Taurus. Short story

The ethnic origin of the Taurians remains unclear. Perhaps they were the indigenous inhabitants of the Crimea, or perhaps they were part of the Cimmerians who retreated to the Crimea from the Northern Black Sea region or from the Caucasus under the onslaught of the Scythians. The self-name of the Tauris is unknown, since the word "Tauris" is Greek and was originally the name of a mountain range in Asia Minor, the continuation of which the Greeks considered both the Caucasus and Crimean mountains. Then the local tribes were also named with the same word. The Greeks themselves called Crimea the "Peninsula of the Tauris" - Tauris.

The Taurians have inhabited the southern coast and mountains of Crimea since the 1st millennium BC. or a little earlier. Most of the Taurian settlements were concentrated on the southern coast of Crimea from the current Cape Aya to Feodosia. To the settlements of the Tauris of the X-IV centuries. BC. include: Uch-Bash near Inkerman, Ashlam-Dere near Bakhchisaray, Tash-Dzhargan near Simferopol, etc. Later IV-V centuries. found on Mount Koshka near Simeiz, Karaul-Oba near the New World, they also include numerous cave dwellings. Settlements IV-I centuries. BC. found on Cape Ai-Todor, Mount Ayu-Dag, Mount Kastel near Alushta. The Taurians lived in compact family communities in settlements in valleys and foothills near water, mountain shelters made of stones, and caves. The path to the south coast from Cape Eklizi-Burun to the mouth of the Alma was closed by a two-meter-thick defensive wall, built dry of large stones in Taurus.

Taurus is mentioned in many ancient sources. Herodotus in the middle of the 5th century BC wrote in his work "History" about the Taurians, as a ferocious people, bringing human sacrifices and living mainly by robbery. Diodorus Siculus, Tacitus, Ammian Marcellinus also described the Taurians as barbarians and murderers engaged in piracy. Strabo in his "Geography" in the 1st century. BC. indicated the base of the Taurus pirates - Simbolon Limen, the current Balaklava Bay. However, archaeologists have not found any evidence that the Taurians received something by robbing foreigners. On the contrary, the finds in the settlements of the Taurians and the only unplundered burial ground of Mal-Muz in the Baidar Valley testify mainly to the quite peaceful occupations of most of the Taurians: fishing, cattle breeding and agriculture. Apparently, there was no slavery among the Taurians. The religion of Tavram was the cult of the Virgin - the goddess of fertility. She made human sacrifices. The figurines of the Virgin have been preserved.

Monuments of the 9th-5th centuries were attributed to the Taurus. BC. and even later in the Crimean Mountains, united in the Kizil-Koba culture: according to Herodotus, the Taurians occupied a "mountainous country" in the strip from the Greek city of Kerkinitida (within the current Evpatoria) to the Rocky (Kerch) Peninsula. Kizil-Koba settlements. They are extremely numerous and are located mainly in a strip stretching from Belogorsk to the outskirts of Sevastopol. These are Balaklava, Uch-Bash and Sugar Loaf (in the Inkerman region), Ashlama (in Bakhchisarai), Kholodnaya Balka (near Simferopol), Simferopol, Kizil-Koba, Yeni-Sala, in the upper reaches of the Salgir, Neyzats, Tau-Kipchak (Belogorsky district ). A cat (near Simeiz) and so on. Settlements are usually found near rivers, and in the mountains they have fortifications in the form of two walls made of wild stone, the gap between which is filled (Uch-Bash, Koshka). Rocky canopies and grottoes were also used (for example, Tash-Air). The settlements are small and with a poor cultural layer of small thickness, which testifies to the short duration of habitation.

Dwellings, as a rule, single-chamber, had an area of ​​20-50 square meters. m. They are rectangular, less often oval in shape and are divided into three types: dugouts (Kizil-Koba); slightly recessed into the ground or above-ground buildings of a pillar structure with wicker walls plastered with clay (Ashlama, Tau-Kipchak, Uch-Bash) and stone houses attached to the rocks (Koshka). The floors were adobe, and only one dwelling in Tau-Kipchak had a pavement of slate slabs. Near the dwellings there were household, in particular grain, pits.

The Kizil-Kobans began extensive exploration of deep caves. So, in the cave of Yeni-Sala II, animal skulls were found, facing mainly the entrance, and in another hall there was a stalagmite with a skull of a mountain goat impaled on it. Entire vessels for sacrificial food have been restored from a collection of ceramic fragments. Also found were primitive wooden figurines and numerous bones of domestic animals, probably sacrificed to an underground spirit. However, a number of other caves with Kizil-Koba ceramics and animal bones (Kizil-Koba, Zmeinaya, Lisya), although they are difficult to access, dark, damp and inconvenient for agriculture, still could not serve for cultural purposes. These were shelters from enemies in times of danger; also the use of deep caves has archaeological and ethnographic parallels.

The inventory of settlements and sanctuaries is composed of stone, bone, clay and metal items. Flint was used to make scrapers and inserts for sickles, with double-sided flat retouching; from soft polished rocks - drilled battle axes and disc-shaped tops of clubs; from bone - piercings, cheek-pieces, socketed arrowheads of rhombic and square sections; from spinning clay. Bronze socketed arrowheads of the Scythian types are common, in particular, with a spike at the sleeve.

Pottery, stucco and often polished, is represented by pots, pots, jug-shaped vessels without handles, bowls, cups and goblets. Small tableware often has a round bottom. Embossed ornament (roller under the rim, bumps on the shoulders) or inset geometric.

Kizil-Koba burial grounds. Burial monuments of the Taurians are distributed throughout the Crimean Mountains, but are especially well known and studied on the South Coast (Gaspra, Koshka) and in the Baidar Valley (Skelya, Mal-Muz, Urkusta I and II, Cherkes-Kermen). In the foothills of the Crimea, east of Simferopol, the burial grounds of Kapak-Tash, Druzhnoye I and II were excavated. In total, dozens of monuments are known, consisting of stone boxes without pronounced mounds.

Taurus boxes, made of stone slabs, were let into the grave pit, and their ceilings were displaced or destroyed. The boxes, as a rule, make up rows of various orientations and are stretched along or across the row. They often have rectangular fences made of dug stones. The dead were buried in a crouched position on their side, and dozens of the dead were sequentially buried in each of the boxes. Apparently, each row was the tomb of one large family community. The inventory of stone boxes, mostly bronze, consists of various ornaments (torques, earrings, spectacle pendants, pins, bracelets, spiral threads, rings, beads, cowrie shells), household items (iron knives, needles, stone whetstones), weapons ( daggers with bar-like or antenna-shaped pommel and kidney-shaped crosshairs, arrowheads of Scythian types), horse equipment (iron three-hole cheek-pieces, two-piece bits, including bronze ones with stirrup-shaped ends, various rings and plaques). Ceramics is rare.

