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Dexaroi

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This article is about the ancient Greek tribe. For the Illyrian tribe "Dassareti", see Dassaretii.

The Dassaretae, or Dexaroi (Greek: Δασσαρῆται or Δεξάροι), were an ancient Greek tribe of Epirus living from Mount Amyron (Mount Tomorr) to Lake Lychnitis (Lake Ohrid) on the border with Illyria.[1] They were the northernmost tribe that belonged to the Chaonian group, one of the three major tribes in Epirus.[2] In Roman antiquity their territory was considered as part of Upper Macedonia.[3]

Name

The name "Dexari" is mentioned only once in literature of antiquity in fragment of ancient Greek writer Hecataeus of Miletus (6th century BC), which has been preserved in an excerpt from the toponymic dictionary Ethnica (Εθνικά) by Stephanus of Byzantium (6th century AD), under the heading "Δέξαροι":[4][5]

The tribal name Dexar-, like Dessar- / Dassar-, contains the Illyrian root *daksa/dassa ("water, sea"), since in Illyrian the x/ks (ξ) is phonetically equivalent with ss (σσ). In both tribal names the same root is attached to the suffix -ar. The term δάξα, daksa, was also recorded by Hesychius as an "Epirote" word meaning water. It is related to Illyrian personal names Dazos and Dassius and is also reflected in the toponym of Daksa island and the river Ardaxanos, which is mentioned by Polybius (2nd century BC) in the hinterland of modern Durrës and Lezhë.[6][7] In terms of the forms recorded in antiquity, according to N. G. L. Hammond, the form Dexari is more archaic compared to Dassaretii.[8] The clearest sources provided by ancient authors for the variant Dassaretae date to the period of Roman conquest.[7]

It has been considered by some scholars that the Chaonian Dexari of the 6th century BCE should be equated with the Illyrian Dassareti, while others argue that necessary caution should be maintained about that hypothesis. In later sources of antiquity, the Dassareti always appear as Illyrians, while the Chaones are never considered as such, furthermore the Dassareti never intermingle with the Chaones nor are they mentioned as Epirotes.[9][10] According to Katičić, in Hecataeus' times the situation might have been different, and the information he gathered may not have been reliable at all.[9]

Hammond has argued that before the reign of Philip II of Macedon, Illyrian tribes likely had occupied Dassaretis since no more information about Dexari is recorded and the siege of Pelium (335 B.C) was described as a campaign of Alexander in Illyria.[11] The same scholar proposed the existence of two distinct homonymous tribes, the Illyrian one dwelling between the Dardani and the Ardiaei or next to the Dalmatian coast, and the Chaonian one (equated by him with the Dexari) dwelling between Macedonia and Epirus, since according to Hammond Strabo and Livy make a clear distinction between the Dassaretae and the Illyrians.[12][13][14][15][16] According to Radoslav Katičić there is no way to rule out the identification of Dexari with Dassareti advocated by Hammond, but it also cannot be accepted as reliable.[9]

Toynbee has argued that the mention of the Chaonian Dexaroi is evidence that the Chaones had been Illyrian-speakers originally, since the name 'Dexaroi' appears to be a variant of the name Dassaretioi of an Illyrian people.[17] According to R.J. Weber Hecataeus' recording of the Dexari is the first mention of the Illyrian Dassaretae.[7] J. J. Wilkes has equated the Chaonian Dexari with the Dassaretae.[2] Whether the Dexari are in fact Dassareti still represents a significant and insufficiently answered question.[18] Keramopoullos (1953) argues the name Dassaretae is connected to Greek: Διός όρος-ορείται (Dios oros-oreitai Mountain of Zeus).[19]

History

The Dassaretae were probably neighboring to the north various Illyrian tribes when the later started raiding the Chaonian lands possibly in c. 900 B.C.[20] They were initially part of the wider tribal state of the Chaonians during the 6th century BC.[21] The burials of Tumulis II in Kuci zi in the Korce-Maliq plain that time belonged to Desaretae leaders.[22][23] At a later period they formed their own independent association.[21]

