Middle and Eastern BlacK Sea Settlements in the Roman Imperial Period

It is noteworthy that the archaeological investigations aiming to illuminate the past of the Black Sea Region are not yet at the desired level. However, the growing interest in recent years can be regarded as a welcome development on behalf of the Black Sea Archeology. In the determination of the thesis topic, it is effective that the studies of the Roman Imperial Period in the Middle and Eastern Black Sea Region are few. In the limitation of the geography that is the subject of study, today's land boundaries of Turkey are taken intoconsideration. The Middle and Eastern Black Sea Region studied in this thesis study covers the whole of Pontus and part of Galatia and Paplagonia in Roman Period. The boundaries of the region, roughly delimited by the Halys River in the west, Cappadocia in the south, the Black Sea in the north and the Koklhis in the east have been changed at different times. Anatolian lands were left to Rome by the will of Attalos III in 133 BCE. and they were declared as the Asia state of Rome in 129 BCE and called "Asia Minor". Roman domination in the Black Sea has gained a solid structure with the establishment of Bithynia in 74 BCE and Bithynia-Pontus provinces after 63BCE. Within the scope of the thesis topic Samsun, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon, Rize, Artvin, Amasya, Tokat, Gümüşhane and Bayburt provinces' Roman Imperial Period were investigated. Despite the large number of materials of the Roman Imperial Period are found in museums and ruins, the lack of extensive research on Roman Imperial Period settlements has led to this research. Key words: Archeology, Anatolia, Rome, Black Sea, Settlement.