The ancient city of Panticapaeum is an immersion in the past. Panikapei: an ancient city near Kerch
Kerch - the eternal City with life uninterrupted since ancient times. At the end of the 7th century BC. e. in the east Crimean peninsula Milesian colonists settled, who founded the ancient Panticapeum. Kerch traces its history from that day.
Not every settlement can boast of access to the sea, and in Kerch there are two of them - to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov (Motida) and the Black Sea (Pont Euxinus). Unique in its own way geographic location The place attracted different peoples here. Panticapaeum remembers raids, wars, changes of rulers, the rise and fall of empires.
History of Panticapaeum - Kerch
Historians find the first memories of him in the ancient Greek myths about the legendary Argonauts: the son of the king of Colchis, Aieta, was the first settler of these places and the founder of the settlement, with the same name of the local river Panticapa. The name of the king's son remains a mystery, but the Oikist, the founder of the settlement, who arrived from Miletus, was probably called Archeanakt.
The wise Greeks chose this place not by chance. Trade routes crossed here, the land was rich in clay and iron ore, natural building stone was used for dwellings, sea fish for food, the climate was suitable for growing cereals, vegetables and fruits. All this was the key to successful living in this part of the Black Sea region.
The relations of the colonists with the neighboring tribes developed in different ways. With agricultural Meots and Sinds it is better than with militant nomadic Taurians and Scythians. In fact, being invaders and enslavers local population In order to resist the raids of the warring tribes themselves, the Greeks located the villages close to each other, gradually uniting and strengthening them, so the city of Panticapaeum arose in the Crimea. Subsequently, it became the capital of the Bosporus kingdom, uniting such Crimean Greek settlements as:
- Nymphaeum;
- Tiritaka;
- Mirmekiy;
- Kimmerik;
- Porfmiy;
- Kitey and others.
The location of most of them has been established, excavations are being carried out, and now these ancient settlements are quite popular tourist sites.
But, we continue to remember the story. As in their historical homeland, on Mount Mithridates, the Greeks built the upper part of the city - the acropolis. Its stone fortification system was superior in strength to the Athenian one. A place of honor in the acropolis was occupied by the temple of Apollo, nearby were the temples of Aphrodite and Dionysus.
In the lower part of Panticapaeum were located residential areas, the agora, the city port. Necropolis, City of dead was located in the vicinity of the city. Earthen mounds on the burial pits of the Panticapean burial mounds have survived to this day in a looted state, unique finds shedding light on the life of ancient peoples are kept in museums around the world and in private collections.
Under the residential buildings of modern Kerch, in the bowels of Mount Mitradat, there are the remains of a necropolis - this is a complex system of crypts, united by manholes of "black" archaeologists. The excavations began at the beginning of the 19th century, as a result of the research it turned out that the area of the necropolis is over 15 hectares, hundreds of crypts date back to the 3rd-5th century AD. e. It is assumed that there are more than 3.5 thousand chambers in the necropolis. You can get an idea of such a burial chamber by visiting a small museum at the foot of the Mithridates stairs. It is called "Crypt of Demeter".
Connoisseurs of the history of the Crimea at the mention of Panticapaeum have a picture depicting a part of the colonnade. These are the remains of the pritaneum reconstructed in the 70s - the Greek deliberative body. Once upon a time, honorary citizens gathered here, foreign guests of the city were invited here. From the "house of authorities" from which the powerful kingdom in the Bosporus was administered, there were fragments that keep centuries-old palace secrets.
Panticapaeum and Mount Mithridates are inextricably linked in the history of the city. From the top of Mithridates, on the left, you can see a path going down, leading to the remains of the ancient city. With a little imagination, one can imagine on the site of ongoing excavations the outlines of the defensive structures of the acropolis, residential buildings, buildings, city buildings located on the terraces of the steep slopes of Mithridates. Height public buildings reached 10 m, which proves the high level of urban planning during the heyday of Panticapaeum. The photo shows that only foundations remained from them.
Walking through the ancient city, you can find clay shards of kitchen utensils from different eras. The temple, dedicated to the mighty Apollo, is hardly visible from the preserved foundation. Finds of the ancient city: coins, ceramics, weapons, precious jewelry - are in the Kerch Museum. The ancient Panticapaeum ceased to exist in the 5th century, leaving many mysteries and amazing works of art.
