The ancient city of panticapaeum. The city of panticapaeum in Crimea The ruins of panticapaeum

To look at what is left of the ancient cities, someone goes to Greece or Italy. We will go to the Crimea and look at Panticapaeum in Kerch. The ancient city, which has recently been fighting for the status of the most ancient city in the Russian Federation, attracts tourists.

Capital of the Cimmerian Bosphorus

Near the Panticapaeum River, in the 7th century BC, immigrants from the ancient Greek city of Miletus settled. It is they who are considered the founders of the settlement of Panticapaeum, which means "fish way". In the 480s BC. the cities of the two peninsulas - Taman and Kerch - united with the formation of the Bosporan kingdom with the ruler Archeanakt. The settlement becomes a policy and the capital of this kingdom. The dynasty of Spartakid rulers replaced the previous one in 438 BC, it was under them that Panticapaeum became a great city of the ancient world.

What was he like

It was a large policy, with an area of ​​up to one hundred hectares. The city, which, according to the ancients, was on the border of Europe and Asia, in a strait between two seas, played the role of an important commercial point. The nobility lived on Mount Mithridates in the acropolis - the central city, and from the sea there was a view of luxurious palaces and terraces. In the 6th century BC e. completed the construction of the temple of Apollo, who was recognized as the patron saint of the city. On the east side was a harbor and docks that could accommodate up to 30 ships. The city was surrounded by a defensive wall up to 10 meters high. And behind these walls were residential houses of the Panticapaeans and trading areas. Here they traded grain, fish and wine. Gold, silver and copper coins were minted in the city, which became the only monetary unit of the Bosporus kingdom. They depicted a griffin (a mystical creature with the body of a cat and the head of a bird), the god of wine Pan or ears of wheat. These coins are the pride of domestic museums and private collections, and some are sold at international auctions for fabulous money.

Mithridates VI in the history of Panticapaeum

Mount Mithridates, where the Hellenes founded the policy, is named after the greatest commander and one of the rulers of the Bosporan kingdom (107-63 BC). Mithridates VI Eupator was fluent in all the languages ​​that then existed. He was so fabulously wealthy that he executed his subjects by pouring molten gold into their mouths. Growing up in a dynasty that was once close to Alexander the Great, fighting for life with his brothers and sisters from childhood, he was a man of steel will, who made even Great Rome fear him. During his life, he survived three wars, and died on this mountain, betrayed by his son Pharnaces (63 BC). The marble chair, recently discovered by archaeologists, according to legend, was the favorite place of this triumphant.

Borders, rise and fall of the Bosporus

To the east, the kingdom occupied territories up to the Caucasus Mountains. The western border was the territory of modern Feodosia. The northernmost outpost of Tanais was located at the mouth of the Don River. The boundaries of the Bosporan kingdom were constantly changing either upward or becoming the boundaries of the policy itself. In addition to the Greeks, the Scythians, Sinds, Sarmatians and Dandaria settled here. The Bosporus kingdom existed in history for 900 years, and Panticapaeum experienced periods of prosperity and oblivion with it. The rulers of these territories waged constant wars with Rome and the barbarians. The Huns destroyed Panticapaeum-Kerch in 375. The city was burned and destroyed, the inhabitants were killed or became slaves. Thus ended the first era of the existence of this policy.

Different names - one city

Over the next millennia, Panticapaeum developed in Kerch, its history changed the names of the city:

Wars of the last centuries

After the Russian-Turkish war in 1774, Panticapaeum in Kerch finally became part of the Russian Empire, which was enshrined in the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kaynardzhy between Catherine II and Sultan Selim Giray. The city is going through an era of rapid construction and economic takeoff, which was interrupted during the Kramskoy war (1853-1856). The wars of the 20th century also left their mark on these lands. Fierce battles during the Second World War destroyed both Kerch and Panticapaeum. But the city survived both wars and the unstable 90s of the last century. Confirming the status of a resort town, Kerch is happy to welcome tourists even today.

Excavation history

In 1859, by decree of Alexander II, the Imperial Archaeological Commission was created. And from that moment begins the official history of the excavations in Panticapaeum. And before that, many researchers, travelers and just adventurers were looking for the untold wealth of Mithridates, hidden in mounds. The life-size legend of Mithridates' golden horse is still alive today. From 1876 to 1880, 55 barrows, two catacombs, more than a hundred burials were unearthed. Today, the ruins of Panticapaeum on Mount Mithridates and the famous Adzhimushkay catacombs are part of the exposition of the Kerch Museum. Preserved fortifications, houses and crypts, public buildings are open to tourists. And this is only part of the excavations. The ruins of the cities of Tiritaka, Ilurat and Nymphaeum are marked with protective designations. And in the waters of the Kerch Strait, the ruins of the port of Acre were discovered, where, according to legend, the ancient Greek god Achilles was born.

