Report on Greek colonies in Crimea. Greek colonial cities in Crimea. Greek city-states of Crimea: history of construction, location, public order
Panticalei Khankai (Greek: Παντικάπαιον) founded on the site of modern Kerch by immigrants from Miletus at the end of the 7th century BC. e., in its heyday it occupied about 100 hectares. The Acropolis was located on a mountain called today Mithridates. The main patron deity of Panticapaeum from the founding of the settlement was Apollo, and it was to him that the main temple of the acropolis was dedicated. The construction of the oldest and most grandiose building, by the standards of the Northern Black Sea region, of the Temple of Apollo Ietra was completed by the end of the 6th century. BC e. In addition, later, next to the palace of the Spartokids, there was a temple in honor of Aphrodite and Dionysus. Over time, the entire city was surrounded by a powerful system of stone fortifications, superior to that of Athens. In the vicinity of the city there was a necropolis, which differed from the necropolises of other Hellenic cities. In addition to the usual ground burials for Hellenes at that time, the necropolis of Panticapaeum consisted of long chains of mounds stretching along the roads from the city to the steppe. On the southern side, the city is bordered by the most significant ridge of mounds, today called Yuz-Oba - a hundred hills. Under their mounds are buried representatives of the barbarian nobility - the Scythian leaders who exercised military-political protectorate over the city. The mounds still constitute one of the most striking attractions in the vicinity of Kerch. The most popular of them are Kul-Oba, Melek-Chesmensky, Zolotoy and especially the famous Tsarsky.
The history of Panticapaeum as a city began at the end of the 7th century BC. e., when on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait) ancient Greek colonists founded a number of independent city-states (polises) that formed in the 40s. VI century BC e. military confederation. The goal of the intercity union was to confront the indigenous population - the Scythians. Panticapaeum was the largest, most powerful and probably the first. This is indicated by the fact that already from the late 40s. VI century BC e. Panticapaeum minted its own silver coin, and from the last third of the 70s. IV century BC e. - and gold.
The city of Feodosia was founded by Greek colonists from Miletus in the 6th century BC. e. The ancient name of the city was Kaffa, mentioned during the time of Emperor Diocletian (284-305).
From 355 BC. e. Kaffa was supposedly part of the Bosporan kingdom. According to some estimates, ancient Kaffa was the second most important city in the European part of the Bosporan kingdom with a population of 6-8 thousand people. Economic prosperity was the reason for the outbreak of war between Feodosia and Bosporus. In 380 BC. e. The troops of King Leukon I annexed Feodosia to the Bosporan kingdom. As part of the ancient Bosporus, Feodosia was the largest trading port in the Northern Black Sea region. Trade ships with grain departed from here. The fortified center of Feodosia - the acropolis - was located on Quarantine Hill.
The city was destroyed by the Huns in the 4th century AD. e.
Tauric Chersonesos, or simply Chersonesos (ancient Greek Χερσόνησος - ἡ χερσόνησος) is a polis founded by the ancient Greeks on the Heracles Peninsula on the southwestern coast of Crimea. Nowadays the Khersones settlement is located on the territory of the Gagarinsky district of Sevastopol. For two thousand years, Chersonesos was a major political, economic and cultural center of the Northern Black Sea region, where it was the only Dorian colony. Chersonesos was a Greek colony founded in 529/528. BC e. came from Heraclea Pontus, located on the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea. It is located in the southwestern part of Crimea, near the bay, which is currently called Karantinnaya. In the earliest layers of Chersonesus, archaeologists found a significant number of shards (fragments) of archaic black-figure ceramics, which date back no later than the 6th century BC. e.
A little over a hundred years after the founding of Chersonese, its territory already occupied the entire space of the peninsula lying between the Karantinnaya and Pesochnaya bays (translated from Greek “Chersonese” means peninsula, and the Hellenes called the southern coast of Crimea Tavrika (the country of the Taurians).
10. Social and political life and government structure of Chersonesus.
State authority
The bulk of the free population of Chersonesos were Greeks, and the Greeks were Dorians. This is indicated by epigraphic monuments, which, until the first centuries of our era, were written in the Doric dialect. 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 Chersonesos. Scythian names are found on amphora handles and in epigraphic monuments (ΙΡΕ I 2, 343). One of the Chersonese ambassadors in Delphi, who received proxy there, has the patronymic Σκοθα;. The same person is apparently named in the act of sale of land (ΙΡΕ I 2, 403). Thus, some people from the native population not only lived in Chersonesos, but also enjoyed civil rights there. It is difficult to say whether this was an exception or, on the contrary, a mass phenomenon. In any case, there is no doubt that Chersonesus was closely connected with the local population, and did not stand isolated from it.
The ruling class in Chersonesos were slave owners: landowners, workshop owners, traders, as well as small peasants and artisans. The oppressed and exploited class were the slaves who came from the native population; “Slave owners and slaves are the first major division into classes.” 1 In addition, the Scythian population, who lived on the territory belonging to Chersonesus, was dependent on Chersonese. The revolt of the Scythians under the leadership Savmaka is convincing evidence that the Scythians were exploited by the Greeks.
During the period under review, there was a democratic republic in Chersonesos. The forms of government bodies and the general nature of the state structure of Chersonesos have much in common with the state structure of Heraclea and its metropolis - Megara. 1 The main source for studying the state structure of Chersonesos are epigraphic monuments - inscriptions on marble slabs. Valuable documents are inscriptions issued on behalf of the state: honorary decrees, proxies, treaties, acts, etc. One of the most important monuments of Chersonesus is the oath dating back to the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. (IPE I 2, 401). Until now, it was generally accepted that the oath represented an oath that was taken by young men who had reached the age of majority - ephebes, who then received the rights of citizenship, that the oath listed all the duties that every citizen had to observe. 2 Academician S. A. Zhebelev 3 believes that all citizens of the state had to take the oath after the attempt to overthrow democracy was eliminated. This new understanding of the text of the oath gives us the opportunity to learn about the class struggle that took place in Hersemes at a fairly early period, which makes the oath an even more valuable monument.
Political life
Despite the fact that the political system of Chersonesus was called “democracy”, the leading role in the political life of the city is gradually passing into the hands of representatives of the most prosperous part of the population. Participation in public administration was not paid and therefore was practically inaccessible to those who lived only from the results of their labor. As follows from the honorary decrees and dedicatory inscriptions of Chersonese, actual power in the state gradually passes to several families, and the Chersonese democracy, as in Olbia, becomes a democracy only for a small circle of wealthy citizens.
Political life in the ancient city was always closely connected with religious life. Temples stood out in the architectural decoration of the city. Unfortunately, as a result of subsequent reconstructions and redevelopment of the city area, all the ancient temples were destroyed and were not preserved. However, we know from honorary inscriptions that there were several temples in the city. The main shrine of Chersonesos from the 4th century BC. e. became a sanctuary of the Virgin with a temple and a statue of this deity. In general, the religious life of the city at that time was rich and varied. At the head of the official pantheon, judging by the oath of citizens, were Zeus, Gaia, Helios and Virgo. In addition to the temple in the city near Chersonesus, on Cape Feolent or on the Mayachny Peninsula, there was another temple of the Virgin. In this temple, according to ancient Greek legends, the priestess was Iphigenia, the daughter of the leader of the Trojan campaign of the Greeks, Agamemnon, who was sacrificed by him. There was a temple to the Virgin in Chersonesus itself.
