What peoples lived in Crimea before the appearance of the Tatars. Change of peoples who inhabited Crimea over the last millennia

The sites of primitive people discovered by archaeologists on the Crimean peninsula (Kiik-Koba, Staroselye, Chokurcha, Volchiy Grotto) indicate the settlement of the region by humans already in the Stone Age.

The most ancient population of the Black Sea region and Crimea consisted of those who lived here at the turn of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. e. semi-sedentary and nomadic tribes, known under the general name of Cimmerians. The memory of them was preserved in local toponyms mentioned in ancient Greek sources: Cimmerian Bosporus, Cimmeric, Cimmerium. The Cimmerians apparently inhabited all the Black Sea steppes, but in the Eastern Crimea, as well as on the Taman Peninsula, they lived longer.

In the 7th century BC e. The Cimmerians acted in alliance with the Scythians. There is information about a defeat in 652 BC. the Lydian capital Sardis by the Cimmerians and Scythians. The Cimmerian culture discovered by archaeologists is close to the Scythian and dates back to the end of the Bronze Age. This is evidenced by excavations on the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, where burials of the 8th-7th centuries were discovered. BC e., associated with the Cimmerians. According to the story of Herodotus, the Cimmerians were driven out of the Northern Black Sea region by the Scythians, who dominated here already in the 7th century. BC e.

The descendants of the Cimmerians are considered to be the Tauri, who already lived in the Scythian times in the mountains of Crimea. The mountain range on the south coast of the peninsula was also called Taurus. The Greek name of the Crimean Peninsula - Taurica, which was preserved in antiquity and the Middle Ages, is associated with this name.

The bulk of the Scythians were tribes that came in the 8th century. BC e. from Central Asia. Several Scythian tribes of the Northern Black Sea region are known: the royal Scythians, who also lived in the Crimea, the Scythian nomads, the Scythian ploughmen, the Scythian farmers, the Scythian Vonns. The social system of the Scythians in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. characterized by the gradual collapse of tribal lines and the emergence of class relations. Patriarchal slavery was already known among the Scythians. The change from Cimmerian culture to Scythian culture in the 8th-7th centuries. BC e. coincided with the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. By the 4th century. BC e. The Scythian kingdom, which united individual tribes, turned into a strong military power that successfully repelled the Persian invasion. Remarkable monuments of the famous Scythian “animal” style were discovered by archaeologists in the burial mounds and mountainous mountains of Crimea - in the Kulakovsky Kurgans (near Simferopol, Ak-mosque), unique gold items depicting human figures, animals and plants were found in the famous Scythian burial mounds of Kul-Oba, Ak-Mosque Burun, Golden Mound.

In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. An intensive process of Greek colonization of the North Pontic coast is taking place, due to the economic and social development of Ancient Hellas. In the 7th century BC e. the west was colonized, and in the 6th century. BC e. - northern coast of the Black Sea.

First of all in Taurida, probably in the first half of the 6th century. BC e., on the site of modern Kerch on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, the city of Panticapaeum was founded by the Milesians. The city itself was called by the Greeks and simply Bosporus. Around the middle of the 6th century. BC e. Tiritaka, Nymphaeum, and Cimmeric arose in Eastern Crimea. In the VI century. BC e. Theodosius was founded by the Milesian Greeks, as well as Myrmekium, located not far from Panticapaeum.

Around 480 BC e. In the Eastern Crimea, the previously independent Greek city-states (polises) are united into a single Bosporan state under the rule of the Archeanactids, immigrants from Miletus. In 438 BC. e. power in the Bosporus passes to the Spartokids, a dynasty possibly of Thracian origin.

Crafts, agriculture, trade, coin circulation of Panticapaeum, where from the middle of the 6th century. their own silver coins were minted and were at a relatively high level of development. There was an expansion of the external expansion of the Bosporan state. However, in the III-II centuries. BC e. The onslaught of the Scythians intensifies from the west, and the Sarmatians penetrate from the Kuban region.

The creation of a Scythian state in Crimea and the aggravation of social contradictions in the Bosporan kingdom contributed to the weakening of the latter.

In the western part of Crimea, Chersonesos, founded in the 5th century, played an important role. BC e. immigrants from the southern shore of the Black Sea (from Heraclea Pontic). Initially it was a trading post, which later became a center of agricultural and handicraft production. Trade also grew, the development of which was associated with the issuance of its own coins made of silver and copper. The remains of ancient Chersonesus are preserved on the western outskirts of modern Sevastopol.

Chersonesos probably followed a hostile policy towards the Bosporus. However, by the end of the 2nd century. BC e. The onslaught of the Scythians on Chersonesos intensifies. The Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator provided military assistance to Chersonesus. Eastern Crimea and Chersonesus then came under the rule of the Pontic king. Perisad, the last king of the Bosporus from the Spartokid dynasty, abdicated the throne in favor of Mithridates VI. But this only aggravated the emerging social contradictions in the slave-owning Bosporus. In 107 BC. e. An uprising led by the Scythian Savmak took place here, but it was suppressed by the troops of the Pontic king.

The Pontic kingdom became the main obstacle to further expansion of the Romans to the East. This led to the wars of Mithridates with Rome, which lasted from 89 BC. e. until the death of the Pontic king in 63 BC. e. The death of Mithridates meant the actual loss of political independence by this part of the Black Sea region. By the end of the 1st century. BC e. A portrait of the Roman emperor and members of his family appears on Bosporan coins. True, in 25 BC. e. Rome confirms the independence of Chersonese, but this independence was largely nominal.

City-states of Taurica in the first centuries AD. were developed slave-owning policies. This opinion is supported by their administrative structure, as well as the monuments of material culture discovered by archaeologists.

The dominant force in the steppe zone during this period were the Sarmatians, led by tribal nobility, surrounded by warriors. Several alliances of Sarmatian tribes are known - Roxolani, Aorsi, Siracs. Obviously, from the 2nd century. And. e. Sarmatians receive the general name Alans, probably from the name of one of their tribes. However, in Crimea, the Sarmatians, apparently, were inferior in number to the mass of Scythians who survived here, as well as the descendants of the ancient Tauri. In contrast to the Sarmatians, this old population is called Tauro-Scythians in ancient sources, which perhaps indicates the erasure of the differences between them.

The center of the Scythian tribes in Crimea was Scythian Naples, located on the site of present-day Simferopol. Scythian Naples was founded at the end of the 3rd century. BC e. and existed until the 4th century. n. e.

In the I-II centuries. The Bosporan kingdom is experiencing a new rise; it occupies approximately the same territory as under the Spartokids. Moreover, the Bosporus actually exercises a protectorate over Chersonesus. At the same time, Sarmatization of the population of the Bosporan cities occurs. In foreign policy, the Bosporan kings showed a certain independence, including in relations with Rome.

In the 3rd century. In the Crimea, the Christian religion spread here, probably from Asia Minor. In the 4th century. an independent Christian bishopric already existed in Bosporus.

Chersonesos at this time continued to develop as a slave-owning republic, but the previous democratic system (within the framework, of course, of the slave-owning formation) was now replaced by an aristocratic one. At the same time, the Romanization of the ruling city elite took place. Chersonesus becomes the main stronghold of the Romans in the Northern Black Sea region. It housed a Roman garrison and supplied food to the center of the empire.

In the middle of the 3rd century. n. e. The Bosporan state was experiencing economic and political decline, reflecting the general crisis of the ancient slave system. Starting from the 50-70s. in Crimea, the onslaught of the Borans, Ostrogoths, Heruls and other tribes that were part of
to the Gothic League. The Goths defeated the Scythians and destroyed their settlements in the Crimea. Having captured almost the entire peninsula, with the exception of Chersonesos, they established their dominance over the Bosporus. The Gothic invasion led to the decline of the Bosporan kingdom, but it was dealt a mortal blow in the 70s. IV century tribes of the Huns who appeared in Eastern Crimea. The Bosporus, destroyed by them, lost its former significance and gradually disappeared from the historical arena.

