Cimmerians, Tauri, Scythians
Judging by ancient written sources, at the beginning of the Iron Age the Cimmerians lived in the Crimea (information about them is extremely scarce), as well as the Tauri and Scythians, about whom we know a little more. At the same time, the ancient Greeks appeared on the northern shores of the Black Sea. Finally, archaeological sources gave grounds to distinguish the Kizilkoba culture here (Fig. 20). The presence, on the one hand, of written sources, and on the other, of archaeological sources, poses a difficult task for researchers: which group of archaeological materials should be associated with certain tribes mentioned by ancient authors? As a result of comprehensive research, Taurus and Scythian antiquities were clearly identified. The situation is worse with the Cimmerians, who were a legendary, mysterious people already in the time of Herodotus (5th century BC).
The issue with the Kizilkobin residents is also complicated. If this is one of the peoples known to ancient authors, then which one? How can we confidently reconcile the meager, often contradictory evidence of antiquity and the abundant archaeological material? Some researchers see the Kizilkobins as Cimmerians, others as early Taurians, and still others distinguish them as an independent culture. Let’s leave the “Cimmerian version” aside for now and see what grounds there were for equating the Kizilkobins with the Taurians.
It turned out that, along with monuments like Kizil-Koba, in the same years and in the same territory (mountain and foothill Crimea), Taurian burial grounds - “stone boxes” - were studied. A certain similarity was traced between the Taurus and Kizilkobin materials. Based on this, in 1926 G. A. Bonch-Osmolovsky expressed the idea that the Kizilkobin culture belongs to the Tauri. He did not specifically study the Kizilkobin culture, limiting himself to only the most general considerations, but since then the idea has been established among researchers that the Kizilkobin culture should mean the early Taurians. In the post-war period, works appeared that contained data about the Kizilkobin culture and the Taurians, considered issues of periodization, etc., but none of them aimed to fully substantiate the connection between the Kizilkobin people and the Taurians, taking into account new archaeological sources 27, 45.
True, already in the 30-40s, some scientists (V.N. Dyakov 15, 16, S.A. Semenov-Zuser 40) expressed doubts about the legitimacy of such conclusions. In 1962, after new research in the Kizilkobinsky tract (excavations were carried out by A. A. Shchepinsky and O. I. Dombrovsky), in the area of the Simferopol reservoir (A. D. Stolyar, A. A. Shchepinsky and others), near the village Druzhny, in the Tash-Dzhargan tract and near Maryino near Simferopol, in the valley of the Kacha River and other places (A.A. Shchepinsky), the author of this book came to a similar judgment, supported by massive archaeological material. 8, 47. In April 1968, at the session of the History Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the plenum of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the author made a report “On the Kizilkobin culture and Taurians in the Crimea,” in which he substantiated his point of view: the Tauri and Kizilkobin people are representatives of different cultures of the Early Iron Age. Excavations in 1969, 1970 and subsequent years showed clearly that the conclusion is correct: the Taurus and Kizilkoba monuments do not belong to different stages of the same culture, but to two independent cultures 48, 49. This forced some researchers who supported the identification of the Taurians with the Kizilkobins to reconsider their positions 23, 24.
New material gradually accumulated, excavations made it possible to clarify something, to doubt something. Therefore, in 1977, the author of this book again returned to the “Kizilkobin theme” and published a detailed argumentation of the positions he had expressed earlier: the Kizilkobins and Taurians are different tribes, although they lived in the same historical era, lived in the same neighborhood, partly even on the same territory 50.
But, of course, much remains controversial and unclear. How to correlate archaeological data, in other words, the remains of material culture, with the information about local Crimean tribes contained in the works of ancient authors? To answer this question, we will try to understand what is remarkable about each of these peoples (Cimmerians, Taurians, Scythians), what the ancient Greeks say about them and what archaeological materials testify to (Fig. 20).
Cimmerians
For the south of the European part of the USSR, these are the most ancient tribes about which we know from ancient written sources. Information about the Cimmerians is contained in Homer's "Odyssey" (IX - early VIII centuries BC), Assyrian "Cuneiform" (VIII-VII centuries BC), in Herodotus' "History" (V century BC) AD), Strabo (1st century BC - 1st century AD) and other ancient authors. From these reports it follows that the Cimmerians are the most ancient aborigines of the Northern Black Sea region and the Northwestern Caucasus. They lived here even before the arrival of the Scythians. The boundaries of their settlement are the northern shores of the Black Sea and from the mouth of the Danube to Chisinau, Kyiv, Kharkov, Novocherkassk, Krasnodar and Novorossiysk. Later, these tribes appeared in Asia Minor, and by the 6th century. BC e. leaving the historical arena.
According to a number of researchers, the name “Cimmerians” is a collective name. The Cimmerians are associated with many cultures of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages - Catacomb and Timber in the south of Ukraine, Koban in the Caucasus, Kizilkobin and Taurus in the Crimea, Hallstatt in the Danube region and others. Crimea, in particular the Kerch Peninsula, occupies a special place in resolving this issue. It is with him that the most reliable and most frequently encountered information about the Cimmerians is associated: “Cimmerian region”, “Cimmerian Bosporus”, “city of Cimmeric”, “Mount Cimmeric”, etc.
The material culture of the Cimmerians is characterized by archaeological sites of two main types - burials and settlements. Burials, as a rule, took place under small mounds in ground, often undercut, graves. The burial ceremony is on the back in an extended position or with the legs slightly bent at the knees. Settlements consisting of above-ground stone buildings for residential and commercial purposes were located on elevated areas near sources of fresh water. Household utensils are represented mainly by molded vessels - bowls, bowls, pots, etc.
Large flat-bottomed vessels for storing food with a high narrow neck, convex sides and a black or brownish-gray polished surface are distinguished. The decoration of the vessels is characterized by a low relief ridge or simple carved geometric pattern. During excavations, bone and small bronze objects are found - awls, piercings, jewelry, as well as occasionally iron objects - swords, knives, arrowheads. In Crimea, monuments of the Cimmerian period are known on the Kerch Peninsula, in the Sivash region, on Tarkhankut and in the foothills area. In the area of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains, including on the Yailas and the South Coast, there are characteristic Cimmerian monuments of the 10th-8th centuries. BC e. not found. Apparently, this is explained by the fact that at that time other tribes lived here - the Taurians.
Taurus
Regarding this people, the earliest and most complete information is provided by the “father of history” Herodotus. He visited the northern shores of the Black Sea, including Taurida, 60-70 years after the Persian king Darius I came here, so one can rely on his testimony about that time. From Herodotus’ message it follows: when Darius I went to war against the Scythians, the latter, seeing that they alone could not cope with the enemies, turned to neighboring tribes, including the Tauri, for help. The Taurus replied: “If you had not previously offended the Persians and started a war with them, then we would have considered your request correct and would have willingly helped you. However, without our help, you invaded the land of the Persians and owned it as long as the deity allowed it. Now this same deity is on their side, and the Persians want to take revenge on you in the same way. Even then we did not offend these people in any way and now we will not be the first to be at enmity with them.”
Who were the Taurians and where did they live?
Herodotus draws the southern border of their country near the city of Kerkinitis (now Evpatoria). “From here,” he writes, “comes a mountainous country, lying along the same sea. It extends into Pontus and is inhabited by tribes of the Taurians up to the so-called Rocky Chersonesos.” Strabo, who lived in the 1st century, had the same localization of the Taurus possessions. BC BC: the Taurus coast stretches from the Bay of Symbols (Balaklava) to Feodosia. Thus, according to ancient sources, the Tauri are the inhabitants of the mountainous Crimea and the Southern Coast.
