| Scythia Minor Μικρά Σκυθία | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of theEastern Roman Empire | |||||||||
| c. 290–c. 680 | |||||||||
 Major towns and colonies in Scythia Minor. Shoreline ca. 1 | |||||||||
| Capital | Tomis | ||||||||
| Historical era | Late Antiquity | ||||||||
• division by emperorDiocletian | c. 290 | ||||||||
• fall of the Danubian limes | 7th century | ||||||||
• Bulgar conquest | c. 680 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||
Scythia Minor orLesser Scythia (Greek:Μικρά Σκυθία,romanized:Mikra Skythia) was aRoman province inlate Antiquity, occupying the lands between the lowerDanube and theBlack Sea, the modern-dayDobruja region inRomania andBulgaria.[1][2] It was detached fromMoesia Inferior by the EmperorDiocletian to form a separate province sometime between 286 and 293 CE.[3] The capital of the province was Tomis (modern-dayConstanța).[1] It ceased to exist around 679–681, when the region wasoverrun by the Bulgars, which the EmperorConstantine IV was forced to recognize in 681.[4]
According to theLaterculus Veronensis ofc. 314 and theNotitia Dignitatum ofc. 400, Scythia belonged to theDiocese of Thrace. Its governor held the title ofpraeses and itsdux commanded twolegions,Legio I Iovia andLegio II Herculia.[2] The office ofdux was replaced by that ofquaestor exercitus, covering a wider area, in 536.[5]
The indigenous population of Scythia Minor wasThracian and their material culture is apparent archaeologically into the sixth century.Roman villas have also been found. The cities were either ancient Greek foundations on the coast (like Tomis) or more recent Roman foundations on the Danube.[1] Roman fortifications mostly date to theTetrarchy or theConstantinian dynasty. Substantial repairs were made under EmperorsAnastasius I andJustinian I, who granted the province fiscal immunity. By the fifth century, most of the troops stationed in Scythia werefoederati ofGermanic,Turkic,Hunnic or (perhaps)Slavic origin. They were a constant source of tension in the province.[2]
Christianity flourished in Scythia Minor in the fifth and sixth centuries. Numerous Christian inscriptions have been found.[1] Already in the fourth century, there is evidence of martyr cults there. Churches typically had relic crypts.[2] Several prominent theologians hailed from Scythia, includingJohn Cassian,Dionysius Exiguus and theScythian monks.[1]
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