11.Bosporan kingdom. Government structure and socio-economic life. Uprising of Savmak
The Bosporan Kingdom (or Bosporus, the Vosporan Kingdom (N.M. Karamzin), the Vosporan 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 it was expanded along the eastern shore of Meotida (Sea of Azov) to the mouth of the Tanais (Don). From the end of the 2nd century BC. e. as part of the Pontic kingdom. From the end of the 1st century. BC e. post-Hellenistic state dependent on Rome. Became part of Byzantium in the 1st half. VI century Known from Greco-Roman historians. After the middle of the 7th century BC, Greek settlers appeared on the northern shore of the Black Sea, and by the beginning of the second quarter of the 6th century BC. e. 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 apoikia - independent policies (free civil groups ). Greek colonies were founded in the area of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait), where there was no permanent local population. There was a permanent population in the Crimean Mountains, where the Taurian tribes lived, Scythians periodically roamed the steppes, and semi-nomadic Meotians and Sindian farmers lived around the Kuban River. At first, the colonies did not experience pressure from the barbarians, their population was very small, and the settlements had no defensive walls. Around the middle of the 6th century. BC e. Fires were recorded at some small monuments, including Myrmekia, Porthmia and Thorik, after which small fortified acropolises appeared on the first two of them. Conveniently located, possessing a good trading harbor and therefore having reached a significant level of development, Panticapaeum, presumably, became the center around which the Greek cities of both banks of the Kerch Strait united into an intercity union. Currently, an opinion has emerged that initially he managed to unite only nearby small towns around himself, and on the other side of the strait, the center founded in the 3rd quarter became the center. VI century BC e. Phanagoria. Around 510 BC e. The temple of Apollo of the Ionic order was built in Panticapaeum. Apparently, on behalf of the sacred union of cities that arose around the temple, a coin with the legend “ΑΠΟΛ” was issued. Whether this union was equal to a political one, how it was organized, who was part of it is unknown. There is a hypothesis linking the issue of these coins with Phanagoria.
Socio-economic life
The population of large territories of the Bosporan kingdom was at different stages of socio-economic development and social relations. The slave-owning mode of production reigned here, and therefore society was divided into free and bonded people. The ruling elite included the royal family and its entourage, officials of the central and local government apparatus, shipowners, slave traders, owners of land plots, craft workshops, wealthy merchants, representatives of the tribal and military nobility, and priests. The owners and managers of the land were Bosporan rulers and large landowners. There was state and private ownership of land. The Bosporan state was inhabited by free citizens of average income who did not have slaves, foreigners, as well as free communal peasants (Pelata). The latter were the main payers of taxes in kind for the right to use land and primarily bore the burden of duties in favor of the state and the local aristocracy. In addition, peasants were obliged to participate in the militia during the attack of nomadic tribes on the Bosporan kingdom. The low level of the social ladder was traditionally occupied by slaves, divided into private and state. The work of state slaves was mainly used in the construction of public buildings and defensive structures. In tribal organizations, slavery was domestic, patriarchal. Local aristocrats widely used slave labor on agricultural farms, where they mainly grew bread for sale.
State structure
According to the historical type, the Bosporan kingdom was a slave state, like the city-states that were part of it. In terms of the form of government, it was one of the varieties of despotic monarchy. From the beginning of its formation, the Bosporan kingdom was an aristocratic republic, headed from 483 BC. stood the clan of Archenaktidiv. From the middle of the 5th century. (438 BC) power passed to the Spartokid dynasty, which ruled here for three centuries. The Spartokids for a long time styled themselves archons of the Bosporus and Feodosia, and called themselves kings after the vassal barbarian peoples. Already from the III Art. BC. The double title disappears, the rulers call themselves kings (the Bosporan kings retained the title of archons in the 1st century BC only in relation to Panticapaeum).
The city-states that became part of the Bosporan kingdom had a certain autonomy and their own bodies of self-government (people's assemblies, city councils, elected positions). But already on the verge of a new era, the Bosporan kings became sole rulers, owners who called themselves “kings of kings” (with the accession of new tribes to the state, the title of head of state - king - was added to their ethnic name). In the 1st-3rd centuries AD. In the Bosporus, the tendency towards centralization of power intensified, accompanied by the formation of a complex state-bureaucratic structure with the tsarist administration at its head.
Savmak uprising
Scythian uprising in the Bosporus state in 107 BC. e. It flared up in Panticapaeum during negotiations with Diophantus on the transfer of power from the Bosporan king Perisad V to the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator (See Mithridates VI Eupator). Perisad was killed by Savmak, and Diophantus fled to Chersonesos. The rebels took possession of the entire European part of the Bosporus. In the N. century. The Scythian population, consisting of dependent peasants, artisans, and slaves, participated. S.v. prevented the implementation of a political deal, with the help of which the slave-owning elite of the Bosporus, trying to find a way out of the acute crisis and maintain their class dominance, tried to establish a regime of firm power, transferring it into the hands of Mithridates VI. The rebel leader Savmak became the ruler of Bosporus. The system established during the reign of Savmak, which lasted about a year, is unknown. After lengthy preparation, Mithridates VI sent a large punitive expedition of Diophantus to Sinope. In Crimea, Chersonesus detachments were included in it. Diophantus' troops took Feodosia, crossed the Kerch Peninsula and captured Panticapaeum. S.v. was suppressed, Savmak was captured, and the Bosporan state came under the rule of Mithridates VI.
Great Greek Colonization
Since we have already looked beyond the walls of Olbia, we should talk in more detail about the Greek colonies in the Northern Black Sea region, about their birth and fate.
They arose in the process of colonization that stretched over several centuries, when thousands and thousands of families, with belongings and livestock, loaded onto fragile ships (what else can you call the ships restless among the sea ramparts, which often did not even have a deck) and went there, where Odysseus never went. To foreign lands - to make them yours and transform them beyond recognition.
The colonization of the Black Sea coast was part of the second wave of mass Greek emigration. The first occurred during the “Dark Ages” that followed the “Dorian invasion”: in the 12th century. BC e. Greek tribes of cattle breeders, primarily Dorians, poured into the city-states of Mycenaean Greece, the heir to the great civilization of Crete, from the north. The tribes are backward, but warlike and much more determined (in these times, according to many historians, there was some kind of climate change that had an adverse effect primarily on the cattle breeding economy. Probably, such historical cataclysms as the Trojan War were also associated with it war, the death of the Hittite kingdom, the attack on Egypt by the “peoples of the sea”).
Contemporaries also called the invasion of the Dorians “the return of the Heraclides”: the Dorians themselves considered themselves direct descendants of Hercules (he would have had enough strength), called upon to avenge the insults once inflicted on the divine hero. You don’t have to go into the essence of the accusations, because it’s clear: “It’s your fault that I want to eat” - and it seems like I really really wanted to eat.
Many then had to escape murder, robbery, destruction, enslavement (the Spartan helot slaves were none other than the descendants of Homer’s Achaeans, who, led by their legendary king Agamemnon, were at the forefront of the Hellenic campaign against Troy).