The successive connection of Kizil-Koba ceramics with Belozersk ceramics indicates that the descendants of the Belozersk tribes took part in the creation of the Kizil-Koba culture. It could be a certain part of the steppe population, which turned out to be outside the Cimmerian culture, which migrated to the Crimean Mountains. Here, a significant number of Belozersky settlements have been identified, but few Sabatinov settlements (which are typical for the Eastern Crimea), while outside the peninsula, the opposite picture is observed.

A secondary component of the Kizil-Koba culture could be Koban (of North Caucasian origin), who brought burial stone boxes to the Crimea. In this case, the Taurians should presumably be considered as an Iranian-speaking ethnic group, which seems to be confirmed by the study of proper names. The main occupations of those Taurians who lived away from the sea coast were agriculture and cattle breeding, weaving was also noted. Only the coastal Taurians (and their settlements were almost not preserved in the conditions of the resort coast) could engage in piracy, and even then in combination with sea gathering and fishing.

The ethnic composition of the Crimean population changed significantly in the 5th century. BC e., when Tauric Chersonesus was founded by the Greeks and many Scythians penetrated the peninsula, who appeared here as early as the 7th century.

The contact of the Taurians with the Greeks is traced, documented by the discovery of Kizil-Koba ceramics in the layers of the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. Kerkinitides, in which the Taurians made up a certain part of the population. The Kizil-Kobans were strongly influenced by the Scythians, borrowing from them, in particular, polished ceramics with carved ornaments, which were rubbed with white paste. In the 1st century AD even the Scythotaurs and Tauro-Scythians mentioned by ancient authors appeared. All this and the absence of Kizil-Koba settlements in the Foothills, on the border of the Taurians with the Crimean Scythia, speaks of the friendly nature of relations between the two peoples.

At various times, the Cimmerians, Chersonese and the Bosporus kingdom unsuccessfully tried to conquer the Tauri. For a long time there were no Greek colonies on the territory inhabited by the Taurians. When they appeared, then in the VI-III centuries. BC. relations between the Taurians and the Greeks remained fairly peaceful. They had a common necropolis in Chersonese. The Greeks even partially adopted the cult of the Virgin. However, with the expansion of Greek expansion in the Crimea, the Taurians really began to raid Greek settlements.

Starting from the 1st c. AD the Taurians began to experience significant influence of the Scythians, they began to be called "Tauro-Scythians". The Scythians also experienced the influence of the Taurian culture, adopted their knowledge of mining and fortification. At the end of the III century. the center of the Scythian state moved to the Crimea and the assimilation of the peoples of the Crimea began to take place, incl. and Taurians with Scythians. Subsequently, the Taurians and Scythians jointly participated in the war with the Pontic commander Diaphant. As an independent people, the Tauri ceased to be mentioned from the 4th century. AD

• Taurica (Tavrida, Tavria) is the ancient name of Crimea.

  Initially, the Hellenes called the southern coast of Crimea Tavrika (country of Tauris), and in the early Middle Ages (until about the 15th century) this name was used for the entire Crimea. The current name Crimea is later and comes from the Crimean Tatar language.

  The ancient history of Taurica is purely legendary. The name "Tavrika" probably came from the people of the Taurians, the first king of which Herodotus calls Thoas, who lived 1250 BC. e. However, at present, the hypothesis of the astromorphic origin of the name from Taurus (the Latin version of the name of the constellation Taurus, with which Crimea and adjacent regions were identified in ancient times) seems more reliable. In addition to the Taurians, the Cimmerians lived in Taurida, the strait between Taurida and Sindika (modern Taman) was called the Cimmerian Bosporus by ancient authors.

  Around the 8th century BC. e. the Cimmerians were expelled by the Scythians who crossed the Don from the east. Around the 7th century BC. e. Greek colonies began to be founded on the northern coast of the Black Sea. This confirmed the Greek influence here, to which the Scythians succumbed. Of the Greek colonies in the Crimea, Chersonesus and Panticapaeum stood out, which formed two Greek city-republics. They were conquered in the first half of the 1st century BC. e. Mithridates Eupator the king of Pontus, and Panticapaeum became the capital of the Bosporus kingdom.

  From the time of Pompey, the Bosporan kingdom began to depend on Rome. There is no reliable information about the further history of Taurida. During the great migration of peoples, many peoples lived in Tauris. In the III century, the peninsula was occupied by the Goths, attacked by the Huns. In the 7th and 8th centuries Taurida was owned by the Khazars.

  The Pechenegs also came here. At the beginning of the 11th century, the Kypchaks (Polovtsians) from the Trans-Volga region advanced into the Black Sea steppes, displacing the Pechenegs and Torks from there. During the formation of the Golden Horde, the Kypchaks assimilated the Mongol conquerors and passed on their language to them. After the European campaign of Batu in 1236-1242, the Cumans formed the bulk of the Turkic population of the Golden Horde, making another contribution to the formation of the Crimean Tatar ethnic group. Its further history is the history of the Crimean Khanate.

  “Tavrika is a large and very wonderful island with many peoples ... They say that there Osiris, harnessing the bulls, plowed the land, and from this pair of bulls the people got the name.” Stephen of Byzantium

  IN Russian Empire Tavria was the name of the fertile lands of the Tauride province adjacent from the north to the Crimea with the cities of Alyoshki, Berdyansk, Genichesk, Melitopol, etc., bounded from the west by the Kherson province, from the north by Yekaterinoslav.

  The asteroid (814) Taurida, discovered in 1916 by the Russian astronomer Grigory Nikolaevich Neuimin at the Simeiz Observatory in the Crimea, is named in honor of Taurida.

Initially, the Hellenes called the southern coast of Crimea Tavrika (country of Tauris), and in the early Middle Ages (until about the 15th century) this name was used for the entire Crimea. The current name Crimea is later and comes from the Crimean Tatar language.

The ancient history of Taurica is purely legendary. The name "Tavrika" probably came from the people of the Taurians, the first king of which Herodotus calls Thoas, who lived 1250 BC. e. However, at present, the hypothesis of the astromorphic origin of the name from Taurus (the Latin version of the name of the constellation Taurus, with which Crimea and adjacent regions were identified in ancient times) seems more reliable. In addition to the Taurians, the Cimmerians lived in Taurida, the strait between Taurida and Sindika (modern Taman) was called the Cimmerian Bosporus by ancient authors.

Around the 8th century BC. e. the Cimmerians were expelled by the Scythians who crossed the Don from the east. Around the 7th century BC. e. Greek colonies began to be founded on the northern coast of the Black Sea. This confirmed the Greek influence here, to which the Scythians succumbed. Of the Greek colonies in the Crimea, Chersonesus and Panticapaeum stood out, which formed two Greek city-republics. They were conquered in the first half of the 1st century BC. e. Mithridates Eupator the king of Pontus, and Panticapaeum became the capital of the Bosporus kingdom.