How to get to Panticapaeum
In Kerch there are monuments of different eras. Panticapaeum is located right in cultural center cities. Vertex legendary mountain Mithridates is connected to the center by the Mithridates Staircase, a classicist work by the Italian architect A. Digby. Overcome 436 steps and you will have an extraordinary view of the modern Kerch, the Kerch Bay, the new Kerch bridge and ancient Panticapaeum. At the top of Mount Mithridates, an eternal flame burns in memory of the heroic defenders of the city during the Great Patriotic War. According to legend, the Pontic king Mithridates admired Panticapaeum and the Black Sea from here. Standing in this place, you feel the change of eras and different generations.
How to get to Panticapaeum bus station Kerch:
Shuttle buses: No. 23, No. 5, No. 3. Drive to stop. them. Lenina, about 3 min.
Then walk 700 meters along the street. Admiralteisky proezd, st. Teatralnaya, then turn left along the street. 51st army. Your gaze will open a view of the obelisk and the Great Stairs of Mithridates.
Panticapaeum in Kerch is worse preserved than in Sevastopol, but its ruins make it possible to understand how majestic this building was, to touch the living history amazing place called Crimea.
Excavations reveal an ancient Greek settlement Panticapaeum. It is from here that the history of modern Kerch begins. It was from this place that the settlement of nearby lands began.
When visiting Kerch, one cannot pass by this unique historical monument. Moreover, access to it is open all the time. And everyone can plunge into the atmosphere of the past millennia, feel, on the one hand, a real archaeologist, and on the other, a resident of these ancient walls.
Personally, this place made a very strange impression on me, completely different from modern Kerch, but I will talk about this later. In the meantime, let's take a look at the historical moments of the settlement of Panticapaeum.
History of Panticapaeum
The city was founded in the middle 6th century BC uh. Its name, according to some sources, has Thracian or Iranian roots, and means "fish way", according to others, it is named after the river Panticapae.
What has been unearthed is only a small particle of the former greatness of Panticapaeum. In fact, he was once huge city and represented the capital of the Bosporan kingdom, which spread on both sides Kerch Strait. Thanks to its favorable location at the intersection of the main trade routes between the Mediterranean, China, Europe and Central Asia he reached his unprecedented prosperity.
historical sketch
Not just the peak, but the entire mountain and its environs contain the remains of ancient buildings. It is worth noting that the richest residents of the city settled on the mountain, temples were also built here, for example, a temple Apollo, patron saint of Panticapaeum. And now we can observe the remains of the walls of the past luxurious palaces and structures.
At the top of the mountain was the Spartokid palace with a large paved courtyard with columns in the center. To the left of the entrance to the palace is the temple of Aphrodite and Dionysus (the foundation has been preserved). On the slope rise the Doric columns of the building of a resident of the city. At the very top was the citadel. The city was surrounded on all sides by solid walls. Panticapaeum had a convenient harbor and a shipyard.
Plan of buildings on Mount Mithridates
Throughout its history, Panticapaeum either lives through years of prosperity, or utter decline. He goes through many internal wars, attacks by invaders, earthquakes, passes from one nationality to another. Its names are changing - Vospro, Cherkio, Korchev. But life here never stops. And now the city of Kerch invites guests to get acquainted with its ancient history and walk along the already modern streets of a modern Russian port city.
Panticapaeum and modern Kerch
Dive into the past
As a result of such a walk, I ended up in the middle of the remnants ancient walls. And you know, the sensations here are unique, absolutely different from those within Kerch. You seem to be sinking into the abyss ancient history, and it is felt that you also took part in this story. It's a bit of a mystical experience, like a memory cut through the ages. As if it was you who built these walls and lived here, being an ancient Greek (or Greek woman). The feeling that this is a native place.
There is a different energy, a different atmosphere, a different space. Kerch itself is the opposite of Panticapaeum. If in modern city one feels a certain routine, routine and dullness, then here everything seems to be permeated with light, lightness, life. Little life seething in small town, and around the field, steppe, sea ...
The second time I visited Panticapaeum, and the second time I had a similar vision. Despite the crumbs that have remained of the city, the energy of the place recreates the integrity of that era somewhere in the depths of the soul.
