Ancient cities of Crimea
In ancient times, sea routes connected the Black Sea coast with the Mediterranean, where at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. the great civilization of Greece arose. From the shores of Hellas, brave sailors set off in search of new lands.
Where large seaports, industrial and resort centers of Crimea are now located - Evpatoria, Sevastopol, Feodosia and Kerch, in the VI-V centuries. BC. the ancient Greeks founded the cities of Kerkinitida, Chersonesos, Feodosia, Panticapaeum, respectively, and near them - Myrmekiy, Tiritaka, Nymphaeum, Cimmeric and others. Each of them was the center of an agricultural region, where wheat was grown, grapes were cultivated, and livestock were raised. In the cities there were temples, public and administrative buildings, markets, and artisans' workshops.
The convenient geographical location contributed to the development of trade. Merchants exported slaves and agricultural products to the Mediterranean, purchased from local tribes - Scythians, Maeotians, Sindians. In exchange from cities Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor they brought olive oil, wine, objects of art and crafts.
Chersonesos was founded in 421 BC. on the shore of the bay, which is now called Karantinnaya. Later, the city significantly expanded its holdings. During its heyday, Kerkinitida, Beautiful Harbor (on the site of the modern village of Chernomorskoye) and other settlements of northwestern Crimea were subordinate to him.
The Chersonesos state was a slave-owning democratic republic. Supreme body authorities were the people's assembly and council, which decided all issues of foreign and domestic policy. The leading role in management belonged to the largest slave owners, whose names were conveyed by Chersonesos inscriptions and coins.
Archaeological excavations, begun back in 1827, showed that the city was well fortified. Remains of defensive structures - massive towers, fortresses, parts stone walls- also preserved throughout the entire territory of the state. This indicates the constant military danger to which the residents were exposed. The famous Chersonesos oath speaks about their patriotism. The Chersonese swore that they would not betray either the city or its possessions to the enemies, that they would protect the democratic system, and that they would not divulge state secrets.
As archaeological studies have confirmed, the city had the correct layout. Residential buildings were united into blocks, the streets intersected at right angles. They were paved with small stones. Stone gutters ran along the streets. Temples rose in the squares. Public buildings and the houses of wealthy citizens were decorated with colonnades and mosaic floors.
From ancient buildings, only the bases of the walls and basements have survived to this day. Particularly interesting are the mint, baths, and the ruins of a theater that existed from the 3rd century. BC. to the 4th century AD Only the staircase passages and stone benches for spectators have been partially preserved from it. Judging by their size, the theater could accommodate up to 3 thousand spectators.
Near the city walls there was a district of artisans. There, archaeologists discovered the remains of ceramic production: kilns for firing pottery, stamps for ornaments, molds for making terracotta reliefs. Other crafts also flourished in Chersonesus - metalworking, jewelry, and weaving.
The largest ancient state in the Black Sea region was the Bosporan kingdom. It was formed as a result of the unification of initially independent Greek cities, such as Panticapaeum, Myrmekium, Tiritaka, Phanagoria and others, located along the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus - the modern Kerch Strait. Panticapaeum became the capital of the state. From 438 BC for more than three hundred years it was ruled by the Spartokid dynasty.
At the end of the 5th - beginning of the 4th centuries. BC. Nymphaeum and Theodosius, as well as lands inhabited by other tribes, were annexed to the possessions of Bosporus. In the 1st century BC. The Bosporus captured most of the territory of Crimea and subjugated Chersonesus.
Excavations on Mount Mithridates, carried out in Kerch since the end of the 19th century, made it possible to restore the size and plan of Panticapaeum. At the top was the acropolis - the central fortification of the city with powerful defensive walls and towers. The most important temples and public buildings. Blocks of one- or two-story stone buildings ran down the slopes in terraces. The entire city and its surroundings were surrounded by numerous lines of fortifications. The deep and convenient harbor reliably sheltered merchant and military ships.
Found debris marble statues, pieces of painted plaster and architectural details allow us to speak about the rich decoration of the squares and buildings of the city, about the skill of ancient architects and builders.
At the site of Myrmekia and Tiritaki, not far from Kerch, in addition to city walls, residential buildings and sanctuaries, archaeologists discovered several wineries and baths for salting fish. In Nymphea, near the modern village of Geroevki, there are temples of Demeter, Aphrodite and Kabirov; in Ilurat, near the modern village of Ivanovka, - Bosporan military settlement first centuries AD, guarding the approaches to the capital.
Near every ancient city there was its necropolis - City of dead. They were usually buried in simple earthen graves, sometimes lined with tiles or stone slabs. The rich and noble were placed in wooden or stone sarcophagi. For their burial, crypts were built, made of stones or carved into rocks. The walls of crypts and sarcophagi were decorated with paintings, reliefs, and inlays. Ornaments were applied to them, mythological subjects and scenes of real life were depicted. Things that belonged to him were placed with the deceased: jewelry, dishes, weapons, vessels with incense, terracotta figurines and other items. In one of the Panticapaean burials of the 3rd century. AD, possibly the Bosporan king Riskuporides, a unique golden mask, reproducing the facial features of the deceased.
Researchers have long been interested in large mounds located in the vicinity of Kerch. Burials of Bosporan kings and nobility with outstanding works were discovered in them. Greek art: gold and silver jewelry, bronze and glass items, painted and figured vases.
The gold temple pendants of the 4th century are rightfully considered a masterpiece of world art. BC. from the Kul-Oba mound. They are made in the form of disks, to which are attached numerous woven intersecting chains connected by plates and rosettes. On the disk with a diameter of 7 cm there is a relief of the head of Athena in a helmet with clearly visible figures of griffins, an owl and a snake. The finest filigree plates, rosettes, as well as the circumference of the disc are covered with grain and blue enamel.
