How a Greek Kingdom Arose in the Crimea

the long lasting legacy of the ancient Greeks is well deserved their arts architecture literature drama religion and military achievements have all withstood the test of time inspiring people to this day the sheer scale of their colonization is perhaps less well known but just as significant from the western shores of Sicily to modern-day Afghanistan Greek colonists traversed the known world in their search for a fresh start such expeditions were fraught with risk death and destruction were common fates for many who undertook these perilous journeys yet for those that did succeed in settling it's marked a new beginning overcoming great adversity for over 500 years Hellenic cities arose in many exotic places Bactria southern Gaul Eastern Spain and Libya all locations Greek colonists settled and then there was the boss Pirin Kingdom a Greco skillion hybrid domain centered around what is now eastern crimea situated at the edge of the known world and surrounded by powerful barbarian tribes living in this region was far from easy yet despite these considerable challenges persistence and perseverance ensured this kingdom transformed from a small collection of dependent colonies into one of the most remarkable kingdoms in antiquity the jewel of the Black Sea as the curtain rose on the 7th century BC Greece was not yet the majestic civilization it was destined to become when Athens is Acropolis gleamed with marble monuments or when Spartan soldiers stood supreme in scarlet cloaks back then famous cities such as Athens and Sparta were still in their infancy a shadow of their future power in their place other cities wielded great strength Argos Corinth Megara and Calais to name a few yes powerful Greek cities were not restricted solely to the mainland at that time to the east across the Aegean Sea Greek police dotted the western shore line of Asia Minor benefiting greatly from fertile plains and a direct link to the Aegean Sea no more so was this true than in Ionia a region famed for its good climate and fertile lands but having possession of such great natural resources soon attracted unwelcome visitors in the 7th century BC these Ionian cities were in constant crisis attracted by their wealth powerful neighbouring people's first the raiding clime Aryans and then various Lydian monarchs invaded Ionian lands waging devastating campaigns and taking large sways of territory for themselves a mass exodus of Ionian soon followed forced out of their homes many fled westwards to perceived safety the stronghold they were seeking was a city called Meletis the dominant Greek city in Ionia my Letus would not escape either the Lydian or the Chi Marian scourge having its lands pillaged and City besieged still as the city was situated on rocky peninsula this formidable fortress did manage to maintain control of the sea many in the city saw this as their only avenue for escape seeing their crops burnt and communities destroyed hundreds of my legion led Ionian refugees decided to start a new boarding boats and sailing north their destination the Black Sea [Music] the Greek relationship with this great sea had once been a troubled one for centuries they had associated it with one word more than any other danger its huge expanse combined with the ever-present threat of marauding barbarian pirates or more distant coastlines was enough to deter many it represented the fearful unknown shrouded in myth and legend IO Heracles Iphigenia and Amazon's all mythical characters whom the Greeks believed had wandered these distant lands so significant was their superstition that it is no surprise many Greeks once called the see the pontus acts in oz the inhospitable sea go there as your peril yes the my legions in time had overcome the myths over the course of the seventh century BC as the sea grew more and more familiar to them its portrayal as desolate and dangerous decreased by 600 BC no longer did the Greeks cool it's the frightening pontus acts on us now they refer to it as the Pontus oxen air the hospitable sea far and wide my legion colonists traversed this sea in their searches for new home lands from Olbia and Tyrus in the northwest to fascist in the Far East and cinah P in the south they founded colonies along a length and breadth of its shores the Malaysian selected settlement locations mainly for their access to fertile lands and navigable rivers one place more than any other suited these criteria the rough Peninsula situated to the north of the Black Sea this peninsula was a lucrative land flats fertile plains dominated the landscape a farmers dream still that was not all to the north of the peninsula was Lake my artists a lake abundant in fish the excellent farming land and rich fisheries would make it relatively easy to provide abundant surpluses of food it became the jewel of the Black Sea at the close of the seventh century BC my lesion colonists reached this far-flung land and settled erecting a trading port to take advantage of the peninsula's rich resources they called it pantech opium it was not just the economic fruits that attracted the my legions to this land strategically Pontic a Pym's position gave it great power dominating the narrow Chi Marion Bosporus the gateway to Lake mightest from the Black Sea and furthermore the peninsula had one other great bonus to offer preexisting earthworks stretched the length of the peninsula they had been built by a previous civilization the chameleons to help defend the lucrative land from the nearby sky bein seeking tribute by 600 BC the chameleons had long departed these shores yet the wall remained a great bonus for new colonists economically and strategically the peninsula was a powerhouse prosperity soon followed and not just for the rough peninsula back in Asia Minor my Letus reaped the rich rewards its colonies provided becoming the chief ornament of Ionia yet its hegemony could not last by the beginning of the fifth century BC no longer did my Letus bathe in splendor by then it was little more than a ruin having met its downfall at the end of the disastrous Ionian revolt its colonies on the Bosporus however did not share my lettuces unfortunate fate by 490 BC the area surrounding the rough Peninsula had transformed significantly as tales of the Bosporus his prosperity spread many would make the long journey and reap rich rewards pantech opium the once simple trading port transformed into a bustling center for commerce while further colonies also began to establish themselves on either side of the Bosporus cities such as mamekam her Manasseh and phanagoria this quickly brought new solutions to old problems existing on a prosperous edge of the known world inevitably brought dangers for the fledgling