MARIUPOL  , a seaport of

Russia, on the north shore of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, in the government of Ekaterinoslav, 67 m . W. of Taganrog . Pop . (1900), 52,770, including the inhabitants of two suburbs, Mariinsk and Kara-su . The place is said to have been inhabited in remote times under the name of Adamakha; the present town was built only in 1779, by Greek emigrants from the Crimea . Its inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, cattle-breeding, fishing, and the manufacture of leather, agricultural implements, iron goods and bricks . In export trade Mariupol ranks next to Taganrog among the ports of the Sea of Azov; but its harbour is open to the south-east and shallow, though it is being gradually deepened by systematic dredging . The principal articles of export are cereals, with some oilcake, phosphate and coal; but the total value is only about £2,000,00o annually . The imports do not reach a quarter of a million sterling .