To look at what remains of the ancient cities, someone goes to Greece or Italy. We will go to Crimea and look at Panticapaeum in Kerch. The ancient city, which has recently been fighting for the status of the oldest city in the Russian Federation, attracts tourists.
Capital of the Cimmerian Bosphorus
On the Mount Mithridates, near the Panticapaeum River, in the 7th century BC, immigrants from the ancient Greek city of Miletus settled. They are considered to be the founders of the settlement of Panticapaeum, which in translation means "fish route." In the 480s BC there is a unification of the cities of the two peninsulas - Taman and Kerch - with the formation of the kingdom of Bosporus with the ruler Archeanact. The settlement becomes the polis and the capital of this kingdom. The dynasty of the rulers of Spartakids replaced the previous one in 438 BC, it was under them that Panticapaeum became a great city of the ancient world.
What was he like
It was a large policy covering an area of one hundred hectares. The city, located, according to the ancients, on the border of Europe and Asia, in the strait between the two seas, played the role of an important commercial point. To know lived on Mount Mithridates in the Acropolis - the central city, and from the sea overlooking the magnificent palaces and terraces. In the 6th century BC e. The construction of the Temple of Apollo, which was recognized as the patron saint of the city, was completed. On the east side was a harbor and docks capable of accommodating up to 30 ships. The city was surrounded by a defensive wall up to 10 meters high. And beyond these walls were the houses of the Pantikapeans and shopping areas. Here they traded in grain, fish and wine. Gold, silver and copper coins were minted in the city, which became the only monetary unit of the Bosporus kingdom. They depicted a griffin (a mystical creature with the body of a cat and the head of a bird), the god of wine Pan or ears of wheat. These coins are the pride of domestic museums and private collections, and some are sold at international auctions for fabulous money.
Mithridates VI in the history of Panticapaeum
Mount Mithridates, where the Hellenes founded the policy, is named after the greatest commander and one of the rulers of the Bosporus kingdom (107-63 BC). Mithridates VI Eupator freely knew all the languages that existed then. He was so fabulously rich that he executed his subjects, pouring molten gold into their mouths. Growing up in a dynasty that was once close to Alexander of Macedon, struggling for life with his brothers and sisters since childhood, he was a man of steel will, which even Great Rome made him afraid of. During his life, he survived three wars, and died on this mountain, betrayed by his son Farnak (63 BC). The marble chair, recently discovered by archaeologists, according to legend, was a favorite place of this triumph.
Borders, prosperity and decline of the Bosporus
To the east, the kingdom occupied territories up to the Caucasus Mountains. The western border was the territory of modern Theodosia. The northernmost outpost of Tanais was at the mouth of the Don River. The borders of the Bosporus kingdom constantly changed, either in the direction of increase, or became the borders of the policy itself. In addition to the Greeks, Scythians, Sinds, Sarmatians and Dandarians settled here. The Bosporus kingdom existed in history for 900 years, and Panticapaeum experienced with it periods of prosperity and oblivion. The rulers of these territories waged constant wars with Rome and the barbarians. The Huns destroyed Panticapaeum-Kerch in 375. The city was burned and destroyed, the inhabitants were killed or became slaves. Thus ended the first era of the existence of this policy.
Different names - one city
Over the next millennia, Panticapaeum developed in Kerch, its history changed the name of the city:
- In the 6th century, the city is part of the Byzantine state called the Bosporus.
- In the 7th century, the Khazars enter it and they call the city of Karsh.
- In the 9-10 centuries, it becomes the capital of the Slavic Tmutarakan principality and is called Korchev.
- In the 12th century, Panticapaeum was again part of Byzantium.
- In 1318, it was conquered by the Genoese, and the city of Cherkio became part of their provinces.
- And in 1475, the Turks built here the Yeni-Kale fortress, which became the outpost of the Ottoman state.
