1. Roman Period and Late Antiquity
In the end of the Roman period, the population of the area was divided in two groups: the Iranian-speaking, who were sometimes identified as Alans and have left behind cemeteries like the one in Inkerman, and to the German-speaking, who were a minority and are represented by cemeteries like the one in Aj-Todor on the south coast of the peninsula. A mixture of the two populations occurred during the 5th c. and the first half of the 6th c. So, around the 6thc. the mountainous area of the SW Crimea is inhabited by a culturally homogeneous population, considered to be Goths. This country is “the Dori” that Prokopios of Caesarea has described. According to Prokopios, the Goths living in the Dori are Christians, with limited social stratification, living of agriculture. Their army consisted of 3000 combatant men; this presupposes the existence of a total population of more than 15.000 (hypothesizing a biological family has 5 members). The archaeological findings related to this population come mainly from cemeteries, like the ones in Suuk-Su or Loutchistoe. Their material civilization shows a germanization of their clothing as well as a strong influence of the late Roman-protobuzantine civilization.
2. Byzantine Period – History
The Byzantine domination over mountainous Crimea was reinforced during the reign of Justinian who, according to Prokopios, fortified the Dori. Prokopios probably refers to fortifications on the passages extending from the steppe of Crimea to the heart of the mountainous area. Remains of such fortifications were discovered near Mangup (Theodoro), in the area named Karalez. It is part of a 150m long surrounding wall built of limestone. On the other side, Justinian built two castles on the coast, Aluston (mod. Alušta) and Gorzoubites (mod. city Gurzuf). The archaeological research in Aluston has revealed a castle with barracks and mobile findings of the 6th-7th c., especially amphorae and terra sigillata. Ruins of the Byzantine barracks of the 6th-7th c. were found in Gorzubites, on the rock of Dženevez-Kaja. During the second half of the 6th c., the threat of the steppe became visible for the peninsula; around 580, Turks appear in front of the walls of Cherson, the main Byzantine base in the north Black Sea. So, during the second half of the 6th c. and with the help of Byzantine architects, fortresses were built on the sites of Mangup (Theodoro), Eski-Kermen, Bakla, Čufut –Kale and Tepe-Kermen. The presence of churches on these mountainous areas indicates that the country of Dori was Christianized.
In the 8th c, Byzantium loses its control over the region, which is now part of the kingdom of Khazars, even though local governors maintain their power. In the same time, Byzantium tries to maintain its influence, mainly through the church. Thus, the bishopy of Gothie appears. In 787, the bishop of Gothie, Ioannis, organizes the revolt of the country’s population against the Khazars, but the revolt is quelled. The Khazars encouraged the immigration of Turkish-Bulgaric populations to Crimea. In the same period, the “byzantinization” of Gothie continues and it is partly associated to a big number of immigrants that probably came at that time from Asia Minor because of the Iconoclasm. This byzantinization is most visible in the Byzantine burial practices (burials in tombs built with blocks of stone), but also in their material civilization, e.g. their clothes. In the 8th-9th c., a number of rupestral monasteries appear in the southwest Crimea, at Inkerman, Cilter, Šuldan, Kači-Kalion. They are usually compared with the ones ιn Asia Minor and it is possible that they descent from the monastic communities that came from Byzantium.
