Chersonesus

For other uses of "Chersonesus", see Chersonesos.

Not to be confused with the wider region of the Tauric Chersonese.

Chersonesus

Χερσόνησος Херсонес
St. Vladimir's Cathedral overlooks the extensive excavations of Chersonesus.
Shown within Sevastopol
Alternate name	Chersonese, Chersonesos, Cherson
Location	Gagarin Raion, Sevastopol
Region	Taurica
Coordinates
Type	Settlement
Part of	National Preserve "Khersones Tavriysky"
Area	30 ha (74 acres)
History
Builder	Settlers from Heraclea Pontica
Founded	6th century BC
Abandoned	Around 1400 AD
Periods	Classical Greece to Late Middle Ages
Cultures	Greek, Roman, Hunnic, Byzantine
Site notes
Excavation dates	1827
Management	The National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos
Website	www.chersonesos.org
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, v
Designated	2013 (137th session)
Reference no.	1411
Region	Europe and North America

Chersonesus (Ancient Greek: Χερσόνησος Khersonēsos; Latin: Chersonesus; modern Russian/Ukrainian: Херсонес, Khersones; also rendered as Chersonese, Chersonesos), in medieval Greek contracted to Cherson (Χερσών; Old East Slavic: Корсунь, Korsun) is an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2,500 years ago in the southwestern part of the Crimean Peninsula. The colony was established in the 6th century BC by settlers from Heraclea Pontica.

The ancient city is located on the shore of the Black Sea at the outskirts of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, where it is referred to as Khersones. It has been nicknamed the "Ukrainian Pompeii". The site is now part of the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos. The name "Chersonesos" in Greek means "peninsula", and aptly describes the site on which the colony was established. It should not be confused with the Tauric Chersonese, the name often applied to the whole of the southern Crimea.

During much of the classical period Chersonesus was a democracy ruled by a group of elected archons and a council called the Demiurgi. As time passed the government grew more oligarchic, with power concentrated in the hands of the archons. A form of oath sworn by all the citizens since the 3rd century BC has survived to the present day. In 2013, Chersonesus was listed as a World Heritage Site.

History

See also: Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea

Antiquity

Greek colonies

Greek Coin from Cherronesos in Crimea depicting Diotimus wearing the royal diadem r., in exergue, ΧΕΡ ΔΙΟΤΙΜΟΥ Chersonesus in Crimea. 2nd century BCE.

Viktor Vasnetsov: Baptism of Saint Prince Vladimir in Korsun.

In the late 2nd century BC Chersonesus became a dependency of the Bosporan Kingdom. It was subject to Rome from the middle of the 1st century BC until the 370s AD, when it was captured by the Huns.

Byzantine Era

It became a Byzantine possession during the Early Middle Ages and withstood a siege by the Göktürks in 581. Byzantine rule was slight: there was a small imperial garrison more for the town's protection than for its control. It was useful to Byzantium in two ways: as an observation point to watch the barbarian tribes, and its isolation made it a popular place of exile for those who angered the Roman and later Byzantine governments. Among its more famous "inmates" were Pope Clement I and Pope Martin I, and the deposed Byzantine Emperor Justinian II. According to Theophanes the Confessor and others, Chersonesus was the residence of a Khazar governor (tudun) in the late 7th century.

The Saint Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesus was built in the 19th century in the Byzantine Revival style.

In 833 Emperor Theophilus sent the nobleman Petronas Kamateros, who had recently overseen the construction of the Khazar fortress of Sarkel, to take direct control over the city and its environs, establishing the theme of Klimata/Cherson. It remained in Byzantine hands until the 980s, when it reportedly fell to Kiev. Vladimir the Great agreed to evacuate the fortress only if Basil II's sister Anna Porphyrogeneta would be given him in marriage. The demand caused a scandal in Constantinople, as imperial princesses had never been married to non-Greeks before. As a pre-condition for the marriage settlement, Vladimir was baptized here in 988, thus paving the way to the Baptism of Kievan Rus'. Thereafter Korsun' was evacuated.