The most striking monuments of the Tauri are their burial grounds made of stone boxes, usually located on hills. They are often surrounded by cromlechs or rectangular fences. Mound embankments are not typical for them, but bedding or coverings made of stone with earth are well known. Burials (single or collective) were made on the back (earlier) or on the side (later) with legs tightly tucked in, the head usually facing east, north-east, north.
The inventory of Taurus burials is molded ceramics, simple and polished, sometimes with relief ridges, very rarely with simple carved ornaments. During excavations, items made of stone, bone, bronze, and, less commonly, iron are also found (Fig. 19).
Judging by archaeological excavations, supported by written sources, the period of residence of this people is approximately from the 10th-9th centuries. BC e. to the 3rd century BC e., and possibly later - until the early Middle Ages.
We divide the history of the Tauri into three periods.
Taurus of the early, pre-antique period (end of the 10th - first half of the 5th century BC). This stage of their history is characterized by the disintegration of the tribal system. The basis of the economy was cattle breeding and agriculture (obviously, mainly hoeing). All products received from these sectors of the economy went to the internal needs of society. A comprehensive study of the known Taurus monuments, as well as numerous calculations based on them, give reason to believe that the number of Tauris in this period hardly exceeded 5-6 thousand people.
Taurus of the developed, ancient period (second half of the 5th-3rd centuries BC). At this time there is a transition from tribe to class society. In addition to the widespread introduction of metal (bronze and iron), there was also a significant increase in labor productivity, the establishment of close trade contacts (exchange) with the surrounding peoples - the Scythians and, in particular, the Greeks. Hence the abundance of imported items found during excavations. The basis of the economy of the developed period was the breeding of large and small cattle, and, to a lesser extent, agriculture (obviously, because part of the Tauri’s possessions suitable for farming were occupied by tribes of the Kizilkoba culture, pressed from the north by the Scythians). The Taurus population at that time was 15-20 thousand people.
Taurus late period(2nd century BC - 5th century AD) have been almost unstudied archaeologically. It is known that in the 1st century. BC e. they, together with the Scythians, become allies of Mithridates in the fight against Rome. The turn and the first centuries of our era, apparently, should be considered as the agony of the Taurus world. Archaeological monuments of this period in the mountainous Crimea can be called Tauro-Scythian, and the population - Tauro-Scythians. After the early medieval invasion of the Goths and then the Huns, the Tauri were no longer known as an independent people.
Scythians
Ancient written sources report about them under this name, but they themselves called themselves Skolots. In the Northern Black Sea region, including Crimea, these warlike nomadic tribes appeared in the 7th century. BC e. Having ousted the Cimmerians, the Scythians first penetrated the Kerch Peninsula and the lowland Crimea, and then into its foothills. In the second half of the 4th century. BC e. they seep into the ancestral Taurus and Kizilkobin lands and, having switched to a sedentary lifestyle, create in the 3rd century. BC e. a fairly large state entity with the capital Naples (now the territory of Simferopol).
The Scythian monuments are numerous and varied: fortifications, shelters, settlements, burial structures (initially mounds, later extensive moundless necropolises with ground graves). Burials are characterized by an extended burial ritual. The accompanying inventory of the mounds includes molded unornamented vessels, weapons (bronze, iron or bone arrowheads, short swords - akinaki, spears, knives, scaly shells). Bronze objects and jewelry made in the so-called Scythian “animal style” are often found.
These are the main, leading features of the Cimmerian, Taurian and Scythian tribes who lived in the Crimea at the same time as the tribes of the Kizilkobin culture, the existence of which we know from archaeological sources.
Now let's compare the data. Let's start with the Kizilkobins and Taurians, first of all with their dishes, the most typical and widespread equipment of archaeological sites of this time. A comparison (see Fig. 18 and Fig. 19) eloquently suggests that the Kizilkoba dishes are significantly different from the Taurus ones. In the first case, it is often decorated with a typical for this culture ornament of carved or grooved lines combined with indentations; in the second, it is usually not ornamented.
This indisputable archaeological fact seemed unconvincing until the mid-60s. More evidence was needed. In addition, the scientific material was missing very important links. Indeed, the irony of fate: the source of knowledge about the Taurians is burial grounds (no settlements!), and about the Kizilkobins - settlements (no burial grounds!). Excavations over the past fifteen years have largely clarified the picture. It was established, for example, that in the foothills, mountainous Crimea and on the southern coast there are many settlements where molded unornamented ceramics of the 8th-3rd centuries were found. BC e., completely similar to the ceramics from the Taurus stone boxes.
It was possible to resolve another puzzling question - about the Kizilkobin burials. Excavations in the valley of the Salgir River, first in 1954 in the area of the Simferopol reservoir (under the leadership of P. N. Shultz and A. D. Stolyar), and then in the Simferopol suburbs of Maryino and Ukrainka, in the upper reaches of Maly Salgir, in the middle reaches of the Alma and others places (under the leadership of A.A. Shchepinsky - Ed.) showed that the Kizilkobin people buried their dead in small mounds - earthen or made of small stone. Main and secondary (inlet) graves are known, often they are undercut - with stone side burials. In plan, the grave has an elongated oval shape, sometimes with a slight expansion in the head area. Burials - single or paired - were made in an extended (occasionally slightly flexed) position on the back, with arms along the body. The predominant orientation is Western. Funeral inventory - molded ornamented pots, bowls, cups of the Kizilkobin appearance, bronze arrowheads, iron swords, knives, as well as various decorations, lead spindle whorls, bronze mirrors, etc. Most of this kind of burials belong to the VII-V and IV - beginning III centuries BC e., and their range is quite wide: the mountainous and foothill parts of the peninsula, northern, northwestern and southwestern Crimea, the Kerch Peninsula.
An interesting touch: Kizilkoba ceramics are also found during excavations of the ancient settlements of Nymphaeum, Panticapaeum, Tiritaki, Myrmekia. This is on the Kerch Peninsula. The same picture is at the opposite end of Crimea - on the Tarkhankut Peninsula: Kizilkobin ceramics were discovered during excavations of the ancient settlements "Chaika", Kerkinitida, Chegoltai (Masliny), near the village of Chernomorskoye, near the villages of Severnoye and Popovka.
What are the conclusions from all this? Firstly, the geometric ornament of ceramics - the most expressive sign of the Kizilkobin culture - is clearly not Taurian. Secondly, in Crimea there are burials made in the “Taurian time”, which, in all leading features (type of structure, grave design, funeral rite, orientation of the buried, ceramics) differ from burials in Taurian stone boxes. Thirdly, the distribution area of settlements and burials goes far beyond the boundaries of the original Taurica - the possessions of the Tauri. And, finally, in the same area where Taurus stone boxes were discovered, settlements with ceramics similar to Taurus in appearance are now known.
In a word, all the arguments and conclusions can be reduced to one thing: the Kizilkobins and Taurians are not the same thing, and there is no reason to bring them closer (let alone put an equal sign between them).
