Location: Crimean Peninsula
Chersonesus is an ancient archaeological site situated on the outskirts of Sevastopol. It was one of the largest ancient cities on Crimean Peninsula, Russia. A sight of current of town of Chersonesus was occupied since the Stone Age, but its official history begins in the 5th century BC when it was founded as a Greek colony. The city flourished in the 4th and 3rd century BC. In the late 3rd century BC Chersonesus suffered several devastating raids by the Scythians. Residents of the city asked for help at the nearby Pontus State. After Pontus was destroyed by the Roman Empire and its last ruler Mitridatus committed suicide, Chersonesus became part of the Roman Empire and later Byzantine Empire. The city was completely destroyed in 1399 during Mongol invasion under leadership of khan Edigey. It was abandoned for centuries until first archeological digs were undertaken in the 19th century. Today Chersonesus is one of the most visited sites in Crimea due to its magnificent ruins, rich history and close position to Sevastopol.
For two thousand years, Chersonesus was a major political, economic
and cultural center of the Northern Black Sea region, where it was the
only Dorian colony. Now the Kherson settlement is located on the
territory of the Gagarinsky district of Sevastopol and is a historical
and archaeological reserve.
Chersonesos, along with its choir on
the Heracles Peninsula, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List,
but since 2014, UNESCO has not monitored the conservation of the
museum-reserve, since the organization does not recognize that it is
under the jurisdiction of Russia. In the Russian Federation, which
controls the disputed territory of Crimea, it is a particularly valuable
object of cultural heritage of federal significance; in Ukraine, within
the borders of which the disputed territory is recognized by the
majority of UN member states, as a monument of cultural heritage of
national importance.
Chersonese was founded in 424-421 BC as an ancient Greek colony by
immigrants from Asia Minor Heraclea Pontus. There is also a version
about the presence of an earlier settlement. Founded near the current
Karantinnaya Bay, the colony soon developed the Herakleian Peninsula,
and then the territory of the northwestern Crimea, dividing by the 4th
century BC Crimea with the Bosporus.
The city was a typical
Hellenistic polis-fortress and chorus. The entire Heracleian peninsula
is divided into an even grid of allotments for citizens. Several
allotments were controlled by one chora estate. The ruins of such
estates are still partially preserved. Between allotments, or clerks,
roads were broken. Growing mainly grapes and cereals. Traces of
retaining vine walls are still clearly visible on the territory of the
Herakleian Peninsula. Due to the vast territory of the chora - the
territory of Chersonesos coincides with or even exceeds the territory of
development of residential areas of the modern city of Sevastopol.
Being a democratic polis, Chersonesus took an active part in the
pan-Greek holidays, sports competitions, and pursued an active foreign
policy. The Virgin was considered the supreme patroness of the city. In
IV-III centuries BC.Chersonesus issues massive series of silver coins
that successfully competed with other currencies of the Black Sea
region.
In the III century BC the historian Sirisk lived in
Chersonesos, who described the history of the city and its relationship
with the Bosporus and other cities of the Black Sea region. The mention
of this historian was preserved by a memorable decree dating from the
second half of the 3rd century BC.
The city had its own calendar.
Partenii were the main festival.
During all the years of the
existence of the state, Chersonesus had to wage wars. In the II century
BC there was a bloody, long war with the Scythians. Kerkinitis was lost,
Kalos Limen was destroyed, the enemy repeatedly stood at the gates of
the city. Chersonese was forced to seek help from the Pontic king
Mithridates VI Eupator, who sent a large detachment to the Crimea, led
by the commander Diophantus. Acting at the head of a united army, which
included Chersonese and Pontic troops, Diophantus, in the course of
three campaigns (about 110-107 BC), defeated the Scythians, took
Theodosia, marched to the Kerch Peninsula and captured Panticapaeum.
However, Chersonesus also failed to maintain its independence: it became
part of the power of Mithridates. Since then, the city was in constant
dependence on the Bosporan state.
