AGRICULTURE OF SUBTROPICAL ZONE ON THE BLACK SEA COAST IN THE BYZANTINE PERIOD BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOUR

At the moment, the territory of the Russian subtropical zone on the Black Sea coast is one of the oldest regions in cultural agriculture in the Russian Federation. After the emergence of the Byzantine Empire and strengthening of its influence on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, the advanced skills of Mediterranean civilizations lay on the fertile soil of the farmlands located in the territory of the Colchian culture, known for its ancient agriculture. Christianity strengthened on the coast, which was marked by the construction of temples and the emergence of infrastructure around them, contributed to spreading of advanced agrarian knowledge from the metropolis. Twenty-seven medieval temples are currently recorded on the territory of Greater Sochi, many of which have been lost. Many monuments of historical and cultural heritage have been lost in the process of expanding the territory of urban development, which, of course, deprives science of the opportunity to study in more detail the historical processes of agricultural development in the subtropical zone of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus in the Byzantine period. The few preserved materials found on the lost monuments and new ones recently identified give us the opportunity to see a relatively objective picture of agricultural development in the territory of Greater Sochi. The paper describes historical stages and directions of development of agriculture, agricultural crops and cultivation technologies on the Black Sea coast during the Byzantine rule, as well as presents the reasons for changing cultivation areas. The genesis of subtropical crop production and agriculture is considered in the key of historical changes in political, technological and climatic conditions.