Tauride — Wikipedia

The Tauride , Tauric or Chersonèse Taurique was the name once given by the ancient Greeks to the Crimean peninsula.

It was the seat of the Kingdom of Bosphorus, ancient Greek kingdom established on the banks of the Cimmerian Bosphorus (current Strait of Kertch, between the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov), and on the Taurid proper, which would last until king Sauromatès VI where he disappeared, conquered by the Goths, during the barbaric invasions.

Passing among others in the hands of the Byzantine Empire, the Rus’ of kyiv and the Republic of Genoa, it belongs to the Mongolian Empire ( XIII ^{It is} century) then becomes, from the second half of the XV ^{It is} at the end of XVIII ^{It is} century, the center of the Crimean Khanat. It is then annexed by the Russian Empire (1783), which makes it the government of Tauride.

The Cimmerian bosphorus is a strait which is only navigable in summer and which has never had the importance of the Bosphorus of Thrace, even if the Greek boats went up to the mouth of the Tanaïs (Don). To the west, since the gift, the kingdom included almost all of Crimea and the Taman peninsula, but east its limits are still quite vague. He also controlled the outlet of Lake Méotide (current sea of ​​Azov). On the western shore was the city of Panticapé (Kerch), founded around 575 of. J.-C. by Milesians, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Bosphorus. In addition to Panticapé, other cities were flourishing: Phanagoria on the other bank, founded by Téos, which prospered thanks to its peaches in the Azov Sea, dearèse (near the current Sébastopol), founded around 600 of. J.-C. by nationals of Heraclea of ​​the Pont, then Theodosia (Feodossia), also founded by Milet. The main activity of these ports consisted of a wheat supply of the Greek cities, of which Athens, too populated to provide itself to its needs. This precious wheat, coming from the rich lands in eastern Taurid, was taken to Greece by sea, crossing the dear of Thrace.

antiquity [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The Tauride takes its name from the slides, a poplade mentioned by Herodotus and Strabo. According to the myth, this is where Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, is supposed to have been led by the goddess Artemis.

The history of this kingdom is well known before IN ^{It is} century of. J.-C. . During the cities foundation, contacts with the native tribes are peaceful, which allows the rapid development of these new cities with the rest of the Greek world. The cities will then be destroyed, towards the end of the WE ^{It is} century of. J.-C. by the Darius expedition I ^is Against the Scythians, in which they participate. Then, at the beginning of IN ^{It is} century of. J.-C. , several poleis (Cities-States) of the Cimmerian Bosphorus region come together under the domination of the archaeanactides dynasty.

This dynasty is replaced by that of SPARTOCIDES in 438/437 of. J.-C. , when Spartokos I ^is takes power and settles in Panticapé, which he takes as the capital of his new kingdom. The latter has trade relations with Greek cities, and mainly with Athens.

In 115 of. J.-C. , Pairisadès V, who cannot withstand the attacks of the Scythians, requests the help of the King of the Mithridate VI bridge. This one succeeds in putting an end to the conflict and, the death of Pairisadès V, recovers the throne of the Bosphorus, which he entrusted in 82 of. J.-C. to his eldest son, Macharès, to whom his brother Pharnace II succeeds. When he was beaten by Rome at Zéla in 47 of. J.-C. , the kingdom of Bosphorus covers its internal autonomy, but under Roman protectorate; Roman influence is exerted, in various ways depending on the region.

The kingdom remains until its conquest by the ostrogoths, at IV ^{It is} century, and the death of his last king, Sauromatès VI.

Byzantine period [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Crimée khanate [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Russian period [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In 1783, Grigori Potemkine, the favorite of the Empress Catherine II of Russia, received the title of “Prince of Tauride” as a reward for his action during the conflicts which ended with the annexation of the Khanat of Crimea.

Under the Russian Empire, the region constituted the government of Tauride, between October 1802 and October 1921. Its administrative center was Simferopol. The government includes variable territories according to the eras, including the entire Crimea and its hinterland.

In 1788, Father Jean-Jacques Barthélemy published a book entitled Journey of young Anacharsis to Greece in the world IV ^{It is} century , where he wrote with meticulous care a description of all the territories that his hero is going through, a young Scyth. At the start of his trip, at the beginning of the year 363 of. J.-C. , it precisely crosses the Cimmerian bosphorus, in order to reach the bridge-for.

Related articles [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Bibliography [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• (ru) by Alexandre Bertier-Delarde:
  • On the past of the Tayride , About the development of cartographic concepts about Crimea // News of the Yalta Technical Society. 1909. Issue. 1.
  • On the past of the Tayride, the siege of Dearèsese , About the past of Taurida // Izvestia of the Yalta Technical Society. 1909a. Ext. 1.
• (in) R. D. Barnett, The Sea Peoples dans The Cambridge Ancient History , flight. II, Part 2, 1975.
• G. Kochelenko and V. Kouznetsov, “Greek colonization of Cimmerian Bosphorus”, in Lordkipanidzé .
• (in) Michel Rostovtzeff, Pontus, Bithynia and the Bosporus , Annual of the British School at Athens, 22, 1916-1918.
• Paulline Schmits-Panttel It’s Claude orrielu, Greek story , PUF, 2004.
• (in) Neal Ascherson, Black Sea , New Ed, 1996.
• Yann Le Bohec, The Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire: Celts, Romans, Germans , Paris, 2002.
• Christel Müller, From Olbia to Tanaïs. Territories and trade networks in the northern Black Sea with classic and Hellenistic eras , Paris, 2010.