city state · Greece and the Aegean
Chersonesus Taurica
Origins
Colonists from Heraclea Pontica, joined according to tradition by settlers from Delos, founded Chersonesus in 422-421 BCE on a small bay in the south-west of Crimea, perhaps on the site of an earlier trading post. Over the 4th century BCE the city took control of the Heracleian peninsula and parts of the north-west Crimean coast.
Rule and society
Chersonesus was a democracy whose citizens swore an oath, preserved in a 3rd-century BCE inscription, to defend the city and never betray it. Its farmland was divided into regular rectangular plots, many planted with vineyards, and wine, fish and grain were its main exports. Its patron deity was the Maiden (Parthenos).
Decline and legacy
Pressed by the Scythians of Crimea under Scilurus and Palacus, the city appealed to Mithridates VI of Pontus c. 110 BCE; his general Diophantus defended it, and it passed under Pontic and later Roman protection. As Byzantine Cherson it survived into the Middle Ages, where tradition places the baptism of Vladimir of Kiev in 988.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (5)
- Chersonesus Taurica was a protectorate of Kingdom of Pontus110 BCE – 63 BCE
- Chersonesus Taurica was a vassal of Kingdom of Pontus110 BCE – 63 BCE
- Chersonesus Taurica was part of Bosporan Kingdom63 BCE
- Chersonesus Taurica was a protectorate of Roman Empire63 CE – 395 CE
- Chersonesus Taurica was a province of Byzantine Empire833 CE
More states of Greece and the Aegean →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Chersonesus Taurica. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chersonesus-taurica
- MLA
- “Chersonesus Taurica.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chersonesus-taurica. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Chersonesus Taurica.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chersonesus-taurica.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Chersonesus Taurica’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chersonesus-taurica (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