For other uses, see Scythia Minor (disambiguation).
Scythia Minor Μικρά Σκυθία
Province of the Eastern Roman Empire
c. 290–c. 680
Major towns and colonies in Scythia Minor. Shoreline ca. 1
Capital
Tomis
Historical era
Late Antiquity
• division by emperor Diocletian
c. 290
• fall of the Danubian limes
7th century
• Bulgar conquest
c. 680
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Moesia Inferior
First Bulgarian Empire
Today part of
Bulgaria
Romania
Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia (Greek: Μικρά Σκυθία, romanized:Mikra Skythia) was a Roman province in late antiquity, corresponding to the lands between the Danube and the Black Sea, today's Dobruja divided between Romania and Bulgaria.[1][2] It was detached from Moesia Inferior by the Emperor Diocletian to form a separate province sometime between 286 and 293 AD.[3] The capital of province was Tomis (today Constanța).[1] The province ceased to exist around 679–681, when the region was overrun by the Bulgars, which the Emperor Constantine IV was forced to recognize in 681.[4]
According to the Laterculus Veronensis of c. 314 and the Notitia Dignitatum of c. 400, Scythia belonged to the Diocese of Thrace. Its governor held the title of praeses and its dux commanded two legions, Legio I Iovia and Legio II Herculia.[2] The office of dux was replaced by that of quaestor exercitus, covering a wider area, in 536.[5]
The indigenous population of Scythia Minor was Dacian 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 the Tetrarchy or the Constantinian dynasty. Substantial repairs were made under Emperors Anastasius I and Justinian I, who granted the province fiscal immunity. By the fifth century, most of the troops stationed in Scythia were foederati of Germanic, Turkic, Hunnic or (perhaps) Slavic origin. They were a constant source of tension in the province.[2]
Christianity flourished in Scythia 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, including John Cassian, Dionysius Exiguus and the Scythian monks.[1]
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in ScythiaMinor. He was a member of a community of Scythian monks concentrated in Tomis (present-day Constanța, Romania), the major city of Scythia Minor...
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defeated by the Khazar Empire in 668 AD. In 681, Khan Asparukh conquered ScythiaMinor, opening access to Moesia, and established the Danubian Bulgaria – the...
the Notitia Dignitatum of c. 400, Scythia belonged to the Diocese of Thrace. The indigenous population of ScythiaMinor was Dacian and their material culture...
Dobruja region started being called "Little Scythia" (Ancient Greek: Μικρα Σκυθια; Latin: ScythiaMinor). Although Ateas had united the Scythian tribes...
Town life came to an end in Dacia with the Roman withdrawal, and in ScythiaMinor – the other Roman province in the territory of present-day Romania –...
settled in the area around the Danube delta, and subsequently conquered ScythiaMinor and Moesia Inferior from the Byzantine Empire, expanding his new kingdom...
traces might have been preserved in modern Bulgarians (and Macedonians). ScythiaMinor and Moesia Inferior appear to have been Romanized, although the region...
the 270s. Modern Dobruja became a separate province under the name of ScythiaMinor in 297. The oldest proof that an Orthodox church hierarchy existed among...
the Greek city as Scythia. However, the toponym Μικρά Σκυθία (Mikra Skythia), usually translated as ScythiaMinor or Lesser Scythia appears to have become...
the same time, Moesia Inferior was divided into Moesia Secunda and ScythiaMinor. Moesia Secunda's main cities included Marcianopolis (Devnya), Odessus...
Tropaensium was a Roman city situated in the Roman province of Moesia (later ScythiaMinor) near modern Adamclisi in Constanța County, Romania. The Battle of Adamclisi...
Antiochene Archbishop of Constantinople John Cassian (360–435), probably Scythia-Minor priest and abbot John and Paul (died 362), Roman martyrs John of Egypt...
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quaestura exercitus contained the Roman provinces of Moesia Inferior and ScythiaMinor, located in the lower Danube region, as well as the provinces of Cyprus...
Palmyra I Iovia (devoted to Jupiter): levied by Diocletian, stationed in ScythiaMinor I Isaura Sagittaria (archers from Isauria): pseudocomitatensis under...
Histria, c. 62–61 B.C., was fought between the Bastarnae peoples of ScythiaMinor and the Roman Consul (63 B.C.) Gaius Antonius Hybrida. The Bastarnae...
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