Ancient peoples of Crimea

The most ancient people who inhabited the Black Sea steppes and Crimea and whose name has come down to us are the Cimmerians: they lived here at the turn of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. e. Herodotus, who visited the Northern Black Sea region in the 5th century. BC BC, of ​​course, did not find the Cimmerians, and conveyed information that remained in the memory of the local population, referring to the surviving geographical names - the Cimmerian Bosporus, on the banks of which were the settlements of Cimmeric and Cimmerium, the Cimmerian Walls, etc.1 According to the story of “father history", the Cimmerians, displaced by the Scythians, retired to Asia Minor. However, the remaining part mixed with the winners: in the light of the data of archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, the Cimmerians and Scythians are related peoples, representatives of the North Iranian ethnic group, so it is obviously not by chance that Greek authors sometimes confused or identified them.2 The question of the archaeological culture corresponding to the historical Cimmerians, considered one of the most difficult. Some researchers considered the Tauri to be direct descendants of the Cimmerians. Meanwhile, the accumulating archaeological material led to the identification of a special culture, called Kizilkobinskaya after the place of the first finds in the area of ​​​​the Red Caves - Kizil-Koba. Its bearers lived in the same place as the Tauri - in the foothills, at the same time - from the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. to III-II centuries. BC e., were engaged in agriculture and transhumance. However, there were significant differences in culture - for example, among the Kizilkobins, ceramics are decorated with geometric patterns, while among the Taurians it is usually absent; The funeral rite was also different - the first buried the dead in small mounds, in catacomb-type graves, in an extended position on the back, with the head usually to the west; the second - in stone boxes, sprinkled with earth, in a crouched position on the side, with the head usually to the east. Today the Kizilkobins and the Taurians are considered as two different people, who lived during the 1st millennium BC. e. in the mountainous part of Crimea.

Whose descendants are they? Obviously, the roots of both cultures go back to the Bronze Age. A comparison of ceramics and funeral rites suggests that most likely the Kizilkobin culture dates back to the so-called late Catacomb culture, the carriers of which many researchers consider the Cimmerians.3

As for the Taurians, their most likely predecessors can be considered the bearers of the Kemiobin culture (named after the Kemi-Oba mound near Belogorsk, excavated by A.A. Shchepinsky, from which its study began), widespread in the foothills and mountains of Crimea in the second half of the 3rd - first half of the 2nd millennium BC e. It was the Kemiobians who erected the first mounds in the Crimean steppes and foothills, surrounded by stone fences at the base and once crowned with anthropomorphic steles. These large stone slabs, hewn in the form of a human figure, where the head, shoulders, and belt are highlighted, represented the first attempt to create an image of a person in the monumental art of the Black Sea region at the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. A true masterpiece among them is the one and a half meter diorite stele from Kazanki, found near Bakhchisarai.4

The problem of the origin of anthropomorphic steles, found not only in the Black Sea region, but also in the south of France, is directly related to the spread of megalithic structures - stone fences, stone boxes, pillar-shaped menhirs. Noting their great similarity with the monuments of the northwestern Caucasus, researchers prefer to talk not about the influence of the latter, but about a single culture widespread in the Bronze Age from Abkhazia in the east to the Crimean Mountains in the west. Much brings the Kemiobin culture closer to the later Taurus culture. The Taurus - the true heirs of the megalithic tradition - reproduced its structures, albeit on a somewhat reduced scale.5

Notes

1. Herodotus. History in 6 books / Trans. and comment. G.A. Stratanovsky. - L.: Science, 1972. - Book. IV, 12.

2. Leskov A.M. Mounds: finds, problems. - M... 1981. - p. 105.

3. Shchetsinsky A.A. Red caves. - Simferopol, 1983. - p. 50.

4. Leskov A.M. Decree. op. - With. 25.

5. Shchepinsky A.A. Decree. op. - With. 51.

This historical reconstruction of cultures along the lines of “Late Catacomb culture - Cimmerians - Kizilkobins” and “Kemiobins - Tauris,” according to its author, should not be presented straightforwardly; there is still a lot that is unclear and unexplored.

T.M. Fadeeva

Photos of beautiful places in Crimea

Cimmerians, Tauri, Scythians

Judging by ancient written sources, at the beginning of the Iron Age the Cimmerians lived in the Crimea (information about them is extremely scarce), as well as the Tauri and Scythians, about whom we know a little more. At the same time, the ancient Greeks appeared on the northern shores of the Black Sea. Finally, archaeological sources gave grounds to distinguish the Kizilkoba culture here (Fig. 20). The presence, on the one hand, of written sources, and on the other, of archaeological sources, poses a difficult task for researchers: which group of archaeological materials should be associated with certain tribes mentioned by ancient authors? As a result of comprehensive research, Taurus and Scythian antiquities were clearly identified. The situation is worse with the Cimmerians, who were a legendary, mysterious people already in the time of Herodotus (5th century BC).

The issue with the Kizilkobin residents is also complicated. If this is one of the peoples known to ancient authors, then which one? How can we confidently reconcile the meager, often contradictory evidence of antiquity and the abundant archaeological material? Some researchers see the Kizilkobins as Cimmerians, others as early Taurians, and still others distinguish them as an independent culture. Let’s leave the “Cimmerian version” aside for now and see what were the grounds for equating the Kizilkobins with the Taurians.

It turned out that, along with monuments like Kizil-Koba, in the same years and in the same territory (mountain and foothill Crimea), Taurian burial grounds - “stone boxes” - were studied. A certain similarity was traced between the Taurus and Kizilkobin materials. Based on this, in 1926 G. A. Bonch-Osmolovsky expressed the idea that the Kizilkobin culture belongs to the Tauri. He did not specifically study the Kizilkobin culture, limiting himself to only the most general considerations, but since then the idea has been established among researchers that the Kizilkobin culture should mean the early Taurians. In the post-war period, works appeared that contained data about the Kizilkobin culture and the Taurians, considered issues of periodization, etc., but none of them aimed to fully substantiate the connection between the Kizilkobin people and the Taurians, taking into account new archaeological sources 27, 45.

True, already in the 30-40s, some scientists (V.N. Dyakov 15, 16, S.A. Semenov-Zuser 40) expressed doubts about the legitimacy of such conclusions. In 1962, after new research in the Kizilkobinsky tract (excavations were carried out by A. A. Shchepinsky and O. I. Dombrovsky), in the area of ​​the Simferopol reservoir (A. D. Stolyar, A. A. Shchepinsky and others), near the village Druzhny, in the Tash-Dzhargan tract and near Maryino near Simferopol, in the valley of the Kacha River and other places (A.A. Shchepinsky), the author of this book came to a similar judgment, supported by massive archaeological material. 8, 47. In April 1968, at the session of the History Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the plenum of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the author made a report “On the Kizilkobin culture and Tauris in the Crimea,” in which he substantiated his point of view: the Tauri and Kizilkobins are representatives of different cultures of the Early Iron Age. Excavations in 1969, 1970 and subsequent years showed clearly that the conclusion is correct: the Taurian and Kizilkoba monuments do not belong to different stages of the same culture, but to two independent cultures 48, 49. This forced some researchers who supported the identification of the Taurians with the Kizilkobins to reconsider their positions 23, 24.

