Black Sea

Oluz Höyük, in Amasya province, lies in the landward part of Turkey’s Central Black Sea region, 27 km along the Çorum highway within the Gökhöyük agricultural establishment. It measures 280 x 260 m (overall 45,000 m²) and is 15 m higher than the ground level.
The work carried out at Oluz Höyük in the 2007 season was in three phases: preparation of a topographical plan; geophysical research; and archaeological excavation (carried out in two spots: Trench A and Trench B).
Trench A is at the highest point of the höyük and is located on the west side. Three architectural layers and 12 human skeletons were uncovered. Operations in Trench B on the east side of the höyük were stepped operations. In this section, six architectural layers were discovered. Overall, an area of 600 m² was investigated in two trenches for 31 days.
Evaluation of coins and pottery indicated that the first layers of Trenches A and B were coeval. In this context the 0 layer of Oluz Höyük could be dated to the mediaeval period the first architectural layer to the Hellenistic period (end of the 2nd century BC and beginning of the 1st); the second to the Late Phase of the Late Iron Age (4th and 3rd centuries BC); the third and fourth, discovered in Trench B, to the Early Phase of the Late Iron Age (6th and 5th centuries BC); the fifth to the Middle Iron Age (7th century BC); and the sixth to either the Early Iron Age or Late Bronze Age, in other words to the Hittite Empire period.

Amasya İli’ndeki Oluz Höyük Orta Karadeniz Bölgesinin iç bölgesinde olup, Çorum karayolunun 27. Kilometresinde Gökhöyük tarım bölgesinde bulunmaktadır. 280 x 260 m’lik (yaklaşık 45.000 m²) hacimli ve yerden 15 m yükseklikte bir höyüktür.
Oluz Höyük’te 2007’de gerçekleştirilen kazılarda üç konuda çalışılmıştır: topografik bir planın hazırlanması, arkeojeofizik araştırma ve (A ve B Açmalarında) arkeolojik kazı.
A Açması höyüğün en yüksek noktasıdır ve höyüğün batı tarafında bulunur. Burada 3 mimari tabaka ve 12 insan iskeleti bulunmuştur. Höyüğün doğu tarafında bulunan B Açması’ndaki çalışmalar basamaklı olarak sürdürülmüştür. Bu alanda 6 adet mimari tabaka bulunmuştur. 2 açmada 31 günde toplam 600 m²’lik bir alan incelenmiştir.
Bulunan sikke ve seramiklerin değerlendirilmesi sonucu A ve B açmalarının ilk katlarının çağdaş olduğu saptanmıştır. Oluz Höyük’ün 0 katmanı Ortaçağ’a tarihlenmektedir; ilk mimari tabaka ise Hellenistik Çağ’dandır (İ.Ö. 2. yy.’ın sonu ve 1. yy.’ın başı); ikinci tabaka Geç Demir Çağı’nın son seviyesidir (İ.Ö. 4. ve 3. yy.); üçüncü ve dördüncü tabakalar B Açması’nda bulunmuştur ve Geç Demir Çağı’nın erken evresine (İ.Ö. 6.-5. yy.) tarihlenir; beşinci tabaka Orta Demir Çağı’na (İ.Ö. 7. yy.) ve altıncı tabaka Erken Demir Çağı ya da Geç Bronz Çağı’na aittir, bir başka deyişle Hitit İmparatorluk Çağı’ndandır.

