Zaporizhzhia (region)

Zaporizhzhia
Запоріжжя
Rocks of MODR nature reserve
Kropyvnytskyi town center
Etymology: Beyond the Dnieper's rapids
Zaporizhzhia (yellow) in modern Ukraine
Coordinates: 48°23′N 34°43′E / 48.39°N 34.71°E / 48.39; 34.71
CountriesUkraine
RegionsEastern Ukraine
Southern Ukraine
CapitalZaporizhian Sich
Largest cityDnipro
PartsDnipropetrovsk Oblast, Kirovohrad Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, Luhansk Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Rostov Oblast

Zaporizhzhia (Ukrainian: Запоріжжя, pronounced [zɐpoˈr⁽ʲ⁾iʒːɐ] ) or Zaporozhzhia (Ukrainian: Запорожжя) is a historical region in south-central and eastern Ukraine below the Dnieper rapids (Ukrainian: Дніпрові пороги, romanized: Dniprovi porohy), hence the name, lit. "[territory] beyond the rapids".

From the 16th to the 18th centuries the Zaporizhzhia region functioned as semi-independent quasi-republican Cossack territory centred on the Zaporozhian Sich. Sometimes the region is referred to as Zaporozhian Sich as well. Zaporizhzhia corresponds to modern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, major parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kirovohrad Oblasts, as well as parts of Kherson and Donetsk Oblasts of Ukraine.