city state · Greece and the Aegean

Theodosia

600 BCE – 355 BCE (approx.) · capital Theodosia

Milesian port in south-eastern Crimea that exported grain until it was conquered by the Bosporan Kingdom in the 4th century BCE.

Origins

Theodosia was founded by settlers from Miletus in the 6th century BCE on a bay of the south-eastern Crimean coast, at modern Feodosia. Its good harbour and fertile hinterland made it an important outlet for grain grown by local peoples.

Rule and society

Theodosia lived from exporting grain, fish and hides to the Aegean, especially Athens. It long resisted absorption by the neighbouring Bosporan Kingdom, with help from Heraclea Pontica. The Bosporan ruler Satyrus I died while besieging it in 389 BCE.

Decline and legacy

Leucon I of the Bosporan Kingdom captured Theodosia, probably c. 355 BCE, and developed its harbour for the grain trade with Athens. It remained a Bosporan city and centuries later became the Genoese port of Kaffa.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Theodosia. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/theodosia
MLA
“Theodosia.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/theodosia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Theodosia.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/theodosia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Theodosia’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/theodosia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