Ancient Greek colonies
Read more: Ancient Greek colonies of the Northern Black Sea
In the 8th century BC e. there is a demographic explosion in Greece. Due to the lack of fertile lands, this
causes mass displacement and Greek colonization of the Mediterranean world (according to the ancient
Roman historian Plutarch, the Greeks settled on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea "like those frogs
on the shores of a pond"). Colonization also affects the northern shores of the Black Sea. These
processes strengthen the independence of individual communities, provide an alternative to tsarist
tyranny in the polis, thus revitalizing the transition to democratic forms of government. VI century BC c.
the age of the appearance of the first Greek settlement on the island of Berezan at the mouth of the
Dnieper (Borysfenida) is dated. Over time, other city-states appeared in the south of modern Ukraine:
Thira and Nikony (on the Dniester), Olbia (Ionian culture on the Southern Bug), Chersonese (Dorian
culture near modern Sevastopol), Panticapei (near modern Kerch), Feodosia, Tanais (at the mouth of the
Don). The economy of the ancient Greek polis was based on highly developed crafts, agriculture (wheat,
grapes) and trade with local people. Bread, wine, Harun fish sauce, exchanged furs, honey, and cattle
were sent to the mother policies. A slave-owning democracy was developed in the polis — all power
belonged to the citizens ("demos"), who defended their own communities with weapons in their hands
and consulted in the agoras, deciding important issues by voting. In addition to citizens, the polis was
inhabited by lawless slaves, other non-citizen Greeks, mostly engaged in trade ("meteks"), and
foreigners "xenas". The main source of the supply of slaves was military capture, birth from a slave or
purchase in slave markets. Colonies actually consisted of polis and agricultural districts. Cities were
equipped with water supply and drains, crafts and trade spread, and their own coins were minted. The
descendants of the ancient Greeks lived in the Crimea until the end of the 18th century, when by order
of Catherine II they were forcibly resettled in the Azov region.
Ancient cities of Ukraine
Ancient cities of Ukraine
The ruins of Olbia
The ruins of Olbia
Pottery found in Olbia
Pottery found in Olbia
Ruin of Chersonesus
Ruin of Chersonesus
The royal mound in the painting by Carlo Bossoli, 1856
The royal mound in the painting by Carlo Bossoli, 1856
In the 5th century BC e. on the shores of the Kerch Strait, between the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, a
strong centralized Bosporus state was formed. At first it was a union of polises (Theodosia, Phanagoria,
etc., the capital was Panticapae), which had a certain autonomy, and later this union turned into an
absolute monarchy. The economy of this kingdom was built on agriculture and trade with Athens, where
up to 5 million poods of grain were exported annually. Over time, the Bosporus resisted the expansion
of Rome to the northeast. Its last ruler Mithridates VI Eupator in the 1st century BC. suffered a final
defeat and shortened his life. The Northern Black Sea region falls under the influence of the Roman
Empire, although the official borders of the state passed through the Danube-Dniester (Trajan ramparts)
and the Caucasus Mountains, and in the Crimea, Roman garrisons were located only in separate polises.
Ancient Greek culture brought ancient architecture, art, education, advanced science (especially
medicine), viticulture and winemaking to the Northern Black Sea Coast. As a result of Greek
colonization: the development of a democratic system, agricultural technologies and crafts,
urbanization, the introduction of coins into circulation, the southern vector of the population's
civilizational orientation.
Gothic times
Read more: Chernyakhiv culture
After the split of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern, came the Byzantine period in the history
of the Northern Black Sea region. In the middle of the III century N. e. from the Vistula basin (Velbar
culture) the Scandinavian tribes of the Goths moved to the land of the legendary fertile Oyum. Military
prowess and leadership organization allowed them to conquer huge territories in Eastern Europe, the
local agricultural population of the forest part of the Dnieper region (the legendary execution of the
Ante leader Bozh) during the time of Germanarch, and push them to the north, expel the Iranian
Sarmatian tribes from the steppe and conquer the Crimea. This led to their founding of their own
kingdom (described in the work "Getica" by the Roman historian Jordan) with the capital Danparstad
(probably a settlement near the village of Bashmachka, Dnipropetrovsk region). Some scientists believe
that the Goths were also involved in the formation of the Chernyakhiv archaeological culture (end of the
2nd - middle of the 5th century AD) - one of the most interesting phenomena in pre-literate history on
the lands of Ukraine[2]. Currently, about 5,000 Chernyakhiv antiquities are known, mostly settlements,
and their geography is identified with a significant part of the modern territory of Ukraine. In particular,
it is recorded that it was at this time that the potter's wheel and iron ploughshares were used for the
first time on the territory of Ukraine, glass production was introduced, metallurgy and various iron-
working crafts were comprehensively developed[18]. This state was destroyed in 375 AD. e. a union of
nomadic Asian tribes of the Huns, led by Balamber.
