Köhler's startling list (Narration fragment)

Köhler's startling list

In 1804 the Academy of Sciences commissioned archaeologist Karl Köhler to examine and evaluate the various monuments of the former khanate.  Köhler fell ill and could not complete his work that year, but he returned to the task in May 1821 and completed it by year's end. 

Köhler submitted his findings to the minister of education and spiritual affairs, Prince A. N. Golitsyn, in December. His report divided the Greek, Genoese, Tatar and Turkish monuments of Crimea into two classes: those beyond repair but worthy of preservation, such as kurgans, graves, and the foundations of ancient buildings, and those that could be restored through “relatively small expenditures” of time and money.

“These monuments are particularly important for [the study of] ancient history and geography,” Köhler explained, “and must be preserved from the damage that might be rendered them out of ignorance.” The dividends, he promised, would have a political, as well as an academic aspect, for while the French and English, “have shown great enthusiasm for the homogeneity of the antiquities of their respective fatherlands,” these were nowhere near as numerous or as ancient as the “priceless monuments in Crimea.”

Köhler's List

1. Evpatoriia mosque
2. Mausoleum at Eski Yurt
3. Balaklava fortress
4. Mangup fortress
5. Genoese fortress at Sudak
6. Turkish bath at Feodosiia
7. Feodosiia Friday mosque
8. Fortress and mosque at Eski Sarai

Remarkably, 5 of the 8 monuments (and 74% of the budget of 44,100 rubles) were allocated to Turkish and Tatar monuments. Köhler thus became the first Russian official to acknowledge, and in fact insist on, the value of preserving the cultural landscape of the khanate.

His opinion was not common currency in the imperial capital. Having reviewed the report, Golitsyn issued his opinion on the matter of Crimean antiquities: “Protecting the remains of Turkish and Tatar constructions is not as useful as protecting those of the Greeks and Genoese,” explained the minister, for the former could hardly be considered part of true “antiquity.” The fortresses at Balaklava, Mangup and Sudak therefore deserved the lion’s share of expenditures.

In fact, instead of allocating funds for restoration, Golitsyn confirmed the official plan to convert the main mosque in Feodosiia into a church and tear down the Turkish baths in order to make way for an expanded city square. The mosques and burial sites at Eski Yurt, Eski Sarai and Evpatoriia were simply not the concern of the imperial government. The mufti was welcome to solicit contributions for their restoration from the local population and, if need be, from the entire Muslim population of the empire.

The Senate and State Council accepted Golitsyn’s proposals, leaving the fate of several major monuments squarely in the hands of whatever private individuals – presumably beys or mirzas – might have the requisite wealth and devotion necessary to spare them further ruin.