During the reign of Philip II (359–336 BC) the Macedonians managed to terminate the Dardanian rule in the land of the Dassaretae. As such the Dassaretae became not only independent again but Philip also managed to create a Macedonian buffer zone on their northern border with the Dardanians.[24] The destruction of Pelium in 335 BC by Dardanian Cleitus came probably due to the fact that the local Dassaratean inhabitants were not friendly towards the Dardanian raiders.[25] Macedonian control was re-established in Dassaretis that year and remained as such during the era of Macedonian domination.[26] In 319-317 B.C an Epirote army under Polyperchon and Olympias marched against the local settlement of Euia during their struggle against Cassander of Macedon.[27]

Antipatrea (modern Berat) was founded by the regent of Macedon, Antipater.[26] During the reign of Pyrrhus of Epirus (306–302, 297–272 BC) Dassaretis came possibly into Epirote control.[26] In 217 BC Illyrian Scerdilaidas advanced against Philip V of Macedonia through the region of Pelagonia and the Dassaretian territory capturing Antipatreia, Chrysondyon, and Gertus.[28] He penetrated further with raids into the nearby Macedonian areas like Orestis. However, before the end of autumn of the same year, Philip V recaptured the three Dassaretian cities and expelled the Illyrian raiders from Dassaretis.[29][30] Military interventions as well as relations with Macedon from 217 B.C to 199 B.C kept the area under Dassaretean control and the borders of the Dassaretae controlled area reached their greatest extent.[29] As such in 213-212 B.C apart from Dassaretis Philip also campaigned in Illyria, Dardania and Thrace.[31] In 199 B.C. a Roman expedition under Servius Sulpicius Galba was harassing the Dassaretae population and pillaging their stored grain and harvest.[32]

Geography

The area inhabited by the Dassaretae was called Dassaretis.[33] This area remained the same in terms of geography from the period of Hecateus (6th century B.C.) to the Roman conquest.[7] In terms of Roman-era geography recent research accepts that Dassaretis was part of Upper Macedonia.[3]

They inhabited a region that stretched from mount Amyron (Tomorr) up to the southern coast of lake Lychnitis (Lake Ohrid),[34] and they also lived around Korçë[35] and around modern Berat (Antipatreia) and Dassaretis stretching from modern Skrapar to the southwest shores of Ohrid.[36] According to Ptolemy, the city of Lychnidos (modern Ohrid), on the northern part of lake Ohrid, was also a Dassaretae town for a time though it appears that Dassaretae control was not permanent there. However the territory around this city is recorded as at least a marginal territory of Dassaretis.[37]

Their cities were Pellion, Antipatrea, Chrysondyon, Gertus (or Gerous), Creonion,[2] Kellion, Euia and Megara.[38] The main river in the area was the Eordaikos (modern Devoll).[38]

The Encheles neighboured with the Dassaretae in the area directly south of Ohrid.[33] They also neighboured the Orestae tribe of the Molossian group,[8] while the regions of Chaonia and Parrhaeuaea were located on their southern border.[39] Various Illyrian tribes were located in the area north of the Dassaretae, in the region north of the mines of Damastion.[40]

Strategic value

Dassaretis, being economically poor, could not be the centre for a strong polity, but at the same time it was strategically valuable. Any military operations in what is now central Albania would hinge on hilly Dassaretis, because the coastal plains were swampy. It was also important for Macedonia, because the Tsangon pass allowed access between the plain of Florina and Lake Ohrid. Local states at their height of power tended to control the area, as did Bardylis' Illyrian kingdom, Pyrrhus' Molossian kingdom, and Philip II's Macedon.[26]