The hypothesis that the burials under the burial mounds with Kizilkobin ceramics belong to the early Scythians also does not find confirmation. In Crimea, the earliest Scythian burials appear, judging by excavations, at the end of the 7th century. BC e. on the Kerch Peninsula, and in the foothills of Crimea - only two or three centuries later. Their inventory is also specific, primarily items in the “animal style” characteristic of the Scythians. Back in 1954, archaeologist T.N. Troitskaya perspicaciously noted that in early Scythian times “in the territory of the foothill, mountain and, probably, steppe parts of Crimea, the main population were local tribes, bearers of the Kizilkobin culture.”
So, in the Early Iron Age (V-III centuries BC) three main cultures were widespread in Crimea - Taurus, Kizilkobin and Scythian (Fig. 21). Each of them has its own distinct cultural and historical characteristics, its own type of settlements, burials, ceramics, etc.
The question of the origin and formation of the Taurus and Kizilkobin cultures also deserves attention. Some researchers believe that the basis of the Taurus culture is the culture of the Late Bronze Age of the Central and North Caucasus, in particular, the so-called Koban; According to others, the Tauri culture has one of its material sources in the Bronze Age stone boxes under the mounds, which are now commonly associated with the Kemiobin culture. One way or another, the roots of the Taurus, as well as the Kizilkobin, come from the depths of the Bronze Age. But if in the Kemiobins one can see the ancestors of the Tauri, pushed aside by steppe newcomers into the mountainous regions of the Crimea, then the Kizilkobins most likely descend from the bearers of the late Catacomb culture (named after the type of burials - catacombs). In the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. these tribes begin to penetrate into the foothills and mountains of Crimea and the southern coast; It is in them that many researchers see the ancient Cimmerians.
Both researchers and readers always strive to get to the bottom of the primary sources: what happened before? and how is this confirmed? Therefore, we will tell you in more detail about the problem of ethnogenesis, i.e., the origin of tribes, revealing all the difficulties that stand in the way of the truth.
The reader already knows: the distant ancestors of the Taurians are most likely the Kemiobins, pushed back by steppe newcomers to the mountainous regions of Crimea. The proof is the signs common to both cultures, Kemiobin and Taurus. Let's call these signs:
megalithic tradition, in other words - the presence of massive stone structures (cromlechs, fences, menhirs, deposits, “stone boxes”);
design of burial structures: “stone boxes”, often trapezoidal in longitudinal and transverse section, pebble backing, etc.;
burial rite: on the back or side with legs bent at the knees;
orientation of the buried person according to the cardinal directions: eastern or northeastern predominates;
collective, apparently ancestral tombs and corpse burnings;
character of the ceramics: molded, polished, unornamented, sometimes with relief ridges (Fig. 22).
Who were the steppe aliens who pushed the Kemiobins into the mountains? Most likely, tribes of the Catacomb culture. However, we must keep in mind that this culture is far from homogeneous. According to the burial ritual and grave goods, three types of burials are clearly distinguished: on the back with the legs bent at the knees, on the back in an extended position, and on the side in a strongly bent position. All of them were committed under the mounds, in the so-called catacombs. Burials of the first type with bent legs are accompanied by unornamented or weakly ornamented vessels, of the second - elongated type - on the contrary, richly ornamented, and of the third - crooked type - with rough vessels or completely devoid of grave goods.
Catacomb elements are most clearly preserved in elongated burials, which can be traced to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In them, obviously, one should see the proto-Cimmerians - the ancestors of the Kizilkobins.
The fact that the late Catacomb tribes took the most active part in the formation of the Kizilkobin tribes can be judged by the following features common to the Catacombs and Kizilkobins:
the presence of mounds and burial grounds;
the design of grave-catacombs among the catacombs and under-catacombs among the Kizilkobins;
burial ceremony in an extended position on the back;
similar forms of molded vessels;
the presence of ceramics with a similar ornamental motif;
similarity of tools - diamond-shaped stone hammers (Fig. 23).
There is one flaw in this historical reconstruction: between the Kemiobins and Tauris, on the one hand, and the tribes of the Catacomb and Kizilkobin cultures, on the other, there is a time gap of approximately 300-500 years. Of course, there can be no breaks or interruptions in history; there is insufficient knowledge here.
Considering the “silent period” (this is the second half of the 2nd millennium BC), it is permissible to assume that the age of the latest Kemiobin and catacomb monuments is somewhat older by archaeologists, while individual Taurus and Kizilkobin monuments, on the contrary, are rejuvenated. Special studies have shown that those materials that archaeologically date back to the 9th-6th centuries. BC e., according to the radiocarbon method, are determined as XII-VIII centuries. BC e., i.e. 200-300 years older. It should also be taken into account that it was in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In the mounds of the Crimea, as well as throughout the south of Ukraine, small stone boxes appear, similar in design and inventory, on the one hand, to the Kemiobin, and on the other, to the Early Taurian. It is possible that they fill the missing link.
Finally, several archaeological cultures are associated with the same “silent period” in Crimea - the so-called multi-roller ceramics (1600-1400 BC), early Timber (1500-1400 BC) and late Timber, in the materials of which highlight monuments of the Sabatinovsky (1400-1150 BC) and Belozersky (1150-900 BC) types. In our opinion, the most convincing point of view is that of those researchers who believe that the Sabatinovskaya culture is formed on the basis of the culture of multi-roll ceramics and that its bearers were part of the Cimmerian tribal union.
It is difficult to speak about that distant time with complete confidence: it was like this or that. I have to add: perhaps, apparently. In any case, the formation and development of the Kizilkobin and Taurus cultures went (apparently!) on two parallel paths. One of them presumably ran along the line “Kemiobins - Tauris”, the other along the line “Late Catacomb culture - Cimmerians - Kizilkobins”.
As the reader already knows, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. The Cimmerians inhabited the lowland Crimea and, mainly, the Kerch Peninsula. The Tauri lived in the foothills, mountains and on the southern coast at that time. However, in the 7th century. BC e. The situation has changed - Scythian nomads appear in the Crimean steppes, and in the southern and mountainous parts of the peninsula the number of Kizilkobins increases. These are the archaeological data. They are quite consistent with the legend conveyed by Herodotus: “The nomadic tribes of the Scythians lived in Asia. When the Massagetae (also nomads - Ed.) drove them out of there by military force, the Scythians crossed the Araks and arrived in the Cimmerian land (the country now inhabited by the Scythians, as they say , since ancient times belonged to the Cimmerians). With the approach of the Scythians, the Cimmerians began to hold a council on what to do in the face of a large enemy army. Opinions were divided - the people were in favor of retreat, but the kings considered it necessary to defend the land from the invaders. Having made such a decision (or rather, two opposing decisions. - Ed.), the Cimmerians divided into two equal parts and began to fight among themselves. The Cimmerian people buried all those who died in the fratricidal war near the Tyrsus River. After this, the Cimmerians left their land, and the Scythians who came took possession of the deserted country."
It is quite possible that part of these Cimmerians who “left their land” moved to the mountainous Crimea and settled among the Taurus tribes, laying the foundation for a culture that we call conventionally “Kizilkobin”. Perhaps it was precisely this migration of the later Cimmerians that was reflected in Strabo, in his message that in the mountainous country of the Tauri there is Mount Stolovaya and Mount Cimmeric. Be that as it may, there is a point of view shared by many researchers: the Kizilkobins are the late Cimmerians. Or, according to another assumption (in our opinion, more correct), the Kizilkobins are one of the local groups of the late Cimmerians.
It would seem that we can put an end to this. But it's too early. As academician B. A. Rybakov noted back in 1952: “Not a single historical phenomenon in Crimea can be considered in isolation, without connection with the fate of not only the Northern Black Sea region, but the entire Eastern Europe. The history of Crimea is an integral and important part of the history of Eastern Europe" 37, 33.