After the death of Mithridates
VI Eupator, the political map of the entire Eastern Mediterranean
changed dramatically. Choosing the lesser of two evils, the
Chersonesites sought to “stand under the firm hand” of Rome as a “free
city” and get rid of the humiliating guardianship of the semi-barbarian
kings of the Bosporus. The Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar gave the
city what it wanted. However, later, following their favorite principle
of "divide and rule", the Roman emperors either subordinated the city to
their allies - the Bosporan kings, or granted it "freedom" when it was
necessary to restrain the ambitions of the Bosporan monarchs. In 25 BC.
August grants Chersonesus "freedom" from the Bosporan kingdom. In 8 BC.
King Polemon of the Bosporus is killed by the Aspurgians. Octavian
Augustus recognizes Aspurg as king of the Bosporus, having achieved the
separation of Chersonese from his kingdom.
In the first centuries
of our era, an oligarchic republic was established in Chersonesos, the
power in which belonged to an insignificant circle of influential, noble
and obedient persons to Rome. In the 60s of the 1st century, the Romans
organized a major military expedition to Taurica to repulse the
Scythians, who again threatened the city. After the defeat of the
Scythians by the troops of the Tribune Plautius Silvanus, Chersonesos
becomes an outpost of the Roman troops in the Northern Black Sea region.
In the citadel of the city, replacing and complementing each other,
there were detachments of the I Italian, XI Claudian and V Macedonian
legions from the province of Moesia Inferior, and the ships of the
Moesian Flavius fleet (Classis Flavia Moesica) were based in the
Chersonese harbor. The city was the headquarters of the military
tribune, who commanded the land and sea forces in the Crimea.
Already in the 1st century, the first followers of Christianity appeared
in Chersonese. Pope Clement I ends his life here. The life of the
Chersonese saints dates back to the 4th century. In 381, the bishop of
Chersonesus, Epherius, took part in the Second Ecumenical Council. With
the approval of Christianity as the state religion in the empire,
monuments of ancient art, theaters, temples are ruthlessly destroyed,
they are replaced by Christian churches and chapels. As part of the
Roman state in the 4th-5th centuries, the city was waging a grueling
struggle for survival, holding back the strongest onslaught of the
barbarians, among whom the Huns were especially ferocious. In connection
with the threat of attack by nomads, in the last quarter of the 4th
century, the Balistarii Seniores legion was transferred to Taurica,
which was subordinate to the military master of the East, and
subsequently formed the basis of the Chersonese garrison. Chersonese,
protected by powerful defensive walls and towers, continues to live for
another millennium, but already in the conditions of a new, feudal
system.
In the 5th century, Chersonesos became part of the
Byzantine Empire, and in the 9th century it became one of its
military-administrative regions - a theme. By this time, not only the
appearance of the medieval city had changed, but also its name: the
Byzantines called it Kherson, the Slavs - Korsun.
Until the 13th
century, it was an outpost of Byzantium in the Crimea. In this
half-millennium of its history, Kherson found itself at the crossroads
of the military-political interests of the Khazar Khaganate, Kievan Rus,
Pechenegs and Polovtsy, but the enemy only once managed to enter the
city limits.
An early mention of Korsun is on the first pages of
The Tale of Bygone Years, which speaks of a visit to this city by the
Apostle Andrew. In 988, Prince Vladimir of Kiev captured the city after
several months of siege. The capture of Korsun allowed Vladimir to
dictate his terms to Emperor Basil II and marry the Byzantine princess
Anna. In Chersonese, on the wall of a water cistern, which ceased to be
used for its intended purpose in the second half of the 10th or at the
beginning of the 11th century and until the turn of the 11th-12th
centuries acted as a prison, a graffito sign of Vladimir Svyatoslavich
with an unusually massive, wide leg was applied.
The success of
the 4th Crusade in 1204 led to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire into
a number of small states and a sharp activation of Muslim and nomadic
peoples. The Empire of Trebizond seized control of the Black Sea
possessions in Haldia, Paphlagonia and Kherson. All this had the most
sad consequences for Chersonesus. In the first half of the 13th century,
the Seljuk Turks became the masters of the southern Black Sea region,
subjugating all transit trade, and in the 1220s the southern coast of
Crimea was subjected to their attacks.