Panticapaeum in Kerch: how to get there

The address of this cultural heritage site is st. Chekhov 1A, and it is located in the very center of Kerch. The path to the top of Mount Mithridates can be overcome along the Great Mithridates Stairs (51 Army Street). This in itself is a historical building. It was built by the Italian Alexander Digby (1832-1840) in the middle of the nineteenth century. 432 steps of a spiral building made of gray stone in the style of classicism look majestic and solemn; griffins, the symbol of Kerch, sit on the railing. At the top, where the Obelisk of Glory stands today and the eternal flame burns (by the way, the first monument to the heroes of that war in the Soviet Union), until 1944 there was the mausoleum of the mayor of the city of Stempovsky - an eight-meter-high chapel. The path from the end of the stairs will lead tourists to the majestic ruins of Panticapaeum, the main attraction of which is an ancient arch with a carved stone portico, miraculously preserved during the massive bombings of the Second World War.

Why else is it worth visiting Kerch

This one of the most ancient Russian cities will surprise tourists not only with the ruins of Panticapaeum. All sights of the city are located in its center. So, the Church of the Forerunner is located in the heart of Kerch. This monument of Byzantine culture with a thousand-year history was completed in the 19th century - a bell tower and aisles were added to the cruciform temple. Right in the center of the bus station there is a mound - Melek-Chismensky burial crypt. It dates back to the times of Plato and Aristotle. A stepped descent will lead to a burial chamber measuring 4 by 4 meters. Unfortunately, the crypt is empty - it was plundered a long time ago. The Turkish fortress of Yeni-Kale, built in the narrowest part of the strait, will surprise you with sheer walls and a bastion with defensive towers. And here you can also see the Tsar's Kurgan - the burial place of one of the Spartokids, so far the oldest burial in the entire former Soviet Union, and the war memorial - the Adzhimushkay catacombs with an impressive museum exposition.

For more than 26 centuries, the city of Panticapaeum and the stories of its inhabitants excite the imagination of historians and simply interested citizens. The place covered with legends is waiting for its visitors. And although today these are only the ruins of Panticapaeum, a glorious Hellenic polis with the temples of Apollo and the place of death of the richest Mithridates VI appears in the imagination of a tourist. Excavations on Mount Mithridates continue, archaeologists find objects that belonged to the inhabitants of the Bronze Age. The mountain still did not reveal all the secrets of Mithridates the triumphant.

Instruction

Returning after a vacation in the Crimea, you can bring not only photographs of the Black Sea, palaces, caves and waterfalls, but also images of real ancient ruins, which are not inferior in color to Greek ones. We are talking about the ruins of the ancient city of Panticapaeum, located on the territory of the modern city of Kerch, in the eastern part of the peninsula. For many centuries Panticapaeum was the capital of the Bosporus kingdom.

Panticapaeum was founded by immigrants from Miletus at the end of the 7th century BC and existed in ancient times on the shores of the current Kerch and Taman peninsulas. The name Panticapaeum may have Iranian or Thracian roots and means "fish way" in translation. There is another version regarding the name. It is believed that the city was named after the Panticapy River, now Melek-Chesme. By ancient standards, Panticapaeum was a large city and occupied up to 100 hectares during its heyday. Sailing by the sea, they admired the hill of the acropolis with white-stone temples on top. Rich palaces flaunted on the slopes of the mountain on wide terraces. Excavations of ancient Panticapaeum in the area of ​​Mount Mithridates show that in Hellenic times the city was surrounded by powerful walls. The harbor with docks could simultaneously receive up to thirty ships. In the center of the policy in the 2nd century BC, a theater and a building for city authorities - "pritanei" with an area of ​​​​about 450 square meters were built. m. In the pritanei there was a courtyard surrounded by a colonnade and statues with an altar for sacrifices. Of the numerous temples, the temple of Apollo with a six-column portico and the temple of Aspurga were distinguished by special luxury. In the lower part of the city there was a port, an agora, residential areas. On the slopes, the remains of semi-dugouts of the end of the 6th century BC, ground dwellings and a rich residential building with a courtyard of the Hellenic era have been preserved.

During the period of archaeological excavations, many historically valuable things were found in the place where Panticapaeum stood: amphoras, painted pottery, coins, epigraphic documents, ancient dishes, gold items and jewelry. Unfortunately, unlike many ancient cities, the majestic remains of which amaze the imagination even today, Panticapaeum and its buildings were almost completely destroyed, a few ruins and burials of the ancient capital of the Bosporus kingdom were preserved. Now the Obelisk of Glory, erected in 1944, rises above Mount Mithridates. Next to him, on the so-called "first chair of Mithridates", from where, according to legend, the Pontic king admired the sea, the Eternal Flame burns in honor of the soldiers who defended the city and liberated Kerch from the enemy. This is how the events from the history of Kerch, the heiress of the ancient Panticapaeum, echo in time.

It rises above the modern center. Here you can see the ruins of the ancient Greek settlement of Panticapaeum, the capital of the Bosporus, the largest craft and trade center of the Northern Black Sea region in ancient times.

