Crimea: history of the peninsula. How did Crimea develop and what is the history of its people? Greek city-states in Crimea
(set of postcards with accompanying text)
Since 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. e. the great civilization of Greece arose. From the shores of Hellas, brave sailors set off in search of new lands.
Where large ones are now located sea ports, industrial and resort centers of Crimea
Evpatoria, Sevastopol, Feodosia and Kerch, in the VI - V centuries. BC e. The Greeks founded the cities of Kerkinitida, Chersonesus, Theodosia, Panticapaeum, and near it Myrmekios, 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 food to the Mediterranean Agriculture, purchased from local tribes - Scythians, Maeotians, Sindians. In exchange, olive oil, wine, art and craft items were brought from the cities of the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor.
Chersonesos was founded in 421 BC. e. 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. The highest body of power was 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. The remains of defensive structures - massive towers, fortresses, parts of stone walls - have also been preserved throughout the state. This indicates the constant military danger to which the residents were exposed. The famous Chersonesos oath speaks about their patriotism. Its text was carved at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd centuries. BC e. on a marble slab found during excavations of the city:
... “I swear by Zeus, Gaia, Helios, the Virgin, the gods and goddesses of the Olympians... I will not betray Chersonesos...” The Chersonesos swore that they would not betray either the city or its possessions to the enemies, they would protect the democratic system, and would not disclose the 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 foundations of the walls and basements. Particularly interesting are the mint, baths, and the ruins of a theater that existed from the 3rd century. BC e. to the 4th century n. e. Only the staircases and stone benches for spectators have partially survived 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 Chersonesos - metalworking, jewelry, and weaving.
The largest ancient state in the Black Sea region was the so-called Bosporan kingdom. It was formed as a result of the unification of initially independent Greek cities, such as Panticapaeum, Myrmekiy, 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 e. 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 e. Nymphaeum and Theodosia, as well as lands inhabited by other tribes, were annexed to the possessions of Bosporus. In the 1st century BC e. The Bosporus captured most of the territory of Crimea and subjugated Chersonesos.
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 were located inside it. 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 fragments of 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, is a Bosporan military settlement of the first centuries AD. e., guarding the approaches to the capital.
Next to every ancient city there was its necropolis - the city of the dead. 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 were depicted real life. 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. n. e., possibly the Bosporan king Riskuporides, a unique golden mask was found that reproduced 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 of Greek art were discovered in them: 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 e. from the Kul-Oba mound. They are made in the form of disks, to which numerous woven intersecting chains are attached, connected by plates and rosettes. On a 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 the ancient cities of Crimea are presented in the collections of the State Hermitage in Leningrad, the State Historical Museum And State Museum Fine Arts named after. 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 the greatest cultural monuments, and better understand the distant past of our Motherland.
I. Kruglikova
Sevastopol. Main street and residential areas of Chersonesos
Part of the defensive wall of Chersonesus Tower of Zeno
Mint of Chersonesos. III century BC e.
Chersonesos and Roman coins. III century BC e - III century. n. e. Chersonesos State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve
Theater masks Decoration of sarcophagi from the necropolis of Panticapaeum. Gypsum. I - II centuries. n. e. State Hermitage Museum
Ruins of the Chersonesos theater. III century n. e. - IV century n. e.
Tombstone of a Roman legionnaire
Courtyard in front of the Chersonese building In the hall ancient culture Stone. II century n. e.from the archaeological museum-reserve
Chersonesos State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve
"Meeting of citizens of Chersonesos." Painting by artist R. Voskresensky.
Stele with the oath of citizens Chersonesos State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve of Chersonesos. Beginning of the 3rd century BC e.
Kerch. View of Mount Mithridates
Part of the portico of the public building of Panticapaeum on Mount Mithridates.
Base of the column of the 2nd century. BC e. portico
Entrance to the Tsar's Kurgan. Kerch.
"The Abduction of the Cortex by Pluto." Fragment of the painting of the crypt of Demeter of the Bosporan king Panticapaeum. First half of the 3rd century. n. e. State Hermitage Museum
Mask from a burial of the 5th - 4th centuries. BC e. Beginning of the 1st century n. e. Riskuporida III. Gold.
Sarcophagus from Myrmekium. Marble. End of the 2nd century n. e.
Relief of the side wall of the State Hermitage sarcophagus
Figured vase. Clay. II century n. e. Panticapaeum.
Terracotta figurines. Panticapaeum. V - III centuries. BC e. Hermitage
Head of a statue of the Bosporan king. Marble. Panticapaeum. I century n. e. State Hermitage Museum
Earring from Feodosia. Gold. IV century BC e. Panticapaeum. III century BC e. State Hermitage Museum
Ring with cameo. Gold, garnet. Gold, enamel. Kurgan State Hermitage Kul Oba IV in BC
Temporal suspension.
%D0%90%D0%BC%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%20%D0%B8%D0%B7%20%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0 %BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8.%20%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%83% D0%B4%D1%8B.%20%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%BE.%20%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BD% D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B9.%20V%20%D0%B2.%20%D0%B4%D0%BE%20% D0%BD.%20%D1%8D.%20%D0%A4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%20%D0%B8%D0%B7%20% D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8.
%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%BE,%20%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1% 81%D1%8C%20-%20I%20%D0%B2.%20%D0%BD.%20%D1%8D.%20%D0%93%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%83% D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D0%AD% D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B6%20%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%85%D1%80% D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5%20%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%BE.
%D1%8D%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8%20%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0 %D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8.%20%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0% B0%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B9.
