CRIMEA
Encyclopedia Britannica
11th edition, vol VII, 1910
by Prince Peter Alexeivitch Kropotkin
and John T. Bealby
CRIMEA (ancient Tauris or Tauric Chersonese, called by the Russians
by the Tatar name Arym or Grim), a peninsula on the north side of
the Black Sea, forming part of the Russian government of Taurida, with the
mainland of which it is connected by the Isthmus of Perekop (3-4 m. across). It
is rudely rhomboid in shape, the angles being directed towards the cardinal
points, and measures 200 m. between 440 23' and 460 10' N., and 110 m. between
320 30' and 360 40' E. Its area is 9700 sq. m.
Its coasts are washed by the Black Sea, except on the northeast where is the
Sivash or Putrid Sea, a shallow lagoon separated from the Sea of Azov by the
Arabat spit of sand. The shores are broken by several bays and harbors - on the
west side of the isthmus of Perekop by the Bay of Karkinit; on the south- west
the open Bay of Kalamita, on the shores of which the allies landed in 1854,
with the ports of Eupatoria, Sevastopol and Balaklava; by the Bay of Arabat on
the north side of the Isthmus of Yenikale or Kerch; and by the Bay of Kaffa or
Fedosiya (Theodosia), with the port of that name, on the south side of the
same. The south-east coast is flanked at a distance of 5 to 8 m. from the sea
by a parallel range of mountains, the Yaila-dagh, or Alpine Meadow mountains,
and these are backed, inland, by secondary parallel ranges; but 75% of the
remaining consists of high arid prairie lands, a southward continuation of the
Pontic steppes, which slope gently north-westwards from the foot of the
Yaila-dagh. The main range of these mountains shoots up with extraordinary
abruptness from the deep floor of the Black Sea to an altitude of 2000 to 2500
ft., beginning at the south-west extremity of the peninsula, Cape Fiolente
(anc. Partheniun), supposed to have been crowned by the temple of
Artemis in which Iphigeneia officiated as priestess. On the higher parts of
this range are numerous flat mountain pastures (Turk. yailas), which,
except for their scantier vegetation, are analogous to the almen of the
Swiss Alps, and are crossed by various passes (bogoz), of which only six
are available as carriage roads. The most conspicuous summits in this range are
the Demir-kapu or Kemal-egherek (5040 ft.), Roman-kosh (5060 ft.), Chatyr-dagh
(5000 ft.), and Karabi-yaila (3975 ft.). The second parallel range, which
reaches altitudes of 1500 to 1900 ft., likewise presents steep crags to the
south-east and a gentle slope towards the north-west. In the former slope are
thousands of small caverns, probably inhabited in prehistoric times; and
several rivers pierce the range in picturesque gorges. A valley, 10 to 12 m.
wide, separates this range from the main range, while another valley 2 to 3 m.
across separates it from the third parallel range, which reaches altitudes of
only 500 to 850 ft. Evidences of a fourth and still lower ridge can be traced
towards the south-west.
A number of short streams, none of them anywhere navigable, leap down the
flanks of the mountains by cascades in spring, the Chernaya, Belbek, Kacha and
Alma, to the Black Sea, the Salghir, with its affluent, the Kara-su, to the
Sivash lagoon.
In point of climate and vegetation there exist marked differences between the
open steppes and the south-eastern littoral, with the slopes of the Yaila-dagh
behind it. The former, although grasses and Liliaceae grow on them in great
variety and luxuriance in the early spring, become completely parched up by
July and August, while the air is then filled with clouds of dust. There also
high winds prevail, and snowstorms, hailstorms and frost are of common
occurrence. Nevertheless this region produces wheat and barley, rye and oats,
and supports numbers of cattle, sheep and horses. Parts of the steppes are,
however, impregnated with salt, or studded with saline lakes; there nothing
grows except the usual species of Artemisia and Salsola. As a
rule water can only be obtained from wells sunk 200 to 300 ft. deep, and
artesian wells are now being bored in considerable numbers. All over the
steppes are scattered numerous kurgans or burial-mounds of the ancient
Scythians. The picture which lies behind the sheltering screen of the
Yaila-dagh is of an altogether different character. Here the narrow strip of
coast and the slopes of the mountains are smothered with greenery. This Russian
Riviera stretches all along the south-east coast from Cape Sarych (extreme S.)
to Feodosiya (Theodosia), and is studded with summer sea-bathing resorts-
Alupka, Yalta, Gursuv, Alushta, Sudak, Theodosia. Numerous Tatar villages,
mosques, monasteries, palaces of the Russian imperial family and Russian
nobles, and picturesque ruins of ancient Greek and medieval fortresses and
other buildings cling to the acclivities and nestle amongst the underwoods of
hazel and other nuts, the groves of bays, cypresses, mulberries, figs, olives
and pomegranates, amongst the vineyards, the tobacco plantations, and gardens
gay with all sorts of flowers; while the higher slopes of the mountains are
thickly clothed with forests of oak, beech, elm, pines, firs and other
Coniferae. Here have become acclimatized, and grow in the open air, such plants
as magnolias, oleanders, tulip trees, bignonias, myrtles, camellias, mimosas
and many tender fruit- trees. Vineyards cover over 19,000 acres, and the wine
they yield (3 1/2 million gallons annually) enjoys a high reputation. Fruits of
all kinds are produced in abundance. In some winters the tops of the mountains
are covered with snow, but snow seldom falls to the south of them, and ice,
too, is rarely seen in the same districts. The heat of summer is moderated by
breezes off the sea, and the nights are cool and serene; the winters are mild
and healthy. Fever and ague prevail in the lower-lying districts for a few
weeks in autumn. Dense fogs occur sometimes in March, April and May, but seldom
penetrate inland. The difference of climate between the different parts of the
Crimea is illustrated by the following data: annual mean, at Melitopol, on the
steppe N. of Perekop, 48 degrees Fahr.; at Simferopol, just within the
mountains, 50; at Yalta, on the south-east coast, 56.5; the respective January
means being 20, 31 and 39.5, and the July means 74, 70 and 75.5 The rainfall is
small all over the peninsula, the annual average on the steppes being 13.8 in.,
at Simferopol 17.5, and at Yalta 18 in. It varies greatly, however, from year
to year; thus at Simferopol it ranges between the extremes of 7.5 and 26.4 in.
