Coordinates 44°43'N 37°46'E? / ?44.717, 37.767In antiquity, the shores of the Tsemess Bay were the site of Bata, an ancient Greek colony that specialized in the grain trade. It is mentioned in the works of Strabo and Ptolemy, among others. The Genoese merchants from the Ghisolfi family maintained a trade outpost there in the Middle Ages. Archaeological investigation of the area is in its infancy, but some interesting items have already been uncovered.[1]
Since 1722, the bay was commanded by the Ottoman fortress of Sujuk-Qale or Sogucak. After the coastline was ceded to Russia in 1829 as a result of a Russo-Turkish War, the admirals Mikhail Lazarev and Nikolay Raevsky founded an eastern base for the Black Sea Fleet on the shore in 1838. Named after the province of Novorossiya, the port formed a vital link in the chain of forts known as the Black Sea Coastal Line, which stretched south to Sochi.
During the rest of the 19th century, Novorossiysk developed rapidly and became the capital of the Black Sea Governorate, the smallest in the Russian Empire, in 1896. From August 26, 1918 until March 27, 1920 Novorossiysk was the principal centre of Denikin's White Army and the short-lived Novorossiya Republic. Many Whites escaped from Novorossiysk to Constantinople.
