Cercinitis

(Greek, Kerkinitis), an ancient city founded by the Greeks at the turn of the fifth century B.C. on the west coast of the Crimea on the site of modern Evpatoriia. From the fourth to second centuries B.C., Cercinitis was one of the possessions of Chersonesus and played an important role in supplying it with grain. Trade with the Scythians of the Crimea was conducted through the city. In the second half of the fourth century and in the third century B.C., Cercinitis coined its own money. The Greco-Scythian Wars of the second century B.C. brought about the city’s ruin. During the first and second centuries A.D., it was a small commercial and farming settlement. Archaeological excavations have revealed part of a defensive wall dating from Hellenistic times and the ruins of residential quarters.