Height above sea level is 91.4 meters. Here, on the top of the mountain, was the acropolis of the Bosporan nobility.

Climbing this mountain is a good tradition, both for every tourist and for local residents who have returned home.

From the observation deck of Mount Mithridates, a magnificent panorama of Kerch opens up, you can take a look at the entire Kerch Bay.

There were magnificent palaces of the nobility, majestic temples in honor of the Greek gods. History buffs will be interested in the monuments to the heroic defenders of the city.

The city of Panticapaeum was founded by colonists from Miletus in the 7th century BC.

The word "panticapaeum" in the northern Iranian dialect means "fish way", it is not Greek, but Scythian.

The Greeks called their city "Bosporos", after the strait. The city is mentioned in many ancient sources.

From the 5th century BC, the city became the capital of the Bosporus state, which united all the cities on both sides of the Kerch Strait. The state is also known for the fact that it successfully resisted Rome for a long time.

The excavations of the city of Panticapaeum are located on the northwestern and western slopes of the mountain.

It will be interesting for every tourist to walk along the ancient sidewalks, go into the temple rooms and take pictures at the famous Greek columns.

These columns were miraculously preserved, since it was in this place that fierce battles took place during the Great Patriotic War.

Mount Mithridates is shrouded in many secrets. A wide staircase leads to its top, which has more than four hundred steps.

It is decorated with sculptures of griffins - mythical creatures with the body of a lion, the head of a bird and wings.

The griffin is a symbol of Kerch, its image is on the coat of arms of the city.

The mountain bears the name of the Pontic king Mithridates, who was subject to the Bosporan kingdom.

A descendant of Alexander the Great, he was an outstanding man, possessed of great physical strength, indomitable energy, deep mind and tough temper.

For many years he stubbornly waged a struggle with the Roman Empire, trying to crush it.

But, in the end, it was destroyed. Upon learning that his son Farnak was at the head of the conspiracy, Mithridates took poison. But the potion did not work, and the defeated king ordered the head of the guard to stab himself.

Upon learning of the death of Mithridates, Cicero called him "the greatest ruler with whom Rome had ever waged war."

It was in 63 BC. e. Myths say that on Mount Mithridates there is a stall for the golden horse of the Pontic king ...

In the 90s, a grotto of artificial origin was discovered on it.

Various assumptions have been put forward: this is a quarry, or earlier there was a prison or a room for keeping slaves.

Now the Obelisk of Glory, erected in 1944, rises above Mount Mithridates.

Next to him, on the so-called "first chair of Mithridates", from where, according to legend, the Pontic king admired the sea, the Eternal Flame burns in honor of the soldiers who defended the city and liberated Kerch from the enemy. This is how the events from the history of Kerch, the heiress of the ancient Panticapaeum, echo in time.

It was founded (as modern Kerch was then called), like many ancient city-polises on the coast of the Northern Black Sea coast, at the beginning of the 6th century BC. Greek colonists.

A century later (about 480 BC), the coastal cities located on the territory of the present Taman and Kerch peninsulas united into, recognizing Panticapaeum as their capital. At the beginning of the 1st century BC. The Bosporan kingdom is in the possession of the Pontic king, who wages endless wars with the Roman Empire. In the first centuries of our era, Panticapaeum either falls into decay, then begins to flourish again, then falls into a rigid dependence on Rome, then becomes more independent. In the 5th century AD The Bosporus kingdom, besieged by the “barbarians”, ceases to exist. Its cities were burned and destroyed, most of the inhabitants were killed or fell into slavery.

In the VI century AD. Bosporus (as the city is now called) is part of the Byzantine Empire. A new fortress is being built. A new era of renaissance begins, but it does not last long.

In the 7th century, now Karsha (Charsha) was captured by the soldiers of the Khazar Khaganate.

In the IX-X centuries, the territory of the Northern Black Sea region began to be actively developed, and Korchevo became an integral part of the Tmutarakan principality, which, in turn, was part of Kievan Rus, and was an important outpost of the Slavs at the intersection of trade routes.

In the XII century, the Slavic Korchev was taken and destroyed and, in speed, returned to the zone of influence of Byzantium.

In XIII Korchev was again taken, but this time by hordes of nomads of different tribes.

In 1318, Cherkio (Vospro) becomes part of. a new small defensive structure of the castle type is being built on the shore of the strait. The city becomes a major seaport.

In 1475, the Genoese fortress was captured, and now Cherzeti became part of the Ottoman Empire. Next to the destroyed Genoese castle, the Turks are building another fortress.

In 1774, after the end of the Russian-Turkish war, under the Kuchuk-Kaynardzhiysky treaty, Kerch was transferred to the "full, eternal and inviolable jurisdiction of the Russian Empire."

In the 19th century, Kerch experienced an era of rapid economic development and construction, interrupted by the Crimean War of 1853-1856.