Chersonese (/ˈkɜːrsəniːs/) is a name that was given to several different places in ancient times. The word is derived from the Greek term for "peninsula", χερσόνησος chersonēsos, from χέρσος chersos ("dry land") + νῆσος nēsos (island).
It was applied to a number of peninsulas in the ancient world. These included:
- Chersonesos Taurica, ancient Greek colony in the land of Tauri (today, on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Crimea); the name was also used to refer to the entire Crimean peninsula.
- Thracian Chersonese ancient Greek colony in the land of Thracians (today in Gallipoli); known in Latin as Chersonesus Thracica, the ancient name for the Gallipoli Peninsula.
- Chersonesus Aurea, or Golden Chersonese, the ancient name for the Malay Peninsula, described by Ptolemy circa 150 AD.
- Chersonesus Cimbrica or Cimbrian Chersonese, the ancient name for Jutland.
- Syrian Chersonese, referred to by Plutarch, believed to have been situated in a bend of the Orontes river in the neighbourhood of Antioch.
- In addition, in the 1632 Charter of Maryland, King Charles I of England referred to the Delmarva Peninsula as the "Chersonese."
See also
Topics referred to by the same termThis disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name.If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Categories: