seat of a Byzantine bishop of Zichia, probably founded under Justinian in the 6th century. In the middle of the 10th century, the see of Nikopsis was abolished or moved to Matracha. Location The location of Nikopsis is not known. A popular, but not universally accepted hypothesis first advanced by Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux and followed by Fillip Brun, Boris Kuftin, Zurab Anchabadze, and Leonid Lavrov, places Nikopsis at Novomikhaylovsky at the mouth of the Nechepsukho river near Tuapse, where the early medieval imported pottery, roof tiles, and marble pieces have been unearthed. Alternatively, Nikopsis has been identified with Anakopia near present-day New Athos or placed by Yuri Voronov at Tsandripsh/Gantiadi, where there are the ruins of an early medieval basilica. References External links Former populated places in Russia Medieval Georgia (country) Byzantine forts Defunct dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople