Message on the theme of the ancient city of Crimea. Greek city-states of Crimea

(set of postcards with accompanying text)

From ancient times, sea routes connected the Black Sea coast with the Mediterranean, where at the end of the II - beginning of the I millennium BC. e. the great civilization of Greece arose. From the coast of Hellas, brave sailors set off in search of new lands.

Where large seaports, industrial and resort centers of Crimea are now located

Evpatoria, Sevastopol, Feodosia and Kerch, in the VI - V centuries. BC e. the Greeks founded the cities of Kerkinitida, Chersonesus, Theodosia, Panticapaeum, and near it Mirmekiy, Tiritaka, Nymphaeum, Kimmerik and others. Each of them was the center of an agricultural region where wheat was grown, grapes were cultivated, and cattle were bred. In the cities there were temples, public and administrative buildings, markets, craftsmen's workshops.

The convenient geographical location contributed to the development of trade. Merchants exported to the Mediterranean slaves and agricultural products purchased from local tribes - Scythians, Meots, Sinds. In exchange, olive oil, wine, art and crafts were brought from the cities of the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor.

Chersonese 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, the Beautiful Harbor (on the site of the modern Chernomorsky settlement) and other settlements of the northwestern Crimea were subordinate to him.

The Chersonese state was a slave-owning democratic republic. The supreme body of power was the people's assembly and council, which decided all issues of foreign and domestic policy. The leading role in the management belonged to the largest slave owners, whose names were conveyed by Chersonesos inscriptions and coins.

Archaeological excavations, begun 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 speaks of the constant military danger to which the inhabitants were exposed. The famous Chersonese oath tells 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, Virgo, the gods and goddesses of Olympia... I will not betray Chersonesos..." secrets.

As confirmed by archaeological research, the city had a correct layout. Residential buildings were combined into quarters, the streets intersected at right angles. They were paved with small stones. Stone gutters ran along the streets. Temples were erected in the squares. Public buildings and houses of wealthy citizens were decorated with colonnades and mosaic floors. Only the foundations of the walls and basements have survived from ancient buildings to the present day. Particularly interesting are the mint, baths, the ruins of a theater that existed from the 3rd century BC. BC e. according to the IV century. n. e. Only stairways and stone benches for spectators have been partially preserved from it. Judging by their size, the theater could accommodate up to 3,000 spectators.

Near the city walls was the artisans' district. 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 Chersonese - metalworking, jewelry, weaving.

The largest ancient state of the Black Sea region was the so-called Bosporan kingdom. It was formed as a result of the unification of originally independent Greek cities, such as Panticapaeum, Mirmekiy, Tiritaka, Phanagoria and others, located along the banks 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 the Bosporus. In the 1st century BC e. The Bosporus captured most of the territory of the Crimea, subjugated Chersonese.

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. Inside it housed the most important temples and public buildings. Quarters of one- or two-story stone buildings descended in terraces down the slopes. The whole city and its environs were surrounded by numerous lines of fortifications. A deep and comfortable harbor reliably sheltered merchant and military ships.

Found fragments of marble statues, pieces of painted plaster and architectural details allow us to talk about the rich decoration of the squares and buildings of the city, about the skill of ancient architects and builders.

On the site of Myrmekia and Tiritaki, not far from Kerch, in addition to the city walls, residential buildings and sanctuaries, archaeologists discovered several wineries and baths for salting fish. In Nymphea, near the modern village of Geroevka, there are temples of Demeter, Aphrodite and Kabir; 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 each ancient city was its necropolis - the city of the dead. Usually they were 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 the rocks. The walls of crypts and sarcophagi were decorated with paintings, reliefs, and inlays. Ornaments were applied to them, mythological plots, scenes of real life were depicted. Together with the deceased, they put things that belonged to him: jewelry, dishes, weapons, vessels with incense, terracotta figurines and other items. In one of the Panticapaeum burials of the 3rd c. 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 burial mounds located in the vicinity of Kerch. They found burials of Bosporan kings and nobility with outstanding works of Greek art: gold and silver jewelry, bronze and glass items, painted and figured vases.

