Editing History of Ukraine (section)

=== Scythian settlement, Greek colonization, and Roman domination ===
{{Main|Bosporan Kingdom|Greek Crimea|Roman Crimea}}

[[File:Coin of Sauromates II of the Bosporan Kingdom, including depiction of Septimius Severus and Caracalla.jpg|thumb|A gold [[stater]] of [[Bosporan Kingdom|Bosporan]] [[List of kings of the Cimmerian Bosporus|king]] [[Tiberius Julius Sauromates II]], his bust depicted on the [[obverse]] with the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] legend "[[Basileus|BACΙΛΕΩC CΑΥΡΟΜΑΤΟΥ]]", and on the reverse the heads of [[Roman emperor]]s [[Septimius Severus]] and [[Caracalla]], dated 198 or 199 AD]]
During the [[Iron Age]], the region witnessed the rise and interaction of diverse peoples and cultures. Following earlier Bronze Age societies, the [[Dacians]], alongside [[Nomad|nomadic groups]] such as the [[Cimmerians]] (associated with the [[Novocherkassk culture|Novocherkassk archaeological culture]]), [[Scythians]], and [[Sarmatians]], dominated the landscape. Among these, the Scythians established a [[Scythia|powerful kingdom]] that flourished between 750 and 250 BC, characterized by their mastery of mounted warfare and trade networks spanning vast territories.<ref name="EB-Scyth">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9066426|title=Scythian|access-date=12 September 2007|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>

One of the notable events in Scythian history was the [[Scythian campaign of Darius I|campaign]] of [[Darius the Great]] in 513 BC. The [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Persian]] king led an expedition aimed at subjugating the Scythians. While the Scythians employed their signature scorched-earth and guerrilla tactics to evade outright defeat, the campaign resulted in the Persian domination of several [[Thracians|Thracian peoples]] and regions along the [[Black Sea]]’s northern coast. These territories, encompassing parts of modern-day [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]], [[Ukraine]], and southern [[Russia]], were incorporated into the vast Achaemenid sphere of influence, though direct control remained tenuous.<ref>Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington. "A companion to Ancient Macedonia" John Wiley & Sons, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4443-5163-7 pp. 135–138, 343–345</ref><ref>The Oxford Classical Dictionary by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, ISBN 0-19-860641-9,"page 1515,"The Thracians were subdued by the Persians by 516"</ref>

[[File:Склеп Деметры.JPG|thumb|left|The goddess [[Demeter]] in a [[Ancient Greek art|Greek]] [[fresco]] from [[Panticapaeum]] in the [[Bosporan Kingdom]], 1st century AD, Crimea]]
Meanwhile, [[Greeks|Greek]] colonization left a lasting imprint on the region. Beginning in the 7th or 6th century BC during the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic period]], Greek settlers [[Greek colonisation|established colonies along the northern Black Sea coast]], including [[Crimea]] and parts of modern Ukraine. These colonies, such as [[Chersonesus]] and [[Pontic Olbia|Olbia]], served as hubs of trade, cultural exchange, and Hellenic influence. The [[Bosporan Kingdom]], a Greco-Scythian polity formed in this context, became a regional power, blending Greek traditions with local elements. It thrived until the 4th century AD, when invasions by the [[Goths]] and later the [[Huns]] disrupted its stability.<ref name="Hammond1959">{{cite book|author=Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond|title=A history of Greece to 322 B.C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0FoAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=8 August 2013|year=1959|publisher=Clarendon Press|page=109|isbn=978-0-19-814260-7 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mitchiner |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zuQLAQAAMAAJ |title=The Ancient & Classical World, 600 B.C.-A.D. 650 |date=1978 |publisher=Hawkins Publications |isbn=978-0-904173-16-1 |page=69 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Roman Empire]], expanding its reach into the region, briefly annexed the Bosporan Kingdom from 62 to 68 AD under Emperor [[Nero]]. During this period, the reigning [[List of kings of the Cimmerian Bosporus|Bosporan king]], [[Tiberius Julius Cotys I]], was deposed, and the kingdom was directly administered by [[Rome]]. Following Nero’s rule, the Bosporan Kingdom was restored as a [[Roman Crimea|Roman]] [[Amicitia|client state]], retaining local governance but under [[Roman military]] oversight. This arrangement ensured the region remained within Rome’s economic and strategic sphere during the middle of the 1st century AD.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bunson|first=Matthew|title=A dictionary of the Roman Empire|year=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=0195102339|page=116}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chersonesos.org/?p=history_ant&l=eng#7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040812152424/http://www.chersonesos.org/?p%3Dhistory_ant%26l%3Deng|archive-date=12 August 2004|title=Ancient period - History - About Chersonesos, Sevastopol|website=www.chersonesos.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Migliorati| first = Guido| title = Cassio Dione e l'impero romano da Nerva ad Anotonino Pio: alla luce dei nuovi documenti| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jbS5KHJ4uqcC&pg=PA6| year = 2003| publisher = Vita e Pensiero| isbn = 88-343-1065-9| page = 6 | language = it }}</ref>