Tyras
Tyras was an ancient Greek city located in present-day Ukraine, situated twelve miles upstream from the Black Sea on the Dniester River. Founded by Ionian Greeks from Miletus in the sixth century BC, Tyras was strategically positioned near an island that has since submerged. Archaeological evidence suggests that Tyras had active commercial relationships with local tribes and other Greek cities, extending as far as Athens. The city later became an important site during the Hellenistic period, producing its own coins and witnessing the influence of notable historical figures like Lysimachus, a successor of Alexander the Great. Tyras faced destruction from the Getae in the mid-first century but was rebuilt and continued minting coins during the Roman period. The site has revealed Hellenistic and Roman architectural remains, including residential structures from as early as the third century BC. Additionally, nearby Niconium served as another significant settlement, enhancing our understanding of the region's historical context and cultural exchanges. The ruins of Tyras today reflect a rich tapestry of ancient history, showcasing the city's evolution over centuries amidst various influences.
Subject Terms
Tyras
(Belgorod Dniestrovsky)
A Greek city in the Ukraine (Soviet Union), twelve miles up the southwest bank of the Euxine (Black) Sea estuary of the river Tyras (Dniester), at a point where, in ancient times, an island apparently existed between two arms of the river, but was later submerged. Pliny the Elder mentions Ophiussa as an earlier designation of Tyras, but Ophiussa may, instead, have been a separate settlement on the island. The name of Tyras seems to be Thracian; but it was colonized by Miletus in Ionia (western Asia Minor) in the sixth century BC. Finds testify to commercial relations not only with native tribes in the hinterland but with other Euxine Greek cities, and with centers as far afield as Athens.
One of the successors of Alexander the Great, Lysimachus, coined at Tyras toward the end of the fourth century, and the city later began to issue coins of its own, of which our knowledge has been greatly increased by a recently discovered hoard from Dorotskoye; half-a-dozen Greek goddesses are portrayed. Destroyed by the Getae in the mid-first century, Tyras was rebuilt and resumed monetary issues from the later first century AD, with the heads of Roman emperors. In the following century the place formed an advance outpost of the Roman province of Dacia, protected by a garrison of legionary detachments. However, its local coinage came to an end in the reign of Severus Alexander (222–35), when further destruction was suffered at the hands of the Goths.
Although the ancient town is concealed by thick medieval strata, excavations have brought to light stretches of Hellenistic and Roman walls, as well as remains of private dwellings that date from the third century BC onward and include rows of houses of the second century AD, flanking a broad street. On the opposite (northeast) bank of the Dniester estuary stood another town, Niconium (Roxolanskoye), occupied between the fifth and third centuries BC and again in Roman times. Half-a-dozen additional native and Greek sites have been located beside the river mouth.