Golden temporal pendants of the 4th century BC are rightfully considered a masterpiece of world art. BC e. from the Kul-Oba kurgan. They are made in the form of disks, to which are attached numerous woven crossed chains connected by plates and rosettes. On a disk 7 cm in diameter there is a relief of the head of Athena in a helmet with clearly distinguishable figures of griffins, an owl and a snake. The thinnest filigree plates, rosettes, as well as the circumference of the disk are covered with granulation and blue enamel.

The most valuable finds from the excavations of the ancient cities of Crimea are presented in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, the State Historical Museum and the State Museum of Fine Arts. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow, as well as others.

Now on the territory of Chersonese in Sevastopol and on Mount Mithridates in Kerch, reserves are organized. Every year, thousands of people come there to walk through the streets and squares of ancient cities, to get acquainted with the greatest cultural monuments, to get to know the distant past of our Motherland better.

I. Kruglikova

Sevastopol. Main street and residential quarters of Chersonese

Part of the defensive wall of Chersonese Tower of Zeno

Mint of Chersonese. 3rd century BC e.

Chersonese and Roman coins. 3rd century BC e - III century. n. e. Khersones State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve

Theatrical masks Decoration of sarcophagi from the necropolis of Panticapaeum. Gypsum. I - II centuries. n. e. State Hermitage

The ruins of the Chersonesos theater. 3rd century n. e. - IV century. n. e.

Tombstone of a Roman legionnaire

Courtyard in front of the building of Chersonesos In the hall of ancient culture Stone. 2nd century n. from the archaeological museum-reserve

Khersones State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve

"Assembly of citizens of Chersonesus". 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.

The base of the column II. BC e. portico

Entrance to the Royal Mound. Kerch.

"The Abduction of the Cortex by Pluto". Fragment of the painting of the crypt of Demeter of the Bosporus king Panticapaeum. First half of the 3rd century n. e. State Hermitage

Mask from the burial of the 5th - 4th centuries. BC e. Beginning of the 1st century n. e. Riskuporida III. Gold.

Sarcophagus from Myrmekia. Marble. End of the 2nd century n. e.

Relief of the side wall of the sarcophagus State Hermitage Museum

Figured vase. Clay. 2nd century n. e. Panticapaeum.

Terracotta figurines. Panticapaeum. 5th - 3rd centuries BC e. Hermitage

Head of a statue of a Bosporus king. Marble. Panticapaeum. 1st century n. e. State Hermitage

Earring from Feodosia. Gold. 4th century BC e. Panticapaeum. 3rd century BC e. State Hermitage

Cameo ring. Gold, garnet. Gold, enamel. Mound State Hermitage Museum Kul Oba IV c BC

High pendant.

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Crypt excavations

Ruins of a Bosporan settlement near the village

Excavations of the settlement of the necropolis Nimfeya Semyonovka

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. Grinberg.

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 Polygraphic Plant Soyuzpoligrafprom under the USSR State Committee for Publishing, Printing and Book Trade, Kalinin, Lenin Ave., 5.

Crimea is a striking peninsula, a place where the history of past centuries and the present are harmoniously intertwined. Here, right in the center of modern cities, you can see the monuments of past centuries.

"Fragments" of the past in the Crimean cities

The ruins of large settlements, the remains of fortresses, burial mounds, places of worship are found in almost every city or its environs. Most of the ancient buildings today are considered monuments of history and archeology. Many have been given the status of reserves, research work is being carried out on their territory and museums are operating.

How developed the peninsula was already in ancient times, allows you to understand the familiarity even with a short list of ancient settlements. The most famous today are the following objects:

Panticapaeum is the oldest of the Greek cities in the Crimea. Founded at the end of the 7th century BC, it is located in the center of modern Kerch. To see his remains, you need to climb a high staircase of 500 steps leading to Mount Mithridates.

And 11 kilometers from Panticapaeum, the ruins of the ancient Bosporan settlement of Tiritaka were found.

Chersonese Tauride - the ruins of another Greek settlement, one of the sights of Sevastopol. The foundation of this colony dates back to the fifth century BC. Chersonese was a large, well-fortified city.

Until now, the remains of an ancient temple, the ruins of a theater where, according to legend, gladiator fights, a mint, a defensive tower, have been preserved here. In the church of Chersonese, Prince Vladimir, the Baptist of All Russia, was baptized.

