Mangup in the Crimea

Cities of Khazaria. Kromos Estatium
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     The khazar cities here include not only those cities that were built by the khazar architects, but also those that were built before the arrival of the khazars, were used by the khazars for their needs and tasks for a long time.
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Mangup in the Crimea **
     Also Mangup-Kale. Markup. Doros, among the khazars it was called Doros and Mank-t, mentioned in a letter to Europe by the last King of the Khazaria, Joseph.
     In the west of the Khazar Khaganate, King Joseph names 13 cities, all except Sarkel and Samkerts, located in the Crimea: Sh-r-kil — Sarkel, S-m-k-r-c — Samkerts, K-r-c — Kerch, Sugrai — Sudak, Alubikha — Alupka, Kut — ?, Mank-t — Mangup, Bur-K — Balaklava (?), al-mA — Alma and G-ruzin -- Gurzuf.
     The Mangup-city is one of the largest cave settlements in the Crimea.
     The name of the fortress is very ancient, apparently, the word «mankup» in the indo-aryan taurus meant a height or mountain with surrounding swamps. Indeed, 2.5 thousand years ago on the Mangum plateau there were many springs that created small lakes connected by erikas, which created a fertile net, the basis for agriculture.
     The word «man» in karaites means land, cape, side, country of the goths.
     Turks have the word «markup» with a similar vocalization that means the Ill-fated mountain. Under it, in 1475, they lost many of their soldiers while storming the fortress on the mountain that then belonged to the gothic Principality of Theodoro.
     The ancient settlement, which now includes the city of Mangup, is located in the Bakhchisaray district of Crimea on the cape Teshkli-Burun, that is, the Leaky cape, where the Bab-Dag mountain rises, which means «Father Mountain», rising to 600 meters. Father Mountain ends with a 90-hectare plateau, which drops off steeply to the south. From the north, the mountain is divided into four hills with ravines.
     A three-story medieval fortress has been preserved here. This was in fact the Citadel of Prince Mangup during the siege of the city.
     On the Father mountain plateau, there are two dozen springs, of which two, Male and Female, are located within the fortress.
     The first permanent settlement appears here in the middle of the 6th century before Christ. The plateau is inhabited by the taurus tribes, descendants of the indo-aryans. The taurus at the Mankup settlement are credited with the remains of the catacomb culture with elements of the earlier belozersk culture of the 10th century BC, which was brought to Crimea from the Lower Don.
     This is also confirmed by the fact that, starting from the 3rd century to the New faith, scythians and sarmatians followed the taurians into the Crimea painlessly, they did not capture the settlements of the taurians, but peacefully got used to the taurian sociocult, which also absorbed the cultures of local autochthonous tribes.
     After the scythians, the remnants of the goths come here, and with them the alans, who, apparently, were pushed from the Black Sea steppes by the huns and turkyuts.
     By the end of the 5th century, the goths create their own state in the Crimea, the Crimean Gothia, and begin to build fortifications on Mangup. Now the fortress on Mangupe becomes the capital of goth and the country of Dora, having received the name Doros.
     Procopius, writing at the end of the 5th century, notes the construction of a whole system of powerful fortifications on the approaches to Kherson through the mountainous Crimea. These were Suren, Eski-Kermen, Mangup, Inkerman, Chufut-Kale.
     Gothic architects developed a program of settlements for their citizens in such a way that small fortified shelters were built near cities and large settlements, where residents of these settlements gathered in case of danger.
     At the end of the 5th century, hermits appeared here, who first settled in the natural caves and grottos of Father mountain, and then began to expand these caves. The hermits turned out to be skilled cave builders, and the remains of many underground corridors that had niches for monks were preserved.
     Underground cave complex of Mangup consists of fortifications, temples, monasteries, household and other premises. This includes the Baraban-Koba cave. It contains a column that makes a drumming sound when it is tapped.
     People still live here. Among them there are true hermits who have moved away from the world, and there are also romantics who are looking for new sensations.
     In the 6th century, gothic fortifications began to be built on the principle of Citadels with a fortress wall and the owner's castle inside. All fortifications were built taking into account the terrain, near the intersection of roads, dominating valleys, passes and groups of rural settlements.
     At the end of the 6th century, Byzantium put considerable effort into building temples along this line, both in the fortresses themselves and outside their walls.