Traces of the Kizilkobin tribes are not limited to Crimea either. Research has shown that similar monuments, but with their own local features, are also known outside of Crimea. Typical Kizilkobin ceramics on the territory of mainland Ukraine were discovered in the oldest layer of Olbia, on the island of Berezan, near the village of Bolshaya Chernomorka, Nikolaev region, at the Scythian settlement of Kamensky in the Lower Dnieper region.
Burials of the Kizilkoba type are also known here. One of them was discovered in a mound near the village of Chaplinka in the south of the Kherson region, the other - in a mound near the village of Pervokonstantinovka in the same region. Of particular interest is the fact that in the North-Western Black Sea region there are burials of the 8th - early 7th centuries. BC e. (and there are quite a lot of them), similar to those in Kizilkobin: catacombs and ground graves, burials in an elongated position with a predominant western orientation, ceramics with carved geometric patterns.
Cimmerian burials in catacombs and underground burial structures, completely similar to those in Kizilkobin, are now known in the vast territory of the south of our country - in the Odessa, Nikolaev, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Volgograd regions, in the Stavropol Territory, as well as in the Astrakhan and Saratov regions. The territory of distribution of monuments of this kind coincides with the area of distribution of the Catacomb culture. There are numerous analogues of Kizilkoba ceramics in the North Caucasus. These are finds from the upper layer of the Alkhastinsky settlement in the Assinsky gorge, from the Aivazovsky settlement on the Sushka River, and especially from the Zmeiny settlement. Similar ceramics are found in North Caucasian burial grounds. Consequently, as P.N. Shultz wrote in 1952, the Kizilkobin culture does not represent an isolated phenomenon; it has close analogues in a number of elements both in the North Caucasus and in the south of mainland Ukraine (Fig. 24).
It should not be confusing that in certain manifestations of the Kizilkoba culture there are Early Scythian or Taurian elements, or, on the contrary, in the latter - Kizilkoba. This is explained by the surrounding historical situation, in which contacts with the tribes of neighboring cultures are inevitable - the Scythians, Sauromatians, Taurians, and Greeks. One can name a number of cases where the Kizilkobin and Taurus monuments are located in close proximity to each other. There are several such monuments in the area of the Red Caves, including a large settlement in the Zolotoe Yarmo tract on Dolgorukovskaya Yaila. Here, in a small area in one layer (thickness 15 cm), archaeological materials of the Neolithic, Taurus and Kizilkoba appearance lie; Here nearby are the “stone boxes” of the Taurians and the Kizilkobin burial ground. Such a saturation of this section of the yayla with monuments of the Early Iron Age leaves no doubt that at a certain stage the Kizilkobin and Taurus tribes coexisted.
A complex archaeological complex of the Early Iron Age was discovered in 1950 and explored by us in the Tash-Dzhargan tract near Simferopol. And again the same picture - the Taurus and Kizilkobin settlements are nearby. Adjacent to the first of them is a burial ground of Taurus “stone boxes”, near the second there was once a burial ground of small mounds, the burials under them were accompanied by Kizilkobin ceramics.
Close proximity can easily explain the case when individual elements typical of the Kizilkobin culture are found on Taurus monuments, and vice versa. This may also indicate something else - peaceful relations between the tribes.
Outside the Northern Black Sea region, the Sauromats of the Don and Trans-Volga regions are closest to the Kizilkobins: a similar grave design, the same western orientation of the buried, a similar type of ornament of the dishes. Most likely, there are some connections between the Sauromatians and the Cimmerians.
Material from the Red Caves and numerous analogues outside them confirm the opinion of those researchers who consider the Cimmerians as a complex phenomenon - a kind of conglomerate of many local pre-Scythian tribes. Obviously, at the dawn of the Early Iron Age, these tribes - the aborigines of the Northern Black Sea region - formed a single Cimmerian cultural and historical region.
In the conditions of the Crimean Peninsula, with its certain geographical isolation, the Cimmerians preserved their traditions longer than in other areas of the Northern Black Sea region. True, in different parts Their fate in Crimea was different. In the steppe regions, the remnants of the disunited Cimmerian tribes (i.e., the Kizilkobins) were forced to enter into close contacts with the Scythians and ancient Greek settlers. They soon assimilated into their environment, which is confirmed by materials from the ancient settlements of Tarkhankut and the Kerch Peninsula.
The late Cimmerian (Kizilkobin) tribes of the mountainous Crimea had a different fate. The Scythians, these typical steppe dwellers, were not attracted to mountainous areas. The Greeks did not want to come here either. The bulk of the population consisted of aboriginal Taurus tribes and, to a much lesser extent, Cimmerian tribes. Consequently, when the lowland part of Crimea began to be occupied by the nomadic Scythians, the Cimmerians (aka Kizilkobins) who retreated under their onslaught found favorable soil here in the mountains. Although these tribes came into close contact with the Tauri, they nevertheless retained their traditions and, obviously, a certain independence for a long time.
Ancient peoples in Crimea - Cimmerians, Taurians and Scythians
29.02.2012
CIMMERIANS
Cimmerian the tribes occupied the lands from the Dniester to the Don, part of the northern Crimea, the Taman and Kerch peninsulas. The city of Cimmeric was located on the Kerch Peninsula. These tribes were engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture; tools and weapons were made of bronze and iron. The Cimmerian kings with military detachments carried out military campaigns against neighboring camps. They captured prisoners for slavery. 
In the 7th century BC Cimmeria collapsed under the onslaught of the more powerful and numerous Scythians. Some Cimmerians went to other lands and dissolved among the peoples of Asia Minor and Persia, some became related to the Scythians and remained in Crimea. There is no clear idea of the origin of these people, but based on studies of the language of the Cimmerians, their Indo-Iranian origin is assumed. 
BRANDS
Name brands given to the people by the Greeks, presumably in connection with a sacrifice to the Virgin, the supreme goddess of the ancient Crimean settlement. The foot of the main altar of the Virgin, located on Cape Fiolent, was framed by the blood of not only bulls (Taurs), but also people, as ancient authors write: “The Taurians are a numerous people and love a nomadic life in the mountains. In their cruelty they are barbarians and murderers, appeasing their gods with dishonest deeds.”
Taurus were the first to sculpt in Crimea human sculptures, monumental works of art. These figures were erected on the tops of mounds, surrounded at the base by stone fences. 
The Taurus lived in tribes, which later probably united into tribal unions. They were engaged in shepherding, farming and hunting, and the coastal Tauri were also engaged in fishing and sailing. Sometimes they attacked foreign ships - most often Greek. The Tauri did not have slavery, so they killed captives or used them for sacrifice. They were familiar with crafts: pottery, weaving, spinning, bronze casting, making products from bone and stone.
Possessing all the advantages of the local inhabitants, accustomed to the Crimean conditions, the Tauri often made daring forays, attacking the grisons of new fortresses. This is how Ovid describes the everyday life of one of these fortresses: “The sentry from the watchtower will give an alarm signal, we immediately put on our armor with a trembling hand. A fierce enemy, armed with a bow and poison-filled arrows, inspects the walls on a heavily breathing horse and, like a predatory wolf carries and drags through pastures and forests a sheep that has not yet made it into the sheepfold, so a hostile barbarian captures anyone he finds in the fields who has not yet been accepted by the fence gate He is either taken prisoner with a block on his neck, or dies from a poisonous arrow.” And it was not for nothing that the entire chain of Roman defense was facing the mountains - danger threatened from there.