Scythian Naples is an ancient settlement on the outskirts of Simferopol. Created in the III century BC. e., the city served as the capital of the Scythian state. Today, on the territory of the ancient tract, a defensive tower and the mausoleum of King Skilur have been preserved.

Ruskophil-Kale - a castle in the Great Yalta region, built in the XIII-XIV centuries - a fortification with an area of about 450 sq.m.

Kerkinitida is a Greek city built at the beginning of the 5th century BC. e. and lasted until the end of the II century BC. e. Its ruins are located in the center of Evpatoria, on the Quarantine Cape. Although most of the settlement has been covered up, two of its sections are well-groomed and museumified.

Kalos-Limen - the ruins of an ancient Greek settlement founded in the 4th century. BC e. in the village of Chernomorskoye.

Kimmerik - a Cimmerian tract of the 6th - 5th centuries BC. e., located between Lake Elken and Mount Opuk.

The Scythian Ust-Alma settlement is one of the largest Scythian settlements of the 2nd century BC. e., located on Cape Kremenchik.

Cave and underwater cities of Crimea

Ancient cave cities belong to a separate category. Mangup-Kale - a Byzantine defensive fort of the sixth century BC, Chufut-Kale near Bakhchisaray, Kacha-Kalyon, Kyz-Kermen, others - these villages were created in the rocks. Houses, utility rooms, temples, defensive walls were cut directly into the rock.

Crimea even has its own Atlantis - the underwater city of Acre. A small ancient Greek village, which served, among other things, as a port, existed near Cape Takil in the 6th century BC. e. ‒ 4th century AD e. Later, the sinking of the coast led to the flooding of most of the city.

Travelers with diving skills can see the ruins of Acre. Diving is possible as part of specialized excursions in the summer.

Note to tourists

A visit to the excavations of ancient cities can be easily combined with other types of recreation:

excursion activities;

visiting unique natural monuments;

beach recreation.

On the territory of the peninsula there are many ancient defensive towers, forts, and other fortifications that have been preserved in excellent condition. On the territory of many of them bright events are held. In particular, thematic festivals are held annually in the Genoese fortress, and reconstructions of medieval battles are staged.

Throughout the peninsula there are numerous hotels, hotels, boarding houses. Room reservations are available online. Pricing policy depends on the region, level of service and visiting season.

Ancient cities of Crimea

In ancient times, sea routes connected the Black Sea coast with the Mediterranean, where at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. the great civilization of Greece arose. From the coast of Hellas, brave sailors set off in search of new lands.

Where now there are large seaports, industrial and resort centers of Crimea - Evpatoria, Sevastopol, Feodosia and Kerch, in the VI-V centuries. BC. the ancient Greeks founded the cities of Kerkinitida, Chersonesus, Theodosia, Panticapaeum, respectively, and near them - Mirmekiy, Tiritaka, Nymphaeum, Kimmerik and others. Each of them was the center of an agricultural region where wheat was grown, grapes were cultivated, and cattle were bred. The cities housed temples, public and administrative buildings, markets, craftsmen's workshops.

Chersonese was founded in 421 BC. on the shore of the bay, which is now called Karantinnaya. Later, the city significantly expanded its holdings. During its heyday, Kerkinitida, the Beautiful Harbor (on the site of the modern Chernomorsky settlement) and other settlements of the northwestern Crimea were subordinate to him.

Archaeological excavations, begun 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 speaks of the constant military danger to which the inhabitants were exposed. The famous Chersonese oath tells about their patriotism. The people of Chersonesus swore that they would not betray either the city or its possessions to the enemies, that they would protect the democratic system and would not divulge state secrets.

Only the foundations of the walls and basements have survived from ancient buildings to the present day. Particularly interesting are the mint, baths, the ruins of a theater that existed from the 3rd century BC. BC. according to the IV century. AD Only stairways and stone benches for spectators have been partially preserved from it. Judging by their size, the theater could seat up to 3,000 spectators.

The largest ancient state of the Black Sea region was the Bosporan kingdom. It was formed as a result of the unification of originally independent Greek cities, such as Panticapaeum, Mirmekiy, Tiritaka, Phanagoria and others, located along the banks of the Cimmerian Bosporus - the modern Kerch Strait. Panticapaeum became the capital of the state. From 438 BC for more than three hundred years it was ruled by the Spartokid dynasty.

