 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Nikōnion" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Νικώνιον / Νικωνία | |
 Coins from Nikōnion bearing the name ofScyles | |
  Nikōnion / Nikōnia Shown within Ukraine | |
| Location | Roksolany,Odesa Oblast,Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 46°11′0″N30°26′13″E / 46.18333°N 30.43694°E /46.18333; 30.43694 |
| Type | Settlement |
| Area | 7 ha (17 acres) |
| History | |
| Builder | Settlers fromMiletus |
| Founded | Second half of the 6th century BC |
| Abandoned | Middle of the 3rd century AD |
| Periods | Archaic Greek toRoman Imperial |
| Cultures | Greek |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruined and partially submerged |
| Public access | Yes |
| Official name | Городище Роксолани - стародавнє місто Ніконій (Roksolany hillfort - the ancient city of Nikonion) |
| Type | Archaeology |
| Reference no. | 150018-Н |
Nikōnion (Ancient Greek:Νικώνιον;Latin:Niconium) andNikōnia (Ancient Greek:Νικωνία)[1][2][3] was anancient Greek city on the east bank of theDniester estuary. Its ruins are located 300 meters to the northwest of the modern village Roksolany, in theOdesa Raion of theOdesa Oblast,Ukraine.
Nikōnion was founded in the second half of the 6th century BC by colonists fromMiletus.[4] On the opposite bank of the river other Milesian colonists had already foundedTyras. The city was founded at a time when manynomadic tribes were beginning to settle in the areas north of theBlack Sea.[5] The Greeks settled in this area because of the plentiful fishing and the opportunity to trade with these barbarian settlers.[6]
Stone construction in the city began in the 5th century. At the turn of the 3rd-2nd centuries BC,[citation needed] the city was destroyed, an event which was associated with the Macedonian commanderZopyrion, associate ofAlexander the Great. In the 1st century BC, the size of the city increased from the previous period.[citation needed] Nikōnion was abandoned permanently in the middle of the third century AD when the area was invaded by theGoths during theGreat Migrations.[4]
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 7 hectares (17 acres).[4]
According to the findings of excavations in the area, it appears that in the 5th-4th centuries BC, the money in Nikōnion mostly consisted ofHistrian coins.[7] It is also possible that Nikōnion itself minted coins, because some of the coins discovered during excavation are unique in appearance and bear the name of theScythian kingScyles, who had established a protectorate over Nikōnion and other settlements in the area and may have been buried in the city.[8]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| Geographic | |
