Türkiye has a rich Byzantine heritage; however, it is generally neglected for several reasons and is constantly threatened by unplanned urban ‘development’ in most places. Medieval Trebizond (modern Trabzon) has an essential place in the Byzantine world since it was the capital of the Empire of Trebizond, ruled by the Grand Komnenoi in the Late Medieval period (1204-1461) until the Ottomans took the city. At this time, Trebizond was a vibrant crossroads of cultural confluence where Byzantine, Latin, Caucasian, and Eastern influences converged. This convergence is reflected in the urban fabric and architectural heritage, which contains invaluable historical and cultural treasures.
Although Trabzon’s Medieval heritage has largely been lost, some of the most important buildings of the period, such as the imperial palace and fortifications, religious buildings, and public open spaces, have survived. Scholars have claimed that the city's historical urban structure may have remained from Antiquity (Bryer, 1986). Also, the city maintained its dispersed urban character during the Ottoman and Republican periods, even until the 1970s, when rapid and haphazard urbanization began.
Shoreline expansions and constructions against the preservation proposals and decisions by the Municipality of Trabzon’s urban development plan (1970) significantly changed the city’s topographical characteristics and irreversibly damaged the historic landscape. Some Byzantine buildings were deliberately demolished as late as the second half of the 20th century. In addition, top-down political decisions, alienation of the Byzantine heritage, neglect, lack of maintenance, and the passage of time threaten this unique heritage. Besides, previous research on the Byzantine heritage of Trebizond is minimal; not much has been added to the scholarship after the seminal work of Bryer and Winfield (1985). Within this context, the Byzantine stratum of Trabzon requires re-documentation, reinterpretation, and re-presentation to the public to ensure broader awareness and accessibility.
This research is part of an ongoing dissertation aiming to identify, document, and analyze the Medieval Trebizond for a better recognition and preservation of its heritage. This study investigates the medieval layer of the city through an urban archaeological approach. Within this frame, the material and literary evidence are evaluated together to unravel the town’s medieval layer and understand the core urban aspects and the cultural, religious, and urban life of that period traced into the urban structure. All components of the historical urban setting are as vital as its architectural heritage; therefore, its identification and mapping are essential for conservation and preventing further damage (ICOMOS, 1964; ICOMOS, 1987; ICOMOS, 2005; UNESCO, 2011). Charalambos Bouras’ (2002) methodological approach to studying a medieval town is embraced in this research. This includes –along with archaeological excavations– i) Unification of all the surveys into a single plan of the present situation; ii) Reconstruction of the urban tissue of different periods; iii) Identification of architectural and urban uses, with the assistance of movable finds related to production; iv) Complementary interpretation of material and literary evidence; v) Research into urban growth and its historical interpretation. Trabzon has never been the subject of planned archaeological excavations until 2021; therefore, this research mainly employs the other methods of this approach.
GIS is an optimal tool to practice this methodology. To document Trabzon’s medieval heritage, a geodatabase has been created where all the collected data from the literature, archives, and the site survey about the existing and lost medieval buildings are stored and analyzed. Obviously, to reveal the medieval layer of the city, the locations of the lost heritage places need to be determined, in addition to the existing heritage. We georeference and superimpose historical maps, survey maps created by scholars and professionals, and aerial photographs to pinpoint lost buildings and determine the medieval topography, urban structure, and land use changes over centuries, evaluating the outcome with other collected data. Crosschecking different sources is crucial as they include different information, and GIS makes this procedure easier and more accurate. This methodology also enables us to study Trabzon’s urban growth and analyze the topographical, diachronic, and even demographic changes.
With this research, we aim to obtain a comprehensive map of the medieval heritage of Trabzon and analyze the town’s urban character within the Late Medieval (Byzantine) context. Dramatic demographic changes in the last century, the eventual and significant loss of the majority of the city's Greek, Armenian, and Latin heritage, continuous negligence of the Byzantine-period heritage, and relentless urbanization seriously altered the city’s essential characteristics. Mapping the medieval city will not only help us understand its distinct aspects but also reveal the multicultural essence of the town, which continued to exist until a century ago.

References
Bouras, Charalambos. 2002. “Aspects of the Byzantine City, Eighth-Fifteenth Centuries.” In The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century, edited by Angeliki E. Laiou, translated by John Solman, 2:497–528. Washington, D.C: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.

Bryer, Anthony. 1986. “The Structure of the Late Byzantine Town: Dioikismos and the Mesoi.” In Continuity and Change in Late Byzantine and Early Ottoman Society: Papers given at a Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks in May 1982, edited by Anthony Bryer and Heath W. Lowry, 263–279. Birmingham, England: University of Birmingham, Centre for Byzantine Studies; Washington, D.C., U.S.A: The Dumbarton Oaks, Research Library and Collection.

Bryer, Anthony, and David Winfield. 1985. The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos. Vol. 1–2. Dumbarton Oaks Studies 20. Washington, D.C: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.

ICOMOS. 1964. International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of the Monuments and Sites (the Venice Charter). Venice.

ICOMOS. 1987. Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas (Washington Charter). Washington D.C.

ICOMOS. 2005. Xi’an Declaration on the Conservation of the Setting of Heritage Structures, Sites and Areas. Xi’an.

UNESCO. 2011. Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. Paris.