At the end of the 5th - beginning of the 4th centuries. BC. Nymphaeum and Theodosia, as well as lands inhabited by other tribes, were annexed to the possessions of the Bosporus. In the 1st century BC. The Bosporus captured most of the territory of the Crimea, subjugated Chersonese.

On the site of Myrmekia and Tiritaki, not far from Kerch, in addition to the city walls, residential buildings and sanctuaries, archaeologists discovered several wineries and baths for salting fish. In Nymphea, near the modern village of Geroevka, there are temples of Demeter, Aphrodite and Kabir; in Ilurat, near the modern village of Ivanovka, - a Bosporan military settlement of the first centuries AD, guarding the approaches to the capital.

Next to each ancient city was its necropolis - the city of the dead. Usually they were 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 the rocks. The walls of crypts and sarcophagi were decorated with paintings, reliefs, and inlays. Ornaments were applied to them, mythological plots, scenes of real life were depicted. Together with the deceased, they put things that belonged to him: jewelry, dishes, weapons, vessels with incense, terracotta figurines and other items. In one of the Panticapaeum burials of the 3rd c. AD, possibly the Bosporan king Riskuporides, a unique golden mask was found that reproduced the facial features of the deceased.

Golden temporal pendants of the 4th century BC are rightfully considered a masterpiece of world art. BC. from the Kul-Oba kurgan. They are made in the form of disks, to which are attached numerous woven crossed chains connected by plates and rosettes. On a disk 7 cm in diameter there is a relief of the head of Athena in a helmet with clearly distinguishable figures of griffins, an owl and a snake. The thinnest filigree plates, rosettes, as well as the circumference of the disk are covered with granulation and blue enamel.

The most valuable finds from the excavations of the ancient cities of Crimea are presented in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the State Historical Museum and the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin in Moscow, as well as others.

When the Romans established themselves on the southern coast, they created fortified points on the coast to protect Chersonese. Of the Roman fortifications, the largest was Charax on Cape Ai-Todor (now there is a lighthouse on it next to the Swallow's Nest). The fortification of Charax (in Greek “pillar”, “stake”, that is, “enclosed place”) was founded in the 70s. 1st century under the Roman emperor Vespasian. At the end of the century there was a garrison here, in the II century. soldiers of the 1st Italian Legion were stationed. The last Roman garrison of the fort consisted of the soldiers of the XI Claudian legion (late II - first half of the III century). Marks on bricks and tiles testify to these three periods of the history of Charax.

N.I. Sheiko

Photos of beautiful places in Crimea

VI-V centuries BC. e. - the time when Scythian tribes dominated the expanses of the Crimean steppes, and newcomers from Hellas mastered the coast. Natives of Miletus founded Theodosia and Panticapaeum, on the site of which Kerch is now located. Chersonese, whose remains are located on the territory of modern Sevastopol, was built on the site of the Taurus settlement by the Greeks who came from Heraclea. The Greeks turned the ancient settlement of the Sinds into the once flourishing 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 Kingdom of Bosporus

By the middle of the 5th century BC. e. On the coast of the Black Sea, two Greek states were formed - the slave-owning republic of Tauric Chersonesos and the autocratic Bosporan kingdom. Under the rule of Chersonese, the western territories united - now the cities of Evpatoria (other Kerkinitida), Chernomorskoe, Kalos-Limeni are located there. The city was surrounded by powerful stone fortifications.

The capital of the Bosporus kingdom was located in Panticapaeum. The city's Acropolis towered on Mount Mithridates. Archaeologists discovered not far from the ancient Acropolis the Tsarsky and Melek-Chesmensky barrows, several stone crypts and other most valuable monuments of architecture and material culture of the Bosporus kingdom.

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, creating majestic temples, stadiums and theaters came to the coast of Cimmeria-Tavria. In the monuments of ancient literature, many lines are devoted to the Crimea. In the Iliad and the Odyssey, Cimmeria is mentioned, completely unreasonably called a sad country in which clouds and damp fog reign. The Crimean material served Euripides as the basis for creating the drama Iphigenia in Tauris. The father of history Herodotus wrote about the Taurians and Scythians in the 5th century BC. e.

Neapolis Scythian

By the end of the III century BC. e. Scythian territories began to shrink under the onslaught of the Sarmatian tribes. The capital of the Scythian state was Neapolis - Scythian Naples, which arose on the Salgir River near modern Simferopol.

