Chersonesus, contracted in

medieval Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the ...

to Cherson (), was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

founded approximately 2,500 years ago in the southwestern part of the

Crimean Peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

. Settlers from Heraclea Pontica in Bithynia established the colony in the 6th century BC. The ancient city was located on the shore of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

on the outskirts of present-day

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

on the

, where it is referred to as ''Khersones''. The site is part of the ''National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos''. The name ''Chersonesos'' in Greek means "peninsula" and aptly describes the site on which the colony was established. It should not be confused with the ''Tauric Chersonese'', a name often applied to the whole of the southern Crimea. During much of the classical period, Chersonesus operated as a

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

ruled by a group of elected

archons ''Archon'' (, plural: , ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem , meaning "to be first, to rule", derived from the same ...

and a council called the ''Damiorgi''. As time passed, the government grew more oligarchic, with power concentrated in the hands of the archons. A form of oath sworn by all the citizens from the 3rd century BC onwards has survived to the present day. In 2013

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

listed Chersonesus as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

Greek colony

In the 5th century BC, Dorians from Heraclea Pontica on the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor founded the sea port of Chersonesos in southwestern Crimea (outside modern

). It was a site with good deep-water harbors located at the edge of the territory of the indigenous Taurians. During much of the Classical Period, Chersonesus was a democracy ruled by a group of elected archons and a council called the Demiurgi. As time passed the government grew more oligarchic, with power concentrated in the hands of the archons. Up to the middle of the 4th century BC, Chersonesos remained a small city. It then expanded to lands in northwest Crimea, incorporating the colony of Kerkinitida and constructing numerous fortifications. After defending itself against the

Bosporan Kingdom The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (; ), was an ancient Greco-Scythians, Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, centered in the present-day ...

, and the native

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

and Tauri, and even extending its power over the west coast of the peninsula, it was compelled to call in the aid of Mithradates VI and his general

Diophantus Diophantus of Alexandria () (; ) was a Greek mathematician who was the author of the '' Arithmetica'' in thirteen books, ten of which are still extant, made up of arithmetical problems that are solved through algebraic equations. Although Jose ...

, c. 110 BC, and submitted to the

. It was subject to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and received a garrison from the middle of the 1st century BC until the 370s AD, when it was captured by the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

Byzantine era

It became a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

possession during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

and withstood a siege by the

Göktürks The Göktürks (; ), also known as Türks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks, were a Turkic people in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Rouran Khaganate as the main powe ...

in 581. Byzantine rule was slight: there was a small imperial garrison more for the town's protection than for its control and it exercised a measure of self-government. It was useful to Byzantium in two ways: it was an observation point to watch the barbarian tribes, and its isolation made it a popular place of exile for those who angered the Roman and later Byzantine governments. Among its more famous "inmates" were Pope Clement I and

Pope Martin I Pope Martin I (, ; between 590 and 600 – 16 September 655), also known as Martin the Confessor, was the bishop of Rome from 21 July 649 to his death 16 September 655. He had served as Pope Theodore I's ambassador to Constantinople, and was pap ...

, and the deposed

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Justinian II. According to Theophanes the Confessor and others, Chersonesus was the residence of a

Khazar The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

governor (''tudun'') in the late 7th century. Between approximately 705 and 840, the city's affairs were managed by elected officials called '' babaghuq'', meaning "father of the city". In 833, Emperor Theophilus sent the nobleman Petronas Kamateros, who had recently overseen the construction of the Khazar fortress of Sarkel, to take direct control over the city and its environs, establishing the theme of Klimata/Cherson. It remained in Byzantine hands until the 980s, when it reportedly fell to

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox ...

of the

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

. Vladimir agreed to evacuate the fortress only if

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

's sister Anna Porphyrogeneta would be given him in marriage. The demand caused a scandal in Constantinople. As a pre-condition for the marriage settlement, Vladimir was baptized here in 988, thus paving the way to the Baptism of Kievan Rus'. Thereafter Korsun' was evacuated. Since this campaign is not recorded in Greek sources, historians have suggested that the account actually refers to the events of the Rus'–Byzantine War (1043) and to a different Vladimir. In fact, most valuables looted by the Slavs in Korsun' made their way to

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

(perhaps by way of Joachim the Korsunian, the first Novgorodian bishop, as his surname indicates ties to Korsun), where they were preserved in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom until the 20th century. One of the most interesting items from this "Korsun Treasure" is the copper Korsun Gate, supposedly captured by the Novgorodians in Korsun' and now part of the St. Sophia Cathedral. After the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

(1202–04), Chersonesus became dependent on the Byzantine

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...

as the Principality of Theodoro. After the Siege of Trebizond (1461) the Principality of Theodoro became independent. The city fell under Genoese control in the early 13th century, which forebode the Greeks to trade there. In 1299, the town was sacked by the Mongol armies of Nogai Khan's

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

. Byzantine sources last mention Chersonesus in 1396, and based on archaeological evidence the site is presumed to have been abandoned in the following decades.

