Greek city-states of Crimea:
history of construction, location, public order
The formation of Greek city-states in Crimea is an achievement of the Great Colonization of the Hellenes, which took place on the lands of the peninsula between the 8th and 6th centuries. BC e. It is sometimes believed that the process of development of the Mediterranean coast and the Black Sea region is better described by the term “resettlement”. However, what made the Greeks leave their native places and go to places where they had to start life again?
Firstly, during this period of history there was a population explosion in Greece. The overpopulation of Hellas gave rise to the beginning of migration processes. Secondly, the Greeks were sorely short of agricultural land. In addition, the migration processes were associated with trade expansion, the search for products and sources of raw materials that were scarce or did not exist at all in Greece.
All this is complemented by military, social and ethnic reasons. The Hellenes were threatened by the Lydians and Persians, and there were significant disagreements between the Greeks, generated by belonging to different segments of the population and interethnic tensions.
Pampered under the warm sun, the Hellenes initially did not like the relatively cold local climate, and the inhabitants of Crimea were fearful. They called the Black Sea the phrase “Pont Aksinsky”, which means “inhospitable sea”. However, they soon changed their point of view and the prefix “a” was transformed into “ev”. This is how the Greek toponym Pont Euxine (“hospitable sea”) appeared, and the history of Crimea began to take on a different character.
The Greek city-states of Crimea were built by immigrants from Miletus. Less often - immigrants from Heraclea Pontic. However, scientists managed to find traces of the habitation of Greeks on the peninsula who arrived from Colophon, Ephesus and Teos. The area of the Greek settlers was formed: the South-East of Crimea, the shores of the Kerch Strait and the territory of the Taman Peninsula.
Greek city-states and settlements in the Northern Black Sea region:
The political structure of the Crimean ancient settlements was similar to that in mainland Hellas. The Greek city-states of Crimea were predominantly slave-owning republics with a democratic way of life. The polis model allowed the city and its choir to organically coexist and made such settlements independent and viable units.
The Greek city-states of Crimea had three traditional branches of government today; they could solve all internal problems and independently elect government bodies. Their legislative power was represented by the people's assembly, the executive power by collegiums and magistrates. Adult men were allowed to solve problems of national importance. Slaves, foreigners and females had no rights. The courts in the Greek colonies of Crimea were highly specialized.
First greek city grew up in the east of Crimea, its name is Panticapaeum.
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| Kerch. Ruins of Panticapaeum - the first Greek city-state on the territory of Crimea | In the center of the picture is K.F. Bogaevsky “Theodosius” (1930) - Quarantine Hill - the alleged site of the founding of the Greek city-state, traces of which are now hidden by the layers of subsequent civilizations. The Genoese fortress of Kafa is depicted on Quarantine Hill. |
Over time, several more large settlements were built on the peninsula: Chersonesos, Kerkinitida, Kalos-Lymen, Nymphaeum, Feodosia.
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| Greek city-state of Chersonesus: ruins of a residential quarter (Gagarinsky district of Sevastopol) | Ruins of the Greek city-state of Kalos-Limen (northwestern coast of Crimea) |
The largest Greek state association Crimean peninsula ancient times - the Bosporan kingdom - appeared as a result of constant confrontations with local barbarians; it will be discussed separately.
The Greek city-states on the Crimean peninsula can be divided into two parts - those that at some historical moment came under the influence of Chersonesos and those that found themselves in the sphere of interests of Panticapaeum. The latter, starting as independent city-states, united in a union, or rather, they were forced to do so by necessity - it was necessary to confront local tribes and develop trade with the metropolis. Later, these policies became part of the Bosporan kingdom of the Spartokid dynasty. What cities are these?
Greek city-states under the influence of Panticapaeum
If the capital was founded in the 7th century BC, then Nymphaeum, located a little south, was founded at the beginning of the 6th century. It was one of the largest and most important Greek city-states.
Founded by the Milesians, it soon came under the influence of Athens and, accordingly, entered the Delian symmachy, which was ultimately defeated in the fight against Sparta. Nymphaeus broke away from Athens and handed over his fate to the Spartokids and the Bosporan kingdom. The city was destroyed more than once (especially catastrophically by the Goths), artifacts were stolen more than once in our time, so archaeologists did not get much. But what remains allows us to judge the greatness of the city and its architectural splendor.