Panticaley Khankai(Greek Παντικάπαιον) founded on the site of modern Kerch by immigrants from Miletus at the end of the 7th century BC. e., at the time of its heyday 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 to him that the main temple of the acropolis was dedicated. The construction of the oldest and most grandiose by the standards of the Northern Black Sea region building 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 Spartokids, there was a temple in honor of Aphrodite and Dionysus. The whole city was eventually surrounded by a powerful system of stone fortifications, surpassing the Athenian one. In the vicinity of the city there was a necropolis, which differed from the necropolises of other Hellenic cities. In addition to the earth burials common at that time for the Hellenes, the necropolis of Panticapaeum consisted of long chains of mounds stretching along the roads from the city to the steppe. On the south side, the city is bordered by the most significant range of mounds, today called Yuz-Oba - one hundred hills. Representatives of the barbarian nobility - Scythian leaders, who exercised a military-political protectorate over the city, were buried under their mounds. The barrows still make up one of the most striking sights of the Kerch environs. The most popular are such as Kul-Oba, Melek-Chesmensky, Golden 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) the ancient Greek colonists founded a number of independent city-states (polises) that amounted to in the 40s. 6th century BC e. military confederation. The purpose of the interpolis 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 since the end of the 40s. 6th century BC e. Panticapaeum minted its own silver coin, and from the last third of the 70s. 4th 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 B.C. e. Kaffa was presumably 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. The economic prosperity was the reason for the outbreak of war between Theodosius and the Bosporus. In 380 BC. e. The troops of King Levkon I annexed Theodosius to the Bosporan kingdom. As part of the ancient Bosporus, Feodosia was the largest trading port of the Northern Black Sea region. Merchant ships with grain departed from here. The fortified center of Theodosia - the acropolis - was located on the Quarantine Hill.
The city was destroyed by the Huns in the 4th century AD. e.
Chersonese Tauride, or simply Chersonese (ancient Greek Χερσόνησος - ἡ χερσόνησος) is a polis founded by the ancient Greeks on the Herakleian Peninsula on the southwestern coast of Crimea. Now the Kherson 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. Chersonese was a Greek colony founded in 529/528. BC e. natives of Heraclea Pontica, 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 Chersonese, archaeologists have found a significant number of shards (fragments) of archaic black-figure ceramics, which date back to no later than the 6th century BC. e.
A little over a hundred years after the founding of Chersonesus, its territory already occupied the entire space of the peninsula lying between Karantinnaya and Pesochnaya bays (translated from Greek, “Chersonesos” means a peninsula, and the Hellenes called Taurica (country of Tauris) the southern coast of Crimea).

10. Socio-political life and state structure of Chersonese.
State office
The bulk of the free population of Chersonese were Greeks, while the Greeks were Dorians. This is indicated by epigraphic monuments, which, until the first centuries of our era, were written in the Doric dialect. The characteristic features of the latter is the use of: 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 proxenia there, has a patronymic Σκοθα;. The same person, apparently, is named in the act on the sale of land (ΙΡΕ I 2, 403). Thus, some persons from the native population not only lived in Chersonese, but also enjoyed civil rights in it. Whether this was an exception or, conversely, a mass phenomenon, it is difficult to say. In any case, there is no doubt that Chersonesos was closely connected with the local population, and did not stand isolated from it.
The ruling class in Chersonesos was made up of slave owners: landowners, workshop owners, merchants, as well as small peasants and artisans. Slaves descended from the native population were the oppressed and exploiting class; “Slave owners and slaves are the first major division into classes.” Savmaka is convincing evidence that the Scythians were exploited by the Greeks.
During the period under review Chersonese was a democratic republic. The forms of state bodies and the general nature of the state structure of Chersonesus have much in common with the state structure of Heraclea and its metropolis - Megara. 1 The main source for studying the state structure of Chersonese are epigraphic monuments - inscriptions on marble slabs. Valuable documents are inscriptions issued on behalf of the state: honorary decrees, proxenia, treaties, acts, etc. One of the most important monuments of Chersonese is an oath dating back to the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. (IPE I 2 , 401). Until now, it has been generally accepted that the oath is an oath taken by young men who have reached the age of majority - ephebes, who subsequently receive the rights of citizenship, that the oath lists all the duties that every citizen had to observe. 2 Acad. S. A. Zhebelev 3 believes that all citizens of the state should have taken the oath after the attempt to overthrow democracy was liquidated. This new understanding of the text of the oath gives us the opportunity to learn about the class struggle that took place in Hersemes in a fairly early period, which makes the oath an even more valuable monument.
Political life
Despite the fact that the state system of Chersonesos 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 at the expense of the results of their labor. As follows from the honorary decrees and dedicatory inscriptions of Chersonesus, the actual power in the state is gradually transferred 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 has always been closely connected with the religious. Temples stood out in the architectural decoration of the city. Unfortunately, as a result of subsequent reconstructions and redevelopment of the urban area, all the ancient temples were destroyed and not preserved. However, we know from honorary inscriptions that there were several temples in the city. The main shrine of Chersonesos since the 4th century BC. e. became the sanctuary of the Virgin with a temple and a statue of this deity. In general, the religious life of the city of 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 not far from Chersonese, on Cape Feolent or on the Lighthouse 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. The Temple of the Virgin was in Chersonese itself.

