Azov (əzôf'), city (1990 est. pop. 82,000), SE European Russia, a port on the Don River delta near the Sea of Azov. It is a rail junction, a light industrial center, and a fishing center. Tourism supplements the economy. Founded as the Greek colony of Tanaïs (3d cent. B.C.), it was a trading center and fortress. It came under Kievan Rus in the 10th cent., was taken by the Cumans in the 11th cent., became a Genoese colony in the 13th cent., and passed to the Turks in 1471. The Don Cossacks held the city (1637-42), but were driven out by the Turks. Peter the Great won the city in 1696 and thus opened southern routes for Russia; he was forced to cede it back to Turkey in 1711. Russia took it again in 1736, but was forced by the Treaty of Belgrade to dismantle the fortress in 1739. Russia secured Azov definitively by the treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji in 1774.
Azov
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Coordinates: 47°6′N 39°25′E / 47.1°N 39.417°E
| Azov (English) Азов (Russian) |
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| — Inhabited locality — | |
  Location of Azov on the map of Russia
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| Coordinates: 47°06′00″N 39°25′00″E / 47.1°N 39.4166667°ECoordinates: 47°06′00″N 39°25′00″E / 47.1°N 39.4166667°E | |
 Coat of arms |
 Flag |
| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Rostov Oblast |
| In administrative jurisdiction of | Rostov Oblast[citation needed] |
| Administrative center of | Azov Rayon[citation needed] |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 66.7 km2 (25.8 sq mi)[citation needed] |
| Population (2002 Census) | 83,139 inhabitants[1] |
| - Rank | 198 |
| - Density | 1,246 /km2 (3,200/sq mi)[2] |
| Time zone | MSK/MSD (UTC+3/+4) |
| Founded | 1067[citation needed] |
| Postal code(s) | 346780[3][citation needed] |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 86342[citation needed] |
Azov (Russian: Азо́в, pronounced [aˈzof]) is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just sixteen kilometers from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: 82,090 (2002 Census);[4] 80,297 (1989 Census).[5]
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Early settlements in the vicinity
The mouth of the Don River has always been an important commercial centre. At the start of the 3rd century BCE the Greeks from the Kingdom of Bosporus founded a colony here, which they called Tanais (after the Greek name of the river). Several centuries later the settlement was burnt down by king Poleumon of Bosporus. The introduction of Greek colonists restored its prosperity, but the Goths practically annihilated it in the 3rd century. The site of ancient Tanais, now occupied by Nedvigovka village, has been excavated since the mid-19th century.
In the 10th century, the area passed under control of the Slavic princedom of Tmutarakan. The Kypchaks, seizing the area in 1067, renamed it Azaq (i.e., lowlands), from which appellation the modern name is derived. The Golden Horde claimed most of the coast in the 13th and 14th centuries, but the Venetian and Genoese merchants were granted permission to settle on the site of modern-day Azov and founded there a colony which they called Tana.
Fortress of Azov
In 1471 the Ottoman Empire gained control of the area and built the strong fortress of Azak (Azov).
The fort blocked the Don Cossacks from raiding and trading into the Black Sea. The Cossacks had attacked Azov in 1574, 1593, 1620 and 1626. In April 1637 3,000 Don and 4,000 Zaporozhian Cossacks besieged Azov (the Turks had 4000 soldiers and 200 cannon). The fort fell on 21 June and the Cossacks sent a request to the Czar for re-enforcements and support. A commission recommended against this because of the the danger of war with Turkey and poor state of the fortifications. In June 1641 Hussein Deli, Pasha of Silistria invested the fort with 70-80,000 men. In September they had to withdraw because of disease and provisioning shortfalls. A second Russian commission reported that the siege had left very little of the walls. In march 1642 Sultan Ibrahim issued an ultimatum and Czar Mikhail ordered the Cossacks to evacuate. The Turks reoccupied Azov in September 1642.[6]
The town, however, had yet to pass through many vicissitudes. During the Azov campaigns of (1696), Peter the Great, who desired naval access to the Mediterranean Sea, managed to recover the fortress[7] but the disastrous Pruth Campaign constrained him to hand it back to the Turks in 1711. A humorous description of the events is featured in Voltaire's Candide. During the Great Russo-Turkish War it was taken by the army under Count Rumyantsev and finally ceded to Russia under the terms of Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (1774). For seven years Azov was a capital of a separate government but, with the growth of neighboring Rostov-on-the-Don, gradually declined in importance.
Mayor of Azov
Sergey Bezdolnyy (United Russia) elected on 3 April, 2005. Next election - 11 October, 2009.
See also
External links
 |
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Azov. |
- Soviet topographic map 1:100,000
- Azov webportal (Russian)
- Sea of Azov proposed as location of Atlantis
Notes
- ^ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://perepis2002.ru/ct/html/TOM_01_04_1.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ^ The value of density was calculated automatically by dividing the 2002 Census population by the area specified in the infobox. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox does not necessarily correspond to the area of the entity proper or is reported for the same year as the Census (2002).
- ^ (Russian) Russian postal objects - find by name
- ^ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров. (All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers.)" (in Russian). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989). Demoscope Weekly (website of the Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. 1989. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg2.php. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
- ^ Brian L Davies, 'Warfare, State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe, 2007, page 88-90
- ^ Lord Kinross, The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire, Perennial, 1979, p. 353. ISBN 0688030939.
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