Flavius Hanniballianus – King of Pontus and Lazica. The Eastern Roman Empire and its Early History
Flavius Hanniballianus – King of Pontus and Lazica. The Eastern Roman Empire and its Early History

Summary/Abstract: In the great days of the Hellenism, trade among the peoples across the Black Sea thrived. Armament industry and ceramic production flourished in Pontus, mining – in Colchis (Western Georgia), and agriculture – in Bosphorus. Almost everywhere town size increased. Large and frequent issues of the coins were necessary and their circulation expended. The age-old maritime route from Sinope towards Phasis in Colchis was easily covered in three days. Greek commercial superiority was substituted by the Roman hegemony over the small coastal strip of Colchis, already called Lazica in the first century A.D. And that hegemony was based upon well-manned castellum-system from Pitius up to Aphsaros. Lazi client-kings, dwelling in the hinterland, largely enjoyed Roman pax and prosperity, gaining a handsome profit by trading with the gallant Pontic cities, like Sinope, Amisus and Trapezus. The whole Black Sea area might be looked upon as a multicultural region of which the general principles were still based on Hellenism, but that was facilitated mostly by Roman money and defended by Roman soldiers. Still old Greek pattern was used to administrate the Black Sea area usually ascribing coastal line of Lazica to pontus. This will be discussed below.

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