Chersonesos
From Freepedia
The Tauric Chersonesos (Greek Χερσόνησος, also Chersones, Khersones, Korsun, Russian and Ukrainian: Херсонес; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was a site of Greek settlements founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of the Crimean (or "Taurian" as it was then known) Peninsula. The area of Chersonesos was a Greek colony at the periphery of the ancient Greek culture. Colonists from Heraclea Pontica founded it in the 6th century BC.
Currently it is an archeological site in Ukraine, where it is referred to as Khersones, on the shore of the Black Sea at the outskirts of Sevastopol. It has also gained nicknames of "the Ukrainian Pompeii" and "Russian Troy".
During much of the classical period the town was a democracy ruled by a group of elected archons and a council called the Damiorgi. As time went on the government grew more oligarchic, with power concentrated in the hands of the archons. A form of oath sworn by all the citizens in the 3rd century BC has survived to the present day.
Note that the Thracian Chersonese (in Latin Chersonesus Thracica) was an ancient name of the Gallipoli peninsula.
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History
In the late 2nd century BC Chersones became a dependency of the Bosporan kingdom. It was subject to Rome from the middle of the 1st century BC until the 370s AD, when it was captured by the Huns.
It became a Byzantine possession during the early Middle Ages, but Byzantine rule was slight; according to Theophanes and others, Chersonesos was the residence of a Khazar tudun in the late 600s. Chersonesos was a popular place of exile for those who angered the Roman and later Byzantine governments; among its more famous "inmates" were Popes Clement I and Martin I, and the deposed Byzantine Emperor Justinian II.
In 838 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. It remained in Byzantine hands until the 980s, when it fell to Kiev. Vladimir the Great agreed to evacuate the fortress only if Basil II's sister Anna Porphyrogeneta would be given him in marriage. The demand caused a scandal in Constantinople, as imperial princesses had never been married to non-Greeks before. 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.
After the Fourth Crusade Chersones became dependent on Empire of Trebizond, and then fell under Genoese control in the early 1300s. In 1299 the town was sacked by the armies of Nogai Khan. A century later it was destroyed by Edigu and was never resettled since. In 1861-92 they built St Vladimir's Cathedral, designed in Byzantine style and intended to commemorate the site of Vladimir's baptism.
Archaeological site
Chersonesos' ancient ruins are presently located in one of Sevastopol's suburbs. They were excavated by the Russian government from 1827.
National Preserve of Tauric Chersones includes a large area. The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture. The defensive wall is hundreds of meters long. Buildings include Roman amphitheatre and a Greek temple.
The largest portion of the site is "Chora", several square kilometres of ancient but now barren farmland, with remains of wine presses and defensive towers. 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 than 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.
Current studies
The Institute of Classical Archaeology of the Texas University and the local Archaeological Park has investigated the site since 1992. Ukrainian government included the site on its tentative World Heritage List. The site, however, is in danger of further urban encroachment and coastal erosion.
External links
Categories: Ruins | Archaeological sites in Ukraine | Crimean towns | Khazar towns | Bosporan Kingdom | Megarian colonies | Greek colonies of the Crimea
