Cherson in the Time of Changes (Review: Khapaev V. V. 2016. Vizantyskiy Сherson na rubezhe tysyacheletiy: vtoraya polovina X — pervaya polovina XI vv. Sebastopol: N. Orіanda Cover Image

Херсон в эпоху перемен (Рецензия на книгу: Хапаев В. В. 2016. Византийский Херсон на рубеже тысячелетий: вторая половина Х — первая половина XI вв. Севастополь: Н. Оріанда)
Cherson in the Time of Changes (Review: Khapaev V. V. 2016. Vizantyskiy Сherson na rubezhe tysyacheletiy: vtoraya polovina X — pervaya polovina XI vv. Sebastopol: N. Orіanda

Author(s): Alexandr A. Romensky
Subject(s): History
Published by: Нижневартовский государственный университет
Keywords: Cherson; Byzantium; Rus'; Prince Vladimir; earthquake; seismic hypothesis

Summary/Abstract: The book of V. V. Khapaev deals with the basic problems of the history of Byzantine Cherson at the turn of the Х—XI centuries. Special attention is given to Prince Vladimir’s Korsun campaign, as well as the problem of the causes, scope and chronology of the destruction of the city. The author concludes that the layer of destruction was caused by the powerful earthquake that had occurred in the beginning of XI century. The catastrophe was accompanied by the damage of the walls and curtains, most of the early medieval basilicas and residential estates. The researcher reconstructs the seismic history of the Crimea, considers the reliable data on the Crimean earthquakes and debunks a number of historiographical stereotypes about them. The economic and military-political situation of Cherson and theme in the second half of the Х — first half of ХI centuries is analyzed.