From the collection “Crimea: past and present", Institute of History of the USSR, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1988

Ancient peoples of Crimea

During the Jurassic period of the Earth, when there was no man yet, the northern edge of the land was located on the site of the mountainous Crimea. Where the Crimean and southern Ukrainian steppes now lie, a huge sea overflowed. The appearance of the Earth gradually changed. The bottom of the sea rose, and where there were deep seas, islands appeared and continents moved forward. In other places on the island, the continents sank, and their place was taken by the vast expanse of the sea. Enormous cracks split continental blocks, reached the molten depths of the Earth, and gigantic streams of lava poured out to the surface. Piles of ash many meters thick were deposited in the coastal strip of the sea... The history of Crimea has similar stages.

Crimea in section

In the place where the coastline now stretches from Feodosia to Balaklava, at one time a huge crack passed through. Everything that was located to the south of it sank to the bottom of the sea, everything that was located to the north rose. Where there were sea depths, a low coast appeared, where there was a coastal strip, mountains grew. And from the crack itself, huge columns of fire burst out into streams of molten rocks.

The history of the formation of the Crimean relief continued when the volcanic eruptions ended, the earthquakes subsided and plants appeared on the land that emerged from the depths. If you look closely, for example, at the rocks of the Kara-Dag, you will notice that this mountain range is riddled with cracks, and some rare minerals are found here.

Over the years, the Black Sea has beaten the coastal rocks and thrown their fragments onto the shore, and today on the beaches we walk on smooth pebbles, we encounter green and pink jasper, translucent chalcedony, brown pebbles with layers of calcite, snow-white quartz and quartzite fragments. Sometimes you can also find pebbles that were previously molten lava; they are brown, as if filled with bubbles - voids or interspersed with milky-white quartz.

So today, each of us can independently plunge into this distant historical past of Crimea and even touch its stone and mineral witnesses.

Prehistoric period

Paleolithic

The oldest traces of hominid habitation on the territory of Crimea date back to the Middle Paleolithic - this is the Neanderthal site in the Kiik-Koba cave.

Mesolithic

According to the Ryan-Pitman hypothesis, up to 6 thousand BC. the territory of Crimea was not a peninsula, but was a fragment of a larger land mass, which included, in particular, the territory of the modern Sea of ​​​​Azov. Around 5500 thousand BC, as a result of the breakthrough of waters from the Mediterranean Sea and the formation of the Bosporus Strait, significant territories were flooded in a fairly short period, and the Crimean Peninsula was formed.

Neolithic and Chalcolithic

In 4-3 thousand BC. Through the territories north of Crimea, migrations to the west of tribes, presumably speakers of Indo-European languages, took place. In 3 thousand BC. The Kemi-Oba culture existed on the territory of Crimea.

Nomadic peoples of the Northern Black Sea region of the 1st millennium BC.

At the end of the 2nd millennium BC. A tribe of Cimmerians emerged from the Indo-European community. This is the first people living on the territory of Ukraine, which is mentioned in written sources - Homer’s Odyssey. The Greek historian of the 5th century told the greatest and most reliable story about the Cimmerians. BC. Herodotus.

monument to Herodotus in Halicarnassus

We also find mention of them in Assyrian sources. The Assyrian name "Kimmirai" means "giants". According to another version from ancient Iranian - “a mobile cavalry detachment”.

Cimmerian

There are three versions of the origin of the Cimmerians. The first is the ancient Iranian people who came to the land of Ukraine through the Caucasus. The second is that the Cimmerians appeared as a result of the gradual historical development of the Proto-Iranian steppe culture, and their ancestral home was the Lower Volga region. Third, the Cimmerians were the local population.

Archaeologists find material monuments of the Cimmerians in the Northern Black Sea region, in the Northern Caucasus, in the Volga region, on the lower reaches of the Dniester and Danube. The Cimmerians were Iranian-speaking.

The early Cimmerians led a sedentary lifestyle. Later, due to the onset of an arid climate, they became a nomadic people and mainly bred horses, which they learned to ride.

The Cimmerian tribes united into large tribal unions, which were headed by a king-leader.

They had a large army. It consisted of mobile troops of horsemen armed with steel and iron swords and daggers, bows and arrows, war hammers and maces. The Cimmerians fought with the kings of Lydia, Urartu and Assyria.

Cimmerian warriors

The Cimmerian settlements were temporary, mainly camps and wintering quarters. But they had their own forges and blacksmiths who made iron and steel swords and daggers, the best at that time in the Ancient World. They themselves did not mine metal; they used iron mined by forest-steppe dwellers or Caucasian tribes. Their craftsmen made horse bits, arrowheads, and jewelry. They had a high level of development of ceramic production. Particularly beautiful were the goblets with a polished surface, decorated with geometric patterns.

The Cimmerians knew how to perfectly process bones. Their jewelry made from semi-precious stones was very beautiful. Stone gravestones with images of people made by the Cimmerians have survived to this day.

The Cimmerians lived in patriarchal clans, which consisted of families. Gradually, they have a military nobility. This was greatly facilitated by predatory wars. Their main goal was to rob neighboring tribes and peoples.

The religious beliefs of the Cimmerians are known from burial materials. Noble people were buried in large mounds. There were male and female burials. Daggers, bridles, a set of arrowheads, stone blocks, sacrificial food, and a horse were placed in men's graves. Gold and bronze rings, glass and gold necklaces, and pottery were placed in women's burials.

Archaeological finds show that the Cimmerians had connections with the tribes of the Azov region, Western Siberia and the Caucasus. Among the artefacts were women's jewelry, decorated weapons, stone steles without an image of a head, but with a carefully reflected dagger and a quiver of arrows.

Along with the Cimmerians, the central part of the Ukrainian forest-steppe was occupied by the descendants of the Belogrudov culture of the Bronze Age, bearers of the Chernoles culture, who are considered the ancestors of the Eastern Slavs. The main source of studying the life of the Chornolisci people are settlements. Both ordinary settlements with 6-10 dwellings and fortified settlements were found. A line of 12 fortifications built on the border with the steppe protected the Chornolistsiv from attacks by the nomids. They were located on areas closed by nature. The fort was surrounded by a rampart on which a wall of wooden frames and a moat were built. The Chernolesk settlement, the southern outpost of defense, was protected by three lines of ramparts and ditches. During attacks, residents of neighboring settlements found protection behind their walls.

The basis of the economy of the Chornolists was arable farming and homestead cattle breeding.

The metalworking craft has reached an extraordinary level of development. Iron was used primarily for the production of weapons. The largest sword in Europe at that time with a steel blade with a total length of 108 cm was found at the Subbotovsky settlement.

The need to constantly combat the attacks of the Cimmerians forced the Chornolists to create a foot army and cavalry. Many pieces of horse harness and even the skeleton of a horse, laid next to the deceased, were found in the burials. The finds of archaeologists have shown the existence of a Cimmerian day in the Forest-Steppe of a fairly powerful association of Proto-Slav farmers, which for a long time resisted the threat from the Steppe.

The life and development of the Cimmerian tribes were interrupted at the beginning of the 7th century. BC. the invasion of the Scythian tribes, with which the next stage of the ancient history of Ukraine is associated.

2. Taurus

Almost simultaneously with the Cimmerians, an indigenous population lived in the southern part of Crimea - the Taurians (from the Greek word "Tavros" - tour). The name of the Crimean peninsula - Tauris - comes from the Tauris, introduced by the tsarist government after the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 1783. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus in his book “History” said that the Tauris were engaged in cattle breeding on the mountain plateaus, farming in the river valleys, and fishing on the Black Sea coast. . They were also engaged in crafts - they were skilled potters, they knew how to spin, process stone, wood, bones, horns, and also metals.

From the second half of the 1st millennium BC. In the Taurians, like other tribes, property inequality appeared, and a tribal aristocracy was formed. The Tauri built fortifications around their settlements. Together with their neighbors, the Scythians, they fought against the Greek city-state of Chersonesos, which was seizing their lands.

modern ruins of Chersonesus

The further fate of the Tauri was tragic: first - in the 2nd century. BC. - They were conquered by the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator, and in the second half of the 1st century. BC. captured by Roman troops.

