Upper Macedonia

Growth of the kingdom of Macedon

Upper Macedonia (Ancient Greek: Ἄνω Μακεδονία, Ánō Makedonía) or Upper Macedon is a geographical and tribal term to describe the upper/western of the two parts in which ancient Macedonia was roughly divided, with Lower Macedonia being the other part. Upper Macedonia consisted geographically of Eordaea, Orestis, Elimiotis with Tymphaea, Lynkestis, and Pelagonia with Derriopos.

These regions had their own rulers and were usually subjects or allies of the Argead kingdom of Lower Macedonia, except for Eordaea that was fully incorporated by the Argeads in an early period. Upper Macedonia was fully annexed to the Macedonian state by Philip II in the mid-4th century BC.

History

During the late Bronze Age numerous matt painted vases have been unearthed in the region that are connected to the middle Helladic ware found southern Greece. This type of ware has been typically used by northwestern Greek tribes. Various unearthed artifacts of that time also point to the possible existence of Mycenaean Greek settlements in Upper Macedonia.

Following the withdrawal of the Bryges in c. 800 BC the local populations of the Eordoi, Elimiotae, Orestae, Lyncestae and Pelagonians formed their separate political entities. As early as the 7th century BC occasional Illyrian invasions against Argead Macedonia inevitably also involved the Upper Macedonian regions of Lynkestis, Orestis, Eordaea, Elimiotis and Tymphaea, because they were located between Illyrian territory and the lands of the Argeads, who were based at Aegae.

The populations of Upper Macedonia shared a common language and a common way of life with that of Lower Macedonia which differed from those inhabiting Illyria and Thrace. The region witnessed occasional raids and Illyrian invasions became a constant threat from the rise of the Argead dynasty until the reign of Philip II of Macedon.

Lynkestis was an autonomous Upper Macedonian kingdom outside the Kingdom of Macedon (blue) until Philip II's expansion (light blue) in the 4th century BC incorporated it into his kingdom.

Unification of Upper and Lower Macedonia into a single kingdom was achieved by Phillip II in the mid-4th century. From that date, its inhabitants were politically equal to Lower Macedonians. Eordaea had been incorporated to the Argead kingdom earlier than the rest of Upper Macedonia, before the reign of Philip II. Upper Macedonia consisted of the regions of Orestis, Elimiotis with Tymphaea, Eordaea, Lynkestis, Pelagonia with Derriopos, Atintania and Dassaretis (although Dassaretis and Atintania belonged to Epirus). Later in 294 BC, Tymphaea and Parauaea were under the control of the kingdom of Epirus of Pyrrhus. Pelagonia was used as a name for the westernmost part of Paionia while the north-westernmost part of Pelagonia was referred to as Derriopos.

Three of the six brigades that Alexander the Great deployed in 330 BC, came from Upper Macedonia, Elimiotis, Orestis together with Lynkestis and Tymphaea. They were led by Coenus from Elimiotis, Perdiccas from Orestis and Amyntas from Tymphaea.

Three major Hellenistic dynasties succeeding Alexander's empire, may have originated from Upper Macedonia; Ptolemy's father Lagus from Eordaea, Antiochus (father of Seleucus I Nicator) from Orestis and Antigonus Monophthalmus from Elimiotis.[citation needed]

