AYBABIN А.I. On the Reform of the Administrative System of Byzantium’s Possessions in the Crimea in the Last Quarter of the 6th Century

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2017.5.4

Aleksandr I. Aybabin

Doctor of Sciences (History), Professor, Director of Research Centre of the History and Archaeology of Crimea,

V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University,

Prosp. Vernadskogo, 4, 295007 Simferopol, Russian Federation

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4116-8198

Abstract. The Byzantine domination over Crimea was reinforced during the reign of Justinian I (527–565) who, according to Prokopios of Caesarea, fortified Cherson and the Bosporus. The emperor also built two castles on the coast, Aluston (mod. Aluşta) and Gorzoubites (mod. city Gurzuf) and fortified a country or region named Dori in the mountainous area, where the Goths and the Alans lived.

In 571 or after 572 the steppes bordering with the Bosporus between Meotid and the Caucasian mountains were captured by the Turks. The inscriptions from Cherson and Taman indicate the reaction of Byzantium to a new threat. Justin II established a new frontier ducat in Crimea and subordinated the civil administration and Byzantine troops in Crimea to the doux of Cherson. Around 579, the Turks appear in front of the walls of Cherson. In 581 the kagan of the Turkic peoples died and they left Crimea. During the reign of the emperor Mauricius (582-602) they built fortresses in south-western Crimea, on the plateau of Eski Kermen, Bakla and Chufut Kale. The emperor subdued the Bosporus and south-western Crimea to the doux of Cherson. As the result of fortification, building the region of Dori was divided into districts, called Klimata or Archontiai, centred on the fortress where the archon resided.

Key words: Byzantium, doux, Cherson, Bosporus, Turks, south-western Crimea, reform.

Citation. Aybabin А.I. On the Reform of the Administrative System of Byzantium’s Possessions in the Crimea in the Last Quarter of the 6th Century. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 4, Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. International Relations], 2017, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 38-45 (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2017.5.4.

On the Reform of the Administrative System of Byzantium’s Possessions in the Crimea in the Last Quarter of the 6th Century by Aybabin А.I. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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