Ecclesiastical history

Chersonesus had been a Roman pre- Great Schism, later Greek/Orthodox, episcopal see for centuries, elevated early to the rank of archbishopric, since it is mentioned as such in the ''

Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') were official documents that furnished for Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the mos ...

''; it disappeared after the Turkish conquest in 1475 and the destruction of the city. In the late 19th century, the grand Russian Orthodox St Vladimir's Cathedral (completed 1892) was built on a small hill overlooking the site; designed in Byzantine style, it was intended to commemorate the site of Vladimir's baptism. In 1333, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chersonesus in Zechia was established, but it appears that it had only a bishop, a Dominican called Richard the Englishman. It is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a titular archbishopric, and is called specifically Chersonesus in Zechia to avoid confusion with other sees called Chersonesus.

Remains

Archaeological site

Chersonesus's ancient ruins are presently located in one of Sevastopol's suburbs. They were excavated by the Russian government, starting from 1827. They are today a popular tourist attraction, protected as an archaeological park. The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and

culture. The defensive wall was approximately long, 3.5 to 4 metres wide and 8 to 10 metres high with towers at a height of 10 to 12 metres. The walls enclosed an area of about . Buildings include a Roman

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

and a Greek temple. The fact that the site has not been inhabited since the 14th century makes it an important representation of Byzantine life. The surrounding land under the control of the city, the chora, consists of several square kilometres of ancient but now barren farmland, with remains of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

presses and defensive

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

s. According to archaeologists, the evidence suggests that the locals were paid to do the farm work instead of being enslaved. The excavated tombstones hint at burial practices that were different from the Greek ones. Each stone marks the tomb of an individual, instead of the whole family and the decorations include only objects like sashes and weapons, instead of burial statues. Over half of the tombs archaeologists have found have bones of children. Burned remnants suggest that the city was plundered and destroyed. In 2007, Chersonesus tied for fifth in the Seven Wonders of Ukraine poll. On February 13, 2009, Ukrainian Defence Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov called on Russia's Black Sea naval fleet to move its automobile depot from the site to another place. The location of the Russian Black Sea naval fleet's automobile depot was one of the obstacles to the inclusion of the reserve on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites. In 2017, archaeologists discovered on the outskirts of Sevastopol, fragments of an ancient Greek altar with figures of gods. In 2022, researchers analyzed human skeletal remains from a necropolis in the northern part of Chersonesus, dating to the earliest period of the colony (between the 5th and the 4th century BC). Most of the deceased individuals were positioned in a flexed burial position with their legs crouched and folded up to the chest, while a smaller number were buried in an extended position on their back with arms and legs straight. The researchers found that most individuals were genetically similar to each other, regardless of the burial position. This result challenges the widely held opinion that burial position in the northern Black Sea region was determined by the ancestry of the deceased, with flexed burials belonging to local Taurians, and extended burials belonging to Greek colonists.

The 1935 basilica

The 1935 basilica is the most famous basilica excavated in Chersonesus. The original name is unknown so "1935" refers to the year it was uncovered. The basilica was probably built in the 6th century on the site of an earlier temple, assumed by historians to be a synagogue, itself replacing a small temple dating from the early days of Christianity. The 1935 basilica is often used as an image representing Chersonesos. Its picture appears on one Ukrainian banknote.