New material little by little accumulated, excavations made it possible to clarify something, to doubt something. Therefore, in 1977, the author of this book again returned to the “Kizilkobin theme” and published a detailed argumentation of the positions he had expressed earlier: the Kizilkobins and Taurians are different tribes, although they lived in the same historical era, lived next door, partly even on the same territory 50.

But, of course, much remains controversial and unclear. How to correlate archaeological data, in other words, the remains of material culture, with the information about local Crimean tribes contained in the works of ancient authors? To answer this question, we will try to understand what is remarkable about each of these peoples (Cimmerians, Taurians, Scythians), what the ancient Greeks say about them and what archaeological materials testify to (Fig. 20).

Cimmerians

For the south of the European part of the USSR this is ancient tribes, about which we know from ancient written sources. Information about the Cimmerians is contained in Homer's "Odyssey" (IX - early VIII centuries BC), Assyrian "Cuneiform" (VIII-VII centuries BC), in Herodotus' "History" (V century BC) AD), Strabo (1st century BC - 1st century AD) and other ancient authors. From these reports it follows that the Cimmerians are the most ancient aborigines of the Northern Black Sea region and the Northwestern Caucasus. They lived here even before the arrival of the Scythians. The boundaries of their settlement are the northern shores of the Black Sea and from the mouth of the Danube to Chisinau, Kyiv, Kharkov, Novocherkassk, Krasnodar and Novorossiysk. Later, these tribes appeared in Asia Minor, and by the 6th century. BC e. leaving the historical arena.

According to a number of researchers, the name “Cimmerians” is a collective name. The Cimmerians are associated with many cultures of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages - Catacomb and Timber in the south of Ukraine, Koban in the Caucasus, Kizilkobin and Taurus in the Crimea, Hallstatt in the Danube region and others. Crimea, in particular the Kerch Peninsula, occupies a special place in resolving this issue. It is with him that the most reliable and most frequently encountered information about the Cimmerians is associated: “Cimmerian region”, “Cimmerian Bosporus”, “city of Cimmeric”, “Mount Cimmeric”, etc.

Material culture The Cimmerians are characterized by archaeological sites of two main types - burials and settlements. Burials, as a rule, took place under small mounds in ground, often undercut, graves. The burial ceremony is on the back in an extended position or with the legs slightly bent at the knees. Settlements consisting of above-ground stone buildings for residential and commercial purposes were located on elevated areas near springs fresh water. Household utensils are represented mainly by molded vessels - bowls, bowls, pots, etc.

Large flat-bottomed vessels for storing food with a high narrow neck, convex sides and a black or brownish-gray polished surface are distinguished. The decoration of the vessels is characterized by a low relief ridge or a simple carved geometric pattern. During excavations, bone and small bronze objects are found - awls, piercings, jewelry, as well as occasionally iron objects - swords, knives, arrowheads. In Crimea, monuments of the Cimmerian period are known on the Kerch Peninsula, in the Sivash region, on Tarkhankut and in the foothills area. In the area of ​​the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains, including on the Yailas and the South Coast, there are characteristic Cimmerian monuments of the 10th-8th centuries. BC e. not detected. Apparently, this is explained by the fact that at that time other tribes lived here - the Taurians.

Taurus

Regarding this people, the earliest and most complete information is provided by the “father of history” Herodotus. He visited the northern shores of the Black Sea, including Taurida, 60-70 years after the Persian king Darius I came here, so one can rely on his testimony about that time. From Herodotus’ message it follows: when Darius I went to war against the Scythians, the latter, seeing that they alone could not cope with the enemies, turned to neighboring tribes, including the Tauri, for help. The Taurus replied: “If you had not previously offended the Persians and started a war with them, then we would have considered your request correct and would have willingly helped you. However, without our help you invaded the land of the Persians and owned it as long as the deity allowed it. Now this same deity is on their side, and the Persians want to take revenge on you in the same way. Even then we did not offend these people in any way and now we will not be the first to be at enmity with them.”

Who were the Taurians and where did they live?

Herodotus draws the southern border of their country near the city of Kerkinitis (now Evpatoria). “From here,” he writes, “comes a mountainous country, lying along the same sea. It extends into Pontus and is inhabited by tribes of the Taurians up to the so-called Rocky Chersonesos.” Strabo, who lived in the 1st century, had the same localization of the Taurus possessions. BC BC: the Taurus coast stretches from the Bay of Symbols (Balaklava) to Feodosia. Thus, according to ancient sources, the Tauri are the inhabitants of the mountainous Crimea and the Southern Coast.

The most striking monuments of the Tauri are their burial grounds made of stone boxes, usually located on hills. They are often surrounded by cromlechs or rectangular fences. Mound embankments are not typical for them, but bedding or coverings made of stone with earth are well known. Burials (single or collective) were made on the back (earlier) or on the side (later) with legs tightly tucked in, the head usually facing east, north-east, north.

The inventory of Taurus burials is molded ceramics, simple and polished, sometimes with relief ridges, very rarely with simple carved ornaments. During excavations, items made of stone, bone, bronze, and, less commonly, iron are also found (Fig. 19).

Judging by archaeological excavations, supported by written sources, the period of residence of this people is approximately from the 10th to 9th centuries. BC e. to the 3rd century BC e., and possibly later - until the early Middle Ages.

We divide the history of the Tauri into three periods.

Taurus of the early, pre-antique period (end of the 10th - first half of the 5th century BC). This stage of their history is characterized by the disintegration of the tribal system. The basis of the economy was cattle breeding and agriculture (obviously, mainly hoeing). All products received from these sectors of the economy went to the internal needs of society. A comprehensive study of the known Taurus monuments, as well as numerous calculations based on them, give reason to believe that the number of Tauris in this period hardly exceeded 5-6 thousand people.