In Greek mythology

Illyrius, according to Appian of Alexandria, had a daughter called Dassaro, from whom sprang the Illyrian tribe of Dassaretae (or Dasaretii).[41][42] This genealogy is probably associated with a tribe that lived further north from the Chaonian Dassaretae of the Korce-Maliq region and bore a similar name with the later.[43] In general various accounts about the Dassaretae by ancient authors were supposedly based on prehistorical events and mythical allusions.[44]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hammond 1994, p. 423; Hammond 1982, p. 265.
  2. ^ a b c Wilkes 1995, p. 98.
  3. ^ a b Chatzinikolaou Kalliopi, Locating Sanctuaries in Upper Macedonia According to Archaeological Data. ISSN 0776-3824. , p. 195
  4. ^ a b Katičić 1995, p. 214: "U tom su djelu zemljopisni nazivi poredani alfabetskim redom i uz svaki je dano neko objašnjenje. U izvornom djelu Stefanovu ta su tumačenja bila opširna i proviđena bogatim navodima iz mjerodavne literature. U izvatku koji nam se sačuvao tumačenja su vrlo sažeta, a izravni su citati razmjerno rijetki, te se svode na puko spominjanje. To vrednije nam je kad u izvatku iz Stefanova djela čitamo: Δεξάροι, έθνος Χαόνων, τοΐς Έγχελέαις προσεχείς 'Εκαταιος Ευρώπη- ΰπόνΑμυρον δρος οΐκοΰν. - “Deksari, haonski narod, susjedi Enhelejaca, kako piše Hekatej u opisu Evrope. Stanuje pod gorom Amirom.” (Fragment 73 FHG i 103 F Gr Hist.) Iako je taj citat prilično bogat podacima, ne polazi nam za rukom da iz njega saznamo mnogo. Premalo znamo o najstarijem grčkom zemljopisu naših strana i zato samo slabo možemo povezati Hekatejeve podatke s drugima i tako ih uvrstiti u širu sliku. Ni pleme Deksara ni gora Amir nisu nam poznati iz drugih vrela."
  5. ^ a b Šašel Kos 1993, p. 118: "The earliest preserved data come from Hecataeus of Miletus (the end of the 6th century B.C.), and were preserved by Stephanus of Byzantium in his toponoma-stic lexicon Ethnica from the 6th century A.D., under the heading Dexari (FGrHist 1 F 103): The Dexari, a Chaonian people neighbouring upon the Enchelei, as is stated by Hecataeus in his book about Europe, who lived under Mt. Amyrus (Δέξαροι, ἔθνος Χαόνων, τοῖς Ἐγχελέαις προσεχεῖς, Ἑκαταῖος Εὐρώπῃ. ὑπὸ Ἄμυρον ὄρος οἰκοῦν.). The Dexari and the Amyrus mountain are mentioned solely in this passage."
  6. ^ Kunstmann & Thiergen 1987, pp. 110–112.
  7. ^ a b c d Weber 1989, p. 81: "The spelling of Dassarentii resembles two known Illyrian names, Dassaretae and Daesitiates. Of the two, Dassaretae is probably the tribe Livy meant to describe (57). Each time he uses a similarly spelled name it is in an account of an event in Illyricum between 200 and 170 B.C. ...Strabo mentioned the Dassaretae among the tribes contacted along the route of the Drin river. ... Pliny, while not as obvious in indicating his sources , located the Dasaretae east of the Albanian plain and north of Epirus. ... Appian, though vague in his geographical placement of both, recounted the legend of the Dassaretae as one of the original Illyrian tribes." pp. 83-84: "Like the Taulantii the Dassaretae first appear in a fragment of Hecataeus and are known throughout a long tradition that survived to Livy's day and beyond. According to Stephanus of Byzantium, Hecataeus wrote of the Δεξάροι, Έθνος Ξαόνων, who live υπό Άμυρον όρος. The ξ is the phonetic equivalent of ss, so Hecataeus' Δεξάροι is the equivalent of Δεσσάροι, which has a stem identical to Dassaretae... Hecataeus placed Mt. Amuron between the Encheleans, who lived around Lake Lychnidus, and Dodona. The area is virtually the same territory assigned to the Dassaretae by Pliny, H.N. 4.1.3. He located the Dassaretae along the northern