They often fought with their northern neighbor - the Scythians, developing a unique tactic: the Tauri, when starting a war, always dug up roads in the rear and, having made them impassable, entered into battle. They did this so that, not being able to escape, they had to either win or die. The Tauri buried those who died in the field in stone boxes made of slabs weighing several tons.
SCYTHIANS
To Crimea Scythians penetrated approximately in the 7th century. BC These were people of 30 tribes who spoke seven dissimilar languages. 
Studies of coins with images of Scythians and other objects of that time show that they had thick hair, open, erect eyes, a high forehead, and a narrow and straight nose.
The Scythians quickly appreciated the fertile climate and fertile soil of the peninsula. They developed almost the entire territory of Crimea, except for the waterless steppes, for agriculture and pastoralism. The Scythians raised sheep, pigs, bees, and remained attached to cattle breeding. In addition, the Scythians traded in their grain, wool, honey, wax, and flax.
Oddly enough, the former nomads mastered navigation so skillfully that in that era the Black Sea was called the Scythian Sea.
They brought overseas wines, fabrics, jewelry and other art objects from other countries. The Scythian population was divided into farmers, warriors, merchants, sailors and artisans of various specialties: potters, stonemasons, builders, tanners, foundry workers, blacksmiths, etc.
A unique monument was made - a bronze cauldron, the thickness of which was 6 fingers, and the capacity was 600 amphorae (about 24 thousand liters).
The capital of the Scythians in Crimea was Naples(Greek " new city"). The Scythian name of the city has not been preserved. The walls of Naples at that time reached an enormous thickness - 8-12 meters - and the same height.
Scythia did not know priests - only fortunetellers who did without temples. The Scythians deified the Sun, Moon, stars, natural phenomena - rain, thunder, lightning, and held holidays in honor of the earth and livestock. On high mounds they installed tall statues- “women” as monuments to all their ancestors. 
The Scythian state collapsed in the 3rd century. BC under the blows of another warlike people - the Sarmatians.
Alluring, mysterious, warm Crimea is a place to which you want to return again and again. Unlike guests of the peninsula, local residents are already accustomed to the azure sea and majestic mountains that surround them every day. The picturesque landscapes constantly attracted more and more new residents. This led to the population of Crimea tripling over ninety years. A variety of ethnic groups live here. The local population is represented by Crimean Tatars, Poles, Russians, Jews, Greeks, Crimeans and others.
Population of Crimea
As of January 1, 2017, the permanent population of Crimea is 2,340,778 people. Of these, 1,912,079 residents live in the Republic of Crimea and 428,699 in Sevastopol. The large population of Crimea allowed the republic to take twenty-seventh place in the ranking of subjects of the Russian Federation. According to 1926 data, only 713,823 people lived in the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol.
Ninety years of active migration of people from Ukraine, India, Israel, Uzbekistan and other countries have led to a colossal increase in the number of residents of the republic. The population of Crimea by year shows that it was maximally populated in 1989. Then its number was 2,458,655 people.
The population of Crimea has had very serious ups and downs over the years. Thus, in connection with the Great Patriotic War, the number of residents of the republic was halved. In 1939, 1,126,429 people lived here, and six years later, in 1945, there were only 610,000 inhabitants.
Ethnic composition
The dynamically growing population of Crimea throughout history has a continuous connection with the arrival of new ethnic groups in the republic. The ethnic history of Crimea is many times richer than the Soviet or any other. Four thousand years of existence of the peninsula made it a haven for the Cimmerians, Scythians, Greeks, Karaites, Pechenegs, Venetians and others. Initially, the main population of the Republic of Crimea consisted of Crimean Tatars.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century they were supplanted by the Russians, who took first place, and the Ukrainians, who gained a foothold in second position. During World War II, the peninsula was occupied by the Germans for some time, and as a result, this period was characterized by a decrease in the number of Jews. After the Second World War, Armenians, Greeks and Bulgarians suddenly moved to Crimea.
Population of Crimean cities by ethnic composition
- Armenians - Sevastopol, Yalta, Simferopol, Evpatoria, Feodosia.
- Bulgarians - Simferopol, Koktebel.
- Eastern Slavs - Kerch, Evpatoria, Simferopol, Feodosia, Yalta, Alushta.
- Greeks - Simferopol, Kerch, Yalta.
- Jews - Simferopol, Sevastopol, Kerch, Yalta, Feodosia, Evpatoria.
- Karaites - Old Crimea, Feodosia, Evpatoria.
- Krymchaks - Karasubazar and Simferopol, Feodosia, Sevastopol, Kerch.
In Simferopol (Crimea), the population included almost all nationalities existing in the republic.
Crimean Greeks
Greek settlers settled on the Crimean peninsula twenty-seven centuries ago. The population belonging to this ethnic group was divided into Crimean Greeks and Greeks who arrived from Greece at the end of the eighteenth century.
First Greek colonies were created in the format of the Bosporus State and the Chersonese Republic. Modern Crimean Greeks are descendants of the Greek battalion, which participated in Crimean War and remained by order of Potemkin to guard Crimea. Population of this type settled in Balaklava and other villages nearby. Within the framework of the ethnographic history of the republic, the formed nationality is called Arnauts or Balaklava Greeks.
Approximately thirteen thousand Greeks migrated to Crimea during World War II from Turkey through the Caucasus. The reason for their flight was the genocide unleashed by fanatical Muslims. The bulk of the Greeks who came to Crimea were uneducated and had social status no higher than a craftsman or merchant. Having settled in the new territory, the Crimean Greeks began to engage in gardening, fishing, trade, and they also successfully grew grapes and tobacco. Crimean Greeks are still considered one of the most numerous ethnic groups peninsula, since their number is seventy-seven thousand people.
Crimean Armenians
Armenians became full-fledged residents of Crimea a thousand years ago. It is repeatedly mentioned in history that the most original and, of course, very important center of Armenian culture is Crimea. The population of the Armenian ethnic group appeared here along with a certain Vardan. In seven hundred and eleven, this Armenian was declared emperor of Byzantium when he was in the territory of Crimea. The peak of settlement of the peninsula by Armenians occurred at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Crimea during this period was called “maritime Armenia”. The areas of activity of Crimean Armenians are: trade, construction, financial activities.
The sharp decline in the number of the Armenian ethnic group in Crimea dates back to 1475. The reason for the change in the population structure was the Turks who came to power. They destroyed Armenians and took them into slavery. A new wave of growth of the Armenian population occurred in the eighteenth century, when they were given official permission to return to Crimea. The population of Armenian origin greatly decreased during the Civil War. If during the October Revolution there were seventeen thousand Armenians in Crimea, then by the end of the twentieth there were only five thousand left.
Karaites
Karaites descended from the Turkic people. The only thing that distinguishes them from their progenitor is their religion - Judaism. For the first time in historical chronicles the Karaites were mentioned in 1278. But despite this fact, it is believed that they settled on the peninsula several centuries earlier. Throughout its existence, the Karaite ethnic group never stood out among local residents. The turning point in the life of this nationality was the moment of the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire. Then the Karaites had the opportunity to buy land, not pay a number of tax duties and enlist in the army voluntarily. Until 1914, the Karaites were a very prosperous people. Eight thousand people lived in Crimea.