During those “dark ages,” representatives of all Greek nationalities went overseas, including the victorious Dorians. Colonies arose in Sicily and southern Italy (these lands were called Magna Graecia), on the islands of the Aegean, Adriatic, and Tyrrhenian seas, on the coasts of Asia Minor, Thrace, and North Africa.
The Ionians were the most active in colonizing distant lands (for those that remained, Athens was the strongest city). In Asia Minor they colonized a large part of the Aegean coast, which was called Ionia, and the union of cities they founded there was called the Ionian League. The most significant city-state was Miletus.
The second, or Great, colonization was associated both with the economic rise of Greek cities and the accompanying overpopulation, and with the fierce class struggle within the city-states. At that time, the so-called “Hoplite revolution”: the basis of the armies of city-states became not horsemen, large landowners-aristocrats, but representatives of the “middle bourgeoisie” - peasant landowners not associated with the aristocracy, merchants and wealthy, at least not poor, artisans. They formed the ranks of the heavy Greek infantry - hoplites. The same ones that are in the pictures: with a large round painted shield and a massive spear, in a comb helmet (sometimes closed - fear takes over), with a short sword on the side, in a shell or cuirass, in bracers and greaves. Having strained themselves, they provided themselves with all these weapons, mastered the tactics of a dense formation - phalanxes, on the battlefield they could skillfully resist cavalry attacks - and they wanted to be at the head of their policies. And the aristocrats did not want to give up their power.
The struggle between the aristocratic and democratic parties could take the most fierce forms. Thousands sometimes died in armed battles and subsequent reprisals. It cannot be said that one of the two forces prevailed throughout the entire Greek world. But still, the Dorian city-states were considered prone to aristocratic rule, the Ionian ones - to democratic rule.
The colonies became independent policies. Not always completely independent - in some cases the new formation had to follow the instructions of the metropolis. She could also act as an arbitrator in complex litigation. But the colonists themselves, for the most part, did not want to lose ties with their hometown. There remained sanctuaries revered from childhood (their fire, statues of gods and relics were always taken with them), ties of kinship and friendship, ties of memories, finally.
It was also important that aristocrats and rich people provided funds for the founding of colonies. They remained in place, but it was necessary to fulfill their conditions (for example, to sell their goods in a new place among the native population or to supply them, first of all, with what that land was rich in. Birth somewhere in the 7th century BC. "yellow devil" - hard coin contributed to the fact that commercial interests became all-encompassing and all-pervasive).
They always hoped for help from the metropolis: it could be needed both when settling in a new place, and for defense against the natives - and they were rarely happy with new neighbors. In difficult circumstances, help was also expected from other colonies of their mother country. However, we repeat, most of the colonies were completely independent. And many became metropolises themselves, establishing their own colonies in even more distant lands.
Those who were driven by need, and those who found themselves in the camp of the losers in the political struggle and did not want to remain under the rule of the victors (especially since often the only alternative to leaving was death), and those who harbored the ambitious hope of getting ahead or getting rich joined the ships. in a new place.
But before setting off, it was imperative to enlist divine support. Apollo was considered the main patron of the settlers. It was highly desirable to receive a favorable prediction from the priestess-soothsayer (Pythia) in his temple at Delphi. The Delphic Temple of Apollo became both the spiritual and economic center of colonization. Having extensive information concerning the entire then Oecumene, the temple could give a competent recommendation and could help with money. The servants of the Delphic Temple knew well what specific colonists wanted first of all: to engage in agriculture, or to create a craft center, so that, by providing local residents, primarily the local nobility, with the fruits of Hellenic craftsmanship, they would receive the fruits of their land for them, or to focus on trade .
Landing after a dangerous voyage, the colonists clearly felt the sacred significance of what was happening - here their new life would begin, here they would find new gods - the patrons of their city, and here they would erect altars to the old gods. Priests often accompanied the sacred fire from their homeland - they served a solemn prayer service. The leader of the expedition was an oikist, if he became the first head of a new state entity (there were also full-time “expeditioners” - their duty was only to ensure the sea passage and the initial arrangement), after death he was proclaimed a hero - a status, if not divine, then reminiscent of Christian saints: on his a chapel was erected at the grave - heroon, he was worshiped, through him one could turn to the gods, protection was expected from him.
Life in a new place was not necessarily organized according to the model of the metropolis - roughly speaking, in an aristocratic or democratic manner. Many did not then embark on a long journey to sail to the same thing. But, on the other hand, it was difficult for newcomers from cities with aristocratic rule, who had no experience of self-government of a democratic polis, to do without unity of command, without a firm hand. Whereas people from democratically oriented cities, if they were not fugitive aristocrats, carried within themselves a deep-rooted rejection of the arrogant nobility. Although they might also have been familiar with the experience of tyranny: de facto autocracy “on behalf of the people,” while maintaining the appearance of a democratic structure (by the way, tyrannies often provided a fairly prosperous life for the majority of the population of the polis, being a way out of the impasse of political confrontation, and this word did not at all carry that sinister meaning that was filled with it later).
Life will show them how to live, the Greeks are smart people. What there hasn’t been room for yet is oligarchy, the dominance of politicking moneybags. There simply could not be such people among the arrivals, and if they were destined to appear, they had to be raised in their own environment.
We have already talked a little about relationships with the local population and will continue to talk. Note that it is unlikely that there were frequent cases when colonists landed on the shore, as on the Cook Islands - in the habitat of unknown savages. Usually, emporia – trading posts – had already been operating on these shores for some time, and the colonists had at least an approximate idea of who they would be dealing with. But this point should also be noted. It is known that the Greeks, with a sense of their own superiority, called all foreigners barbarians. Probably, this word appeared precisely in the process of colonization - as a mockery of the incomprehensible (or poorly understood) speech of the wild natives, some kind of continuous “bar-bar”, in Russian speaking, gibberish. Their manners, their villages, their way of life seemed rude.
Of course, they themselves are a completely different matter. They already picture temples with columns of a strict style, public buildings to match them, a stadium, a theater, a gymnasium, and statues decorating squares. Their dishes will not be like those of the barbarians, but will be made of black-figure (later red-figure) varnish - amphoras, craters, kylixes. And they didn’t expect anyone to give them all this. They themselves built temples, theaters, and beautiful cities. They made money from works of the highest Hellenic craftsmanship, inaccessible to them - and bought them. They did not skimp on bringing to themselves the statues that came out from under the chisel of the best sculptors. Admire how many works of world-famous potters and vase painters from Attica and Corinth found in the Northern Black Sea region are stored in the Hermitage, the Pushkin Museum, and other exhibitions?
Moreover, in Crimea, on the Taman Peninsula, on the Black Sea estuaries, local Greek craftsmen developed their own unique style. Their sculpture, “Scythian” vases and jewelry, and other works - albeit sometimes lapidary (somewhat rustic) - breathe (especially when there are many of them together, as in the Hermitage) with some kind of intimate, inexplicable, romantic spirit. “The inexplicable” is the basis of Hellenic art, for everything (besides mastery) comes from inspiration, from contact with the divine, from Plato’s eidos (even if Plato was not yet born). And if, moreover, it was born among another inexplicable - a mysterious and formidable barbarian world, pristine vast expanses?