%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B9.%20I%20%D0%B2. %20%D0%B4%D0%BE%20%D0%BD.%20%D1%8D.%20%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%86%20I%20 %D0%B2.%20%D0%B4%D0%BE%20%D0%BD.%20%D1%8D.%20-%20%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%B0 %D0%BB%D0%BE%20I%20%D0%B2.%20%D0%BD.%20%D1%8D.%20%D0%93%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%83% D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D0%AD% D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B6
%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B0. %20%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0
%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%20%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BF %D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B8%20%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%B4%D1%8B%20%D1 %80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8C,%20%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BE%D0%BB% D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B0.%20%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B5 %D0%B9.%20IV%20%D0%B2.%20%D0%B4%D0%BE%20%D0%BD.%20%D1%8D.%20%D0%93%D0%BE%D1 %81%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9 %20%D0%AD%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B6
Excavation of crypts
Ruins of a Bosporan settlement near the village
Excavations of the necropolis settlement Nymphaeum Semenovka
Photo by V. Ginsburg, V. Gukov, A. Rasovsky. The author of the text and compiler is Doctor of Historical Sciences I. T. Kruglikova. Reviewers: Doctor of Historical Sciences G. A. Koshelenko and Candidate of Historical Sciences V. I. Isaeva. "Ancient cities of Crimea". Set of 15 color postcards. © Publishing house "Planet".
Moscow, 1984. Cover by artist O. Belozersky. Head Edited by N. Boyarkin. Editor D. Greenberg.
Art editor N. Trofimova. Technical editor T. Khlebnova. 24/8a-3960. Circulation 135,000. Price 1 rub. 05 k. Order 1199. Offset printing. Paper 250 g/m2.
Order of the Red Banner of Labor Kalinin Printing Plant Soyuzpoligraprom State Committee USSR for publishing houses, printing and book trade, Kalinin, Lenin Ave., 5.
VI-V centuries BC e. - a time when the vast expanses of the Crimean steppes were dominated by Scythian tribes, and the coasts were explored by newcomers from Hellas. Immigrants from Miletus founded Feodosia and Panticapaeum, on the site of which Kerch is now located. Chersonesos, whose remains are located on the territory of modern Sevastopol, was built on the site of a Taurus settlement by Greeks who came from Heraclea. The Greeks turned the ancient settlement of the Sinds into the once prosperous Gorgippia, which was part of the Bosporan kingdom. The remains of the streets of Gorgippia can still be seen in Anapa today.
Chersonese Tauride and the Bosporan Kingdom
By the middle of the 5th century BC. e. On the Black Sea coast, two Greek states were formed - the slave-owning republic of Chersonese Tauride and the autocratic Bosporan kingdom. Under the rule of Chersonese, the western territories were united - now the cities of Evpatoria (other Kerkinitida), Chernomorskoye, Kalos-Limeni are located there. The city was surrounded by powerful stone fortifications.
The capital of the Bosporan kingdom was located in Panticapaeum. The city's Acropolis rose on Mount Mithridates. Archaeologists have discovered the Royal and Melek-Chesme mounds, several stone crypts and other valuable monuments of architecture and material culture of the Bosporan kingdom near the ancient Acropolis.
Crimea in ancient sources
Together with the Greek colonists, who founded hundreds of settlements (polises), the art of building ships, growing olive trees and vines, create majestic temples, stadiums and theaters. In the monuments of ancient literature, many lines are dedicated to Crimea. In the Iliad and Odyssey, Cimmeria is mentioned, completely unreasonably called a sad country in which clouds and damp fog reign. The Crimean material served as the basis for Euripides to create the drama “Iphigenia in Tauris”. The father of history, Herodotus, wrote about the Tauri and Scythians in the 5th century BC. e.
Neapolis Scythian
By the end of the 3rd century BC. e. Scythian territories began to shrink under the onslaught of Sarmatian tribes. The capital of the Scythian state was Neapolis - Scythian Naples, which arose on the Salgir River not far from modern Simferopol.
Panticalei Khankai(Greek Παντικάπαιον) founded on the site of modern Kerch by immigrants from Miletus at the end of the 7th century BC. e., in its heyday it occupied about 100 hectares. The Acropolis was located on a mountain called today Mithridates. The main patron deity of Panticapaeum from the founding of the settlement was Apollo, and it was dedicated to him main temple acropolis The construction of the oldest and most grandiose building, by the standards of the Northern Black Sea region, of the Temple of Apollo Ietra was completed by the end of the 6th century. BC e. In addition, later, next to the palace of the Spartokids, there was a temple in honor of Aphrodite and Dionysus. Over time, the entire city was surrounded by a powerful system of stone fortifications, superior to that of Athens. In the vicinity of the city there was a necropolis, which differed from the necropolises of other Hellenic cities. In addition to the usual ground burials for Hellenes at that time, the necropolis of Panticapaeum consisted of long chains of mounds stretching along the roads from the city to the steppe. On the southern side, the city is bordered by the most significant ridge of mounds, today called Yuz-Oba - a hundred hills. Buried under their mounds were representatives of the barbarian nobility - the Scythian leaders who exercised military-political protectorate over the city. The mounds still constitute one of the most striking attractions in the vicinity of Kerch. The most popular of them are Kul-Oba, Melek-Chesmensky, Zolotoy and especially the famous Tsarsky.