     At the end of the 6th century in the city of Mangup in its fortress Doros there is a gothic Diocese in the Crimea, and for it the goths build a Basilica. This meant that Gothia came under the protection of Byzantium and became Orthodox. At this time, a large temple was built in Mangup, the city of Gotii.
     At the end of the 7th century, a khazar garrison came to the city. However, the khazars were opposed by the Bishop of the diocese of Gotha, John of Gotha, supported by the Emperor of Byzantium.
     The appearance of the khazars at first proved disastrous for the social cults that had developed over hundreds of centuries on the Peninsula. They did not limit themselves to subordination of the hunno-bulgars, and began to push Byzantium as well. By the middle of the 8th century, many temples and other structures in Mangup and throughout the Crimea ceased to function.
     At the beginning of the 13th century, a political association was formed in Gothia, which was called the Principality of Teodoro, Feodoro, Mangup Principality with its capital in Doros of the Mangup.
     Travelers of that time note that the Mangup Principality began to build fortresses similar to Doros, trying to strengthen its position on the Crimean coast, in which it is actively assisted by Byzantium.
     At this time, many hermit monks arrive from Byzantium to the underground city under mount Mangup, who are able to hold weapons in their hands in addition to crosses. Here also appear pososhniki from Rus, who cut down small cells in the rock, but theкRussian hermit, unlike the others, actively participate in the life of the city on the upper plateau.
     One of them, named Dimitar, repeatedly participated in military and political discussions about the fate of the Gothia against Lithuania, which was brought here by the Prince of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Vytautas. In Vytautas army there were more Rus than litovs, so Dimitar could be a member of Vytautas army, who sided with Doros.
     In the middle of the 14th century, a series of earthquakes took place along the coast of the southern Crimea, which undermined the country's economy. The city of Doros has fallen into considerable disrepair. However, by the beginning of the 15th century, Doros is fully restored and its Ruler Alexius claims the territory of the Captaincy of Gothia, which was previously founded by the Genoese in the area of Foros.
     Gradually, Doros regains its political rights thanks to the perseverance of its first Prince Alexy. However, the war with the Genoese continued for some time, until in 1434, the Doros army led by Prince Olubey of Doros, son of Alexy, together with the Crimean Khan Gerai, defeated the Genoese.
     From 1447 in Doros reigned Oluba. It was proclaimed by the dignitaries of Trebizond, the state created by Byzantium.
     In 1465, Isaac, in the russian chronicles of Isaiko, brother of Olubey, is declared the heir of Byzantium, which fell in 1453, Trebizond Lord of Gothia, and he reigned until 1474. The official name of the satellite Prince of the Byzantine Emperor was avtokrator, equal and worthy only of the Emperor. Now the crown of the Emperor appears in the symbolism of Prince Doros.
     In 1472 Duchess Maria of Mangup, the daughter Olubea marry the moldavian ruler Stefan the Great. Princess Maria was related to the bulgarian royal family of Asenei, as well as the Imperial family of Palaiologos, and she was also related to the family of the Komnenos of Trebizond, so for Stefan it was a very prestigious marriage, which gave him and Maria important political trumps to play on the European political theater.
     At the beginning of 1475, Prince Isaika of Doros died and Alexander, the son of Olubey, became the Ruler of the Mangup Principality.
     At the end of 1475, the ottomans begin the siege of Doros. By this time, the townspeople had left the gothic capital. Only the feodorite garrison, the moldavian soldiers, and the tatars of Khan Gerai, who had been deposed by that time, remained, in all, about two thousand in number. Among the defenders of Doros were several princes, and Khan Gerai. And among the princes was the monk Kassian of Uglich, in the world Constantine, Prince of Mangup, a Russian subject, a resident of Uglich.
     At first, the defenders of the Fortress were lucky, they managed to destroy the janissary corps, the elite of the oOttoman army. However, then their Prince Alexander was captured, who was pointedly executed in Istanbul. Left without the head of state, the defenders began to leave the fortress and the city.
     After a seven-month siege, Doros was taken. The ottomans did not destroy it, considering that the fortress would be useful to them, and over time even expanded and strengthened it and gave it a new name Mangup-Kale, that is, Mangup fortress.
     Over time, part of the posad people returned to the walls of the fortress, and until 1774, Mangup continues to perform the main city functions, but Mangup-Kale no longer reaches its former greatness.
     After the turks left the fortress in 1774, the life of the city began to gradually subside. The fortress no longer protected artisans or provided them with orders.
     Until 1790, only the community of Mangup karaites remains here.
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