I. Dünya Savaşı yıllarında Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde yaşayan Rumlar çetecilik faaliyetlerinin yanı sıra kurdukları cemiyetler vasıtasıyla da örgütlenmelerine hız verdi. Rusların 1916 yılında Trabzon’u işgali ile iki yıla yakın şehir, Rumlardan oluşan bir meclis tarafından yönetildi. I. Dünya Savaşı sonrası imzalanan Mondros Mütarekesi ile bölgede yaşayan Rum din adamları ve aydınları bir devlet kurulması için uygun zeminin oluştuğunu düşünüyordu. Aynı dönemde Mustafa Kemal Paşa 9. Ordu Müfettişi olarak Samsun’a gittiğinde Pontus Cemiyeti teşkilatlanmış durumdaydı. Karadeniz Bölgesi’nden gelen istihbarat raporlarında, Rumların Pont(us) Cumhuriyeti adıyla bir oluşum içinde oldukları bilgisi geliyordu. Osmanlı Hükümeti, gelen istihbaratlar doğrultusunda takipte kalıp durumu kontrol altına almaya çalıştı. Mustafa Kemal Paşa, müfettiş olarak Osmanlı Hükümeti’ne yazdığı raporlarda Rum çetelerinin faaliyetlerinden, Pontus iddialarından da bahsediyordu.
Pontus faaliyetlerinin etkin isimlerinin başında Amasya Metropoliti Germanos ve Trabzon Metropoliti Hrisantos geliyordu. Germanos silahlı mücadeleyi desteklerken Hrisantos, siyasî anlamda yurtdışında, Karadeniz Rumlarının mücadelesini verdi. Atina, Marsilya, Bakü ve Batum’da Pontus toplantıları, kongreleri düzenlendi. Karadeniz Rumlarını örgütlemek ve Pontus Devleti’ni kurmak için çalışmalar yapan Hrisantos ve Marsilya’da tüccar olan Konstantin Konstantinides yurtdışında faaliyetler gösterip diplomatik temaslarda bulundu. Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde Rumları kışkırtmak, örgütlenmelerini sağlamak için kişisel faaliyetlerin dışında devletlerin de katkısı oldu. Bu devletlerden biri Yunanistan’dı. Yunanistan, Rumlar arasında örgütlenmelerine her ne kadar yardım etse de Rumların istediği duruşu gösteremedi. Özellikle Venizelos yurtdışında Karadeniz’in Ermenilere verilmesi konusunda görüşmeler yaptığında Rumlarla fikir ayrılığına düştü. Nitekim Hrisantos bu durum karşısında Batum’daki Rumlarla işbirliği yapma yolunu seçti.
Aralık 1919’da Batum’da “Pontus Cumhuriyeti” adıyla bir heyet kuruldu. “Pontus Cumhuriyeti/Heyeti”ni bir süre sonra resmileştirmek adına seyahat belgeleri düzenlendi, mahkeme kuruldu, harita yapıldı ve bayrak tasarlandı. Bu gelişmeler yaşanırken sadece Yunanistan değil diğer devletler de Karadeniz’deki azınlıklar üzerinde çalışmalar yaptı. Ancak bu devletlerden Amerika’nın, Pontus meselesi ile yakından ilişkili olan Amerikan Board misyonerleri yüzünden ayrı bir yeri vardı. Adı geçen misyonerler Merzifon Amerikan Koleji ile bölgede yaşayan Rumları etkisi altına almak için faaliyetlerde bulundu. Amerikan Koleji’nin faaliyetleri karşısında Ankara Hükümeti önlemler aldı. Rumların bu faaliyetleri karşısında Osmanlı Hükümeti gibi Ankara Hükümeti de bir takım tedbirler almak zorunda aldı.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Karadeniz Rumları, Pontus, Pontus Cumhuriyeti, Hrisantos, Konstantinidis.

ABSTRACT
During the course of the First World War, the Greeks of the Black Sea Region concentrated on their organisational framework via their political societies besides their militia activities. With the Russian occupation in 1916, the city of Trabzon was governed by a parliament led by the Greeks for a period of two years. With the Armistice of Mudros after the First World War, the Greek clerics and intellectuals of the region thought that the milieu was convenient for a Greek state. When Mustafa Kemal Pasha arrived in Samsun as the Ninth Army Inspector, the Pontus Society had already been organised. The intelligence reports flowing from the Black Sea Region highlighted the information that the Greeks were involved in an organisation named Pontus Republic. In accordance with the intelligence records, the Ottoman government strove to stand alert and assert control in the region. In his communiqués to the central government, the Inspector Mustafa Kemal Pasha provided data about the Pontus claims and activities of the Greek militia.
The Metropolitan Bishop of Amasya Germanos and the Metropolitan Bishop of Trabzon Chrisantos were the prime figures of the Pontus activities. While Germanos agitated for armed struggle, Chrisantos orchestrated the political propaganda for the Pontus cause abroad. He organised Pontus meetings and congresses in Athens, Marseille, Baku and Batumi. Chrisantos who strove to organise the Black Sea Greeks and establish the Pontus State involved in diplomatic affairs abroad along with a merchant in Marseille named Konstantinos Konstantinidis.  Besides the individuals, the states acted to agitate the Greeks of Black Sea and worked for their organisational structure as well. One of these states was Greece. Although helping the Greeks’ organisational process, Greece could not display the stance the Greeks dreamed of. Especially Venizelos’s meetings abroad in favour of leaving the Black Sea region to the Armenians faced heavy criticism from the Pontus Greeks. Upon this, Chrisantos opted to cooperate with the Greeks in Batumi.
A delegation called “Pontus Republic” was formed in December 1919 in Batumi. After a while, in order to formalise this “Pontus Republic/Delegation”, travel documents were prepared, a court was inaugurated, a map was created and a flag was introduced. During these developments, not only Greece but also other states focused on the minorities of the Black Sea Region as well. Among these states, the US occupied a significant place because its American Board missionaries active in Pontus Question. These missionaries tried to influence the Greeks of the region via Merzifon American College. The Ankara government took certain measures against the activities of the American College. Like the Ottoman government, the Ankara government had to take several precautions against the Greek activities as well.
Keywords: Black Sea Greeks, Pontus, Pontus Republic, Chrisantos, Konstantinidis.

