SUMMARY
This monograph "The Lower Danube Scythia in the 6-th - beginning of the 1-st century B.C. (ethnopolitical aspect)" has been written by Svetlana Andrukh, professor of Zaporozhye State University, Ukraine. It is based on the complex analysis of the written, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources and is the first attempt to reconstruct in general the ethnopolitical situation in the Lower Danube from the archaic epoch to the foundation of Mitridat Eupator Panpontic Kingdom in the 2d - 1st c.c.B.C.
The classification of archaeological material into several chronological groups and the comparison of every period with data of the antique authors has made it possible to obtain more specific information about the dynamic of mastering of the Lower Danube region by Scyths, Gets and other people and to show the character of their interactions in different periods. It is known that the general situation on the west periphery of the Scythian world was in general similar to the situation of more eastern regions of steppe Black Sea. In the 6th - 5th c.c.B.C. the Budzhak steppe remained as poorly populated by Scyths as the rest territory of the future Scythia. The sharp increasing of the number of nomads in this area happened not as a result of Ateas expansion to Balkans, as it was considered earlier, but at the end of the 5th century B.C., the time of complete founding of Scythia and distribution of market territory among separate tribes.
A.I. Melyukova's concept on Thracian and Scythian boundaries has been corrected. -The cartography of Scythian Kurgan groups and separate Kurgans proved their even distribution on the territory of Budzhak steppe from the end of the
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5th up to the 4th3d c.c.B.C. This gives us enough grounds to believe that not only in Herodotus time but in the 4thbeginning of the 3d centuries B.C. Scyths prevailed on the territory up to the Prute and Danube, and their position was firm after the defeat of Ateas by Filipp II King of Makedonia.
In this monograph we criticized the opinions of some Bulgarian and Romanian scholars about the merging of two ethnoses : Scythian and Thracian on the Dniester - Danube territory and developing here of some syncretic Thraco-Scythian culture from the 6th century B.C. We proved that funeral complexes are of typical Scythian character. Thracian influence is very fragmentary and limited by some Thracian finds dating back not earlier then to the 4th century B.C. and mainly in the Danube region. This probability of ethnical mixture is possible but not earlier then the 4th century B.C. in the Lower Danube and Dniester and also for frontier areas of steppe and forest-steppe, where polyethnical settlements have been found. It is established for the first time that the occurence of first Getian settlements in steppe between the Danube and Dniester is to be dated the 4th century B.C., long time before Ateas defeat. According to author's opinion this process is synchronous to the time when Scyths began to settle.
Studying the problem of interrelations of Scyths with Greek cities of the Lower Dniester on the basis of Vinogradov's concept on "pagan protectorate" , the author regards changes in the economy of Scythian society that is the settling of nomads as one more reason for liquidation of this form of dependence alongside with the political destabilization of Scythian society.
We have retraced reasons, periods and directions of Scythian expansion to the west. Besides universally recognized Scythian
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invasion to Balkans were found traces of the presence of northpontic nomads on the territory of Moldova beyond the Prute and in Muntenia, dated from the end of the 5th century B.C.
Assessing the political status of Ateas and the territory of Kingdom founded by him, the author has considered written sources on military collisions of Scyths with Triballs , "Istrians" and Filipp II wich enabled the author to join those scholars who consider Ateas only as the leader of a small military-political union, acting on the territory of the Lower Danube. According to this the consequences of Scythian-Macedonian conflict are thought to be of local character which led to slackening but not to the loss of political domination of Scyths in this region. As for the analysis of consequences of Scythian invasion of Thracia the major conclusion is that the influence upon native people was not mass and destructive.
For the first time the complete characteristic of final period of Scythian and Getian interrelations in the Danube-Dniester region has been established and the reasons which led to disappearance of stable nomadic population not only in Budzhak steppe but also on the rest of the territory of the northern part of the Black Sea at the beginning of the 3d century B.C. defined.
The considerable part of this publication is devoted to the analysis of Scythia Minor Kingdom in Dobrudga. For the first time in archaeology we endeavoured to define the degree of development of the state elements. The frontiers of this political union had been specified in the sea are of Dobrudga from Istria in the north up to Odessos in the south, and the grounds to conclude that even in the period of its prosperity Scythia Minor didn't occupy big territory and wasn't a powerful state which controlled all population of the western Pontic shore represented.
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Evidences in favour of the theory on polyethnical population of Scythia Minor, including Gets, Greeks and possibly Bastarns at the final stage are represented in the monograph too. We have collected, summarized and systematized data on royal coin emissions (approximately 100 coins ), the most ample source of Scythia Minor history. We have defined Greek cities which had participated in issues of royal coins and provided additional data on the origin of money circulation in Scythian society. On the basis of analysis of numismatic and epigraphic data the author's concept of chronological sequence and periods of time of ruling of famous six Scythian Kings and duration of existence of Scythia Minor is proposed the reconstruction of evolution of interrelations of Scyths with Thracians and citizens of Greek cities in Dobrudga, is represented, retraced and defined the character of episodical contacts of Scyths with more remote centers, including Tira and Olvia. The final period of Scythia Minor existence is defined since including the western Pont into antiroman coalition during Mitridat VI Eupator ruling at the beginning of the 1st century B.C.
The final mixing of Scyths in Thracian medium referred to the same time.