The history of Panticapaeum as a city began at the end of the 7th century BC. e., when on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait) ancient Greek colonists founded a number of independent city-states (polises) that formed in the 40s. VI century BC e. military confederation. The goal of the intercity union was to confront the indigenous population - the Scythians. Panticapaeum was the largest, most powerful and probably the first. This is indicated by the fact that already from the late 40s. VI century BC e. Panticapaeum minted its own silver coin, and from the last third of the 70s. IV century BC e. - and gold.
City of Feodosia was founded by Greek colonists from Miletus in the 6th century BC. e. The ancient name of the city was Kaffa, mentioned during the time of Emperor Diocletian (284-305).
From 355 BC. e. Kaffa was supposedly part of the Bosporan kingdom. According to some estimates, ancient Kaffa was the second most important city in the European part of the Bosporan kingdom with a population of 6-8 thousand people. Economic prosperity was the reason for the outbreak of war between Feodosia and Bosporus. In 380 BC. e. The troops of King Leukon I annexed Feodosia to the Bosporan kingdom. As part of the ancient Bosporus, Feodosia was the largest trading port in the Northern Black Sea region. Trade ships with grain departed from here. The fortified center of Feodosia - the acropolis - was located on Quarantine Hill.
The city was destroyed by the Huns in the 4th century AD. e.
Chersonese Tauride, or simply Chersonesus (ancient Greek Χερσόνησος - ἡ χερσόνησος) is a polis founded by the ancient Greeks on the Heraclean Peninsula on the southwestern coast of Crimea. Nowadays the Khersones settlement is located on the territory of the Gagarinsky district of Sevastopol. For two thousand years, Chersonesus was a major political, economic and cultural center of the Northern Black Sea region, where it was the only Dorian colony. Chersonesos was a Greek colony founded in 529/528. BC e. came from Heraclea Pontus, located on the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea. It is located in the southwestern part of Crimea, near the bay, which is currently called Karantinnaya. In the earliest layers of Chersonesos, archaeologists found significant number shards (fragments) of archaic black-figure ceramics, which date back no later than the 6th century BC. e.
A little over a hundred years after the founding of Chersonese, its territory already occupied the entire space of the peninsula lying between the Karantinnaya and Pesochnaya bays (translated from Greek “Chersonese” means peninsula, and the Hellenes called the southern coast of Crimea Tavrika (the country of the Taurians).
10. Socio-political life and government structure of Chersonesos.
State authority
The bulk of the free population of Chersonesos were Greeks, and the Greeks were Dorians. This is indicated by epigraphic monuments, which, until the first centuries of our era, were written in the Doric dialect. Characteristic Features the latter is the use: α instead of y, for example in the words δάμος-δ-^ιος, βουλά, -βοολή, Χερσόνασος instead of Χερσόνησος, etc.
But, along with the Greeks, Tauris and Scythians lived in Chersonesus. Scythian names are found on amphora handles and in epigraphic monuments (ΙΡΕ I 2, 343). One of the Chersonese ambassadors in Delphi, who received proxy there, has the patronymic Σκοθα;. The same person is apparently named in the act of sale of land (ΙΡΕ I 2, 403). Thus, some people from the native population not only lived in Chersonesos, but also enjoyed civil rights there. It is difficult to say whether this was an exception or, on the contrary, a mass phenomenon. In any case, there is no doubt that Chersonesus was closely connected with the local population, and did not stand isolated from it.
The ruling class in Chersonesos were slave owners: landowners, workshop owners, traders, as well as small peasants and artisans. The oppressed and exploited class were the slaves who came from the native population; “Slave owners and slaves are the first major division into classes.” 1 In addition, the Scythian population, who lived on the territory belonging to Chersonesus, was dependent on Chersonese. The revolt of the Scythians under the leadership Savmaka is convincing evidence that the Scythians were exploited by the Greeks.
During the period under review, there was a democratic republic in Chersonesos. The forms of government bodies and the general nature of the state structure of Chersonesos have much in common with the state structure of Heraclea and its metropolis - Megara. 1 The main source for studying the state structure of Chersonesos are epigraphic monuments - inscriptions on marble slabs. Valuable documents are inscriptions issued on behalf of the state: honorary decrees, proxies, treaties, acts, etc. One of the most important monuments of Chersonesus is the oath dating back to the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. (IPE I 2, 401). Until now, it was generally accepted that the oath represented an oath that was taken by young men who had reached the age of majority - ephebes, who then received the rights of citizenship, that the oath listed all the duties that every citizen had to observe. 2 Academician S. A. Zhebelev 3 believes that all citizens of the state had to take the oath after the attempt to overthrow democracy was eliminated. This new understanding of the text of the oath gives us the opportunity to learn about the class struggle that took place in Hersemes at a fairly early period, which makes the oath an even more valuable monument.
Political life
Despite the fact that the political system of Chersonesus was called “democracy”, the leading role in the political life of the city is gradually passing into the hands of representatives of the most prosperous part of the population. Participation in public administration was not paid and therefore was practically inaccessible to those who lived only from the results of their labor. As follows from the honorary decrees and dedicatory inscriptions of Chersonese, actual power in the state gradually passes to several families, and the Chersonese democracy, as in Olbia, becomes a democracy only for a small circle of wealthy citizens.
