The Black Sea: A History

By Charles King

Book Overview

The area from the Balkans to the Caucasus is often seen as a zone of timeless conflict, a frontier region at the meeting place of mutually antagonistic civilizations. But in this pathbreaking work, Charles King investigates the myriad of connections that have made the Black Sea more of a bridge than a boundary, linking religious communities, linguistic groups, empires, and later, nations and states.

For some parts of the world, the idea of waterways as defining elements in human history is uncontroversial. Mention the Mediterranean or the South Pacific, and images of mutual influence come to mind. Those images come less readily for the Black Sea--a region that has experienced ethnic conflict, economic collapse, and interstate rivalries over the last two decades. But in the recent past, the idea of the Black Sea as a distinct unit was self-evident. From its formation some seven or eight millennia ago to the political revolutions and environmental crisis of the late twentieth century, the sea has been a zone of interaction - sometimes cordial, sometimes conflictual--among the peoples and states around its shores.

To the ancient Greeks, the sea lay literally at the edge of the known world. In time, the growth of Greek trading colonies linked all the coasts into a web of economic relationships. In the Middle Ages, the sea was tied to the great commercial cities of Venice and Genoa. Later, the Ottomans used the region's resources to build their own empire. In the late eighteenth century, the sea was opened to foreign commerce, and the seacoasts were part of a genuinely global system of trade. After the collapse of the Russian and Ottoman empires, the coastline was carved up among a number of newly formed nation-states, with each asserting a right to a piece of the coast and a section of the coastal waters.

Today, efforts to resurrect the idea of the Black Sea as a unified region are once again on the international agenda. Based on extensive research in multiple languages, this book is an indispensable guide to the history, cultures, and politics of this fascinating sea and its future at the heart of Europe and Eurasia.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199241619
• ISBN13: 9780199241613
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.3" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

Solid overview.

Prior to starting this book, I knew very little, if any, about the Black Sea Region. Upon completion I came away with a much greater understanding of both the geographic area as well as how the regions contributed and continue to contribute differently throughout history. Highly recommend this book to anyone looking for some insight into this part of the world.

The Black Sea

A more accurate title for this book would probably be 'The Black Sea Region' as it is more a history of the surrounding territories and peoples than the sea itself. This is not to say that King doesn't describe the sea itself, but it just seemed to have a much more marginal role in the work than I had expected. Nevertheless, I thought the book was quite good. King starts off by giving us the physical origins of the sea. Although it seems to be agreed upon that the sea was once a lake, how exactly it became a sea is still apparently a matter of debate. Drawing upon recent evidence, King concludes that the Black Sea was formed by rising water levels in the adjacent Mediterranean Sea which overflowed into the lower level lake. Apparently, the sea has always been very turbulent which has been testified to by countless sailors throughout the ages. King swiftly moves on to the history of the region, which is a fascinating chronological account of both the indigenous inhabitants and subsequent foreign inavaders throughout the centuries. The result is a story of constantly shifting populations and empires including a vast array of peoples such as the Greeks, Romans, Scythians, Thracians, Rhos (Russians), Byzantines, Bulgars, Turks, Khazars, and Tatars. Much of the latter half of the second millennium consisted of the Russian and Ottoman Empires battling for control of the sea and region. King also gives a good analysis of the regional transition from empire to nationalism in the 20th century, as well as the "pipeline politics" of today. All in all, I think King does a good job at describing this often neglected region which, as witnessed by the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia, continues to be very relevant today. A very informative and satisfying read.

Great concept and a satisfying adjunct to the history of western civilizations.

As an amateur historian I have moved beyond purely narrative history, such as David McCullough, but neither am I a scholar drawn to pot sherd dating. This history falls nicely between the two extremes. King's premise is that the Black Sea can be viewed as a historical and cultural entity given it's role in regional trade. He lays out how various civilizations developed along its shores from antiquity, beginning with shore-hugging navigation to cross-sea trade in more recent history. This approach illustrates patterns of and insight into the rise and fall of societies around the Black Sea. However, the delivery falls a bit short of the promise laid out in the introduction. The Black Sea was not the Meditteranean. Geography, as he points out, limited the development of purely Black Sea civilizations, and prevented homogenization of their societies. In addition, much of the history of these societies was dominated by outside forces -- such as the Romans, the Persians, and the Mongols. In the end, the idea of a Black Sea history as a stand-alone exercise is too much of a stretch to be credible. King makes a very good point, however, when he points out the danger these civilizations courted if they failed to secure the Black Sea for their own trade. Time and again, he shows how empires had their territory chipped away by their Black Sea neighbors once those empires stopped securing key ports. One of the delights of this book is that he deals with these Black Sea societies in their own right. Too often regional histories such as those of Rome/Byzantium will only mention rulers such as Mithridates when he becomes a military threat. I found it very satisfying to follow the rise and fall of Pontus and its interactions with neighbors such as the kingdom of Armenia. I found this history of the Black Sea to be well-written and engaging. For me, it helped fill in pieces of western civilization that have received scanty attention. His illustration of the Black Sea as a highway for societies rather than a barrier brougth a fresh perspective to the rise and fall of great civilizations such as Byzantium and Persia. I recommend this book to anyone else who seeks that middle ground of the amateur historian.

An Outstanding Work

Charles King combines meticulous research with engrossing storytelling to produce a work that is at once intellectually rigorous and readable. Ambitious in its scope, the book traces the history of the Black Sea from the time of Greek trading colonies to the modern regional powers and environmental issues that characterize the sea and the states and peoples that surround it today. Not limiting itself to a narrow analysis, The Black Sea puts this region into a global perspective, and is a valuable read for anyone who is interested in this important part of the world, or in the past and future of regional confrontation and cooperation.