The earliest artifacts belonging to the ancient Greek civilization ever found in Pontus date back to 1,000 BC . Most Greek colonies were established on the Pontus coast around 800 BC , with settlers originating from Ionia . By the time of the foundation of the Persian Mithridatic Kingdom of Pontus in 281 BC , the area had been thoroughly Hellenized . The conquest of the Pontic kingdom by the Roman Empire and its subsequent transition into the Byzantine Empire led to the Christianization of the region . Pontus was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1461 following the fall of Trebizond . Up until the middle of the 17th century the Ottomans focused on consolidating their power , granting Pontic Greeks a certain degree of autonomy . The following period that lasted until the end of the Russo-Turkish War ( 1768 – 1774 ) was marked by the implementation of the Chiflik system of land management and religious persecution of Christians , through forced conversions to Islam . The Russo-Turkish wars that followed led to unforeseen demographic changes , previously ethnically homogeneous due to its remote location and rough terrain , Pontus was to welcome thousands of Caucasus Muslims fleeing violence and persecution , notably the Circassian genocide . At the same time , Pontic Greeks fled to the Russian Empire to escape the repression and punitive measures enacted as a response to the Greek War of Independence . By 1914 , the Greek population of the Russian Empire reached 650,000
Circassian genocide
Circassian genocide
Greek Caucasus Division