A little north of Nymphaeum, in the same period as the last one, another policy was founded by the Milesians - Tiritaka. This Greek city-state had an industrial and economic orientation, which is confirmed by excavations. It was surrounded by walls only in the 3rd century AD. It was repeatedly destroyed by both the enemy and earthquakes. Under the Byzantines, during the reign of Justinian I, a basilica was established in Tiritaka, the ruins of which were explored during an archaeological expedition.
Among all the Greek city-states of Crimea, the most attractive is Acre, all because this city almost completely went under water as a result of transgression, a rise in the water level of the Black Sea. This city was not as large as Panticapaeum; its main structure was the port. As a result of underwater archaeological expeditions, walls, towers, building foundations, many small objects and a rich collection of coins were found.
From the west, the port Greek city-states were constantly subject to raids by nomads, especially after the fall of the Pontic kingdom. To protect the policies from these raids, the city of Ilurat was built from the depths of the Kerch Peninsula in the 1st century AD. Active excavations were carried out after the war; massive walls were discovered, which were rebuilt more than once. Underground passages, wells, towers - Ilurat was built using all modern fortification knowledge at that time. However, the fortress did not last long; at the end of the third century AD, the defenders abandoned it.
The history of Crimea in antiquity is a constant search for comrades-in-arms and a regular struggle for survival. Who were the Crimean Greeks afraid of? Their relations with the Tauri who inhabited the peninsula were changeable. At first, the Crimean aborigines were perceived by the Hellenes only as a pirate people, capable of killing a stranger in order to sacrifice him. In the places where the Taurians settled, practically no objects made by the Greeks were found. This means that there were no trade relations between the peoples.
In ancient policies, samples of molded ceramics with black walls were found, which suggests the presence of marital ties between young representatives of the Taurus tribes and the sons of the colonists. A 5th century tombstone was also found in Panticapaeum. BC e., located above the grave of the respected brand. This means that male Tauris sometimes lived in the Greek cities of Crimea. Scholars believe that, as a rule, they had the status of slaves, but there were still exceptions.
The Greek settlers tried to live peacefully with their Scythian neighbors, bringing rich gifts to the barbarian kings, who ceded their territories to them. From time to time, short-term military confrontations arose between them and the frightened Greeks built defensive fortresses. One of these wars marked the end of the Scythian kingdom.
During excavations of some Greek cities, surgical instruments made of bronze and bones were found. These artifacts suggest that in the Crimean ancient settlements immigrants from Greece had a fairly developed medicine.
ABOUT high level The cultural life in the Greek city-states of Crimea is evidenced by the presence of the same theaters as those that existed in the historical homeland of the Hellenes. In such structures there could be up to 3,000 people at the same time. Scientists also found musical instruments used by the Greeks in Crimea: lyre, trumpet, flute, cithara.
The people who inhabited the Greek city-states of Crimea professed polytheism and polytheism. They worshiped pagan gods who personified the forces of nature. Very soon they began to pay more attention to Apollo, the protector of the settlers.
In Chersonesus, the cult of Artemis, the patron goddess of this polis, was honored. They made sacrifices in the form of fish, domestic animals, and agricultural products. Deities were worshiped in sanctuaries, temples, and home altars. Clay copies of victims were often brought there. In the 3rd century. n. e. paganism in Crimea began to be replaced by Christian teaching.
Let's draw some conclusions. The ancient colonization of Crimea began in the VIII-VII centuries. BC e. and the Greek city-states existed until the invasion of the Huns, which occurred in the 4th century. n. e.
All settlements founded by people from Miletus, Heraclea Pontus, Colophon, Ephesus and Theos were republics with three branches of government. Among them, only one monarchy stands out - the Bosporus Kingdom. The first Greek city in Crimea is Panticapaeum. It appeared in the 7th century. BC e.
A century later the Nymphaeum was built. Then Tiritaka, Acre, Ilurat, Kitey, Cimmeric, Pormfiy, Mirmekiy, Zenon Chersonesos, Theodosius grew up. Soon they all fell under the influence of Panticapaeum and became part of the Bosporan kingdom.
In the VI century. BC e. The Greeks built the Tauride Chersonese, which managed to conquer Kerkinitida and Kalos-Lymen. The Crimean Greeks got along with the Tauri, Scythians, and Sarmatians, who also lived on the peninsula. From the 1st century BC e. the authorities of the Greek city-states of Crimea were forced to submit to Rome. Chersonesus existed longer than all other Greek city-states and became a stronghold of Byzantinism in Crimea.
