Lordship of the city of Theodoro and the Maritime Region Αὐθεντία πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early 14th century–1475 | |||||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||||
 Crimea in the middle of the 15th century. Theodoro shown in green | |||||||||||
| Status | Principality | ||||||||||
| Capital | Mangup (Doros, Theodoro) | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Greek (official), alsoCrimean Gothic,Kipchak and others | ||||||||||
| Religion | Eastern Orthodoxy | ||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
| Prince | |||||||||||
• 1475 | Alexander of Theodoro (last) | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Late Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• First mention of the principality | Early 14th century | ||||||||||
| 1475 | |||||||||||
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ThePrincipality of Theodoro (Greek:Αὐθεντία πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας), also known asGothia (Γοτθία) or thePrincipality of Theodoro-Mangup,[1] was aGreek principality in the southern part of Crimea, specifically on the foothills of theCrimean Mountains.[2] It represented one of the finalrump states of theEastern Roman Empire and the last territorial vestige of theCrimean Goths until its conquest by theOttoman Empire by the OttomanGedik Ahmed Pasha in 1475.[3][4] Its capital wasDoros, also sometimes called Theodoro and now known asMangup. The state was closely allied with theEmpire of Trebizond.
In the late 12th century, the Crimean peninsula had seceded from theByzantine Empire, but soon after theSack of Constantinople in 1204, parts of it were included in theTrapezuntineGazarian Perateia.[5] This dependence was never very strong and was eventually replaced by the invadingMongols,[6] who in 1238 poured into the peninsula, occupied its east and enforced a tribute on the western half, including Gothia.[7] Their influence was limited, leaving administrative matters in native hands.[8]
The Principality of Gothia is first mentioned in the early 14th century, with the earliest date offered by the post-Byzantine historianTheodore Spandounes, who records the existence of a "Prince of Gothia" in the reign ofAndronikos III Palaiologos (1328–1341). Further references occur over the 14th century, with several scholars identifying the "Dmitry", one of the threeGolden Horde princes in theBattle of Blue Waters (c. 1362/1363), with a Prince of Gothia. The name, in this case, may be thebaptismal name of aTatar lord of Mangup, named Khuitani (seebelow).[9] The name "Theodoro" (in the corrupted formΘεοδωραω) appears for the first time in a Greek inscription also dated to c. 1361/1362, and then again as "Theodoro Mangop" in a Genoese document of 1374.[10] It was suggested by A. Mercati that the form is a corruption of the Greek pluralTheodoroi 'the Theodores', meaning SaintsTheodore Stratelates andTheodore Tiro, but N. Bănescu proposed the alternative explanation that it resulted from the definitive Greek name τὸ Δόρος (to Doros) or τὸ Δόρυ (to Dory),[11] after the early medieval name of the region.[12] Whatever its provenance, the name stuck: by the 1420s the official titulature of the prince read "Lord of the city of Theodoro and the Maritime Region" (αὐθέντης πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας),[13] while colloquially it was called Θεοδωρίτσι (Theodoritsi, 'little Theodoro') by its inhabitants.[14]
In 1395, the warlordTamerlane invaded the Crimean peninsula, destroying several towns including Gothia's capital Theodoro.[15] After his death in 1404 Gothia grew to become one of the most significant powers of the Black Sea, profiting from a period ofGenoese instability and the neglect of its Black Sea colonies, but also the rise of theCrimean Khanate. In 1432 Gothia sided withVenice against Genoa due to the former's promise to grant Gothia access to the sea.[16]
The principality had peaceful relations with theGolden Horde to its north, paying an annual tribute as vassals, but was in constant strife withGenoese Gazaria colonies to the south over access to the coasts and the trade that went through the Crimean harbors. A narrow strip of the coastal land from Yamboli (Balaklava) in the west to Allston (Alushta) in the east initially part of the principality soon fell under Genoese control. Local Greeks called this region Parathalassia (Greek:Παραθαλασσια, "seashore"), while under Genoese rule it was known as Captainship of Gothia. After they had lost harbors on the southern coast Theodorites built a new port called Avlita at the mouth of theChernaya River and fortified it with the fortress of Kalamata (modernInkerman).