Hattusa, also known as Hattusha, is an ancient city located near modern Boğazkale in the Çorum Province of Turkey’s Black Sea Region . This ancient city once served as the capital of the Hittite Empire, one of the superpowers of the ancient world.
In the Amarna Letters , which have been dated to the 14th century BC, the Hittites were referred to by the Egyptians as a major power, alongside Assyria, Mitanni, and Babylonia, and they were treated as equals.
Hattusa was established by the Hatti, the indigenous people who were living in that area prior to the coming of the Hittites. The origins of the Hittites are still a mystery, and they may have invaded / immigrated into Hatti territory, settled, and established their empire there.
Establishment of Hattusa
During the 3rd millennium BC, the Hatti had established a city state based on Hattusa. At this point of time, Hattusa was one of the many small city states in the region. Another possible city state of the Hatti is Kanesh, which is located close to Hattusa. A trading colony / colonies is / are said to have been established by the Assyrians around 2000 BC, and the name of Hattusa is first discovered from written documents dated to that period of time.

A 5-year survey was planned in order to reveal the localization of Neoklaudiopolis and its relations with its surroundings and to investigate the history of Vezirköprü district, to identify the archaeological cultural assets in the district. Within the scope of this planning, in 2018, the first works were started in Vezirköprü District of Samsun Province. The survey in 2018 was conducted in 27 villages of the Vezirköprü district. The focus of this season's work was on villages in the vicinity of Istavloz (Istavroz) Stream, especially where the Roman remains were concentrated. During these studies, were investigated in detail and their coordinates were determined and photographed and recorded together with the registered ones, 3 fortresses and 15 slope settlements, 2 mounds, 3 bridges, 4 architectural remains, 15 tumuli, 8 stone crate tombs, 6 rock grave tombs, 10 sarcophagus vessels and hatches, 7 tombstones, 1 rock tomb, 4 architectural remains, a large number of workshops, column, column header and base, architectural building element, grave steles, milestones detailed by determining the coordinates were investigated under and recorded.

Rezumat: Coroborând informații obținute de pe diverse site-uri destinate colecționarilor din Ucraina și Rusia, respectiv de pe piețele numismatice occidentale, autorul prezintă trei loturi de monede histriene de argint timpurii (sec. V-IV a.Chr.) descoperite în nordul Mării Negre. Un lot alcătuit din 22 de stateri de argint și 1 obol din Grupa II de emisiuni a cetății Istros pare să se fi dispersat dintr-un tezaur găsit cel târziu în luna octombrie 2017 în regiunea Herson din sudul Ucrainei. Piesele au fost identificate pe un site destinat colecționarilor din Ucraina și/sau în diferite licitații ale unei firme din Elveția. În componența celui deal doilea lot intră 10 stateri de argint din Grupa II, provenind dintr-un tezaur descoperit, cel mai probabil, în partea de sud a Basarabiei, înainte de octombrie 2014. Fotografii ale acestor monede au fost postate pe site-ul Muzeului Numismatic din Odessa. După ce s-au împrăștiat, unele dintre ele au fost identificate pe diferite forumuri și în comerț. Ultimul lot cuprinde doi stateri de argint din Grupa I postați pe un forum numismatic din Rusia. Unul dintre aceștia cântărește 8,12 g și a fost bătut cu ștanțe neînregistrate până acum. Cel deal doilea este un exemplar cunoscut, fiind vândut în anul 2015 de către o casă de licitație din Germania. Fotografiile postate cu această ocazie atestă însă că și această piesă provine din nordul Mării Negre. Abstract: Corroborating information identified on few numismatic sites from Ukraine and Russia, on one hand, and on the Western numismatic markets, on the other, the author presents three batches of early silver coins of Istros (5th-4th century BC) discovered North of the Black Sea. A batch made up of 22 silver staters and 1 obol from Group II of issues of Istros appears to have been dispersed from a hoard found at the latest in October 2017 in the Kherson region, in Southern Ukraine. The coins have been identified in 2017-2018 on a numismatic site from Ukraine and / or in various sales of an auction house in Switzerland. The second batch includes 10 silver staters from Group II, part of a hoard discovered, most probably, in the Southern part of Bessarabia, before October 2014. Photos of these coins were posted on the website of the Numismatic Museum in Odessa. After they had spread, some of the coins were identified on different forums and on the numismatic market. The last batch comprises two silver staters from Group I posted on a numismatic forum in Russia. One of them weighs 8.12 g and has been struck with dies previously unregistered. The second is a published specimen that * Banca Națională a României.