Political life in the ancient city was always closely connected with religious life. Temples stood out in the architectural decoration of the city. Unfortunately, as a result of subsequent reconstructions and redevelopment of the city area, all the ancient temples were destroyed and were not preserved. However, we know from honorary inscriptions that there were several temples in the city. The main shrine of Chersonesos from the 4th century BC. e. became a sanctuary of the Virgin with a temple and a statue of this deity. In general, the religious life of the city at that time was rich and varied. At the head of the official pantheon, judging by the oath of citizens, were Zeus, Gaia, Helios and Virgo. In addition to the temple in the city near Chersonesus, on Cape Feolent or on the Mayachny Peninsula, there was another temple of the Virgin. In this temple, according to ancient Greek legends, the priestess was Iphigenia, the daughter of the leader of the Trojan campaign of the Greeks, Agamemnon, who was sacrificed by him. There was a temple to the Virgin in Chersonesos itself.
11.Bosporan kingdom. Government structure and socio-economic life. Uprising of Savmak
Bosporan Kingdom(or Bosporus, Vosporan kingdom (N.M. Karamzin), Vosporan tyranny) - an ancient state in the Northern Black Sea region on the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait). The capital is Panticapaeum. Formed around 480 BC. e. as a result of the unification of Greek cities on the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, as well as the entry of Sindiki. Later expanded along the eastern shore of Maeotis ( Sea of Azov) to the mouth of the Tanais (Don). From the end of the 2nd century BC. e. as part of the Pontic kingdom. From the end of the 1st century. BC e. post-Hellenistic state dependent on Rome. Became part of Byzantium in the 1st half. VI century Known from Greco-Roman historians. After the middle of the 7th century BC, Greek settlers appeared on the northern shore of the Black Sea, and by the beginning of the second quarter of the 6th century BC. e. master significant part coast, with the exception of the southern coast of Crimea. The first colony in this area was the Taganrog settlement, founded in the second half of the 7th century BC, located in the area of modern Taganrog. Most likely, the colonies were founded as apoikia - independent policies (free civil groups). Greek colonies were founded in the area of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait), where there was no permanent local population. There was a permanent population in the Crimean Mountains, where the Taurian tribes lived, Scythians periodically roamed the steppes, and semi-nomadic Meotians and Sindian farmers lived around the Kuban River. At first, the colonies did not experience pressure from the barbarians, their population was very small, and the settlements had no defensive walls. Around the middle of the 6th century. BC e. Fires were recorded at some small monuments, including Myrmekia, Porthmia and Thorik, after which small fortified acropolises appeared on the first two of them. Conveniently located, possessing a good trading harbor and therefore having reached a significant level of development, Panticapaeum, presumably, became the center around which the Greek cities of both banks of the Kerch Strait united into an intercity union. Currently, an opinion has emerged that initially he managed to unite only nearby small towns around himself, and on the other side of the strait, the center founded in the 3rd quarter became the center. VI century BC e. Phanagoria. Around 510 BC e. The temple of Apollo of the Ionic order was built in Panticapaeum. Apparently, on behalf of the sacred union of cities that arose around the temple, a coin with the legend “ΑΠΟΛ” was issued. Whether this union was equal to a political one, how it was organized, who was part of it is unknown. There is a hypothesis linking the issue of these coins with Phanagoria.
Socio-economic life
Population large territories The Bosporan kingdom was at different stages of socio-economic development and social relations. The slave-owning mode of production reigned here, and therefore society was divided into free and bonded people. The ruling elite included the royal family and its entourage, officials of the central and local government apparatus, shipowners, slave traders, owners of land plots, craft workshops, wealthy merchants, representatives of the tribal and military nobility, and priests. The owners and managers of the land were Bosporan rulers and large landowners. There was state and private ownership of land. The Bosporan state was inhabited by free citizens of average income who did not have slaves, foreigners, as well as free communal peasants (Pelata). The latter were the main payers of taxes in kind for the right to use land and primarily bore the burden of duties in favor of the state and the local aristocracy. In addition, peasants were obliged to participate in the militia during the attack of nomadic tribes on the Bosporan kingdom. The low level of the social ladder was traditionally occupied by slaves, divided into private and state. The work of state slaves was mainly used in the construction of public buildings and defensive structures. In tribal organizations, slavery was domestic, patriarchal. Local aristocrats widely used slave labor on agricultural farms, where they mainly grew bread for sale.
State structure
According to the historical type, the Bosporan kingdom was a slave state, like the city-states that were part of it. In terms of the form of government, it was one of the varieties of despotic monarchy. From the beginning of its formation, the Bosporan kingdom was an aristocratic republic, headed from 483 BC. stood the clan of Archenaktidiv. From the middle of the 5th century. (438 BC) power passed to the Spartokid dynasty, which ruled here for three centuries. The Spartokids for a long time styled themselves archons of the Bosporus and Feodosia, and called themselves kings after the vassal barbarian peoples. Already from the III Art. BC. The double title disappears, the rulers call themselves kings (the Bosporan kings retained the title of archons in the 1st century BC only in relation to Panticapaeum).
The city-states that became part of the Bosporan kingdom had a certain autonomy and their own bodies of self-government ( public assemblies, city councils, elected positions). But already on the verge of a new era, the Bosporan kings became sole rulers, owners who called themselves “kings of kings” (with the accession of new tribes to the state, the title of head of state - king - was added to their ethnic name). In the 1st-3rd centuries AD. In the Bosporus, the tendency towards centralization of power intensified, accompanied by the formation of a complex state-bureaucratic structure with the tsarist administration at its head.
