Panticapaeum
Panticapaeum was an ancient city founded around 600 BC by Greek colonists from Miletus, located in present-day Kerch, Ukraine. It is situated at the eastern edge of the Tauric Chersonese on the Cimmerian Bosphorus, a strategic link between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The city was established on the site of an earlier settlement and quickly became a vital center for trade and agriculture, benefiting from nearby fertile grainfields. Panticapaeum served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosphorus, particularly under the Archaeanactid and Spartocid dynasties, and is believed to be the market referred to as Kremnoi by Herodotus.
The archaeological remains include early sixth-century houses, an Ionic temple, and luxurious graves rich with treasures, reflecting the city’s wealth and cultural connections to other Greek centers. Panticapaeum also produced distinctive pottery, known as "Kerch Ware." Over the centuries, it faced invasions and was influenced by various cultures, including significant interactions with non-Greek peoples. By the third century, the city experienced decline due to attacks from groups like the Sarmatians and Goths, yet it continued to hold historical significance throughout its existence.
Panticapaeum
(Kerch)
A city at the eastern extremity of the Tauric Chersonese (Crimea), situated on the Cimmerian Bosphorus (Strait of Kerch) linking the Euxine (Black) Sea with Lake Maeotis (the Sea of Azov). Founded in c 600 BC by Greek colonists from Miletus in Ionia (western Asia Minor), on the site of an earlier settlement (Panti Kapa) which possessed an excellent location and a strong acropolis (Mount Mithridates), Panticapaeum became the most important of the many Greek colonies of the Bosphoran area, benefiting from its proximity to the best Crimean grainfields. Soon after 480 its rulers of the Archaeanactid dynasty created the kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosphorus (qv)—in order to confront Scythian pressure—and it remained the capital of their successors of the Spartocid house (from 438). Panticapaeum is probably the place named Kremnoi by Herodotus, and described as a market (emporium) in the land of the `Free Scythians’ (it may also have been known as Apollonia before Spartocid times). Fifth-century silver coinage was followed, after 400, by pieces made of gold obtained from the Ural or Altai mountains.
The earliest houses, of early sixth-century date (found on Mount Mithridates), square buildings with a single room each, were supplemented in the fifth century by larger residences with painted stucco walls. Traces of an Ionic temple and walls date from c 400. In the neighborhood are monumental tumulus graves ranging in date from the fourth century BC to the second century AD; they were found to contain massive treasures, indicating the wealth of the city's leading inhabitants. Objects from many Greek centers have come to light, including a good deal of material from Athens, which manufactured a special type of bowl (`Kerch Ware’) for Panticapaeum; and local production imitated a wide range of such imported pottery. The third century inaugurated the construction of houses with painted stucco and terracotta friezes and colonnaded courtyards, and there is a large official building (prytaneum) of second-century date.
Panticapaeum became the headquarters of the south Russian possessions of King Mithridates VI of Pontus (in northern Asia Minor) c 115, but subsequently resumed its role as capital of the kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosphorus. Cisterns for wine production and potters' kilns date from the first centuries of the Christian era. During the period, the city was strongly influenced by non-Greek cultures. In the third century it was sacked by Sarmatians and Goths.