The most valuable finds from excavations of ancient cities of Crimea are presented in the collections State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the State Historical Museum and the State Museum fine arts them. A.S. Pushkin in Moscow, as well as others.
Nowadays, nature reserves have been organized on the territory of Chersonese in Sevastopol and on Mount Mithridates in Kerch. Every year thousands of people come there to walk through the streets and squares of ancient cities, get acquainted with greatest monuments culture.
When the Romans established themselves on the southern coast, they created fortified points on the coast to protect Chersonesus. Of the Roman fortifications, the largest was Charax on Cape Ai-Todor (now there is a lighthouse next to the Swallow's Nest). The fortification of Charax (in Greek “pillar”, “stake”, that is, “fenced place”) was founded in the 70s. I century under the Roman Emperor Vespasian. At the end of the century there was a garrison here, in the 2nd century. soldiers of the I Italian Legion were stationed. The last Roman garrison of the fort consisted of soldiers of the XI Claudian Legion (late 2nd - first half of the 3rd century). These three periods in the history of Charax are evidenced by marks on bricks and tiles.
N.I. Sheiko
Photos of beautiful places in Crimea
Pontus Euxine - Scythian Sea
For world history, Crimea became known many centuries BC. IN ancient times, the peninsula was called Tavrika. This name was recorded by the Byzantine historian of the 6th century AD Procopius of Caesarea. Old Russian Chronicle“The Tale of Bygone Years” gives a slightly modified form of this name - Tavriania. Only in the 12th century did the Tatars, who conquered the peninsula, call the Greek city of Solkhat (now Old Crimea) Crimea, which became the center of their possessions. Gradually, during the XIV-XV centuries, this name spread to the entire peninsula. Titles Greek colonies, which arose in Crimea in the 6th century BC. cannot be considered the oldest Crimean toponyms. Before the arrival of the Greeks in Crimea, numerous tribes lived here, leaving their mark on history, archeology, and toponymy.
Crimea belongs to those few places on earth where people have appeared since time immemorial. Here, archaeologists have discovered their sites from the Paleolithic - Early Stone Age era.
Scientists believe that before the divergence of peoples began, it was around 3700 BC. throughout the Caspian steppes of Eastern Europe and Western Asia had a single language of communication, the roots of which lie in.
The roots of the most ancient names of Crimean places, rivers, mountains, lakes should be sought in the Proto-Indo-European language - Vedic Sanskrit: support, stronghold, tower, tower, pylon.(a related word in Old Russian: KROM - castle, fortification, secluded, hidden from...; Kromny - outer edge (edge); KROMA - edge, piece of bread;) At the root of the word Kram - kram - fortress, verb " kR" and "krta" - create, build, make, that is - this is a man-made structure - a Fortress, the Kremlin.
Slavic historian, archaeologist, ethnographer and linguist, author of the 11-volume encyclopedia “ Slavic antiquities» Lyubora Niederle claimed that “...among the northern neighbors of the Scythians mentioned by Herodotus, not only the Neuroi... but also the Scythians, called plowmen and farmers... were undoubtedly Slavs, who were influenced by the Greco-Scythian culture."
The first population of Crimea known to us from ancient Greek sources were the Scythians, Taurus and the Cimmerians, who were related or Thracian.
In the southwestern part Crimean peninsula, 15 km from Sevastopol, is the ancient city of Balaklava, which has a rich history dating back more than 2,500 years.
Since ancient times, it has been a powerful military fortress created by nature itself. Balaklava harbor is closed on all sides by high cliffs from sea storms, and the narrow entrance to the harbor reliably protects it from enemy invasions from the sea. reports that Tauris lived in the mountains of Tauris, knowledgeable in martial art.
within the Dnieper Left Bank there are two toponyms ancient Slavic species - Perekop, Sreznevsky - Perekop, possible tracing of relict Indo-Aryan *krta – “made (that is, dug by hand)” , hence the name Crimea. In approximately the same place, at the base of the Crimean Peninsula, there is another Russian language. Oleshye , one of the “inhabited places” by the sea, which since time immemorial - from Herodotus Hylaea (‘Y – “forest”) to the present Aleshkovsky (!) Sands – firmly conveyed and preserved the image of this “wooded” patch among the surrounding treeless spaces.
The name "Balaclava" comes from the word "strength, power, energy, force, military force, army, army." The word "Bala" comes from - RV). Perhaps the name of the harbor “Bala+klava” comes from “Bala” - military, “Klap, kalpate” - klṛ p, kalpate - “to strengthen, strengthen, fortress” (from the root “kḷ p”), that is - Military Fortress.
The ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo (64 BC - 24 AD) and the Roman writer, author of Natural History Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) associated the name of the harbor and military fortress with the name of their son (II century BC) Palak - “strong warrior.” Names of the god of war ancient Greece - Pallas (Pallas), epithet of the goddess Athena Palada(ancient Greek Παλλὰς Ἀθηνᾶ) – warlike goddess of the military strategy and wisdom, and the name of the Scythian prince Palak - "warrior", come from the same root.
In the 5th century, a powerful city appeared on both banks of the Kerch Strait, whose inhabitants consisted of representatives various peoples- Greek colonists, Scythians, Maeotians. Dominant dynasty The Spartacids were of Thracian origin, and the royal guard also consisted of Thracians. In the Proto-Indo-European language lie the roots of the language of the Scythians, Cimmerians, Greeks, Goths, which is why they found a common language and, allowing for the interpenetration of cultures and language borrowings on the peninsula, for example, from the Germanic tribes - the Scythians, who were part of a single Gothic union of tribes in the Crimea .