11. Bosporus kingdom. State structure and socio-economic life. Savmak's uprising
Bosporan kingdom (or the Bosporus, the Kingdom of Vospor (N. M. Karamzin), the Vospor tyranny) is 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 coast of Meotida (Sea of Azov) to the mouth of the Tanais (Don). From the end of the 2nd century BC. e. within the Kingdom of Pontus. From the end of the 1st century BC e. post-Hellenistic state dependent on Rome. Became part of Byzantium in the 1st half. 6th century Known from Greco-Roman historians. After the middle of the 7th century BC, Greek settlers appeared on the northern coast of the Black Sea, and by the beginning of the second quarter of the 6th century BC. e. develop a significant part of the 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 apoikias - independent policies (free civil groups ). Greek colonies were founded in the region of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait), where there was no permanent local population. There was a permanent population in the Crimean mountains, where the tribes of Taurus lived, the Scythians periodically roamed the steppes, semi-nomadic Meots and Sind farmers lived around the Kuban River. At first, the colonies did not experience pressure from the barbarians, their population was very small, and there were no defensive walls near the settlements. Around the middle of the VI century. BC e. fires were recorded at some small monuments, including Myrmekia, Porthmia and Torik, after which small fortified acropolises appeared on the first two of them. Conveniently located, having a good trading harbor and therefore having reached a significant level of development, Panticapaeum, one must think, became the center around which the Greek cities of both banks of the Kerch Strait united in an interpolis union. At present, an opinion has appeared that initially he managed to unite around him only nearby small towns, and on the other side of the strait, the center was founded in the 3rd quarter. 6th century BC e. Phanagoria. Around 510 BC e. In Panticapaeum, the temple of Apollo of the Ionic order was built. 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 the political one, how it was organized, who was a member of it, is unknown. There is a hypothesis linking the issue of these coins with Phanagoria.

Socio-economic life
The population of large territories of the Bosporus kingdom was at different stages of socio-economic development and social relations. The slave-owning mode of production reigned here, in connection with which society was divided into free and forced 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. Bosporan rulers and large landowners were the owners and administrators of the land. There was state and private ownership of land. In the Bosporus state lived 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 the land and mainly bore the burden of duties in favor of the state and the local aristocracy. In addition, the peasants were obliged to participate in the militia during the attack of nomadic tribes on the Bosporus kingdom. The lowest rung of the social ladder was traditionally occupied by slaves, divided into private and public. 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 the labor of slaves in agricultural holdings, where they mainly grew bread for sale.

State structure
According to the historical type, the Bosporan kingdom was a slave-owning state, as were the city-states that were part of it. According to the form of government, it was one of the varieties of a despotic monarchy. From the beginning of its formation, the Bosporus kingdom was an aristocratic republic, headed by 483 BC. stood the genus Archenaktidiv. From the middle of the 5th c. (438 BC) power passed to the Spartokid dynasty, which ruled here for three centuries. The Spartokids for a long time titled themselves archons of Bosporus and Theodosius, and were called kings after the vassal barbarian peoples. Already from III Art. BC. the double title disappears, the rulers become kings (the Bosporan kings retained the title of archons in the 1st century BC only with respect to Panticapaeum).