Taurus of the developed, ancient period (second half of the 5th-3rd centuries BC). At this time there is a transition from tribe to class society. In addition to the widespread introduction of metal (bronze and iron), there was also a significant increase in labor productivity, the establishment of close trade contacts (exchange) with the surrounding peoples - the Scythians and, in particular, the Greeks. Hence the abundance of imported items found during excavations. The basis of the economy of the developed period was the breeding of large and small livestock, and, to a lesser extent, agriculture (obviously because part of the Tauri's possessions suitable for farming were occupied by tribes of the Kizilkoba culture, pressed from the north by the Scythians). The Taurus population at that time was 15-20 thousand people.

The Tauri of the late period (2nd century BC - 5th century AD) have been almost unstudied archaeologically. It is known that in the 1st century. BC e. they, together with the Scythians, become allies of Mithridates in the fight against Rome. The turn and the first centuries of our era, apparently, should be considered as the agony of the Taurus world. Archaeological monuments of this period in the mountainous Crimea can be called Tauro-Scythian, and the population - Tauro-Scythians. After the early medieval invasion of the Goths and then the Huns, the Tauri were no longer known as an independent people.

Scythians

Ancient written sources report about them under this name, but they themselves called themselves Skolots. In the Northern Black Sea region, including Crimea, these warlike nomadic tribes appeared in the 7th century. BC e. Having ousted the Cimmerians, the Scythians first penetrated the Kerch Peninsula and the lowland Crimea, and then into its foothills. In the second half of the 4th century. BC e. they seep into the ancestral Taurus and Kizilkobin lands and, having switched to a sedentary lifestyle, create in the 3rd century. BC e. quite large public education with the capital Naples (now the territory of Simferopol).

Scythian monuments are numerous and varied: fortifications, shelters, settlements, burial structures (initially mounds, later extensive moundless necropolises with ground graves). Burials are characterized by an extended burial ritual. The accompanying inventory of the mounds includes molded unornamented vessels, weapons (bronze, iron or bone arrowheads, short swords - akinaki, spears, knives, scaly shells). Bronze objects and jewelry made in the so-called Scythian “animal style” are often found.

These are the main, leading features of the Cimmerian, Taurian and Scythian tribes who lived in Crimea at the same time as the tribes of the Kizilkobin culture, the existence of which we know from archaeological sources.

Now let's compare the data. Let's start with the Kizilkobins and Taurians, first of all with their dishes, the most typical and widespread equipment of archaeological sites of this time. A comparison (see Fig. 18 and Fig. 19) eloquently suggests that the Kizilkoba dishes are significantly different from the Taurus ones. In the first case, it is often decorated with a typical for this culture ornament of carved or grooved lines combined with indentations; in the second, it is usually not ornamented.

This indisputable archaeological fact seemed unconvincing until the mid-60s. More evidence was needed. In addition, the scientific material was missing very important links. Indeed, the irony of fate: the source of knowledge about the Taurians is burial grounds (no settlements!), and about the Kizilkobins - settlements (no burial grounds!). Excavations over the past fifteen years have largely clarified the picture. It was established, for example, that in the foothills, mountainous Crimea and on the southern coast there are many settlements where molded unornamented ceramics of the 8th-3rd centuries were found. BC e., completely similar to the ceramics from the Taurus stone boxes.

It was possible to resolve another puzzling question - about the Kizilkobin burials. Excavations in the Salgir River valley, first in 1954 in the area of ​​the Simferopol reservoir (under the leadership of P. N. Shultz and A. D. Stolyar), and then in the Simferopol suburbs of Maryino and Ukrainka, in the upper reaches of Maly Salgir, in the middle reaches of the Alma and others places (under the leadership of A.A. Shchepinsky - Ed.) showed that the Kizilkobin people buried their dead in small mounds - earthen or made of small stone. Main and secondary (inlet) graves are known, often they are undercut - with stone side burials. In plan, the grave has an elongated oval shape, sometimes with a slight expansion in the head area. Burials - single or paired - were made in an extended (occasionally slightly flexed) position on the back, with arms along the body. The predominant orientation is Western. Funeral inventory - molded ornamented pots, bowls, cups of the Kizilkobin appearance, bronze arrowheads, iron swords, knives, as well as various decorations, lead spindle whorls, bronze mirrors, etc. Most of this kind of burials belong to the VII-V and IV - beginning III centuries BC e., and their range is quite wide: the mountainous and foothill parts of the peninsula, northern, northwestern and southwestern Crimea, the Kerch Peninsula.

An interesting touch: Kizilkoba ceramics are also found during excavations of the ancient settlements of Nymphaeum, Panticapaeum, Tiritaki, Myrmekia. This is on the Kerch Peninsula. The same picture is at the opposite end of Crimea - on the Tarkhankut Peninsula: Kizilkobin ceramics were discovered during excavations of the ancient settlements "Chaika", Kerkinitida, Chegoltai (Masliny), near the village of Chernomorskoye, near the villages of Severnoye and Popovka.

What are the conclusions from all this? Firstly, the geometric ornament of ceramics - the most expressive sign of the Kizilkobin culture - is clearly not Taurian. Secondly, in Crimea there are burials made in the “Taurian time”, which, in all leading features (type of structure, grave design, funeral rite, orientation of the buried, ceramics) differ from burials in Taurian stone boxes. Thirdly, the distribution area of ​​settlements and burials goes far beyond the boundaries of the original Taurica - the possessions of the Tauri. And, finally, in the same area where Taurus stone boxes were discovered, settlements with ceramics similar to Taurus in appearance are now known.

In a word, all the arguments and conclusions can be reduced to one thing: the Kizilkobins and Taurians are not the same thing, and there is no reason to bring them closer (let alone put an equal sign between them).

The hypothesis that the burials under the burial mounds with Kizilkobin ceramics belong to the early Scythians also does not find confirmation. In Crimea, the earliest Scythian burials appear, judging by excavations, at the end of the 7th century. BC e. on the Kerch Peninsula, and in the foothills of Crimea - only two or three centuries later. Their inventory is also specific, primarily items in the “animal style” characteristic of the Scythians. Back in 1954, archaeologist T. N. Troitskaya perspicaciously noted that in the early Scythian times “in the territory of the foothill, mountain and, probably, steppe parts of Crimea, the main population were local tribes, bearers of the Kizilkobin culture.”

So, in the Early Iron Age (V-III centuries BC) three main cultures were widespread in Crimea - Taurus, Kizilkobin and Scythian (Fig. 21). Each of them has its own distinct cultural and historical characteristics, its own type of settlements, burials, ceramics, etc.

