Azov

Azov, a town in the south of Russia, on the left bank of the Don, 7 miles from its mouth. The sand and mud deposited by the river have choked up the port, so that its trade and shipping have dwindled away, and the inhabitants depend mostly on fish-curing. Population, 11,000. Azov was built 9 miles from the site of the ancient Greek colony of Tanaïs; and, when in the 13th century it was taken possession of by the Genoese, they altered its name to Tana. They were driven out of it by Timur (Tamerlane) in 1392. In 1471 it was taken by the Turks, and in 1696 by Peter the Great; and to Russia it was finally ceded in 1774.