In 1223, the Mongol hordes
of Genghis Khan made their first raid on the Crimea. In 1299, the horde
of the Tatar Khan Nogai ravaged the southern and southwestern Taurica.
Chersonese could not resist either. In the second half of the 13th
century, the main trade routes moved to the eastern part of Taurica,
where the Genoese founded their trading posts of Kafu (modern Feodosia),
Soldaya (modern Sudak), and Chembalo (modern Balaklava) arises near
Kherson.
In the middle of the XIV century, the Genoese controlled
the city, but they failed to restore its former power. In 1363, the
Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd defeated the Crimean Tatar army near the
mouth of the Dnieper, invaded the Crimea, devastated Chersonese and
seized all the valuable church items here. His successor Vitovt in 1397
went to the Crimea, reached Kafa and again destroyed Chersonese.
One should not think that in the 13th-14th centuries the Chersonites
humbly observed the extinction of the life of their native city. On the
contrary, city walls and towers were repaired, services were performed
in churches, streets were paved, workshops worked, inns were not empty.
Dwelling houses were decorated with ornamental carvings, paintings,
figured cornices. But in 1399, the temnik Edigei betrays the city to
fire and sword. After this crushing blow, Chersonese was not destined to
rise.
Chersonesus was primarily a trading city that disappeared
because it could not stand the competition with the Genoese colonies:
Kafa, Chembalo and others, who took over the trade in the Black Sea
basin. Considering the mores of the Genoese merchants, one can imagine
that not all methods of fighting Chersonesos were honest.
In the
first half of the 15th century, the life of a small fishing village was
still glimmering, but soon the population left it as well. In the 16th
century, the Polish ambassador Martin Bronevsky wrote about Chersonesus:
The astonishing ruins very clearly testify that it was once a
magnificent, rich and glorious city of the Greeks, populous and glorious
for its harbor. The entire width of the peninsula, from the coast to the
other, even now rises a high wall and numerous and large towers of hewn
huge stones. This city stands empty and uninhabited and presents only
ruins and desolation. Houses lie in dust and leveled to the ground...
The Chersonese state was a polis with a democratic form of
government. The highest authority was the assembly of all free male
citizens who had reached the age of majority. The People's Assembly
passed laws and decided the most important issues. The day-to-day life
of the city was led by an elected council and collegiums that monitored
all the activities of the city's inhabitants. Apparently, the members of
the council were elected for a month, and its secretary (grammatevs) -
for a year. The so-called king (basileus) was an eponym, that is, a year
was named and dated by his name. From the ancient high position of the
king, honorary, but only formal religious functions have been preserved.
A board of strategists was elected to command the army, later they were
replaced by archons.
The college of demiurges guarded the purity
of the democratic system. In the city there was a people's court and
special officials - dicasts (judges). Court decisions were made by
voting with pebbles, that is, by secret ballot, as indicated in the
Chersonese oath: "I will judge with pebbles according to the laws."
The state treasury and sacred sums were administered by various
persons, who were also elected by the people, and at the end of their
term of service they reported to the people's assembly on the expenses
incurred. Agoranomists observed the order in the market, astinomas - for
the accuracy of measures of weight and volume. The names of the latter
were put on coins and amphorae handles. As in other ancient states, in
Chersonesus they attached great importance to physical education and
training. There was a special position of the gymnasiarch here.
All these positions were elective - elections were made either by
cheirotonia (voting by a show of hands) or by lot.
Among the most
important officials were nomophylaki (magistrates), characteristic only
of aristocratic and oligarchic states, where they had the right to
impose punishments, appoint ambassadors, and so on. Such a feature of
the aristocratic structure is associated with the conquest and
subjugation of the local population and the need to be in constant
military readiness, when representatives of the most wealthy and noble
families play an important role, acting as a force that strengthens and
cements the armed forces.