The question of the origin and formation of the Taurus and Kizilkoba cultures also deserves attention. Some researchers believe that the basis of the Taurus culture is the culture of the Late Bronze Age of the Central and Northern Caucasus, in particular, the so-called Koban; According to others, the Tauri culture has one of its material sources in the Bronze Age stone boxes under the mounds, which are now commonly associated with the Kemiobin culture. One way or another, the roots of the Taurus, as well as the Kizilkobin, come from the depths of the Bronze Age. But if in the Kemiobins one can see the ancestors of the Taurians, who were pushed aside by steppe newcomers into the mountainous regions of the Crimea, then the Kizilkobins most likely descend from the bearers of the late Catacomb culture (named after the type of burial - catacombs). In the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. these tribes begin to penetrate into the foothills and mountains of Crimea and the southern coast; it is in them that many researchers see the most ancient Cimmerians.

Both researchers and readers always strive to get to the bottom of the primary sources: what happened before? and how is this confirmed? Therefore, we will tell you in more detail about the problem of ethnogenesis, i.e., the origin of tribes, revealing all the difficulties that stand in the way of the truth.

The reader already knows: the distant ancestors of the Taurians are most likely the Kemiobins, pushed back by steppe newcomers to the mountainous regions of Crimea. The proof is the signs common to both cultures, Kemiobin and Taurus. Let's call these signs:

megalithic tradition, in other words - the presence of massive stone structures (cromlechs, fences, menhirs, deposits, “stone boxes”);

design of burial structures: “stone boxes”, often trapezoidal in longitudinal and transverse section, pebble backing, etc.;

burial rite: on the back or side with legs bent at the knees;

orientation of the buried person according to the cardinal directions: eastern or northeastern predominates;

collective, apparently ancestral tombs and corpse burnings;

character of the ceramics: molded, polished, unornamented, sometimes with relief ridges (Fig. 22).

Who were the steppe aliens who pushed the Kemiobins into the mountains? Most likely, tribes of the Catacomb culture. However, we must keep in mind that this culture is far from homogeneous. According to the burial ritual and grave goods, three types of burials are clearly distinguished: on the back with the legs bent at the knees, on the back in an extended position, and on the side in a strongly bent position. All of them were committed under the mounds, in the so-called catacombs. Burials of the first type with bent legs are accompanied by unornamented or weakly ornamented vessels, of the second - elongated type - on the contrary, richly ornamented, and of the third - crooked type - with coarse vessels or completely devoid of grave goods.

Catacomb elements are most clearly preserved in elongated burials, which can be traced to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In them, obviously, one should see the proto-Cimmerians - the ancestors of the Kizilkobins.

The fact that the late Catacomb tribes took the most active part in the formation of the Kizilkobin tribes can be judged by the following features common to the Catacombs and Kizilkobins:

the presence of mounds and burial grounds;

the design of grave-catacombs among the catacombs and under-catacombs among the Kizilkobins;

burial ceremony in an extended position on the back;

similar forms of molded vessels;

the presence of ceramics with a similar ornamental motif;

similarity of tools - diamond-shaped stone hammers (Fig. 23).

There is one flaw in this historical reconstruction: between the Kemiobins and Tauris, on the one hand, and the tribes of the Catacomb and Kizilkobin cultures, on the other, there is a time gap of approximately 300-500 years. Of course, there can be no breaks or interruptions in history; there is insufficient knowledge here.

Considering the “silent period” (this is the second half of the 2nd millennium BC), it is permissible to assume that the age of the latest Kemiobin and catacomb monuments is somewhat older by archaeologists, while individual Taurus and Kizilkobin monuments, on the contrary, are rejuvenated. Special studies have shown that those materials that archaeologically date back to the 9th-6th centuries. BC e., according to the radiocarbon method, are determined as XII-VIII centuries. BC e., i.e. 200-300 years older. It should also be taken into account that it was in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In the mounds of the Crimea, as well as throughout the south of Ukraine, small stone boxes appear, similar in design and inventory, on the one hand, to the Kemiobin, and on the other, to the Early Taurian. It is possible that they fill the missing link.

Finally, several archaeological cultures are associated with the same “silent period” in Crimea - the so-called multi-roller ceramics (1600-1400 BC), early Timber (1500-1400 BC) and late Timber, in the materials of which highlight monuments of the Sabatinovsky (1400-1150 BC) and Belozersky (1150-900 BC) types. In our opinion, the most convincing point of view is that of those researchers who believe that the Sabatinovskaya culture is formed on the basis of the culture of multi-roll ceramics and that its bearers were part of the Cimmerian tribal union.

It is difficult to speak about that distant time with complete confidence: it was like this or that. I have to add: perhaps, apparently. In any case, the formation and development of the Kizilkobin and Taurus cultures went (apparently!) in two parallel paths. One of them presumably ran along the line “Kemiobins - Tauris”, the other along the line “Late Catacomb culture - Cimmerians - Kizilkobins”.

As the reader already knows, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. The Cimmerians inhabited the lowland Crimea and, mainly, the Kerch Peninsula. The Tauri lived in the foothills, mountains and on the southern coast at that time. However, in the 7th century. BC e. The situation changed - Scythian nomads appeared in the Crimean steppes, and in the southern and mountainous parts of the peninsula the number of Kizilkobins increased. These are the archaeological data. They are quite consistent with the legend conveyed by Herodotus: “The nomadic tribes of the Scythians lived in Asia. When the Massagetae (also nomads - Ed.) drove them out of there by military force, the Scythians crossed the Araks and arrived in the Cimmerian land (the country now inhabited by the Scythians, as they say , since ancient times belonged to the Cimmerians). With the approach of the Scythians, the Cimmerians began to hold a council on what to do in the face of a large enemy army. Opinions were divided - the people were in favor of retreat, but the kings considered it necessary to defend the land from the invaders. Having made such a decision (or rather, two opposing decisions. - Ed.), the Cimmerians divided into two equal parts and began to fight among themselves. The Cimmerian people buried all those who died in the fratricidal war near the Tyrsus River. After this, the Cimmerians left their land, and the Scythians who came took possession of the deserted country."

It is quite possible that part of these Cimmerians who “left their land” moved to the mountainous Crimea and settled among the Taurus tribes, laying the foundation for a culture that we call conventionally “Kizilkobin”. Perhaps it was precisely this migration of the later Cimmerians that was reflected in Strabo, in his message that in the mountainous country of the Tauri there is Mount Stolovaya and Mount Cimmeric. Be that as it may, there is a point of view shared by many researchers: the Kizilkobins are the late Cimmerians. Or, according to another assumption (in our opinion, more correct), the Kizilkobins are one of the local groups of the late Cimmerians.

It would seem that we can put an end to this. But it's too early. As academician B. A. Rybakov noted back in 1952: “Not a single historical phenomenon in Crimea can be considered in isolation, without connection with the fate of not only the Northern Black Sea region, but also the whole of Eastern Europe. The history of Crimea is an integral and important part of the history of Eastern Europe.” Europe" 37, 33.

