Istria
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Istria
Istria
an ancient Greek city on the western shore of the Black Sea, in what is now Rumania. Istria was founded by the Milesians in the second half of the seventh century B.C. The inhabitants were farmers, fishermen, and craftsmen and engaged in trading with the neighboring Getae-Thracian and Scythian tribes. It achieved its greatest development in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. Archaeological finds bear witness to the developed trade relations with the cities of the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions. In the middle of the first century B.C., Istria was ravaged by the Getae, and in 27 B.C. it became part of the Roman Empire. Destroyed by the Goths in the third century A.D., Istria was again restored and existed until the seventh century. By this time, as a result of sand alluvium, the city no longer had an outlet to the sea and thus lost its significance as a trade center. It gradually became deserted.
Excavations have been carried out with interruptions since 1914. Remains of defense walls (fourth century B.C.), temples, particularly the Temple of Aphrodite (fifth century B.C.), thermae (third-fourth century), and dwellings have been uncovered. Istria is an archaeological preserve.
REFERENCES
Konduraki, E. Istriia. Bucharest, 1962.Blavatskaia, T.V. Zapadnopontiiskie goroda v 7–1 vv. do n.e. Moscow, 1952.
I. T. KRUGLIKOVA