INLIGHT/olegman37
Attractions
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How tourist centre Crimea has been known since the second half of the 19th century centuries. About the special popularity of the peninsula among imperial persons and the highest foreign guests evidenced by the large number of summer residences - palaces and villas, which to this day constitute the architectural appearance of Crimean cities. Time passes, and Crimea becomes not just a privileged vacation spot, but a health resort on an all-Union scale. However, while maintaining its mass character, this tradition has undergone transformation. Wild recreation triumphed over organized sanatorium treatment.
Today, Crimea is perceived by many as a center sea resorts, popularizing beach and leisure. At the same time, the rich and deep history of the peninsula is not unknown, traces of which are preserved by numerous monuments covering the widest time and thematic range. The seven diverse cities presented in our review can rightly be called museums that introduced their guests to the heritage of the ancient, multinational and generous land called Crimea.
Museum, Landmark, Historical monument
A hero city, one of three federal cities in Russia, the largest city in Crimea by population, one of the country's key naval facilities, a large ice-free sea trade port - all these are definitions of the legendary Sevastopol. The city acquired particular significance from the moment of its foundation, when in 1783 it became the main base of the newly formed fleet of the Russian Empire - the Black Sea Fleet. Sevastopol valiantly withstood two defenses - during the Crimean War and during the Great Patriotic War, securing its unofficial status as a city of Russian glory.
Numerous sights tell about the military-historical heritage of Sevastopol, including the world-famous panorama “Defense of Sevastopol 1854–1855”, large-scale memorial complexes on Malakhov Kurgan and Sapun Mountain, the Military Historical Museum of the Black Sea Fleet, and the museum complexes “Mikhailovskaya Battery” , "35th coastal battery", "Balaclava" ( underground base submarines). Near Primorsky Boulevard, on a granite cliff washed by the sea, stands the main symbol of Sevastopol - the Monument to Sunken Ships.
On the Central (City) Hill there is the majestic Vladimir Cathedral, which became the tomb of the famous Russian admirals - Lazarev, Nakhimov, Kornilov, Istomin. Another significant place located in historical center Sevastopol, is the Aquarium Museum - the first in Russia and one of the oldest public marine aquariums in the world, founded in 1897 on the initiative of N.N. Miklouho-Maclay. Sevastopol squares and boulevards are beautiful, the appearance of which is made up of interesting historical and architectural objects. The city has an art museum and four professional theaters, two of which have academic status.
ABOUT ancient history The southwestern part of the Crimean peninsula is narrated by unique monuments located in the suburbs of Sevastopol: the ancient settlement of Chersonesus, the Genoese fortress of Chembalo in Balaklava, the ancient Klimentovsky cave monastery in Inkerman. The unusually beautiful nature is not just a backdrop for them, but an independent unique attraction. The city's numerous picturesque bays are especially attractive.
Sevastopol, surrounded on three sides by the sea, is not inferior to other Crimean resorts in terms of beach holiday, striking not only with the number, but also with the variety of beaches - from wild rocky ones to comfortable golden sandy ones.
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Ancient, 1, Sevastopol
In ancient times, the central part of the Crimean peninsula was occupied by the fortress city of Naples-Scythian - the capital of the Scythian kingdom. Nowadays the capital of the Republic of Crimea is located here - nice city Simferopol. It has no access to the sea. The Salgir River flows here - the longest river in Crimea.
Being the main transport hub of the peninsula, the city lives up to its name, which is translated from ancient Greek as “city of benefit”, “gathering city”. However, Simferopol attracts not only random guests who perceive the city as an intermediate point on the way to Black Sea coast, but also history buffs. After all, entire eras are imprinted in the appearance of the city. The memory of the late Scythian state is preserved by the ancient settlement of Neapolis Scythian, located on the Petrovsky rocks. A unique symbol of the Crimean Tatar city of Akmescit, the predecessor of Simferopol, is the Kebir-Jami Mosque - the oldest building in the city, known since the beginning of the 16th century. And, finally, the beginning of the Russian period in the life of the Crimean city is indicated by Orthodox churches of the late 18th - 19th centuries. Almost the same age as Simferopol is the Church of Constantine and Helena - the first Christian church in the city. The ancient cathedrals - Peter and Paul and Holy Trinity - admire with their grandeur. An interesting religious building of the Karaites is Kenassa, erected at the end of the 19th century. During the Great Patriotic War, Simferopol took on a powerful enemy attack, surviving the German occupation. The feat of the city’s defenders was immortalized by monuments placed in its parks and squares.