In the Middle Ages, the Tauri were exterminated or assimilated by the Tatars, who conquered Crimea. The original culture of the Tauris was lost.

Great Scythia. Ancient city-states in the Northern Black Sea region

3.Scythians

From the 7th century to the 3rd century BC. The Scythian tribes, who came from the depths of Asia and invaded the Northern Black Sea region, brought terror to the tribes and states of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The Scythians conquered a huge territory at that time between the Don, Danube and Dnieper, part of Crimea (the territory of modern Southern and South-Eastern Ukraine), forming the state of Scythia there. Herodotus left a more detailed characterization and description of the life and way of life of the Scythians.

In the 5th century BC. he personally visited Scythia and described it. The Scythians were descendants of Indo-European tribes. They had their own mythology, rituals, worshiped gods and mountains, and made blood sacrifices to them.

Herodotus identified the following groups among the Scythians: the royal Scythians, who lived in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and Don and were considered the top of the tribal union; Scythian plowmen who lived between the Dnieper and Dniester (historians believe that these were the descendants of the Chernoles culture defeated by the Scythians); Scythian farmers who lived in the forest-steppe zone, and Scythian nomads who settled in the steppes of the Black Sea region. Among the tribes named by Herodotus as Scythians proper were the tribes of the royal Scythians and the Scythian nomads. They dominated over all other tribes.

Outfit of a Scythian king and military commander

At the end of the 6th century. BC. In the Black Sea steppes, a powerful state association was formed led by the Scythians - Greater Scythia, which included the local population of the steppe and forest-steppe regions (Skolot). Great Scythia, according to Herodotus, was divided into three kingdoms; one of them was headed by the main king, and the other two were junior kings (probably the sons of the main one).

The Scythian state was the first political union in south-Eastern Europe in the early Iron Age (the center of Scythia in the 5th-3rd centuries BC was the Kamenskoye settlement near Nikopol). Scythia was divided into districts (nomes), which were ruled by leaders appointed by the Scythian kings.

Scythia reached its highest rise in the 4th century. BC. It is associated with the name of King Atey. The power of Atey extended over vast territories from the Danube to the Don. This king minted his own coin. The power of Scythia did not waver even after the defeat from the Macedonian king Philip II (father of Alexander the Great).

Philip II on campaign

The Scythian state remained powerful even after the death of 90-year-old Atey in 339 BC. However, at the border of the IV-III centuries. BC. Scythia is falling into decay. At the end of the 3rd century. BC. Great Scythia ceases to exist under the onslaught of the Sarmatians. Part of the Scythian population moved south and created two Lesser Scythia. One, which was called the Scythian kingdom (III century BC - III century AD) with its capital in Scythian Naples in Crimea, the other - in the lower reaches of the Dnieper.

Scythian society consisted of three main layers: warriors, priests, ordinary community members (farmers and cattle breeders. Each of the layers traced its origins to one of the sons of the first ancestor and had its own sacred attribute. For warriors it was an ax, for priests - a bowl, for community members - plow whitefish Herodotus says that the Scythians held seven gods in special esteem: they were considered the ancestors of people and the creators of everything on Earth.

Written sources and archaeological materials indicate that the basis of Scythian production was cattle breeding, since it provided almost everything necessary for life - horses, meat, milk, wool and felt for clothing. The agricultural population of Scythia grew wheat, millet, hemp, etc., and they sowed grain not only for themselves, but also for sale. Farmers lived in settlements (fortifications), which were located on the banks of rivers and fortified with ditches and ramparts.

The decline and then the collapse of Scythia were caused by a number of factors: worsening climatic conditions, drying out of the steppes, decline in the economic resources of the forest-steppe, etc. In addition, in the III-I centuries. BC. A significant part of Scythia was conquered by the Sarmatians.

Modern researchers believe that the first sprouts of statehood on the territory of Ukraine appeared precisely in Scythian times. The Scythians created a unique culture. Art was dominated by the so-called. "Animal" style.

The monuments of the Scythian era, mounds, are widely known: Solokha and Gaimanova Graves in Zaporozhye, Tolstaya Mogila and Chertomlyk in the Dnepropetrovsk region, Kul-Oba, etc. Royal jewelry (golden pectoral), weapons, etc. were found.

WITH Kifian gold pectoral and scabbard from Tolstoy Mogila

Silver amphora. Kurgan Chertomlyk

Chairman of Dionysus.

Kurgan Chertomlyk

Golden comb. Solokha Kurgan

Interesting to know

Herodotus described the burial rite of the Scythian king: Before burying their king in the sacred territory - Guerra (Dnieper region, at the level of the Dnieper rapids), the Scythians took his embalmed body to all the Scythian tribes, where they performed a rite of memory over him. In Guerra, the body was buried in a spacious tomb along with his wife, closest servants, horses, etc. The king had gold items and precious jewelry. Huge mounds were built over the tombs - the more noble the king, the higher the mound. This indicates the stratification of property among the Scythians.

4. War of the Scythians with the Persian king Darius I

The Scythians were a warlike people. They actively intervened in conflicts between the states of Western Asia (the struggle of the Scythians with the Persian king Darius, etc.).

Around 514-512 BC. The Persian king Darius I decided to conquer the Scythians. Having gathered a huge army, he crossed the floating bridge across the Danube and moved deep into Great Scythia. The army of Daria I, as Herodotus claimed, numbered 700 thousand soldiers, however, this figure is believed to be several times exaggerated. The Scythian army probably numbered about 150 thousand fighters. According to the plan of the Scythian military leaders, their army avoided open battle with the Persians and, gradually leaving, lured the enemy into the interior of the country, destroying wells and pastures along the way. Currently, the Scythians planned to gather forces and defeat the weakened Persians. This “Scythian tactic,” as it was later called, turned out to be successful.

in Darius's camp

Darius built a camp on the shore of the Sea of ​​Azov. Overcoming vast distances, the Persian army tried in vain to find the enemy. When the Scythians decided that the Persian forces had been undermined, they began to act decisively. On the eve of the decisive battle, the Scythians sent the king of the Persians strange gifts: a bird, a mouse, a frog and five arrows. His adviser interpreted the content of the “Scythian Gift” to Darius as follows: “If, Persians, you do not become birds and fly high into the sky, or mice and hide in the ground, or frogs and jump into the swamps, then you will not return to yourself, you will be lost by these arrows." It is not known what Darius I was thinking, despite these gifts and the Scythians who formed troops into battle. However, at night, leaving the wounded in the camp who could support the fires, he fled with the remnants of his army.

Skopasis

King of the Sauromatians, who lived in the 6th century BC. e., the father of history Herodotus mentions in his books. Having united the Scythian armies, Skopasis defeated the Persian troops under the command of Darius I, who came to the northern shores of Maeotis. Herodotus writes that it was Skopasis who regularly forced Darius to retreat to Tanais and prevented him from invading Great Scythia.

This is how the attempt of one of the most powerful owners of the then world to conquer Great Scythia ended shamefully. Thanks to the victory over the Persian army, which was then considered the strongest, the Scythians won the glory of invincible warriors.

5. Sarmatians

During the 3rd century. BC. - III century AD the Northern Black Sea region was dominated by the Sarmatians, who came from the Volga-Ural steppes.

Ukrainian lands in the III-I centuries. BC.

We do not know what these tribes called themselves. The Greeks and Romans called them Sarmatians, which translates from ancient Iranian as “girt with a sword.” Herodotus claimed that the ancestors of the Sarmatians lived east of the Scythians beyond the Tanais (Don) river. He also told a legend that the Sarmatians trace their ancestry to the Amazons, who were taken by the Scythian youths. However, they were unable to master the language of men well and therefore the Sarmatians speak a corrupted Scythian language. Part of the truth in the statements of the “father of history” is: the Sarmatians, like the Scythians, belonged to the Iranian-speaking group of peoples, and their women had a very high status.

The settlement of the Black Sea steppes by the Sarmatians was not peaceful. They exterminated the remnants of the Scythian population and turned most of their country into desert. Subsequently, on the territory of Sarmatia, as the Romans called these lands, several Sarmatian tribal associations appeared - Aorsi, Siracians, Roxolani, Iazyges, Alans.