boundary of Epirus. The best documentation of the Dassaretae and their homeland comes from the period of the Roman conquest, the years between the first Roman incursion into Illyricum in 228 B.C. and the settlement of 167 B.C. Sources dealing with this period derive chiefly from Polybius, who first refers to the Dassaretae in his account of the split between the Illyrian dynast Scerdilaidas and Philip V of Macedonia in 217 B.C. ...It is to the west of the area in which Livy, drawing on Polybius, places the Dassaretae in 199 B.C.,...through the land of the Dassaretae directly to Lyncus, the western section of Macedonia." p. 86: "As part of his description of the Dardanian location, Strabo mentions the Dassaretae. The Dardanians and the Dassaretae, along with other peoples, are situated inland along the path of the Drilo River, the modern Drin."
  8. ^ a b Hammond 2000, p. 347
  9. ^ a b c Katičić 1995, p. 215
  10. ^ Šašel Kos 1993, p. 118
  11. ^ Hammond, N. G. L. "The Kingdoms in Illyria circa 400-167 B.C." The Annual of the British School at Athens, vol. 61, 1966, pp. 239–253. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30103175. Accessed 15 May 2020. Page 247: "It is likely that Illyrian tribes occupied Dassaretis before the time of Philip II, because the Dexari disappeared and Alexander's campaign at Pelium was described as a campaign in Illyria"
  12. ^ Hammond 1994, p. 423
  13. ^ Hammond, 1989, p. 11-25: "...Illyrian Dassaretii on the Dalmatian coast and Dassaretae between Macedonia and Epirus".
  14. ^ Hammond, 1966, p. 253
  15. ^ Hammond, 1989, p. 11-25: "It follows from Strabo's statement that the other tribes south of the line and extending down to the Ambraciote Gulf were Epirotic. Of these the most northerly near the coast were the 'Abantes' or 'Amantes' or 'Amantoi', since all these forms occur, and the farthest inland the Dassaretae, known to Hecataeus as the 'Dexaroi, a tribe of the Chaonians, next to the Encheleae' (FGrH i F Io3; and for the Encheleae see Strabo 326).40 The distinction between Illyrians and Dassaretii is seen also in Livy 42. 36. 9 (following Polybius), 'ad occupanda Dassaretiorum et Illyriorum castella'."
  16. ^ Hammond 1982, p. 265: "The Chaones, a very powerful group of tribes in northern Epirus, extended at that time into the southern part of the lakeland; for one of their tribes, the Dexaroi, was adjacent to the Encheleae (FGrH 1 F 103). The name 'Dexaroi' is obviously his form of 'Dassaretai', after whom the area was called Dassaretis."; Hammond 1992, p. 35: "They were neighbours of Greek-speaking tribes, grouped under the common name Chaones, of whom the most northerly, the Dassaretae, extended into the lakeland south of Lake Ochrid."; Hammond 1993, p. 234: "Dassaretae, whose country "Dassaretis" included the Malik-Koritsa plain. It was then the rulers of the Dexari, who were buried at Kuci zi in Tumulus II, and the Dexari themselves were the most northerly of the Chaonian group of tribes,"; Hammond 1994, p. 432: "The Chaones... were a group of Greek-speaking tribes, and the Dexari or as they were called later the Dassaretae, were the most northerly member of the group..."; Hammond 2000, p. 347
  17. ^ Toynbee 1969, pp. 107–108: "For instance, the description of a Chaonian as being a Peukestos, and the mention of another subdivision of the Khaones named the Dexaroi, are evidence that the Khaones had been Illyrian-speakers originally, since the name 'Peukestos' is identical with that of the Apulian Peuketioi, while the name 'Dexaroi' looks like a variant of the name 'Dassaretioi', which was borne by an Illyrian people whose territory extended from the shores of Lake Okhrida (Lykhnidos) south-south-westwards to the upper valley of the River Uzúmi, which joins the Devol to form the Semeni (Apsos). Above all, the most prominent mountain in Epirus, Mount Tomaros or Tmaros, which overhangs the Yannina basin, bears the same name as the most prominent mountain in southern Illyria, the Mount Tomaros that divides the Uzúmi valley from the Devol (Eordaïkos) valley."
