Nikonion ( grc, Νικώνιον; la, Niconium) and Nikonia ( grc, Νικωνία)Strabo, Geography, §7.3.16
/ref> was an

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 peri ...

city on the east bank of the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

estuary. Its ruins are located 300 meters to the northwest of the modern village Roksolany, in the

Ovidiopol Ovidiopol ( uk, Ові́діополь; russian: Овидиополь; tr, Hacıdere) is a coastal urban-type settlement in Odesa Oblast, Ukraine. It is located on the eastern bank of Dniester Estuary directly across Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi an ...

district of the

Odessa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern ...

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 ...

History

Niconium was founded in the second half of the 6th century BC by colonists from

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

. On the opposite bank of the river other Milesian colonists had already founded

Tyras Tyras ( grc, Τύρας) was an ancient Greek city on the northern coast of the Black Sea. It was founded by colonists from Miletus, probably about 600 BC. The city was situated some 10 km from the mouth of the Tyras River, which is no ...

. The city was founded at a time when many

nomadic tribes A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

were beginning to settle in the areas north of 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, Roma ...

. The Greeks settled in this area because of the plentiful fishing and the opportunity to trade with these barbarian settlers. Stone construction in the city began in the 5th century. At the turn of the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, the city was destroyed, an event which was associated with the Macedonian commander

Zopyrion Zopyrion ( grc, Ζωπυρίων) (died 331 BC) was a Macedonian general. Zopyrion was made a governor either of Thrace or of Pontus by Alexander the Great. In 331 BC, he led an invasion of Scythian lands, "thinking that, if he did not attempt ...

, associate of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

. In the 1st century BC, the size of the city increased from the previous period. Niconium was abandoned permanently in the middle of the third century AD when the area was invaded by the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

during the

Great Migrations ''Great Migrations'' is a seven-episode nature documentary television miniseries that airs on the National Geographic Channel, featuring the great migrations of animals around the globe. The seven-part show is the largest programming event in t ...

Archaeological excavations

The city was located on a plateau which now descends steeply into the Dniestr estuary, which has submerged the lower terrace of the city. The size of the city is estimated to be . According to the findings of excavations in the area, it appears that in the 5th-4th centuries BC, the money in Niconium mostly consisted of Histrian coins. It is also possible that Niconium itself minted coins, because some of the coins discovered during excavation are unique in appearance and bear the name of the

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 ...

king

Scyles Scyles, Skyles, or Scylas (Scythian: ; grc, Σκυλης, romanized: ; Latin: ), was a Scythian king who lived in the 5th century BC. He is mentioned in the histories of Herodotus as having been an admirer of Greek culture and traditions, which l ...

, who had established a protectorate over Niconium and other settlements in the area and may have been buried in the city.

References

External links

Description of excavations in Niconium by the Nicolaus Copernicus University in 2012, including pictures
* ttp://www.archaeology.odessa.ua/ Odessa State Museum of Archaeology {{Authority control Milesian Pontic colonies Ancient history of Ukraine Former populated places in Eastern Europe Greek colonies on the Black Sea coast

History

Archaeological excavations

References

Further reading

External links