From the time of Pompey, the Bosporan kingdom began to depend on Rome. There is no reliable information about the further history of Taurida. During the great migration of peoples, many peoples lived in Tauris. In the III century, the peninsula was occupied by the Goths, attacked by the Huns. In the 7th and 8th centuries Taurida was owned by the Khazars.

Pechenegs and Polovtsy came here. The latter conducted a rather extensive trade with Taurida, including slaves. Intermediaries in this trade were mainly Genoese colonies, which began to spread in the Crimea from the 12th century. After the conquest of the Russian land by Batu and the founding of the Golden Horde, Taurida fell under the rule of the Tatars. Its further history is the history of the Crimean Khanate.

“Tavrika is a large and very wonderful island with many peoples ... They say that there Osiris, harnessing the bulls, plowed the land, and from this pair of bulls the people got the name.” Stephen of Byzantium

In the Russian Empire, Tavria was called the fertile lands of the Tauride province adjacent from the north to the Crimea with the cities of Aleshki, Berdyansk, Genichesk, Melitopol, etc., bounded from the west by the Kherson province, from the north by Yekaterinoslav.

In honor of Taurida, the asteroid (814) Taurida (English) Russian, discovered in 1916 by Russian astronomer Grigory Nikolayevich Neuimin at the Simeiz Observatory in the Crimea, is named.

According to the electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia

LEGEND. PONT AKSINSKY AND PONT EUXINSKY

That was a long time ago. So long ago that even the counting of time went backwards. A proud and peace-loving tribe of highlanders lived in Tauris. Lived quietly and peacefully. They did not attack anyone, and no one attacked them. They cultivated the land and raised children. The smart hands of the highlanders have learned to grow fragrant sweet grapes on the slopes of the mountains.

The mountain range is unyielding, but the highlanders are a patient and industrious people. They brought earth in baskets and filled the crevices with it. And the mountains, covered with vines, fruit trees, dogwood and walnut bushes, wandered.

There was a lot of game in the mountain forests, and the highlanders were well-aimed shooters. But they did not abuse their weapons and only drew their bowstrings when they needed food.

The village of mountaineers grew richer every year. They heard about Taurida in distant Hellas, and the Greeks decided to conquer this rich land.

Many ships appeared off the coast of Taurida. They were armed Hellenes. They wanted to approach the shore under cover of night and attack the sleeping mountaineers. But the sea suddenly lit up with a bluish flame, and the highlanders saw the aliens. The Greek ships sailed as if on silver. The oars splashed the water, and the spray shimmered like stars in the sky. Even the foam off the coast shone with a blue, dead glow.

The village of mountaineers was alarmed. The women and children hid in the caves, while the men prepared to repel the onslaught. They realized that the battle would be not for life, but for death: there were countless Greeks.

But here, as if clouds covered the stars. These giant vulture eagles took off from the rocks and rushed to the sea. Having spread their huge wings, the eagles began to circle over the Greek ships. The Hellenes screamed in fright and covered their heads with shields. But then a menacing scream of the vulture-leader was heard, and the birds with their iron beaks began to hollow out wooden shields covered with leather.

The highlanders were delighted to see support from the sky, and began to push huge boulders into the water.

The sea rebelled, stormed, huge waves rose. So huge that salt spray, breaking through the darkness of the night, reached the sun and caused rain. Above the sea was a continuous groan and roar.

In fear, the Hellenes turned their ships back. But few returned to their shores.

Since then, the Greeks began to call this sea Pontus Aksinsky - the Inhospitable Sea. And they punished the children to never raise weapons against the inhabitants of Taurida and never try to pass along Pontus Aksinsky.

You never know, how much time has passed since then, only again the Greeks began to be drawn to the sunny shores of the rich Taurida.

But they well remembered the order of their ancestors, and not thousands of ships went to Pont Aksinsky, but only five. And they were not armed warriors, but peaceful ambassadors with rich gifts for the highlanders.

And the highlanders agreed with the Greeks, and swore that they would never raise weapons against each other.

Since then, the Hellenes settled far from Hellas and happily lived under the sun of Taurida. They began to grow grapes, traded with the highlanders and wondered: why is such a gentle sea called Aksinsky Inhospitable?

No, this is a kind and hospitable sea. And the Greeks called the sea Pontus Euxinus - Hospitable Sea.

And so it has been since then. Whoever goes to the Black Sea with an open heart and a peaceful flag, it is always hospitable - Pont Euxinus. And for our enemies - Pont Aksinsky - Inhospitable.

ANCIENT NEWS ABOUT TAURS. TERRITORY OF SETTLEMENT

Currently, there are several hypotheses about the origin of these names. In our opinion, two are the most reasonable. Some researchers believe that the main occupation of the local population was cattle breeding, and bulls were of particular importance in their economy - in Greek "tavros". From here the locals got their name - Tauris, their land - Taurica. Another part of the researchers claims that the Greeks called any mountains or mountain ranges Taurus, so the Crimean mountains were named by them in the same way. Subsequently, this name spread to the population living on the peninsula, and to the peninsula itself.

Most of the ancient authors note that the Taurians inhabited the mountainous part of the Crimea. At the same time, Strabo testifies that the Taurians occupied most of the Crimea. Herodotus describes in sufficient detail the territory of the settlement of the Taurians: “This is the original Scythia, it starts from the mouth of the Istra (Danube - ed.), faces south and extends to the city called Karkinitida (modern Evpatoria - ed.). From here comes a mountainous country, lying along the same sea. It protrudes into Pontus and is inhabited by Taurian tribes up to the so-called Rocky Chersonese (Kerch Peninsula - author). This Chersonese juts out into the sea in the east.

Comparing information from written sources and archaeological research, we can say that the Taurians inhabited the coastal and mountainous part of the Crimea, from Evpatoria to the Kerch Peninsula, as well as the foothill territory.

ORIGIN OF TAURS. KIZIL-KOBINSKY CULTURE

According to many researchers, the Taurian culture appears in the Crimea from the 8th century. BC e. Obviously, this ethnic group was formed primarily in the mountainous part of the peninsula. The most important source for studying the culture of the Taurians are their burial grounds, which are stone boxes, the walls of which consisted of four slabs, and were covered with a fifth slab on top. Most often, the size of such boxes was up to 1.5 meters in length and about 1 meter in width and height. They were built directly on the surface, obviously, this was one of the reasons that most of these cemeteries were looted. A happy exception is the Mal-Muz burial ground in the Baydarskaya valley, which has 7 stone boxes covered with an embankment (which is also an exception).