Museum contents

As well as the archaeological sites, the museum has around 200,000 smaller items from 5 AD to the 15th century, over 5,000 of which are currently exhibited. These include: *ancient texts, including the Oath of Chersonese citizens (3rd century BC), decrees in honour of

(2nd century BC) *a collection of coins *a mosaic of black and white pebbles and coloured stones *ancient ceramics *architectural fragments, including ancient and medieval abacuses, reliefs, the remains of ancient murals

Current studies

The Institute of Classical Archaeology of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

and the local Archaeological Park has investigated the site since 1992. The Ukrainian government has included the site on its tentative

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

. The site, however, is in danger of further urban encroachment and

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

. In 2013, the ruins of the ancient Greek city and the territory it controlled were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This World Heritage Site consists of seven locations that encompass the city of Chersonesus and six plots of agricultural land. The site was designated as a World Heritage site under the UNESCO criterion (ii), as an "outstanding physical testimony" to cultural exchange between ancient Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines, and (v), as a well-preserved example of how these ancient societies organized agricultural land. UNESCO considers these areas to show cultural lifestyles and land use of ancient populations that inhabited these areas. In 2014, the Crimean peninsula was annexed by Russia, but UNESCO has maintained that it will continue to recognize Crimea and its heritage sites as belonging to Ukraine.

Problems and controversies

The encroachment of modern building in and around the ancient archaeological site, coupled with a lack of funding to prevent such development pressures, has left the site of Chersonesus firmly at risk. In an October 2010 report titled '' Saving Our Vanishing Heritage'', Global Heritage Fund identified Chersonesus as one of 12 worldwide sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and destruction, citing insufficient management and development pressures as primary causes. On July 29, 2015, the governor of Sevastopol, Sergey Menyaylo, controversially fired the director of the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, Andrey Kulagin. He then appointed the head priest of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Vladimir in Chersonesus, Sergiy Khalyuta, as the new director of the Preserve. This move caused heated protests from the staff of the Preserve, and all 109 members unanimously refused to work under the new director. The conflict attracted significant attention from the media, particularly due to its political connotations, given that Menyaylo had been appointed governor by Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, shortly after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. The workers claim that the conflict between Menyaylo and Kulagin started on July 11, when Kulagin complained about a road construction project on the territory of the Preserve which had been approved by governor Menyaylo without the permits necessary for construction works in

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s. Eventually, under pressure from the workers and locals, Father Sergiy stepped down.

Notes

References

Bibliography and further reading

*Anokhin, Vladilen A. ''The Coinage of Chersonesus: IV century B.C.–XII century A.D.'' Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1980 (paperback, ). *Carter, Joseph Coleman; Crawford, Melba; Lehman, Paul; Nikolaenko, Galina; Trelogan, Jessica. "The Chora of Chersonesos in Crimea, Ukraine", ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 104, No. 4. (2000), pp. 707–741. *Carter, Joseph Coleman; Mack, Glenn Randall. ''Crimean Chersonesos: City, Chora, Museum, and Environs''. Austin, TX: David Brown Book Company, 2003 (paperback, ). *Kozelsky, Mara. "Ruins into Relics: The Monument to Saint Vladimir on the Excavations of Chersonesos, 1827–57", '' The Russian Review'', Vol. 63, No. 4. (2004), pp. 655–672. *Norwich, John Julius. ''Byzantium: The Early Centuries''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989 (hardcover, ). *Saprykin, Sergey Yu. ''Heracleia Pontica and Tauric Chersonesus before Roman domination: (VI–I centuries B.C.)''. Amsterdam: A.M. Hakkert, 1997 (). *Stolba, Vladimir F. Aarhus 2014. *Vus, Oleh. The Defensive Structures of Early Byzantine Cherson: Reconstruction and Development of City Fortification from the Fourth to the Sixth Centuries. 2017. https://www.academia.edu/85590107/The_Defensive_Structures_of_Early_Byzantine_Cherson_Reconstruction_and_Development_of_City_Fortification_from_the_Fourth_to_the_Sixth_Centuries *Vus, Oleh. The Mobile Group of the Roman Army in Taurica at the end of III—V centuries. 2016. https://www.academia.edu/85638770/The_Mobile_Group_of_the_Roman_Army_in_Taurica_at_the_end_of_III_V_centuries *Vus, Oleh. Defense doctrine of Byzantium in the Northern Black Sea region: engineering defense of Taurika and the Bosphorus in the late 4th — early 7th centuries. 2010. https://www.academia.edu/85524504/Defense_doctrine_of_Byzantium_in_the_Northern_Black_Sea_region_engineering_defense_of_Taurika_and_the_Bosphorus_in_the_late_4th_early_7th_centuries

Sources and external links

About Chersonesos - website

The Chersonese Collection. Iss. 14-22 (2005-2021). (The main periodical scientific edition of the Museum-Preserve "Chersonesos Taurica" in open access)

High resolution image of antique map of this region

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