The city-states that became part of the Bosporan kingdom had a certain autonomy, their own self-government bodies (people's assemblies, city councils, elected positions). But already on the verge of a new era, the Bosporan kings become sole rulers, possessors, who call themselves "kings of kings" (with the addition of new tribes to the state, the title of head of state - king - was added to their ethnic name). in the Bosporus, the tendency towards the centralization of power intensified, accompanied by the formation of a complex state-bureaucratic structure with the royal administration at the head.

Savmaka uprising
The uprising of the Scythians in the Bosporus state in 107 BC. e. It broke out in Panticapaeum during negotiations with Diophantus on the transfer of power by the Bosporan king Perisad V to the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator (See Mithridates VI Eupator). Perisades was killed by Savmakos, and Diophantus fled to Chersonese. The rebels took possession of the entire European part of the Bosporus. In S. century. participated Scythian populationconsisting of dependent peasants, artisans, slaves. 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 domination, tried to establish a regime of firm power, transferring it to Mithridates VI. The rebel leader Savmak became the ruler of the Bosporus. The system that was established during the reign of Savmak, which lasted about a year, is unknown. After a long preparation, Mithridates VI sent a large punitive expedition of Diophantus to Sinop. In the Crimea, it included the Chersonese detachments. The troops of Diophantus took Theodosius, passed the Kerch Peninsula and captured Panticapeum. S. v. was suppressed, Savmak was captured, and the Bosporus state came under the rule of Mithridates VI.

Slavs in the Crimea.

The Slavs appeared in the 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 III-VIII centuries. n. e. The most expressive traces of Slavic culture, identified by archaeologists, date back to the times of Kievan Rus. For example, during excavations on the Tepsel hill (near the current urban-type settlement of Planersky), it was found that Slavic settlements existed there for a long time, which arose in the 12th-13th centuries. The church, opened on a hill, is close in its plan to the churches of Kievan Rus, and the oven excavated in one of the dwellings resembles ancient Russian ones. The same can be said about the ceramics found during excavations. The remains of ancient Russian churches have been found in various regions of the peninsula, most of them are located in the eastern Crimea. Fresco paintings and plaster, judging by the fragments found in these ruins, are close to similar material in Kyiv cathedrals of the 11th-12th centuries.
Written sources testify that the Crimea at the beginning of the 9th century. falls into the sphere of influence of the ancient Russian princes. For example, the life of Stefan of Surozh tells that in the first quarter of the 9th century. the Russian prince Bravlin attacked the Crimea, captured Kherson, Kerch and Sudak (some historians consider this episode semi-legendary).
In the middle of the XI century. the ancient Rus begin to settle in the Sea of Azov, take possession of the Greek city of Tamatarkha, the later Tmutarakan, the capital of the future Old Russian principality. Sources give reason to believe that by the middle of the X 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, Prince Igor of Kyiv installed his governor in the Crimea, near the Kerch Strait, ousting the Khazars from there. It is difficult to accurately establish the boundaries of the possession of Russian lands in the Crimea during this period. But the text of the agreement concluded by Igor with Byzantium after the unsuccessful campaign against Constantinople in 945 testifies to the increased influence of the Rus in the Crimea: the country does not submit to you,” i.e., the prince of Kyiv. By this treaty, Basantia sought to limit the influence of the Russian princes in the Crimea, using the defeat of the Rus in 945. By the same treaty, the Kyiv prince undertook to protect the Korsun land from the black Bulgarians, which was possible only 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 the Crimea, especially in the period 962-971. Only the unsuccessful campaign of Svyatoslav in Bulgaria forced him to promise the Byzantine emperor not to claim "neither the power of Korsun, and there are many of their cities, nor the country of Bolgar". But this was a temporary retreat of Russia in the 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 Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Thanks to this treaty, Kievan Rus received access to the Black Sea and strengthened the Tmutarakan principality dependent on it. After the Korsun campaign, the city of Bospor with the district was attached to this principality, which received the Russian name Korchev (from the word "korcha" - a forge, the current Kerch).
Throughout the 11th century The Tmutarakan principality, including its lands on the Crimean peninsula, belonged to Ancient Russia. At the end of the XI century. mentions of Tmutarakan disappear from the annals, but, obviously, even before the middle of the 12th century. The Kerch Peninsula and Taman were Russian. In the second half of the XII century. The Tmutarakan principality fell under the blows of the Polovtsy, who roamed the Northern Black Sea region.
The fact that the lands on the Kerch Peninsula belonged to the Kyiv princes is evidenced by a number of written sources. Idrisi called the Kerch Strait “the mouth of the Russian River” and even knew a city in this region with the name “Russia” (it can be assumed that this is the Russian Korchevo, which, according to a Byzantine source in 1169, was called “Russia” for some time). On the medieval European and Asian maps of Crimea, many names of cities have been preserved, indicating a long and long stay on the peninsula of the Rus: “Cosal di Rossia”, “Rossia”, “Rossofar”, “Rosso”, “Rosika” (near Evpatoria), etc.
The Polovtsian, and then the Mongol-Tatar invasion cut off the Crimea from Kievan Rus for a long time.

