Yevpatoriya [key], city (1989 pop. 109,000), E Crimea. From 1954 part of Ukraine (then the Ukrainian SSR), it passed to Russian control in 2014 after the occupation and annexation of Crimea. Yevpatoriya is a Black Sea port, a rail hub, and a vacation and health resort. Fishing, food processing, wine making, limestone quarrying, weaving, and the manufacture of building materials, machinery, and furniture are the chief industries.
Yevpatoriya stands on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Kerkinitida, founded in the 6th cent. b.c. In the 1st cent. b.c. the area was captured by the Pontian king Mithradates VI (Mithradates Eupator), for whom the city is named. Changing hands many times, Yevpatoriya came under the control of the Turko-Tatars in the 13th cent.; they later became vassals of the Ottoman empire, which took the city in 1478. Russia annexed Yevpatoriya along with the rest of the Crimea in 1783, and during the Crimean War it was occupied (1854) by British, French, and Turkish troops. Historic landmarks include a 16th-century mosque and the ruins of the Tatar fortress (15th cent.). The name of the city is sometimes transliterated Evpatoriya or Eupatoria.
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