The study of the Taurus burial grounds shows that the dead were buried on their left side in a crouched position. Moreover, each grave box was used for burial purposes several times. So in one box of Mal-Muz, 68 skulls were found. When the "box" was full, it was cleaned of bone remains, leaving the skulls, and they continued to bury.

The grave goods consisted of a variety of things: iron bits, bronze ornaments: hryvnias, rings, bracelets, temporal pendants, plaques that were sewn onto clothes; bronze arrowheads, akinaki swords, cowrie shells and glass beads.

A significant part of the researchers associates with the Tauris the Kizil-Kobinsky archaeological culture that existed on the peninsula in the 8th-3rd centuries. BC e. and named after the Kizil-Koba cave (Simferopol region near the village of Perevalnoye). Quite a lot of monuments of this culture have been explored in the foothills of the Crimea. The most famous are the settlements Shpil near the village of Druzhnoye in the Simferopol region, Ashlama-Dere in Bakhchisarai, Inkermanskoye, Balaklavskoye, Uch-Bash near Sevastopol. The burial grounds of these settlements were either pits dug in the ground or stone boxes. Their grave goods are similar to the grave goods from the Taurus burial grounds of the mountainous and South Coast Crimea.

The settlements of the Kizil-Kobans consisted of semi-dugouts and ground houses of frame-pillar structures, plastered with clay. Utility pits were built to store grain.

Many researchers call the Kizil-Koba culture archaic. This is due to the fact that at a time when metal tools were already quite widespread, the Kizil-Kobans continued to use stone axes, bone needles, flint knives and inserts for sickles.

Obviously, the Taurian ethnos was formed under conditions of mixing of different ethnic groups, newcomers and locals. Such an assumption allows scientists to make comparisons of burials close in time in stone cists of the Crimea and North Caucasus, as a result of which a striking similarity was found in rituals and inventory, at the same time, local traditions can be clearly traced in the culture of the Taurians, with their roots dating back to ancient times.

ECONOMY AND LIFE OF THE TAVRS

In antique written sources enough a large number of information about the life, way of life and beliefs of the Taurians, forming their image as pirates and robbers. Obviously, many ancient authors were influenced by the reports of Herodotus about the cruel customs of this people: “Taurians have the following customs. They sacrifice to the Virgin both the shipwrecked and the Hellenes whom they capture. Sailing into the sea, thus: having performed the preliminary rites, they hit them on the head with a club. They say that they throw the body down from the cliff (after all, the sanctuary is erected on the rock), and stick the head on a stake, but they say that the body is not thrown from the cliff, but buried in the ground. The Tauri themselves say that the deity to whom they offer sacrifices is Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon. With enemies who are captured, they act as follows: each, cutting off the captive's head, carries it to his house, then putting it on a long stake, puts it, raised high, above the house, most often above the chimney. They claim that these are the guardians of the whole house. They live on plunder and war.

Strabo also speaks of the same: “... a harbor with a narrow entrance, where the Tauri (Scythian tribe) usually gathered their bands of robbers, attacking those who fled here. This harbor is called Simbolon Limen ... "(modern Balaklava Bay, "Symbolon Limen" in Greek - "Symbol Harbor or Signal Harbor").

However, the material accumulated in the course of archaeological research suggests that the information of ancient authors that the Taurians "live on loot and war" is greatly exaggerated. In the burial grounds of the Taurians, no items of antique production were found, with the exception of glass beads. There are much more facts confirming the message of the ancient author that "the Taurians are a numerous people and love nomadic life with herds."

According to researchers, the basis of the economy of the Taurians was cattle breeding and, to a certain extent, agriculture. It is obvious that, depending on the natural and geographical conditions, cattle breeding (in the mountains and foothills) could prevail among some tribes, while agriculture could prevail among others in the fertile valleys. This is evidenced by grain (household) pits and found agricultural tools: hoes, sickles, grain graters. Taurians grew wheat, barley, oats, beans, bred cows, oxen, sheep, goats and pigs. Obviously, with the onset of spring, the main herds grazed on beautiful high mountain pastures.

A certain role was played by fishing, hunting, and collecting shellfish in coastal areas. Pottery, weaving, spinning, processing of leather, stone, wood, bone - all these crafts among the Taurians, especially in early time were of a domestic character. In the manufacture of ceramic dishes, the clay was carefully smoothed out (lost), after which a certain ornament was applied with a sharp object, which was filled with white paste. After firing, the dishes had a black surface covered with white patterns.

The exchange of goods was poorly developed and increased slightly only in the first centuries of our era.

According to Herodotus, the leaders of the Basileus stood at the head of individual Taurian tribes. The Scythians tried to draw the Taurians into the fight against the troops of the Persian king Darius, but the basileus, together with the leaders of other tribes, did not agree to take part in the war and declared: “If the enemy breaks into our land and offends us, then we will not endure this.” The late antique author Ammianus Marcellinus also speaks about the various tribes and “kingdoms” of the Taurians: “The Taurians, divided into various kingdoms, between which Ari-khi, Sinkhi and Napei are especially terrible for their excessive rudeness ...” (emphasized by the author)

Ancient authors report not only the fierce customs of the Taurians, but also their courage in battle. In particular, one of the historians says that the Taurians, “having undertaken a war, always dig up the roads in the rear; having made them impassable, they enter the battle; they do this so that, not being able to escape, it was necessary either to win or die.

The tribal system of the Taurians was particularly stable. Collective family burials can be traced among the Taurians for a long time. According to the historian, the Taurians buried their loyal friends along with the leaders of the clan and, as a sign of mourning, cut off part of their ear.

The beliefs of the Taurians are not well studied. Ancient authors first of all mention the main deity of the Taurians - the goddess Virgo (in Herodotus - Iphigenia), to whom they sacrifice captives. The Roman poet Ovid describes this ritual extremely vividly:

“There to this day there is a temple and four times ten

To the powerful columns of his uphill feet lead:

Here, the rumor narrates, though empty, stands

The altar stone, which was naturally white.

It turned red from the blood of people, changing its color.

A woman rules the rite, not knowing the bridal torches;

She is higher than the Scythian friends by the nobility of her family.

Our ancestors had this custom:

Every newcomer had to fall under a girl's knife.

Researchers have made several suggestions about the possible location of the temple of the goddess of the Virgin. But traces of this temple have not yet been found by archaeologists.

The search for Taurus sanctuaries located in hard-to-reach caves turned out to be more successful. In the well-known cave MAN, consisting of two halls located one above the other, traces of such a sanctuary were found. Images are carved on the wall of the upper hall human face and crosses, which, obviously, at that time symbolized the sun among the Taurians. Fragments of Kizil-Koba dishes and animal bones were found in the halls. A stalagmite topped with an animal skull was found in the Yeni-Sala II cave on Mount Northern Demerdzhi. Fragments of Kizil-Koba vessels and bones of various animals were also found near this cave.

