Misplaced Pages

#643356

84-565: The exact geographic location of the Bessi is still unclear. According to Herodotus , the Bessi occupied the highest summits of the Satrae in south-western Thrace, while Polybius alludes to the Bessi as having been situated on the plains between the Dentheletae and Odrysians . The geographic extent of the Bessi is further expanded upon by Strabo in his Geographica , where he states that

168-452: A Bessian woman next to other peoples exotic to the Romans. The ethnonym of the Bessi became less associated with the core tribe and their original geographic location, it became an identity that was readily abstracted onto the inhabitants of the south-eastern Balkans. As a result of their conflicts with the Romans, a portion of the Bessi were forcibly resettled in the region of Dobruja , with

252-444: A Persian subject, and it may be that the young Herodotus heard local eyewitness accounts of events within the empire and of Persian preparations for the invasion of Greece , including the movements of the local fleet under the command of Artemisia I of Caria . Inscriptions recently discovered at Halicarnassus indicate that Artemesia's grandson Lygdamis negotiated with a local assembly to settle disputes over seized property, which

336-473: A boy living on the island of Samos, to which he had fled with his family from the oppressions of Lygdamis, tyrant of Halicarnassus and grandson of Artemisia. Panyassis , the epic poet related to Herodotus, is reported to have taken part in a failed uprising. The Suda also states that Herodotus later returned home to lead the revolt that eventually overthrew the tyrant. Due to recent discoveries of inscriptions at Halicarnassus dated to about Herodotus's time, it

420-604: A campaign against the Thracians and subjugated the Bessi, occupying the settlement of Uscudama – one of the Bessian tribal centres. In 29–8 BCE, the sacred sanctuary of Dionysus was taken from the Bessi by Marcus Licinius Crassus and given to the Odrysians, rivals of the Bessi and allies of the Romans. In response, the priest Vologaesus rallied the Bessi in c. 15–1 BCE, and managed to win a number of military victories against

504-657: A close relationship with Aratus of Sicyon , who until 213 BC held a prestigious position at his court. After ascending to the throne, in the first year of his reign Philip V pushed back the Dardani and other tribes in the north of Macedonia . The Social War (220–217 BC) began following the establishment of the Hellenic League (Symmachy) of Greek federations (eventually including the Achaeans, Acarnanians, Boeotians, Euboeans, Magnesians, Messenians, and Thessalians)

588-557: A force of 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry under the command of Philokles to invade Attica and place the city of Athens under siege (Livy 31.14-16). In light of reports from Laevinus and further embassies from Pergamon, Rhodes, and Athens, Publius Sulpicius Galba one of the consuls for 200 BC was tasked with resolving the troubles in Macedonia. He organised a formal declaration of war in March (Livy 31.4-8) then recruited troops, and crossed

672-555: A force of 5,000 men and 300 cavalry. Finding that Claudius had already withdrawn, he sped on towards Athens, where he defeated the Athenian and Attalid troops in a battle outside the Dipylon Gate and encamped at Cynosarges , made a series of unsuccessful assaults on Eleusis , Piraeus , and Athens. Then he ravaged the sanctuaries throughout Attica and withdrew to Boeotia . The damage to the rural and deme sanctuaries of Attica

756-664: A historical topic more in keeping with the Greek world-view: focused on the context of the polis or city-state. The interplay of civilizations was more relevant to Greeks living in Anatolia, such as Herodotus himself, for whom life within a foreign civilization was a recent memory. Before the Persian crisis, history had been represented among the Greeks only by local or family traditions. The "Wars of Liberation" had given to Herodotus

840-404: A literary critic of Augustan Rome , listed seven predecessors of Herodotus, describing their works as simple unadorned accounts of their own and other cities and people, Greek or foreign, including popular legends, sometimes melodramatic and naïve, often charming – all traits that can be found in the work of Herodotus himself. Modern historians regard the chronology as uncertain, but according to

924-419: A narrow ravine. Villius marched to meet him, but was still considering what to do when he learnt that his successor, Titus Quinctius Flamininus was on his way to Corcyra to assume command. At a peace conference, Flamininus announced the Romans' new peace terms. Up to this point, the Romans had merely ordered Philip to stop attacking the Greek cities. Now Flamininus demanded that he should make reparations to all