The feeling of solitude and tranquility does not leave the mind all the time of being here. The power of grounding is also very tangible - that you are not somewhere in your thoughts or dreams, but here, on Earth, you are one with the Earth, and you stand firmly on your feet.
Carving on a plank between columns
Walking through the ancient ruins, you can find clay shards left over from ancient dishes and even real bones. Whether they belonged to that era or just dogs brought them here will remain a mystery to us.
Bone found in excavations
Hare Pipus also touched the history of Kerch
It was founded (as modern Kerch was then called), like many ancient city-polises on the coast of the Northern Black Sea coast, at the beginning of the 6th century BC. Greek colonists.
Already a century later (about 480 BC), the cities of the coast, located on the territory of present-day Taman and Kerch Peninsula united in, recognizing Panticapaeum as their capital. At the beginning of the 1st century BC. The Bosporan kingdom is in the possession of the Pontic king, who wages endless wars with the Roman Empire. In the first centuries of our era, Panticapaeum either falls into decay, then begins to flourish again, then falls into a rigid dependence on Rome, then becomes more independent. In the 5th century AD The Bosporus kingdom, besieged by the “barbarians”, ceases to exist. Its cities were burned and destroyed, most of the inhabitants were killed or fell into slavery.
In the VI century AD. Bosporus (as the city is now called) is part of the Byzantine Empire. under construction new fortress. A new era of renaissance begins, but it does not last long.
In the 7th century, now Karsha (Charsha) was captured by the soldiers of the Khazar Khaganate.
In the IX-X centuries, the territory of the Northern Black Sea region began to be actively developed, and Korchev became integral part Tmutarakan Principality, which, in turn, was part of Kievan Rus, and was an important outpost of the Slavs at the crossroads of trade routes.
In the XII century, the Slavic Korchev was taken and destroyed and, in speed, returned to the zone of influence of Byzantium.
In XIII Korchev was again taken, but this time by hordes of nomads of different tribes.
In 1318, Cherkio (Vospro) becomes part of. build a new small defensive structure on the shore of the strait castle type. The city becomes a major seaport.
In 1475 Genoese fortress was captured, and now Cherzeti became part of Ottoman Empire. Next to the destroyed Genoese castle, the Turks are building another fortress.
In 1774, after the end of the Russian-Turkish war under the Kuchuk-Kaynardzhiysky treaty, Kerch and were transferred to "full, eternal and inviolable jurisdiction Russian Empire».
In the 19th century, Kerch experienced an era of turbulent economic development and construction, interrupted by the Crimean War of 1853-1856. 
The city was not spared by the wars of the 20th century - the First World War and the Civil War that followed it. But the most bloody and heroic events took place over the years. However, Kerch survived and rose from the ruins, as it is rising now, after the hard times of the 90s, which swept like a heavy roller over the fates of citizens and city enterprises. He rises, and, preening, trying to master a new status for himself resort town. And, of course, waiting for guests.
To look at what is left of the ancient cities, someone goes to Greece or Italy. We will go to the Crimea and look at Panticapaeum in Kerch. An ancient city that has recently been fighting for the status of the oldest city in the territory Russian Federation attracts tourists.
Capital of the Cimmerian Bosphorus
Near the Panticapaeum River, in the 7th century BC, people from ancient Greek city Miletus. It is they who are considered the founders of the settlement of Panticapaeum, which means "fish way". In the 480s BC. the cities of the two peninsulas - Taman and Kerch - united with the formation of the Bosporan kingdom with the ruler Archeanakt. The settlement becomes a policy and the capital of this kingdom. The dynasty of Spartakid rulers replaced the previous one in 438 BC, it was under them that Panticapaeum became a great city of the ancient world.
What was he like
It was a large policy, with an area of up to one hundred hectares. The city, which, according to the ancients, was on the border of Europe and Asia, in a strait between two seas, played the role of an important commercial point. To know lived on Mount Mithridates in the acropolis - central city and the view from the sea luxurious palaces and terraces. In the 6th century BC e. completed the construction of the temple of Apollo, who was recognized as the patron saint of the city. On the east side was a harbor and docks that could accommodate up to 30 ships. The city was surrounded by a defensive wall up to 10 meters high. And behind these walls were the residential houses of the Panticapaeans and retail space. Here they traded grain, fish and wine. The city minted gold, silver and copper coins, which became the only monetary unit Bosporus kingdom. They depicted a griffin (a mystical creature with the body of a cat and the head of a bird), the god of wine Pan or ears of wheat. These coins are pride national museums and private collections, and some are sold at international auctions for fabulous money.
