This article reconstructs the origins and key facts of the Greek colony of Phasis, founded on the eastern coast of the Black Sea by Greeks from Miletus. The authors analyze mythological and narrative traditions, epigraphic and archaeological data, which, when considered together, allow them to reconstruct the stages of Phasiss history within the overall geopolitical context of the Eastern Black Sea region from the 6th century BC to the 6th century AD—that is, from the beginning of Greek colonization of the Eastern Black Sea region to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, who relied on Greek cities and the local states of Colchis in his struggle against Sassanid Persia. The authors conclude that Phasis emerged and developed throughout antiquity as an independent polis, which, due to its advantageous geographical location, focused on intermediary trade and established mutually beneficial economic and political contacts with the local population. At the same time, Phasiss location in close proximity to the tribal world of Transcaucasia and the eastern states necessitated consideration of not only the economic but also the political interests of its neighbors, balancing them. At the end of the ancient world, Phasiss incorporation into the Hellenistic Kingdom of Pontus, and later its frontier position between Rome and the Parthian Empire, transformed Phasis into a Roman fortress, an important link in the chain of Roman defensive fortifications in the Caucasus. In the 5th–6th centuries AD, Phasis became an important stronghold for the Byzantine state during its wars with the Persians, while maintaining its economic advantages.
Marina Lapteva (2026) studied this question.