Khersones
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Chersonesos is an archeological site in Ukraine on the shore of the Black Sea near Sevastopol. It has also gained nicknames of "the Ukrainian Pompeii" and "Russian Troy".
Tauric Chersonesos, Greek Χερσονασος (Chersones, Khersones, Korsun, Russian: Херсонес) was the Greek settlement founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimean (Taurian) Peninsula. The area of Chersonesos was a Greek colony at the periphery of the ancient Greek culture. Colonists from Heraklea Pontika founded it in the 6th century BCE.
During much of the classical period the town was a democracy ruled by a group of elected archons and a council called the Damiorgi. As time went on the government grew more oligarchic, with power concentrated in the hands of the archons. A form of oath sworn by all the citizens in the 3rd century BCE has survived to the present day.
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History
In the late second century BCE Chersones became a dependency of the Bosporan kingdom. It was subject to Rome from the middle of the first century BCE until the 370's CE, when it was captured by the huns.
It became a Byzantine possession during the early Middle Ages, but Byzantine rule was light; according to Theophanes and others, Chersones was the residence of a Khazar tudun in the late 600's. Chersones was a popular place of exile for those who angered the Roman and later Byzantine governments; among its more famous "inmates" were Popes Clement I and Martin I, and the deposed Byzantine Emperor Justinian II.
In 838 Emperor Theophilus sent the nobleman Petronas Kamateros, who had recently overseen the construction of the Khazar fortress of Sarkel, to take direct control over the city and its environs. It remained in Byzantine hands until the 980's, when it fell to Kiev. It was there that Vladimir the Great was baptized in 988, paving the way to the Christianization of Kievan Rus. It was returned to Byzantine control at the end of the tenth century CE.
In the 12th century, king Vladimir was baptized here; there is still an Eastern Orthodox church in the middle of the ruin. The site of Chersones was abandoned on the 13th century, probably because of Mongol attacks.
After the Fourth Crusade Chersones became dependent on Empire of Trebizond, and then fell under Genoese control in the early 1300's. In 1399 the town was sacked and destroyed by the armies of the Golden Horde, and was never resettled. The Tatars founded a village called Akhtiar some miles distant, which became the site for the modern city of Sevastopol.
During and after the Cold War, the site was a closed city until 1996.
Archaeological site
Chersones' ancient ruins are presently located in Sevastopol's suburbs.
National Preserve of Tauric Chersones includes a large area. The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture. The defensive wall is hundreds of meters long. Buildings include Roman amphitheatre and a Greek temple.
The largest portion of the site is "Chora", hundreds of hectares of ancient but now barren farmland, with remains of wine presses and defensive towers. According to archaeologists, the evidence suggests that the locals were paid to do the farm work instead of being enslaved.
The excavated tombstones hint at burial practices that were different than the Greek ones. Each stone marks the tomb of an individual, instead of the whole family and the decorations include only objects like sashes and weapons, instead of burial statues. Over half of the tombs archaeologists have found have bones of children. Burned remnants suggest that the city was plundered and destroyed.
Current studies
The Institute of Classical Archaeology of the Texas University and the local Archaeological Park has investigated the site since 1992. Ukrainian government tries to have Chersonesos designated UNESCO World Heritage site. The site is in danger due to urban encroachment and coastal erosion.
External link
- National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, Sevastopol (http://www.chersonesos.org)
- Cherson on Regnal Chronologies (http://www.hostkingdom.net/crimea.html#Cherson)
- Cherson Taurica (http://www.xenophongi.org/crimea/cities/chersonese/cherenc.htm)