Having settled in the Ukrainian steppes, the Sarmatians began to attack the neighboring Roman provinces, ancient city-states and settlements of farmers - Slav, Lviv, Zarubintsy culture, forest-steppe. Evidence of attacks on the Proto-Slavs were numerous finds of Sarmatian arrowheads during excavations of the ramparts of Zarubinets settlements.

Sarmatian horseman

The Sarmatians were nomadic pastoralists. They received the necessary agricultural products and handicrafts from their sedentary neighbors through exchange, tribute, and ordinary robbery. The basis of such relations was the military advantage of the nomads.

Wars for pastures and booty were of great importance in the life of the Sarmatians.

Dress of Sarmatian warriors

Archaeologists have not found any Sarmatian settlements. The only monuments they left are mounds. Among the excavated mounds there are many female burials. They found magnificent examples of jewelry made in the “Animal” style. An indispensable accessory for male burials is weapons and equipment for horses.

Fibula. Nagaichinsky mound. Crimea

At the beginning of our era, the rule of the Sarmatians in the Black Sea region reached its highest point. The Sarmatization of the Greek city-states took place, and for a long time the Sarmatian dynasty ruled the Bosporan kingdom.

In them, like the Scythians, there was private ownership of livestock, which was the main wealth and the main means of production. A significant role in the Sarmatian economy was played by the labor of slaves, into whom they turned prisoners captured during continuous wars. However, the tribal system of the Sarmatians held on quite steadfastly.

The nomadic lifestyle of the Sarmatians and trade relations with many peoples (China, India, Iran, Egypt) contributed to the spread of various cultural influences among them. Their culture combined elements of the culture of the East, the ancient South and the West.

From the middle of the 3rd century. AD The Sarmatians lose their leading position in the Black Sea steppes. At this time, immigrants from Northern Europe - the Goths - appeared here. Together with local tribes, among whom were Alans (one of the Sarmatian communities), the Goths carried out devastating attacks on the cities of the Northern Black Sea region.

Genoese in Crimea

At the beginning of the 13th century, after the crusader knights captured Constantinople as a result of the fourth crusade (1202-1204), the Venetians who took an active part in organizing the campaign were able to freely penetrate into the Black Sea.

storming of Constantinople

Already in the middle of the 13th century. they regularly visited Soldaya (modern Sudak) and settled in this city. It is known that the uncle of the famous traveler Marco Polo, Maffeo Polo, owned a house in Soldai.

Sudak fortress

In 1261, Emperor Michael Palaiologos liberated Constantinople from the crusaders. The Republic of Genoa contributed to this. The Genoese receive a monopoly on navigation in the Black Sea. In the middle of the 13th century. The Genoese defeated the Venetians in the six-year war. This was the beginning of the two-hundred-year stay of the Genoese in Crimea.

In the 60s of the 13th century, Genoa settled in Caffa (modern Feodosia), which became the largest port and trading center in the Black Sea region.

Feodosia

Gradually the Genoese expanded their possessions. In 1357, Chembalo (Balaklava) was captured, in 1365 - Sugdeya (Sudak). In the second half of the 14th century. the southern coast of Crimea was captured, the so-called. "Captainship of Gothia", which was previously part of the principality of Theodoro - Lupiko (Alupka), Muzahori (Miskhor), Yalita (Yalta), Nikita, Gorzovium (Gurzuf), Partenita, Lusta (Alushta). In total, there were about 40 Italian trading posts in the Crimea, Azov region and the Caucasus. The main activity of the Genoese in Crimea is trade, including the slave trade. Cafe in the XIV - XV centuries. was the largest slave market on the Black Sea. More than a thousand slaves were sold annually at the Kafa market, and the permanent slave population of Kafa reached five hundred people.

At the same time, by the middle of the 13th century, a huge Mongol empire was emerging, formed as a result of the aggressive campaigns of Genghis Khan and his descendants. The Mongol possessions extended from the Pacific coast to the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region.

The cafe is actively developing at the same time. However, its existence was interrupted in 1308 by the troops of the Golden Horde Khan Tokhta. The Genoese managed to escape by sea, but the city and the pier were burned to the ground. Only after the new Khan Uzbek (1312-1342) reigned in the Golden Horde did the Genoese again appear on the shores of the Gulf of Feodosia. By the beginning of the 15th century. A new political situation is emerging in Taurica. At this time, the Golden Horde finally weakens and begins to fall apart. The Genoese cease to consider themselves vassals of the Tatars. But their new opponents were the growing principality of Theodoro, which laid claim to coastal Gothia and Chembalo, as well as the descendant of Genghis Khan, Hadji Giray, who sought to create a Tatar state in Crimea independent of the Golden Horde.

The struggle between Genoa and Theodoro for Gothia lasted intermittently throughout almost the entire first half of the 15th century, and the Theodorites were supported by Hadji Giray. The largest military clash between the warring parties occurred in 1433-1434.

Hadji-Girey

On the approaches to Solkhat, the Genoese were unexpectedly attacked by the Tatar cavalry of Hadji Giray and were defeated in a short battle. After the defeat in 1434, the Genoese colonies were forced to pay an annual tribute to the Crimean Khanate, which was headed by Hadji Giray, who vowed to expel the Genoese from their possessions on the peninsula. Soon the colonies had another deadly enemy. In 1453 The Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire finally ceased to exist, and the sea route connecting the Genoese colonies in the Black Sea with the metropolis was taken under control by the Turks. The Genoese Republic found itself faced with a real threat of losing all of its Black Sea possessions.

The common threat from the Ottoman Turks forced the Genoese to draw closer to their other irreconcilable enemy. In 1471 they entered into an alliance with the ruler Theodoro. But no diplomatic victories could save the colonies from destruction. On May 31, 1475, a Turkish squadron approached the Cafe. By this time, the anti-Turkish bloc “Crimean Khanate - Genoese colonies - Theodoro” had cracked.

The siege of Kafa lasted from June 1 to June 6. The Genoese capitulated at a time when the means to defend their Black Sea capital had not been exhausted. According to one version, the city authorities believed the promises of the Turks to save their lives and property. One way or another, the largest Genoese colony fell to the Turks surprisingly easily. The new owners of the city took away the property of the Genoese, and they themselves were loaded onto ships and taken to Constantinople.

Soldaya offered more stubborn resistance to the Ottoman Turks than Kafa. And after the besiegers managed to break into the fortress, its defenders locked themselves in the church and died in a fire.

We bring to the attention of the readers of our site an ethno-historical excursion by Igor Dmitrievich Gurov regarding the issue of the rights of a particular nationality to the Crimean peninsula. The article was published in 1992 in the small monthly "Politics", published by the deputy group "Union". However, it still remains relevant, especially now, when, during the period of the most acute political crisis in Ukraine, the issue of broad autonomy for Crimea, which was frozen in the same 1992, is being resolved.

Despite the fact that Kyiv and some Moscow newspapers and television programs today proclaim the Crimean Tatars as the “only indigenous” people of the Crimean peninsula, and the Russian Taurians are portrayed exclusively as invaders and occupiers, Crimea remains Russian.

Let's turn to real historical facts. In ancient times, Crimea was inhabited by tribes of Cimmerians, then Tauris and Scythians. From the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. Greek colonies appear on the coast of Tavria. In the early Middle Ages, the Scythians were replaced by German-speaking Goths (later mixed with the Greeks in the chronicles of the “Greek Gothfins”) and Iranian-speaking Alans (related to modern Ossetians). Then the Slavs also penetrate here. Already in one of the Bosporan inscriptions of the 5th century, the word “ant” is found, which, as is known, Byzantine authors used to call the Slavs who lived between the Dnieper and the Dniester. And at the very end of the 8th century, the “Life of Stefan of Sourozh” describes in detail the campaign of the Novgorod prince Bravlin to Crimea, after which the active Slavicization of Eastern Crimea began.