The most complete picture of the nature, history and culture of not only Simferopol, but also the entire Republic of Crimea is given by the main museums of the city - the Central Museum of Taurida, the Crimean Ethnographic and Simferopol Art Museums. The oldest theater in Crimea operates in the city - the Russian Drama Theater named after. M. Gorky, as well as the Musical Theater of the Republic of Crimea, the Puppet Theater and the only Crimean Tatar theater in the world.
Simferopol is famous for its unique green areas. One cannot ignore the ancient parks founded in XVIII-XIX centuries. A special place among them is occupied by the Botanical Garden of the Taurida National University (Salgirka Park or Vorontsovsky Park) - one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Simferopol. The city's young squares are picturesque and cozy.
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The easternmost and most ancient city Crimea - the city of Kerch, whose age has exceeded the colossal figure - twenty-six centuries! One of the hills of the city - Mount Mithridates - is its historical and geographical center, the place where at the end of the 7th century BC. e. the future Kerch was born, and then the ancient Greek city of Panticapaeum, which became in 479 BC. capital of the Bosporan kingdom. The ruins of his Acropolis are now a unique monument era of Antiquity and one of the main attractions of Kerch.
In addition to Panticapaeum, there are other ancient settlements on the territory of Kerch - Nymphaeum, Tiritaka, Mirmekiy. Many artifacts found during excavations of ancient settlements are presented in the famous Kerch Museum of Antiquities. Monuments of funerary architecture from the 4th century have also been preserved to this day. BC. - Tsarsky and Melek-Chesme mounds.
Until 1774, that is, before Kerch was annexed to Russia, the city was part of many states: the Byzantine Empire, the Khazar Khaganate, the Genoese Republic, the Ottoman Empire. The Church of St. John the Baptist, the oldest Orthodox church on the Crimean Peninsula, whose construction dates back to the period between the 8th and 9th centuries, has witnessed many historical events.
Kerch bears the honorary title of hero city. During the Great Patriotic War, the front line passed through Kerch four times; in 1941–1944, a brutal occupation regime was established here. Soon after the liberation of the city, a memorial complex was created on the top of Mount Mithridates - the Obelisk of Glory to the Immortal Heroes and the Eternal Flame.
The 423 steps of the Great Mithridates Staircase, which is an outstanding architectural monument of the first half of the 19th century, lead to the top of the mountain. From the top observation deck The stairs offer a magnificent panorama of the city and the Kerch Strait.
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Evpatoria, stretching along the Kalamitsky Bay on the western coast of the Crimean Peninsula, is known primarily as a resort city. Every summer season, the number of vacationing tourists is several times greater than its population. Huge popularity small town, of course, is explained by the presence of beautiful beaches with golden sand and a shallow seabed, a favorable climate (at the height of summer, the air temperature usually stays at + 26–28 °C). However, limiting ourselves to coastal areas, it is impossible to get a holistic picture of the city, whose history goes back centuries.
On the site of Evpatoria from the 5th century. BC e. to the end of the 2nd century. n. e. there was one of the ancient Greek colonies - Kerkinitis. The ancient settlement of the ancient polis is a most valuable archaeological complex, and the ruins of the city wall of Kerkinitida today are one of the main historical relics of Evpatoria. The Greek settlement was destroyed by the Scythians. The city re-emerged here during the time of the Crimean Khanate. It was called Kezlev (Turkish Gözleve). The city received the sonorous name Evpatoria, which is translated from Greek as “Noble”, after Crimea became part of the Russian Empire.
A typical eastern city of the Middle Ages is the eastern part of modern Evpatoria, the so-called Old city. The area is distinguished by narrow, crooked streets and ancient buildings. The age of some buildings in the historical part exceeds 500 years, among them is the Khan-Jami Cathedral Mosque, founded back in 1552.
A unique historical, architectural and religious monument in Evpatoria - Tekiye Dervishes - the only Muslim monastery in Crimea, founded at the end of the 15th - 16th centuries. Of no less interest is the complex of religious buildings of the early 19th century - the Keraim kenasses. Outstanding monuments of Russian temple architecture are pre-revolutionary Orthodox churches - St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Church of St. Elijah.
