The article
discusses the history of the two names of the capital of the Bosporus state,
Panticapaeum and Bosporus. The author
briefly describes the research of his predecessors and gives his assessment
of the origin and understanding of both toponyms. A special attention is paid
to the main source in this question, the Bibliotheca historica of
Diodorus Siculus. Archaeological, epigraphic, and numismatic sources related
to each of the two names are also considered. The author identifies the names
of the capital of Bosporus, given in the
writings of ancient authors, epigraphic and numismatic monuments, and
provides them a brief description, which allows specifying the time of
appearance and duration of the existence of both names. In conclusion, the
author gives an explanation of the reasons for the phenomenon, so unusual for
the ancient world, when the names of the polis and the city diverge.
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Key
words: Bosporus, Pontus, Panticapaeum,
Archaianaktids, Spartokids, Polis.
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