SECTION 10

#1732765591644

1008-418: A number of theories on the location of the lands associated with the Bessi during the period of Roman imperialism - known as Bessica . The first major paradigm, originally advanced by Gavril Katsarov , largely coincided with ancient accounts although was later expanded by Georgi Mihailov to also coincide with Philippopolis and the surrounding environs located to the east of the Bessi core, as well as including

1092-701: A number of towns in the Malian Gulf . Philip V was able to generate revenue by imposing taxes on the population of Macedonia and the exploitation of royal property, including mining , forestry and agriculture . According to the Roman historian Livy , less than half of the tributum paid to Philip V was passed on to Rome after 168 BC. Following the Second Macedonian War, Philip V increased his revenues from agriculture and mines. Philip focused on consolidating power within Macedonia. He reorganised

1176-580: A priestly-caste within the greater Satrae tribal group, and that membership into the community was intrinsically entwined with their cultic role and maintenance of the sanctuary of Dionysus. In c. 340 BCE, the Macedonian generals Antipater and Parmenion are noted as having conducted military campaigns in the lands of the Tetrachoritai as a part of Philip II of Macedon's subjugation of various Thracian polities. The aforementioned tribal group

1260-450: A result of their opposition to the Romans, there was a shift in the depiction of the Bessi which emphasised their war-like and predatory natures. As such, Strabo refers to the tribe as being "called brigands even by the brigands". The stereotypical image of the Bessi would also become representative for all natives of Thrace as a whole, as is evidenced by a second century CE mural painting from Valentia , Hispania Tarraconensis , which depicts

1344-432: A title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero , and the " Father of Lies " by others. The Histories primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon , Thermopylae , Artemisium , Salamis , Plataea , and Mycale . His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical , geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of

1428-696: A version of the Histories written by "Herodotus of Thurium", and some passages in the Histories have been interpreted as proof that he wrote about Magna Graecia from personal experience there (IV, 15,99; VI, 127). According to Ptolemaeus Chennus , a late source summarized in the Library of Photius , Plesirrhous the Thessalian, the hymnographer, was the eromenos of Herodotus and his heir. This account has also led some historians to assume Herodotus died childless. Intimate knowledge of some events in

1512-520: A young Thucydides happened to be in the assembly with his father, and burst into tears during the recital. Herodotus observed prophetically to the boy's father: "Your son's soul yearns for knowledge." Eventually, Thucydides and Herodotus became close enough for both to be interred in Thucydides's tomb in Athens. Such at least was the opinion of Marcellinus in his Life of Thucydides . According to

1596-640: Is consistent with a tyrant under pressure. His name is not mentioned later in the tribute list of the Athenian Delian League , indicating that there might well have been a successful uprising against him some time before 454 BC. Herodotus wrote his Histories in the Ionian dialect , in spite of being born in a Dorian settlement. According to the Suda , Herodotus learned the Ionian dialect as

1680-491: Is generally assumed that he died not long afterwards, possibly before his sixtieth year. Herodotus would have made his researches known to the larger world through oral recitations to a public crowd. John Marincola writes in his introduction to the Penguin edition of the Histories that there are certain identifiable pieces in the early books of Herodotus's work which could be labeled as "performance pieces". These portions of

1764-462: Is generally considered a reliable source of ancient history, many present-day historians believe that his accounts are at least partially inaccurate, attributing the observed inconsistencies in the Histories to exaggeration. Several English translations of Herodotus's Histories are available in multiple editions, including: Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( Greek : Φίλιππος , romanized :  Philippos ; 238–179 BC)

SECTION 20

#1732765591644

1848-809: Is now known that the Ionic dialect was used in Halicarnassus in some official documents, so there is no need to assume (like the Suda ) that he must have learned the dialect elsewhere. The Suda is the only source placing Herodotus as the heroic liberator of his birthplace, casting doubt upon the veracity of that romantic account. As Herodotus himself reveals, Halicarnassus, though a Dorian city, had ended its close relations with its Dorian neighbours after an unseemly quarrel (I, 144), and it had helped pioneer Greek trade with Egypt (II, 178). It was, therefore, an outward-looking, international-minded port within

1932-609: Is on account of the many strange stories and the folk-tales he reported that his critics have branded him "The Father of Lies". Even his own contemporaries found reason to scoff at his achievement. In fact, one modern scholar has wondered whether Herodotus left his home in Greek Anatolia , migrating westwards to Athens and beyond, because his own countrymen had ridiculed his work, a circumstance possibly hinted at in an epitaph said to have been dedicated to Herodotus at one of his three supposed resting places, Thuria : Herodotus

