Black Sea

This map frames the Black Sea-known to the Greeks as the Pontus Euxinus-as a vast inland crossroads where biblical peoples traded, migrated, and later received the gospel. Along the rugged southern coastline it plots Pontus and Bithynia, provinces Paul planned to enter before “the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them” (Acts 16:7) and where Peter would later address exiles “scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (First Peter 1:1). Moving east, the cartography traces the snow-capped ridges of Colchis and the Caucasus, homeland of Togarmah-grandson of Japheth-whose traders brought horses to the markets of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:14; Genesis 10:3). The northern shore sketches the grasslands of Scythia, echoing Jeremiah’s warning of a foe that would pour down from “the uttermost parts of the earth” (Jeremiah 6:22). Western insets shade Thrace and the Hellespont, reminding viewers that the same sea lanes Paul crossed to Philippi also carried merchants of Javan, Tubal, and Meshech (Ezekiel 27:13) generations earlier. Trade arrows in ochre sweep through the Bosporus and down the Dardanelles, showing how bronze, grain, and slaves flowed between Black Sea ports and the Levant, linking Noah’s distant descendants to Israel’s story. By coupling mountain contours, river arteries such as the Halys and Danube, and the prevailing north winds that sped ancient sails, the map helps readers visualize how the Black Sea region-often a footnote in Scripture-functioned as a bustling hinge between Europe and Asia, setting the stage for both prophetic warnings and apostolic outreach.