Savmak uprising
Scythian uprising in the Bosporus state in 107 BC. e. It flared up in Panticapaeum during negotiations with Diophantus on the transfer of power from the Bosporan king Perisad V to the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator (See Mithridates VI Eupator). Perisad was killed by Savmak, and Diophantus fled to Chersonesus. The rebels took possession of the entire European part of the Bosporus. In the N. century. The Scythian population, consisting of dependent peasants, artisans, and slaves, participated. S.v. prevented the implementation of a political deal, with the help of which the slave-owning elite of the Bosporus, trying to find a way out of the acute crisis and maintain their class dominance, tried to establish a regime of firm power, transferring it into the hands of Mithridates VI. The rebel leader Savmak became the ruler of Bosporus. The system established during the reign of Savmak, which lasted about a year, is unknown. After lengthy preparation, Mithridates VI sent a large punitive expedition of Diophantus to Sinope. In Crimea, Chersonesus detachments were included in it. Diophantus' troops took Feodosia, crossed the Kerch Peninsula and captured Panticapaeum. S.v. was suppressed, Savmak was captured, and the Bosporan state came under the rule of Mithridates VI.
Slavs in Crimea.
The Slavs appeared in Crimea in the first centuries of our era. Some historians associate their appearance on the peninsula with the so-called great migration of peoples of the 3rd-8th centuries. n. e. The most expressive traces of Slavic culture identified by archaeologists date back to the times Kievan Rus. For example, during excavations on Tepsel Hill (near the current urban-type settlement of Planerskoye), it was discovered that Slavic settlements existed there for a long time, arose in the 12th-13th centuries. The temple opened on the hill is close in its plan to the temples of Kievan Rus, and the oven excavated in one of the dwellings resembles those of ancient Russia. The same can be said about the ceramics found during excavations. Remains of ancient Russian churches have been identified in different regions peninsula, most of them are located in eastern Crimea. Fresco paintings and the plaster, judging by the fragments found in these ruins, is close to similar material Kyiv cathedrals of the 11th-12th centuries.
Written sources indicate that Crimea was still at the beginning of the 9th century. falls within the sphere of influence ancient Russian princes. For example, the life of Stephen of Sourozh says that in the first quarter of the 9th century. Russian prince Bravlin attacked Crimea, captured Kherson, Kerch and Sudak (some historians consider this episode semi-legendary).
In the middle of the 11th century. the ancient Rus begin to settle in the Azov region, take possession Greek city Tamatarcha, later Tmutarakan - the capital of the future Old Russian principality. Sources give reason to believe that by the middle of the 10th century. the power of the Kyiv princes extended to part of the lands in the Crimea and, above all, to the Kerch Peninsula.
In 944, the Kiev prince Igor installed his governor in the Crimea, near the Kerch Strait, displacing the Khazars from there. It is difficult to accurately establish the boundaries of ownership of Russian lands in Crimea during this period. But the increased influence of the Rus in Crimea is evidenced by the text of the agreement concluded by Igor with Byzantium after an unsuccessful campaign against Constantinople in 945: “And about the Korsun country: there are so many cities in that part, but the princes of Rus do not have power... and that the country does not submit to you,” that is, to the prince of Kyiv. By this treaty, Vazantium sought to limit the influence of the Russian princes in Crimea, taking advantage of the defeat of the Rus in 945. By the same treaty, the Kiev prince pledged to defend the Korsun land from the Black Bulgarians, which was only possible if Igor retained a certain territory in the eastern part of the Crimea or on Taman, where at that time the future Tmutarakan principality was taking shape.
Igor's son Svyatoslav managed to strengthen the influence of the Kyiv princes in Crimea, especially in the period 962-971. Only Svyatoslav’s unsuccessful campaign in Bulgaria forced him to promise the Byzantine emperor not to claim “neither the power of Korsun, and as many of their cities as possible, nor the country of Bulgaria.” But this was a temporary retreat of Rus' in Crimea. Svyatoslav's son Vladimir carried out a campaign against Korsun in 988 and captured the city.
Byzantium had to sign an agreement with the Kyiv prince, which recognized his possessions in the Crimea and the Azov region. Thanks to this agreement, Kievan Rus gained access to the Black Sea and strengthened the Tmutarakan principality, which was dependent on it. After the Korsun campaign, the city of Bosporus and its district were annexed to this principality, which received the Russian name Korchev (from the word “korcha” - forge, present-day Kerch).
Throughout the XI century. The Tmutarakan principality, including its lands on the Crimean Peninsula, belonged to Ancient Rus'. At the end of the 11th century. mentions of Tmutarakan disappear from the chronicle, but, obviously, even before the middle of the 12th century. The Kerch Peninsula and Taman were Russian. In the second half of the 12th century. The Tmutarakan principality fell under the blows of the Polovtsians, who roamed the Northern Black Sea region.
A number of written sources indicate that the lands on the Kerch Peninsula belonged to the Kyiv princes. Idrisi called the Kerch Strait “the mouth of the Russian River” and even knew a city in this region with the name “Russia” (We can assume that this is the Russian Korchev, which, according to a Byzantine source in 1169, was called “Russia” for some time). On medieval European and Asian maps of Crimea, many names of cities were preserved, indicating the long and long stay of the Rus on the peninsula: “Cosal di Rossia”, “Russia”, “Rossofar”, “Rosso”, “Rosika” (near Evpatoria), etc.
The Polovtsian and then the Mongol-Tatar invasion cut off Crimea from Kievan Rus for a long time.