2016-530: The Adriatic in autumn (Livy 31.12-14). Meanwhile, Philip was besieging Abydos in the Hellespont . During the siege of Abydos, in the autumn of 200 BC, Philip was met by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , a Roman ambassador on his way back from Egypt, who urged him not to attack any Greek state or to seize any territory belonging to Ptolemy and to go to arbitration with Rhodes and Pergamon. Philip protested that he

2100-556: The Albanians derived from the Christianized Bessi, after their remnants were allegedly pushed by Slavs and Bulgars during the 9th century westwards into today Albania, while mainstream historians support Illyrian -Albanian relation. Archaeologically, there is absolutely no evidence of a 9th-century migration of any population, such as the Bessi, from western Bulgaria to Albania. Also according to historical linguistics

2184-479: The Alcmaeonids , a clan whose history is featured frequently in his writing. According to Plutarch , Herodotus was granted a financial reward by the Athenian assembly in recognition of his work. Plutarch, using Diyllus as a source, says this was 10 talents . In 443 BC or shortly afterwards, he migrated to Thurii , in modern Calabria , as part of an Athenian-sponsored colony . Aristotle refers to

2268-569: The Byzantine Suda , an 11th-century encyclopedia which possibly took its information from traditional accounts. Still, the challenge is great: The data are so few – they rest upon such late and slight authority; they are so improbable or so contradictory, that to compile them into a biography is like building a house of cards, which the first breath of criticism will blow to the ground. Still, certain points may be approximately fixed ... Herodotus was, according to his own statement, at

2352-491: The Euphrates to Babylon . For some reason, possibly associated with local politics, he subsequently found himself unpopular in Halicarnassus, and sometime around 447 BC, migrated to Periclean Athens  – a city whose people and democratic institutions he openly admired (V, 78). Athens was also the place where he came to know the local topography (VI, 137; VIII, 52–55), as well as leading citizens such as

2436-772: The Peloponnesian War on the abduction of some prostitutes – a mocking reference to Herodotus, who reported the Persians' account of their wars with Greece , beginning with the rapes of the mythical heroines Io , Europa , Medea , and Helen . Similarly, the Athenian historian Thucydides dismissed Herodotus as a story-teller. Thucydides, who had been trained in rhetoric , became the model for subsequent prose-writers as an author who seeks to appear firmly in control of his material, whereas with his frequent digressions Herodotus appeared to minimize (or possibly disguise) his authorial control. Moreover, Thucydides developed

2520-576: The Persian Empire , and the historian's family could well have had contacts in other countries under Persian rule, facilitating his travels and his researches. Herodotus's eyewitness accounts indicate that he traveled in Egypt in association with Athenians, probably sometime after 454 BC or possibly earlier, after an Athenian fleet had assisted the uprising against Persian rule in 460–454 BC. He probably traveled to Tyre next and then down

2604-524: The Roman-Seleucid War . He died in 179 BC from illness after efforts to recover the military and economic condition of Macedonia and passed the throne onto his elder son, Perseus of Macedon . Philip was the son of Demetrius II of Macedon , and either Phthia of Macedon or Chryseis. Philip was nine years old when his father died in 229 BC. His elder paternal half-sister was Apama III . Philip's great-uncle, Antigonus III Doson , administered

Bessi - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-514: The Seleucid king Antiochus III to capture Egyptian-held territory from the boy king Ptolemy V (Plb. 15.20), Philip invaded their territories in Asia Minor , besieging Samos and capturing Miletus . This expansion of Macedonian influence created alarm in a number of neighbouring states, including Attalid Pergamum and Rhodes . Philip responded by ravaging Attalid territory and destroying

2772-528: The Spartans , the Romans and their allies. Rome's alliance with the Aetolian League in 211 BC effectively neutralised Philip's advantage on land (Livy 26.24.6-11). The intervention of Attalus I of Pergamum on the Roman side further exposed Philip's position in Macedonia. Philip was able to take advantage of the withdrawal of Attalus from the Greek mainland in 207 BC, along with Roman inactivity and