In the 9th c., the Byzantine Empire regains its control over Crimean Gothie, which since that time becomes the theme of Klimata, with Cherson as a center. The region remains Byzantine until the fall of Constantinople in 1204. In the 13th c., as a result of the Tatars’ expansion, firstly, Crimea came under the control of the Golden Horde and, secondly, a new Iranian-speaking population, the Asses, and possibly the Alans too, appeared in the area coming from North Caucasus. During the 14th c., Karaite Jews settle in Crimea. However, written sources always make mentions of Gothie and a population with “gothic” language. In the 14th c., the principality of Theodoro, a remnant of the Byzantine Empire with Mangup as its capital, is created in Crimea. It is ruled by a dynasty that first appears to be assimilated into the Tataric khanate and later helllenized. In 1475, the area comes under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
3. Sites
3.1 Mangup (Theodoro)
The location of Mangup, which has been identified with the city Dori of the 6th c. and the subsequent city Doros of the 8th c., stands on a plateau 100-300m high. Three defensive lines were found there. They are fortification constructions of the Byzantine type, with surrounding walls 1.8m thick and arched underground tunnels. These constructions are dated back to the 6th c., possibly toward the end of Justinian’s reign. Ruins of residences and burial chambers of the Early Medieval were discovered. An inscription with Justinian’s name that was found in the beginning of the 20th c., possibly comes from a basilica of the 6th c. Although this hypothesis about its origin has been questioned, its ornament of 6th c. Byzantine marble, also from Mangup, possibly comes from a church of that period. Archaeologists have brought to light the remains of a basilica that was first one-aisled and later became three-aisled. Mangup’s basilica is accompanied by a baptistery with an inscription that has sometimes been considered to be more recent. The archaeological layers, up to 3m deep, include material of the 5th-6th c., especially coins of the 4th-6th c., amphorae and pithoi. A small treasure of the 7th c., including golden jewellery, was discovered in Techkli-Bouroun, on the plateau. As the residences and the cemeteries indicate, by the 5th-6th c., Mangup was already the center of a settlement. Thus, a cemetery of the 5th c. has been discovered in Almalyk-Dere and a three-aisled basilica has been located and studied in the area called Karalez, near Mangup.
In the 8th-9th c., the settlement on the plateau gets smaller, the walls are repaired and the fortifications are constructed. In general, we don’t know much from archaeological sources about the, so-called, Khazaric period. In 10th-11th c, Mangup is without a doubt the residence of the Byzantine governor of Gothie. In this period, most of the plateau remains without buildings. We note the reconstruction of the basilica of the 10th c. and the addition of a baptistery to it in the first half of the 11th c. new rupestral churches appear on the plateau as well as a cross-shaped temple. In the middle of the 11th c., great disasters of unknown nature take place. From the 12th-13th c., very little is known about Mangup.
In the 14th-15th c., Mangup (Theodoro) is the capital of the principality of Theodoro. It is an urban type settlement. The city’s citadel was rebuilt in 1360 and the palace of Theodoros’ prince was built in 1425. The city was destroyed by the Turks in 1475 and became a fortress of the Ottomans that was finally abandoned during the 1770’s, at the time of Crimea’s occupation by the Russians.
3.2 Bakla
The settlement of Bakla, another important rupestral site, is also located on a plateau 15-20m high and with a surface over 0.8km2. The most ancient archaeological layers include pottery dated back from the 5th/6th c. We assume that an unfortified settlement was located there in the beginning of the 5th c. Archaeologists discovered foundations of some buildings along with 5th/6th c. pottery as well as traces of a citadel built probably in the 5th c. and renovated in the end of the 6th c. More important changes were made in the 8th-9th c.; the citadel was rebuilt with thicker surrounding walls and a new wall revetment with blocks of stone. The architecture of the buildings used as residences was typical of the civilization of the Saltovo-Majackaja of the steppes, which may indicate a penetration of Turkish-Bulgarians. In the 9th-10th c., Bakla is an important center; we assume that the administrative center of the Byzantine theme of Klimata would possibly be located in this settlement for some time. From 11th to 13th c., Bakla is unquestionably an urban type center. The citadel was by then being used to store large quantities of food, wheat and salted fish, which may indicate the presence of an important garrison. Archaeologists have discovered the governor’s residence that was destroyed in the 13th c. It had eight buildings, a yard and a parekklesion. To this time, 90 subterranean caves are known to us, most of which were used as stockyards. Near the citadel there is a suburb of which many courtyards forming blocks were discovered. The existence of many churches has also been established, both in the citadel and the suburb.