Traces of the Kizilkobin tribes are not limited to Crimea either. Research has shown that similar monuments, but with their own local features, are also known outside of Crimea. Typical Kizilkobin ceramics on the territory of mainland Ukraine were discovered in the oldest layer of Olbia, on the island of Berezan, near the village of Bolshaya Chernomorka, Nikolaev region, at the Scythian settlement of Kamensky in the Lower Dnieper region.

Burials of the Kizilkoba type are also known here. One of them was discovered in a mound near the village of Chaplinka in the south of the Kherson region, the other - in a mound near the village of Pervokonstantinovka in the same region. Of particular interest is the fact that in the North-Western Black Sea region there are burials of the 8th - early 7th centuries. BC e. (and there are quite a lot of them), similar to those in Kizilkobin: catacombs and ground graves, burials in an elongated position with a predominant western orientation, ceramics with carved geometric patterns.

Cimmerian burials in catacombs and underground burial structures, completely similar to those in Kizilkobin, are now known in the vast territory of the south of our country - in Odessa, Nikolaev, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Volgograd regions, in the Stavropol Territory, as well as in the Astrakhan and Saratov regions. The territory of distribution of monuments of this kind coincides with the area of ​​distribution of the Catacomb culture. There are numerous analogues of Kizilkoba ceramics in the North Caucasus. These are finds from the upper layer of the Alkhastinsky settlement in the Assinsky gorge, from the Aivazovsky settlement on the Sushka River, and especially from the Zmeiny settlement. Similar ceramics are found in North Caucasian burial grounds. Consequently, as P.N. Shultz wrote in 1952, the Kizilkobin culture does not represent an isolated phenomenon; it has close analogues in a number of elements both in the North Caucasus and in the south of mainland Ukraine (Fig. 24).

It should not be confusing that in certain manifestations of the Kizilkoba culture there are Early Scythian or Taurian elements, or, on the contrary, in the latter - Kizilkoba. This is explained by the surrounding historical situation, in which contacts with the tribes of neighboring cultures are inevitable - the Scythians, Sauromatians, Taurians, and Greeks. One can name a number of cases when the Kizilkobin and Taurus monuments are located in close proximity to each other. There are several such monuments in the area of ​​the Red Caves, including a large settlement in the Zolotoe Yarmo tract on Dolgorukovskaya Yaila. Here, in a small area in one layer (thickness 15 cm), archaeological materials of the Neolithic, Taurus and Kizilkoba appearance lie; Here nearby are the “stone boxes” of the Taurians and the Kizilkobin burial ground. Such saturation of this section of the yayla with monuments of the Early Iron Age leaves no doubt that at a certain stage the Kizilkobin and Taurus tribes coexisted.

A complex archaeological complex of the Early Iron Age was discovered in 1950 and explored by us in the Tash-Dzhargan tract near Simferopol. And again the same picture - the Taurus and Kizilkobin settlements are nearby. Adjacent to the first of them is a burial ground of Taurus “stone boxes”, near the second there was once a burial ground of small mounds, the burials under them were accompanied by Kizilkobin ceramics.

Close proximity can easily explain the case when individual elements typical of the Kizilkobin culture are found on Taurus monuments, and vice versa. This may also indicate something else - peaceful relations between the tribes.

Outside the Northern Black Sea region, the Sauromats of the Don and Trans-Volga regions are closest to the Kizilkobins: a similar grave design, the same western orientation of the buried, a similar type of pottery ornament. Most likely, there are some connections between the Sauromatians and the Cimmerians.

Material from the Red Caves and numerous analogues outside them confirm the opinion of those researchers who consider the Cimmerians as a complex phenomenon - a kind of conglomerate of many local pre-Scythian tribes. Obviously, at the dawn of the Early Iron Age, these tribes - the aborigines of the Northern Black Sea region - formed a single Cimmerian cultural and historical region.

In the conditions of the Crimean Peninsula, with its certain geographical isolation, the Cimmerians preserved their traditions longer than in other areas of the Northern Black Sea region. True, in different parts of Crimea their fate turned out differently. In the steppe regions, the remnants of the disunited Cimmerian tribes (i.e., the Kizilkobins) were forced to enter into close contacts with the Scythians and ancient Greek settlers. They soon assimilated into their environment, which is confirmed by materials from the ancient settlements of Tarkhankut and the Kerch Peninsula.

The late Cimmerian (Kizilkobin) tribes of the mountainous Crimea had a different fate. The Scythians, these typical steppe dwellers, were not attracted to mountainous areas. The Greeks did not want to come here either. The bulk of the population consisted of aboriginal Taurus tribes and, to a much lesser extent, Cimmerian tribes. Consequently, when the flat part of Crimea began to be occupied by the nomadic Scythians, the Cimmerians (aka Kizilkobins) who retreated under their onslaught found favorable soil here in the mountains. Although these tribes came into close contact with the Tauri, they nevertheless retained their traditions and, obviously, a certain independence for a long time.

Ancient peoples in Crimea - Cimmerians, Taurians and Scythians

29.02.2012

CIMMERIANS
Cimmerian the tribes occupied the lands from the Dniester to the Don, part of the northern Crimea, the Taman and Kerch peninsulas. The city of Cimmeric was located on the Kerch Peninsula. These tribes were engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture; tools and weapons were made of bronze and iron. The Cimmerian kings with military detachments carried out military campaigns against neighboring camps. They captured prisoners for slavery.

In the 7th century BC. Cimmeria collapsed under the onslaught of the more powerful and numerous Scythians. Some Cimmerians went to other lands and dissolved among the peoples of Asia Minor and Persia, some became related to the Scythians and remained in Crimea. There is no clear idea of ​​the origin of these people, but based on studies of the language of the Cimmerians, their Indo-Iranian origin is assumed.

BRANDS
Name brands given to the people by the Greeks, presumably in connection with a sacrifice to the Virgin, the supreme goddess of the ancient Crimean settlement. The foot of the main altar of the Virgin, located on Cape Fiolent, was framed by the blood of not only bulls (Taurs), but also people, as ancient authors write: “The Taurians are a numerous people and love a nomadic life in the mountains. In their cruelty they are barbarians and murderers, appeasing their gods with dishonest deeds.”
Tauris were the first in Crimea to sculpt human sculptures, monumental works art. These figures were erected on the tops of mounds, surrounded at the base by stone fences.

