Lynkestis

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"Lyncestis" redirects here. For genus of moths, see Lyncestis (moth).
Map of the Kingdom of Macedon with Lynkestis (Lynkos) located in the western districts of the kingdom.

Lynkestis (also spelled Lyncestis or Lyngistis, Greek: Λυγκηστίς meaning "land of the lynx") or Lyncus (Λύγκος)[1] was a region located in Upper Macedonia.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] In its earlier history, it was an independent polity ruled by a local dynasty which claimed descent from Bacchiadae, the ruling family of ancient Corinth.[10] The Lynkestian dynasty was situated on the border between Illyrians and Macedonians.[10] The few existing primary sources show that it maintained connections with the Illyrians to the north and was frequently in hostilities with the Macedonians.[10] It was conquered by Phillip II and became part of Macedon in 358 BCE after the Battle of Erigon Valley. The inhabitants of Lynkestis were known as Lyncestae or Lynkestai (Λυγκῆσται) have been described as people of Epirotic origin which were close or similar to Molossians, a northwestern ancient Greek tribe, as were other groups like the Orestae and the Elymiotae.[11][12] After Phillip's conquest, the main city of the area in antiquity was founded, Heraclea Lyncestis.

Lynkestis was a small region but strategically situated as it was the entry point for Illyrian movements into central Macedonia.[10] It roughly corresponds to an area southeast the lakelands of Ohrid and Prespa up to the Pelagonian plain.

History[]

Due to the archaic features found in the ancient Greek name of the region it appears that Lynkestis was part of the Proto-Greek area before the Late Bronze Age migrations.[13]

The region of Lynchestia was ruled by kings and independent or semi-independent chieftains until the Argead rulers of Macedon (Amyntas IV, Philip II) neutralized Lynchestia's independence with dynastic alliances and the practice of raising tribal chieftains' sons in the palaces of Philip II. To the north of Lynchestia was the region of Deuriopus, while Paeonia was to the northeast, Pelagonia bordered on the east, Emathia and Almopia to the southeast, and Orestia, Eordaia and the Haliacmon river at some distance to the south.

The wealthy kings of Lynkestis traced their origins to the Bacchiad kings that were expelled from Corinth in the 7th century BC.[14][15][16] During the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) Arrhabaeus, the king of Lyncestis, waged war against Perdiccas II of Macedon (r. 451–413 BC) at the Battle of Lyncestis in 423 BC. According to Strabo, Irra was the daughter of Arrhabaeus, and that his granddaughter was Eurydice, the mother of Philip II.[17]

In Roman times, the Via Egnatia crossed the area and there were several Roman stations in it.[18]

See also[]

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ Estienne 1846, p. 413.
  2. ^ Heckel 2020, p. 318: Lynkestis (or Lynkos), was the northernmost of the mountainous Upper Makedonian regions
  3. ^ Fox, Robin J. Lane (2011). Brill's Companion to Ancient Macedon: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC - 300 AD. BRILL. p. 95. ISBN 978-90-04-20923-7.
  4. ^ Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (2012). The Oxford Classical Dictionary. OUP Oxford. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8.
  5. ^ Cartledge, Paul (2011-07-06). Alexander the Great: The Truth Behind the Myth. Pan Macmillan. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-330-47554-9.
  6. ^ Toynbee, Arnold (1969). Some Problems of Greek History. Oxford University Press. pp. 145, 527. ISBN 978-0-19-215249-7.
  7. ^ Luttenberger, Mark (17 October 2019). Philip II of Macedon: A New Age Begins. Page Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-1-64584-235-4. Retrieved 8 November 2021. Upper Macedonia comprised the cantons of Tymphaea, Elimea (Elimiotis), Orestis, Eordaea, Lyncus (Lyncestis), and Derriopus.
  8. ^ Worthington, Ian (2 May 2014). By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-19-992987-0. Retrieved 8 November 2021. Upper Macedonia, on the other hand, had a far harsher climate and was the highlands of the country. Here, Elimiotis (in the south), Orestis (to the west), and Lyncestis (to the northwest, by Lake Lychnitis) had been originally autonomous kingdoms
  9. ^ Bowden, Hugh (24 July 2014). Alexander the Great: A Very Short Introduction. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-101636-3. Retrieved 8 November 2021. Two men from the leading family of Lyncestis in Upper Macedonia,
  10. ^ a b c d Heckel 2020, p. 138:Although it was rather small, L. controlled a route into Central Makedonia that made it a corridor of Illyrian invasions into the Argead realm. (..) While evidence for L. during the rule of the Argeads is scarce, the few existing snippets indicate that its rulers were well connected with the Illyrians and frequently hostile to the Argeads
  11. ^ Boardman & Hammond 1982, p. 266: "On crossing the Balkan chain, we find that Hecataeus called the Orestae 'a Molossian tribe' (F 107), and Strabo (434; cf. 326) probably derived from Hecataeus his belief that the Elimeotae, Lyncestae, and Pelagones, as well as the Orestae, were Epirotic or rather Molossian tribes before their incorporation by the Macedones into the Macedonian kingdom."
  12. ^ Hammond 2001, p. 158: "Pelagones in the region of Prilep, the Lyncestae in the region of Florina, the Orestae in the region of Kastoria, and the Elimeotae in the region of Kozani. These tribes were all Epirotic tribes and they talked the Greek language but with a different dialect, the Northwest Greek dialect, as we know now from the local questions which were put to the god of Dodona."
  13. ^ Georgiev 1973, p. 248.
  14. ^ Strabo, Geography, 7.7
  15. ^ Plant 2004, p. 43: "The kings of Lyncestae, however, were Greek-speaking and claimed descent from the Bacchiadae, an important Corinthian aristocratic family."
  16. ^ Fox 1973, pp. 32, 34, 36ff.
  17. ^ Strabo. Geography, 7.7: "The Lyncestae were under Arrhabaeus, who was of the race of the Bacchiadae. Irra was his daughter, and his grand-daughter was Eurydice, the mother of Philip Amyntas."
  18. ^ Samsaris 1989, pp. 24, 182.

Sources[]

Further reading[]

  • Errington, Robert Malcolm (1990). A History of Macedonia. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-06319-8.

External links[]

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