2856-581: The Suda , he was buried in Macedonian Pella and in the agora in Thurii. Herodotus announced the purpose and scope of his work at the beginning of his Histories: Here are presented the results of the inquiry carried out by Herodotus of Halicarnassus. The purpose is to prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time, and to preserve the fame of the important and remarkable achievements produced by both Greeks and non-Greeks; among

2940-573: The Aetolian city of Thaumaci , but gave up and withdrew as winter approached. He spent the winter training his army and engaging in diplomacy, particularly with the Achaean League. Publius Villius Tappulus replaced Sulpicius in command, but spent most of the year dealing with a mutiny. In summer 198 BC Philip marched west and encamped on both sides of the Aoös river where it passed through

3024-612: The Aetolians had decorated their stoas (Plb. 5.9). These shields were the arms taken from the enemies of the Aetolians during their previous military victories and included the shields of the Gauls who had raided Greece in the 3rd century BC. Philip and his Greek allies in the Hellenic League ultimately claimed victory against the Aetolians, Spartans and Elians at the conference of Naupactus in 217 BC (Plb. 5.102-105). During

3108-755: The Bessi inhabited a land beginning near the source of the Hébros and encompassing the highlands between the Haemus and Rhodope mountain ranges that bordered the Paeonians and Illyrian Autariatae and Dardani to the west. Strabo also places the Bessi as bordering the Odrysians and Sapaeans . There are also indications that the Bessi gradually came to settle the lowlands between the Hébros and Tonsus near Philippopolis and modern Pazardzhik , consequently expanding eastwards near Beroe . In light of archaeological and epigraphic evidence, modern scholars have formulated

3192-660: The Christian vocabulary of Albanian is mainly Latin , which speaks against the construct of a "Bessian church language". The elite of the Bessi tribe was gradually Hellenized. Low level of borrowings from Greek in the Albanian language is a further argument against the identification of Albanian with the Bessi. Also the dialectal division of the Albanian-speaking area in the Early Middle Ages contradicts

3276-648: The Danube and Sava , and into Epirus , Macedonia , and Hellas . The name Bessi and its related variations appear across the Balkans, particularly during the Roman period. Bessus is attested among the ancient locals of the area around modern Pljevlja and Prijepolje . It also appears in the Roman veteran legionary settlements of Scupi ( Colonia Flavia Aelia Scupi ) and Aprus ( Colonia Claudia Apri ). In Dacia it appears in several sites, including Sarmizegetusa Regia , Banatska Palanka , and Apulum . Towards

3360-570: The Greek cities he had harmed and withdraw all his garrisons from cities outside Macedonia, including Thessaly, which had been part of the Macedonian kingdom continuously since 353 BC. Philip stormed out of the meeting in anger and Flamininus decided to attack. In the subsequent Battle of the Aous , the Macedonian force collapsed and fled, suffering 2,000 casualties. Philip gathered up the survivors and retreated to Thessaly and then to Tempe . Over

3444-465: The Odrysian nobles Rhascyporis and Rhoemetacles. This conflict further supports the thesis that the identity of the Bessi prior to complete Roman subjugation was strongly linked and rooted to the sanctuary of Dionysus, and that their rivalry with the neighbouring pro-Roman Thracians strengthened this tribal and geographic identity. According to Appian, the Bessi surrendered themselves to Augustus . As

Bessi - Misplaced Pages Continue

3528-531: The Rhodopes. According to Herodotus, the Bessi were a sub-tribe or branch of the Satrae intimately tied to the cult of Dionysus and responsible for interpreting the prophetic utterances of the prophetess at the deity's sanctuary, located on the highest summits of the land inhabited by the tribe. This prophetic role of the Bessi in the cult has led many scholars to suggest that they may have initially represented

3612-602: The Roman Republic directly, the Senate passed a decree supporting Pergamum and Rhodes and Marcus Valerius Laevinus was sent to investigate (Livy 31.3). Simultaneously, Philip's relationship with Athens suddenly deteriorated. The Acarnanian League launched a raid on Attica , aided by troops which they had received from Philip V. Attalus I and Rhodes convinced the Athenians to declare war on Macedon and Philip dispatched

3696-648: The Romans and provided material support for their wars against the Spartans under Nabis in 195 BC. Philip V also supported the Romans against Antiochus III the Great and the Aetolian League . After the Roman–Seleucid War the Romans allowed Philip V to keep territory he had conquered, such as Demetrias , the Magnesian coastline of Thessaly , parts of Athamania , parts of Dolopia , parts of Perrhaebia , and