13.Tmutarakan principality. Political structure, socio-economic life.
In the history of the ancient Russian semi-enclave on the shores of the Kerch Strait - the Tmutarakan principality - there are a lot of gaps. For example, the first mention of him in Russian chronicles is in 988, when the Kyiv 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 Kyiv princes, and the time when this happened, remain subject of controversy 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 capture of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Korsun (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 nomadic raids.
A lot of reliable information about the Tmutarakan principality has been preserved. It can be said with certainty 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, the modern village of Taman). Probably, the Tmutarakan principality also belonged to some parts of the coast of the Eastern Azov region, where rich fisheries have long been located.
The inhabitants of the coasts of the Kerch Strait were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, they caught fish, which abounded in the waters of the Azov and Black Seas. Crafts flourished in the cities, especially pottery. But the most important occupation of the inhabitants of the principality, located at the crossroads of trade routes, was trade, which brought great income to the townspeople and the state.
The population of the principality was motley. Many Greeks lived here, who settled in the cities and villages of the Turkic nomads, including the Khazars, Jewish merchants and artisans, as well as people from the Caucasus, primarily Zikhs and Alans. Over time, a noticeable Slavic layer also appeared, represented by princely people, combatants, merchants, artisans and clergymen.
The city of Tmutarakan was the seat of the head of the Zikh diocese, which was directly subordinate to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Known are the lead seals of Archbishop Anthony, who headed the diocese in the middle of the 11th century.
Prince Mstislav was a very energetic ruler. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, in 1022 he went on a campaign against the Kasogs. They stepped forward to meet him. They were led by Prince Rededya. Both princes had a strong constitution and were distinguished by their strength, therefore they agreed to resolve the dispute by a duel 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) subject to him, opposed his brother Yaroslav and fought for the throne of Kyiv. Having defeated Yaroslav, he received half of Russia with its capital in Chernigov. Soon Mstislav leaves Tmutarakan, which is now controlled by his proxies.
Later, Prince Gleb ruled here, known for measuring the distance from Tmutarakan to Korchevo on ice in 1068 and immortalizing this event with an inscription on the famous Tmutarakan stone found on Taman at the end of the 18th century. For some time, Rostislav Vsevolodovich reigned here, hiding from the Kyiv language. He was poisoned by the Greeks at the instigation of Grand Duke Svyatoslav. Here and later, outcast 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 suffered a defeat in the struggle for the Chernigov reign, he was betrayed by the Polovtsy, captured by the "goats" 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: “Lord help Michael, archon of Matrakha, Zikhia and all Khazaria” has been preserved. An active and successful politician, Oleg reigns in Tmutarakan for eleven years, but closely follows the events in Kyiv, dreaming of taking the throne of Chernigov. 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 fulfilled his dream - he established himself in Chernigov. After this event, Tmutarakan is no longer mentioned in the annals 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 granted by the Virgin Mary over Rededey, 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 Russia of that time, an associate of St. Theodosius of the Caves. Nikon's influence on the spiritual and cultural life of Kievan Rus cannot be overestimated. Nikon lived in Tmutarakan for a long time and sometimes carried out diplomatic missions for the townspeople. Probably, it was here that he began to create a new annalistic code, which he completed already in Kyiv.
After the termination of the ancient Russian reign in Tmutarakan, Russian people continued to live on Taman for a long time, and the Russian language was used here even in the middle of the 13th century.