Language

According to N. G. L. Hammond, in the region of Upper Macedonia, the tribes of Pelagones in the region of Prilep, Lyncestae in the region of Florina, Orestae in the region of Kastoria and Elimiotae in the region of Kozani were all Epirotic Molossian tribes and they talked the Northwest Greek dialect. Available inscriptional and ancient literature points that the local population spoke a Northwest Greek dialect in contrast to those of Lower Macedonia whose dialect may have been related more to Aeolic Greek.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Joseph Roisman, Ancient Greece from Homer to Alexander: The Evidence, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, p.520
  2. ↑ Eugene N. Borza, In the shadow of Olympus: the emergence of Macedon, Princeton University Press, 1991, p.31
  3. ↑ Michael M. Sage, Warfare in ancient Greece: a sourcebook, Routledge, 1996, p.162
  4. ↑ Robin J. Lane Fox (editor), Brill's Companion to Ancient Macedon: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC - 300 AD, 2011, p.95
  5. ↑ Girtzy, Maria (2001). HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT MACEDONIA. UNIVERSITY STUDIO PRESS. p. 143.
  6. ↑ Girtzy, Maria (2001). HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT MACEDONIA. UNIVERSITY STUDIO PRESS. p. 143.
  7. ↑ Girtzy, Maria (2001). HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT MACEDONIA. UNIVERSITY STUDIO PRESS. p. 143.
  8. ↑ Wynn-Antikas, Laura (1998). "The Aiani Museum Opens". Minerva. 9 (4). London: Aurora Publications: 34. Retrieved 22 January 2024. This can be seen in the numerous matt painted vases in the tradition of late Bronze Age pottery which developed from the Middle Helladic pottery in southern Greece ( 1900-1800 BC ). Matt painted ware has been found as far away as Albania, Central Macedonia and Thessaly, and was typically used by the north-western Greek tribes of the Dorians and the Macedonians. Among the Mycenaean finds found is a unique figurine ( Fig 6 ) which dates to the late Hel- ladic - IIIb period ( 1300 to 1200 BC). Such artefacts have led archaeologists to believe that it is likely there were Mycenaean settlements in Upper Macedonia . Because of the large quantity of architectural artefacts"
  9. 1 2 Butler, Margaret Erwin (2008). Of Swords and Strigils: Social Change in Ancient Macedon. Stanford University. p. 46. Following the withdrawal ... in the north were more of less independent tribes, suffering the occasional Illyrian invasion: Illyrians remained a constant threat from the early years of the Argead line right up into Philip's reign.
  10. ↑ Howe & Reames 2008, pp. 5–6: "Macedonia may rest in common ethnic and linguistic affinities among most people of upper Macedonia. By the Bronze Age, Indo-Europeans prevailed in this region although there were exceptions, for example the Bryges. Differences in the closeness of affinity existed: the language of the Macedonians residing in lower and upper Macedonia appears to have come from the same limb of the Indo-European tree while that of more distant people—those of Thrace and Illyria—represented a different limb, albeit still Indo-European. In addition, the peoples of lower and upper Macedonia shared a common way of life in combining sedentary agriculture with transhumant pasturing. Geography furnished similar resources in the rivers and the riches of the mountains—wild animals, timber, and minerals. The history of settlement also created a common political life with personal leadership vested in a particular family. Recognition of these commonalities allowed the nominal confederacy of Elimeia, Orestis, Lynkestis, and Pelagonia with lower Macedonia during the kingship of Alexander I (498-454). It was fragile, as the assertion of independence by Lynkestis under its ruler Arrhabaios during the Peloponnesian War testifies (Thuc. 2.99.2). Renewed efforts to centralize the larger Macedonian area occurred during the reign of Archelaos (413-399) with centralization at Pella and fortification of the core that had been weakened by events in Greece following the end of the Peloponnesian War ... Incursion of the Illyrians in 360-59 may have been the main impetus for growing integration. Travelling to lower Macedonia had taken the Illyrian warriors through upper Macedonia to kingdoms west and north. Thus the Illyrians were a common enemy, distanced by language, as noted above, and also by way of life.
  11. ↑ Worthington 2008, p. 13
  12. ↑ Billows, Richard A. (12 June 2018). Before and After Alexander: The Legend and Legacy of Alexander the Great. Abrams. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-4683-1641-4. The Illyrians normally constituted more of a thread to raid and pillage upper Macedonia, rather than to occupy and dominate the realm
  13. ↑ Worthington 2008, p. 7
  14. ↑ Robin J. Lane Fox (editor), Brill's Companion to Ancient Macedon: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC - 300 AD, 2011, p.95
  15. ↑ Franke, P. R. (1989). "CHAPTER 10 PYRRHUS". In Astin, A. E.; Walbank, F. W.; Frederiksen, M. W.; Ogilvie, R. M.; Drummond, A. (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History: The Rise of Rome to 220 BC. Vol. VII, Part 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 456–485. ISBN 0-521-23446-8.Franke 1989, p. 461: "In 294, as the price of his help, Pyrrhus was given the region of Ambracia in southern Epirus, Acarnania, Amphilochia and the regions of Tymphaea and Parauaea in the border country between Epirus and Macedonia."
  16. ↑ Hatzopoulos, Miltiades B. (2020). Ancient Macedonia. De Gruyter. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-3-11-071876-8.
  17. ↑ Robin J. Lane Fox (editor), Brill's Companion to Ancient Macedon: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC - 300 AD, 2011, p.96
  18. ↑ Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (2001). Collected Studies: Further Studies on Various Topics. Vol. V. Amsterdam: Hakkert.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."
  19. ↑ Malkin, Irad (2001). Ancient Perceptions of Greek Ethnicity. Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-674-00662-1. Hecataeus calls the Eliminiotae, Orestae, Lyncastae, and Pelagones of Upper Macedonia 'Molossian' and since Molossian inscriptions found at the sanctuary of Dodona are inscribed in a West Greek dialect, one would expect the Macedonians to have belonged to a West Greek linguistic Koinē that extended across much of northern and northwestern Greece
  20. ↑ Templar, Marcus Alexander (2009). "Hellenic Migrations and Katadesmos: A Paradigm of Macedonian Speech" (PDF). Ninth Viennial Conference of Greek Linguistics. University of Chicago: 8–9. Retrieved 18 January 2024.

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