The role of the Goths in the life of Crimea was very significant, since even in Byzantine medieval sources Crimea was called Gothia. belongs to the Indo-European group of languages. A few fortified Ostrogothic settlements remained in the Black Sea region in the western mountainous part of Crimea, inhabited by the Greeks and subordinate to Byzantium, and also from the 5th century in the Azov region on the Taman Peninsula, the Ostrogoths at the end of the 4th century were cut off by the invasion of the Huns and other nomads in the Black Sea region. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I built a line of fortifications in Crimea to protect the settlements of the Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths). In Taurida (Crimea) there was Gothic the fortified city of Mangup, the cities of Doro (Doros), Theodoro, Gothic traders living on the “table mountain” (near Alushta).
In the 6th century, the Crimean Goths accepted Orthodox Christianity and patronage from Byzantium. In Crimea, the Crimean-Gothic language was preserved for a long time, dating back to the Ostrogothic dialect of the Eastern Gothic tribes, who came to the Black Sea and Azov region in 150 - 235, and lived in the vicinity of Greek settlers and Scythians. The Flemish monk V. Rubruk, who testifies in 1253 that the Goths in Crimea at that time spoke the “Germanic dialect” (idioma Teutonicum). The Crimean Peninsula occupies an important place in the history of Ukraine. The population of Crimea and Ukraine was connected by common economic, political and cultural processes.
Diffusion of power Kyiv princes Ancient Rus' on a fairly large part of the peninsula, closely and for a long time brought the population of Crimea closer to ancient Russian state. There was a kind of gate here through which Kievan Rus went out to communicate with the countries of the East. In the first centuries AD, Slavs. Their resettlement to the peninsula is most naturally explained by the so-called great migration of peoples in the 2nd-7th centuries.
Byzantine sources mention the Slavs in Crimea from time to time. But scientists were able to get a more complete picture of their life on the peninsula only starting from the era of Kievan Rus. Archaeologists have discovered in Crimea the remains of material culture, the foundations of architectural structures close to those built in the cities of Kievan Rus. Moreover, the fresco paintings and the plaster itself of the Crimean Russian churches are very similar in composition to the fresco paintings of Kyiv cathedrals of the 11th-12th centuries.
Much about the ancient Russian population of Crimea becomes known from written sources.
From "The Lives of Stephen of Sourozh" we find out that at the beginning In the 9th century, the Russian prince Bravlin took possession of the Crimean cities of Korsun (or Kherson, this is how Chersonesus began to be called in the Middle Ages) and Pike perch. And in the middle of the same century, the ancient Russians settled for a long time in the Azov region, taking possession of the Byzantine city of Tamatarcha and later Tmutarakan, the capital of the future ancient Russian principality, part of whose lands extended in the Crimea. Gradually, the Kiev government extends its power to the northwestern part of it to the outskirts of Kherson, the entire Kerch peninsula.
Principality of Tmutarakansi developed in the middle of the 10th century. Remote from other Russian lands, it was under constant pressure from Byzantium, but managed to survive. Successful Vladimir Svyatoslavich's campaign against Kherson in 989 expanded ancient Russian possessions in Crimea. According to the Russian-Byzantine agreement, Kievan Rus was able to annex the city of Bosporus with its outskirts to the Tmutarakan principality, which received the Russian name Korchev (from the word “korcha” - forge, present-day Kerch).
The Arab geographer Idrisi called Kerch Strait “the mouth of the Russian river”. There he even knew a city called “Russia”. Medieval European and Oriental geographic Maps Crimea, many toponyms, names of cities and settlements have been recorded, testifying to the long and long stay of the Russians in Crimea: “ Cosal di Rossia”, “Russia”, “Rosmofar”, “Rosso”, “Rossica” (the latter near Evpatoria), etc.
At the end of the 12th century, an influx of nomadic Polovtsians, who took possession of the steppes of the northern Black Sea region, cut off Crimea from Kievan Rus for a long time. At the same time, the Polovtsians destroyed the Tmutarakan principality, but a significant part of the Russian population remained on the peninsula. One of its strongholds was the city of Sudak (Russian name Surozh). According to the reports of the Arab writer Ibn al-Athir. At the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, many Russian merchants lived in Crimea. The Russian population of the peninsula, as well as representatives of other local peoples, suffered an irreparable blow from the conquest of the peninsula Mongol-Tatars after 1223.
Sites discovered by archaeologists on the Crimean Peninsula primitive people(Kiik-Koba, Staroselye, Chokurcha, Volchiy Grotto) indicate human settlement of the region already in the Stone Age.
The most ancient population of the Black Sea region and Crimea consisted of those who lived here at the turn of the 2nd-1st millennia BC. e. semi-sedentary and nomadic tribes known as common name Cimmerians. The memory of them was preserved in local toponyms mentioned in ancient Greek sources: Cimmerian Bosporus, Cimmeric, Cimmerium. The Cimmerians apparently inhabited all the Black Sea steppes, but in the Eastern Crimea, as well as on the Taman Peninsula, they lived longer.
In the 7th century BC e. The Cimmerians acted in alliance with the Scythians. There is information about a defeat in 652 BC. the Lydian capital Sardis by the Cimmerians and Scythians. The Cimmerian culture discovered by archaeologists is close to the Scythian one and dates back to the end of the Bronze Age. This is evidenced by excavations on the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, where burials of the 8th-7th centuries were discovered. BC e., associated with the Cimmerians. According to the story of Herodotus, the Cimmerians were driven out of the Northern Black Sea region by the Scythians, who dominated here already in the 7th century. BC e.
