A New Source on the Problem of the Early Medieval Jewish Diaspora in Crimea

Document Type : Original Article

Author

The Crimean Republic Institute of Post-Graduation Pedagogical Education, Pavlenko str. 54, ap. 52 Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine. 95051.

Abstract

These days, many researchers pay more attention to the ancient and mediaeval history of Jewish communities in Crimea. In this paper, I will analyze already known information about the Hebrews in early medieval Crimea mainly from the fifth to the seventh centuries (the problems of the Hebrew diaspora in the Khazarian period I have studied in a separate article) and enlarge the scholarship with a new source, which seems to widen contemporary account on the given problem.
The cities of Chersonesos (fig. 1.1) and Bosporos (fig. 1.7) are traditionally considered to be the most important centers of the Jewish diaspora in the Crimean peninsula. The site of a synagogue, which had existed at the place where 1935 Basilica was erected later, is considered to be the most relevant argument for the Hebrews who lived in Chersonesos in the Late Ancient and Early Medieval periods. In spite of the contemporary discussion on the chronology and the interpretation of the main building periods of this construction, one can draw the conclusion that the synagogue existed during a certain period within the fourth century and ceased to exist at the end of the fourth century or at least no later than in the second half of the fifth century.

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