Wars, repressions, and famine in the following years led to a sharp reduction in the number and standard of living of this nation. Today, about eight hundred Karaites live in Crimea.
Krymchaks
Krymchaks are a people who follow Talmudic Judaism and speak a language close to the Crimean Tatar. They appeared on the territory of Crimea even before our era. In the eighteenth century, only eight hundred Crimeans lived on the Crimean peninsula. The population of this ethnic group reached its maximum in 1912 and amounted to seven and a half thousand people. Today this ethnic group is on the verge of extinction. These people were never rich and did not know how to express themselves in politics and trade.
Jews
For the Jews, the peninsula was a fairly fertile territory, so they populated it very actively. In 1897 their number was more than twenty-four thousand people. At the time of the revolution in Crimea, there were already twice as many Jews. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there was even a project to create a Jewish republic on the peninsula. Its implementation began in 1924, but was not crowned with the expected success. A particular blow to Crimean Jews occurred during the Great Patriotic War. All non-evacuated Jews were killed by the Nazi occupation. At the end of the twentieth century, twenty-five thousand Jews lived on the peninsula. Many of them later emigrated to Israel.
Crimean Tatars
The first Mongol-Tatar invasion of Crimea dates back to 1223. At the end of the fourteenth century, the entire peninsula was inhabited by a people who called themselves Crimeans, while the Russians called them Tatars. The inhabitants of Crimea themselves came to this name only after becoming part of Russia.
The Tatars were a significant people of Crimea until the annexation of the peninsula to Russia. Since then the number Tatar ethnic group did not decrease much, but a lot of Russians arrived on the territory of Crimea. The Tatar people ceased to be the most numerous on the peninsula. Many Tatars emigrated to Turkey after the Crimean War.
The fate of the Crimean Tatars was especially dramatic during the Great Patriotic War. They fought bravely in the ranks Soviet army, many of them died in battle, while some were burned by the Nazis. Some Tatars went over to the enemy's side and turned out to be traitors. In connection with this, in 1944, almost two hundred thousand Tatars were deported from the country. They began returning to Crimea in 1989 and have since made up twelve percent of the peninsula’s population.
Other nationalities
In addition to the nationalities presented above, many representatives of other large ethnic groups live in Crimea. Since the end of the eighteenth century, Crimea began to be settled by Bulgarians, of whom there are now no more than two thousand people.
The first Poles settled on the peninsula at the end of the seventeenth century. Their mass migration to the peninsula dates back to the sixties of the nineteenth century. They were never trusted by local residents, and therefore they were not provided with benefits and the opportunity to settle separately. Now there are no more than seven thousand of them in Crimea.
Unique geographical location and the amazing nature of the Crimean peninsula allowed it to become home to many peoples who succeeded each other or were neighbors throughout human history. Farmers found fertile lands here, nomadic pastoralists found vast mountain and lowland pastures, merchants and merchants were attracted by convenient sea harbors at the intersection of great trade routes. Therefore, the national composition Crimean population almost always was - and still remains - colorful.
First inhabitants
The most ancient sites primitive people, discovered by archaeologists on the peninsula, belong to the Early Paleolithic, their age is about 300 thousand years.
The first people to inhabit Crimea, whose name was preserved in Assyrian, Greek and Jewish chronicles, were the Cimmerians - tribes of Indo-European origin who came to Crimea, apparently from the steppes, about five thousand years ago. This warlike people is referred to in the Bible as the “people of Gomer.” From its name, according to some versions, came the Georgian word “gmiri” - “hero”, and the Russian “idol”.
The Cimmerians inhabited mainly the valleys, and the Taurian tribes lived in the mountains at that time. Their ethnicity is unclear: probably this Greek name was a collective name for a group of different, possibly unrelated tribes, some of whom were descendants of the primitive people who inhabited the Crimea since the Early Paleolithic, and some of whom were newcomers from other places.
The first reliable archaeological evidence indicating the development of the steppe part of Crimea by Scythian nomads dates back to the 7th century BC. Representatives of the Caucasian race (their language belonged to the group Indo-European languages), the Scythians dominated Asia and Europe for several hundred years, but then were defeated and expelled from part of their lands. By the beginning of our era, the Scythians almost completely mixed with the Taurian tribes, and the people began to be called “Tauroscythians.”
Greeks and Romans
Civilization in Crimea in the 8th-6th centuries BC. brought by the Hellenes (Greeks) - impoverished, landless, wandering across the sea younger sons aristocrats. They founded city-polises: Panticapaeum and Tiritaka, Chersonesos Tauride, Kerkinitida (now Kerch, Sevastopol, Evpatoria, respectively), Feodosia - this city retained its Greek name.
About 300 years before the beginning of the new era, the Scythian settlements were swept away by the Sarmatian invasion from the east. Unfortified Greek villages were apparently also destroyed, leaving only fortified cities. The Greeks who live in Crimea today do not descend from the first Greek colonizers, they are predominantly descendants of the soldiers of the Greek battalion that participated in the Crimean War and then settled near Balaklava.
In the first century BC. Crimea is captured by the Romans and Thracians, and it becomes the eastern outskirts of the Roman Empire. The Romans built the fortresses of Aluston and Gurzuvit (today's Alushta and Gurzuf). In the 5th century, Crimea was “inherited” from the Eastern Roman Empire to Byzantium.
Middle Ages
During the early Middle Ages, the Crimea was simultaneously or alternately inhabited by the Goths, Huns, Khazars, Pechenegs, Jews (who gave rise to the Karaites and Crimeans), and many other peoples; during the same period, the Slavs briefly appeared here for the first time.
In the XII-XV centuries, Crimea was explored by Italian merchants - Genoese, Pisans, Venetians. Their contribution to the formation of the ethnic composition of the population of the peninsula turned out to be very significant: Crimeans still have Italian surnames.
Turkic peoples
IN beginning of XII I century, Crimea is captured by the army of Genghis Khan, and it becomes an ulus of the Golden Horde. Then, from 1475, after the fall of the Tatar-Mongol state, the Crimean Khanate became subordinate Ottoman Empire. The main population of Crimea during this period was Turkic; it was then that the Crimean Tatar ethnic group was formed from the descendants of the Pechenegs, Polovtsians, Tatars, and Khazars, which for a long time - more than three centuries - was the most numerous on the peninsula.
Slavs
After the peninsula entered in 1783 Russian Empire Most of the Tatars and Turks leave the peninsula, moving to Turkey, and Crimea is increasingly populated by Slavs, mainly Russians and Ukrainians. Around the same time, the number of Ashkenazi Jews began to increase. The ethnic composition is increasingly approaching the modern one.
Today, representatives of 125 peoples live in Crimea, of which 70 are considered the main ones: that is, at least one family of this nationality lives in both rural and urban areas - at least one man and one woman - and at least 5% of representatives of this ethnic group believe his native language.
The most numerous people are Russians (58% of the population), followed by Ukrainians (24%), Crimean Tatars (12%), Belarusians (about 1.5%). Less than 1% of the population - but quite large groups - are Tatars, Armenians, Jews, Moldovans, Poles, Azerbaijanis.
Thus, Crimea has always been and remains multinational. And no matter how difficult the relations between some peoples sometimes may be, there should be enough space for everyone on this small peninsula.
The fertile climate, picturesque and generous nature of Taurida create almost ideal conditions for human existence. People have inhabited these lands for a long time, so the eventful history of Crimea, dating back centuries, is extremely interesting. Who owned the peninsula and when? Let's find out!