The descendants of the Cimmerians are considered to be the Tauri, who already lived in the Scythian times in the mountains of Crimea. The mountain range on the south coast of the peninsula was also called Taurus. The Greek name of the Crimean Peninsula - Taurica, which was preserved in antiquity and the Middle Ages, is associated with this name.
The bulk of the Scythians were tribes that came in the 8th century. BC e. from Central Asia. Several Scythian tribes of the Northern Black Sea region are known: the royal Scythians, who also lived in the Crimea, the Scythian nomads, the Scythian ploughmen, the Scythian farmers, the Scythian Vonns. The social system of the Scythians in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. characterized by the gradual collapse of tribal lines and the emergence of class relations. Patriarchal slavery was already known among the Scythians. The change from Cimmerian culture to Scythian culture in the 8th-7th centuries. BC e. coincided with the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. By the 4th century. BC e. The Scythian kingdom, which united individual tribes, turned into a strong military power that successfully repelled the Persian invasion. Remarkable monuments of the famous Scythian “animal” style were discovered by archaeologists in the burial mounds and mountainous hills of Crimea - in the Kulakovsky Kurgans (near Simferopol, Ak-mosque), unique gold items depicting human figures, animals and plants were found in the famous Scythian mounds of Kul-Oba, Ak-Mosque Burun, Golden Mound.
In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. there is an intensive process of Greek colonization of the North Pontic coast, due to economic and social development Ancient Hellas. In the 7th century BC e. the west was colonized, and in the 6th century. BC e. - northern coast of the Black Sea.
First of all in Taurida, probably in the first half of the 6th century. BC e., on the site of modern Kerch on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, the city of Panticapaeum was founded by the Milesians. The city itself was called by the Greeks and simply Bosporus. Around the middle of the 6th century. BC e. Tiritaka, Nymphaeum, and Cimmeric arose in Eastern Crimea. In the VI century. BC e. Theodosius was founded by the Milesian Greeks, as well as Myrmekium, located not far from Panticapaeum.
Around 480 BC e. In the Eastern Crimea, the previously independent Greek city-states (polises) are united into a single Bosporan state under the rule of the Archeanactids, immigrants from Miletus. In 438 BC. e. power in the Bosporus passes to the Spartokids, a dynasty possibly of Thracian origin.
Crafts, agriculture, trade, coin circulation of Panticapaeum, where from the middle of the 6th century. minted its own silver coin, were at a relatively high level development. There was an expansion of the external expansion of the Bosporan state. However, in the III-II centuries. BC e. The onslaught of the Scythians intensifies from the west, and the Sarmatians penetrate from the Kuban region.
The creation of a Scythian state in Crimea and the aggravation of social contradictions in the Bosporan kingdom contributed to the weakening of the latter.
In the western part of Crimea, Chersonesos, founded in the 5th century, played an important role. BC e. immigrants from the southern shore of the Black Sea (from Heraclea Pontic). Initially it was a trading post, which then became a center of agricultural and handicraft production. Trade also grew, the development of which was associated with the issuance of its own coins made of silver and copper. The remains of ancient Chersonesus are preserved on the western outskirts of modern Sevastopol.
Chersonesos probably followed a hostile policy towards the Bosporus. However, by the end of the 2nd century. BC e. The onslaught of the Scythians on Chersonesos intensifies. The Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator provided military assistance to Chersonesus. Eastern Crimea and Chersonesus then came under the rule of the Pontic king. Perisad, the last king of the Bosporus from the Spartokid dynasty, abdicated the throne in favor of Mithridates VI. But this only aggravated the urgent social contradictions in the slaveholding Bosporus. In 107 BC. e. An uprising led by the Scythian Savmak took place here, but it was suppressed by the troops of the Pontic king.
The Pontic kingdom became the main obstacle to further expansion of the Romans to the East. This led to the wars of Mithridates with Rome, which lasted from 89 BC. e. until the death of the Pontic king in 63 BC. e. The death of Mithridates meant the actual loss of political independence by this part of the Black Sea region. By the end of the 1st century. BC e. A portrait of the Roman emperor and members of his family appears on Bosporan coins. True, in 25 BC. e. Rome confirms the independence of Chersonese, but this independence was largely nominal.
City-states of Taurica in the first centuries AD. were developed slave-owning policies. This opinion is supported by their administrative structure, as well as the monuments of material culture discovered by archaeologists.
The dominant force in steppe zone During this period there were Sarmatians, led by tribal nobility, surrounded by warriors. Several alliances of Sarmatian tribes are known - Roxolani, Aorsi, Siracs. Obviously, from the 2nd century. And. e. Sarmatians receive the general name Alans, probably from the name of one of their tribes. However, in the Crimea, the Sarmatians, apparently, were inferior in number to the mass of Scythians who survived here, as well as the descendants of the ancient Tauri. In contrast to the Sarmatians, this old population is called Tauro-Scythians in ancient sources, which perhaps indicates the erasure of the differences between them.
The center of the Scythian tribes in Crimea was Scythian Naples, located on the site of present-day Simferopol. Scythian Naples was founded at the end of the 3rd century. BC e. and existed until the 4th century. n. e.
In the I-II centuries. The Bosporan kingdom is experiencing a new rise; it occupies approximately the same territory as under the Spartokids. Moreover, the Bosporus actually exercises a protectorate over Chersonesus. At the same time, Sarmatization of the population of the Bosporan cities occurs. In foreign policy The Bosporan kings showed a certain independence, including in relations with Rome.