The Black Sea is recognised as having great potential for the preservation of submerged prehistoric sites because of the large area of land exposed on the continental shelf at lowest sea levels, especially along its western and northwestern coastlines. However, very few have been discovered to date, and those that are known are located in Bulgaria. Because of the complexities associated with the periodic isolation of the Black Sea from the Mediterranean and its reconnection, offshore research has tended to focus on geological and geophysical investigation of inundation history , with unresolved and strongly held disagreements about the timing and rapidity of sea level rise at the end of the Last Glacial and its potential human impact. In Bulgaria, a rich concentration of underwater prehistoric sites has been discovered, thanks to dredging activities earlier in the twentieth century and a long tradition of underwater archaeological investigations going back to the 1970s. These demonstrate the presence of substantial in situ village settlements of Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age date in shallow water (<10 m), with excellent preservation of large ceramic assemblages, wooden structures and faunal and palynologi-cal data on palaeodiet and palaeoeconomy. More recently, large-scale marine-geological and archaeological projects have begun, aimed at integrating shallow-water inshore investigations with offshore survey in deeper water.

The Black Sea Region – an area characterized by over-securitization and intense power competition – shows us that multiple levels of analysis are needed to adequately account for the characteristics demonstrated by geopolitical actors’ foreign policy doctrines. In an increasingly complex world with the capacity for mutual nuclear destruction, regional and international geopolitical players must go beyond the classical doctrines of realism and use more non-materialistic concepts like identity, culture and trust. Securitization theory, then, provides a flexible framework that allows aspects from different theoretical schools to be combined in order to reflect on empirical examples. It also shows that countries do not become enemies at the flip of a switch – there are historical antagonisms at play and single incidents have to be distinguished from persistent security threats.

Sunflower is one of the most important oil crops in the world. In addition to be the most preferable vegetable oil in the Eastern Europe, Balkans and Blacksea region, sunflower is the main crops in the rotation system in the agricultural production as well as the most planted oil crops in these areas. Both world sunflower planted areas (21.000 ha in 2007 to 26.000 ha in 2019) and also seed production (26.000 MT in 2007 to 51.000 MT in 2019) have raised in last ten years but Blacksea region contributed mainly for these increases. In the region, while sunflower production has tripled from 11800 MT (2007) to 35.000 MT (2019), sunflower planted areas has raised 60% more from 2007 to 2019 (10.000 to 16.000 ha) in last 12 years.  The rate of region in sunflower production has increased from 45 to 68%, acreages from 49 to 64% in this period. Furthermore, the region plays key role and also dominated sunflower world trade as well as other oilseeds such as canola and soybean. As a spring crop, sunflower influence eventually from climatic conditions such as temperature, soil humidity, etc. in some critical stages which are determining seed and oil yield especially bud formation and the grain filling period. Biotic and abiotic stresses coincide in these two stages lead extremely reduce seed yield regularly in sunflower production areas in due to unregularly rainfalls and higher temperatures in spring and early summer seasons in Blacksea region which sunflower grows mostly in dryland. Therefore, it need to well understand these reducing factors and sunflower responses and mechanisms then it need to find accurate management solutions to cope with these factors efficiently such as early planting time and increasing plant density for obtaining better yields. Besides, biotic stresses mostly diseases such as downy mildew, Phomopsis, Sclerotinia, Verticilium wilt, Macrophomina and also broomrape parasite, weeds are the main factors reducing sunflower yield in the region. While there is only genetic resistance possible for disease control mentioned above ones, effective control of broomrape and weeds are possible Clearfield system with post emergence Imidazolinone (IMI) herbicide plus resistant varieties as well as sulfonyl Urea (SU) herbicide and resistant hybrids. Furthermore, combining these herbicide resistances together with new races of broomrape races and downy mildew and other diseases will lead higher yield results in sunflower production in the region in addition to other agronomical solutions.