The resort history of the city began at the end of the 19th century, when the first mud bath was built, where the healing mud of Lake Moinaki was used. Subsequently they opened medicinal properties mud and waters of other lakes of Evpatoria. There are several mineral springs on the territory of the resort, which, together with numerous other natural factors, makes a holiday in Evpatoria incredibly useful.
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On the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula shines a magnificent pearl - the beautiful Yalta. This is one of the most solar resorts Crimea, a city with luxurious nature and rich cultural heritage. It is interesting that Yalta acquired the status of a city and the fame of a fashionable resort only in the 19th century, although its history began much earlier...
Once upon a time, on the site of the future city, on the picturesque shore of the Black Sea, there was a small village of Yialos (from Greek - “shore”), founded in the 6th-5th centuries BC. Greek sailors. Like other cities of Crimea, the settlement changed hands more than once: from the Tauride Greeks to the Venetians, then to the Genoese, Byzantines; later it became part of the possessions of the Principality of Theodoro, the Ottoman Empire, and, finally, Russia. Dramatic changes occurred in the middle of the 19th century, when Small town, in the recent past - a fishing village, drew the attention of the highest government officials. In the 1860s, the nearest Yalta suburb - Livadia - became a summer residence royal family. And by the end of the 19th century, Yalta was turning into a prestigious vacation spot for the Russian aristocracy. The creation of fabulous palaces (Livadiysky, Massandrovsky, Vorontsovsky), noble estates and mansions organically integrated into the mountain landscape dates back to this time. In pre-revolutionary times, Yalta also attracted distinguished foreign guests. For example, in 1912, the German oil industrialist Baron P. Steingel, who loved to vacation in the Crimea, built a Gothic castle on the edge of the Aurora Rock - the famous “Swallow’s Nest”.
Without detracting from value and beauty palace and park ensembles, we will give primacy in the ranking of the region’s attractions to Yalta nature. Enclosed in the stone embrace of the Crimean Mountains, Yalta is open only to the sea and the sun. The terrain is extremely varied. There is mountain ranges, one of which includes the famous peak Ai-Petri; hills covered with dense pine and beech forests; deep gorges with waterfalls; valleys of mountain rivers, on one of which the most big waterfall in Crimea - the Uchan-Su waterfall, 98 meters high. Yalta, surrounded by greenery, boasts an abundance of exotic plants: palm trees, cypresses, magnolias, wisterias grow here...
One of the most beautiful places in the city and the most visited street in Crimea is the Yalta Embankment. Today it is developed resort area with numerous restaurants, cafes, attractions. On the embankment there is the President-Hotel "Tavrida", formerly the hotel of the same name, where different time Rimsky-Korsakov, Nekrasov, Chekhov, Bunin, Mayakovsky, Stanislavsky, Chaliapin stayed. Not far from the hotel building there is an entrance to cable car“Yalta Gorka”, which gives you the opportunity to enjoy bird's eye views of the city.
Outstanding figures of art and literature lived in Feodosia at different times - the world famous marine painter I.K. Aivazovsky, whose name the Feodosia Art Gallery bears today; an outstanding writer, the brightest representative of neo-romanticism A. Green, to whom the literary and memorial museum in Feodosia is dedicated. About history, culture, natural wealth south-eastern Crimea is narrated by Feodosiysky local history museum, which is the oldest provincial museum institution in Russia.
During the Great Patriotic War, the city survived the German occupation. Fierce fighting took place here, leading to significant destruction. For courage, perseverance and mass heroism, Feodosia was awarded the honorary title - City of Military Glory.
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The fortified city of Aluston has been known since the 6th century. The fortification, built by order of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, retained its role as an important coastal defensive point for all the states that owned it in the Middle Ages: the Byzantine Empire, the Khazar Khaganate, and the Principality of Theodoro. The fortress lost its strategic importance after the conquest of Crimea by the Turks. Ruins that have survived to this day ancient building- one of the main attractions of the peninsula.
Like Yalta, Alushta by the end of the 19th century turned from a quiet seaside village into popular resort. Among the curious pre-revolutionary buildings is the mansion of General Golubov, known as the “Golubka” dacha; mansion of merchant N.D. Stakheeva, Palace of Princess Gagarina. In 1941–1944 the city was under German occupation. A number of Alushta monuments are dedicated to military-historical events.