In the first centuries of our era, information about the brands is very scarce. Obviously, the processes taking place at that time on the peninsula led to the fact that in the II-III centuries. AD the Taurians were assimilated by the Scythians.

A new book from the series "Monuments world history” introduces the reader to the history of Crimea from ancient times to the heyday of the Tauride province. Entering the peninsula with weapons in their hands, the Russians saw it as a second homeland. The conquerors were the first to treat Tauris as a unique historical monument. Through the efforts of Russian settlers, the wild land turned into a civilized place of rest for the Russian nobility. On the sea coast, cities rose from the ruins, parks were arranged, palaces were erected, which are described in this book.

A series: World heritage monuments

* * *

by the LitRes company.

Ancient Taurica

... The Taurians lived by robbery and war, sacrificing to the Virgin the shipwrecked sailors and all the Hellenes who were captured on the high seas.

Herodotus

Due to natural and geographical features Crimea has become a kind of meeting place for different cultures. At different times it was inhabited by Hellenes, Iranians, Jews, Scythians, Genoese, Armenians, Tatars, Russians. Ancient authors called the “large and very remarkable” peninsula Taurica by the common name of the tribes that lived in the Crimea before the arrival of nomads from the Central Asian steppes.

Map of ancient Crimea

The historian Stephen of Byzantium attributed the appearance of the Taurians to the care of the Egyptian god Osiris, who plowed the land on two bulls and then marked the locals in the same way as animals. The real history of Crimea began with the Cimmerians, who settled the Black Sea steppes at the end of the Bronze Age. Their descendants, the Taurians, were forced out by the Scythians, who turned the primitive land into a strong military power capable of repelling the Persian invasions. Before setting foot on the fertile land of the Crimea, the ancient Greeks were afraid of this region, located beyond Pontus Akseinos - the "inhospitable sea." The first Hellenes came here in the 7th-6th centuries BC. e. Greeks from Miletus settled in the east of the peninsula, founding the cities of Panticapaeum, Theodosia, Myrmikion, Nymphion, united under the auspices of the powerful Bosporus kingdom. The western coast of Crimea was occupied by the Heraclians, who first formed a colony and then a Greek republic centered in Chersonese. Encountering practically no resistance, the Greeks occupied all the lands in Taurica that were most convenient for life and commerce. In ancient times, their settlements served as intermediaries in trade between Hellas and the northern countries. Having quickly mastered new territories, the Hellenes renamed the calm waters of Pontus Axeinos into Pontus Euxinus - “hospitable sea”. They remained on its shores after the conquest of Greece by Rome and did not leave the Crimea during the greatness of Byzantium, when the peninsula was part of the Eastern Roman Empire.

tauroscythia

The most ancient population of the Crimea were semi-sedentary nomadic Cimmerians who lived in the Black Sea region and the steppe regions of the peninsula at the turn of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. e. The memory of them was preserved in local names, often mentioned in Greek sources. The Cimmerian walls, the Cimmerian Bosporus Strait (now Kerch), the city of Cimmerik and the region of Cimmeria are named after the original inhabitants.

One of the few Cimmerian burials was found on the shores of the "rotten sea" Sivash. So from ancient times the system of small bays in the western part was called Sea of ​​Azov. The deceased lay in a crouched position on his side with his head to the east. Next to it, they found spiral pendants made of bronze nails trimmed with gold leaf, a piece of an iron dagger, a pear-shaped vessel with a neck with bent edges. In ancient Taurica, the burial place of a warrior was marked by the erection of a mound or a stone stele in the form of a pillar with a slightly expanded base. The monument schematically depicted the deceased, but quite realistically conveyed the details of the uniform: a harness belt with a dagger, a bow and a case for arrows.

Cimmerian warriors

Similar burials were found near Simferopol and Kerch. However, the dead lay with their heads to the southwest in an extended position. Attributed to a later time, these burial grounds contained all kinds of household and military items. The Cimmerian warrior, who set out on his last journey, was supposed to have an earthen vessel, an iron sword, bronze, iron and bone arrowheads. The funeral equipment of the horse was decorated with inlay and carved ornaments.

Homer's Iliad mentions "the land of marvelous warriors, mares, mammal-eaters, the poor, the most just people." The Greek historian Herodotus, who visited the Black Sea region in the 5th century BC. e., transmitted information about the Cimmerians, guided by toponymy and oral traditions. Like all steppe peoples, they were well-armed horsemen, carrying out the orders of the military aristocracy both in life and in battle. The approach of the Scythians gave determination to the leaders, but "frightened the people who wished to abandon their land." The leaders killed their warriors in continuous battles, then moved from the Crimea to Asia Minor.

Modern researchers do not dare to make a direct connection between the Taurians and the Cimmerians. The direct descendants of the latter are the peoples who inhabited the foothills of the Crimea in the III-II centuries BC. e. Clear traces of their residence were found in the area called Kizil-Koba. The most probable ancestors of the Taurians are the carriers of the Kemioba culture, which received its name from the Kemi-Oba barrow near Simferopol. These are the unusual burial structures found in the Tauride steppes and foothills. The burial mounds surrounded by stone fences are topped with anthropomorphic (human-like) steles in the form of large stone slabs. In contrast to the Cimmerian monuments, they clearly distinguish the elements of the human figure - the head, shoulders, belt. The origin of such monuments is associated with the spread of megalithic structures: stone fences, stone boxes or pillar-shaped menhirs - stones up to 5 meters high vertically dug into the ground. A true masterpiece of ancient art is a one and a half meter stele made of diorite, discovered near Bakhchisaray.

The grandiose sculptures of the Kemiobin culture may have represented the first attempt to create the image of a person in monumental art. Being the heirs of the megalithic traditions, the Taurians also erected massive structures, but on a somewhat reduced scale.

Being representatives of the northern Iranian ethnos, the Cimmerians, Taurians, Kizilkobins and Scythians were kindred peoples. That is why the Greek authors did not accidentally confuse or identify them with each other. However, by significant differences in culture, one can trace the historical path they have traveled. For example, the Kizilkoba ceramics are decorated with geometric patterns, while the Tauris have no patterns. The first laid the dead in small mounds in an extended position on their backs, with their heads to the west. The second buried the dead in stone boxes, sprinkled with earth, in a crouched position on their side, orienting their heads to the east. Today, the Kizilkobians and the Taurians are regarded as two different people who inhabited the mountainous Crimea in the last millennium of the past era.