In the 3rd century. In the Crimea, the Christian religion spread here, probably from Asia Minor. In the 4th century. an independent Christian bishopric already existed in Bosporus.
Chersonesos at this time continued to develop as a slave-owning republic, but the previous democratic system (within the framework, of course, of the slave-owning formation) was now replaced by an aristocratic one. At the same time, the Romanization of the ruling city elite took place. Chersonesus becomes the main stronghold of the Romans in the Northern Black Sea region. It housed a Roman garrison and supplied food to the center of the empire.
In the middle of the 3rd century. n. e. The Bosporan state was experiencing economic and political decline, reflecting the general crisis of the ancient slave system. Starting from the 50-70s. in Crimea, the onslaught of the Borans, Ostrogoths, Heruls and other tribes that were part of
to the Gothic League. The Goths defeated the Scythians and destroyed their settlements in the Crimea. Having captured almost the entire peninsula, with the exception of Chersonesos, they established their dominance over the Bosporus. The Gothic invasion led to the decline of the Bosporan kingdom, but it was dealt a mortal blow in the 70s. IV century tribes of the Huns who appeared in Eastern Crimea. The Bosporus, destroyed by them, lost its former significance and gradually disappeared from the historical arena.
From the collection “Crimea: past and present", Institute of History of the USSR, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1988
Crimea is an amazing peninsula, a place where the history of past centuries and the present are harmoniously intertwined. Here, right in the center of modern cities, you can see monuments of past centuries.
“Fragments” of the past in Crimean cities
The ruins of large settlements, the remains of fortresses, burial mounds, and religious buildings are found in almost every city or its environs. Most of the ancient buildings are today considered historical and archaeological monuments. Many have been given the status of nature reserves; research papers and museums operate.
How developed the peninsula was already in ancient times can be understood by familiarity with even a short list of ancient settlements. The following objects are the most famous today:
Panticapaeum is the most ancient of the Greek cities in Crimea. Founded at the end of the 7th century BC, it is located in the center of modern Kerch. To see his remains, you need to climb the high staircase of 500 steps leading to Mount Mithridates.
And 11 kilometers from Panticapaeum, the ruins of the ancient Bosporan settlement of Tiritaka were found.
Chersonese Tauride - the ruins of another Greek settlement, one of the attractions of Sevastopol. The founding of this colony dates back to the fifth century BC. Chersonesus was a large, well-fortified city.
The remains are still preserved here today. ancient temple, the ruins of a theater where, according to legend, gladiatorial battles were fought, a mint, a defensive tower. Prince Vladimir, the Baptist of All Rus', was baptized in the church of Chersonese.
Scythian Naples is an ancient settlement on the outskirts of Simferopol. Created in the 3rd century BC. e., the city served as the capital of the Scythian state. Today, on the territory of the ancient tract, a defensive tower and the mausoleum of King Skilur have been preserved.
Ruskofil-Kale is a castle in the Greater Yalta region, built in the 13th–14th centuries - a fortification with an area of about 450 sq. m.
Kerkinitida is a Greek city built at the beginning of the 5th century BC. e. and existed until the end of the 2nd century BC. e. Its ruins are located in the center of Evpatoria, on the Quarantine Cape. Although most of the site is filled up, two sections of it are well maintained and museumized.
Kalos Limen - ruins of an ancient Greek settlement founded in the 4th century. BC e. in the village of Chernomorskoye.
Cimmeric - Cimmerian tract of the 6th - 5th centuries BC. e., located between Lake Elken and Mount Opuk.
The Scythian Ust-Alminskoye settlement is one of the largest Scythian settlements of the 2nd century BC. e., located on Cape Kremenchik.
Cave and underwater cities of Crimea
TO separate category include ancient cave cities. Mangup-Kale - a Byzantine defensive fort of the sixth century BC, Chufut-Kale near Bakhchisarai, Kacha-Kalyon, Kyz-Kermen, others - these villages were created in the rocks. Houses, utility rooms, temples, defensive walls were cut down directly into the rock.
Crimea even has its own Atlantis - the underwater city of Acre. A small ancient Greek village, which served, among other things, as a port, existed near Cape Takil in the 6th century BC. e. ‒ IV century AD e. Later, the subsidence of the coast led to the flooding of most of the city.
Travelers with diving skills can see the ruins of Acre. Diving is possible as part of specialized excursions in the summer.
Note to tourists
A visit to the excavations of ancient cities can be easily combined with other types of recreation:
excursion activities;
visiting unique natural monuments;
beach, health holidays.
On the territory of the peninsula there are many ancient defensive towers, forts, and other fortifications that have been preserved in excellent condition. Many of them host exciting events. In particular, thematic festivals are held annually in the Genoese fortress, and reconstructions of medieval battles are staged.
There are numerous hotels, inns, and boarding houses throughout the peninsula. Room reservations are available online. Price policy depends on the region, level of service and season of visit.
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Coordinates: 46°15’–44°23’N. and 32°29’–36°39’E.
