Sudak

History of the city

The history of Sudak goes back to ancient times. Many peoples were replaced here; the conquerors by bloodshed, fires, ruin asserted their right to own fertile lands and a port through which the flow of goods from Russia, Central Asia, India, Western Europe went.

Far flew the fame of a rich, well-fortified city of merchants and artisans, known in Russia under the name Sourozh.

In the XIII century, the Black Sea trade was taken over by the Genoese. Having founded a number of colonies in the Crimea, they captured Sudak in 1365, which they called Soldaya. For more than forty years, the new rulers built a powerful fortress, using the already existing fortifications. In the fortress lived Alans, Celts, Russian Germans, Italians, Greeks. And its air, accordingly, is impregnated with the cultures of all these peoples. Stone slabs are embedded in the walls, on which coats of arms and inscriptions are carved, telling which consul and when a particular tower was built.

When in 1475 the Turks landed in the Gulf of Feodosia, the fortress was steadfastly defended. Of all the Genoese colonies, Soldaya fell last. According to legend, a large group of defenders led by Consul Chrysoforo di Negro locked themselves in the main temple. All of them died when the Turks set fire to the building (archaeologists did find many burned bones in this place). Only a small part of the inhabitants of Soldaya escaped by going down the cliff (or secret passage) to the ships.

Currently, the Sudak fortress is under state protection; it is a branch of the Kiev architectural and historical reserve “Sofia Museum”. In Sudak, excavations are systematically carried out: the land here is literally filled with antiquities.

Thanks to the work of archaeologists, much has become known about the pre-Genoese Sughdei. A seaside fortification of the VI century, a settlement of the VII-IX centuries, where, according to scientists, ancient Rusich lived in the XII-XIII centuries. More than one and a half thousand years has the history of this small resort town.

Sudak and its surroundings have been inhabited by man since the deepest antiquity. Archaeologists have found here cultural monuments of the Bronze Age, belonging to the second half of the II millennium BC - ancient mounds with stone tombs. At the beginning of the third century there was an ancient settlement called Sughdeya. Over time, it turned into a large shopping center with a convenient, well-protected bay.

According to many scientists, Sudak, or Sourozh, as it is called in the ancient Russian chronicles, was founded in 212 AD by Alans who penetrated the Crimea in the II-III centuries AD.

During its existence, this city changed about thirty names: Sukdak, Sudag, Skdak, Sughdaya, Soldaya, Sourozh, Sukdeya, etc.

Sudak is one of the oldest cities in Europe: it is almost 18 centuries. And the last 5-6 centuries, its unique history is observed from the height of a picturesque mountain that rose above the sea, this fortress (according to historians, its construction lasted from 1371 to 1469).

What do we know about the Genoese fortress today? What awaits her tomorrow? In the second half of the XII century. in Sudak there are messengers of the mighty Byzantine state - Venetians, Pizans and Genoese. They actively trade with Russian, Polovets and Central Asian merchants.

Gradually, it was the Genoese who captured the entire coast from the Bosporus (Kerchi) to Chersonesos (the current area of Sevastopol). Kafa (Feodosia) became the capital of their colony in the Crimea, and Sudak, as we now put it, they decided to make a military base. We started with the construction of the now world famous fortress.

This fortress has suffered in its lifetime and seen everyone. It was stormed several times by Seljuk Turks and Tatars. On its stones you can still see traces of nuclei, sharp blades and peak.

As time has shown, the Genoese fortress was far from fake: it withstood everything. Apparently, the Italians knew a lot about fortification.

The fortress is spectacular (especially in the morning and evening) looks from everywhere: and if you go on the highway from Grushevka, from Alushta, and from the sea.

It is quite impressive in size: 30 hectares of territory, more than 2 kilometers of walls around the perimeter. The two-meter thickness of the walls reach 6-8 meters in height. Decorate the fortress, give it a finished look 14 well-preserved towers up to 15 meters high. Taking such a fortress in the pre-powder era was an extremely difficult matter. According to legend, the Turks somehow laid 200,000 heads before, having drained the moat, they were able to break into it from the north, gentle side, since on the other three sides the fortress is absolutely impregnable. Well, with the advent of gunpowder artillery, the fortress somewhat lost the role of a fortification.

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