Even scarce information represents the Taurians as a numerous people with a distinctive culture. Many aspects of the life of the Crimean tribes remained an unsolved mystery. Foreign sailors knew the peninsula from afar, sometimes not daring to moor to the harsh shores. Pliny the Elder, when describing the Crimean coast, limited himself to a cursory listing: "... the city of the Taurians Plakia, the port of Symbols, Cape Criumetopon ... then there are many bays and ports of the Taurians ...". The ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo saw the Bay of Symbols (now Balaklava) "as a bay with a narrow entrance, where the Taurus and the Scythian tribe set up their robber dens, attacking those who fled from bad weather."

Civilized Greeks were stunned by the local custom of human sacrifice. Most often, captives captured during pirate campaigns were placed on the altar. According to Herodotus, “the Tauri robbers killed their enemies with a club; the head of the victim was nailed to a post, and the body was buried in the ground or thrown into the sea from the cliff where the sanctuary stood. The heads of the enemies taken prisoner were put up on long poles above the house as guards.

It is possible that the Taurus began to be so called from the habitat. In ancient times, the mountainous Crimea was called Taurica by analogy with the mountain ranges of Asia Minor, designated by the concept of "taurus". Of no less interest is the mythological basis of the name, that is, from the sacred bull Tauros, equally revered in both Egypt and Greece. The crossing of the legendary animal from east to west is noted in the name of the Bosphorus (“bull crossing”).

Herodotus noted that the Taurians occupied a "mountainous country" in the strip from the Greek city of Kerkinitida (present-day Evpatoria) to the rocky Kerch Peninsula. The settlements were located mainly along the banks of rivers. One-room dwellings of a rectangular or oval shape were divided into three types. In the foothill valleys of Kizil-Koba, dugouts with adobe flooring were built. In rare cases, the floors of dwellings were laid out with slate slabs. Ground buildings slightly or completely sunk into the ground with wicker walls plastered with clay are characteristic of plateaus (Ashlamama, Tau-Kipchak, Uch-Bash). Monumental stone houses attached to the rocks were erected in impregnable mountainous regions. Mountain dwellings were complemented by fortifications in the form of two walls made of raw stone, the gap between which was filled with rubble masonry. Rock sheds and grottoes were widely used. Built to last for centuries, such houses did not serve their owners for long, as evidenced by the small size of the villages and a small number of archaeological finds.

The Kizilkobians began the development of deep caves, continued by the Taurians in a defensive capacity. Underground cavities were equipped as dwellings and sanctuaries, where animal skulls served as idols, in particular, the remains of a mountain goat planted on stalagmites. Religious rituals were performed with the help of vessels for sacrificial food, primitive wooden figurines and bones of domestic animals, apparently sacrificed to an underground deity. However, most of the caves of that era, such as Kizil-Koba itself, as well as Serpentine and Fox, are dark, damp and inconvenient for living. In all likelihood, they were created as temporary shelters from enemies.

The Taurus fortifications differed from the previous buildings in their characteristic decoration. Dry-built walls made of raw stone were equipped with tower ledges without internal chambers. Tightly adjoining the rocks, they formed a single whole with the mountain. The archaic culture of the Taurians left no room for openness and innovation. The inventory of their settlements and sanctuaries is made up of primitive stone, bone, clay and metal objects. Flint was used to make scrapers and inserts for sickles. Soft breeds were used to create battle axes and pommel heads. Arrowheads were made from bone.

Burial, megalithic monuments of the Taurians - dolmens - looked like boxes with a hole, made of stone slabs and covered with a flat slab. In the Crimea, such structures were often fenced with a rectangular palisade of dug-in stones. In each of the boxes, dozens of the deceased from one family community were sequentially buried. All kinds of bronze ornaments were put on the dead: hryvnias, earrings, pendants, bracelets, rings, beads.

Crimean dolmen

Starting from the 7th century BC. e. the composition of the Crimean ethnic group has changed significantly. Scythian nomads from the Central Asian steppes penetrated the peninsula. After 300 years, the Greeks arrived in the Crimea, who founded their own capital in Chersonese Tauride. According to the images on ceramics, it can be assumed that there was a stage of peaceful contacts between the Taurians and the Hellenes, although later they entered into an irreconcilable struggle. In Kerkinitis, part of the inhabitants were the original inhabitants of the peninsula. The Kizilkobians were under the influence of the Scythians, borrowing from them polished ceramics with carved ornaments rubbed with white paste. The ancient population of Taurica in Greek sources was designated as "Scythotaurs" or "Tauro-Scythians", which indicates the friendly nature of relations between kindred peoples.

Hellenes and Amazons

The relationship between the civilized Greeks and the barbarians turned out to be not entirely simple and unambiguous. There is evidence of fierce battles with foreigners, in which the local peoples showed considerable ingenuity. The Roman historian Polien mentioned that the retreat of the Hellenic warriors often became impossible due to dug up roads. At the same time, the peaceful Greek colonists adopted the methods of agriculture from the Taurians and were even influenced in their spiritual life, borrowing the cult of the local goddess of the Virgin. She not only entered the Greek pantheon, but also took a leading place in it. In the III century BC. e. the Scythians were driven out by the Sarmatians, forcing the union of tribes that once dominated the peninsula to leave for the mountains. The mountain ranges of the southwestern Crimea, which stood as an insurmountable barrier on the way of nomads, played a special role in the history of the region. According to the historian G.V. Kovalevsky, “in contrast to the lowlands, the mountains have preserved in their isolated nests the most ancient and peculiar relics of the past - fragments human races, adverbs, ancient economic forms, customs, mores, remains of plants and animals.

Scythian Naples

Having captured almost the entire peninsula, the Scythian leaders settled southeast of present-day Simferopol, moving their residence from the Dnieper region to the Tauride Neapolis. The capital of the late Scythian state flourished in the 2nd century BC. e., when Tsar Skilur dominated the steppes of Crimea. The description of Neapolis (Scythian Naples) is found in a poetic hymn composed by the Chersonesians in honor of the commander Diophantus, who captured several enemy fortresses. The incredible concept of "city of nomads" is mentioned in Strabo's "Geography".

The Scythian lords sought to settle as close as possible to Chersonesus and the cities of the Bosporus kingdom. Wealthy Greek colonies bought bread from the steppes, offering wine, olive oil, precious utensils and gold jewelry in exchange. Long and close communication with the Hellenes led to the merger of the two cultures, in particular, to the disappearance of the original "animal" style among the Crimean Scythians. At the same time, the "barbarization" of Mediterranean traditions took place.

At present, there are almost no solid structures left on the site of Neapolis. The ancient earth was dug up by scientists and residents of Simferopol, who dismantled the old masonry for the construction of a new city. Literary records about Scythian Naples are very scarce, but information about it can still be gleaned from a small archaeological material. The power of local kings is assured by architectural fragments with inscriptions: “King Skilur, the great king, the 30th year of the reign ...”, “Offering to Zeus Atavir of Posideus, the son of Posideev”, “On the offering of the same Posidey to Athena of Lindos”.