13. Principality of Tmutarakan. Political structure, socio-economic life.
There are still many gaps in the history of the ancient Russian semi-enclave on the shores of the Kerch Strait - the Tmutarakan Principality. For example, the first mention of it in Russian chronicles appears in 988, when the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich sent his young son Mstislav to reign in Tmutarakan, but the circumstances under which these lands came into the possession of the Kiev princes, and the time when this happened, remain a subject of debate among modern historians. It is not known for certain who owned these lands before the arrival of the Russians. We do not know the exact boundaries of the Tmutarakan land and the time when Tmutarakan ceased to be a Russian principality.
According to one version, the Tmutarakan table was captured by Svyatoslav during a campaign against the Khazars back in 965-966. According to another, these lands, during the seizure by the Kyiv prince Vladimir Korsuni (medieval Kherson, modern Sevastopol), were granted by the Byzantines to the Russian prince for the obligation to protect the Crimean possessions of the empire from raids by nomads.
A lot of reliable information about the Tmutarakan principality has been preserved. It is safe to say that its territory included the Kerch Peninsula with the city of Korchev (Greek Bosporus, modern Kerch) and the Taman Peninsula, where the capital of the principality was the city of Tmutarakan (Greek Tamatarkha, Matrakha, modern village of Taman). Probably, the Tmutarakan principality also belonged to some sections of the coast of the Eastern Azov region, where rich fisheries have long been located.
Residents of the coasts of the Kerch Strait were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, and caught fish, which abounded in the waters of the Azov and Black Seas. Crafts flourished in the cities, primarily pottery production. But most important occupation The inhabitants of the principality, located at the intersection of trade routes, had trade that brought great income to the townspeople and the state.
The population of the principality was motley. Many Greeks lived here, settled in the cities and villages of Turkic nomads, including the Khazars, Jewish merchants and artisans, as well as people from the Caucasus, primarily the Zikhs and Alans. Over time, a noticeable Slavic layer appeared, represented by princely people, warriors, merchants, artisans and clergy.
The city of Tmutarakan was the seat of the head of the Zikh diocese, which reported directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Lead seals of Archbishop Anthony, who headed the diocese in the middle of the 11th century, are known.
Prince Mstislav was a very energetic ruler. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, in 1022 he set out on a campaign against the Kasogs. They came out to meet him. They were led by Prince Rededya. Both princes had a strong build and were distinguished by their strength, so they agreed to resolve the dispute by combat, so as not to destroy my people. According to the customs of that time, they fought without weapons, and only the winner had the right to kill the vanquished. The victory went to Mstislav. According to the agreement, the Tmutarakan prince received land, power over the Kasogs, property and the family of the vanquished.
The very next year, Mstislav, relying on his squad, the Kasogs and Khazars (inhabitants of the principality) subordinate to him, opposed his brother Yaroslav and fought for the Kiev throne. Having defeated Yaroslav, he received half of Rus' with its capital in Chernigov. Soon Mstislav leaves Tmutarakan, which is now controlled by his proxies.
Later, Prince Gleb ruled here, famous for measuring the distance from Tmutarakan to Korchev along the ice in 1068 and immortalizing this event with an inscription on the famous Tmutarakan stone, found in Taman at the end of the 18th century. For some time, Rostislav Vsevolodovich reigned here, hiding from the Kyiv government. He was poisoned by the Greeks at the instigation of Grand Duke Svyatoslav. Here and later, rogue princes more than once found refuge.
The most famous Tmutarakan prince was Oleg Svyatoslavich (baptized Mikhail). He first arrived in Tmutarakan in 1078 and, like Rostislav, hid here from his enemies. Having been defeated in the struggle for the reign of Chernigov, he was betrayed by the Polovtsians, captured by the “Kozars” in Tmutarakan and handed over to the Byzantines. His fate was determined by the change of power in Constantinople. Under the patronage of the new emperor of Byzantium, a lead seal with the image of the same archangel and the Greek inscription was preserved: “Lord help Michael, archon of Matrakha, Zikhia and all Khazaria.” An active and successful politician, Oleg has reigned in Tmutarakan for eleven years, but closely follows the events in Kyiv, dreaming of taking the Chernigov throne. And after the death in 1093 of the last of the Yaroslavichs - Vsevolod, realizing that the new Grand Duke Vladimir Monomakh was still weak, in 1094, with his allies - the Polovtsian khans, he realized his dream - he established himself in Chernigov. After this event, Tmutarakan is no longer mentioned in the chronicles as a Russian possession.
The history of the Russian church is also closely connected with Tmutarakan. In addition to the church built by Mstislav in the name of the Mother of God, in gratitude for the victory over Rededya granted by the Virgin Mary, a Russian monastery was founded here near the city.
Its founder was the monk Nikon, known as one of the first Russian chroniclers and spiritual pillars of Rus' at that time, an associate of St. Theodosius of Pechersk. Nikon's influence on the spiritual and cultural life of Kievan Rus cannot be overestimated. Nikon lived for a long time in Tmutarakan and sometimes carried out diplomatic assignments for the townspeople. It was probably here that he began to create a new chronicle, which he completed in Kyiv.
After the end of the Old Russian reign in Tmutarakan, Russian people continued to live in Taman for a long time, and the Russian language was used here even in the middle of the 13th century.
In the sixth century BC. e. The first settlement of the ancient Greeks was founded on the Crimean peninsula, thus marking the beginning of the Great Greek colonization in the Northern Black Sea region. The ancient Greeks were attracted here by the fertile lands, favorable conditions for cattle breeding and trade, they were not afraid of either the cold climate or the hostility of the Scythians and Taurians, who inhabited the territory of Crimea at that time. Today, on the site of some ancient Greek cities, there are ruins of fortress walls, remains of residential and utility buildings, museums with antique objects, which are carefully preserved and are attractions of the Crimean Peninsula.
