[gothic-l] Re: Neil Acherson's Crimea

[dirk at SMRA.CO.UK]

Hi,
thanks for the information, that is very useful and I shall try to 
read the book. I would also be interested to get the references of 
Russian language sources on the Crimean Goths that you mentioned (I 
do speak Russian).

Also, the episode with the Polish ambassador who visited Mangup in 
1579 is very interesting. Other than the Flemish ambassador who 
claimed to have met Crimean Goths a few years earlier in Moscow and 
who compiled the famous list of Crimean Gothic words, the Polish 
ambassador made no mentioning of Goths or Gothic/Germanic speaking 
people in Mangup which at this time should have been their centre. 
Instead, he reports that only a Greek priest, some Jews and Turks live 
there. I don't know, but I think that does cast some doubt on the 
Flemish ambassador's report and his word list. I believe that by that 
time the Crimean Goths had been thoroughly hellenised and were already 
in the process of being tatarised culturally and linguistically but 
probably not in religion, which remained Christian.

Dirk


--- In gothic-l at egroups.com, sig <sigmund at a...> wrote:
> Hails!
> 
> I promised to follow up on the Crimean Goths with some 
Zusammenfassung of what Neal Ascherson has to say in his book
> Black Sea. But what do you know.. While doing some search on Crimean 
material I found the very chapter I'm referring
> to published on the net by Washington Post!! =>
> 
> 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/blacks
ea.htm
> 
> Reqired reading!
> 
> This is what I have been able to gather from various sources in 
Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere:
> 
> The story of the Crimean Goths is intimately tied to those so-called 
cave towns on some flat tops high up the
> Krimskije Gory mountain range which is defining the south-east sea 
border of Crimea. The best known are Chufut-Kale,
> Mangup-Kale, Eski-Kermen with a similar history. They were all 
artificially created for defence purposes back in VIII
> — IX centuries
> 
> Although the evidence is by no means conclusive, Mangup was 
reportedly first founded in the 3rd century AD by  Alans
> and Goths. Justinian I however fortressed Mangup during the 6th 
century as one in a series of strongholds designed to
> protect the coastal cities.  It has been described as "a Greek 
principality ruled by gothic princes". The city was
> later captured by the Khazars but in 787 AD, Prince-Metropolitan 
"John the Goth" led a rebellion against the Khazars,
> thus founding the principality of Feodoros, which lasted until 1475. 
To-days coastal city of Feodosia is an other
> reminder of the principality of Theodosia with roots from the 5th 
century. (Why do slavs have this lexically
> irritating tendency to equal th with f?).
> The Ottomans came in 1475 and laid siege to Mangup for six months 
and ended the principality once and for all.  The
> jewish fundamentalist Karaims (not at all related to the converted 
Khazar jews!), originating from Babylon moved in
> and stayed on for a while, and even they left in 1792. Now the 
basilica and citadel stand above all for the few
> tourist visitors.  One can still see remnants of Byzantine 
architectural styles.
> 
> Chufut-Kale, a city with a similar history, is located also on a 
plateau, 550m above the sea level. It was reportedly
> built under the guidance of Byzantium by Goths and Alans. Little is 
known of Chufut-Kale's earlier history. The first
> written documents go back to the late 13th century. At that time the 
fortress got the name Kirk-Er and was the centre
> of the Crimean Alans according to official Ukrainean history books. 
But in the mid-14th century under the rule of
> Golden Hord Janibek-Klan, the Tatars seized Chufut-Kale and turned 
it into a Beiluk (Tatar regional centre). After
> the foundation of the Crimean Khanate, Cufut-Kale became it's first 
capital. A mosque and a madrasah were built here
> and the walls were fortified. New suburbs (the posad) for Jewish and 
Armenian communities were built to develop the
> town's economy. In the early 1650 century the capital of the Crimea 
was moved to Bachchisarai.  Only Karaites and
> Armenians stayed here. The remaining population were Karaites in the 
mid-17th century and the town was renamed
> Chufut-Kale (Jewish Fortess).
> 
> This is not to conclude that the remaining Crimean Goths were 
mountain dwellers in their majority. They probably
> formed minor communities wherever they felt secure but eventually 
merged with the other peoples all over Crimea.
> 
> 
> Izwara,
> 
> Seigmund
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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