Area: 26.1 thousand km²
Population of the Crimean Federal District: 2,293,673 people
CRIMEA TODAY
The Crimean Peninsula... Or maybe it’s an island after all? From the point of view of a geologist or biologist, it is more likely the latter: Crimea, connected to the mainland only by a narrow isthmus, is characterized by many features characteristic specifically of islands. For example, there are a lot of endemic (living only in this area) plants and animals. The historian will also agree that Crimea is like an island: here, on the edge of the steppes, by the sea, the nomadic routes ended, and the ancient steppe inhabitants, settling in blessed Tavria, created many distinctive cultures that sharply distinguish the civilization of the “island of Crimea” from other cultural regions of the Northern Black Sea region . Greeks and Taurians, Scythians and Romans, Goths and Khazars, Turks, Jews, Crimean Tatars - they all contributed to the creation of this unique civilization. And along the sea, surrounding the peninsula on three sides, countless threads of trade and cultural ties stretched.
The Crimean Peninsula is perhaps the only region in the north of the Black Sea that has abundantly preserved traces of ancient and Byzantine culture. The ruins of Panticapaeum, the Church of John the Baptist in Kerch, Chersonesus, where the Kiev prince Vladimir, the future baptist of Rus', was baptized, Muslim missionaries who set off from Crimea to the pagan “wild steppe” - all these are precious bricks that formed the basis of the cultural building of Russia and neighboring countries . And it is not without reason that the beautiful Taurida was sung by Mitskevich and Pushkin, Voloshin and Mandelstam, Brodsky and Aksenov.
But, of course, Crimea is not only cultural heritage And unique nature, but above all beach and health tourism. The first resorts appeared on the South Coast back in the 2nd half of the 19th century, and when the palaces of members of the imperial family grew here, Crimea quickly turned into the most fashionable resort Russian Empire. Elegant villas, dachas and palaces still define the appearance of many cities and towns in Crimea. The most famous tourist regions are the South Coast (Yalta and Alushta regions), the West Bank (Evpatoria and Saki) and the southeast (Feodosia - Koktebel - Sudak).
IN Soviet time Crimea was declared an “All-Union Health Resort” and became the first mass tourism site in the USSR; today it is one of the major tourist centers in Eastern Europe, receiving millions of tourists a year
FROM THE ORIGINS TO THE FALL OF THE KINGDOM OF PONTIUS
OK. 50 thousand years BC e.
The oldest traces of man in Crimea are a site in the Kiik-Koba cave (8 km from the village of Zuya, 25 km east of Simferopol).
XV–VIII centuries BC e.
The territory of the Crimean Peninsula and the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region is inhabited by Cimmerian tribes. It is not entirely clear what origin this nomadic people had; their self-name is also unknown. Homer first mentions the Cimmerians, but he settled these wild tribes at “the extreme borders of the inhabited world, at the entrance to the underworld of Hades” - that is, somewhere along the coast Atlantic Ocean. Bronze weapons and jewelry were found in burial mounds of this era. The oldest iron objects were discovered in one of the mounds of the 8th century BC. e. near the village of Zolny.
VI century BC e. - I century n. e.
Crimea is mentioned in Greek sources as Tauris (named after the Taurian people who inhabited the mountainous regions of the peninsula). Greek and Roman authors write that the Tauri are bloodthirsty savages who sacrifice captives to their goddess the Virgin. Archaeologists, however, have not yet been able to find any traces of this cult.
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Ruins of the ancient Panticapaeum in KerchVII century BC e.
The first Greek colonies appear on the Crimean coast.
VII century BC e. - III century
Scythians settled in the steppes of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region.
1st half VI century BC e.
Greek colonists from the city of Miletus founded Panticapaeum, the future capital of the Bosporan state.
OK. 480 BC e.
The independent Greek poleis of Eastern Crimea are united under the auspices of the Bosporus Kingdom, which occupies the entire Kerch Peninsula, the Taman coast of the Azov Sea and Kuban. Chersonesos (in the area of modern Sevastopol) becomes the second largest after Panticapaeum Greek city in Crimea.
II century BC e.
The Sarmatians, Iranian-speaking nomads, appear in Crimea, displacing the Scythians from the Black Sea steppes.
120–63 BC e.
Reign of Mithridates VI Eupator. The ruler of the Pontic kingdom, located in the north of Asia Minor, Mithridates extended his influence to almost the entire Black Sea coast. However, after his death, the Black Sea region lost its political independence and by the end of the 1st century BC. e. entered the sphere of influence of Rome.
THE GREAT MIGRATION OF PEOPLES.
GREEKS, MONGOLS, GENOOES
III century
Tribes of Germanic Goths, who came from the shores of the Baltic Sea, destroy all Scythian settlements, including Scythian Naples.
IV century
Christianity is spreading in Crimea; the bishops of Bosporus (Kerch) and Chersonese (Sevastopol) participate in Ecumenical Councils. Meanwhile, the Turkic tribes of the Huns migrate from Asia, conquer the steppe and foothill Crimea from the Goths and push them west. The Romans allow the Goths to settle in the territory of the empire, and in a little over a hundred years Rome will fall under the blows of the barbarians.
Scythian gold: breast decoration from the Tolstaya Mogila mound, 4th century. BC e.
488
A Byzantine garrison is located in Chersonesos.
527
Emperor Justinian I builds the fortresses of Aluston (Alushta) and Gorzuvita (Gurzuf) on the coast.
7th century, 2nd half.
South-Eastern Crimea is captured by the Khazars, Byzantine settlements are destroyed. At the beginning of the 9th century, the elite of the Khazars adopted Judaism.
VIII century
The appearance of the first cave monasteries in Crimea.
IX–X centuries
Collapse of the Khazar Khaganate.
X century
Development of political, trade and cultural relations between Crimea and Russia.
988
Kyiv Prince Vladimir is baptized in Chersonesus.
XI century
New Turkic nomads appear in Crimea - the Polovtsians (Kypchaks). Having begun their raids on Rus' in 1061, the Cumans quickly captured the southern Russian steppes, and then the Crimea.