The Taurus lived in tribes, which later probably united into tribal unions. They were engaged in shepherding, farming and hunting, and the coastal Tauri were also engaged in fishing and sailing. Sometimes they attacked foreign ships - most often Greek. The Tauri did not have slavery, so they killed captives or used them for sacrifice. They were familiar with crafts: pottery, weaving, spinning, bronze casting, making products from bone and stone.
Possessing all the advantages of local residents accustomed to Crimean conditions, the Tauri often made daring forays, attacking the grisons of new fortresses. This is how Ovid describes the everyday life of one of these fortresses: “The sentry from the watchtower will give an alarm signal, we immediately put on our armor with a trembling hand. A fierce enemy, armed with a bow and poison-filled arrows, inspects the walls on a heavily breathing horse and, like a predatory wolf carries and drags through pastures and forests a sheep that has not yet made it into the sheepfold, so a hostile barbarian captures anyone he finds in the fields who has not yet been accepted by the fence gate He is either taken prisoner with a block on his neck, or dies from a poisonous arrow.” And it was not for nothing that the entire chain of Roman defense was facing the mountains - danger threatened from there.
They often fought with their northern neighbor - the Scythians, developing a unique tactic: the Tauri, when starting a war, always dug up roads in the rear and, having made them impassable, entered into battle. They did this so that, not being able to escape, they had to either win or die. The Tauri buried those who died in the field in stone boxes made of slabs weighing several tons.

SCYTHIANS

To Crimea Scythians penetrated approximately in the 7th century. BC. These were people of 30 tribes who spoke seven dissimilar languages.

Studies of coins with images of Scythians and other objects of that time show that they had thick hair, open, erect eyes, a high forehead, and a narrow and straight nose.
The Scythians quickly appreciated the fertile climate and fertile soil of the peninsula. They developed almost the entire territory of Crimea, except for the waterless steppes, for agriculture and pastoralism. The Scythians raised sheep, pigs, bees, and remained attached to cattle breeding. In addition, the Scythians traded in their grain, wool, honey, wax, and flax.
Oddly enough, the former nomads mastered navigation so skillfully that in that era the Black Sea was called the Scythian Sea.
They brought overseas wines, fabrics, jewelry and other art objects from other countries. The Scythian population was divided into farmers, warriors, merchants, sailors and artisans of various specialties: potters, stonemasons, builders, tanners, foundry workers, blacksmiths, etc.
A unique monument was made - a bronze cauldron, the thickness of which was 6 fingers, and the capacity was 600 amphorae (about 24 thousand liters).
The capital of the Scythians in Crimea was Naples(Greek: “new city”). The Scythian name of the city has not been preserved. The walls of Naples at that time reached an enormous thickness - 8-12 meters - and the same height.
Scythia did not know priests - only fortunetellers who did without temples. The Scythians deified the Sun, Moon, stars, natural phenomena - rain, thunder, lightning, and held holidays in honor of the earth and livestock. On high mounds they erected tall statues - “women” as monuments to all their ancestors.

The Scythian state collapsed in the 3rd century. BC. under the blows of another warlike people - the Sarmatians.

Population. Ethnic history of Crimea

The population of Crimea, including Sevastopol, is about 2 million 500 thousand people. This is quite a lot, its density exceeds the average, for example, for the Baltic republics by 1.5 - 2 times. But if you consider that in August there are up to 2 million visitors on the peninsula at the same time, that is, the population as a whole doubles and in some areas of the coast reaches the density of the most populated areas of Japan - over 1 thousand people per square kilometer.

Now the majority of the population consists of Russians, then Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars (their number and share in the population are growing rapidly), a significant proportion of Belarusians, Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Germans, Bulgarians, Gypsies, Poles, Czechs, Italians. The small peoples of Crimea - the Karaites and Krymchaks - are small in number, but still noticeable in culture.

Tongue interethnic communication continues to be Russian.

The ethnic history of Crimea is very complex and dramatic. One thing can be said with confidence: the national composition of the peninsula has never been monotonous, especially in its mountainous and coastal areas.

Speaking about the population of the Tauride Mountains, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder noted in the 2nd century BC that 30 peoples live there. Mountains and islands often serve as a refuge for relict peoples, once great, and then left the historical arena for a peaceful and measured life. This was the case with the warlike Goths, who conquered almost all of Europe and then disappeared into its vastness at the beginning of the Middle Ages. And in Crimea, Gothic settlements remained until the 15th century.

The last reminder of them is the village of Kok-Kozy, that is, Blue Eyes (now the village of Sokolinoe).

The Karaites live in Crimea - a small people with an original and colorful history. You can get acquainted with it in the “cave city” of Chufut-Kale (which means Jewish fortress, Karaimism is one of the branches of Judaism). The Karaite language belongs to the Kipchak subgroup of Turkic languages, but the way of life of the Karaites is close to the Jewish one. In addition to our region, Karaites live in Lithuania, these are the descendants of the personal guard of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes, as well as in western Ukraine. The historical peoples of Crimea include the Krymchaks. This people was subjected to genocide during the years of occupation.

The first Russian communities began to appear in Sudak, Feodosia and Kerch in the Middle Ages. These were merchants and artisans.

The earlier (in the 9th and 10th centuries) appearance of the squads of the Novgorod prince Bravlin and the Kyiv prince Vladimir was associated with military campaigns.

The massive resettlement of serfs from Central Russia began in 1783 - after the annexation of Crimea to the empire. Disabled soldiers and Cossacks received land for free settlement. Construction of the railway at the end of the 19th century. and the development of industry also caused an influx of Russian population.

In Soviet times, retired officers and people who worked in the North had the right to settle in Crimea, so in Crimean cities, as already noted, there are a lot of pensioners (of course, not only Russians). After the collapse of the USSR, Russians in Crimea not only did not lose interest in their original culture, but, like other peoples inhabiting the peninsula, they created their own society - the Russian cultural community, and in every possible way maintain contact with their original historical homeland - Russia, incl. . and through the established Moscow-Crimea Foundation. The Foundation is located in Simferopol on the street. Frunze, 8. Exhibitions, meetings with compatriots, celebrations of dates that unite peoples - are far from full list

events held within the walls of a well-equipped building. The Foundation's cell, the Russian Cultural Center, helps strengthen cultural ties between Crimea and Russia. “Pancake Week” – Maslenitsa – is widely celebrated in Crimea. Truly a celebration of Slavic cuisine - here are Russian and Belarusian pancakes, and Ukrainian mlintsi - with sour cream, honey, jam and even... with caviar. Interest in Orthodoxy has revived, and churches are now both elegant and crowded. It’s just a pity that there are no Russian restaurants where the style is consistent in everything, and you simply won’t find a Russian oven.

Germans, including immigrants from Switzerland, settled in Crimea under Catherine II and were mainly engaged in agriculture. The building of the Lutheran church and its school in Simferopol (Karl Liebknecht St., 16), built with private donations, has been preserved. IN Soviet time

German colonists formed several collective farms, which were famous for their high culture of agriculture and especially animal husbandry; German sausages had no equal in the Crimean markets. In August 1941, the Germans were evicted to Northern Kazakhstan, and their villages in Crimea were never rebuilt.

