Monounios
Monounios | |
---|---|
King | |
Dyrrhachion | |
Reign | c. 290 – 270 BC |
Predecessor | Glaucias |
Successor | Mytilos |
Monounios or Monunius (
Monounios is considered the successor of
Biography
Monounios is considered the successor of Glaucias of Taulantii,[6] whose reign lasted until at least 295 BC.[10] Between 284 and 282 BC southern Illyria was threatened by Pyrrhus of Epirus, who succeeded in seizing part of the country, including the city of Apollonia and the territory of certain tribes. It has been suggested that Pyrrhus' operations in Illyria ended in 282 BC. Already succeeding to face Epirote offensive in the previous years, Pyrrhus' departure in Italy in 280 BC enabled Monounios to strengthen his power politically and economically, consolidatating the structures of the Illyrian state.[10]
Minting his own coinage reflected Monounios' financial power. The Illyrian king aligned with the most valuable currency in the region – the silver stater of
Monounios was involved in the dynastic struggles in
A helmet with the inscribed name of the king (ΜΟΝΟΥΝΙΟΥ [ΒΑ]ΣΙΛΕΩ[Σ]) was found in the area of Lake Ohrid.[3][9] Dating back to the 3rd century BC, these inscriptions of Monounios are considered the oldest known in the area.[9] It is thought that Monounios was buried in the Royal Tombs of Selca e Poshtme.
Minting of coins
Even though the Illyrians had minted coins well before the 3rd century BC, Monounios is the first Illyrian king to issue his own coins in 280 BC. Monounios' mint of silver coinage brought an important financial resource under state control. The royal staters, with the legend 'Basileos Monuniou' (of King Monounios), were a copy of the coins of Durrës, the place where they were minted. The coins of Monounios differed only in having the jaw of the boar set over the cow, as a symbol of the royal Illyrian name. The mint also had the abbreviated name ΔΥΡ (for Durrës) to donate the place where they were minted, as well as showing royal sovereignty over the city. These coins have been found in great numbers in the Illyrian city of Gurëzeza, and in the interior of modern-day Albania beyond the Greek colony of Apollonia.
The agreement between the city of Dyrrhachion and the Illyrian king Monounios is evolutionary because the name and symbol of the king occupied an increasing place at the expense of the city ethnic whose reminder nevertheless never disappeared. It can be assumed that the mint of Dyrrhachion minted coins both in the name of the city and in the name of the king in parallel.[13] Monounios staters look almost indistinguishable in appearance from autonomous tridrachms of Dyrrhachion. This clearly reflects a certain monetary-issuance, but also political continuity, which Monounios seems to have cared about, at least for the first and transitional periods.[14] The sequence of editions and the evolution of coinage symbols indicate that Monounios' name was becoming more prominent, while the city's name was finally removed. This suggests a gradual increase in Monounios' authority and awareness that he could use coins to maintain his growing power.[15]
Royal Tombs of Selcë e Poshtme
Monounios' second main centre might have been the site of the present day village of
It is thought that the king was buried in the
See also
- List of rulers of Illyria
References
- ^ Crawford 1985, pp. 220–221: "Some of the native communities also began to produce coinage, in the Hellenistic period, two 'kings' called Monounios and Mytilos reigning in the hinterland of Apollonia and Dyrrhachium (the former silver, the latter bronze), Rhizon (silver as well as bronze), Lissus, Scodra, Olumpa and Lychnus, and the Daorsi and the Labeatae, in the late third or early second centuries."
- ^ Kovač 2021, p. 6: "Datum određen prema nalazima Kreshpana dobro koincidira s periodom priče Trog Pompeja koji smješta kraljevanje Monunija oko 280. godine prije Krista. Odjeljujemo se od hipoteze o dardanskom kralju zbog geografskog udaljavanja i, štoviše, jer Dardanci nisu nikada dominirali Jadranskom obalom. Danas više autora slijedi kronologiju predloženu od Gjongjecaj Sh. koja smatra početak kovanja statera u periodu od 280. do 270. godine prije Krista."