Arab sources of the 9th century report on one of the centers of Ancient Rus' - Arsania, which, according to most scientists, was located on the territory of the Azov region, Eastern Crimea and the North Caucasus. This is the so-called Azov, or Black Sea (Tmutarakan) Rus', which was the support base for the campaigns of Russian squads in the 2nd half of the 9th - early 10th centuries. on the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea. Moreover, the Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon, in his story about the retreat of Prince Igor after his unsuccessful campaign against Byzantium in 941, speaks of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Eastern Crimea) as the “homeland of the Russians.”

In the 2nd half of the 9th century. (after the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav and his defeat of the Khazar Kaganate in 965), Azov Rus finally entered the sphere of political influence of Kievan Rus. Later, the Tmutarakan principality was formed here. Under the 980 goal in the "Tale of Bygone Years" the son of Grand Duke Vladimir the Saint is mentioned for the first time - Mstislav the Brave; It is also reported there that his father endowed Mstislav with the Tmutarakan land (which he owned until his death in 1036).

The influence of Rus' is also strengthening in Western Taurida, especially after Prince Vladimir in 988, as a result of a 6-month siege, took the city of Chersonesos, which belonged to the Byzantines, and was baptized there.

The Polovtsian invasion at the end of the 11th century weakened the Russian princes in Taurida. The last time Tmutarakan was mentioned in the chronicles was in 1094, when the prince who ruled here, Oleg Svyatoslavovich (who bore the official title of “Archon of Matrakha, Zikhia and all Khazaria”), in alliance with the Polovtsians, came to Chernigov. And at the beginning of the 13th century, the lands of the former Tmutarakan principality became easy prey for enterprising Genoese.

In 1223, the Mongols made their first raid on Taurica, and by the end of the 13th century, after the defeat of the Kirkel principality created by the Hellenized Alans, the administrative center of the region became the city of Crimea (now Old Crimea), which from 1266 became the seat of the Mongol-Tatar Khan .

After the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), which ended with the defeat of Constantinople, first Venice, and then (from 1261) Genoa were able to establish themselves in the Northern Black Sea region. In 1266, the Genoese bought the city of Cafa (Feodosia) from the Golden Horde and then continued to expand their possessions.

The ethnic composition of the population of Crimea during this period was quite diverse. In the XIII-XV centuries. Greeks, Armenians, Russians, Tatars, Hungarians, Circassians (“Zikhs”) and Jews lived in the Cafe. The Kafa Charter of 1316 mentions Russian, Armenian and Greek churches located in the commercial part of the city, along with Catholic churches and a Tatar mosque. In the 2nd half of the 15th century. it was one of the largest cities in Europe with a population of up to 70 thousand people. (of these, the Genoese made up only about 2 thousand people). In 1365, the Genoese, having secured the support of the Golden Horde khans (to whom they gave huge cash loans and supplied mercenaries), captured the largest Crimean city of Surozh (Sudak), inhabited mainly by Greek and Russian merchants and artisans and maintaining close ties with the Moscow state.

From Russian documents of the 15th century. It is also known about close contacts between the Orthodox principality of Theodoro (another name is the Mangup Principality), located in the south-west of Crimea, which arose on the ruins of the Byzantine Empire, with the Moscow state. For example, the Russian chronicle mentions Prince Stefan Vasilyevich Khovra, who emigrated to Moscow with one of his sons in 1403. Here he became a monk under the name Simon, and his son Gregory founded a monastery named Simonov in honor of his father. His other son, Alexei, ruled the principality of Theodoro at that time. From his grandson - Vladimir Grigorievich Khovrin - came famous Russian families - the Golovins, Tretyakovs, Gryaznys, etc. The connection between Moscow and Theodoro was so close that the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III was going to marry his son to the daughter of the Theodorite prince Isaac (Isaiko), but This plan was not realized due to the defeat of the Principality of Theodoro by the Turks.

In 1447, the first attack of the Turkish fleet on the shores of Crimea took place. Having captured Cafa in 1475, the Turks disarmed its entire population, and then, according to the testimony of an anonymous Tuscan author, “On June 7 and 8, all the Wallachians, Poles, Russians, Georgians, Zichs and all other Christian nations, except the Latins, were captured, deprived clothes and partly sold into slavery, partly chained." “Turkova took Kafa and many of the Moscow guests, killed many of them, captured some, and robbed others to pay off the davash,” Russian chronicles report.

Having established their power over the Crimea, the Turks included into the Sultan’s lands only the former Genoese and Greek confluences, which they began to intensively populate with their fellow tribesmen - the Anatolian Ottoman Turks. The remaining areas of the peninsula went to the predominantly steppe Crimean Khanate, which was a vassal state of Turkey.

It is from the Anatolian Ottoman Turks that the so-called origins originate. “South Coast Crimean Tatars”, who determined the ethnic line of modern Crimean Tatars - that is, their culture and literary language. The Crimean Khanate, subordinate to Turkey, in 1557 was replenished with representatives of the Little Nogai Horde, who migrated to the Black Sea region and the Steppe Crimea from the Volga and Caspian Sea. The Crimean and Nogai Tatars lived exclusively by nomadic cattle breeding and predatory raids on neighboring states. The Crimean Tatars themselves spoke in the 17th century. to the envoys of the Turkish Sultan: “But there are more than 100 thousand Tatars who have neither agriculture nor trade. If they do not raid, then how will they live? This is our service to the padishah.” Therefore, twice a year they carried out raids to capture slaves and loot. For example, during the 25 years of the Livonian War (1558-1583), the Crimean Tatars made 21 raids on the Great Russian regions. The poorly protected Little Russian lands suffered even more. From 1605 to 1644 the Tatars carried out at least 75 raids on them. In 1620-1621 they managed to ruin even the distant Duchy of Prussia.

All this forced Russia to take retaliatory measures and fight to eliminate this constant source of aggression in its south. However, this problem was solved only in the 2nd half of the 18th century. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1769-1774. Russian troops captured Crimea. Fearing retaliatory religious pogroms, most of the indigenous Christian population (Greeks and Armenians), at the suggestion of Catherine II, moved to the area of ​​Mariupol and Nakhichevan, Rostov. In 1783, Crimea was finally annexed to Russia and in 1784 it became part of the newly formed Tauride province. Up to 80 thousand Tatars did not want to stay in Russian Taurida and emigrated to Turkey. In their place, Russia began to attract foreign colonists: Greeks (from Turkish possessions), Armenians, Corsicans, Germans, Bulgarians, Estonians, Czechs, etc. Great Russians and Little Russians began to move here in large numbers.

Another emigration of Tatars and Nogais from Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region (up to 150 thousand people) occurred during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, when many Tatar murzas and beys supported Turkey.

By 1897, there had been significant changes in the ethnic composition of the population of Taurida: Tatars made up only about 1/3 of the population of the peninsula, while Russians made up over 45 percent. (of which 3/4 are Great Russians and 1/4 are Little Russians), Germans - 5.8 percent, Jews 4.7 percent, Greeks - 3.1 percent, Armenians - 1.5 percent. etc.

After the February Revolution of 1917, the nationalist pro-Turkish party “Milli Firka” (“national party”) arose among the Crimean Tatars. In turn, the Bolsheviks held a Congress of Soviets and in March 1918 proclaimed the creation of the Taurida SSR. Then the peninsula was occupied by the Germans, and the Millifirka Directory gained power.

At the end of April 1919, the “Crimean Soviet Republic” was created here, but already in June it was liquidated by units of General Denikin’s Volunteer Army.

From that time on, Russian Taurida became the main base of the White Movement. Only on November 16, 1920, Crimea was again captured by the Bolsheviks, knocking out the Russian Army of General Wrangel from the peninsula. At the same time, the Crimean Revolutionary Committee (Krymrevkom) was formed under the leadership of the “internationalists” Bela Kun and Rosalia Zemlyachka. On their instructions, a bloody massacre was organized in Crimea, during which the “fiery revolutionaries” exterminated, according to some information, up to 60 thousand Russian officers and soldiers of the White Army.