Soon after the end of the war, in the middle of the last century, a real tourism boom began in Alushta, when dozens of sanatoriums and boarding houses opened here. Today the city still attracts holidaymakers. On its territory there are a large number of beaches, attractions, an aquarium with a large collection of freshwater and marine fish, a dolphinarium, and interesting museums.
Alushta, located in a vast valley on the southern coast of Crimea, is surrounded by the Crimean Mountains like an amphitheater. The high Babugan-Yayla massif rises above the city in the west, Mount Chatyr-Dag in the north-west, and Demerdzhi in the north. The mountain slopes are covered with dense beech and pine forests. In the picturesque surroundings of Alushta, the famous Soviet films “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, “Hearts of Three”, “Ships Storm the Bastions” and others took place.
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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. The 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. Names of Greek colonies that 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, there was a single language of communication, the roots of which lie in.
The roots of the most ancient names 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 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 of the Crimean peninsula, 15 km from Sevastopol, there is an ancient city Balaclava, with 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 in the mountains of Tauris there lived Taurians who knew a lot about the art of war.
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. 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, strength, 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 emerged on both banks of the Kerch Strait, whose inhabitants consisted of representatives of various nations - 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 linguistic 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, dating back to the Ostrogothic dialect, was preserved for a long time tribes of the eastern Goths who came to the Black Sea region and the Azov region in 150 - 235, and who lived in the vicinity of Greek settlers and Scythians. Flemish monk V. Rubruk, who testifies in 1253 that the Goths in Crimea at this time they spoke the “Germanic dialect” ( idioma Teutonicum - “Tauric tongue”).
Spread of power Kyiv princes Ancient Rus' quite most peninsula closely and for a long time brought the population of Crimea closer to the 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 occasionally mention the Slavs in Tavria. 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 Tamatarkhoy later Tmutarakanya, the capital of the future ancient Russian principality of Tmutarakan, part of whose lands extended into the Crimea. Gradually Russian principality spreads its power the northwestern part of it on 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).
On the Taman Peninsula, the Tmutarakan stone was found, on which was carved an inscription that in 1068 Russian Prince Gleb Svyatoslavovich “I measured the sea on ice from Tmutarakan to Korchev. 10,000 fathoms and 4,000 fathoms.”
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 his strongholds was Sudak city(Russian name Surozh). According to the reports of the Arab writer Ibn al-Athir. At the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries, many Russian merchants lived in Crimea and the Black Sea was called Russian Sea.
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.
List of the most major cities Crimea: we briefly tell you what is remarkable about the cities and what sights you can see there.
Now on the Crimean peninsula, only 18 settlements have received city status, the largest of them in terms of area occupied are Sevastopol, Sudak, Yalta, Yevpatoria, Kerch and Simferopol.
Sevastopol is the largest city in Crimea
Large sea and commercial port, the most Big City Crimea, which has a special status and received the rights of a separate subject of the Russian Federation. According to 2015 data, the population was 398.97 thousand people - it is also the largest city in Crimea by population.
A huge number of attractions are concentrated here: the ruins of the ancient Greek settlement of Chersonesos, monuments of military eras (Russian-Turkish War, Great Patriotic War) and museums, a magnificent embankment, an Aquarium. Not far from the city is the cave monastery of Inkerman and Balaklava, the place where submarines were based. Sevastopol has a large number of picturesque bays.
Photo © mr. Wood / flickr.com
Once upon a time there was the capital of the Scythian state, which was later destroyed by the Goths. Simferopol is located in the central part of the peninsula and has no access to the sea. The Salgir River flows here.
Simferopol is the second largest city in Crimea by population after Sevastopol, with 332.6 thousand people living in it. Tourists in Simferopol are attracted by local attractions: the ancient site of Naples Scythian, Vorontsov Palace, Ethnographic Museum, Central Museum of Taurida, Kebir-Jami Cathedral Mosque, Weeping Rock, Chokurcha Cave, Red Cave (Kizil-Koba).
The third on the list of the largest cities in Crimea and the easternmost city of the peninsula, it is located on the shores of Kerch Bay. The local population is about 148 thousand people. Rich History The city dates back more than 2.5 thousand years; there are a huge number of monuments of the Bosporan and Scythian kingdoms, Tmutarakan, and Byzantine villages. Kerch is a great hero city that has perpetuated the memory of the events of the Great Patriotic War in numerous monuments and memorials.