The colonization of the Black Sea region was primarily carried out by the Asia Minor Miletus - itself once, during the first colonization, a Mycenaean colony. In total, the Milesians founded about a hundred city-states along the Black Sea (counting colonies of colonies). “For a long time, the Black Sea and its approaches turned into a Milesian reserve” (Michael Grant).
Miletus was a beautiful and rich city, the “Pearl of Ionia,” as Herodotus called it. At its best, it had about 50 thousand inhabitants (the same number as the capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis. The Athenians in their hometown during its heyday numbered about 155 thousand, but it was one of the largest cities in the world at that time). The city lived largely from maritime trade, and its interests extended all the way to Egypt. The withdrawal of the colonies was of great importance for commerce: they became a kind of trading posts of Miletus. Business people provided future colonists with ships for the move and supplies for the first time. Therefore, those wishing to move flocked here from all over Greece. The Milesians themselves were spurred to change places, perhaps not so much by economic considerations as by continuous political strife.
The aristocratic rule established from the founding of the city soon showed a tendency to degenerate into an oligarchy. And oligarchy, according to Aristotle’s definition, is a product of the decomposition of the aristocracy. Natural aristocrats considered governing the state not only their sacred right, but also their sacred duty, and looked at it as serving their native city. The oligarchy arose when the interests of these rulers were closely intertwined with the interests of the rich from other strata, primarily the merchants, and then the interests of the people ceased to be, as before, to some extent an end in themselves, they only became a limiter: “as long as they don’t make a fuss.” " This inevitably led to the strengthening of democratic tendencies (democracies have their own path of degeneration into oligarchy, but this path is not Milesian).
Over time, the city was divided: the oligarchs and their supporters (including people dependent and hangers-on) were led by the Party of the Eternal Sailors, or the Party of Wealth. They were opposed by the Fist Party, or the Party of Labor.
History has brought to us stories of the wild excesses of this struggle. Having once gained the upper hand, the Trudoviks trampled the children of their opponents with bulls in front of their fathers. And they, taking revenge, burned alive both the children of the vanquished and themselves. Eventually a shaky compromise was established under a moderate oligarchy, but still many Milesians took to the gangplanks in the hope of finding a quieter life in distant, wild Scythia (or in the less distant and wild Thrace and Colchis) rather than in their prosperous city.
The Greeks, I think, called the Black Sea Pontus Euxine - “Hospitable” - for complacency. At first they called it closer to the truth - Pont Aksinsky, i.e. “Inhospitable”. It was risky to cross it directly, so they preferred to sail along the banks. Along the coast, from the Bosphorus and further clockwise, Milesian colonies arose one after another. It was easier with the southern (Asia Minor) coast; it was developed first - Sinope (present-day Turkish Sinop), which headed the union of coastal cities, became the stronghold here.
On the western coast, the Milesians founded Apollonia, then Odessa (the well-known Odessa was named so on the assumption that the ancient city was somewhere nearby, but then it was excavated not far from the Bulgarian Varna), Toms, the already mentioned Istria (the mother of the ill-fated king Skyla was from there). ).
Then it was the turn of the Northern Black Sea region. The first (in 643 BC) was a small (one kilometer by half kilometer) island, now called Berezan (perhaps it appears as Buyan Island in “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”). The Greeks took up farming and crafts here, but mainly trade. They soon expanded their activities and moved to the mainland. Here at the very beginning of the 6th century. BC e. at the mouth of the Southern Bug, on the shore of the estuary, a city with a glorious future arose, Olbia (in which King Skil committed his Dionysian fall from grace). Other colonies are appearing around, relying on the help of existing ones. Cities are surrounded by hora - agricultural lands of colonists who permanently reside outside the city walls. At a distance, permanent settlements arise - if conditions permit, primarily relations with the local population.
Another center of colonization was the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait). Here, on its Crimean shore, in the middle of the 6th century. BC e., on the site of a previously established trading post (emporia), Panticapaeum (translated from ancient Iranian as “Fish Route”, the modern name of Kerch) is being rebuilt. Panticapaeum became the largest city in Eastern Crimea and Taman, primarily due to its convenient trading harbor (in the Kerch Bay). Next to it appeared Myrmekiy, Nymphaeum, Theodosia, and on the opposite bank of the Bosporus - Phanagoria, Kepi, Hermonassa, Gorgippia (now Anapa). Further along the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea are Pitiunt (Pitsunda), Dioskuria (Sukhumi), Fasis (Poti).
This is how, having encircled the sea, the Milesians turned the Pont Euxine into “their reserve.” On the northern coast, of the large cities, only the Crimean Chersonesus (the ruins of which are near Sevastopol) was founded not by them, but by the Dorians from Heraclea (the colony of Megara on the southern coast of the Black Sea) and from the island of Delos.
The first close contacts of the Greeks with the inhabitants of the Northern Black Sea region occurred before their appearance in this region, and in places quite remote from it. This happened during the above-described campaigns of the Cimmerians and Scythians in the countries of Western Asia.
In the last quarter of the 7th century. BC e., after the Lydian king Gyges died in battle with them, and his country was destroyed, the Cimmerians attacked the Greek cities of Ionia in Asia Minor, causing a lot of trouble there. For a hundred years they took possession of the city of Antander on the shores of the Aegean Sea - it was even called Cimmeris at one time. The Scythians then attacked Ionia, causing great damage, in particular, to Miletus.
But, on the other hand, the Milesians and other Greeks managed to gain a foothold in the Northern Black Sea region relatively unproblematically precisely due to the fact that a significant part of its inhabitants were then on these Central Asian campaigns, and the Cimmerians generally disappeared in them as a historical character. The returning Scythians engaged in wars with the Thracians for a long time. Therefore, troubles from the natives for the Greek colonists were reduced, for the most part, to the infrequent raids of the Scythians on their cities and chora and to the above-described troubles from the Tauri, who indulged in piracy.
But over time, the aggressive attacks of the Scythians became more frequent, and conflicts with the local Maeotian (Azovian) tribes began to constantly arise in the Bosporus. The settlers began to pay more attention to the walls of their cities, and their patrol units increased their vigilance. On the Kerch Peninsula, a powerful Tiritak rampart was erected from the eastern spurs of the Crimean Mountains to Meotida (the Sea of Azov). Over time, the fortifications of Panticapaeum surpassed those of Athens.
The external threat also affected the internal political situation in the policies. In Olbia, the tyranny of Pausanias, a native of the aristocracy, arose, relying both on the aristocratic religious union and on the civil militia led by him, with whom he was very popular - under his command it performed well in battles.
In the Cimmerian Bosporus, a symmachy formed - a military alliance of the Greek peoples located there. Panticapaeum took the leading position in the alliance. The tyranny of a successful commander, an aristocrat by birth, Archeanact, also arose in him. He became the de facto head of the allied army, and also found support in the Amphictyony - a religious union of residents of all Bosporan cities united around the Panticapaean temple of Apollo. Archeanact passed on power by inheritance; his descendants, the Archeanactids, ruled until approximately 438 BC. e. and even called themselves kings.
The situation for the Greeks became significantly more complicated after the e. The Scythians and Thracians concluded a peace treaty. Now the Hellenic cities became the object of especially close attention of the Scythian kings and nobility.