Mithridates VI in the history of Panticapaeum
Mount Mithridates, where the Hellenes founded the policy, is named after the greatest commander and one of the rulers of the Bosporus kingdom (107-63 BC). Mithridates VI Eupator was fluent in all the languages that then existed. He was so fabulously wealthy that he executed his subjects by pouring molten gold into their mouths. Growing up in a dynasty that was once close to Alexander the Great, fighting for life with his brothers and sisters from childhood, he was a man of steel will, who made even Great Rome fear him. During his life, he survived three wars, and died on this mountain, betrayed by his son Pharnaces (63 BC). A marble chair, recently discovered by archaeologists, according to legend, was a favorite place of this triumphant.
Borders, rise and fall of the Bosporus
To the east, the kingdom occupied territories up to Caucasus mountains. The western border was the territory of modern Feodosia. The northernmost outpost of Tanais was located at the mouth of the Don River. The boundaries of the Bosporan kingdom were constantly changing either upward or becoming the boundaries of the policy itself. In addition to the Greeks, the Scythians, Sinds, Sarmatians and Dandaria settled here. The Bosporus kingdom existed in history for 900 years, and Panticapaeum experienced periods of prosperity and oblivion with it. The rulers of these territories waged constant wars with Rome and the barbarians. The Huns destroyed Panticapaeum-Kerch in 375. The city was burned and destroyed, the inhabitants were killed or became slaves. Thus ended the first era of the existence of this policy.
Different names - one city
Over the next millennia, Panticapaeum developed in Kerch, its history changed the names of the city:
Wars of the last centuries
After the Russian-Turkish war in 1774, Panticapaeum in Kerch finally became part of the Russian Empire, which was enshrined in the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kaynardzhy between Catherine II and Sultan Selim Giray. The city is going through an era of rapid construction and economic takeoff, which was interrupted during the Kramskoy war (1853-1856). The wars of the 20th century also left their mark on these lands. Fierce battles during the Second World War destroyed both Kerch and Panticapaeum. But the city survived both wars and the unstable 90s of the last century. Confirming the status of a resort town, Kerch is happy to welcome tourists even today.
Excavation history
In 1859, by decree of Alexander II, the Imperial Archaeological Commission was created. And from that moment begins official history excavations at Panticapaeum. And before that, many researchers, travelers and just adventurers were looking for the untold wealth of Mithridates, hidden in mounds. The life-size legend of Mithridates' golden horse is still alive today. From 1876 to 1880, 55 barrows, two catacombs, more than a hundred burials were unearthed. Today, the ruins of Panticapaeum on Mount Mithridates and the famous Adzhimushkay catacombs are part of the exposition of the Kerch Museum. Preserved fortifications, houses and crypts, public buildings are open to tourists. And this is only part of the excavations. The ruins of the cities of Tiritaka, Ilurat and Nymphaeum are marked with protective designations. And in the waters of the Kerch Strait, the ruins of the port of Acre were discovered, where, according to legend, the ancient Greek god Achilles was born.
Panticapaeum in Kerch: how to get there
The address of this object cultural heritage- st. Chekhov 1A, and it is located in the very center of Kerch. The path to the top of Mount Mithridates can be overcome along the Great Mithridates Stairs (51 Army Street). It's on its own historical building. It was built by the Italian Alexander Digby (1832-1840) in the middle of the nineteenth century. 432 steps of a spiral building made of gray stone in the style of classicism look majestic and solemn; griffins, the symbol of Kerch, sit on the railing. At the top, where the Obelisk of Glory stands today and the eternal flame burns (by the way, the first monument to the heroes of that war in the Soviet Union), until 1944 there was the mausoleum of the mayor of the city of Stempovsky - an eight-meter-high chapel. The path from the end of the stairs will lead tourists to the majestic ruins of Panticapaeum, the main attraction of which is an antique arch with a carved stone portico, miraculously preserved during the mass bombings of the Second World War.