On October 18, 1921, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars published a decree on the formation of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the RSFSR. At this time, 625 thousand people lived in Crimea, of which Russians made up 321.6 thousand, or 51.5% (including Great Russians - 274.9 thousand, Little Russians - 45.7 thousand, Belarusians - 1 thousand .), Tatars (including Turks and some Gypsies) - 164.2 thousand (25.9%), other nationalities (Germans, Greeks, Bulgarians, Jews, Armenians) - St. 22%.

From the beginning of the 1920s, in the spirit of the Bolshevik-Leninist national policy, organizations of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) began to actively pursue a course towards the Turkification of Crimea. Thus, in 1922, 355 schools were opened for the Crimean Tatars, and universities were created with teaching in the Crimean Tatar language. Tatars were appointed to the posts of chairmen of the Crimean Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic - Veli Ibraimov and Deren-Ayerly, who pursued a nationalist policy covered by communist phraseology. Only in 1928 were they removed from their posts, but not for nationalism, but for connections with the Trotskyists.

By 1929, as a result of the campaign to disaggregate village councils, their number increased from 143 to 427. At the same time, the number of national village councils almost tripled (these were considered village councils or districts in which the majority of the national population was 60%). In total, 145 Tatar village councils were formed, 45 German, 14 Jewish, 7 Greek, 5 Bulgarian, 2 Armenian, 2 Estonian and only 20 Russian (since Russians during this period were classified as “great-power chauvinists”, during administrative demarcation it was considered normal to give advantage to others nationalities). A system of special courses for training national personnel at government agencies was also created. A campaign was launched to translate office work and village councils into “national” languages. At the same time, the “anti-religious struggle” - including against Orthodoxy and Islam - continued and intensified.

In the pre-war years, there was a significant increase in population (from 714 thousand in 1926 to 1,126,429 people in 1939). By national composition, the population was distributed in 1939 as follows: Russians - 558,481 people (49.58%), Ukrainians, 154,120 (13.68%), Tatars - 218,179 (19.7%), Germans 65,452 (5.81%) , Jews - 52093 (4.62%), Greeks - 20652 (1.83%), Bulgarians - 15353 (1.36%), Armenians - 12873 (1.14%), others - 29276 (2.6% ).

The Nazis, having occupied Crimea in the fall of 1941, skillfully played on the religious feelings of the Tatars and their dissatisfaction with the militant atheism of the Bolsheviks. The Nazis convened a Muslim congress in Simferopol, at which they formed the Crimean government ("Tatar Committee"), headed by Khan Belal Asanov. During 1941-1942. they formed 10 Crimean Tatar SS battalions, which, together with police self-defense units (created in 203 Tatar villages), numbered over 20 thousand people. Although there were Tatars among the partisans - about 600 people. In punitive operations with the participation of Crimean Tatar units, 86 thousand civilians of Crimea and 47 thousand prisoners of war were exterminated, about 85 thousand more people were deported to Germany.

However, measures of retribution for crimes committed by the Crimean Tatar punitive forces were extended by the Stalinist leadership to the entire Crimean Tatar ethnic group and a number of other Crimean peoples. On May 11, 1944, the State Defense Committee of the USSR adopted a resolution according to which 191,088 Tatars, 296 Germans, 32 Romanians and 21 Austrians were resettled from Crimea to Central Asia during May 18-19. On June 2, 1944, another GKO resolution followed, according to which 15,040 Greeks, 12,422 Bulgarians and 9,621 Armenians were evicted from Crimea on June 27 and 28. At the same time, foreign nationals living in Crimea were expelled: 1,119 Germans, Italians and Romanians, 3,531 Greeks, 105 Turks and 16 Iranians.

In July 1945, by Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was transformed into the Crimean region within the RSFSR, and on February 19, 1954, N. S. Khrushchev donated Crimea to Radyanskaya Ukraine, apparently in memory of his many years of secretaryship in the Communist Party (b)U .

With the onset of “perestroika,” the Moscow and Kyiv media began to portray the Tatars as the only “indigenous” inhabitants of the peninsula, its “original” owners. Why? The “Organization of the Crimean Tatar National Movement” declared its goal not only to return up to 350 thousand Tatars - natives of sunny Uzbekistan and other Central Asian republics to Crimea, but also to create their own “national state” there. To achieve this goal, they convened a kurultai in July 1991 and elected a “majlis” of 33 people. The actions of the OKND, led by the ardent Turkophile Mustafa Dzhamilev, were enthusiastically greeted by the Kyiv “Rukhovite” and former communist leadership, acting on the principle “everyone who is against the damned Muscovites is good.” But why did Dzhamilev need to create his own “national state” in Crimea?

Of course, the thirst for revenge among the Tatar new settlers offended by Stalin is understandable. But still, the OKND gentlemen, who so diligently call for the Turkification of Crimea, should remember their Anatolian and Nogai origins: after all, their true ancestral home is Turkey, Southern Altai and the hot steppes of Xinjiang.

And if you create some kind of “national states” in Taurida, you will have to satisfy the aspirations of the Great Russians, Ukrainians, Karaites, Greeks, and all other indigenous inhabitants of the peninsula. The only real prospect for Crimea is the peaceful coexistence of the ethnic groups living here. Dividing the population into “indigenous” and Russian is a historically untenable and politically dangerous task.

Igor Gurov
Newspaper "Politics", 1992, No. 5

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The fertile climate, picturesque and generous nature of Taurida create almost ideal conditions for human existence. People have inhabited these lands for a long time, so the eventful history of Crimea, dating back centuries, is extremely interesting. Who owned the peninsula and when? Let's find out!

History of Crimea since ancient times

Numerous historical artifacts found by archaeologists here suggest that the ancestors of modern man began to inhabit fertile lands almost 100 thousand years ago. This is evidenced by the remains of Paleolithic and Mesolithic cultures discovered in the site and Murzak-Koba.

At the beginning of the 12th century BC. e. Tribes of Indo-European nomads, the Cimmerians, appeared on the peninsula, whom ancient historians considered the first people who tried to create the beginnings of some semblance of statehood.

At the dawn of the Bronze Age, they were forced out of the steppe regions by the warlike Scythians, moving closer to the sea coast. The foothill areas and the southern coast were then inhabited by Tauris, who, according to some sources, came from the Caucasus, and in the north-west of the unique region, Slavic tribes, migrating from modern Transnistria, established themselves.

Ancient heyday in history

As the history of Crimea testifies, at the end of the 7th century. BC e. The Hellenes began to actively develop it. Immigrants from Greek cities created colonies, which over time began to prosper. The fertile land gave excellent harvests of barley and wheat, and the presence of convenient harbors contributed to the development of maritime trade. Crafts actively developed and shipping improved.

The port cities grew and became richer, uniting over time into an alliance that became the basis for the creation of the powerful Bosporan kingdom with its capital in, or present-day Kerch. The heyday of an economically developed state, which had a strong army and an excellent fleet, dates back to the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. Then an important alliance was concluded with Athens, half of whose need for bread was provided by the Bosporans; their kingdom includes the lands of the Black Sea coast beyond the Kerch Strait, Feodosia, Chersonesos, flourish. But the period of prosperity did not last long. The unreasonable policies of a number of kings led to the depletion of the treasury and the reduction of military personnel.

The nomads took advantage of the situation and began to ravage the country. At first he was forced to enter the Pontic kingdom, then he became a protectorate of Rome, and then of Byzantium. Subsequent invasions of barbarians, among which it is worth highlighting the Sarmatians and Goths, weakened it even more. Of the necklace of once magnificent settlements, only the Roman fortresses in Sudak and Gurzuf remained undestroyed.

Who owned the peninsula in the Middle Ages?

From the history of Crimea it is clear that from the 4th to the 12th centuries. Bulgarians and Turks, Hungarians, Pechenegs and Khazars marked their presence here. The Russian prince Vladimir, having taken Chersonesos by storm, was baptized here in 988. The formidable ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vytautas, invaded Taurida in 1397, completing his campaign in. Part of the land is part of the state of Theodoro, founded by the Goths. By the middle of the 13th century, the steppe regions were controlled by the Golden Horde. In the next century, some territories were redeemed by the Genoese, and the rest were conquered by the troops of Khan Mamai.

