The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a
transboundary river
A transboundary river is a river that crosses at least one political border, either a border within a state or an international boundary. Bangladesh has the highest number of these rivers, including two of the world's largest rivers, the Ganges and ...
in
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
. It runs first through
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and then through
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...
(from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
), finally discharging into the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
on Ukrainian territory again.
Names
The name ''Dniester'' derives from
Sarmatian
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...
''dānu nazdya'' "the close river." (The
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...
, also of Sarmatian origin, derives from the opposite meaning, "the river on the far side".) Alternatively, according to
Vasily Abaev
Vaso (Vasily) Ivanovich Abaev ( os, Абайты Иваны фырт Васо; russian: Василий Иванович Абаев, also transliterated as Abayev and Abayti; 15 December 1900 – 18 March 2001) was an ethnically Ossetian Soviet ...
''Dniester'' would be a blend of
Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
''dānu'' "river" and
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
''Ister'', the previous name of the river, literally Dān-Ister (River Ister). The
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
name of Dniester, ''Tyras'' (Τύρας), is from
Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
''tūra'', meaning "rapid."
The names of the
Don
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
and
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
are also from the same Indo-Iranian word ''*dānu'' "river". Classical authors have also referred to it as ''Danaster.'' These early forms, without -''i''- but with -''a''-, contradict Abaev's hypothesis.
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is ...
refers to the river both as the Niester and Dniester in his ''
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...
''.
In
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
, it is known as ( translit. ''Dnister''), and in Romanian as . In
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
: ''Nester'' נעסטער; in Turkish, ''Turla''; and in Lithuanian as ''Dniestras''.
Geography
The Dniester rises in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, near the city of
Drohobych
Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban h ...
, close to the border with Poland, and flows toward the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. Its course marks part of the border of Ukraine and
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...
, after which it flows through Moldova for , separating the main territory of Moldova from its breakaway region
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
. It later forms an additional part of the Moldova-Ukraine border, then flows through Ukraine to the Black Sea, where its
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
forms the
Dniester Liman
Dniester Estuary, or Dniester Liman ( uk, Дністровський лиман; ro, Limanul Nistrului) is a liman, formed at the point where the river Dniester flows into the Black Sea. It is located in Ukraine, in Odessa Oblast, and connects B ...
.
Along the lower half of the Dniester, the western bank is high and hilly while the eastern one is low and flat. The river represents the ''de facto'' end of the Eurasian Steppe. Its most important tributaries are
Răut
Răut, also referred to as Reut (, Ukrainian and (Reut), (Revet)) is a river in Moldova, a right tributary of Dniester. Răut, generally navigable until the 18th-19th century, is navigable today only by small recreational boats.
The towns Băl ...
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
, the Dniester River was the centre of one of the most advanced civilizations on earth at the time. The Cucuteni–Trypillian culture flourished in this area from roughly 5300 to 2600 BC, leaving behind thousands of archeological sites. Their settlements had up to 15,000 inhabitants, making them among the first large farming communities in the world.
In antiquity, the river was considered one of the principal rivers of European
Sarmatia
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th c ...
, and it was mentioned by many Classical geographers and historians. According to
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
(iv.51) it rose in a large lake, whilst
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
(iii.5.17, 8.1 &c.) places its sources in Mount Carpates (the modern Carpathian Mountains), and Strabo (ii) says that they are unknown. It ran in an easterly direction parallel with the Ister (lower
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
), and formed part of the boundary between
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...
and Sarmatia. It fell into the
Pontus Euxinus
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
to the northeast of the mouth of the Ister, the distance between them being 900 stadia – approximately – according to Strabo (vii.), while (from the '' Pseudostoma'') according to
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
(iv. 12. s. 26).
Scymnus
Scymnus of Chios ( grc-gre, Σκύμνος ὁ Xῖος; fl. c. 185 BC) was a Greek geographer. It was thought he was the author of the ''Periodos to Nicomedes'', a work on geography written in Classical Greek. It is an account of the world ( ...
(Fr. 51) describes it as of easy navigation, and abounding in fish.
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
(''ex Pont.'' iv.10.50) speaks of its rapid course.
Greek authors referred to the river as ''Tyras'' (). At a later period it obtained the name of ''Danastris'' or ''Danastus'', whence its modern name of Dniester (Niester), though the Turks still called it ''Turla'' during the 19th century. The form is sometimes found.
According to Constantine VII, the
Varangians
The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian " Online Etymo ...
used boats on their
trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks
The trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks was a medieval trade route that connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Eastern Roman Empire. The route allowed merchants along its length to establish a direct prosperous trade with the Empir ...
, along Dniester and Dnieper and along the Black Sea shore. The navigation near the western shore of Black Sea contained stops at Aspron (at the mouth of Dniester), then Conopa, Constantia (localities today in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
) and Messembria (today in Bulgaria).
From the 14th century to 1812, part of the Dniester formed the eastern boundary of the
Principality of Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Central ...
.
Between the World Wars, the Dniester formed part of the boundary between Romania and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. In 1919, on
Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...
, the bridge was blown up by the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s. During World War II, German and Romanian forces battled Soviet troops on the western bank of the river.
After the
Republic of Moldova
A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
declared its independence in 1991, the small area to the east of the Dniester that had been part of the
Moldavian SSR
The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 194 ...
refused to participate and declared itself the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, or
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
, with its capital at
Tiraspol
Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...
on the river.
Tributaries
From source to mouth, right
tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
, i.e. on the southwest side, are the Stryi (), (), (), Bystrytsia (101 km),
Răut
Răut, also referred to as Reut (, Ukrainian and (Reut), (Revet)) is a river in Moldova, a right tributary of Dniester. Răut, generally navigable until the 18th-19th century, is navigable today only by small recreational boats.
The towns Băl ...
Botna
Botna is a river in Moldova, a right tributary of Dniester. With a length of 152 kilometres, Botna is the sixth longest river in Moldova. The Botna River passes through some localities in the center of the Republic of Moldova . Botna springs on the ...
().
Left tributaries, on the northeast side, are the Strwiąż (),
Zubra
Zubra () or Zubrya () is a river in Ukraine, 46 km in length, a left tributary of the Dniester River, the basin of Dniester. The Zubra river finds its source in Southern Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine ...
,
Hnyla Lypa
Hnyla Lypa (, ) is a river in Ukraine, a tributary of the Dniester river.
The name literally means "rotten linden tree" both in Polish and Ukrainian. It runs parallel to the Zolota Lypa river.
The river is namesake to the Battle of Gnila Lip ...
(),
Zolota Lypa
Zolota Lypa ( uk, Золота Липа, pl, Złota Lipa) is a river in Western Ukraine. It flows through the Ternopil and Chortkiv Raions, forming the Berezhany Lake north of the city of Berezhany. It is a left tributary of Dniester, belonging ...
(), (),
Strypa
The Strypa ( uk, Стрипа; hu, Sztripa) is a river in Ternopil Oblast, Western Ukraine. It is a left-bank tributary of the Dniester that flows southward for 147 km through Ternopil oblast and drains a basin area of 1,610 km2 (12% territory of ...
Murafa
Murafa () is a river in Ukraine, a left tributary of the Dniester. It is long and its basin area is .Мурафа (), (), (), and Kuchurhan ().Dnister River Encyclopedia of Ukraine, accessed 15 December 2022
See also
*
Dniester Canyon
Dniester Canyon – the Dniester River canyon, located at the territory of Dniester River Valley in Ukraine. On February 3, 2010, the Regional landscape park "Dniester Canyon" was promoted to the status of the National Nature Park.
Overview
...