The Bulgarians settled on the peninsula, like the Greeks, from the islands of the Aegean Sea, fleeing the Turkish yoke during the wars of the last quarter of the 18th century. It was the Bulgarians who brought the Kazanlak rose to the peninsula, and now our Crimea is the world's leading producer of rose oil.

Poles and Lithuanians ended up in Crimea after the defeat of the national liberation uprisings of the 18th - 19th centuries. like exiles. Now there are about 7 thousand Poles, including descendants and later settlers.

A huge role in the history of Crimea was played by the Greeks, who appeared here in ancient times and founded colonies on the Kerch Peninsula, in the South-Western Crimea, in the Evpatoria region. The size of the Greek population on the peninsula changed in different eras. In 1897 there were 17 thousand people, and in 1939 - 20.6 thousand. Armenians have a long history in Crimea. In the Middle Ages, they, together with the Greeks of Asia Minor, who also left their homeland under the onslaught of the Turks, constituted the main population of the South-Western Crimea, as well as cities in the Eastern Crimea. However, their descendants are now settled in the Azov region. In 1771, 31 thousand Christians (Greeks, Armenians and others) accompanied by Russian troops left the Crimean Khanate and founded new cities and villages on the northern shore of the Sea of ​​Azov. This is the city of Mariupol, the city of Nakhichevan-on-Don (part of Rostov). Monuments of Armenian architecture - the Surb-Khach monastery in the Old Crimea region, the church in Yalta and others can be visited with a tour or on your own. Armenian stone-cutting art has had noticeable influence

and on the architecture of mosques, mausoleums, palaces of the Crimean Khanate. After the annexation of our region to Russia, Armenians lived mostly in Eastern Crimea; The region of Feodosia and Old Crimea is called Crimean Armenia. By the way, famous artist

It is curious that the Crimean Armenians adopted Christianity from the Italians and therefore were Catholics, and their colloquial differed little from the Crimean Tatar. Naturally, mixed marriages have never been rare, and most native Crimeans are related to half the world.

There, in the Eastern Crimea, in Sudak, Feodosia and Kerch, even before the revolution, curious fragments of the Middle Ages were preserved - communities of the Crimean "wife-breeders" (Genoese), descendants of those same sailors, merchants and soldiers of Italian Genoa who once dominated the Mediterranean, Black and Seas of Azov and left the towers in Feodosia.

You can also see these ruins; it’s all so romantic, picturesque, inaccessible, and most importantly - authentic that there are no words. You just need to go and climb around, feel this fortress with your hands and feet.

You can often see Koreans in the markets of Crimea.

They are good farmers, hardworking and lucky. They have only recently been in Crimea, literally for the last 30 years, but the Crimean land responds to their work with rich gifts.

There are more and more fruits in the markets grown by the Crimean Tatars, reviving the glory of gardeners, market gardeners and shepherds of the peninsula. The Crimean Tatars as an ethnic community were formed on the basis of the gradual merger of a number of ancient tribes of Taurica and several waves of steppe nomadic peoples (Khazars, Pechenegs, Kipchak priests and others). This process, in essence, has not even been completed yet: there are differences in the language, appearance and way of life of the southern coastal, mountain and steppe Tatars. Cordiality and simplicity

Crimean Tatars

The Crimean gypsies, who called themselves "urmachel", lived settledly among the indigenous population of Crimea for many centuries and even converted to Islam. Some of their caste groups were engaged in jewelry craft, weaving baskets and were garden workers (according to L.P. Simirenko, they were not inferior to the best Tatar ones). A not entirely sedentary group of gypsies, the ayuvcilar (bug-catchers), were engaged in fortune-telling, bear training, and petty trade. But the music for a long time

In Islamic Crimea, only gypsies practiced it, although they adapted it to local tastes. It was from the music of the Crimean gypsies in the 30s of our century that modern Crimean Tatar music “emerged”. In 1944, indigenous gypsies were deported from Crimea along with other peoples. It is believed that in a foreign land they became ethnically close to the Crimean Tatars and are now inseparable from them. However, at train stations and bazaars, gypsies are conspicuous (almost literally). But this is a modern, post-war wave of settled life. The city of Dzhankoy is even shown in many atlases of the world as a center of gypsies: a large railway junction, gullible holidaymakers heading south, and finally, the gentle Crimean sun makes it possible to preserve the traditional values ​​of camp life.

In addition to guessing “will there be an earthquake?” and “who will you love at the resort?”, petty trade with “profit” and currency exchange with elements of transformation of banknotes into

colored paper

, the gypsies also do ordinary work: they build houses, work in enterprises in Dzhankoy and other cities.

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. Second, the Cimmerians appeared as a result of a gradual historical development 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 Chornolists 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 settlement 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. Archaeological finds 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 is associated ancient history Ukraine.

2. Taurus

Almost simultaneously with the Cimmerians, people lived in the southern part of Crimea indigenous people- Tauri (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 Chersonesus, which was seizing their lands.

modern ruins of Chersonesus

The further fate of the Taurians 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 Taurians 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).

Scythian state - the first political unification 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 special honor among the seven gods; 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 economic resources 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 ritual 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. 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 given the opportunity 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.

Alluring, mysterious, warm Crimea is a place to which you want to return again and again. Unlike guests of the peninsula, local residents are already accustomed to the azure sea and majestic mountains that surround them every day. The picturesque landscapes constantly attracted more and more new residents. This led to the fact that the population of Crimea tripled over ninety years. A variety of ethnic groups live here. The local population is represented by Crimean Tatars, Poles, Russians, Jews, Greeks, Crimeans and others.

Population of Crimea

As of January 1, 2017, the permanent population of Crimea is 2,340,778 people. Of these, 1,912,079 residents live in the Republic of Crimea and 428,699 in Sevastopol. The large population of Crimea allowed the republic to take twenty-seventh place in the ranking of subjects Russian Federation. According to 1926 data, only 713,823 people lived in the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol.

Ninety years of active migration of people from Ukraine, India, Israel, Uzbekistan and other countries have led to a colossal increase in the number of residents of the republic. The population of Crimea by year shows that it was maximally populated in 1989. Then its number was 2,458,655 people.

The population of Crimea has had very serious ups and downs over the years. Thus, in connection with the Great Patriotic War, the number of residents of the republic was halved. In 1939, 1,126,429 people lived here, and six years later, in 1945, there were only 610,000 inhabitants.