3.3 Eski-Kermen
Eski-Kermen is one of the best preserved and, possibly, one of the best-known sites. Like the other sites, it is located, on a plateau more than 1km long and about 200m wide. The settlement covers about 82,000m2 of the plateau’s surface. The fortifications to the south and to the north of the site, probably built in the late 5th c., have been studied. The steep slopes of the plateau were buttressed with walling made by two rows of limestone blocks, up to 5m high, with towers. We have located the entrances. The architecture of the fortifications is typical of the Byzantines from the 6th to the 9th c. and rather commonly used in Cherson. The street, carved in the stone, was leading to the main entrance on the north side. It has been established that there was a street network in the settlement with a main street and a square were stood a basilica. The basilica is three-aisled and it is dated back to the late 6th c. more than 400 caves carved in the rock have been found in Eski-Kermen, including 6 rupestral churches. A water supply system with ceramic pipes was stretching 2km long. A well and a secret passage to the water spring have also been discovered along with a stairway inside the rock with 89 steps. Archaeological layers up to 4m deep have survived only near the fortifications. They include amphorae fragments of the 6th-7th c., giving us an indication about the time the plateau was first habitated. A 7th c. glass manufacturer’s workshop has also been found there. The cemetery, with various types of tombs, includes mobile findings dated back to the second half of the 6th c., thus verifying the dating of the habitation layers. In the 11th-13th c., Eski-Kermen is a real urban center. The bigger part of the plateau is covered by buildings forming rectangular building blocks of two-three units each. The existence of about 600 such yards is known to us today, leading us to assume there was a population of about 2500-3000 people. Eski-Kermen is also known for its rupestral churches of the 11th-12th c. with wall paintings that have survived to our days.
3.4 Čufut-Kale
Čufut-Kale (4th century’s Kyrk-Or) is also located on a plateau with steep slopes. With the exception of some traces on the south side, the fortifications have not survived. Some subterranean caves and the foundations of transverse walls blocking the way to the plateau are possibly dating back to the 7th c. Judging from the capitals made of Proconnesian marble that were found, there was possibly a Palaeochristian church. The discovery of a Justinian coin and a Byzantine brooch of a type that is found in the Balkans from the middle or the second half of the 6th c. seems to verify that dating. Some early medieval buildings include 6th-7th c. material. A cemetery appears next to Čufut-Kale in the 6th c. A settlement continues to exist on the site until the 19th c. In the 13th-14th c. it is occupied by the Asses, an Iranian-speaking population coming from North Caucasus, possibly with the Tatars. The architectural traces that are today visible in the area come from the buildings of a community of Karaites that were later established there.
3.5 Kyz-Kermen, Tepe-Kermen, Kalamita, Partenites
The settlement of Kyz-Kermen, located on a plateau, is virtually dated back to the 8th-9th c. Residences and fortifications of the second half of the 8th c., pottery typical of the Saltovo-Majackaja civilization, as well as Christian items, like iron crosses and a ring with christogramme, have been discovered there. The settlement continued to exist in subsequent times; a small, one-aisled church with an apse, possibly of the 14th c., and tombs of the same period have been discovered on the west side of the settlement.
The settlement of Tepe-Kermen is located on an isolated plateau with steep slopes 8-12m high, next to Kyz-Kermen. The traces of a street carved in the rock and of guardhouses in the subterranean caves have been identified. A church inside a cave, similar to the palaeochristian churches of the Near East, has been found on the site. Pottery from Tepe-Kermen is dated from the 5th to the 12th c.; the amphorae in particular, are of the 5th-6th c. In the period from the 11th to the 13th c. it is an urban center. Not only residences occupy the plateau; more than 250 caves of that period are known to us, including a rupestral church with a baptistery.
Kalamita is located near Inkerman, on river Tchernaya’s estuary. Constructions that date back to the early medieval, of which a street carved in the stone and a gate stand out, have been found there.A street carved in the stone and the remains of a gate. Later, in 1427, a castle was built on that site. The rupestral monastery of St. Cement appears in the same period.
We also have to mention the site of Pertenites, on the south coast, which, even though is not a mountainous site, belongs in the same geographic area, the southwest part of Crimea. Residences of the 7th c., with two or three rooms, often two-storied and with paved yards, attest the existence of a settlement there. There also stands the monastery of Sts. Peter and Paul, a big three-aisled basilica with three arches, decorated with mosaics and marble, built in the late 7th c. in the beginning of the 8th c. it was enlarged. The revolt of Ioannis, bishop of Gothie, was probably the reason of the destructions in Partenites in the 8th c. The basilica was enlarged in the 9th-10th c., destroyed in the second half of the 11th c. and, finally, rebuilt in 1427.