Kerkinitida – antiquity under the dome
One of the first ancient Greek cities founded on the western coast of the Crimean Peninsula was. The city was founded on the territory of modern Evpatoria at the turn of the 6th-5th centuries BC and until the end of the fourth century it existed as a separate state that actively traded, was engaged in agriculture, various crafts and minted its own coins. During the period IV-II centuries BC. e. Kerkinitida was part of Chersonesus and was engaged in the supply of grain, after which, as a result of the Greco-Scythian wars, Kerkinitida was destroyed.
The remains of the ancient Greek colony are kept under a glass dome in Evpatoria on Duvanovskaya Street, on Gorky Embankment and in the city's local history museum. Here tourists and residents of Evpatoria can see the foundations of residential buildings of Kerkinitida and household items of the ancient Greeks.
Kalos Limen - a historical landmark of the village of Chernomorskoye
In the 4th century BC, an ancient Greek city was founded on the territory of the modern village of Chernomorskoye. Residents of the city were engaged in agriculture, trade and crafts. Due to its favorable geographical location and convenient bay, Kalos Limen was often attacked by stronger neighbors and by the end of the 4th century it became part of Chersonesos. In the 2nd century BC. e polis was under the rule of the Scythians, but after several decades it again became a Greek city. At the beginning of our era, Kalos Limen was completely destroyed.
Today, on the site of the ancient city there is a historical monument and “Kalos Limen”, where you can see the ruins of an ancient Greek fortress, residential buildings, the remains of the central gate of the city and the slabs of the main street, on which traces of chariots are preserved.
Kalos Limen
Chersonese Tauride - a monument of world significance in Simferopol
In the middle of the first century BC. e. was founded on the southwestern coast of the Crimean Peninsula. For about two thousand years, this ancient Greek city was the political and cultural center of the nearby Greek colonies; it went down in history Ancient Greece, Roman Empire and Byzantium. Right here Grand Duke Vladimir was baptized, and in honor of this event, the Vladimir Cathedral was erected on the former Chersonese square.
Today, the ruins of this ancient city are a historical monument of world significance and are under the protection of UNESCO. “Chersonese Tauride” includes several exhibitions and a large research center.
Panticapaeum - archaeological museum in Kerch
In the first half of the 6th century BC, an ancient Greek polis was founded in the eastern part of Crimea on the territory of the city of Kerch. The city developed rapidly and already in the 5th century became the capital of the Bosporan state, uniting the nearby cities. Panticapaeum was the craft, trade and cultural center of the Bosporus, where gold, silver and copper coins were minted, and total area The policy was about 100 hectares.
The ruins of Panticapaeum are located in the center of Kerch on the slopes and top of Mount Mithridates; there is also a historical and archaeological museum, the exhibits of which are amphoras, painted ceramics, coins, epigraphic documents and other archaeological finds from the excavations of Panticapaeum.
Kharaks – fortress and palace in Gaspra
In the 1st century AD, after the victory of the Roman army over the Tauro-Scythian army, which kept Chersonesos under siege, the Romans built a fortress-city on Cape Ai-Todor. The fortress was not only a refuge for the Roman garrison, but also a center where the main sea and land routes converged. Today, all that remains of it are ruins of stone and brick and a pond decorated with mosaics.
The remains of the Kharaks fortress are located on the territory of the Dnepr sanatorium, where the famous Kharaks palace, built for Georgy Mikhailovich Romanov at the beginning of the 20th century, is also preserved. Excursions are held on the territory of the sanatorium, and the main building for guests to stay is located in the palace.
Naples Scythian – archaeological reserve in Simferopol
In the 3rd century BC, the city of Naples, the capital of the Late Scythian state, was founded on the southeastern coast of the Crimean Peninsula. Substantial structures in Greek style, stone living and utility rooms, craft workshops, grain pits found by archaeologists make it clear that the late Scythians were no longer a nomadic people, but were actively engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and crafts.
In the archaeological reserve "" you can see the remains of the city's fortress wall, visit the mausoleums of the ancient Scythian kings and learn about the culture and life of the Scythians.
If you are planning a trip to Crimea, be sure to include ancient sights in your route. Here you can not only touch real antiquity, but also listen to interesting stories from guides and broaden your horizons. Travel and discover!
The favorable natural conditions of the Crimean peninsula and its convenient location contributed to the fact that Crimea has become one of the cradles of humanity. Here, at a busy crossroads of international routes, the roads and destinies of many tribes and peoples are intertwined.
In addition to the Tauri and Cimmerians, the peninsula was inhabited at different periods by the Scythians and Sarmatians, the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Goths and Huns in ancient times; southern Slavs and Armenians, Pechenegs and Cumans, Khazars and Proto-Bulgarians, Venetians and Genoese, Tatars and Turks - in the Middle Ages. At all times, the population of the peninsula was very diverse.
The very first to appear here were Neanderthals, approximately 100 thousand years BC.
In 1924, during excavations in the Kiik-Koba grotto (“Wild Cave”), (in the upper reaches of the Zuya River, 25 kilometers east of Simferopol), the burial of a Neanderthal man was discovered in a special pit dug into the floor in the rocky ground. The remains of the skeleton of a one-year-old child were found a meter from the grave pit. This was the first discovery of a Neanderthal human burial on the territory of the former Soviet Union and one of the few in the world.