XII century
In the southwest of Crimea, a small Christian principality of Theodoro is formed, founded by Byzantine aristocrats from the Gavras family.
1204
The Crusaders capture Constantinople and subject it to a terrible defeat; the Byzantine Empire breaks up into several independent parts. Kherson and some other regions of Taurica (the southern coast of Crimea) begin to pay tribute to one of them - the Trebizond Empire in the northeast of Asia Minor.
1230s
The steppe Crimea and the Black Sea region are conquered by the Mongol-Tatars. Only mountain fortresses inaccessible to cavalry can maintain their independence.
1250s
Crimea becomes an ulus of the Golden Horde and is governed by governor-emirs.
1267
Under the Golden Horde Khan Mengu-Timur, the first Crimean coins were minted.
XIII century
Almost simultaneously with the Mongols, the Genoese began to explore Crimea. The Mongol emirs place the port city of Feodosia at their disposal and provide significant trade privileges. Kafa, as the Genoese call the city, becomes the largest trading port of the Northern Black Sea region.
1357
The Genoese captured Balaklava, and in 1365 they captured the coast from Kafa to Gezlev and created a colony in this territory called the “captaincy of Gothia”. The colony retains formal independence from the Tatars, but this independence is constantly under threat.
1427
The Principality of Theodoro builds on the site of the cave city of Inkerman (near Sevastopol) the Kalamita fortress, protecting the only seaport of the principality - Avlita at the mouth of the Chernaya River. Avlita is a serious competitor to the Genoese ports.
XV century, 1st half.
The Golden Horde breaks up into separate khanates, each of which establishes its own dynasty. True legitimacy, however, belongs only to the Genghisids - the direct descendants of Genghis Khan.
Polovtsy. Miniature from the Radziwill Chronicle. 15th century manuscript
CRIMEAN KHANATE
1441–1466
The reign of the first Crimean Khan - Genghisid Hadji-Girey (Gerai). The future khan was brought up at the court of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and was enthroned with the support of the local Crimean nobility. Crimea leaves the Golden Horde, and the Gireyev (Geraev) dynasty will rule in Crimea until 1783, when the peninsula comes under the rule of the Russian Empire.
1453
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II storms Constantinople. The end of the Byzantine Empire.
1474
Moscow Grand Duke Ivan III enters into an alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey against Lithuania. In subsequent years, the Crimean Tatars, with the active support of Moscow, made several predatory campaigns against the Polish-Lithuanian lands.
1475
Ottoman troops capture the Genoese possessions in Crimea and the principality of Theodoro - the last fragment of the Byzantine Empire in the Northern Black Sea region. Mengli Giray tried to resist the Ottomans, for which he was deprived of the throne, taken to Constantinople as a hostage and released only in 1478 after he took the vassal oath to Sultan Mehmed.
1571
Khan Devlet-Girey's raid on Moscow. The Tatar army numbered up to 40,000 horsemen. The Tatars burned the city (only the Kremlin survived), killed, according to some estimates, several hundred thousand people and took another 50,000 captive. Ivan the Terrible was forced to agree to pay tribute to Crimea. During the 2nd half XVI century, the Crimean Tatars made 48 raids on the Moscow state, and, although they were defeated more than once, the payment of tribute in one form or another continued until the reign of Peter I.
1572
The Battle of Molodi near Moscow. Despite the significant numerical advantage of the army of the Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray, which, in addition to the Crimean troops themselves, included Turkish and Nogai detachments, the battle ended in a convincing victory for the Russian troops led by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky and Dmitry Khvorostinin. The Khan's army fled. As a result, devastated by previous Crimean raids of 1566–1571. The Russian state was able to survive and maintain its independence.
1591
Invasion of Khan Kazy-Girey. According to Moscow legend, the city was saved by the Don Icon of the Mother of God: when the khan’s army was already on the Sparrow Hills, the icon was carried around the walls of Moscow - and the next day the Tatars left. In memory of this event, the Donskoy Monastery was founded.
XVII century
Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks make retaliatory raids on the Crimea (or, together with the Krymchaks, on Poland and Lithuania). At different times, Kafa, Gezlev, Sudak and other cities of the peninsula were taken and destroyed.
1695–1696
Azov campaigns of Peter I. For the first time in Russian military history, the fleet was widely used. As a result of the campaigns, the Turkish fortress of Azov was taken, which, however, did not completely secure the southern Russian steppes from Crimean raids. Access to the Black Sea is still impossible for Russia.
Capture of Azov, July 19, 1696. Engraving by Adrian Schonebeck
1735–1739
Russian-Turkish war. Field Marshal Minikh takes Gezlev and the capital of the Khanate, Bakhchisarai, by storm, but in the end Russian troops are forced to leave Crimea and leave for Russia with heavy losses.
1774
The Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty proclaims the independence of Crimea from Ottoman Empire. Kerch is transferred to Russia and free access to the Black Sea and the right of passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles are ensured. The Turkish Sultan remains only the spiritual head of the Muslims of Crimea; in fact, Crimea comes under the protectorate of Russia.
AS PART OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE
1783
Manifesto of Catherine II on the inclusion of the territory of the Crimean Khanate into Russia. Founding of Sevastopol - the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
1784
The Tauride region was formed (Crimea, Taman and lands north of Perekop; in 1802 it will be transformed into a province). Founding of Simferopol.
1787
Travel of Catherine II to Novorossiya and Crimea. The queen visits Old Crimea and Feodosia. In memory of this, some cities installed special mile markers, the so-called Catherine Miles. Several of them have survived.