Since this campaign is not recorded in Greek sources, historians have suggested that this account actually refers to the events of the Rus'-Byzantine War (1043) and to a different Vladimir. In fact, most valuables looted by the Slavs in Korsun' made their way to Novgorod (perhaps by way of Ioakim Korsunianin, the first Novgorodian bishop, as his surname indicates ties to Korsun), where they were preserved in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom until the 20th century. One of the most interesting items from this "Korsun Treasure" is the copper Korsun Gate, supposedly captured by the Novgorodians in Korsun' and now part of the St. Sophia Cathedral.

After the Fourth Crusade (1202–04), Chersonesus became dependent on the Byzantine Empire of Trebizond, and then fell under Genoese control in the early 13th century. In 1299, the town was sacked by the Mongol armies of Nogai Khan's Golden Horde.

Ecclesiastical History

Chersonnesus had been a Roman pre-Great Schism, later Greek/Orthodox, episcopal see for centuries, elevated early to the rank of archbishopric, since it is mentioned as such in the Notitiae Episcopatuum; it disappeared after the Turkish conquest in 1475 and the destruction of the city.

In the late 19th century, the grand Russian Orthodox St Vladimir's Cathedral (completed 1892) was built on a small hill overlooking the site; designed in Byzantine style, it was intended to commemorate the site of Vladimir's baptism.

Latin (now titular) see

In 1333 a Latin Church diocese of Chersonnesus was established, but it appears that it had only bishop, a Dominican called Richard the Englishman.

No longer a residential diocese, Chersonnesus in Zechia is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular archbishopric, since the early 20th century, originally called Cherson(a) or Chersonesus, since 1933 specifically Chersonnesus in Zechia, avoiding confusion with other sees called Chersonesus (notably in Crete) by specifying it's Crimean.

It is vacant for decades, having had the following incumbents, all of the intermediary (archiepiscopal) rank :

• Donald Louis Mackintosh (1912.06.11 – 1919.10.08)
• Alexis-Armand Charost (1920.06.15 – 1921.09.22) as Coadjutor Archbishop of Rennes (1920.06.15 – 1921.09.22), succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Rennes (Brittany, France) (1921.09.22 – 1930.11.07), created Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria della Vittoria (1922.12.14 – 1930.11.07); previously Titular Bishop of Miletopolis (1913.02.14 – 1913.11.21) & Auxiliary Bishop of Cambrai (France) (1913.02.14 – 1913.11.21), then Bishop of Lille (France) (1913.11.21 – 1920.06.15)
• Giovanni Beda Cardinale, Benedictine Order (O.S.B.) (1922.07.25 – 1933.12.01)
• Albert Levame (1933.12.21 – 1958.12.05)
• Louis Parisot, Society of African Missions (S.M.A.) (1960.01.14 – 1960.04.21)
• Serapione Uluhogian, Mechitarists (C.A.M.) (1960.07.22 – 1965.05.16)
• Hemaiagh Guédiguian, C.A.M. (1971.03.03 – 1976.07.03), later Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians (Lebanon) ([1976.07.03] 1976.07.05 – retired 1982.05.30), President of Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church (1976.07.05 – 1982.05.30)

Remains

Archaeological site

The 1935 Basilica

The bell of Chersonesos

The 1935 Basilica

Chersonesus' ancient ruins are presently located in one of Sevastopol's suburbs. They were excavated by the Russian government, starting from 1827. They are today a popular tourist attraction, protected as an archaeological park.

The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture. The defensive wall was approximately 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) long, 3.5 to 4 metres wide and 8 to 10 metres high with towers at a height of 10 to 12 metres. The walls enclosed an area of about 30 hectares (74 acres). Buildings include a Roman amphitheatre and a Greek temple.

The surrounding land under the control of the city, the chora, consists of several square kilometres of ancient but now barren farmland, with remains of wine presses and defensive towers. According to archaeologists, the evidence suggests that the locals were paid to do the farm work instead of being enslaved.

The excavated tombstones hint at burial practices that were different from the Greek ones. Each stone marks the tomb of an individual, instead of the whole family and the decorations include only objects like sashes and weapons, instead of burial statues. Over half of the tombs archaeologists have found have bones of children. Burned remnants suggest that the city was plundered and destroyed.

