city state · Anatolia and the Levant

Trapezus

756 BCE – 63 BCE (approx.) · capital Trapezus

Trapezus, a Greek colony on the south-eastern Black Sea coast that became Trebizond, where Xenophon's Ten Thousand reached the sea.

Origins

Colonists from Sinope founded Trapezus on a table-shaped headland, from which its name comes, traditionally in 756 BCE. It controlled a harbour and the route inland to the Armenian highlands, among the Colchian and Pontic peoples of the coast.

Rule and society

Trapezus was a Greek city governed by its citizens, paying tribute to Sinope and later recognising Persian overlordship. In 400 BCE the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries described by Xenophon arrived here after their march, and the city hosted them for a month. It traded timber, metals and hazelnuts.

Decline and legacy

Trapezus was absorbed by the Kingdom of Pontus in the 2nd century BCE and passed to the Roman world after Pompey defeated Mithridates VI in 63 BCE. It later became Trebizond, capital of the Empire of Trebizond.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Trapezus. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/trapezus
MLA
“Trapezus.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/trapezus. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Trapezus.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/trapezus.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Trapezus’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/trapezus (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