While, a Turkish version of this work was published in 1981, this is the first English edition. I have chosen to publish it as written, on the grounds that the widely used Turkish version (which following a decade during which its sale was banned in turkey has subsequently gone through three editions) has already found its way into the scanty literature devoted to Trabzon. That I have done so without having to update its bibliography on the basis of sunsequent studies is a sad comment on the sta ...