History of Crimea since ancient times
Numerous historical artifacts found by archaeologists here suggest that the ancestors of modern man began to inhabit fertile lands almost 100 thousand years ago. This is evidenced by the remains of Paleolithic and Mesolithic cultures discovered in the site and Murzak-Koba.
At the beginning of the 12th century BC. e. Tribes of Indo-European nomads, the Cimmerians, appeared on the peninsula, whom ancient historians considered the first people who tried to create the beginnings of some semblance of statehood.
At the dawn of the Bronze Age, they were forced out of the steppe regions by the warlike Scythians, moving closer to sea coast. The foothill areas and the southern coast were then inhabited by Tauris, who, according to some sources, came from the Caucasus, and in the north-west of the unique region they settled Slavic tribes who migrated from modern Transnistria.
Ancient heyday in history
As the history of Crimea testifies, at the end of the 7th century. BC e. The Hellenes began to actively develop it. Immigrants from Greek cities created colonies, which over time began to prosper. The fertile land gave excellent harvests of barley and wheat, and the presence of convenient harbors contributed to the development of maritime trade. Crafts actively developed and shipping improved.
The port cities grew and became richer, uniting over time into an alliance that became the basis for the creation of the powerful Bosporan kingdom with its capital in, or present-day Kerch. The heyday of an economically developed state, which had a strong army and an excellent fleet, dates back to the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. Then an important alliance was concluded with Athens, half of whose need for bread was provided by the Bosporans; their kingdom includes the lands of the Black Sea coast beyond the Kerch Strait, Feodosia, Chersonesos, flourish. But the period of prosperity did not last long. The unreasonable policies of a number of kings led to the depletion of the treasury and the reduction of military personnel.
The nomads took advantage of the situation and began to ravage the country. At first he was forced to enter the Pontic kingdom, then he became a protectorate of Rome, and then of Byzantium. Subsequent invasions of barbarians, among which it is worth highlighting the Sarmatians and Goths, weakened it even more. Of the necklace of once magnificent settlements, only the Roman fortresses in Sudak and Gurzuf remained undestroyed.
Who owned the peninsula in the Middle Ages?
From the history of Crimea it is clear that from the 4th to the 12th centuries. Bulgarians and Turks, Hungarians, Pechenegs and Khazars marked their presence here. The Russian prince Vladimir, having taken Chersonesos by storm, was baptized here in 988. The formidable ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vytautas, invaded Taurida in 1397, completing his campaign in. Part of the land is part of the state of Theodoro, founded by the Goths. TO mid-XIII For centuries, the steppe regions have been controlled by the Golden Horde. In the next century, some territories were redeemed by the Genoese, and the rest were conquered by the troops of Khan Mamai.
The collapse of the Golden Horde marked the creation of the Crimean Khanate here in 1441, 
independently existed for 36 years. In 1475, the Ottomans invaded the area, to whom the khan swore allegiance. They expelled the Genoese from the colonies, took by storm the capital of the state of Theodoro - the city, exterminating almost all the Goths. The khanate with its administrative center was called the Kafa eyalet in the Ottoman Empire. Then the ethnic composition of the population is finally formed. The Tatars are moving from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one. Not only cattle breeding begins to develop, but also agriculture and gardening, and small tobacco plantations appear.
The Ottomans, at the height of their power, complete their expansion. They move from direct conquest to a policy of hidden expansion, also described in history. The Khanate becomes an outpost for conducting raids on the border territories of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Looted jewelry regularly replenishes the treasury, and captured Slavs are sold into slavery. From the XIV to the XVII centuries. Russian tsars undertake several campaigns to the Crimea through the Wild Field. However, none of them leads to pacification of the restless neighbor.
When did the Russian Empire come to power in Crimea?
An important stage in the history of Crimea. By the beginning of the 18th century. it becomes one of its main strategic goals. Possessing it will not only secure the land border from the south and make it internal. The peninsula is destined to become the cradle of the Black Sea Fleet, which will provide access to the Mediterranean trade routes.
However, significant success in achieving this goal was achieved only in the last third of the century - during the reign of Catherine the Great. An army led by Chief General Dolgorukov captured Taurida in 1771. The Crimean Khanate was declared independent, and Khan Giray, a protégé of the Russian crown, was elevated to its throne. Russian-Turkish War 1768-1774 undermined the power of Turkey. Combining military force with cunning diplomacy, Catherine II ensured that in 1783 the Crimean nobility swore allegiance to her.
After this, the infrastructure and economy of the region begins to develop at an impressive pace. Retired Russian soldiers settle here. 
Greeks, Germans and Bulgarians come here in droves. In 1784, a military fortress was founded, which was destined to play a prominent role in the history of Crimea and Russia as a whole. Roads are being built everywhere. Active grape cultivation contributes to the development of winemaking. The southern coast is becoming increasingly popular among the nobility. turns into resort town. Over the course of a hundred years, the population of the Crimean peninsula has increased almost 10 times, and its ethnic type has changed. In 1874, 45% of Crimeans were Great Russians and Little Russians, approximately 35% were Crimean Tatars.
Russian domination of the Black Sea has seriously worried a number of European countries. A coalition of the decrepit Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, Austria, Sardinia and France unleashed. The mistakes of the command, which caused the defeat in the battle on , and the lag in the technical equipment of the army led to the fact that, despite the unprecedented heroism of the defenders shown during the year-long siege, the allies captured Sevastopol. After the end of the conflict, the city was returned to Russia in exchange for a number of concessions.
During the Civil War in Crimea, many tragic events occurred that were reflected in history. Since the spring of 1918, German and French expeditionary forces, supported by the Tatars, operated here. The puppet government of Solomon Samoilovich Crimea was replaced by the military power of Denikin and Wrangel. Only the Red Army troops managed to take control of the peninsular perimeter. After this, the so-called Red Terror began, as a result of which from 20 to 120 thousand people died.
In October 1921, it was announced the creation of the Autonomous Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic in the RSFSR from the regions of the former Tauride province, renamed in 1946 the Crimean region. The new government paid great attention to it. The policy of industrialization led to the emergence of the Kamysh-Burun ship repair plant and, in the same place, a mining and processing plant was built, and a metallurgical plant.
Further equipment was prevented by the Great Patriotic War.
Already in August 1941, about 60 thousand ethnic Germans who lived on a permanent basis were deported from here, and in November Crimea was abandoned by the Red Army. There were only two centers of resistance to the fascists left on the peninsula - the Sevastopol fortified area and, but they also fell by the fall of 1942. After the retreat of the Soviet troops, partisan detachments began to actively operate here. The occupation authorities pursued a policy of genocide against “inferior” races. As a result, by the time of liberation from the Nazis, the population of Taurida had decreased almost threefold.
The occupiers were expelled from here. After this, facts of massive cooperation with the fascists of the Crimean Tatars and representatives of some other national minorities were revealed. By decision of the USSR government, more than 183 thousand people of Crimean Tatar origin, a significant number of Bulgarians, Greeks and Armenians were forcibly deported to remote regions of the country. In 1954, the region was included in the Ukrainian SSR at the suggestion of N.S. Khrushchev.
Recent history of Crimea and our days
After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Crimea remained in Ukraine, gaining autonomy with the right to have its own constitution and president. After lengthy negotiations, the basic law of the republic was approved by the Verkhovna Rada. Yuri Meshkov became the first president of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in 1992. Subsequently, relations between official Kyiv worsened. The Ukrainian parliament decided in 1995 to abolish the presidency on the peninsula, and in 1998 
President Kuchma signed a Decree approving the new Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, with the provisions of which not all residents of the republic agreed.