The collapse of the Golden Horde marked the creation of the Crimean Khanate here in 1441,
independently existed for 36 years. In 1475, the Ottomans invaded the area, to whom the khan swore allegiance. They expelled the Genoese from the colonies, took by storm the capital of the state of Theodoro - the city, exterminating almost all the Goths. The khanate with its administrative center was called the Kafa eyalet in the Ottoman Empire. Then the ethnic composition of the population is finally formed. The Tatars are moving from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one. Not only cattle breeding begins to develop, but also agriculture and gardening, and small tobacco plantations appear.

The Ottomans, at the height of their power, complete their expansion. They move from direct conquest to a policy of hidden expansion, also described in history. The Khanate becomes an outpost for conducting raids on the border territories of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Looted jewelry regularly replenishes the treasury, and captured Slavs are sold into slavery. From the XIV to the XVII centuries. Russian tsars undertake several campaigns to the Crimea through the Wild Field. However, none of them leads to pacification of the restless neighbor.

When did the Russian Empire come to power in Crimea?

An important stage in the history of Crimea. By the beginning of the 18th century. it becomes one of its main strategic goals. Possessing it will not only secure the land border from the south and make it internal. The peninsula is destined to become the cradle of the Black Sea Fleet, which will provide access to the Mediterranean trade routes.

However, significant success in achieving this goal was achieved only in the last third of the century - during the reign of Catherine the Great. An army led by Chief General Dolgorukov captured Taurida in 1771. The Crimean Khanate was declared independent, and Khan Giray, a protégé of the Russian crown, was elevated to its throne. Russian-Turkish War 1768-1774 undermined the power of Turkey. Combining military force with cunning diplomacy, Catherine II ensured that in 1783 the Crimean nobility swore allegiance to her.

After this, the infrastructure and economy of the region begins to develop at an impressive pace. Retired Russian soldiers settle here.
Greeks, Germans and Bulgarians come here in large numbers. In 1784, a military fortress was founded, which was destined to play a prominent role in the history of Crimea and Russia as a whole. Roads are being built everywhere. Active grape cultivation contributes to the development of winemaking. The southern coast is becoming increasingly popular among the nobility. turns into a resort town. Over the course of a hundred years, the population of the Crimean peninsula has increased almost 10 times, and its ethnic type has changed. In 1874, 45% of Crimeans were Great Russians and Little Russians, approximately 35% were Crimean Tatars.

Russian domination of the Black Sea has seriously worried a number of European countries. A coalition of the decrepit Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, Austria, Sardinia and France unleashed. The mistakes of the command, which caused the defeat in the battle on , and the lag in the technical equipment of the army led to the fact that, despite the unprecedented heroism of the defenders shown during the year-long siege, the allies captured Sevastopol. After the end of the conflict, the city was returned to Russia in exchange for a number of concessions.

During the Civil War in Crimea, many tragic events occurred that were reflected in history. Since the spring of 1918, German and French expeditionary forces, supported by the Tatars, operated here. The puppet government of Solomon Samoilovich Crimea was replaced by the military power of Denikin and Wrangel. Only the Red Army troops managed to take control of the peninsular perimeter. After this, the so-called Red Terror began, as a result of which from 20 to 120 thousand people died.

In October 1921, it was announced the creation of the Autonomous Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic in the RSFSR from the regions of the former Tauride province, renamed in 1946 the Crimean region. The new government paid great attention to it. The policy of industrialization led to the emergence of the Kamysh-Burun ship repair plant and, in the same place, a mining and processing plant was built, and a metallurgical plant.

The Great Patriotic War prevented further equipment.
Already in August 1941, about 60 thousand ethnic Germans who lived on a permanent basis were deported from here, and in November Crimea was abandoned by the Red Army. There were only two centers of resistance to the fascists left on the peninsula - the Sevastopol fortified area and, but they also fell by the fall of 1942. After the retreat of the Soviet troops, partisan detachments began to actively operate here. The occupation authorities pursued a policy of genocide against “inferior” races. As a result, by the time of liberation from the Nazis, the population of Taurida had decreased almost threefold.

The occupiers were expelled from here. After this, facts of massive cooperation with the fascists of the Crimean Tatars and representatives of some other national minorities were revealed. By decision of the USSR government, more than 183 thousand people of Crimean Tatar origin, a significant number of Bulgarians, Greeks and Armenians were forcibly deported to remote regions of the country. In 1954, the region was included in the Ukrainian SSR at the suggestion of N.S. Khrushchev.

Recent history of Crimea and our days

After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Crimea remained in Ukraine, gaining autonomy with the right to have its own constitution and president. After lengthy negotiations, the basic law of the republic was approved by the Verkhovna Rada. Yuri Meshkov became the first president of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in 1992. Subsequently, relations between official Kiev worsened. The Ukrainian parliament decided in 1995 to abolish the presidency on the peninsula, and in 1998
President Kuchma signed a Decree approving the new Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, with the provisions of which not all residents of the republic agreed.

Internal contradictions, which coincided with serious political aggravations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, split society in 2013. One part of the residents of Crimea was in favor of returning to the Russian Federation, the other was in favor of remaining in Ukraine. On this issue, a referendum was held on March 16, 2014. The majority of Crimeans who took part in the plebiscite voted for reunification with Russia.

Even during the times of the USSR, many were built in Taurida, which was considered an all-Union health resort. had no analogues in the world at all. The development of the region as a resort continued both in the Ukrainian and Russian periods of the history of Crimea. Despite all the interstate contradictions, it still remains a favorite vacation spot for both Russians and Ukrainians. This region is infinitely beautiful and is ready to warmly welcome guests from any country in the world! In conclusion, we offer a documentary film, enjoy watching!

Every self-respecting person tries to study the past. Possessing such a wealth of knowledge, we can draw conclusions about the phenomena and processes that occurred in a certain territory. In addition, they say that a happy future can be built only after realizing the mistakes of our ancestors.

Understanding the life and activities of people who lived many years ago is also an incredibly exciting experience. All peoples, ethnic groups, and countries that have ever existed are interesting in their own way. The history of Crimea, a beautiful peninsula that has more than once become the cause of disagreements between different tribes and states, occupies a special place in science.

Chronological information on ancient Crimea:

1) Paleolithic in the history of Crimea:
From 5 million years ago to the middle of the 9th millennium BC.
It includes:
Lower (early) Paleolithic periods:
- Olduvai, from 5-7 million years ago to 700 thousand years ago;
- Acheulian, about 700 - 100 thousand years ago.
Middle (Mousterian) Paleolithic: from 100 to 40 thousand years BC.
Upper (late) Paleolithic, from 35 thousand years to 9 thousand years BC.

2) Mesolithic in the history of Crimea: from the end of 9 to 6 thousand years BC.

3) Neolithic in the history of Crimea: from 5 to early 4 thousand years BC.

4) Chalcolithic in the history of Crimea: from the middle of 4 to 3 thousand years BC.

The history of the appearance of the first people
on the territory of ancient Crimea, their appearance and habitat

However, the question of the existence of the peninsula itself remains open. In 1996, American geologists from Columbia University published a scientifically based proposal that ancient Crimea was part of the land mass until approximately 5600 BC. e. They argued that the Great Flood described in the Bible was the result of a breakthrough in the Mediterranean Sea, after which 155,000 square meters were under water. km. territory of the planet, the Sea of ​​Azov and the Crimean Peninsula appeared. This version is either confirmed or refuted again. But it seems quite plausible.

Be that as it may, science knows that 300-250 thousand years ago Neanderthals already lived in Crimea. They chose the caves of the foothills. Unlike the Pithecanthropes, who apparently settled only on the South Coast, these people also occupied the eastern part of the present peninsula. To date, scientists have been able to study about ten sites that belonged to the Acheulean era (early Paleolithic): Chernopolye, Shary I-III, Tsvetochnoye, Bodrak I-III, Alma, Bakla, etc.

Among those Neanderthal sites of ancient Crimea that are known to historians, the most popular is Kiik-Koba, located near the river. Zuya. Its age is 150-100 thousand years.