Political history of Chersonesos in the
5th-2nd centuries BC. e. is almost unknown to us. Perhaps only one, but
a very important period is covered in the sources very fully. From the
III century BC. e. Scythians become a formidable force in the Northern
Black Sea region. Their scattered tribes are gradually moving to a
settled way of life, agriculture (along with cattle breeding), and the
formation of tribal unions. Their political unification ends with the
creation of a large state with a center in Scythian Naples. At its head
is an intelligent and energetic leader - Tsar Skilur. The Scythian
nobility dreams of the riches of the Greek cities, seeks to seize the
coast with its overseas trade.
In the 1st century BC Chersonese
lost its democratic form of government and became dependent on Rome.
The trade of Chersonesos was mainly intermediary. From the Greek
cities of Asia Minor, the islands of the Aegean Sea and mainland Greece
(Heraclea, Sinope, Delos, Rhodes, Athens), merchants brought here
jewelry made of precious metals, weapons, painted black-lacquer dishes,
olive oil, marble, etc. Some of these goods were resold. neighbors -
Scythians. A significant share of Chersonese exports were native goods:
bread, cattle, leather, furs, honey, wax, and slaves. The Chersonesites
turned the Herakleian peninsula into their agricultural district - the
chora, where fortifications, estates were erected, allotments were
demarcated, vineyards and gardens were green. Viticulture and winemaking
formed the basis of local agriculture. Crafts developed in the city
itself: pottery, blacksmithing, foundry, construction and bone carving.
At all times, the inhabitants of Chersonesus were excellent sailors and
fishermen.
The Roman protectorate contributed to the economic
recovery in the 1st-3rd centuries. The townspeople actively strengthened
the city walls and towers, built new churches, built baths (baths),
rebuilt the theater, and laid several lines of water supply. Chersonesus
carried on a lively trade with large trade and craft centers of the
Black and Mediterranean Seas and, above all, with its traditional
partners on the southern coast of Pontus - Heraclea, Sinope, Amis,
Amastria. In Chersonese, the minting of gold coins was periodically
resumed. Graceful glass and bronze vessels, various red-lacquer
ceramics, spices and incense were added to the goods traditionally
imported into the city. Agricultural products, leather, salted and dried
fish, fish sauces were exported from the city in large volumes. At this
time, fishing turns into an independent branch of the urban economy.
During the excavations, about a hundred fish pickling tanks were found,
some of them with a capacity of 30-40 tons.
After the capture of
Chersonese by the Kyiv prince Vladimir, Byzantium concluded an equal
alliance with Russia. For Chersonesus, who served as an intermediary in
their trade, this alliance was very beneficial. From here, agricultural
and livestock products were sent to Asia Minor and Byzantium; from the
southern countries to Chersonese and further to the north, they brought
weapons, fabrics, and oil.
In the 11th-12th centuries, there was
some weakening of the trade and economic positions of Chersonesos.
However, it retained its importance as a stronghold of the Byzantine
military-political presence in the region, as evidenced by the finds of
the seals of the sebasts - senior officials, members of the imperial
families.
Over time, the power of Byzantium weakened, and in the
XIII century, trade on the Black Sea fell into the hands of Italian
(Venetian, and then Genoese) merchants, who founded their trading posts
in the Crimea. Trade routes moved to the Eastern Crimea, and this was
one of the reasons for the decline of the Chersonese economy. By the
middle of the 15th century, life in it had completely died out. Time
passed, and the earth buried under itself the ruins of the once large
and beautiful city.
Only 400 years later, in 1827, by order of the chief commander of the
Black Sea Fleet and ports, A.S. Greig, the first excavations were
carried out for scientific purposes at the site of the deceased
Chersonese, during which three churches were discovered. The foreman,
presumably, was the captain of the Sevastopol port, Moritz Borisovich
Berkh. Subsequently, they were carried out by individuals and
organizations. The most systematic excavations began in the late 1880s
under the direction of General K. F. Gemmelmann. The organizer of the
future museum K. K. Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich gave them twenty years of
life, who was replaced in May 1908 by Robert (Roman) Khristianovich
Leper, who had previously been the scientific secretary of the Russian
Archaeological Institute in Constantinople (RAIK).
