Cartographic Model for the Transformation of Crimean Hydronyms

Abstract

The multi-ethnic composition of the population on the Crimean Peninsula, which has undergone significant changes over the centuries, determined the formation of a dynamic toponymic system in the region. This was reflected in the multi-temporal maps that were created by cartographers from different countries over the past two centuries. The purpose of the study was to establish the temporal and territorial features of the transformation of the Turkic toponymic system of Crimea, using the names of rivers and lakes. The created database of regional hydrography includes 68 potamonyms and 43 limonyms of non-Turkic etymology, which is 46 % and 94 % of their total number, respectively. Among the identified seven historical and geographical periods in the interval from 1774 to 2000, the most active renaming of rivers with the largest catchment area occurred in the periods 1774–1792 and 1953–1955. Cartographic visualization of the territorial distribution of 74 hydronyms according to three main types with different degrees of their transformation showed that the modern name with a transformed root base or a compound bilingual name, which characterizes potamonyms 2.5 times more often than limnonyms, is more represented for the river basins of the Plain Crimea.

Acknowledgements: The study was funded by the All-Russian public organization "Russian Geographical Society" (within the framework of the project “Geoinformation system "Ethnoarchaeology and Ethnodemography of the Crimean Peninsula” (ID 49228)).