The lapidary monuments testify that the Iranian Skilur was able to build a powerful state. He felt himself a strong ruler if he dared to be called the great king of the Taurus-Scythians. A well-preserved fragment of a bas-relief found on the territory of the settlement depicts a portrait of Skilur, depicted as an old man with long hair, a broad beard, in the famous Phrygian cap trimmed with a “radiant crown”. Next to the king is shown a young man, presumably the son of Skilur, Prince Palak. The same pair repeatedly appeared on the coins of the ancient city of Olbia, located not far from modern Nikolaev.

Scythian amphora

The story of the long forgotten city forms the basis of the unpublished diaries of the Russian botanist Christian Steven, who visited the settlement in 1827. Thirty years later, Count A.S. Uvarov carried out excavations here. In 1890, the task of the Imperial Archaeological Commission was carried out by the archaeologist and orientalist, Professor Nikolai Ivanovich Veselovsky.

According to the observations of Russian researchers, Neapolis was an isosceles triangle built on a hill almost a kilometer long. The ancient fortress was protected from two sides by a cliff of natural, horizontally layered rocks, and from the third side it was separated from the surrounding area by a wall 600 paces long. The hillfort bordered on the valley of the Salgir River and the deep ravine Dog Balka. Fortifications were built from local limestone. Vaulted underground rooms were arranged in the rocks - crypts that served for collective burials. Now all the stone burial grounds have been plundered, but a large cemetery has been preserved on the slope of the Dog Beam. His burials are arranged not in the rocks, but in the ground, and are arranged in tiers. According to the found items of a Roman nature, it can be established that the burials date back to the first centuries of our era.

In the 3rd century, Taurida experienced an invasion of the Gothic tribes, which caused irreparable harm to the ancient Taurus-Scythian culture. The Germans, who arrived from the Baltic, swept through the Crimea like a tornado, leaving conflagrations and ruins behind them. Neapolis did not serve the Goths for long, who in turn fought against the Scythians and Huns. The ruined fortress was partially restored at the beginning of the 4th century by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great. During the reign of the khans of the Golden Horde, the impoverished and neglected Neapolis turned into the Tatar fort Kermenchik (“little fortress”). The name was understood literally from the 15th century, when a really small settlement Ak-Mechet remained from the flourishing capital.

Basilicas of Chersonese

Translated from the ancient Greek language, the word "Chersonese" means "peninsula". The founders of the city, who arrived from Heraclea Pontus, did not know the geography of the area well and called Taurica not the entire peninsula, but only its southern coast. The settlement of Khersones arose at the end of the 6th century BC. e. and in its heyday was a typical Greek policy - an independent city-state with a democratic form of government. The assembly of free citizens decided on issues of war and peace, approved or rejected laws, approved architectural plans, regulating the ratio of palaces and defensive structures.

Chersonesus was the only city in the Northern Black Sea region that had a regular layout. The original principle of urban development was formulated by the architect Hippodamus from Miletus. The Hippodamian system provided for the division of the city into approximately equal quarters, formed by longitudinal and transverse streets, which intersected at right angles. The initial planning of Chersonesos was so successful that its foundations were not disturbed for one and a half thousand years, and the reconstructions were limited to the intra-quarter space. The ancient paving slabs have been preserved on the streets. Statues once stood at the intersection of streets. According to the remains of residential buildings, one can judge the scope of construction at the time of the city's heyday. The high spacious houses of the citizens of Chersonesus were equipped with cellars and certainly supplemented with courtyards.

Excavations of a residential quarter in Chersonese

In the first centuries of its existence, the five thousandth population of Chersonesos hid behind powerful defensive walls that surrounded the city from all sides. Deliberately created on a rocky hill, the system of defensive structures was erected taking into account the constant danger from a strong enemy. The thickness of the fortress walls reached 4 meters. The lower rows of masonry of large, well-hewn limestone blocks were made in the technique typical for the ancient Crimea. Builders laid carefully fitted blocks without a binder solution. The gap between two walls up to 12 meters high was filled with stone and clay. The watchtowers rose another 3 meters, providing an excellent view of the area.

In front of the main defensive wall there was an advanced one - proteichism, which did not allow the enemy to use siege towers or battering rams in full force. The space between the main wall and the proteichism was called by the Greeks the peribolus; foreigners called it the corridor of death. The enemy, who found himself in a tight stone bag, expected heavy losses. Massive pillars - pylons - strengthened the fortress gates, which were locked with heavy wooden beams. An unexpected guest could not pass unnoticed, because the entrance to the city was blocked by a lifting metal grate - a cataract. After the invasion of the Russians, a "climbing gate" appeared over the ancient gates, and the underlying structures began to be used as the foundation of new city walls.

The beginning of the struggle with the Scythians (3rd century BC) was marked by the loss of Kerkinitida and the destruction of Kalos Limen. Fearing capture, the inhabitants of Chersonesus turned to Mithridates for help. The Pontic troops led by Diaphantus eliminated the Scythian threat, but freedom had to be paid for peace. The weakened Chersonese became dependent on the allies and the unfriendly Bosporan kingdom.

In the Middle Ages, the city enslaved by Byzantium began to be called Kherson and for a long time remained dependent on the military plans of the warring powers: the Khazar Khaganate, Kievan Rus, Pechenegs and Polovtsians. Internal problems were no longer solved by the people, but by the holy fathers. According to the author of The Tale of Bygone Years, a long siege and burning of the city took place in 988. Having destroyed the Hellenic center, Prince Vladimir the Red Sun renamed the ruins into Korsun. ups and downs political history did not prevent Kherson from maintaining the importance of a major trade and craft center. The townspeople, as before, were engaged in crafts and trade, taking advantage of the city, which stood on the famous route "from the Varangians to the Greeks."

The construction of majestic Christian churches belongs to the Russian period, the most famous of which is the Cathedral of St. Vladimir. Its construction began in the middle of the 19th century, following the foundation of an Orthodox male monastery. At the end of the Crimean War, the monks were building quite disorderly. Having planted a garden and a vineyard in the protected area, they caused irreparable damage to ancient monuments. Cathedral St. Vladimir was founded in 1861. The construction was carried out under the supervision of the author of the project, architect D. I. Grim. The paintings were made by artists E. A. Maikov, A. I. Korzukhin, T. A. Neff under the guidance of Academician N. M. Chagin. After consecration, the interior design of the cathedral is considered one of the the best works in Russian religious painting.

