sougdaia had returned to Byzantine control, probably following the defeat of the Khazar warlordGeorgius Tzul in 1016. An inscription of 1059 mentions Leo Aliates, "strategos ofCherson and Sougdaia".[3][2] By the end of the century, however, the city passed underCuman control, which lasted until the 13th century. Inc. 1222 theSeljuk Turks besieged it, followed by destructive raids by theMongol Empire in 1223 and 1238. Finally, inc. 1249 the city came under the control of the MongolGolden Horde, although it retained considerable autonomy. Contemporary sources place its population at the time to 8,300, including Greeks, Alans, Mongols, Armenians, Latins, and Jews.[3][5]
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 titlesebastos, while the Latin sources use the Latinized Greek termproti ("first men").[3] Sometime between 1275 and 1282, the local see, which after being united withPhoulloi in the late 11th century was known asSougdophoulloi, was raised to the status of ametropolitan see.[3]
The city's prosperity was increased by the establishment ofVenetian andGenoese 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.[3] In the early 14th century, the city was eclipsed by the Genoese colonies ofTana andKaffa: the Florentine merchantFrancesco Balducci Pegolotti, who visited the area inc. 1330, neglects to mention the city altogether.[2] 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.[3]
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.[3] Genoese rule lasted until 1475, when the OttomanGrand VizierGedik Ahmed Pasha captured it after a long siege.[3]
TheOttomans took control ofSoldaia and all other Genoese colonies, as well as thePrincipality of Theodoro in 1475. Although Sudak was the strategical center of aqadılıq, the smallest administrative unit in the Ottoman Empire, the town lost much of its military and commercial importance, until theCrimean Khanate took over.
In 1771, Sudak was occupied byRumyantsev's army. In 1783, it definitively passed to theRussian Empire, with the rest ofCrimea. Though sometimes contested, it seems that a mass emigration occurred as a result of the ensuing instability in that period. EvenPotemkin 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 ofviticulture was opened there.
The town acquired its present status in 1982.
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 thePatriarchate of Constantinople, where it ranked 35th according to theNotitia Episcopatuum edited byByzantine emperorLeo VI (r. 886–912). In the 10th century it was promoted to an archbishopric. After merging with the nearby see ofPhoulloi towards the end of the 11th century, it was known asSougdophoulloi. It was raised to metropolitan status in 1275/82.
Its historical bishops were :
See alsoRussian Orthodox Diocese of Surozh for Surozh, the old name of the city as anepiscopal see in theRussian Orthodox Church, which has been nominally transferred to the Russian Orthodox Diocese inGreat Britain andIreland.
Under Genoese rule, a Latin Catholic diocese of Soldaia was established in 1390, which has had the following residential bishops :
It was suppressed circa 1500 after the Ottoman conquest of the Crimea in 1475.
In 1933 the see was nominally restored as titular bishopric of Sugdæa (Sugdaea), which was promoted in 1948 to metropolitantitular archbishopric.
It is vacant for decades, having had a single incumbent :
In 1933 the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin Catholictitular bishopric.
It has been vacant for decades, having had a single incumbent:
As of the2001 Ukrainian census, Sudak had a population of 29,448. More than half of the population were ethnicRussians. In a addition to the ethnic Russian majority, the city is also inhabited by bigUkrainian andCrimean Tatar minorities, which combined make up 35% of the population. Smaller minority groups includeBelarusians,Armenians,Tatars andPoles.[6]
| percent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russians | 59.23% | |||
| Ukrainians | 17.57% | |||
| Crimean Tatars | 17.42% | |||
| Belarusians | 1.31% | |||
| Tatars | 0.97% | |||
| Armenians | 0.47% | |||
| Moldovans | 0.14% | |||
| Poles | 0.12% | |||
| Azerbaijanis | 0.12% | |||