Cooperation
with the Tauric Chersonese National Reserve made a significant
contribution to the formation and development of the Ural School of
Byzantine Studies: in 1958, the Crimean Expedition of the Ural State
University was created through the efforts of the Ural Byzantine and
Antiquity scholars, which for almost half a century conducted
archaeological excavations in Chersonese. In 1969-2000, the expedition
was headed by A.I. Romanchuk, who published many scientific works on
Chersonese.
Chersonesos Historical and Archaeological Reserve is
one of the largest research centers, a base where archaeologists from
all over the world conduct research work and university students
practice. Systematic excavations helped reconstruct the history of the
ancient city-state.
Tourists are attracted to the museum-reserve
by collections of epigraphic monuments (including the world-famous oath
of the citizens of Chersonesos of the 3rd century BC), works of art,
handicrafts and tools, household items used by the inhabitants of
Chersonesos.
The most valuable finds from the excavations of the
ancient cities of Crimea are presented in the collections of the State
Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the State Historical Museum and the
Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.
In 2012, for the
first time in the history of underwater exploration of Chersonese, the
Department of Underwater Archeology of the Tauric Chersonese National
Reserve received permission to study the water area within the
administrative boundaries of the entire Sevastopol. Artifacts of the
Middle Ages were raised by underwater archaeologists from the bottom of
the sea. In particular, 12 stone anchors weighing up to 60 kg were found
at a depth of 15 to 27 m.
Since 2020, the Tauric Chersonese
Museum-Reserve has been at the center of a scandal: the landscaping of
the museum, which is being carried out by the My History Foundation, has
led to numerous protests against the actions of the museum
administration to improve the excavation site of ancient Chersonesos.
The administration of the President of the Russian Federation
recommended the creation of a scientific and public council in
Sevastopol to control the further activities of the My History
Foundation at this cultural heritage site.
Central square of Chersonese
The Agora (central square) of
Chersonese is located in the middle of the main street. Laid here during
the initial planning of the city in the 5th century. BC she did not
change her appointment until his death. In ancient times, there were
temples, altars, statues of gods, decisions of the people's council.
After the adoption of Christianity in the 4th century, a new
architectural ensemble appeared on the agora, consisting of seven
temples. In the middle of the 19th century, in honor of the Kyiv prince
Vladimir, who was baptized in Khersones (Kherson), a cathedral was built
on it, bearing his name.
Theater
The Chersonese theater was
built at the turn of the 3rd and 4th centuries BC., it accommodated
about 2000 spectators. Performances, public gatherings and festivities
were held here.
During the period of Roman rule, the theater also
served as an arena for gladiator fights. After Christianity became the
official religion of the Roman Empire, performances were banned. The
theater fell into disrepair, and two Christian churches were erected on
its ruins. One, located on the orchestra, was dismantled during the
restoration. The second - a large cruciform temple - was preserved. It
received the name "Temple with an ark".
This is the only ancient
theater found in the CIS.
Basilica within the basilica
In May
2007, vandals knocked over the columns of the "basilica within the
basilica", some of the columns split, and the mosaic floor was damaged.
Zeno Tower
Zeno's Tower is a defensive flank tower of Chersonese,
one of the best preserved defensive structures of the city.
Bell
The plaque on the bell reads:
The bell was cast in Taganrog in 1778
from Turkish cannons taken as a trophy. It depicts the patrons of
sailors - St. Nicholas and St. Fock. After the Crimean War, it was taken
to Paris, where it stayed until 1913. During bad weather, it was used as
a signal bell.
In 1803, by decree of Emperor Alexander I, the
bell was sent to Sevastopol and was intended for the church of St.
Nicholas under construction. After the Crimean War of 1853-1856. the
allied troops of England and France took the bell from Sevastopol among
the trophies. The return of the bell took place on November 23, 1913
with a large gathering of people and was accompanied by a solemn
religious procession.
Not all researchers agree with the romantic
origin story of the bell. According to archival data, it was cast around
1890, shortly before the completion of the cathedral. It took its place
on the seashore in 1925, when the monastery buildings and the cathedral
turned into office and exhibition premises of the museum created in the
same year, and the bell was turned into a sound beacon. After the Great
Patriotic War, when civil ships began to be massively equipped with
radars, lighthouse duties were removed from the Chersonesos bell, and it
turned into another monument to the history of the city of Sevastopol.