The raids continued, but the Scythian elite had much more serious intentions. Although she did her best to resist the penetration of foreign culture into the nomadic environment, she could no longer do anything about her own greedy interest in its fruits. Anacharsis and Skil went too far in their spiritual acceptance of her - but it was difficult for everyone to look away from the shine of gold jewelry, the beauty of statues, amphoras, fabrics and much more. All this could be bought, bartered, received in the form of booty or tribute, but this was not enough. Unable to organize maritime trade themselves, the Scythian elite decided to use Greek cities for it: through them, in exchange for gold, silver, tin (a necessary component for obtaining bronze, which was then becoming scarce), fish, bread, furs, slaves, they could receive everything that pleases soul. On the one hand, for this it was necessary to take more and more of what was needed for export from the tribes of the forest-steppe and forests - this was not the point. On the other hand, it was necessary to put pressure on the Greeks.
The policies of the western part of the Northern Black Sea region - Nikonium on the Dniester estuary, Olbia and others - could not successfully resist the Scythians. They did not have a close connection with each other. Geographically, they were quite far from each other; there was also no great need for economic and trade relations. And they had to agree to Scythian patronage.
It is clear that such a dictatorship was not a joy. But, on the other hand, the trade turnover of these cities has increased significantly. To be fair, Scythian patronage was not very burdensome. The official part of the visits of King Skilos to Olbia described by Herodotus was the royal supervision of the progress of commerce. Skil’s father and the brother who killed Skil did the same. Supervision could also be carried out by trusted persons - both of Scythian and Hellenic origin. As for polis self-government, activities not related to the royal interests, private life - here the Greeks in most cases were completely left to themselves: they elected officials, gathered at public meetings, worshiped the gods as they saw fit, organized an army, attended the theater , stadium, gymnasium, worked and traded.
These cities became centers of interpenetration of both cultures. It is interesting that coins were minted in Nikonia with the name of the inveterate Hellenophile Scythian king Skilos. The time was not far off when noble Scythians would visit Greek cities not only on business, but also to simply live for a while - with impunity.
Herodotus writes about the “Hellenic Scythians” living near Olbia - the colonists called them Mixellenes. They led a lifestyle increasingly approaching a sedentary one and were engaged in farming. Perhaps these were partly people descended from mixed marriages, but for the most part they were natural Scythians who found a place for themselves in the way of life of the Greek polis, settling on its periphery as military settlers.
The new situation significantly influenced the life of the “Scythian ploughmen,” a significant part of whom were Slavs. They now had to increasingly engage in the production of export goods - grain. by Furst Florian
GREEK CUISINE Food and drinks from morning to night Anyone who has seen how the Greeks have breakfast will probably think that they have no appetite at all. But if you look at them again at dinner, it seems that the Greeks are a nation of true gluttons. Breakfast in Greece plays a secondary role.
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The first civilized people to settle in the Crimean lands were the ancient Greeks, or Hellenes. It was these people who made such a contribution to the development of all human civilization that cannot be overestimated. The influence of the ancient Greeks on the development of our peninsula is enormous.
The main reason for the resettlement of this people in the Northern Black Sea region was the search by low-income citizens for conditions for a normal life. The metropolis was overpopulated, there was no longer enough food and land for all free citizens, which gave rise to such a phenomenon as mass colonization. This movement dates back to the 7-6 centuries BC - the archaic era in the history of Ancient Greece. The first two waves of colonization affected lands close to Greece. The colonizers of the third wave crossed the Pont Euxine (the ancient Greek name of the Black Sea, translated as “Hospitable Sea”) and discovered fertile lands, an abundance of animals, birds, and fish. Being seafarers, the Greek settlers appreciated the local harbors and bays.
The first settlers who managed to create their own colonies on the territory of Crimea were the Ionian Greeks and the Dorian Greeks. It was they who, after some time, united other colonies around themselves and created two states - the Cimmerian Bosporus and the Tauride Chersonese.
The first city that the Hellenes founded in Crimea was Panticapaeum - present-day Kerch. The appearance of this city dates back to the turn of the 7th-6th centuries BC. A little later, in the 6th century BC, Feodosia was built, and the agricultural towns of Tiritaka, Parfeniy, Porfmiy, Myrmeky appeared on the Crimean coast of the Kerch Strait. The main inhabitants of these Hellenistic settlements were inhabitants of the western coast of Asia Minor (mainly from the Ionian city of Miletus) and the cities of the Aegean Sea.
Very quickly the colonists established their economic life: agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing and hunting developed; various crafts are emerging - construction, jewelry, metalworking, weaving, ceramics; the emergence of surplus products and goods makes it possible to establish trade with the metropolis and natural exchange with neighboring tribes. Already in the middle of the 6th century BC, their own coins were minted in Panticapaeum, and a little later - in other cities.
Gradually, the colonies, increasing territorially and in number of inhabitants, became cities and turned into small state policies. Their centers in the east of Crimea were Panticapaeum, Feodosia and Nymphaeum.
The threat of attack from barbarian tribes and economic interests became the reason for the unification of most of the cities of the Kerch Strait. The new state that emerged as a result of this unification was called the Cimmerian Bosporus. The first mention of this state belongs to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who named the time of its birth - around 480 BC. This state is not only expanding, but also becoming ethnically diverse: in addition to the Greeks, it is inhabited by Scythians, Taurians, and on the other side of the Kerch Strait - Sindians and Maeotians.
Everything that the Greeks achieved in their historical homeland is widely used in Crimea. Urban planning, architecture, painting, philosophy, education, lawmaking, medicine, literature, theater, sports, a high level of development of agriculture and crafts - all this finds fertile soil on the Crimean soil for application and dissemination. Most likely, the Cimmerian Bosporus also included a settlement located on the site of the present Old Crimea. Numerous archaeological finds of Hellenistic origin and Panticapaean coins confirm this assumption.
At the end of the 4th century AD, after the invasion of the Huns, the Bosporus had to recognize their supremacy, and in the 6th century, the heiress of the fallen Roman Empire - Byzantium - subjugated these lands to itself.
In the southwestern part of Crimea there was another Hellenistic state - Tauride Chersonesos. Its center was Chersonesos (now Sevastopol), which was founded in the second half of the 5th century BC. colonists from Heraclea Pontica - a Dorian city on the southern coast of the Black Sea. The constant threat of attack from neighboring Tauri forced the settlers to quickly turn Chersonesos into a fortified city. The socio-economic development of the Chersonesos is taking place according to a scenario very similar to the development of their fellow countrymen, who mastered the Crimean lands a little earlier - the Bosporans. For a short time, Chersonesos was even under the Bosporan protectorate. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, Chersonesos became the center of Roman military occupation in Crimea. The city did not suffer from the Huns, since it was outside their routes of conquest. At the end of the 5th century, Chersonesos became part of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Almost simultaneously with the appearance of the Scythians in the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region, in the 7th century. BC e. The colonization by the Greeks of the eastern and southern coasts of Crimea, the western and northwestern coasts of the Sea of Azov and some regions of the Northern Black Sea region, mainly along the Dnieper-Bug estuaries, begins.
