Epidamnos
The city of Epidamnos (Greek: Επίδαμνος) later the Roman Dyrrachium [1][2][3] (Greek: Δυρράχιον; modern Durrës, Albania), was founded in 627 BC[4] in Illyria by [5] Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra (modern Corfu).[6] Aristotle's Politics several times draws for examples on the internal government of Epidamnos, which was run as a tight oligarchy that appointed a ruling magistrate; tradesmen and craftsmen were excluded from power, until internal strife produced a more democratic government. The exiled oligarchs appealed to Corcyra while the democrats enlisted the help of Corinth, initiating a struggle between the two mother cities described by Thucydides as a cause of the Peloponnesian War. Individual trading with the local Illyrians was forbidden at Epidamnos: all traffic was through the authorized city agent or poletes[citation needed]. In the fourth century BC the city-state was part of the kingdoms of Cassander and Pyrrhus. The general vicinity of Epidamnos was called Epidamnia.[7]
Etymology
Etymologically, Epidamnos is derived from < επί + -δαμνὀς (< δάμνημι «δαμάζω», to tame).[8][9]
Dyrrhachium
In 229 BC, when the Romans seized the city the "-damnus" part of the name was inauspicious to Latin ears (it resembles the Latin word
Dyrrachium was the landing place for Roman passengers crossing the
. In AD 345 the city was levelled by an earthquake and rebuilt on its old foundations.In the 4th century AD, Dyrrachium was made the capital of the
The name "Epidamnus" was still used by the Byzantines, as for example in the 13th-century Synopsis Chronike, referring to contemporary events.[10]
See also
References
- ^ Evagrius Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, 3.29.1
- ^ Procopius, History of the Wars, 3.11.1
- ^ Suda, delta, 1585[permanent dead link]
- ^ Mogens Herman Hansen, An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation, 2005, page 330: "Epidamnos was founded in either 627 or 625 (Hieron. Chron.)"
- ^ Stallo, Jennifer (2007). Isotopic Study of Migration: Differentiating Locals and Non-Locals in Tumulus Burials from Apollonia, Albania (Thesis). University of Cincinnati. p. 29. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ Rhodes, P.J. A History of the Classical Greek World 478-323 BC. 2nd edition. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, p. 88.
- ISBN 1-4021-5441-0)
- ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl (1997). Albanische Etymologien: Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz. Leiden Studies in Indo-European (in German). Vol. 7. Amsterdam, Atlanta: Brill.
- ^ Demiraj 1997, pp. 128–29.v
- ^ Synopsis Chronike, published by K. Sathas, Paris, 1894, p. 344 (pdf 594), line 31, and pdf pages 617, 684
External links
- Perseus site: several sources, including William Smith, ed., Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854)