Wikipedia quote: “Called the Tauric Peninsula until the early modern period (16-19th c.), Crimea has historically been at the boundary between the classical world and the steppe… In the 14th century, it became part of the Golden Horde; the Crimean Khanate emerged as a successor state. In the 15th century, the Khanate became a dependency of the Ottoman Empire… The spelling “Crimea” is from the Italian form, la Crimea, since at least the 17th century, and the “Crimean peninsula” became current during the 18th century, gradually replacing the classical name of the Tauric Peninsula in the course of the 19th century… The city Staryi Krym (‘Old Crimea‘), served as the capital of the Crimean province of the Golden Horde. Between 1315 and 1329 CE, the Arab writer Abū al-Fidā recounted a political fight in 1300–1301 CE which resulted in a rival’s decapitation and his head being sent “to the Crimea”, apparently in reference to the peninsula, although some sources hold that the name of the capital was extended to the entire peninsula at some point during Ottoman suzerainty (1441–1783)…The word Qırım is derived from the Turkic term qirum (“fosse, trench”), from qori- (“to fence, protect”).”
For comparison, the name Tauric goes back to at least the 13th century B.C. and is mentioned in the world’s classical works such as ‘Iphigenia among Taurians‘. Here is what Euripides wrote in his famous epic:
“And to you, now Orestes:
Hear me Orestes and hear my commands. You might be far from here but you can hear well the voice of a goddess.
Take the homeward path with your sister and with the statue.
When you reach Athens, the city built by gods, look for a place near its border with Attica, next to the cliff of Karystus, a sacred place which my people call Halae.
You must build a temple there and inside that temple you must place the god-sent statue. You must name this temple the Taurian Temple and it will stand as a reminder of this land and of the troubles you have suffered, being pursued all over Greece by the Furies. In that temple, mortals will go to sing hymns in honour of the goddess Artemis from Tauris.”
When one imagines oneself in Greece in the 5th century B.C. reading these lines, one can easily imagine how important the Tauric Peninsular appeared to the readers of the famous epic. By the way, in that context, there was no doubt in the minds of the Greek populace that Artemis was the Tauric goddess originally. And her cult was in full force in the times of the Trojan War already which was the 13th century B.C., according to Euripides. The tragedy had such a powerful effect on the European civilization over the centuries, that in the 18th century A.D. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote his version of the Iphignia in Tauris (Goethe).
Homer mentioned Taurica in the Odyssey too.
Herodotus used the name Taurike in his famous ‘Histories’: “From Taurike to the north and toward the eastern sea lies inhabited Scythia, which also extends from the Cimmerian Bosporus [Kerch Strait] to the west and from Lake Maeotis [Azov Sea] to the Tanais River [Don River], which flows into the [northern tip] of this lake. (Herod., 4.100)
To recapitulate:
On the one hand, the name Crimea is relatively new to the area and is strongly associated with the Golden Horde’s invasion of the area less than 800 ago. The name became common only 300-400 years ago.
On the other hand, the name Taurica had been the original name of the Peninsular that goes back into antiquity and has been in the world lexicon for more than 3,000 years. It is an integral part of the classical literature. Besides, Tauric Chersonesus (area of present-day Sevastopol) was a landmark site for the history of Kyiv Rus because in that city Kyiv ruler Vladimir the Great was baptized. That was the most crucial event in the history of Rus-Ukraine because, after his return to Kyiv, Vladimir baptized his domain.
Kyiv most likely has much deeper ties with Taurica and Tauroscythians than is currently believed. Kyiv ruler Vladimir the Great who was baptized in Tauric Chersonesus in 987 A.D. chose to travel to that city despite many dangers and it has been an enigma why he did so. The “Gardariki, Ukraine’ ebook takes a closer look at the facts and offers a theory.
Artemis Cult originated in Taurica/ present-day Crimea >
Word ‘Kremlin’ derives from Tartarian word for ‘fortress’. It is of the same etymology with ‘Crimea’