Meotida, as the ancient Greeks called the Sea of Azov and the Pontus Euxine (Black Sea), attracted them with the wealth of fish, mild climate and convenient bays for ships.
Apparently, not all Greeks lived well in their homeland. Some were oppressed by rich and noble landowners; others were prevented from engaging in crafts and trading their products; still others were involved in rebellions and protests against their masters; the peasants suffered from a lack of land, so they had to seek refuge outside their homeland, in remote areas, and they moved to the Crimea, the Northern Black Sea region.
The metropolis of the first Greek colonists of Crimea was Miletus, which itself was a Greek colony on the Black Sea coast in Asia Minor. Then immigrants began to arrive from other cities of Asia Minor - Heracles, Meot and Teos. And even later, the metropolitan authorities began to send their guilty citizens here from Atena and other Greek cities.
Initially, the Greeks founded small coastal settlements, such as trading posts, and engaged in trade and exchange with the local population, attracting them with bright fabrics, unknown objects, and women's jewelry.
It is unlikely that the local population greeted them enthusiastically. The first colonists in Crimea had to meet the Taurians, who inhabited the coastal strip at that time. Many Taurians felt the danger that threatened them and did not want to voluntarily part with their land, so the meetings of the first colonialists sometimes ended tragically. Therefore, when settling on the sea coast of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, the Greeks at first, for the sake of safety and to prevent unnecessary clashes with the local population, did not move far from the sea coast. In addition, in order to interest the aborigines, they resorted to cunning; at the first stage, trade was carried out with some benefit for them, which lulled their vigilance and gained trust.
The trade exchange gradually grew, the local population got used to the traders arriving from overseas, and, not seeing the danger, they began to calmly treat their settlements.
Over the centuries, these small settlements with berths for small merchant ships began to grow into larger ones, and over time they formed powerful fortified cities. They settled primarily at the mouths of large rivers or in convenient sea bays. At different times over the centuries, such large colony cities arose: at the mouth of the Bug - Olbia, at the mouth of the Dniester - Tire, at the mouth of the Don - Tanape, and on the site of modern Kerch - Panticopeia, opposite Panticapaeum across the strait on the Taman Peninsula - Phanagoria. Almost simultaneously with Panticapaeum on the eastern coast of Crimea - Feodosia, somewhat later Myrmekia, Mimphaeum, Nymphaeum, Taritaka, Chimeric and a number of smaller cities.
Chersonesus appears in the west of Crimea, not far from modern Evpatoria - Kirkinitad, which became a transshipment trade base with the metropolis in the west of Crimea.
All these cities became the main Greek colonies and centers of trade, the development of crafts and the spread of ancient culture.
Each of them arose at different times and each entered history in its own way.
Panticapaeum, Theodosia, Olbia arose in the 6th century. BC, Kerkinitida (Evpatoria) - at the junction of the 6th and 5th centuries. The founding of these cities dates back to the period when Greek merchants from Miletus began to actively develop the coast of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region. As they grew, these cities turned into city-policies, and their relations with the metropolis began to develop as partnerships, and they became less dependent on it.
PANTICAPEA - founded by Greeks who came from Miletus, the largest city in Asia Minor at that time. It is believed that Panticapaeum also had a prehistory. Even the name of the city indicates this; it is not of Greek origin at all. It is believed that in one of the ancient local dialects it means “fish path”. The city was known under the name “Pantikapaeus” twenty-six centuries ago, but it existed as a small settlement much earlier. Now in its place stands the city of Kerch. Before that, depending on whose power it was under, it was called Bosporus, Cherchio, Korchev, Cherzeti.
During its existence, this city was an intermediary transshipment base between Scythia and Greece, a center of international trade in the waters of the eastern coast of Crimea, a fortress that restrained and repelled the onslaught of nomads, was the capital of the Bosporan kingdom, or simply a seedy provincial town.
But it always remained the center of the Kerch Peninsula and everything that happened on this peninsula was connected with this city.
THEODOSIA. There are several different assumptions about the beginning of the city, most of them are similar to legends. One of them says: in the 6th century. BC. Milesian merchants sailed on ships to the shores of the Crimea. At sea they were caught in a strong storm and heavy ships loaded with goods were tossed by the wind like splinters. Desperate merchants lost all hope of salvation and prepared for death, and suddenly, the ships were thrown into a cozy sunny bay, where there was no storm, and on the high shore there were white houses of a small village. Not believing their salvation, the joyful merchants raised their hands to the sky and shouted: “Oh, Theodosius!”, which translated from Greek meant: “Oh, given by God!” This enthusiastic cry remained the new name of the small village on the high bank, which was previously called Ardavda.
The landed merchants founded their colony here, calling it Feodosia. The convenient location of the city on the shore of a saving bay, on a busy trade route, quickly promoted Feodosia to one of the major ports of the world. The city, with its grandeur and luxury, began to compete with the best ancient cities of the world.
According to Strabo, the port could accommodate up to 100 ships. Wheat alone was exported through this port annually up to 22,500 tons.
KERKINITIDA is a city of ancient Greek colonialists, it was founded by them on the territory of a convenient bay in the west of the Crimean Peninsula, so soon after its foundation it became a transshipment trading base for Greek merchants with the metropolis.
On the western outskirts of the city of Evpatoria, near the children's sanatorium "Chaika", the remains of an ancient settlement founded by the Greeks have been preserved. It is believed that at the end of the 6th - beginning of the 5th centuries. BC. During the Greek colonization of the western coast of Crimea, the ancient city of Kerkinitida arose on this site. It became a major port trading with Athens, Sinop, Rhodes and the Crimean cities of Chersonese Panticapaeum. The first written reports about him belong to Hecataeus of Miletus, then they are mentioned by Herodotus, Ptolemy, Arrian.
On the territory of the settlement, archaeologists discovered unique works of ancient masters - a bronze sculpture of an Amazon and a bas-relief of Hercules, which speak of the high culture of the ancient inhabitants of Kerkinitis. In the 4th century. BC. The city became part of the agricultural chora (district) of ancient Chersonesos.
OLVIA was founded on the shore of the Dnieper-Bug estuary. Archaeologists found its remains near the village of Parutino, south of the city of Nikolaev.
During excavations of all the above cities, the remains of residential areas, defensive walls, towers, gates, burials, many household items and women's jewelry were found. In addition, during excavations in Olbia, the remains of temples, artisans' workshops, remains of baths and an agora were discovered.
CIMMERICK - also founded in the 5th century. BC. on the southern shore of the Kerch Strait, named after the Cimmerian Bosporus. It was a connecting port with the Taman Peninsula of the Caucasus. Remains of defensive walls, houses, and utility structures were found.
TANAIS - founded in the first quarter of the 3rd century. BC e. at the mouth of the Don River. This is confirmed by excavations of the Nedvigov settlement by the Nizhne-Don archaeological expedition of the Ukrainian SSR. Many amphorae, clay vessels for wine and grain, and roofing tiles with the marks of masters were found. These finds allow us to draw a conclusion about the economic and trade connections of Tanais with the cities of the Bosporan kingdom and the metropolis.
The descendants of the founders of these cities, modern Greeks, can be proud of the courage and dedication of their ancestors, who founded new lands - the coast of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, bringing them closer to the culture of ancient Hellas, which at that time stood at a high level of world civilization. During colonization, they were more humane and tolerant of the local population, compared to other conquerors.