After the Neanderthals, the most ancient inhabitants of Crimea, known to us from Assyrian and ancient sources, were the Cimmerians (XII century BC). Their presence in Crimea is confirmed by ancient and medieval historians and those that have come down to us geographical names eastern part of Crimea: Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait), Cimmerian Walls, Cimmerian Ford.
In the Iliad and Odyssey, Homer describes Cimmeria as follows:
"There is a sad region of the Cimmerians,
covered forever
Damp fog and haze of clouds;
never shows
The eye of people has a radiant face
Helios..."
In addition to the Cimmerians, the Taurus inhabited the peninsula at the same time. The origin of the Tauri tribes that inhabited Crimea at the turn of the millennium still remains unclear. It is not clear who they are and where they came from to the Crimean Mountains. Maybe they were the indigenous inhabitants of the peninsula, or maybe they were tribes akin to the Cimmerians, who at one time were forced to come to Crimea from the Caucasus under pressure from the Scythian hordes. It is also not known what these people called themselves, because the word “Taurus” is a Greek word, and the Greeks called it simply the natives of the mountains who, in their opinion, lived in the Taurus Mountains (Crimea for them was a continuation of the mountains of Southern Turkey). Accordingly, the local land was called Taurida.
According to historians, the Tauri settled here at the beginning of the first millennium, around the eighth-ninth centuries. Most of of them lived on the southern coast, inhabiting the territory from Kush Kaya to Feodosia. But there were settlements further north, as far as Simferopol. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a two-meter-thick defensive wall stretching from Eklizi to the Alma River, made of large stones, built by representatives of these tribes.
Many prominent historical figures mention the Tauri tribes in their works.
“The Father of History” Herodotus, who first told about them, wrote that they were a warlike, courageous and cruel tribe. According to Herodotus: “ the Tauri sacrifice to the Virgin the shipwrecked and all the Hellenes who are captured on the open sea...”
Another interesting message about the Tauri by the historian Polyenus (2nd century AD): “The Tauri, having undertaken a war, always dig up roads in their rear; having made them impassable, they enter into battle; They do this so that, not being able to escape, they can win or die.”
Other Greek historians, such as Diodorus, Tacitus, Ammianus, do not deviate from the then cliche, and also characterize them as murderers and pirates. The historian Strabo, describing Tauris in his Geography, writes that they gather in Simbolon Bay (Balaklava), go on sea raids along the coast and attack ships. Although, to tell the truth, archaeologists have not found any evidence of the pirate activities of the Tauri, only evidence of ordinary settlement activities.
The Tauri settled along the river banks, creating small fortified, walled settlements. In addition, the Tauri tribes also loved to live in natural caves, such as Tash Air and the Kizil Koba cave.
In the fifth century BC, Greek colonists came to the peninsula and founded Chersonesos. In addition, in the seventh century BC, the Scythians came to Crimea, choosing the northern Black Sea region. Both of them often crossed paths with the Tauri, contacting and even settling together.
Periodically, the Bosporus, Chersonesus, the Cimmerians and the later Romans tried to subjugate the Tauri. In turn, the Tauri occasionally raided Greek and Scythian settlements. From the first century AD, the Tauri came under the influence of the Scythians; in most cases, the tribes at these times were called Tauro-Scythians. A little later, in the third century, the Scythians rebuilt the capital of the state - Scythian Naples, firmly seizing control of the northern Black Sea region. The assimilation of the Crimean population of Taurians and Scythians begins. Together they fight against the troops of Diaphantus, the Pontic military leader. By the fifth century, the Tauri disappeared as independent tribes, becoming part of the population of Scythia.
The Cimmerians on the Crimean Peninsula were replaced by Scythian tribes, who migrated from Asia in the 7th century BC and formed a new state in the steppes of the Black Sea region and part of the Crimea - Scythia, stretching from the Don to the Danube.
The Scythians were divided into four tribes. In the Bug River basin lived the Scythians - cattle breeders, between the Bug and the Dnieper there were Scythian farmers, to the south of them - the Scythian nomads, between the Dnieper and the Don - the royal Scythians. Crimea was also the territory of settlement of the most powerful Scythian tribe - the royal ones. This territory received the name Scythia in ancient sources. Herodotus wrote that Scythia is a square with sides that are 20 days' journey long.
More than once fate pitted the Scythians against the Greeks of the Black Sea cities and the Aegean Greeks. This happened especially often under the great Greek commanders Philip II and his son Alexander the Great. Under them, the Greek armies came close to the borders of Scythia.
In one of the battles with the troops of Philip II of Macedon in 339 BC, the most powerful king of the Scythians, Atey, died at the age of 90.
In 331, the Greek commander Zopyrion invaded the Black Sea region and besieged Olbia. The Scythians, allies of the Olviopolitans, came to their defense. The Greeks suffered a crushing defeat and were forced to return to Thrace.
The Scythian state in Crimea existed until the second half of the 3rd century AD and was destroyed by the Goths, who appeared here (according to legend) from Scandinavia.
The Goths' stay in the Crimean steppes did not last long. Under the powerful onslaught of the Huns in the 4th century AD, they were forced to leave for the Crimean Mountains beyond the saving passes, where they gradually mixed with the descendants of the Tauro-Scythians. Historical monuments of that period include the so-called cave cities located in the Bakhchisarai region and in the Sevastopol region.
Thus, the population of Crimea at the beginning of our era consisted of the descendants of the Cimmerians, Taurians, Scythians, Greeks, Sarmatians, Alans and Goths.