Photo © Alexxx1979 / flickr.com
An ancient city in the west of Crimea, population - just over 106 thousand. Yevpatoria is one of the large cities of Crimea, stands on the shores of the Kalamitsky Bay, there are wonderful sandy beaches and a warm shallow sea. There are many in Evpatoria entertainment centers, water parks, attractions, Juma-Jami mosque, dervish abode, ancient aqueduct, Turkish baths, ancient temples. Nearby is the city with healing mud Saki, which has a large number of health facilities.
Photo © Yuriy Kuzin / flickr.com
The most popular South Coast resort with a population of 78.2 thousand people is at the same time the largest big city on this coast of Crimea. The city has many hotels and holiday homes, there is a beautiful embankment, monuments, alleys, a local history museum, the Chekhov House Museum, the Yalta Zoo "Fairy Tale", "Glade of Fairy Tales", the Uchan-Su waterfall, the Massandra Palace, the famous winery "Massandra", not far from Yalta - Livadia Palace and Nikitsky Botanical Garden.
Photo © B. Rad / flickr.com
Feodosia is an ancient city located in the southeastern part of the peninsula, founded by Greek colonists. Now about 70 thousand people live here, which makes this locality one of the largest in terms of population in Crimea. There are few ancient buildings here; the excavations that have begun are making residential areas difficult, so the main architectural monuments preserved from the Middle Ages: the remains of the citadel of the Genoese fortress, the walls of Hayots-berd, Armenian temples and the Armenian fountain, the Mufti-Jami mosque. Art connoisseurs will enjoy the Alexander Greene Literary and Memorial Museum and the National Art Gallery of the famous marine painter I.K. Aivazovsky.
Photo © naiv.super1 / flickr.com
Dzhankoy
An important railway junction in the northern part of the peninsula. According to the latest data, the population was about 39 thousand people. Shallow rivers flow through Dzhankoy and there is no access to the sea. The city is not rich in attractions: the Kalinovsky landscape park, home to more than 100 species of birds, a mosque, the Holy Protection Orthodox Church and a local history museum.
Alushta
Well known resort town South Bank Crimea, population is about 30 thousand people, which is much less than in Yalta, but nevertheless Alushta is one of the large cities of Crimea. Alushta has many beaches and attractions, an aquarium, a dolphinarium, a nature museum and an arboretum, not far from the city (near the village of Luchistoye) Mount Demerdzhi and the famous Valley of Ghosts.
Photo © lazy_lizzy / flickr.com
Bakhchisaray
Former capital of the Crimean Khanate. The city with a population of just over 27 thousand people is located in the steppe zone of Crimea in the foothills. The main attraction is the Khan's palace Khansaray. No less interesting for tourists are the Fountain of Tears, glorified by A.S. Pushkin, mosques and the cave city of Chufut-Kale.
Krasnoperekopsk
An industrial city in Crimea (specializing in chemical production), with a population of just over 26 thousand people. Located in the southern part of the Perekop Isthmus, the North Crimean Canal passes nearby.
The territory of Crimea was inhabited 3,000 years ago. Its indigenous inhabitants were the Tauri, famous for their warlike character and penchant for piracy. More precisely, this is the first people about whom it was possible to find out reliable information. Archaeologists have found ancient sites whose age exceeds 1 million years. The favorable location of the peninsula at the intersection of trade routes determined its fate, full of conquests. Greeks and Venetians, Scythians and Romans, Goths and Huns, Genoese and Turks, Tatars and Slavs managed to visit here. A rich historical past and traces of various cultures have led to the formation of a wide variety of settlements in the region over different eras, many of which still exist today.
Top 10 oldest cities in Crimea
Many ancient and earlier settlements that existed in Crimea have not survived. The most famous of them were:
- Chersonese Tauride - founded in antiquity by the Greeks, now located on the territory of Sevastopol and protected by UNESCO;
- Panticapaeum is the capital of the powerful Bosporan kingdom, the ruins of which are now on Mount Mithridates in Kerch;
- Kerkinitida is a settlement created by the ancient Greeks, on the site of which Evpatoria now stands.