3780-558: The Thracian-Bessian hypothesis of the origin of Albanian should be rejected, since only very little comparative linguistic material is available (the Thracian is attested only marginally, while the Bessian is completely unknown), but at the same time the individual phonetic history of Albanian and Thracian clearly indicates a very different sound development that cannot be considered as the result of one language. Furthermore,

3864-492: The alleged migration of Albanians in the hinterland of Dyrrhachium in the first decades of the 9th century AD, especially because the dialectal division of a linguistic space is in general a result of a number of linguistic phenomena occurring during a considerable span of time and requires a very large number of natural speakers. Herodotus Herodotus ( Ancient Greek : Ἡρόδοτος , romanized :  Hēródotos ; c.  484  – c.  425 BC)

3948-407: The ancient account, these predecessors included Dionysius of Miletus , Charon of Lampsacus, Hellanicus of Lesbos , Xanthus of Lydia and, the best attested of them all, Hecataeus of Miletus . Of these, only fragments of Hecataeus's works survived, and the authenticity of these is debatable, but they provide a glimpse into the kind of tradition within which Herodotus wrote his own Histories . It

4032-546: The area around modern Yakoruda to the south. The paradigm would then maintain that, during the reign of Trajan , the territory would come to be administratively incorporated into Philippopolis as a consequence of the emperor's urbanizing projects in Thrace. On the other hand, Margarita Tacheva proposed that Roman Bessica had no civic centre and was based around the Rhodope, Rila , and Strandzha mountains. She then argues that

4116-591: The audience. It was conventional in Herodotus's day for authors to "publish" their works by reciting them at popular festivals. According to Lucian , Herodotus took his finished work straight from Anatolia to the Olympic Games and read the entire Histories to the assembled spectators in one sitting, receiving rapturous applause at the end of it. According to a very different account by an ancient grammarian, Herodotus refused to begin reading his work at

4200-458: The beginning of his work, a native of Halicarnassus in Anatolia , and it is generally accepted that he was born there around 485 BC. The Suda says his family was influential, that he was the son of Lyxes and Dryo and the brother of Theodorus, and that he was also related to Panyassis – an epic poet of the time. Halicarnassus was then within the Persian Empire , making Herodotus

4284-461: The branch that had been resettled in Dobruja and thus had become accustomed to sailing; however, the fact that the Bessian sailors did not reach high ranks within the navy suggests that they likely had no prior experience in seafaring. Thus, it is possible that the presence of the Bessi can simply be attributed to a larger population size during the time of mass recruitment under Nero and Domitian ,

SECTION 50

#1732765591644

4368-417: The conflict was geographically broad and also attests to the military mobility of the Bessi, the inscriptions also present a change in the presentation of the Bessi, who are depicted as the most notable among the Thracians. In 72 BCE, following the retreat of Mithridates VI Eupator and his forces to Bithynia , Thrace was assigned to the proconsul of Macedonia, Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus , who initiated

4452-530: The country's internal affairs and finances. Mines were reopened, and a new currency was minted . However, Rome continued to be suspicious of Philip's intentions. Accusations by Macedon's neighboring states, particularly Pergamon , led to constant interference from Rome. Feeling the threat growing that Rome would invade Macedon and remove him as king, he tried to extend his influence in the Balkans by force and diplomacy. However, his efforts were undermined by

4536-596: The end of the 4th century, Nicetas , the Bishop of Remesiana in Dacia Mediterranea , brought Christianity to "those mountain wolves", the Bessi. Reportedly his mission was successful, and the worship of Dionysus and other Thracian gods was eventually replaced by Christianity . In 570, Antoninus Placentius wrote that in the valleys of Mount Sinai there was a monastery in which the monks spoke Greek , Latin , Syriac , Egyptian and Bessian . The origin of

4620-439: The festival of Olympia until some clouds offered him a bit of shade – by which time the assembly had dispersed. (Hence the proverbial expression "Herodotus and his shade" to describe someone who misses an opportunity through delay.) Herodotus's recitation at Olympia was a favourite theme among ancient writers, and there is another interesting variation on the story to be found in the Suda : that of Photius and Tzetzes , in which

4704-422: The first genuinely historical inspiration felt by a Greek. These wars showed him that there was a corporate life, higher than that of the city, of which the story might be told; and they offered to him as a subject the drama of the collision between East and West. With him, the spirit of history was born into Greece; and his work, called after the nine Muses, was indeed the first utterance of Clio . Though Herodotus

