Book Description
The work of Sergei P. Karpov, entitled The History of the Empire of Trebizond was originally published in Russian, in St Petersburg in 2007. Here we present to the public the Greek translation of this authoritative work. The book covers the history of the last remaining Greek State of the Middle Ages. The author is Professor of History at the Lomonosov State University in Moscow. He is also member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and President of the Russian Committee of Byzantine Studies.
The book comprises 18 chapters, the first of which offers an overview of the geography and history of Pontus from antiquity to the Byzantine era, reaching up to the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders and the Venetians during the Fourth Crusade. The main part of the book discusses the social and economic evolution of the Pontus region, the administrative structure and the institutions of the new Empire that followed the Byzantine tradition. The book offers an insight into the internal affairs of Pontus, its relations with other powerful states and nations, such as Byzantium, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, papal Rome, West European states, the Turks, Russia, Balkan Slavic states etc., that led to the fall of Pontus to the Ottomans, in the year 1461. The author also explores the legacy of the Empire’s civilization and the legend it left behind after its downfall. The book concludes with detailed tables and a thorough index of names, people and places that facilitate research conducted by scholars, students but also the wider educated public interested in the history of the Republic of Trebizond.