Çufut Qale
| Çufut Qale | ||
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 View of the former fortress |
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| Creation time : | 5th or 6th century | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Geographical location | 44 ° 44 '27.7 " N , 33 ° 55' 28.1" E | |
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Chufut-kale ([ tʃʊfʊt qalæ ], Ukrainian and Russian Чуфут-Кале / Chufut Kale , Crimean chufut-kale , Karaim Къале קלעה ) is a medieval fortified town on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea . It is located about 2.5 km east of the city of Bakhchysarai in Bakhchysarai Rajon . The name Çufut Qale comes from Crimean Tatar and means something like Jewish fortress (çufut - Jew, qale - fortress).
history
The city probably originated in the 5th or 6th century as a fortified settlement on the periphery of the Byzantine Empire. Possibly the place is identical with the city Phoullai (Φουλλαι), which is mentioned in various sources, but is not yet clearly localized. The city's population at that time was likely to have been predominantly Alan .
During the rule of the Cyclists over the Crimea, the city came under their control and was given the name Kyrk-Er, which means "forty places".
In 1299 Kyrk-Er was stormed and sacked by troops of the Golden Horde led by Emir Nogai . In the 13th and 14th centuries, the city was the center of a small principality that was dependent on the Golden Horde. From the 14th century Karaites settled in the city . By the time the Crimean Khanate was formed, they should have made up the majority of the local population.
In the 15th century, Kyrk-Er became the residence of the first khan of independent Crimea, Haci I. Giray . Under Khan Meñli I. Giray , however, the capital was relocated to the newly founded Bakhchysarai . The old fortress was used as a prison for high-ranking prisoners of war. A mint was also set up at the site . During this time the fortress was given its current name Çufut Qale (Jewish fortress), as its Karaite inhabitants belonged to a specific form of Judaism . The Karaites even call the place Dschuft Kale ( Karaim for double fortress ) or simply Kale ( Fortress ).
After the Crimea became part of the Russian Empire , the Karaean population began to leave the fortress city and settle in other localities in the Crimea. At the end of the 19th century, Chufut-Kale was finally completely depopulated.
Current condition
Today Chufut Kale consists mainly of ruins. In the western, oldest part of the former fortress city, economic rooms carved into the rock have been preserved, as well as the ruins of a mosque and a mausoleum, which was built in 1437 for the daughter of Khan Toktamish , Dschanyke-Chanym. Also well preserved are two Karaean synagogues (so-called "kenessen") and two buildings of an estate. The kenessen is currently being restored by the Karaite community. An exhibition has been set up on the estate to provide information about the culture of the Karaites. In the eastern part of the city there was the minting of the Crimean khanate, which has not survived, and a large number of residential buildings.
literature
- Енциклопедія українознавства. У 10-х т. / Гол. ред. Володимир Кубійович. - Париж; Нью-Йорк: Молоде Життя, 1954—1989.
- Гайко Г. , Білецький В. , Мікось Т., Хмура Я. Гірництво й підземні споруди в Україні та Польщі (нариси з історії). - Донецьк: УКЦентр, Донецьке відділення НТШ, "Редакція гірничої енциклопедії", 2009. - 296 с
