Sukhumi

Sukhumi stands on a sheltered bay of the eastern Black Sea beneath the mountains of Abkhazia. Greek settlers called the ancient port Dioscurias; the Romans later fortified it as Sebastopolis. Known in medieval times as Tskhumi, the harbour connected the coast with inland routes and drew merchants across the sea. Its fortress remained the key to control of the bay.

The Ottomans called the port Sukhum-Kale and rebuilt its defences in the 1720s, using stone and timber from the surrounding district. The fort became a base for an Ottoman garrison and later a residence of the Abkhazian prince Kelesh Bey Shervashidze. In 1810 Russian forces took it amid a struggle over the succession to the principality. The Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 confirmed Russian control, bringing a new power to this contested coast.