Ethnic composition

The dynamically growing population of Crimea throughout history has a continuous connection with the arrival of new ethnic groups in the republic. The ethnic history of Crimea is many times richer than the Soviet or any other. Four thousand years of existence of the peninsula made it a haven for the Cimmerians, Scythians, Greeks, Karaites, Pechenegs, Venetians and others. Initially, the main population of the Republic of Crimea consisted of Crimean Tatars.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century they were supplanted by the Russians, who took first place, and the Ukrainians, who gained a foothold in second position. During World War II, the peninsula was occupied by the Germans for some time, and as a result, this period was characterized by a decrease in the number of Jews. After the Second World War, Armenians, Greeks and Bulgarians suddenly moved to Crimea.

Population of Crimean cities by ethnic composition

• Armenians - Sevastopol, Yalta, Simferopol, Evpatoria, Feodosia.
• Bulgarians - Simferopol, Koktebel.
• Eastern Slavs - Kerch, Evpatoria, Simferopol, Feodosia, Yalta, Alushta.
• Greeks - Simferopol, Kerch, Yalta.
• Jews - Simferopol, Sevastopol, Kerch, Yalta, Feodosia, Evpatoria.
• Karaites - Old Crimea, Feodosia, Evpatoria.
• Krymchaks - Karasubazar and Simferopol, Feodosia, Sevastopol, Kerch.

In Simferopol (Crimea), the population included almost all nationalities existing in the republic.

Crimean Greeks

Greek settlers settled on the Crimean peninsula twenty-seven centuries ago. The population belonging to this ethnic group was divided into Crimean Greeks and Greeks who arrived from Greece at the end of the eighteenth century.

The first Greek colonies were created in the format of the Bosporus State and the Chersonese Republic. Modern Crimean Greeks are descendants of the Greek battalion, which participated in the Crimean War and remained on the orders of Potemkin to guard Crimea. This type of population settled in Balaklava and other villages nearby. Within the framework of the ethnographic history of the republic, the formed nationality is called Arnauts or Balaklava Greeks.

Approximately thirteen thousand Greeks migrated to Crimea during World War II from Turkey through the Caucasus. The reason for their flight was the genocide unleashed by fanatical Muslims. The bulk of the Greeks who came to Crimea were uneducated and had social status no higher than a craftsman or merchant. Having settled in the new territory, the Crimean Greeks began to engage in gardening, fishing, trade, and they also successfully grew grapes and tobacco. The Crimean Greeks are still considered one of the most numerous ethnic groups of the peninsula, as their number is seventy-seven thousand people.

Crimean Armenians

Armenians became full-fledged residents of Crimea a thousand years ago. It is repeatedly mentioned in history that the most original and, of course, very important center of Armenian culture is Crimea. The population of the Armenian ethnic group appeared here along with a certain Vardan. In seven hundred and eleven, this Armenian was declared emperor of Byzantium when he was in the territory of Crimea. The peak of settlement of the peninsula by Armenians occurred at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Crimea during this period was called “maritime Armenia”. The areas of activity of Crimean Armenians are: trade, construction, financial activities.

The sharp decline in the number of the Armenian ethnic group in Crimea dates back to 1475. The reason for the change in the population structure was the Turks who came to power. They destroyed Armenians and took them into slavery. A new wave of growth in the Armenian population occurred in the eighteenth century, when they were given official permission to return to Crimea. Population Armenian origin has thinned out greatly over the years Civil War. If during October revolution There were seventeen thousand Armenians in Crimea, but by the end of the twentieth there were only five thousand left.

Karaites

Karaites descended from the Turkic people. The only thing that distinguishes them from their progenitor is their religion - Judaism. The Karaites are mentioned for the first time in historical chronicles in 1278. But, despite this fact, there is an opinion that they settled on the peninsula several centuries earlier. Throughout its existence, the Karaite ethnic group never stood out among local residents. The turning point in the life of this nationality was the moment of the annexation of Crimea to Russian Empire. Then the Karaites had the opportunity to buy land, not pay a number of tax duties and enlist in the army voluntarily. Until 1914, the Karaites were a very prosperous people. Eight thousand of them lived in Crimea.

Wars, repressions, and famine in the following years led to a sharp reduction in the number and standard of living of this nation. Today, about eight hundred Karaites live in Crimea.

Krymchaks

Krymchaks are a people who follow Talmudic Judaism and speak a language close to the Crimean Tatar. They appeared on the territory of Crimea even before our era. In the eighteenth century, only eight hundred Crimeans lived on the Crimean peninsula. The population of this ethnic group reached its maximum in 1912 and amounted to seven and a half thousand people. Today this ethnic group is on the verge of extinction. These people were never rich and did not know how to express themselves in politics and trade.

Jews

For the Jews, the peninsula was a fairly fertile territory, so they settled it very actively. In 1897 their number was more than twenty-four thousand people. At the time of the revolution in Crimea, there were already twice as many Jews. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there was even a project to create a Jewish republic on the peninsula. Its implementation began in 1924, but was not crowned with the expected success. A particular blow to Crimean Jews occurred during the Great Patriotic War. All non-evacuated Jews were killed by the Nazi occupation. At the end of the twentieth century, twenty-five thousand Jews lived on the peninsula. Many of them later emigrated to Israel.

Crimean Tatars

The first Mongol-Tatars invasion of Crimea dates back to 1223. At the end of the fourteenth century, the entire peninsula was inhabited by a people who called themselves Crimeans, while the Russians called them Tatars. The inhabitants of Crimea themselves came to this name only after becoming part of Russia.

The Tatars were a significant people of Crimea until the annexation of the peninsula to Russia. Since then, the number of the Tatar ethnic group has not decreased much, but a lot of Russians have arrived in the territory of Crimea. The Tatar people ceased to be the most numerous on the peninsula. Many Tatars emigrated to Turkey after the Crimean War.

The fate of the Crimean Tatars was especially dramatic during the Great Patriotic War. They fought bravely in the ranks of the Soviet army, many of them died in battle, and some were burned by the Nazis. Some Tatars went over to the enemy's side and turned out to be traitors. In connection with this, in 1944, almost two hundred thousand Tatars were deported from the country. They began returning to Crimea in 1989 and have since made up twelve percent of the peninsula’s population.

Other nationalities

In addition to the nationalities presented above, many representatives of other large ethnic groups live in Crimea. Since the end of the eighteenth century, Crimea began to be settled by Bulgarians, of whom there are now no more than two thousand people.

The first Poles settled on the peninsula at the end of the seventeenth century. Their mass migration to the peninsula dates back to the sixties of the nineteenth century. They were never trusted by local residents, and therefore they were not provided with benefits and the opportunity to settle separately. Now there are no more than seven thousand of them in Crimea.