Olbia - is an antique city on
the coast of the Bugsky estuary, in the region of a modern settlement
Parutino.
In the Greek colonization of the Northern Black Sea Coast the city
Miletos played a significant role. The aristocracy of Milet were
even received a name of "The eternal seamen ". The connections between
the center of the empire and Olbia, as well as with the other Miletos
colonies, existed as if they were equal and sovereign partners.
More often they were connected by the economical knots and by the
unity of cult.
Olbia was founded by the people of Miletos on the border of VII
- VI centuries BC and by the end of VI cent. BC it took the form
of a typical Greek city-state. It was a slave-holding and democratic
republic. During the period before Mithradates, Olbia was a significant
industrial and trade center. It's trade relations extended up to
the separate regions of Povoljie and Priuralie.
In 331 BC Olbia appeared to be an object of the aggressive politics
of Zopirion, who was the deputy of Alexander Makedonsky in Thrace.
But olbiopolits, united with Scyths, destroyed the Macedonian army
and Zopirion died in fight.
Beginning from the III cent. BC situation in Olbia became worse.
The more economically strong Bosporos traders forced out the merchants
of Olbia from many regions of the Black Sea Coast. The result of
the military conflicts with Scyths and the other local tribes was
that in II cent. BC Olvia found itself under the power of Scyths.
This event was testified in the city by the caulking of coins with
the name of a Scyths' king Skilur. In the end of II cent. BC the
city was released from the Scythian domination, but found itself
depending on the king of Pontos, Mithradates the Great.
In the second half of I cent. BC Olbia which was built up after
the rout of Gets admitted the dependence on the barbarous kings
- Pharzoy and Inensimey - who minted their own coins in the city.
From the II cent. AD the Roman garrison was billeted in the city.
A bit later Olbia was included in a structure of the Roman province
- Lower Moesia. The coins with the portraits of the Roman emperors
were minted in the city.
In III cent AD Olbia as well as the other antique states of the
Northern Black Sea Coast entered the period of the general economical
and social-political downfall. At the same time the pressure of
the barbarians from the outside became stronger. In the III cent.
AD the city was routed by the Goths and the invasion of the nomadic
hordes of Huns finally destroyed the city- state Olbia in the end
of IV cent. AD.
In the early times the money of Olbia was in the form of cast copper
arrows, dolphins and fishes. In the V - IV cent. BC the bronze cast
"Aes-Graves" were issued. And from the V cent. BC the coinage of
silver coins started. In IV - III cent. BC the city-state issued
gold, silver and copper coins. The coins of the second half of the
II cent. BC with the name of Skilur testified about the subordination
of the city to the Scyths. In I - III cent. AD the Roman garrison
was billeted in the city and the spreading of the Roman coins was
connected with that event. The reduction and then the disappearance
of its own currency in the last quarter IV AD points to the downfall
and the decline of the city.
Tyra - is an antique city on
the western coast of the Dnestrovsky estuary, within the precincts
of the town Belgorod - Dnestrovsky. It was based in VI cent. BC
and at first it was a rather small settlement of agricultural nature.
Only from IV cent. BC it acquired the importance of a trade center.
The typical Greek policy with all institutions of local governing
- people's meeting, council, arhontat, etc. It confirms the autonomous
caulking of an urban coin including gold as well.
In the early Hellenistic time Tyra experienced the epoch of prosperity
and then it entered the period of crisis which was completed by
the inclusion of the city in a structure of the mandatory power
of Mithradates the Great. In the fifties of I cent. AD Tyra was
subordinated by the Romans.
Tyra had its own independent monetary business. The first period
-an autonomous coinage of Tyra - started in the end of the fifties
of IV cent. BC by the emissions of silver drachmas which patterns
imitated kizikins. During III - II cent. BC the mint of Tyra coined
copper coins for the needs of the internal market. For international
trade the electric kizikins were used.
The first period was completed by the issue of the coins testifying
about the subordination of Tyra to Mithradates the Great from the
end of II cent. BC. From the second half of I cent. BC and for almost
one hundred years Tyra did not issue its coins. The second period
of an autonomous caulking lasted from the time of the emperor Domitianus
(81-96 years) up to the end of the board of the emperor Alexander
Sever (225-235 years) with little breaks. The coins of Tyra of this
period represented copper with the portraits of the members of the
Imperial house for the province of the Roman Empire.
The finds of Tyra's coins out of the city and the finds of the coins
of the other antique centers in Tyra itself are significant for
the study of business relations . According to the pictures on the
coins we can speak about the cults of the god of river Tyras, Demeter,
Apollo, Dionysos; and also, it is possible to judge about Athene,
Hermes, Heracles, Aesculapius.
Nikoniy - is an antique
city on the eastern coast of the Dnestrovsky estuary, within the
precincts of the modern settlement Roksolana. It appeared in the
second half of VI cent. BC and was in a definite economical and
political dependence from Istros. The stone building in the city
started in V cent. BC. The building up of Nikoniy had a regular
character. On the border of III - II cent. BC the city was exposed
to the destruction. During the first centuries AD the size of the
city increased as contrasted to the previous period. Life in Nikoniy
stopped during III - IV cent. AD.
In V - IV cent. BC the main means of paying were copper cast coins
on the internal market of Nikoniy. It is possible that Nikoniy itself
issued these coins as coins of the other antique centers were found
incommensurably less than the coins of Istros in the city.
To the own coins of Nikoniy belonged the cast coins of three face-values
dated approximately 470 - 460 BC with the name of the Skythian king
Skil. The coincidence of the dating of the coins with the time of
the Skil's government and also the conformity of the limitation
of the given emission to the brevity of the board of this king serve
as a conformation that it was the name of Skil which was indicated
on the coins of Nikoniy.
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