XIX century, beginning
Rapid development of the peninsula, construction of new and improvement of old cities. New roads connect the southern coast of Crimea with the main centers of the peninsula - Simferopol and Sevastopol.
1825
Emperor Alexander I acquires a plot of land in Oreanda - the first Romanov estate in Crimea.
1838
Yalta receives city status.
1853–1856
Crimean War. Initially, hostilities began between Russia and Turkey, but then England and France entered the war on the side of the latter. In June 1854, the Anglo-French squadron approached Sevastopol, and in September the Allied ground forces began landing in Evpatoria.
In the Battle of Sinop, the first battle Crimean War(November 1853), the Russian fleet defeated the Turkish squadron. But Russia still lost the war
Battle of the Alma River: the allies defeat the Russian army, which tried to block their path to Sevastopol.
1854–1855
Siege of Sevastopol. The city's defenders defended from September 1854 to August 1855. During the bombing, Russian losses amounted to up to a thousand people per day. All attempts to lift the siege were unsuccessful, and in the end Russian troops were forced to leave the city.
1855, March 28.
The Anglo-French fleet occupies Kerch, the Russian garrison retreats to Feodosia.
1856, March 18
Signing of the Paris Peace Treaty. The Black Sea is declared neutral: neither Russia nor Turkey were allowed to have military fleets there.
1871
The London Convention lifts the ban on Russia from having a fleet in the Black Sea. Construction of the steam-powered armored Black Sea Fleet begins.
1875
Opening of the Kharkov - Sevastopol railway connection.
The queen goes to Crimea
In 1787, Empress Catherine II visited Novorossiya and Taurida, which had recently been annexed to the empire.
The empress's retinue consisted of about 3,000 people, including foreign envoys and the Austrian Emperor Joseph II incognito. In total, there were more than 150 carriages on the imperial train, while Catherine herself rode in a carriage, which was a whole house on wheels: it had an office, a living room for 8 people with a gambling table, a bedroom, a small library and a restroom. The carriage was harnessed by 40 horses, and, according to one of the queen’s companions, its movement “was as smooth and calm as the movement of a gondola.”
All this luxury amazed the minds of contemporaries, but the myth about the incredible ostentation that accompanied the trip appeared much later. Catherine was indeed shown new cities that were built in recently deserted places, but the famous “Potemkin villages” - luxurious fake settlements, allegedly built by order of Count Potemkin-Tavrichesky along the road - were most likely the invention of one of the participants in the trip, the secretary of the Saxon embassy Georg von Gelbig. In any case, none of the contemporaries (and there are dozens of descriptions of the journey) confirm these inventions.
XX CENTURY, XXI CENTURY
1917–1920
Civil War. On the territory of Crimea, white and red governments replace each other several times.
1920, April
Baron Peter Wrangel becomes commander-in-chief of the White Guard troops in southern Russia.
1920, November
Invasion of Crimea by units of the Red Army under the command of Mikhail Frunze. Wrangel's "Russian Army" is forced to retreat to the coast and begin evacuation. On November 12, Dzhanka was taken, on November 13 - Simferopol, by November 15 the Reds reached the coast. Mass extrajudicial reprisals begin against the White Army servicemen and civilians remaining in Crimea. The exact numbers are unknown, but according to some estimates, up to 120,000 people were shot and tortured between November 1920 and March 1921.
1920, November 14–16
Evacuation from Crimea. Thousands of refugees boarded 126 ships: the remnants of General Wrangel’s army, the families of officers and simply those who were lucky enough to get on board - about 150,000 people in total. The squadron leaves for Constantinople.
1921, October 18
The Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed as part of the RSFSR.
1927
Strong earthquakes occur in Crimea on June 26 and on the night of September 11-12.
1941–1944
Hitler's occupation of Crimea.
1944
On Stalin’s personal instructions, all Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Armenians and Greeks were deported from Crimea. The pretext is the massive support that these peoples allegedly provided to the Germans during the years of occupation.
1945, February 4–11
Yalta conference. The heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain determine the post-war structure of the world. Decisions were made on the future division of Germany into occupation zones, on the USSR's entry into the war with Japan and on the creation of the UN.
1954
On the initiative of Nikita Khrushchev, the Crimean region was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR.
1965
Awarding the title of “hero city” to Sevastopol.
1980s, end
Mass return of deported peoples to Crimea.
1991, August
The State Emergency Committee putsch in Moscow, Mikhail Gorbachev was arrested by the conspirators at his dacha in Foros.
1991 December
The collapse of the Soviet Union. Crimea becomes an autonomous republic within independent Ukraine.
1991–2014
The Crimean region is part of Ukraine, first as the Republic of Crimea, and since 1994 as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
1995
The festival is taking place in Crimea for the first time electronic music"KaZantip".
2000
Kerch turned 2600 years old.
2001
The first water park in Crimea has been opened in Blue Bay.
2003
Evpatoria turned 2500 years old.
2014, March 11
The Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council adopted a declaration of independence of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. 2014, March 16.
Historical referendum in Crimea on the status of the republic. The turnout for the referendum was 83.1%. 96.77% of Crimeans who came to the referendum voted for the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to Russia.
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Flags Russian Federation and the Republic of Crimea
2014, March 18
A historic day for Crimea and Russia. An agreement was signed on the entry of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol into the Russian Federation as subjects.
2014, March 21
President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin signed a federal constitutional law on the entry of Crimea into the Russian Federation and the formation of new entities in the country - the Republic of Crimea and the city federal significance Sevastopol.