4788-505: The first years of the Peloponnesian War (VI, 91; VII, 133, 233; IX, 73) suggests that he returned to Athens, in which case it is possible that he died there during an outbreak of the plague. It is also possible he died in Macedonia instead, after obtaining the patronage of the court there; or else he died back in Thurii. There is nothing in the Histories that can be dated to later than 430 BC with any certainty, and it

4872-576: The increasing role of Philopoemen , the strategos of the Achaean League . Philip and his troops sacked Thermum , the religious and political centre of Aetolia for the second time, destroying any remaining structures (Plb. 11.7.2), and the king was able to force the Aetolians to accept his terms in 206 BC. The following year (205 BC) he was able to conclude the Peace of Phoenice with Rome and its allies (Livy 29.12.14). Following an agreement with

4956-494: The kingdom as regent and then king until his death in 221 BC when Philip was seventeen years old (Plb. 4.2.5, 4.5.3-4; Just. 28.4.16, 29.1.1). Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man. A dashing and courageous warrior, he was compared to Alexander the Great , modelled himself on Philip II , and is said by Polybius to have become a universal beloved of the Greeks ( κοινός τις...ἐρώμενος...τῶν Ἑλλήνων; Plb. 7.8.11 ) because of his benevolent conduct towards them. He had

5040-672: The latter of which was preparing for a war in Dacia . However, traditional scholarship has argued that during the Roman period Bessi became a synonym for all Thracians living south of the Danube and thus the tribal name did not bear an ethnic meaning. Hence why the Byzantine author Kekaumenos wrote that the Vlachs stem from the Dacians and Bessi who had migrated from their homeland between

5124-424: The matters covered is, in particular, the cause of the hostilities between Greeks and non-Greeks. His record of the achievements of others was an achievement in itself, though the extent of it has been debated. Herodotus's place in history and his significance may be understood according to the traditions within which he worked. His work is the earliest Greek prose to have survived intact. Dionysius of Halicarnassus ,

SECTION 60

#1732765591644

5208-469: The monasteries is explained in a mediaeval hagiography written by Simeon Metaphrastes , in Vita Sancti Theodosii Coenobiarchae in which he wrote that Saint Theodosius founded on the shore of the Dead Sea a monastery with four churches, in each being spoken a different language, among which Bessan was found. The place where the monasteries were founded was called "Cutila", which may be a Thracian name. German historian Gottfried Schramm speculated that

5292-612: The narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information. Herodotus was criticized in ancient times for his inclusion of "legends and fanciful accounts" in his work. The contemporaneous historian Thucydides accused him of making up stories for entertainment. He retorted that he reported what he could see and was told. A sizable portion of the Histories has since been confirmed by modern historians and archaeologists . Modern scholars generally turn to Herodotus's own writing for reliable information about his life, supplemented with ancient yet much later sources, such as

5376-426: The poet Ovid noting a community of Bessi living near Tomis . Epigraphic analysis attests to around 40–50 individuals bearing the ethnonym of Bessi or Bessus in the Roman imperial navy , while 22 appear in the auxiliary land forces , 5–7 in the equites singulares Augusti , and even less in the Praetorian Guard . One explanation for the significant presence of the Bessi in the navy maintains that they were from

5460-410: The pro-Roman policy of his younger son Demetrius, who was encouraged by Rome to consider the possibility of succession ahead of his older brother, Perseus . This eventually led to a quarrel between Perseus and Demetrius which forced Philip to decide reluctantly to execute Demetrius for treason in 180 BC. This decision had a severe impact on Philip's health and he died a year later at Amphipolis towards

5544-409: The region was administratively attached to Philippopolis during the reign of Vespasian , later being divided and absorbed into the administrative units of Scupi , Serdica , and Philippopolis under Trajan. While these two paradigms dominate academia, a third theory presented by Peter Delev puts forth that Bessica was centred on the northern foothills of the Rila mountain range and was located outside of

5628-468: The research seem independent and "almost detachable", so that they might have been set aside by the author for the purposes of an oral performance. The intellectual matrix of the 5th century, Marincola suggests, comprised many oral performances in which philosophers would dramatically recite such detachable pieces of their work. The idea was to criticize previous arguments on a topic and emphatically and enthusiastically insert their own in order to win over

