The biography of ancient writers

The first group, quantitatively small, consists of information contained in the works of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab and other writers; In addition, the news of Chersonesus is found in some lives of saints, in the letters of contemporaries, in Russian chronicles, in the agreements of Russian princes with Byzantium, etc. A special group of written sources, very large, make up epigraphic monuments found during excavations.

It is contained in the essay called “Periper” “Description of the Sea” attributed to the Greek author of Skilak Kariand. The next news, which is the main source indicating the foundation of Chersonesos by Heraclei and Delos, is in the "perieges" "landography" of the late II century. However, this “land description” does not belong to him, but goes back to earlier works - the historical geography of the Ephor and the geography of Dimitri from Callatia, the last lived at the end of the 3rd century.

There is enough space in it and the description of Chersonesos and its environs. Strabo in the Crimea itself, however, was not even used for the history of Chersonesos, other authors, in particular, Demetrius from Callatia. Prokopia in the treatise “On Buildings” writes that during the construction of fortifications in the Crimea, the walls of Chersonesos were restored to the board of Justinian I.

The Gothic historian Jordan, in the essay on Goths, reports on the barbaric population of Crimea, about the tribes of the Huns who lived next door to Chersonesus, and the trading of the latter with Asia. The Roman pope Martin I exiled to the Chersonesus in his letters gives a characterization of the economic situation of the city in the middle of the 7th century. He speaks in detail about the wars of Rome with the barbarians in the Crimea and the Balkans and the active participation that Chersonesus took in these wars.

The history of Chersonesos, Konstantin, was apparently laid, some local Chersonesos source, which was distinguished by excessive patriotic, as a result of which some of the information reported should be considered unlikely and even anecdotal. Very valuable but the advice of Konstantin to the son of Roman, characterizing the modern middle of the X century. The residence here in the exile of Pope Clement is reported: his “life”, the so -called “Italian legend” - about the discovery of his relics; The letter of the Vatican librarian Anastasia, written from the words of an eyewitness to the relics of the relics in exile in Khersones in the middle of the 9th century.

The latter, in addition to the information related to the discovery of the relics of Clement, reports about visiting Cyril and Methodius of Chersonesos in the years and about the missionary activity of Cyril among the Khazar. The campaigns of Russian princes to Constantinople are testified by Patriarch Fotiy, Russian annals and agreements of Russian princes with Byzantium.

The events associated with the campaign on the Chersonesos-Korsun of Prince Vladimir are mainly narrated by Russian sources: the annals, “the life of Vladimir”, “praise” to Vladimir, “word” of Metropolitan Illarion and others. So, the chronicle under the city of the last saw the monastery on the island in the vicinity of the Chersonesos when following the ship to the Mongolian khan in the city of the city, but the name of the city is already strong It is distorted, Chersonesos is written on them: Kerson, Geresonda, Sarsono, Zurga, etc.

The Turks called Chersonesos Sary-Kerman the Yellow Fortress. Chersonesos was burned and destroyed.