In 2007, Chersonesus tied for fifth in the Seven Wonders of Ukraine poll.

On February 13, 2009, Ukrainian Defence Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov called on Russia's Black Sea naval fleet to move its automobile depot from the site to another place. The location of the Russian Black Sea naval fleet's automobile depot was one of the obstacles to the inclusion of the reserve on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites.

The 1935 Basilica

The 1935 Basilica is the most famous basilica excavated in Chersonesus. The original name is unknown so "1935" refers to the year it was opened. The basilica was probably built in the 6th century on the site of an earlier temple, assumed by historians to be a synagogue, itself replacing a small temple dating from the early days of Christianity. The 1935 basilica is often used as an image representing Chersonesos. Its picture appears on one Ukrainian banknote.

Museum contents

As well as the archaeological sites, the museum has around 200,000 smaller items from 5 AD to the 15th century, over 5,000 of which are currently exhibited. These include:

• ancient texts, including the Oath of Chersonese citizens (3 AD), decrees in honour of Diophantus (2nd Century AD)
• a collection of coins
• a mosaic of black and white pebbles and coloured stones
• ancient ceramics
• architectural fragments, including ancient and medieval abacuses, reliefs, the remains of ancient murals

Current studies

The Institute of Classical Archaeology of the University of Texas at Austin and the local Archaeological Park has investigated the site since 1992. The Ukrainian government has included the site on its tentative World Heritage List. The site, however, is in danger of further urban encroachment and coastal erosion.

In 2013, Chersonesus was listed as a World Heritage Site. as Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora. During the 2014 Crimean crisis the Crimean peninsula was annexed by Russia, but UNESCO has maintained that it will continue to recognize Crimea and its heritage sites as belonging to Ukraine.

Threats to Chersonesus

The encroachment of modern building in and around the ancient archaeological site, coupled with a lack of funding to prevent such development pressures, has left the site of Chersonesus firmly at risk.

In an October 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund identified Chersonesus as one of 12 worldwide sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and destruction, citing insufficient management and development pressures as primary causes.

See also

• List of traditional Greek place names
• Odessa Numismatics Museum having on display coins of Chersonesus
• The bell of Chersonesus

Bibliography and further reading

• Anokhin, V.A. The Coinage of Chersonesus: IV century B.C.–XII century A.D.. Oxford : British Archaeological Reports, 1980 (paperback, ISBN 0-86054-074-X).
• Carter, Joseph Coleman; Crawford, Melba; Lehman, Paul; Nikolaenko, Galina; Trelogan, Jessica. "The Chora of Chersonesos in Crimea, Ukraine", American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 104, No. 4. (2000), pp. 707–741.
• Carter, Joseph Coleman; Mack, Glenn Randall. Crimean Chersonesos: City, Chora, Museum, and Environs. Austin, TX: David Brown Book Company, 2003 (paperback, ISBN 0-9708879-2-2).
• Kozelsky, Mara. "Ruins into Relics: The Monument to Saint Vladimir on the Excavations of Chersonesos, 1827–57", The Russian Review, Vol. 63, No. 4. (2004), pp. 655–672.
• Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Early Centuries. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989 (hardcover, ISBN 0-394-53778-5).
• Saprykin, S.Yu. Heracleia Pontica and Tauric Chersonesus before Roman domination: (VI–I centuries B.C.). Amsterdam: A.M. Hakkert, 1997 (ISBN 9025611095).

Sources and External links

• University of Texas at Austin Institute of Classical Archaeology Chersonesos project
• GCatholic with titular incumbent biography links
• Bulletin of the Odessa Numismatics Museum
• National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, Sevastopol
• Cherson on Regnal Chronologies
• Brief History of Antique Cities of Tauria and Their Coinage.
• Panorams of Chersonesos - (Russian)
• Photo of Chersonesos - (Russian)
• High resolution image of antique map of this region
• Explore Chersonesos with Google Earth on Global Heritage Network
• Notes and Materials from Archaeological Excavation