Why else is it worth visiting Kerch
This one of the most ancient Russian cities will surprise tourists not only with the ruins of Panticapaeum. All sights of the city are located in its center. So, the Church of the Forerunner is located in the heart of Kerch. This monument Byzantine culture With thousand years of history completed in the 19th century - a bell tower and aisles were added to the cruciform temple. Right in the center of the bus station there is a mound - Melek-Chismensky burial crypt. It dates back to the times of Plato and Aristotle. A stepped descent will lead to a burial chamber measuring 4 by 4 meters. Unfortunately, the crypt is empty - it was plundered a long time ago. The Turkish fortress of Yeni-Kale, built in the narrowest part of the strait, will surprise you with sheer walls and a bastion with defensive towers. And here you can also see the Royal Mound - the burial place of one of the Spartokids, while the oldest burial in the territory of the entire former Soviet Union, and a war memorial - Adzhimushkay catacombs with an impressive museum exposition.
For more than 26 centuries, the city of Panticapaeum and the stories of its inhabitants excite the imagination of historians and simply interested citizens. The place covered with legends is waiting for its visitors. And although today these are only the ruins of Panticapaeum, a glorious Hellenic polis with the temples of Apollo and the place of death of the richest Mithridates VI appears in the imagination of a tourist. Excavations on Mount Mithridates continue, archaeologists find objects that belonged to the inhabitants bronze age. The mountain still did not reveal all the secrets of Mithridates the triumphant.
Here is the most ancient building in the territory modern Russia which has just come under its jurisdiction. Kerch - small town(150 thousand inhabitants), on the eastern tip of the Crimean peninsula. Despite its location around a small bay in the Kerch Strait between the Black and Seas of Azov, the city has never been a resort. There are very few beaches and resorts, but there are several ports, fishing piers, piers, shipyards and purely "land" enterprises. Therefore, the city center is not at all like other Crimean cities.
1. Almost all of the few entertainment infrastructure the city is in one place. 
2. Something reminiscent pedestrian boulevard- a very short lane Dimitrov between the unequipped embankment and Lenin Square. Yes, and entertaining establishments occupy only the right side of the lane. 
3. And along its left side stretches a square in which stands an amazing historical monument Byzantine culture with more than a thousand years of history. 
4. This is the Church of John the Baptist, referring to Byzantine period history of the Crimea. 
5. The current appearance of the temple was largely formed in the 19th century, when aisles and a bell tower were added to a small cruciform temple. 
6. The most ancient part of the temple is viewed from the apse. Now the temple stands in the middle of a noticeable hollow in the middle of a centuries-old cultural layer. 
7. Behind the temple lies main square city, traditionally named after Lenin. 
8. From it begins the shady pedestrian street of the same name. 
9. But our path lies in the other direction, to the monuments of ancient Greek culture. On the way we will see the building of the gymnasium of the end of the 19th century, which is still working for its intended purpose. 
10. At the foot of the mountain there is a column with a portrait of Mithridates VI Evpator (Evpatoria went from him), who was in 121-63 BC. e. the king of the Bosporan state, the capital of which was Kerch, then bearing the name of Panticapaeum. 
11. On the mountain where he stood ancient city, now you can climb the Great Mithridates Stairs, decorated with figures of griffins. 
12. From the top there is a panoramic view of central part of the city, Lenin Square and the Church of John the Baptist are visible. 
14. Here they are, the ruins of Panticapaeum, founded by ancient Greek colonists from Miletus at the end of the 7th century BC. e. The name Παντικάπαιον meant "fish way". 
15. The excavated foundations date back to the 5th-3rd century BC. e. 
16. Panticapaeum existed until the 5th century AD. e., after which it was under the rule of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. 
17. In the center of the settlement, archaeologists restored the arch. 
18. In late antique times, the northern slope of Mount Mithridates was turned into a cemetery. Here, in the 19th century, many sarcophagi were discovered, some of them were wooden. 
19. Now the sarcophagi of Mount Mithridates can be seen in the exposition of the State Hermitage. 
20. In addition to sarcophagi, the Hermitage exhibits many other ancient monuments from Kerch. 
21. It is hard to believe that for many centuries this vessel has been preserved in its original form. 
22. Now several hundred crypts of the 3rd-5th centuries have been described, but according to assumptions, under Mount Mithridates there may be more than three thousand burials. 