After thefall of Constantinople in 1453, manyQaraites, who were still Greek-speakers, decided to migrate to Crimea and in particular to the Principality of Theodoro andChufut-Kale, as Crimea had a familiar Christian Greek culture.[17]
During 1474, the people ofCaffa appeared to have been on the verge of rebellion; official documents from this year describe the damage done to Gothic landowners and farmers or the burning of buildings in the border districts of Alushta and Cembalo. The prince at the time, Isaac (Italian documents write him Saichus or Saicus and the Russian Isaiko), presented a formal complaint to the Genoese fearing a war with Caffa.[18] On 20 May 1475, an Ottoman fleet led byGedik Ahmet Pasha left Constantinople and headed off to Crimea.[19] On 6 June, the Ottoman Albanian commanderGedik Ahmet Pasha conqueredCaffa after five days of siege.[20] The prince sent a message on 20 June informing the Hungarian king that Theodoro had been captured by Alexander, brother-in-law ofStephen the Great; however, he also mentioned that Caffa had been captured by the Ottomans, while the khan of Crimea had allied with the sultan.[19]
The siege ofMangup began sometime in September. The prince had three hundred Wallachians fighting in the defense. According to Vasiliev, the city endured five major assaults during the siege; in the end, Theodoro's food supply was blockaded and the people began to succumb to famine.[21] At the end of December 1475,Mangup surrendered to the Ottomans under the condition that the Prince, the people, and their property would be spared.[21] While much of the rest of Crimea remained part of theCrimean Khanate, now an Ottoman vassal, the former lands of Theodoro and southern Crimea were administered directly by theSublime Porte. According to the Ottoman historianAshik Pasha-Zade, after Mangup surrendered the Ottomans treated it the same way as Caffa. The Ottomans took the chiefs of the city and brought them toConstantinople where they were executed. Their treasures were handed over to theSultan, while their wives and daughters were given as presents to the Sultan's officials.[22] After the city's capitulation, one of the churches was converted into a mosque, where a prayer was said for the Sultan.[21] According to an Ottoman chronicler, "the house of the infidel became the house of Islam."[21]
With the fall of Mangup, the principality ceased to exist; the last political remnant of the Roman Empire disappeared after 2,228 years of Roman civilization since the legendary founding of Rome in 753 BC.[23]
The historianAlexander Vasiliev identifies the first prince as Demetrios, attested at the Battle of Blue Waters inc. 1362/3. According to Vasiliev, he is possibly to be identified with thehekatontarches Khuitani, who erected the stone inscription mentioning the name "Theodoro" on the walls of Mangup at about the same time.[24]
The princes following after Demetrios are known solely through Russian sources. A branch of the Greek dynastyGabras were the rulers of Theodoro and are commonly identified by scholars with the family known from Russian sources as "Khovra". The prince Stephen ("Stepan Vasilyevich Khovra"), emigrated to Moscow in 1391 or 1402 along with his son Gregory. His patronymic implies the existence of a father named Basil, who possibly preceded him as prince (and was in turn possibly Demetrios' son). Stephen and Gregory became monks, and Gregory later founded theSimonov Monastery in Moscow. The Russian noble families of Khovrin andGolovin claimed descent from them.[25][26] In Gothia, Stephen was succeeded by another son, Alexios I, who ruled until his death in 1444–45 or 1447. Alexios' heir was his eldest son John, who was married toMaria Asanina, a woman connected to the Byzantine imperial dynasty of thePalaiologoi and the noble lines ofAsanes andTzamplakon. The couple had a son, also named Alexios, who died young c. 1446/7, probably at Trebizond. His epitaph, titled "To the Prince's son" (τῷ Αὐθεντοπούλῳ), was composed byJohn Eugenikos and offers unique genealogical data on the family.[25][27] John's reign appears to have been very short, or he may indeed not have reigned at all – A. Vasiliev speculates that he left Gothia for Trebizond as soon as Alexios I died[28] – so another son of Alexios I, Olubei, succeeded as prince in c. 1447 and ruled until c. 1458.[29] A daughter of Alexios I,Maria of Gothia, became in 1426 the first wife of the last Trapezuntine emperor,David.[25][30]
Olubei is no longer mentioned after c. 1458, and no princes are known by name for some while; Genoese documents only mention "the lord of Theodoro and his brothers" (dominus Tedori et fratres ejus).[31] In 1465, Prince Isaac is mentioned, probably Olubei's son and hence possibly reigning already since c. 1458.[32] In the face of the mounting Ottoman danger, he engaged in arapprochement with the Genoese atCaffa and wed his sisterMaria Asanina Palaiologina toStephen the Great, ruler ofMoldavia.[21] His increasingly pro-Ottoman stance in later years, however, led to his overthrow by his brother Alexander in 1475, with Stephen the Great's backing.[18] This came too late to save Theodoro: in December 1475, after conquering the other Christian strongholds along the Crimean coast, the Ottomans captured the city after a three-month siege. Alexander and his family were taken captive to Constantinople, where the prince was beheaded. His son was forcibly converted to Islam, and his wife and daughters became part of the Sultan'sharem.[33]
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Gothia's population was a mixture ofGreeks,Crimean Goths,Alans,Circassians,Bulgars,Cumans,Kipchaks, and other ethnic groups, most of whom were adherents toOrthodox Christianity andHellenized. The principality's official language was Greek.
Various cultural influences can be traced in Gothia: its architecture and Christian wall paintings were essentially Byzantine, although some of its fortresses also display a local as well as Genoese character. Inscribed marble slabs found in the region were decorated with a mixture of Byzantine, Italian, and Tatar decorative elements.[34]
In 1901, a Greek inscription was discovered in the city of Mangup. The inscription shows that in 1503, almost thirty years after the Turkish conquest, the inhabitants of Mangup still spoke Greek. The city was under the power of a Turkish governor.[35] The next years, many Greek inscriptions, dated before the Ottoman conquest were found at the city.[36]
Greek inscriptions were also found at the city ofInkerman.[37]
Βyzantine bronze weights excavated at Mangup supply evidence that the residents followed the imperial weighting system.[38]
After the Turkish conquest in 1475, the Turks preserved the religion and religious institutions of the Greeks, as well as the Greek ecclesiastical organisation.[39]
