Pontus, the north-eastern province of Asia Minor, which took its name from the sea, Pontus Euxinus, that formed its northern frontier. On the east it was bounded by Colchis, on the south by Cappadocia and part of Armenia, and on the west by Paphlagonia and Galatia. Ptolemy and Pliny regard Pontus and Cappadocia as one province; but Strabo rightly distinguishes them, seeing that each formed a distinct government with its own ruler or prince. The family of Mithridates reigned in Pontus, and that of Ariarathes in Cappadocia. The two countries were also separated naturally from each other by the Lithrus and Ophlimus mountains. The kingdom of Pontus became celebrated under Mithridates the Great, who waged a long war with the Romans, in which he was at length defeated, and his kingdom annexed to the Roman Empire by Pompey. That Jews had settled in Pontus, previous to the time of Christ, is evident from the fact, that strangers from Pontus were among those assembled at Jerusalem at the Feast of Pentecost (). Christianity also became early known in this country, as the strangers 'in Pontus' are among those to whom Peter addressed his first epistle (). Of this province Paul's friend, Aquila, was a native (). The principal towns of Pontus were Amasia, the ancient metropolis, and the birth-place of the geographer Strabo, Themiscyra, Cerasus, and Trapezus; which last is still an important town under the name of Trebizond.
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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