Other products of the Crimea, besides those already mentioned, are salt,
porphyry and limestone, and ironstone has recently been brought to light at
Kerch. Fish abound all round the coast, such as red and grey mullet, herring,
mackerel, turbot, soles, plaice, whiting, bream, haddock, pilchard, a species
of pike, whitebait, eels, salmon and sturgeon. Manufacturing industries are
represented by shipbuilding, flour- mills, ironworks, jam and pickle factories,
soap-works and tanneries. The Tatars excel in a great variety of domestic
industries, especially in the working of leather, wool and metal. A railway,
coming from Kharkov, crosses the peninsula from north to south, terminating at
Sevastopol and sending off branch lines to Theodosia and Kerch.
The bulk of the population consist of Tatars, who, however, are racially
modified by intermarriage with Greeks and other ethnic elements. The remainder
of the population is made up of Russians, Germans, Karaite Jews, Greeks and a
few Albanians. The total in 1897 was 853,900, of whom only 150,000 lived in the
towns. Simferopol is the chief town; others of note, in addition to those
already named, are Eupatoria and Bakhchisarai, the old Tatar capital.
History
The earliest inhabitants of whom we have any authentic traces were the
Celtic Cimmerians, who were expelled by the Scythians during the 7th century
B.C. A remnant, who took refuge in the mountains, became known subsequently as
the Tauri. In that same century Greek colonists began to settle on the coasts,
e.g. Dorians from Heraclea at Chersonesus, and Ionians from Miletus at
Theodosia and Panticapaeum (also called Bosporus). Two centuries later (438
B.C.) the archon or ruler of the last-named assumed the title of king of
Bosporus, a state which maintained close relations with Athens, supplying that
city with wheat and other commodities. The last of these kings, Paerisades V.,
being hard pressed by the Scythians, put himself under the protection of
Mithradates VI., king of Pontus, in 114 B.C. After the death of this latter
sovereign his son Pharnaces, as a reward for assistance rendered to the Romans
in their war against his father, was (63 B.C.) invested by Pompey with the
kingdom of Bosporus. In 15 B.C. it was once more restored to the king of
Pontus, but henceforward ranked as a tributary state of Rome. During the
succeeding centuries the Crimea was overrun or occupied successively by the
Goths (A.D. 250), the Huns (376), the Khazars (8th century), the Byzantine
Greeks (1016), the Kipchaks (1050), and the Mongols (1237). In the 13th century
the Genoese destroyed or seized the settlements which their rivals the
Venetians had made on the Crimean coasts, and established themselves at
Eupatoria, Cembalo (Balaklava), Soldaia (Sudak), and Kaffa (Theodosia),
flourishing trading towns, which existed down to the conquest of the peninsula
by the Ottoman Turks in 1475. Meanwhile the Tatars had got a firm footing in
the northern and central parts of the peninsula as early as the 13th century,
and after the destruction of the Golden Horde by Tamerlane they founded an
independent Khanate under a descendant of Jenghiz Khan, who is known as Hadji
Ghirai. He and his successors reigned first at Solkhat (Eski-Krym), and from
the beginning of the 15th century at Bakhchi-sarai. But from 1478 they ruled as
tributary princes of the Ottoman empire down to 1777, when having been defeated
by Suvarov they became dependent upon Russia, and finally in 1783 the whole of
the Crimea was annexed to the Russian empire. Since that date the only
important phase of its history has been the Crimean War of 1854-56, which is
treated of under a separate article. At various times, e.g. after the
acquisition by Russia, after the Crimean War of 1854-56, and in the first years
of the 20th century, the Tatars emigrated in large numbers to the Ottoman
empire.
See Antiquites du Bosphore cimmeien (3 vols., St Petersburg, 1854);
C. Bossoll. The Beautiful Scenery of the Crimea (52 large drawings,
London, 1855-1856); P. Brunn, Notices hist. et topogr. concernant les
colonies italiennes en Gazarie (St Petersburg, 1866); J. B. Telfer, The
Crimea and Transcaucasia (2 vols., London, 2nd ed., 1877); F. Remy, Die
Krim in ethnographischer, landschaftlicher und hygieniscier Beziehung
(Leipzig, 1872); Joseph, Baron von Hammer-Purgstall, Gescilicite der Chane
der Krim unter osmanischer Herrschaft, (Vienna, 1856); M. G.
Canale,Della Crimea e dei suoi dominatori dalle sue origini fino al trattato
di Parigi (3 vols., Genoa, 1855- 1856); and Sir Evelyn Wood, The Crimea
in 1854 and 1894 (London, 1895). (See also Bosporus CIMMERIUS.) '(P. A. K.;
J. T. Ba.)
