The ancient city was located on the shore of theBlack Sea on the outskirts of present-daySevastopol on theCrimean Peninsula, where it is referred to asKhersones. The site is part of theNational Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos. The nameChersonesos in Greek means "peninsula" and aptly describes the site on which the colony was established. It should not be confused with theTauric Chersonese, a name often applied to the whole of the southern Crimea.
During much of the classical period, Chersonesus operated as ademocracy ruled by a group of electedarchons and a council called theDamiorgi. As time passed, the government grew more oligarchic, with power concentrated in the hands of the archons.[1] A form of oath sworn by all the citizens from the 3rd century BC onwards has survived to the present day.[2][3] In 2013UNESCO listed Chersonesus as aWorld Heritage Site.[4]
Greek Coin from Chersonesos in Crimea depicting Diotimus wearing the royal diadem r., in exergue, ΧΕΡ ΔΙΟΤΙΜΟΥ Chersonesus in Crimea. 2nd century BCE.Viktor Vasnetsov:Baptism ofSaint Prince Vladimir in Korsun.
In the 5th century BC, Dorians fromHeraclea Pontica on the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor founded the sea port of Chersonesos in southwestern Crimea (outside modernSevastopol). 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 ofKerkinitida and constructing numerous fortifications.
After defending itself against theBosporan Kingdom, and the nativeScythians andTauri, and even extending its power over the west coast of the peninsula, it was compelled to call in the aid ofMithradates VI and his generalDiophantus, c. 110 BC, and submitted to theBosporan Kingdom. It was subject toRome and received a garrison from the middle of the 1st century BC until the 370s AD,[1] when it was captured by theHuns.
It became aByzantine possession during theEarly Middle Ages and withstood a siege by theGöktürks 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.[1] 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" werePope Clement I andPope Martin I, and the deposedByzantine EmperorJustinian II.[1]
According toTheophanes the Confessor and others, Chersonesus was the residence of aKhazar governor (tudun) in the late 7th century. Between approximately 705 and 840, the city's affairs were managed by elected officials calledbabaghuq, meaning "father of the city".[5]
In 833,Emperor Theophilus sent the noblemanPetronas Kamateros, who had recently overseen the construction of the Khazar fortress ofSarkel, to take direct control over the city and its environs, establishing thetheme ofKlimata/Cherson. It remained in Byzantine hands until the 980s, when it reportedly fell toVladimir the Great of theKievan Rus'. Vladimir agreed to evacuate the fortress only ifBasil II's sisterAnna 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 theBaptism 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 theRus'–Byzantine War (1043) and to a differentVladimir. In fact, most valuables looted by the Slavs in Korsun' made their way toNovgorod (perhaps by way ofJoachim the Korsunian, the first Novgorodian bishop, as his surname indicates ties to Korsun), where they were preserved in theCathedral of Holy Wisdom until the 20th century. One of the most interesting items from this "Korsun Treasure" is the copperKorsun Gate, supposedly captured by the Novgorodians in Korsun' and now part of the St. Sophia Cathedral.
After theFourth Crusade (1202–04), Chersonesus became dependent on the ByzantineEmpire of Trebizond as thePrincipality of Theodoro. After theSiege of Trebizond (1461) thePrincipality of Theodoro became independent. The city fell underGenoese control in the early 13th century, which forebode the Greeks to trade there.[1] In 1299, the town was sacked by the Mongol armies ofNogai Khan'sGolden Horde. Byzantine sources last mention Chersonesus in 1396, and based on archaeological evidence the site is presumed to have been abandoned in the following decades.
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 theNotitiae Episcopatuum; it disappeared after theTurkish conquest in 1475 and the destruction of the city.[6]
In the late 19th century, the grand Russian OrthodoxSt 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.
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 andByzantine culture. The defensive wall was approximately 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) 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 30 hectares (74 acres).[9] Buildings include a Romanamphitheatre 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.[1]
The surrounding land under the control of the city, the chora, consists of several square kilometres of ancient but now barren farmland, with remains ofwine presses and defensivetowers. According to archaeologists, the evidence suggests that the locals were paid to do the farm work instead of beingenslaved.
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 2017, archaeologists discovered on the outskirts of Sevastopol, fragments of an ancient Greek altar with figures of gods.[11][12]
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.[13]
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.[14] 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.[15] The 1935 basilica is often used as an image representing Chersonesos. Its picture appears on one Ukrainian banknote.[14]
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:[16]
ancient texts, including the Oath of Chersonese citizens (3rd century BC),[17] decrees in honour ofDiophantus (2nd century BC)[18]
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
The Institute of Classical Archaeology of theUniversity of Texas at Austin and the local Archaeological Park has investigated the site since 1992. The Ukrainian government has included the site on its tentativeWorld Heritage List. The site, however, is in danger of further urban encroachment andcoastal erosion.
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.[19]
In 2014, the Crimean peninsula wasannexed by Russia, but UNESCO has maintained that it will continue to recognize Crimea and its heritage sites as belonging to Ukraine.[20]
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.[21]
In an October 2010 report titledSaving 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.[22]
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 presidentVladimir Putin, shortly afterRussia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.[23] 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 inprotected areas. Eventually, under pressure from the workers and locals, Father Sergiy stepped down.[24]
^Vladimir F. Stolba, The Oath of Chersonesos and the Chersonesean Economy in the Early Hellenistic Period, in: Z.G. Archibald, J.K. Davies & V. Gabrielsen (eds.),Making, Moving and Managing. The New World of Ancient Economies, 323-31 BC. Oxford: Oxbow 2005, 298-321.
Anokhin, Vladilen A.The Coinage of Chersonesus: IV century B.C.–XII century A.D. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1980 (paperback,ISBN0-86054-074-X).
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,ISBN0-9708879-2-2).
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,ISBN0-394-53778-5).
Saprykin, Sergey Yu.Heracleia Pontica and Tauric Chersonesus before Roman domination: (VI–I centuries B.C.). Amsterdam: A.M. Hakkert, 1997 (ISBN9025611095).
