In antiquity, the Gelendzhik Bay was the site of a minor Greek outpost, mentioned as
Torikos () in the
Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax. It is unknown to Hellenistic sources, but reappears in Roman ones under the name of
Pagrae in 64 BC. The colony was wiped out by the invading
Huns, which were succeeded by the
Zygii soon after. During the
Late Middle Ages, the
Genoese Republic had a notable influence on the region, while the
Ghisolfi, a Genoese-Jewish family, had a prominent role in the trade and commerce in
Gazaria. During this period the town was named
Maurolaca or
Mauro Laco, and was considered one of the most important
Genoese colonies in the Black Sea. Before Russia secured the coast by the
Treaty of Adrianople (1829), a brisk slave trade had been carried on between the mountaineers and the
Ottoman Empire. Since the
Circassian beauties were usually traded for gold and other commodities before being taken to Turkish
seraglios, the market place became known as "Gelendzhik" (from "gelincik"), literally, "little bride" in
Turkish Language. In 1831, one of the first forts of the
Black Sea Coastal Line was set up at Gelendzhik. At the outbreak of the
Crimean War the fort had to be blown up and abandoned, but it was resettled by the
Cossacks in 1864, at the conclusion of the
Russian-Circassian War, and became known as the
stanitsa of Gelendzhiksaya. Town status was granted to Gelendzhik in 1915. According to the 1926 census, the population was 45.4% Russian, 25.0% Ukrainian, and 20.7% Greek. ==Description==