Black Sea
- Ancient name
- Pontus Euxinus
- Modern name
- Black Sea
- Coordinates
- 43.34, 34.09
The Black Sea appears in classical sources as Pontus Euxinus, or just Pontus; on the Sfera maps it appears as the Italianized Ponto or as Mare Maggiore, "the Greater Sea". In Dati's day Western trade with the Black Sea was mostly controlled by the Genoese and the Venetians, although the former had had the upper hand since they assisted the Palaeologan emperors to regain Constantinople in 1261. As Dati notes, the Black Sea allows navigation to as far east as you can possibly go from the Strait of Gibraltar without getting off your ship (through the Dardanelles and the Kerch Strait to the port of Tana).
The toponym Black Sea appears in La Sfera in the following places:
Click on any citation to view it in context in the edition.
Map of the location P026
Variant spellings of Black Sea in Sfera manuscripts
| Variant | Manuscripts |
|---|---|
| M. maggiore | Morg |
| M[ar]e MAGIORE | Per2 |
| M[are] DItribusonda | Par3 |
| M[are] mag[g]iore | Ricc17 |
| M[are] maggiore [?] | NYPL2 |
| M[ARE] MAGIORE | Pnc5 |
| M[are] magiore | Laur3 |
| Ma[re] magior | Cors2 |
| Ma[re] magiore | Cors2, Morg |
| Ma[re] magiori | Ricc1 |
| maggiore mare | Ricc8 |
| MAK MAGIORE | Laur3 |
| Mar maggiore | Ricc12, Ricc15 |
| mar maggiore | Pad1, Parm2, Ricc15, Tre |
| MAR MAGGIORE | Parm2 |
| Mar Maggiore | Cap1 |
| mar magi[o]re | NB |
| MAR MAGIORE | Con1 |
| Mar magiore | ME2 |
| Mar Magiore | He3 |
| Mar magore | To2 |
| Mar maior | ME2 |
| Mare de Trebisonda | Parm2 |
| MARE DI TREBISONDA | Wie1 |
| mare di trebisonda | Par1 |
| Mare ditrebisonda | MB |
| Mare maggiore | Bal, Cs1, Laur5, MB, Magl2, Pal5, Pnc3, Pnc4 |
| mare maggiore | Fn12, Laur5, Pal5 |
| Mare Maggiore | Luc2, Pad1 |
| MARE MAGGIOre | Pal6 |
| MARE MAGGIORE | Wie1 |
| MARE MAGGIORE - MARE DI TREBISONDA | Wie1 |
| mare maggiore no[...] di trebison[...] | Fn6 |
| Mare Maggore | NYPL3 |
| mare magior | Con4 |
| Mare magior | Par3 |
| mare magiore | Con1, Cs1, Fn9, ME2, Magl2, Pal8, Pnc3 |
| MARE MAGIORE | Med3, Par3, Pnc5, Ricc12 |
| Mare magiore | Con3, Con4, Marc2, Pnc3, Yale4 |
| Mare Magiore | Med1, Yale4 |
| Mare magiore cioe mari de tribisonda | Con3 |
| MARE MAGIORE ET MARE DITRIBISONDA | Med3 |
| MARE MAGOR ET MARE DITRIBVSONDA | Ashb3 |
| MARE MAGORE | Ashb3 |
| Mare Magore | Med2 |
| Mare magore | Fn9 |
| Mare maius | Clas2 |
| Mare maore | Ricc8 |
| Mare mazore | Fo |
| Mare mazure | Fo |
| mare p[er]duto | Pad1 |
| Marmag[ior]e | Pnc4 |
| Marmagiore | Parm2 |
| Marmagore | Marc1 |
| panto | Fo |
| parto | ME2 |
| pento | Ricc15 |
| po[n]to | Pad1 |
| pona | NB |
| ponto | Bal, Con4, Cs1, Fn12, Fn9, He3, Laur3, Laur5, Magl2 |
| Ponto | Con1, Marc1, Pnc4, Ricc8, To2, Yale4 |
| porto | Ricc12 |
- Suggested citation
- Beneš, Carrie. “Black Sea.” Gregorio Dati’s La sfera = The Globe: A Digital Edition, May 3, 2026. https://la-sfera-staging-a8db029690a6.herokuapp.com/toponyms/black-sea/.