St. Vladimir's Cathedral
In the 1850s, the Church of the Seven
Holy Martyrs of Chersonesus was erected on the present territory of the
museum-reserve, which became the first building in the ensemble of the
Vladimir Cathedral, which in Russia has the status of a cultural
heritage site of federal significance.
In 2009, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a 100-hryvnia
commemorative coin "Tauric Chersonesus". The coin is made of 900 gold
and minted in a circulation of 3000 pieces, all coins have a weight of
31.1 grams and a diameter of 32 mm. The obverse of the coin depicts an
ancient arch, the Chersonesos bell and ancient coins, the reverse of the
coin depicts the ruins of ancient Chersonesos and the Vladimir Cathedral
in the distance.
In 2015, the Bank of Russia put into circulation
commemorative silver coins with a face value of 3 rubles "The Holy
Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir - the Baptist of Rus'." On the
coin there is a relief image of the Church of St. Vladimir
Equal-to-the-Apostles (Vladimir Cathedral) in Chersonesos, below it is a
horizontal inscription: “KHERSONESOS • SEVASTOPOL”. Circulation - 10,000
pieces.
On July 5, 2017, the Bank of Russia issued commemorative
silver coins with a face value of 25 rubles "Tauric Chersonesos" into
circulation. Weight 168.1 g, diameter 60 mm, metal fineness - 925,
circulation of the St. Petersburg Mint - 1000 pieces. On the coin there
is a relief image of the State Historical and Archaeological
Museum-Reserve Tauric Chersonese, Vladimir Cathedral and ancient
amphorae.
Political opponents of the rulers of Constantinople were exiled in
Chersonese: Popes Clement I (in Inkerman) and Martin I, the deposed
emperor Justinian II, his rival Philippic Vartan, the brothers of Leo IV
Khazarin, the self-proclaimed son of Roman IV.
The Greek Queen Olga
Konstantinovna, Duke of Sparta Konstantin, Prince George of Greece,
Russian Emperor Alexander III visited Chersonese. The last Russian
Emperor Nicholas II and his family repeatedly visited Chersonese.
It
is widely believed that the city of Kherson was named by Empress
Catherine II in honor of Chersonesus. But there is also a version that
the name "Kherson" is due to the fact that from the fortress there was
an exit to the high bank of the Dnieper. Empress Catherine II at that
time was fond of the Greek language. In Greek "Kherson" is a high coast,
and "Chersonesus" is a peninsula. In addition, at the time of signing
the decree on the construction of Kherson, Crimea was not Russian, it
was an independent Crimean Khanate.
The Chersonesos bell was filmed
in an episode of the film "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (the moment the
main characters arrived at the Field of Wonders of the Country of
Fools).
The ruins of ancient Chersonese were depicted on the 1
Ukrainian hryvnia of the 1992 and 1994-2001 series, they are also
depicted on the banknote of 200 Russian rubles of the 2017 series.
In
2009, the Tauric Chersonese National Preserve, together with their
American colleagues, the Institute of Classical Archeology at the
University of Texas at Austin, implemented a project to digitize the
reserve's documentary fund. 75 DVDs were recorded with digital copies of
drawings of manuscripts, negatives and books of the 19th - early 20th
century.
On December 4, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in
his annual address to the Federal Assembly, stated that for Russia
Korsun (Chersonese) "has great civilizational and sacred significance,
like the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for those who profess Islam or
Judaism."
In July 2015, the governor of Sevastopol, Sergei Menyailo,
dismissed Andrey Kulagin, the director of Tauric Chersonesos, and
appointed Archpriest Sergius Khalyuta in his place. The staff of the
reserve sharply opposed this, refusing to work under the guidance of a
priest. Under pressure from the public, Halyuta resigned from his post.
After this scandal, Vladimir Putin ordered to speed up the transfer of
the museum-reserve to federal jurisdiction. This means that the regional
authorities will no longer be able to influence the museum.
In August
2019, the performance "Griffin" was shown on the new stage of the
museum-reserve, which was also watched by Russian President Vladimir
Putin.