The influence of Byzantine architecture can be traced in the cross-domed form of a two-tiered temple. The ruins of the basilica and the Church of the Holy Virgin rested on the first tier. The second level housed the churches of Vladimir the Great and Alexander Nevsky. The lower church was consecrated for the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', and in 1891 and 1892 the parishioners were received by the churches of the second tier. During the Second World War, the unique cathedral was partially destroyed, but most importantly, the unique interior paintings, which have not been restored to this day, perished.

Cathedral of St. Vladimir

In the first half of the 13th century, the Black Sea region was occupied by the Seljuk Turks. In 1223, the first raid on the peninsula was made by the hordes of Batu Khan, and Chersonesos was actually alone with the enemy. Rapidly losing influence, the city began to yield to the Genoese, who managed to move the main trade routes to their possessions. Italian merchants controlled the city, but they could not return it to its former power even with the help of the population.

Residents desperately tried to prevent the extinction of their native land. Even in the most hard times city ​​walls and towers were repaired, streets were paved, handicraft workshops did not stop working, inns were never empty. With touching care, the townspeople decorated their houses with carved ornaments, paintings, and figured cornices. In 1399, the fortress was captured by the Tatar Khan Edigei, who ordered to burn most of it. After such a crushing blow, ancient Chersonesus ceased to exist forever.

The Polish ambassador Martin Braniewski, who traveled around the Crimea in the 16th century, noted that “the astonishing ruins clearly testify to the former splendor and wealth of the glorious city of the Greeks, populous and famous for its harbor. The entire width of the peninsula and now rises a wall and numerous towers, mostly from huge hewn stones. Chersonese stands empty and uninhabited, representing only ruins and devastation. Houses lie in dust and leveled to the ground.

In 1827, at the suggestion of Admiral S. Greig, the first archaeological excavations were carried out, which discovered the ruins of Christian churches. At the end of the Crimean War, research in the Old City was carried out by Count Uvarov. A little later, excavations were carried out under the vigilant gaze of the monks of the monastery of St. Vladimir.

Monastic archaeologists were interested in religious relics and the remains of ancient buildings that were used for charitable deeds: the construction of cells, churches, refectories, warehouses, stables. In 1888, the first scientific research began on the territory of the former Chersonese. The result of the activity of the historian K. K. Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich was the creation of the "Warehouse of Local Antiquities" - the first Kherson museum. A century later, on its basis, the State Historical and Archaeological Reserve arose, later renamed the National Reserve "Tauric Chersonesos".

God-given Theodosius

The exact date of the founding of Theodosius is not even in the legends. It is known that during the reign of the Spartokids it was a major port on the shore of a large bay in the eastern part of the Black Sea. Sprawled on the slope of Mount Tete-Oba, the city was part of the Bosporus kingdom along with the Greek colonies Phanagoria and Gorgippia. The city reached its peak during the reign of King Leukon (389–349 BC). Vladyka showed considerable concern for the strengthening of the commercial role and the growth of the welfare of the citizens of his state. Thanks to the arrangement of a safe and convenient harbor for ships, foreign ships entered the port without hindrance, which were granted the right to duty-free trade. The excessive generosity of the Bosporan ruler caused discontent in Greece: “Levkon set up a new trading port of Feodosia, which, according to the sailors, is no worse than the Bosporus, and here it bestowed ... duty-free.”

Translated from the Greek language "Theodosius" sounds like "given by God." However, the wealth and prosperity of the city was provided not by the gods, but by hardworking residents - farmers, sailors, potters, vase painters. An indicator of political independence was their own coins. The high level of the craft is confirmed by numerous archaeological finds. Fragments of terracotta figurines and Attic black-figure ware were found in the ruins of Feodosia. Among the monuments outstanding work An ancient sculpture is considered to be a limestone stele depicting a griffin.

With the loss of the importance of Athens as a world cultural center, the decline of the Greek colonies in the Crimea began. The end of the Hellenistic era coincided with the rise of the Scythians, who claimed dominance throughout Taurica. Endless wars reduced the vital activity of the Greek trading posts. Some revival occurred during the time of Mithridates Evpator. Like other Hellenic cities, Theodosia got rid of the nomads, but gained dependence on the Pontic state. The new lord was in need of funds, taxing the "liberated" cities of the Bosporus with taxes. An unbearable burden caused a series of uprisings that lasted 20 years with varying success. From the middle of the 1st century BC. e. Theodosius gradually lost its former importance and finally weakened in the Roman era. Archaeological finds from this period are extremely scarce, although the city continued to exist. The decline is mentioned in literary sources: "... the deserted Theodosius was previously a Hellenic city founded by the Miletins ...".

In the 4th century, the ancient Greek city was occupied by the Huns, who renamed it Abdarba. Traces of Byzantine influence are found in the characteristic form of the utensils, as well as in the Greek inscription on the marble column dated 819. Another change of rulers took place in the second half of the 13th century, when the Tatars captured Feodosia. During this period, Abdarba turned into Kaffa. The medieval city had a diverse population. In addition to the traditions of the settled nomads, a new wave of culture from the west, especially from the Italian trading republics of Genoa and Venice, captured the Crimea. In 1261, the Genoese bought Kaffa, who founded the center of their Black Sea settlements here. In the Genoese, heavily fortified Theodosius, there were more than 20 thousand houses. Dwellings and streets were decorated with statues, fountains; there was running water in the city.

In 1475, Italian merchants left Kaffa, ceding the city to the Turks. Evidence of 200 years of Genoese domination are the remains of the fortress: defensive walls, towers, epigraphic monuments stored in local museums.

The Turks did not destroy the city, but the period of their rule was less brilliant. They renamed Kaffa Kuchuk-Istanbul (Little Istanbul). During the siege, the Genoese buildings were almost not affected. Later, the conquerors built new ones, decorating the streets with religious and residential buildings of oriental architecture. Muslim mosques were often converted from Christian churches. One of them soared into the sky with sharp minarets and ten domes covered with lead. The colossal size of the mosque surprised with elegant wall decoration, smooth marble floor and columns that supported the vault. In addition, the Turkish baths, arranged on an imperial scale, were amazing: 17 domes, a perfect water supply and sewerage system, huge pools, and many spacious rooms.

For more than 300 years, Kaffa served the Turkish empire, without losing its trade value to the envy of the Moscow tsars. Ivan the Terrible tried to obtain permission for trade relations with Kuchuk-Istanbul, but did not win the favor of Sultan Bayazet. For about two centuries, the struggle of the Russians with the Crimean khans lasted until, according to the Kuchuk-Kainarji peace, Crimea went to Russia. In 1787, Kaffa was included in the Tauride region and rightly returned to the ancient name of the city.

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The following excerpt from the book Bakhchisaray and the palaces of Crimea (E. N. Gritsak, 2004) provided by our book partner -