Greek cities the neighbouring skillion tribes certainly made regular demands for tribute either pay up or perish it was a well refined nomadic strategy the Bosporus cities however soon grew tired of it and reacted accordingly in around 520 BC realizing there was strength in numbers many of them combined to form a powerful state it was called the boss Pirin kingdom the boss Pirin kingdom soon started to show its economic expertise taking advantage of the lands great fertility and the abundance of sea life in Lake Maia tests by the beginning of the fifth century BC exports of bas Pirin grain and salted fish were finding willing buyers not just along the coast of the Black Sea but also further afield among Greek city-states city states such as mytilini athens and many in the Peloponnese this soon attracted the attention of the most powerful man in the world in 480 BC as the famous Persian King Xerxes prepared to cross the Hellespont and invade Greece his men halted a flotilla of grain ships sailing most likely from the Bosporus kingdom upon seeing the size of the fleet Xerxes asked his commanders where the corn Laden ships were going to your enemies sire said they carrying corn where to Xerxes answered and are not we to sailing to the same place as they with corn among all our other provisions what's wrong are they doing us in carrying food thither boss Pirin exports were finding buyers far and wide it was only the beginning by 438 BC the boss Pirin kingdom's economic prosperity had bloomed as reliance on grain exports by various Greek cities in the Aegean only increased still continuity cannot last forever and great change was fast approaching the kingdom for 40 years the boss Pirin kingdom has been ruled by a powerful tyranny called the arcane enacted I a dynasty likely of my legion origin in 438 BC however there occurred a fundamental change that year RK enacted I rule of the Bosporus ended in somewhat mysterious circumstances whether the family died out naturally all was removed in violent circumstances we do not know yet what we do know is that following its downfall the established tyranny was replaced by a man who would go on to create his own far greater dynasty spartacus spartacus who was almost certainly a member of the powerful ad region kingdom that then dominated much of the black seas western shoreline was instated as boss Pirin leader in 438 BC his dynasty would rule for the next three hundred and twenty eight years under first Spartacus and then his successors could either the sparta kids or luka nadine the boss Pirin kingdom entered a new epoch an epoch that will see the realm flourish with sparta kid tyrants at the helm the boss Pirin kingdom gradually expanded its borders no longer would it be limited to the immediate area each side of the Bosporus under Spartacus his son so Tyrus the expansion progressed gaining not only the rich nearby Athenian colony of nymphaeum but also taking over cities east of the Kai Marion Bosporus cities such as phanagoria this was just the start however and further conquest followed over the next 80 years as first a Tyrus his son Kahn and then his grandson para Saudis expanded prosper and Dominion yet further by the second half of the fourth century BC boss / and power reached far and wide from Theodosia in the West to the land to the Maya ty on the northeastern shore of Lake myotis and go get to the South they reaped rich rewards as boss Pirin Dominion increased so too did his economic power not only to the capture of powerful neighboring trading ports such as nymphaeum Theodosia and gore Gipper drastically increased the exporting power of the kingdom but the acquisition of the lucrative fertile lands of the Sindhi tribe in asia provided an even greater abundance of grain to export for many cities the boss Pirin kingdom thus became the breadbasket of the known world and one city more than any other came to rely heavily on this by the 4th century BC Athens the home of democracy and a once formidable power was one of the most prestigious cities in the Mediterranean still it had one Achilles heel the sheer size of the city meant that it could not feed itself attica's farms could not cope consequently the city relied heavily on grain imports they looked to the boss Pirin Kingdom originally beginning to receive grain from the boss spring kingdom as early as the latter half of the fifth century BC Athenian reliance on boss Pirin grain continually increased over the next 100 years the boss / and tyrants most famously say Tyrus Lucan and Pyrrha Saudis were all too happy to oblige in Athens they saw a reliable dependent trading partner always in need of the food supplies they had an abundant surplus of in Athens they saw profit as the Athenian and boss Pirin trading relationship grew stronger one was followed for the Sparta Kidd rulers elaborate statues of the tyrants who erected in the heart of Athens they received honorary titles for instance benefactor of Athens and last but certainly not least the Athenians bestowed upon the Sparta kids Athenian citizenship despite many Athenians viewing these men as uncivilized barbarians Athenian reliance on boss Pirin trade was clear for all to see the special relationship was far from one-sided however as grain ships departed the Bosporus so merchant ships loaded with attic gold and silver returned and boss Pirin coffers swelled using this great wealth the tyrants continued their great military expansion hiring various mercenaries to aid them in their Wars Greeks skivvy ins durations and salvations we can presume the conquering armies of sir Tyrus Lucan and Pyrrha Saudis contained all room yet boss Pirin economic might was not used solely for military purposes as the kingdom's power continued to grow further boss spurring settlements were founded throughout the domain and developed into new prosperous ports the kingdom that was once a collection of greek colonies was now establishing profitable settlements of its own throughout this golden age happening when many once mighty States experienced rapid decline the boström kingdom thrived by 311 bc the boss Pirin kingdoms power must have been or inspiring the jewel of the Black Sea yet no Kingdom enjoys endless immunity from instability no Golden Age can last forever within a year the kingdom seemingly stable Society would descend into a fratricidal civil war that would shake the kingdom to its core termal loomed thank you for listening to this audio on the boss proned kingdom part 2 on the boss Prince Civil War will be out in the next couple of weeks until then goodbye

Channel: Battles of the Ancients

Views: 23,981

Keywords: Bosporan Kingdom

Id: plwBheIPnqk

Length: 16min 30sec (990 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 02 2019