The Crimean Republic includes 16 cities, and only two of them were founded in the last century: Krasnoperekopsk in 1932 and Shchelkino in 1978. The rest can boast of a rich, eventful history: at least three appeared more than two thousand years ago, and the formation of a significant part of the others falls in the Middle Ages.
Among the most ancient cities of Crimea that currently exist are:
- Kerch - 7th century BC e.
- Feodosia - VI century BC e.
- Evpatoria - 497 BC e.
- Sudak - 212.
- Alushta - VI century.
- Alupka - 960.
- Yalta - 1154.
- Old Crimea - XIII century.
- Belogorsk - XIII century.
- Bakhchisarai - 1389.
Kerch is the most ancient in Crimea
The oldest city of the Crimean peninsula is Kerch, located in its eastern part. Archaeological research show that people lived on these lands already 100,000 years ago, and in the center of Kerch scientists found a mammoth tooth. More than 60 sites date back to the later Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. At first, the local primitive population was engaged in fishing and hunting, and later mastered cattle breeding and crafts.
The real history of the city began in the 7th century BC. e., when Greek sailors, who were exploring neighboring regions, actively founded new colonies in the Black Sea region. One of them was the ancient settlement of Panticapaeum: it was located on a hill - Mount Mithridates, and was surrounded by other, less famous settlements. Subsequently, they all merged together, forming the urban area of modern Kerch. In 480 BC. e. Panticapaeum reached its peak of prosperity when it assumed the title of capital of the Bosporus Kingdom - one of the most powerful in the region at that time. Since then, the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, the Royal Mound of the king of the Spartokid dynasty and an impressive necropolis have reached us.
By the 4th century of the new millennium, after the unsuccessful era of the reign of the Tiberian Julian dynasty and the Hunnic invasion, Panticapaeum finally lost any importance. Two centuries later, the Turks came here and named the settlement Karsha, which meant “the other shore.” In the 10th century, the Slavs took possession of the lands, changing the toponym in their own way: Korchev. Afterwards it was owned by the Genoese, then by the Turks, and then by the Russians. From this period, military fortresses remained in Kerch: the Turkish Yeni-Kale and the Russian Kerch, built in the 18th and 19th centuries, respectively. The main attraction of the resort, the Mithridates Staircase, appeared only in the middle of the last century, but it is worth climbing it for the stunning panoramas.
Feodosia - an ancient picturesque town
Almost simultaneously with Kerch, and by the forces of the same Milesian Greeks, Feodosia was founded. Unlike its famous neighbor in the rating, Feodosia did not distinguish itself in anything special in antiquity, but in 2015 it received honorary title Cities of military glory for the merits of the centuries-old defense of the Fatherland.
The date of the formation of the settlement is streamlined as the 6th century BC. e., since there is no exact data on the time of appearance. However, it is reliably known that from 355 BC. e. it already belonged to the territory of the Bosporan kingdom. In this regard, the further fates of the settlements are similar: Huns, Byzantines, Tatars, Genoese. The latter brought a golden era to the small settlement: they renamed the town Cafu. The Genoese made it an important commercial trading port and administrative center, from where they controlled everything Northern Black Sea region: by the 15th century it could already be compared in size to Constantinople.
They also gave Feodosia its main tourist attraction today: a defensive limestone fortress built in the 14th century. Previously, it circled an area of 70 hectares, but today only its southern part and several towers are well preserved, among which the Tower of St. Constantine with hinged loopholes deserves special attention.
Evpatoria - beautiful and historically attractive
The appearance of Evpatoria, the best modern children's balneo-mud climatic resort not only in Crimea, but in all countries, dates back to the fifth century, or more precisely to 497 BC. post-Soviet space. The healing properties of the local mud have been known since the ancient period, when the first reliably known settlement, Kerkinitida, was formed. The settlement was located on the shores of the Kalamitsky Bay and on a cape, today called Quarantine.
According to some reports, the Greeks from Ionia arrived here a century earlier, and by the 4th century of the previous era they were able to create a prosperous trading settlement that existed in the status of an independent polis, independently developing its own economy. This state of affairs did not last long: in the same century it became dependent on the Kherson kingdom. And if development continued under him, then the Scythians, and then the Huns, destroyed everything. In the Middle Ages, the Turks founded the Gezlev fortress here, and in 1784, by decree of Catherine II, the settlement received the status of a city and was renamed Evpatoria in honor of the famous ruler Mithridates VI Eupator, who ruled in Kerch in antiquity.