- ^ a b c Vujčić 2019, p. 115: "Monunius is often referred in modern literature as the king of the Dardani (cf. Hammond, N. G. L. “The Kingdoms in Illyria circa 400-167 B.C.” The Annual of the British School at Athens 61 (1966), p. 246; Wilkes, J. The Illyrians, Oxford 1996. p.146; Mørkholm, O. Early Hellenistic Coinage: From the Accession of Alexander to the Peace of Apamea (336 – 188 B.C.). Cambridge, 2001, pp. 83-84); furthermore, he is so-metimes identified with the unnamed king of the Dardani who offered military aid to Ceraunus prior to the Celtic invasion. No ancient source supports either claim and on the whole the identification is not very likely. King Monunius of the early 3rd century BC is well-known from his coins, minted in Epidamnus, in the land of the Taulantii (Mørkholm, O. loc. cit.). During the World War I a helmet with the inscribed name of the king (ΜΟΝΟΥΝΙΟΥ [ΒΑ]ΣΙΛΕΩ[Σ]) was found in the lake Ohrid.
- ^ a b Šašel Kos 2002, p. 109.
- ^ a b Šašel Kos 2005, p. 258.
- ^ a b c Picard 2013, p. 82.
- ^ Šašel Kos 2003, p. 149
- ^ a b c Šašel Kos 2002, p. 108.
- ^ a b c Verčík et al. 2019, p. 43.
- ^ a b c Gjongecaj 1998, p. 99.
- ^ Donnelly Carney 2013, p. 63.
- ^ Džino 2007, p. 59.
- ^ Kovač 2021, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Kovač 2021, p. 7.
- ^ Kovač 2021, p. 11.
- ^ The Illyrians to the Albnanians - Neritan Ceka, pp. 113-114
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-520-05506-3.
- Donnelly Carney, Elizabeth (2013). Arsinoe of Egypt and Macedon: A Royal Life. Women in Antiquity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195365528.
- Džino, Danijel (2007). "The Celts in Illyricum-whoever they may be: the hybridization and construction of identities in Southeastern Europe in the fourht and third centuries BC". Opvscvla Archaeologica. 31 (1): 49–68.
- Gjongecaj, Shpresa (1998). "Le trésor de Kreshpan (Albanie)". Revue Numismatique. 6 (153): 81–102. .
- Kovač, Damir (2021). "Stateri (tridrachme) ilirskog kralja Monunija kovanih u Dirahiju" [Staters (tridrachms) of the Illyrian King Monunius coined in Dyrrachion]. Numizmatičke Vijesti (in Croatian). 74 (1): 5–13.
- Lippert, Andreas; Matzinger, Joachim (2021). Die Illyrer: Geschichte, Archäologie und Sprache. Kohlhammer Verlag. ISBN 9783170377103.
- Papazoglou, Fanoula (1965). "Les origines et la destinée de l'État illyrien: Illyrii proprie dicti". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 14 (2). Franz Steiner Verlag: 143–179. JSTOR 4434875.
- .
- Šašel Kos, Marjeta (2002). "Pyrrhus and Illyrian Kingdom(s?)". Greek Influence Along the East Adriatic Coast. Knjiga Mediterana. 26: 101–119. ISBN 9531631549.
- Šašel Kos, Marjeta (2003). "The Roman conquest of Dalmatia in the light of Appian's Illyrike". In Urso, Gianpaolo (ed.). Dall'Adriatico al Danubio: l'Illirico nell'età greca e romana : atti del convegno internazionale, Cividale del Friuli, 25-27 settembre 2003. I convegni della Fondazione Niccolò Canussio. ETS. pp. 141–166. ISBN 884671069X.
- Šašel Kos, Marjeta (2005). Appian and Illyricum. Narodni muzej Slovenije. ISBN 961616936X.
- Verčík, Marek; Kerschbaum, Saskia; Tušlová, Petra; Jančovič, Marián; Donev, Damjan; Ardjanliev, Pero (2019). "Settlement Organisation In The Ohrid Region". Studia Hercynia (XXIII/1): 26–54.
- Vujčić, Nemanja (2019). "The Army of Lysimachus after Corupedium". Antiquité Vivante / Živa antika. 69 (1–2): 109–122. S2CID 245589829.
- Winnifrith, Tom (2020). Nobody's Kingdom: A History of Northern Albania. Signal Books. ISBN 9781909930919.