Hellenic civilization spread not only among the subject peoples, but also among their neighboring peoples and, above all, among the Scythians.
From the first years after the settlement of Greek merchants, the pioneer Greeks in the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, they immediately began to enter into trade contacts with the early Scythians who appeared from the East. Initially, they treated the Scythians arrogantly, considering them “barbarians,” putting into this word a concept meaning “a person with incomprehensible speech.” Moreover, the Greeks classified as “barbarians” everyone who did not speak their language and led a lifestyle that, in their opinion, was less cultural than they were.
But centuries passed and the attitude towards the Scythians changed, also because many of them accepted what was useful from the Greeks and what they considered “cultural” for themselves, thus enriching their lives with examples of Greek culture, thereby raising their rating in the face of the Greeks . In addition, it was profitable to trade with them, mediating with war-ravaged Athens.
They bought grain, animal skins, wool, honey, fish, and timber at a cheap price, but sold it to the metropolis at a higher price. The Scythians were sold beautiful weapons, various household items, items for decorating Scythian dwellings, painted vases, grape wine, olive oil - and much more, without which the Scythians, having entered the stage of a higher culture, could no longer do without, bought in Greece much more cheaper.
Having come into closer contact with the Scythians, Greek merchants began to penetrate far to the north with their goods, covering the lands of the modern Kiev region, Poltava region and Kharkov region. For example, in the Lubyanka region the remains of Greek temples were found: Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, which indicates that there were already many Greek colonists in these areas.
During archaeological excavations in Scythia, the remains of ancient settlements and burial grounds found coins of Greek Black Sea cities, Greek painted dishes for grain, wine and oil, and jewelry items made by Greek craftsmen. This indicates that the peoples who lived here, purchasing goods from the Greeks, gained culture from them, learned the art of Greek craftsmen, and various crafts. Some tribes completely switched to their customs and accepted their religious beliefs.
All Greek colonial cities were built according to the model and, as it were, according to the tradition of the metropolis. They were small in area, compact city-policies (city-states). These were a kind of small independent republics with a center in the city and cultivated fields around, which provided the city with food. This reflects the Greek peculiarity, expressed in dislike for large kingdoms and empires.
Each city-polis lived on its own, but in cases where they were threatened with serious danger from the outside, they united to jointly repel the enemy.
Bosporan Kingdom
Temporary unions of colonial cities more than once ensured their victories over a strong and treacherous enemy, but life predicted the need for closer unity and unification of individual cities into a single kingdom.
In 480 BC. On the initiative of the ruling elite of Panticapaeum, a large slave-owning state arose, named after the Cimmerian Bosporus Strait - the Bosporan Kingdom. It was named so because the lands on both banks of this strait came under the authority of the formed state.
Of the Meotian tribes, the largest were the Sinds, who settled on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea and the Taman Peninsula. In the V -IV centuries. BC. it created the independent state of Sindiku, which also included the Dandaria and Doskh tribes.
However, the state of Sindika did not last long; with the formation of the Bosporan kingdom, it became part of it.
The Greek cities, having united into a single state, could already resist external, stronger enemies - tribes of wild nomads and Scythians, pressing from the east and north, and, to some extent, dictate their terms to them.
The first rulers of the Bosporan kingdom were from the Archeanactid dynasty, who were in power from 480 to 438. BC. Initially, the rulers, in imitation of Athens, bore the republican title - archon, and later began to call themselves kings. Little is known about the reign of this dynasty and its kings, except that they were the creators of the Bosporan kingdom with a slave-owning form of government.
In 438 BC, as a result of a coup d'etat, the Spartokid dynasty came to power, the first king of which was Spartok I, the organizer of the coup.
The Spartokid dynasty was of Thracian origin, from the local ellised nobility, but came from Thrace. Spartok I, having become king, created a royal guard, staffed mainly by Thracians.
The most prominent statesmen of this dynasty, who called themselves kings, whose names have been preserved by history, except for Spartok I (438-433 BC), were Satyr, Leukon I (399-369 BC) , Perisad I, Persid I and his son Eumelus, who came to the throne as a result of the strife.
Life on the very edge of the ancient world was still tense and restless for the Bosporan kingdom and took place in constant struggle with the warlike Scythian nomads who settled in the Crimea and the Tauri. This tension especially intensified after the Sarmatians appeared in the Northern Black Sea region, who ousted the Scythians and began to directly threaten the Bosporan kingdom. Therefore, having united into a single state, it was easier for them to organize defense: build defensive structures, erect walls, ramparts, ditches, and maintain military garrisons.
The unification of various ethnic groups into a single state contributed to their cultural and economic rapprochement, served as an impetus for the development at a higher level of handicraft production in cities, agriculture and livestock farming in rural areas, and increased the volume of trade with neighbors and distant countries, including the metropolis.
An active period of ethnic and cultural rapprochement of the Bosporan kingdom began. This rapprochement was especially noted between the Greeks and Scythians. Mixed, so-called Hellenic-Scythian settlements began to form.
This period in the history of the Bosporan kingdom is well confirmed by archaeological finds. Archaeological exploration of Crimea began shortly after its conquest by Russia. The first excavations were carried out in Kerch in 1816-1817, which provided a lot of new information about the history of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region. This was followed by excavations of other ancient cities and burial mounds of Crimea. Based on these finds, found during excavations at the site of ancient Panticapaeum, Chersonesus, Olbia and other cities of the Bosporan Kingdom, one can judge the high culture of this period, as well as the interconnection of the peoples of the Bosporan Kingdom, their trade, economic and cultural relationships with the outside world.
An equally important discovery was made during excavations of the ancient Bosporan city of Mimphaeum, south of Kerch; in 1982, multi-colored plaster was discovered that had fallen from the wall of one of the sanctuaries, built in the first half of the 3rd century. BC. On the plaster, decorated with transverse bright yellow and red stripes in the center, various inscriptions have been preserved, among which there are lengthy texts relating to the gods Aphrodite and Apollo, the patrons of the seas. The fresco also has many different designs, dominated by sailing ships. The inscriptions reflect aspects of the private and public life of the ancient Nymphaeus during the reign of Perisada II. The main place in the fresco is occupied by a warship - a trireme, a vessel with three tiers of oars, called "Isis", named so, as can be seen, in honor of the goddess Isis.
There is reason to believe that the ship was a diplomatic vessel that brought Egyptian ambassadors to the Bosporus to discuss some important issues of trade between Egypt and the Bosporus and strengthen friendly relations with the Bosporan kingdom.
Under the reign of kings from the Spartokid dynasty, the borders of the state expanded significantly to the east and west, its political and international position was strengthened, and crafts, art, and trade were further developed. Under them, the Bosporan kingdom maintained a well-armed and trained army. Many neighboring cities and peoples were captured and conquered.
Under Leukon I, Feodosia was annexed, which had a convenient location on a busy trade route and was at that time one of the major ports of the world. Ships not only of Greek merchants, but also of many other, even very distant countries, entered it with their goods. Feodosia competed with the best cities of the ancient world in its luxury and splendor of architecture. All this attracted the attention of the rulers of the Bosporan kingdom. Leucon I, seeing a serious rival and dangerous competitor in Theodosia, decided to put an end to this. In 393 BC. he took possession of the prosperous polis by force and annexed it to his state.