- In 1774, the Russians conquered Panticapaeum in Kerch, where they built a fortress of the same name.
Wars of the last centuries
After the Russo-Turkish war in 1774, Panticapaeum in Kerch finally became part of the Russian Empire, which was enshrined in the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiysky treaty between Catherine II and Sultan Selim Girey. The city is experiencing an era of rapid construction and economic take-off, which was interrupted during the Kram War (1853-1856). The wars of the 20th century also left their mark on these lands. Fierce fighting during the Second World War destroyed both Kerch and Panticapaeum. But the city survived both the war and the unstable 90s of the last century. Confirming the status of a resort town, Kerch and today is happy to welcome tourists.
Excavation history
In 1859, the decree of Alexander II created the Imperial Archaeological Commission. And from that moment begins the official history of excavations in Panticapaeum. And before that, many researchers, travelers and just adventurers were looking for the countless riches of Mithridates, hidden in the mounds. The life-size legend of the golden horse of Mithridates is still alive today. From 1876 to 1880, 55 burial mounds, two catacombs, more than a hundred burials were discovered. Today, the ruins of Panticapaeum on Mount Mithridates and the famous Adzhimushkay catacombs are included in the exposition of the Kerch Museum. Preserved defenses, houses and crypts, public buildings are open for tourists. And this is only part of the excavation. The ruins of the cities of Tiritaka, Ilurat and Nymphaeum are indicated by security signs. And in the waters of the Kerch Strait, the ruins of the port of Acre were discovered, where, according to legend, the ancient Greek god Achilles was born
Panticapaeum in Kerch: how to get there
The address of this cultural heritage site is ul. Chekhov 1A, and it is located in the very center of Kerch. The path to the top of Mount Mithridates can be overcome by the Great Mithridates stairs (51 Army Street). This is a historical building in itself. It was built by the Italian Alexander Digby (1832-1840) in the mid-nineteenth century. The 432 steps of a gray stone spiral structure in the style of classicism look majestic and solemn, with griffins sitting on the railing - the symbol of Kerch. At the top, where the Obelisk of Glory stands today and eternal flame burns (by the way, the first monument to the heroes of that war in the Soviet Union), until 1944 there was a mausoleum of the town governor of Stempovsky - an eight-meter-high chapel. The trail from the end of the stairs will lead tourists to the majestic ruins of Panticapaeum, whose main attraction is the ancient arch with a carved stone portico, miraculously preserved during the period of mass bombing during World War II.
Why it is still worth visiting Kerch
This one of the most ancient Russian cities will surprise a tourist not only with the ruins of Panticapaeum. All the sights of the city are in its center. So, the Church of the Forerunner is located in the heart of Kerch. This monument of Byzantine culture with a thousand-year history was completed in the 19th century - a bell tower and chapels were attached to the cross-shaped temple. Right in the center of the bus station is the mound - Melek-Chismensky funerary crypt. It is dated to the times of Plato and Aristotle. A stepped descent will lead to the burial chamber measuring 4 by 4 meters. Unfortunately, the crypt is empty - it was plundered for a very long time. The Turkish fortress Yeni-Kale, built in the narrowest spot of the strait, will surprise with sheer walls and a bastion with defensive towers. And here you can see the Royal Mound - the burial place of one of the Spartokids, while the oldest burial in the entire former Soviet Union, and the war memorial - Adzhimushkaysky catacombs with an impressive museum exposition.
For more than 26 centuries, the city of Panticapaeum and the history of its inhabitants excite the imagination of historians and simply interested citizens. A place covered in legends awaits its visitors. And although today it is only the ruins of Panticapaeum, a glorious Hellenic policy with the temples of Apollo and the place of death of the wealthiest Mithridates VI appears in the imagination of a tourist. Excavations on Mount Mithridates continue, archaeologists find objects that belonged to the inhabitants of the Bronze Age. The mountain still did not reveal all the secrets of Mithridates the triumphant.