On the way from Feodosia to Simferopol there is another witness to the early history of Crimea - the Wolf Grotto site. It arose in the Middle Paleolithic era (Mousterian) and belonged to a type of man who was not yet Cro-Magnon, but also differed from Pithecanthropus.

Other similar dwellings are also known. For example, at Cape Meganom near Sudak, in Kholodnaya Balka, Chokurcha in the Simferopol region, a cave near Mount Ak-Kaya near Belogorsk, sites in the Bakhchisarai region (Staroselye, Shaitan-Koba, Kobazi).

The Middle Paleolithic period of the history of Crimea is characterized by the development of the southern coast of the territory of the modern peninsula, its mountainous part and foothills.

Neanderthals were short and had relatively short legs. When walking, they slightly bent their knees and spread their lower limbs. The brow ridges of people from the ancient Stone Age hung over the eyes. The presence of a heavy lower jaw, which almost no longer protruded, suggests the beginning of the development of speech.

After the Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons appeared in the Late Paleolithic era 38 thousand years ago. They were more similar to us, had a high forehead without an overhanging ridge, and a protruding chin, which is why they are called people of the modern type. There are Cro-Magnon sites in the river valley. Belbek, on Karabi-yayla and above the river. Kacha. Ancient Crimea of ​​the late Paleolithic era was a completely populated territory.

End of 9-6 thousand BC e. in history it is usually called the Mesolithic era. Then ancient Crimea acquires more modern features. Scientists know many sites that can be attributed to this time. In the mountainous part of the peninsula these are Laspi, Murzak-Koba VII, Fatma-Koba, etc.

Vishennoye I and Kukrek are the most famous historical monuments of the Mesolithic era in the Crimean steppe.

The Neolithic period occurs between 5500 and 3200 BC. BC e. The New Stone Age in ancient Crimea was marked by the beginning of the use of clay kitchen utensils. At the very end of the era, the first metal products appeared. To date, about fifty open-type Neolithic sites have been studied. During this period in the history of Crimea, there were much fewer dwellings located in grottoes. The most famous settlements are Dolinka in the steppe part of the peninsula and Tash-Air I in the mountains.

From the middle of 4 thousand BC. e. the ancient inhabitants of the peninsula began to use copper. This period is called the Chalcolithic. It was relatively short-lived, smoothly transitioned into the Bronze Age, but was marked by a number of mounds and sites (for example, Gurzuf, Laspi I in the south, Druzhnoe and the last layer of Fatma-Koba in the mountainous Crimea). The so-called “shell heaps”, which are located on the coastline from Sudak to the Black Sea, also belong to the Copper-Stone era. The area of ​​farmers of that time was the Kerch Peninsula, the valley of the river. Salgir, northwestern Crimea.

Tools and the first weapons in ancient Crimea

The people who inhabited ancient Crimea first used stone axes. 100-35 thousand years ago they began to make flint and obsidian flakes, and made objects from stone and wood, for example, axes. The Cro-Magnons realized that they could sew using crushed bones. Neoanthropes (people of the Late Paleolithic era) hunted with spears and pointed points, invented scrapers, throwing rods, and harpoons. A spear thrower appeared.

The greatest achievement of the Mesolithic was the development of the bow and arrow. To date, a large number of microliths have been found, which were used in this era as spear tips, arrows, etc. In connection with the advent of individual hunting, traps for animals were invented.

In the Neolithic, tools made of bones and flint were improved. Rock art makes it clear that pastoralism and agriculture prevailed over hunting. Ancient Crimea of ​​this period of history began to live a different life, hoes, plows, sickles with silicon inserts, tiles for grinding grain, and yokes appeared.

At the beginning of the Eneolithic, the ancient Crimeans were already thoroughly processing stone. At the dawn of the era, even copper tools repeated the shape of pre-existing stone products.

Life, religion and culture of the inhabitants of ancient Crimea

People of the Paleolithic era initially led a wandering lifestyle, they were like a primitive herd. The consanguineous community appeared in the Mousterian period. Each tribe had from 50 to 100 or more members. Active relationships within such a social group gave rise to the development of speech. Hunting and gathering were the main activities of the first inhabitants of Crimea. In the Late Paleolithic, the driven method of hunting appeared, and neoanthropes began to fish.

Hunting magic gradually arose, and in the Middle Paleolithic the ritual of burying the dead arose.

From the cold climate we had to hide in caves. In Kiik-Kobe, scientists found ash that remained after a fire. There, right inside the primitive house, the burial of a woman and a one-year-old child was discovered. There was a spring nearby.

As the weather warmed, the usual cold-loving animals disappeared. Mammoths, woolly rhinoceros, steppe bison, musk ox, giant deer, lions, and hyenas were replaced by previously unknown small representatives of the fauna. The shortage of food forced us to think about new ways of obtaining food. As the mental abilities of the inhabitants of ancient Crimea developed, weapons that were revolutionary for that time appeared.

With the emergence of the Cro-Magnon man, the family structure of the inhabitants of ancient Crimea changes - the tribal matriarchal community becomes the basis of interpersonal relations. The descendants of the cave dwellers began to settle on the plains. New houses were built from bones and branches. They looked like huts and half-dugouts. Therefore, in case of bad weather, they often had to return to the caves, where cult worship was also held. The Cro-Magnons still lived in large clans of about 100 people each. Incest was prohibited; in order to get married, men went to another community. As before, the dead were buried in grottoes and caves, and things that were used during life were placed next to them. Red and yellow ocher were found in the graves. The dead were tied up. In the Late Paleolithic there was a cult of the female mother. Art immediately appeared. Rock paintings of animals and the ritual use of their skeletons indicate the emergence of animism and totemism.

Mastering the bow and arrow made it possible to go on individual hunts. The inhabitants of ancient Crimea of ​​the Mesolithic era began to engage in gathering more actively. At the same time, they began to domesticate dogs and built pens for young wild goats, horses and wild boars. Art manifested itself in rock paintings and miniature sculpture. They began to interred the dead, tying them up in a crouched position. The burials were oriented to the East.

In the Neolithic era, in addition to the main dwellings, there were temporary sites. They were built for the season, mainly in the steppe, and with the arrival of cold weather they hid in the caves of the foothills. The villages consisted of wooden houses, still similar to huts. A characteristic feature of this period in the history of ancient Crimea is the emergence of agriculture and cattle breeding.

This process was called the “Neolithic revolution”. Since then, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and cattle have become domesticated animals. In addition, the ancestors of modern man gradually learned to sculpt pottery. It was rough, but it made it possible to fulfill basic economic needs. Already at the end of the Neolithic, thin-walled pots with ornaments appeared. Barter trade was born.

During the excavations, a burial was found, a real cemetery, where the dead were buried year after year, first sprinkled with red ocher, decorated with beads made of bones, and deer teeth. The study of funeral gifts made it possible to conclude that the patriarchal system was emerging: there were fewer objects in women’s graves. However, the Neolithic Crimean people still worshiped the female deities of the Virgin Huntress and the Goddess of Fertility.

With the advent of the Eneolithic, life in ancient Crimea changed radically - houses with adobe floors and fireplaces appeared. Stone was already used for their construction. Over time, cities grew and fortifications were erected. Wall painting became more common, and three-color geometric designs were found on chests of the time in which ashes were buried. Mysterious vertical steles - menhirs - are a phenomenon of the Crimean Eneolithic, probably a cult place. In Europe this is how they worshiped the Sun.

Where are the archaeological finds representing ancient Crimea stored?

Many archaeological finds of ancient Crimea are preserved in Simferopol in the form of exhibits of the Crimean Republican Museum of Local Lore.

In the Bakhchisarai Historical and Architectural Museum you can see world-famous flint products, molded utensils and tools from the Eneolithic period.

To study the variety of artifacts of ancient Crimea, it is worth visiting the Evpatoria Museum of Local Lore, the Kerch Historical and Archaeological Museum, the museums of Yalta, Feodosia and other settlements of the peninsula.

The history of Crimea from the Paleolithic in the form of numerous tools, various dishes, clothing, weapons, monoliths and other ancient objects is a kind of journey into the world of our ancestors.

Be sure to visit the museums of Crimea!

INLIGHT