Under the Spartokids, a large and strong navy was created, with the help of which the Pont Euxine (Black Sea) was cleared of pirates who attacked ships sailing between the ports of the Bosporan kingdom and Hellas.
After this, the Bosporan kingdom not only continued the trade tradition of the city-states, but also intensified trade exchanges with the metropolis. Leucon I encouraged this trade in every possible way, but especially with bread. His decree is known, ordering first of all to load Greek ships and not impose duties on them. Strabo testifies: King Leukon sent 2,100,000 medimni of grain to Athens (a medimni is equal to 51.5 liters). In addition to bread, furs, animal skins, honey, wax, fish, domestic animals and cheap labor - slaves captured in battles with local and neighboring tribes - were sent to the metropolis.
In difficult circumstances for the metropolis, the Spartokids helped her, but they themselves, if necessary, resorted to her help. A profitable mutual assistance partnership has developed.
Under the Spartokids, the Bosporan kingdom reached great prosperity and power, especially its capital Panticapaeum. Having close ties with the metropolis and other cities and states of the ancient world, it was not inferior to them in beauty and architectural design. The center of the city was a 90 m high mountain, later named Mount Mithridates in honor of the late king Mithridates VI. The city was built around this mountain. As at the present time, the mountain was surrounded by streets - terraces with retaining walls-crepids. At the top, surrounded by powerful walls, stood the Acropolis - the upper city. On the northern slope, a building for the city authorities was built - Prytanei. Panticapaeum had good water supply and sewerage. In fact, at that time Panticapaeum became the political and economic center of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region.
The cultural flourishing of Panticapaeum is evidenced by finds during archaeological research. The frescoes of the Stasovsky crypt (as archaeologists called it) on the northern slope of the mountain depict battle scenes showing the battles of the Bosporans with the Tauri and Sarmatians.
Of particular interest is the fresco of the famous crypt of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility of the Hellenic world. This is an outstanding monument of painting of that era. It suffered greatly during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
Having reached the apogee in the development of military power, the Bosporan rulers began to have ambitious plans: to unite all the Black Sea peoples under their rule.
But this was not destined to come true. First of all, because the cities that became part of the Bosporan kingdom still remained poleis (city-states). They recognized the central authority of Panticapaeum, but retained their self-government and even administrative and economic isolation. The rulers of these cities were not inclined to participate in the military adventures of the kings. In this sense, the Bosporan kingdom was more a union of isolated cities than a monarchical state.
The Bosporan kings achieved military power, but were unable to achieve the political unity of the city-states, and a city like Chersonesos completely separated from them into an independent republic.
This was the first and main obstacle to the implementation of the aggressive plans of the Spartokids.
The second obstacle was that the Bosporan kingdom was under the constant threat of invasion from the Sarmatians, who had captured the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region and came close to the Crimea.
The third obstacle was the emergence on the southern coast of the Black Sea and Asia Minor of a stronger Hellenic state - the Pontic Kingdom, whose rulers had the same aggressive plans.
To all this it must be added that the fulfillment of the aggressive desires of the Spartokids was hampered by constant military skirmishes with the Tauri, the Scythians, who formed their own state in the steppe part of the Crimea, and Chersonesus, which did not want to be subordinate to the Bosporan kingdom.
Agora - among the ancient Greeks - a national assembly, as well as the square where it took place. Temples, government buildings, and porticos with trading shops were built on the sides of the agora. (author's note)
Archon - in ancient Greece - the highest official in Athens. (author's note)
Isis - in ancient Greek mythology - the goddess of heaven, earth and hell - the wife of Ovaris. (author's note)
History of Crimea March 20, 2014
All the cities you see on this map were founded by the ancient Greeks during the 6th century BC. (with the exception of Kalos Limen, nestled in the far west of the peninsula).
In the first half of the century, the Ionian Greeks mastered the eastern coast of Taurica, and towards its end, colonization of the western and southwestern parts of the peninsula began.
You can’t help but wonder: why did the Greeks do this? Why did they move in huge numbers from the cozy and long-developed Hellas? The process of settlement of Greeks along the shores of the Mediterranean, Black and Azov Seas was called the “Great Greek Colonization”.
And indeed, the word “great” cannot be avoided here. For almost 200 years, the Hellenes persistently explored new spaces, founding hundreds of cities during this time. They were not afraid of dangerous sea crossings, or clashes with the local population, or separation from their usual cultural and linguistic environment.
Colonization was a very difficult task, but the Greeks had no other choice! Greece, although a picturesque country, is not well suited for life: there is very little arable land there, it is incredibly difficult to cultivate bread, and there is nowhere to expand: all around are mountain peaks and the sea.
Therefore, when by the 8th century BC. The population of Greece reached its maximum size, the question arose - how to avoid overpopulation and the inevitable unrest. A solution was found in the organized resettlement of some citizens to new, undeveloped lands.
Moreover, all the Greeks were able to benefit from what happened: both those who left and those who remained to cultivate meager fields and develop crafts in their homeland. Going in search of new lands, the Hellenes tried to choose places where they could engage in productive farming. First of all, grow bread.
In the newly founded cities, the Greeks reproduced their familiar model of government, established traditional crafts, and established trade exchanges with the local population and with their abandoned homeland - the metropolis. The descendants of the colonists retained ties with the metropolis - not only trade, but also spiritual ones - for centuries.
The Greek people in those days were not homogeneous: they consisted of several tribes that differed in both dialect and character. The most numerous and active were Ionians And Dorians.
Ionians lived mainly along the shores of the Aegean Sea, and early absorbed the wisdom of the Ancient East, which lay nearby. It was they who gave the world famous scientists: Hippocrates, Thales, Euclid and many others.
The largest Ionian city was Miletus, which lay on the eastern shore of Hellas (now its ruins are in Turkey). It was the Milesians who began the development of the eastern coast of Taurica. Panticapaeum, Theodosius, Tiritaka are their colonies.
The Ionians sought to invade new lands peacefully and establish trade relations with the local population. And, if the aborigines are enslaved, it will be gradually. Their weapon in conquering new spaces was often not a sword, but an IOU, not a warship, but a merchant ship.
The Ionians were cheerful and cheerful people. They saw the world as bright and beautiful and, therefore, especially many poets, artists and outstanding architects were born among them. The favorite god of the Ionians was the radiant Apollo, the patron of the muses.
Dorians were very different from the Ionians. Suffice it to say that the most powerful state of the Dorians was Sparta - a city where the cult of military discipline, brute force, pressure and submission reigned. Even the Dorians themselves did not approve of the cruel practices of the Spartans, but they still adopted some things.
The stern thunderer Zeus was a particularly revered god among the Dorians, and they revered the warlike Hercules as their ancestor. “Nature is not a temple, but a workshop,” a Dorian would readily subscribe to these words.
The Dorians did not so much admire the world around them as adapt it to their own needs, sometimes showing miracles of will, endurance and strength.
So, Chersonese Tauride was founded by the Dorians - a decisive, disciplined and stern people. Unlike the Ionians, they did not just explore new lands. They conquered them.