  18. ^ Kaljanac 2010, p. 56: "Najstariji podaci o Enhelejcima su sačuvani upravo u svjedočanstvu Hekateja, što se očuvalo u djelu Stefana Bizantinca, o Deksarima, haonskom narodu: „Deksari, haonski narod, susjedi Enhelejaca, kako piše Hekatej u opisu Evrope. Stanuje pod gorom Amirom“. Da li su Deksari u stvari Dasareti i da li je gora Amir Tomor u Dasaretidi, o čemu je govorio R. Katičić i danas predstavlja značajno i nedovoljno odgovoreno pitanje. Najviše što se može pretpostaviti u vezi područja rasprostiranja sa određenim stepenom sigurnosti jest mogućnost da su nosioci ohridske kulture iz Trebeništa bili Enhelejci."
  19. ^ Keramopoullos, Anton (1953). About the Trebenista tombs and the people of the Lhttps://books.google.gr/books?hl=ychnidos region. Makedonika. p. 490. Retrieved 26 May 2020. Ώστε ή περί τήν Λυχνιδύν χώρα ήτο μέν ποτέ Δασσαρητική κα! εκράτησε και έπειτα τό δνομα τούτο, δπερ ήχεΐ ώς βαρβαρική παραφθορά εκ του Λιοσορειτική (Διός δρος-δρεΐται), {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)
  20. ^ Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1967). Epirus: the Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Clarendon P. p. 480. It is probable that the Chaonian power was weakened by the incursion of Illyrians , who came as far as the Dexari and the area of Bylliace ( both Chaonian in Hecataeus F 103 and F 104 ) — an incursion which may have begun c . 900 B . c .
  21. ^ a b HAMMOND, N. G. L. (1991). "The "Koina" of Epirus and Macedonia". Illinois Classical Studies. 16 (1/2): 183–192. ISSN 0363-1923. JSTOR 23064357.
  22. ^ Hammond 1993, p. 234: Dassaretae, whose country "Dassaretis" included the Malik-Koritsa plain. It was then the rulers of the Dexari, who were buried at Kuci zi in Tumulus II, and the Dexari themselves were the most northerly of the Chaonian group of tribes,
  23. ^ Hammond 1994, p. 432 "The Chaones... were a group of Greek-speaking tribes, and the Dexari or as they were called later the Dassaretae, were the most northerly member of the group..."
  24. ^ Hammond 1993, p. 239: the victor was in a position to take over all the lands of which he had dispossessed Bardylis. Instead he left the Encheleae and the Atintani of Lychnis independent, and he not only liberated the Dassaretii but placed himself as a buffer between the Dassaretii and their former masters, the Dardanians.
  25. ^ Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière; Griffith, Guy Thompson; Walbank, Frank William (1972). A History of Macedonia. Clarendon Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-19-814815-9. Cleitus burnt Pelium (perhaps the Dassaretian inhabitants has shown themselves less than friendly to the Dardanian raiders)
  26. ^ a b c d Hammond, N. G. L. "The Kingdoms in Illyria circa 400-167 B.C." The Annual of the British School at Athens, vol. 61, 1966, pp. 239–253. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30103175. Accessed 15 May 2020. Page 248.
  27. ^ Winthrop Lindsay-Adams, Cassander and the Greek City-States (319-317B.C.), Balkan Studies, p. 210-211
  28. ^ Weber 1989, p. 84.
  29. ^ a b Norton, 2007, p. 58"In 199 BC it would appear that all of this territory was under Dassaretian control due to their relationship with Macedonia; Macedonia's military interventions in this area since 217 BC kept the Dassaretian borders at their greatest extent... Macedonian military takeover of the Dassaretii in 217 BC."