In Crimea, the Common Pochard is a nesting, wintering and migratory bird. It winters annually on the coastal waters of Southern (mountainous) Crimea, including the bays in the vicinity of Sevastopol, and migrates to nesting areas in Northern (steppe) Crimea in February — March. In Southern Crimea, a nesting Common Pochard was recorded only once, in 1993 at Lake Barakol. No nesting of Common pochards on the Southern Crimean seacoast has been recorded to date. Two young-of-the-year Common pochards, still unable to fl y, were observed on the coastal waters of Sevastopol on July 23, 2018. They were not attended by female pochards; no adult pochards were present in the surveyed bays. The possibility of nest parasitism by Common pochards of nests of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in the area might explain this sighting.

Currently, the Republic of Turkey plays a vital role in international processes taking place on the world stage. Since ancient times, at the crossroads of the paths between the world of East and West, the Republic of Turkey claims to have an excellent position in the relations of these regions with each other, as well as in their internal processes and events. The universal location between Europe and Asia makes Turkish foreign policy one of its main political issues, especially in the field of regional cooperation. Moreover, the changes in the world of recent decades, such as the collapse of the USSR, revolutions and military operations in eastern countries, the transition of Crimea to Russia, lead to the fact that Turkey pursued its foreign policy thoughtfully and actively, taking the most advantageous positions for itself. An essential region for pursuing Turkish policy is the Black Sea region. The events of recent years have significantly affected him and the role that large states play in him, such as the Republic of Turkey and the Russian Federation. It also began to arouse great interest among states and regions of the Western world, such as the European Union. The changed geopolitical structure of the Black Sea region has led to the need for its members to determine their positions and areas of interaction in which they are ready to cooperate or, on the contrary, to oppose each other. In this article, the author will examine the relations of the Turkish Republic and the Russian Federation in the Black Sea region and its importance. In this study, political relations, security, economy, energy, and security will be discussed. In the conclusion of the study, the current state of Turkey-Russia relations and assessments will be made about its future.

In our approach to the Black Sea we will put the different points of view into perspective in order to observe its plural image and avoid restricting our view to the stereotyped image. We propose the study the literary texts by two Georgian writers from the Soviet period. In the works by Guram Rcheulishvili (1934-1960), the sea appropriates the main plot: it becomes the space par excellence where the action takes place, the space of life and death of the characters (paradoxically, of the author who also tragically dies in the Black Sea at the age of twenty-six). In the works by Leo Quiacheli (1884-1963), the sea coordinates events: it embodies this dissapearing world in front of the new murderous one (that of Bolsheviks). Under these conditions, the questions arise: (1) Which sea is it? Does its referent belong to the real and national reality, i.e. the Black Sea? (2) Does this space (the Black Sea) contain an identity and political marker? Can we talk about the fact that space transposed into literature influences the representation of the factual (referential) space (Westphal)?

The purpose of the study was to determine
metal pollution and ecological risk in the sediments
and sediment pore water around Trabzon harbor.
Concentrations of metal (Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni and
As), were determined from 9 sites in May, 2014.
Metal concentrations in sediments were varied from
22.3 to 83.7 μg g-1 for Cr, 54.3 to 246.8 μg g-1 for
Cu, 67.2 to 253 μg g-1 for Zn, 50.1 to 117.3 μg g-1
for Pb, 23.4 to 98.7 μg g-1 for Ni, 12.3 to 52.6 μg
g-1 for As. Metal concentrations in sediment pore
water were varied from 4.14 to 12.41 μg kg-1 for
Cr, 13.21 to 32.1 μg kg-1 for Cu, 22 to 44.75 μg
kg-1 for Zn, 10.72 to 36.51 μg kg-1 for Pb, 3.72 to
14.1 μg kg-1 for Ni, 3.12 to 7.78 μg kg-1 for As.
Metal concentrations were determined using a
inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer
(ICP-MS). With the purpose of determining the
level of pollution, the potential ecological risk
index (RI), the methods of sediment enrichment
factor (SEF), pollution load index (PLI),
geoaccumulation index (IGEO) and sediment
quality guideline (SQG) were applied. Based upon
the results from this study, Cu, Pb, Zn and As can
be considered as a major contributor to toxicity
around Trabzon harbor.

Long-term monitoring of marine litter composition and density has been conducted between 2009 and 2018 on eleven beaches of Trabzon city located on the southeastern Black Sea coast in Turkey. All unnatural litter items were collected from randomly selected transects on the beaches. A total of litter items 4138 in number and 108.75 kg in weight were collected during the study. The highest litter density was 22.00 items/m 2 which is categorized as extremely dirty by Clean-Coast Index. The ANOVA results revealed that there was a significant difference in density between years (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference was found between stations, substratum and whether the station is located on a river mouth (p > 0.05). Plastic (79.69%) was the most commonly found litter followed by metal (7.37%) and glass (5.58%). The main source of the litter items was found to be river transportation (21.96%).