Internal contradictions that coincided with serious political aggravations between Ukraine and Russian Federation, in 2013 they split society. One part of the residents of Crimea was in favor of returning to the Russian Federation, the other was in favor of remaining in Ukraine. On this issue, a referendum was held on March 16, 2014. The majority of Crimeans who took part in the plebiscite voted for reunification with Russia.
Even during the times of the USSR, many were built on Taurida, which was considered an all-Union health resort. had no analogues in the world at all. The development of the region as a resort continued both in the Ukrainian and Russian periods of the history of Crimea. Despite all the interstate contradictions, it still remains a favorite vacation spot for both Russians and Ukrainians. This region is infinitely beautiful and is ready to warmly welcome guests from any country in the world! We suggest in conclusion documentary, enjoy watching!
Before the capture of Crimea by the Mongol-Tatars and the reign of the Golden Horde here, many peoples lived on the peninsula, their history goes back centuries, and only archaeological finds indicate that the indigenous peoples of Crimea settled the peninsula 12,000 years ago, during the Mesolithic. Sites of ancient people were found in Shankobe, in the Kachinsky and Alimov canopies, in Fatmakoba and in other places. It is known that the religion of these ancient tribes was totemism, and they buried their dead in log houses, placing high mounds on top of them.
Chimerians (9th–7th centuries BC)
The first people that historians wrote about were the ferocious Chimerians who inhabited the plains of the Crimean Peninsula. The Chimerians were Indo-Europeans or Iranians and practiced agriculture; The ancient Greek geographer Strabo wrote about the existence of the capital of the Chimerians - Kimeris, which was located on the Taman Peninsula. It is believed that the Chimerians brought metal processing and pottery to the Crimea; their fat herds were guarded by huge wolfhounds. The Chimerians wore leather jackets and trousers, and their heads were crowned with pointed hats. Information about this people exists even in the archives of the king of Assyria Ashurbanipal: the Chimerians more than once invaded Asia Minor and Thrace. Homer and Herodotus, the Ephesian poet Callinus and the Milesian historian Hecataeus wrote about them.
The Chimerians left Crimea under the pressure of the Scythians, part of the people joined the Scythian tribes, and part went to Europe.
Taurus (VI century BC, - 1st century AD)
Tauris - this is what the Greeks who visited Crimea called the formidable tribes living here. The name may have been related to the cattle breeding they were engaged in, because “tauros” means “bull” in Greek. It is unknown where the Taurians came from; some scientists tried to connect them with the Indo-Aryans, others considered them Goths. The culture of dolmens – ancestral burial grounds – is associated with the Tauri.
The Tauri cultivated the land and grazed livestock, hunted in the mountains and did not disdain sea robbery. Strabo mentioned that the Tauri gathered in Symbolon Bay (Balaklava), formed gangs and robbed ships. The most evil tribes were considered the Arikhs, Sinkhs and Napei: their war cry made the blood of their enemies freeze; The Taurus stabbed their opponents and nailed their heads to the walls of their temples. The historian Tacitus wrote how the Tauri killed the Roman legionnaires who had escaped from a shipwreck. In the 1st century, the Tauri disappeared from the face of the earth, dissolving among the Scythians.
Scythians (VII century BC – III century AD)
The Scythian tribes came to Crimea, retreating under the pressure of the Sarmatians, here they settled down and absorbed part of the Tauri and even mixed with the Greeks. In the 3rd century, a Scythian state with its capital Naples (Simferopol) appeared on the plains of Crimea, which actively competed with the Bosporus, but in the same century it fell under the blows of the Sarmatians. Those who survived were finished off by the Goths and Huns; the remnants of the Scythians mixed with the autochthonous population and ceased to exist as a separate people.
Sarmatians (IV-III centuries BC)
The Sartmats, in turn, replenished the genetic diversity of the peoples of Crimea, dissolving into its population. The Roksolani, Iazyges and Aorses fought with the Scythians for centuries, penetrating into the Crimea. With them came the warlike Alans, who settled in the southwest of the peninsula and founded the Goth-Alans community, converting to Christianity. Strabo in “Geography” writes about the participation of 50,000 Roxolani in an unsuccessful campaign against the Pontic people.
Greeks (VI century BC)
The first Greek colonists settled the Crimean coast during the time of the Tauri; here they built the cities of Kerkinitis, Panticapaeum, Chersonesos and Theodosius, which in the 5th century BC. formed two states: Bosporus and Chersonesos. The Greeks lived by gardening and winemaking, fishing, trading and minting their own coins. With the advent of the new era, the states fell under the control of Pontus, then Rome and Byzantium.
From the 5th to the 9th century AD In Crimea, a new ethnic group “Crimean Greeks” arose, whose descendants were the Greeks of antiquity, Taurians, Scythians, Goto-Alans and Turks. In the 13th century, the center of Crimea was occupied by the Greek principality of Theodoro, which was captured by the Ottomans at the end of the 15th century. Some of the Crimean Greeks who have preserved Christianity still live in Crimea.
Romans (1st century AD – 4th century AD)
The Romans appeared in Crimea at the end of the 1st century, defeating the king of Panticapaeum (Kerch) Mithridates VI Eupator; Soon Chersonesus, which had suffered from the Scythians, asked to come under their protection. The Romans enriched Crimea with their culture, building fortresses on Cape Ai-Todor, in Balaklava, on Alma-Kermen and left the peninsula after the collapse of the empire - professor of Simferopol University Igor Khrapunov writes about this in his work “The Population of Mountain Crimea in Late Roman Times.”
Goths (III–XVII centuries)
The Goths lived in Crimea, a Germanic tribe that appeared on the peninsula during the Great Migration. The Christian saint Procopius of Caesarea wrote that the Goths were farmers and their nobles held military positions in the Bosporus, which the Goths took control of. Having become the owners of the Bosporan fleet, in 257 the Germans launched a campaign against Trebizond, where they captured countless treasures.
The Goths settled in the north-west of the peninsula and in the 4th century formed their own state - Gothia, which lasted for nine centuries and only then partially became part of the Principality of Theodoro, and the Goths themselves were obviously assimilated by the Greeks and Ottoman Turks. Most of the Goths eventually became Christians; their spiritual center was the Doros (Mangup) fortress.
For a long time, Gothia was a buffer between the hordes of nomads pressing on Crimea from the north and Byzantium in the south, survived the invasions of the Huns, Khazars, Tatar-Mongols and ceased to exist after the invasion of the Ottomans.
Catholic priest Stanislav Sestrenevich-Bogush wrote that back in the 18th century the Goths lived near the Mangup fortress, their language was similar to German, but they were all Islamized.
Genoese and Venetians (XII–XV centuries)
Merchants from Venice and Genoa appeared on the Black Sea coast in the middle of the 12th century; Having concluded a treaty with the Golden Horde, they founded trading colonies that lasted until the Ottomans captured the coast, after which their few inhabitants were assimilated.
In the 4th century, the cruel Huns invaded the Crimea, some of whom settled in the steppes and mixed with the Goth-Alans. Jews and Armenians who fled from the Arabs also moved to Crimea; Khazars, Eastern Slavs, Polovtsians, Pechenegs and Bulgars visited here, and it is absolutely no wonder that the peoples of Crimea are not similar to each other, because the blood of a variety of peoples flows in their veins.