  30. ^ Cabanes 2002, pp. 157–188.
  31. ^ Nicholson, Emma Louise (2015). "A Reassessment of Philip V. of Macedon in Polybios' Histories" (PDF). Newcastle University Theses: 155. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  32. ^ Norton, 2007, p. 92
  33. ^ a b Hammond, N. G. L. "The Kingdoms in Illyria circa 400-167 B.C." The Annual of the British School at Athens, vol. 61, 1966, pp. 239–253. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30103175. Accessed 15 May 2020. Page 247. "The Dexari lay to the south of the Enchelees and were thus in Dassaretis, an area to which it seems they gave their name"
  34. ^ Sakellariou 1997, p. 55 "...Hekataios stated that the Dexaroi of the Chaonian group were next to the Encheleis and the implication is that the Encheleis were not Chaonians is borne by the later labelling of them as Illyrians. Thus the Dexaroi, living on Mt. Amyron (the beautiful Mt Tomorr) and extending up to the southern end of Lake Lychnitis were the northernmost tribe of the Chaonian group..."
  35. ^ Winnifrith, Tom (2002). Badlands, Borderlands: A History of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania. Duckworth. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-7156-3201-7. In Southern Albania the only Epirote tribes named by him apart from the Chaonians are the Athamanes, living in the middle course of the Vjoses river and associated with Amantia. In an independent fragment Hecataeus mentions the Dexari living around Korce
  36. ^ Hammond, N. G. L. "The Kingdoms in Illyria circa 400-167 B.C." The Annual of the British School at Athens, vol. 61, 1966, pp. 239–253. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30103175. Accessed 15 May 2020. Page 240: figure 1.
  37. ^ Weber 1989, pp. 83–84: "Ptolemy 3 . 12 also attests that Lychnidus was at some time a possession of the Dassaretae . And, while the city itself may not have always been in the hands of the Dassaretae, the area around it does appear in various authors as at least a marginal part of Dassaretia."
  38. ^ a b Chatzopoulos, 1996, p. 95, 100
  39. ^ Hammond, Griffith, 1972, p. 95
  40. ^ Kos, 2005, p. 246: "There is hardly any doubt that northern Epirus (in present-day Albania... were a part of the Greek world... according to Strabo , the Ceraunian Mountains should be regarded as the frontier between the two , as well as the line connecting them with the mines of Damastum in the region of the Dassaretes... Strabo's outline of their territories has been generally accepted"
  41. ^ Appian. History of Rome, "The Illyrian Wars", §2.
  42. ^ Wilkes 1995, p. 92.
  43. ^ Hammond 1993, p. 211: The names of Perrhaebus and another daughter Dassaro were probably associated with tribes farther north, which had names similar to the Perrhaebi of northern Thessaly and the Dassaretae of the Malik-Koritsa basin
  44. ^ Weber 1989, pp. 81: "They ostensibly refer to a group, the Dasserentii, of which tirusta is a specific part... Variant spellings of Dassaretae appear as Dassaretae in Pliny H.N. 3.145 and 4.3 and Pomponius Mela 2.5 ; Δασσαρήτοι in Stephanus Byzantius, Δασσαρήτιοι, , in Appian Ill 2, Ptolemy 3.12.29, Strabo 7.5.7 ; along with the territorial designation Δασσαρήτις in Polybius 5.108.2. These writers gleaned their information from sources dating from prehistoric, mythical allusions such as those in Appian and the Hecataean-style periplus of Strabo - the late third-century B.C. record in Polybius, and the citation from the early empire in Pliny."

Bibliography

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