13. And on the very top of the mountain there is an eternal fire, which is currently not active. 
23. A little lower, at the end of the Mithridates Stairs, a memorial was built to the liberators of Crimea during the Great Patriotic War. 
24. Today Mount Mithridates - main point for an overview of the surroundings. From here, the whole Kerch is at a glance. 
25. At the foot of the mountain, the Genoese pier and nightclub walkways protrude into the bay, where you can, if you wish, plunge into sea water and lie down on the sand, but no one wants to be seen. 
26. But people swim at the municipal water station, where there is also a jumping tower. 
27. If you look into the waters of the strait, you can see Krasnodar region. Tuzla Island is in the foreground, and the tanks of the bunkering complex near Taman are visible in the distance. 
28. And much closer - a city park with a Ferris wheel, the top of which is below the observation deck. 
29. Panorama shipyard and commercial port. 
31.
32. On the other hand, tanks are visible in the 2nd transshipment area of the commercial port. 
33. Shafts and bastions of the Kerch fortress are visible in the distance. It's 4 kilometers away. 
34. Let's go down the mountain and go to see other sights of the city. In the middle of the bus station there is a burial crypt of the times of Plato and Aristotle - Melek-Chismensky barrow. 
35. The burial consists of two parts - the dromos, the entrance to which is decorated with a pediment, and the burial chamber itself. 
36. Inside the structure is assembled from stone slabs shifted relative to each other, forming a stepped vault. 
37. The crypt, measuring 4 by 4 meters, has a pyramidal vault. It was plundered in ancient time, and is now completely empty. 
38. In 1474, Kerch passed from the Republic of Genoa to the Ottoman Empire. On the shore of the Kerch Strait, on the far outskirts of the city, there is a monument of a completely different period in the life of Kerch - the Turkish fortress Yeni-Kale. 
39. The fortress occupies a vast area of 6 hectares. 
40. Sea waves are splashing near its walls. 
41. The fortress was built in the narrowest part of the Kerch Strait in 1706 to prevent the Russians led by Peter I from entering the Black Sea, who took the fortress of Azov in 1696. 
42. Several gates lead inside. 
43. The garrison of the fortress was more than a thousand people. 
44. Inside the fortress there were powder stores, an arsenal, a water tank, residential buildings, a bathhouse, a mosque and the residence of a Turkish pasha. 
45. The most remarkable part of the fortress is a small semi-bastion, on which turrets were restored by archaeologists for shelling the enemy. 
46. The walls of the semi-bastion form a closed courtyard with a well in the middle. 
47. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, the fortress was taken without a fight. According to the Kyuchuk-Kainarji Treaty, Kerch and Yeni-Kale were transferred to Russia. 
48. K XIX century fortress completely lost military value, and in 1835 a military hospital was placed on its territory, which lasted until 1880. After Yeni-Kale was finally abandoned. 
49. In the 20th century, the fortress was restored, but most of it is still in ruins. A railway line to the port of Crimea passes right through it. 
50. Halfway from the center of Kerch to Yeni-Kale is oldest structure Crimea - the burial place of one of the rulers of the Bosporan kingdom from the dynasty of Spartokids - the Royal Mound. The crypt is hidden in a hill 17 meters high. 
51. The dromos of the mound, 36 meters long, is made of blocks and in shape resembles a cypress, which the ancient Greeks considered the tree of the dead. 
52. The width of the corridor is not constant: it widens closer to the entrance to the burial chamber. 
53. The walls of the dromos are covered with cracks from numerous earthquakes that occurred in the Crimea from the 4th century BC. e., as well as crosses carved by early Christians. 
54. The arch of the burial chamber strikes the imagination: a tall dome, assembled from 12 concentric rings, rests on a plinth made of monolithic rock. Like Melek-Chismensky, the Tsarsky mound was plundered in antiquity, archaeologists got only fragments of a wooden sarcophagus. 
55. Adzhimushkay quarries are located a stone's throw from the Tsar's mound, but inside photography is strictly prohibited, as they are considered a war memorial. Although the museum there is impressive, you will have to limit yourself to a single shot. 