5712-605: The sea, but with limited success. His first expedition in 216 BC had to be aborted, while he suffered the loss of his whole fleet in a second expedition in 214 BC. A later expedition by land met with greater success when he captured Lissus in 212 BC. In 215 BC, Philip V signed a Macedonian–Carthaginian Treaty with Hannibal Barca the Carthaginian general (Plb. 7.9; Livy 23.33, 38.7). Their treaty defined spheres of operation and interest, but achieved little of substance or value for either side. Philip V became heavily involved in assisting and protecting his allies from attacks from

5796-421: The son of Sphynx lies; in Ionic history without peer; a Dorian born, who fled from slander's brand and made in Thuria his new native land. Yet it was in Athens where his most formidable contemporary critics could be found. In 425 BC, which is about the time that Herodotus is thought by many scholars to have died, the Athenian comic dramatist Aristophanes created The Acharnians , in which he blames

5880-477: The temples outside the walls of Pergamon (Didodorus XXVIII 5). Their navies clashed with Philip's off Chios and Lade (near Miletus ) in 201 BC. Philip then invaded Caria . Although the Rhodians and Attalids successfully blockaded his fleet at Bargylia , they nevertheless sent an appeal to the Romans for help. At around the same time, the Romans finally defeated Carthage. Although very little in Philip's recent actions in Thrace and Asia Minor could be said to concern

5964-414: The treaty, Philip V had to relinquish his claim to all Greek cities on the mainland and Asia Minor, including the "fetters" of Greece - Corinth, Chalcis and Demetrias (Plb. 18.44-46). He could also no longer harvest timber on the territory under his control. This effectively meant he could not build up an arsenal of weapons, such as large naval vessels. Following the peace treaty, Philip cooperated with

6048-601: The tribal designation of Bessi (and its variations) later came to bear no true ethnic meaning and was applied by classical sources to a range of different Thracian tribes inhabiting the highlands of south-western Thrace. Likewise, the Dii are believed to be related to the Bessi as Pliny the Elder records the ethnonym Diobessoi . Later in 184 or 183 BCE, the Bessi appear as among the Thracian tribes that were attacked by Philip V of Macedon . The Macedonian king had managed to push into

6132-464: The two armies met at the Battle of Cynoscephalae (Plb. 18.18-27; Livy 33.5-11). In what proved to be the decisive engagement of the war, the legions of Flamininus defeated Philip's Macedonian phalanx . Philip himself fled on horseback, collected the survivors, and withdrew to Macedonia. Philip was forced to sue for peace on Roman terms. In 196 BC Philip V signed a peace treaty with the Romans. As per

6216-420: The valley of the Hébros and captured Philippopolis, installing a garrison which was later driven out by the Odrysians. The Bessi would achieve their greatest prominence in the historical record in their conflicts with the expanding Roman state and the formation of Roman Macedonia in 146 BCE. Between the years 106 and 100 BCE, the Bessi would come into armed conflict with the consul Marcus Minucius Rufus who

6300-619: The war, Philip V was able to stabilise and increase his own authority amongst his own ministers and became well-known and respected for his leadership and military prowess among the Greeks (Plb. 4.77.1-4; 5.104.4-11; 7.11.4-6). After the Peace of Naupactus in 217 BC, Philip V tried to replace Roman influence along the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea , forming alliances or lending patronage to certain island and coastal provinces such as Lato on Crete. He first tried to invade Illyria from

6384-622: The winter of 198/197 BC, Philip declared his willingness to make peace. The parties met at Nicaea in Locris in November 198 - Philip sailed from Demetrias, but he refused to disembark and meet Flamininus and his allies on the beach, so he addressed them from the prow of his ship. To prolong the proceedings, Flamininus insisted that all his allies should be present at the negotiations. He then reiterated his demands that Philip should withdraw all his garrisons from Greece, Illyria, and Asia Minor. Philip

6468-575: Was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus , part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum , Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria , Italy. He wrote the Histories , a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars , and was the first writer to apply a scientific method to historical events. He has been described as " The Father of History ",

6552-585: Was assembled in Corinth in 224 BC at the instigation of Antigonus III Doson, the uncle and predecessor of Philip V. Philip took over leadership of the Hellenic League in 221/0 BC and led the Hellenic League on a three-year war against Aetolia , Sparta and Elis . Following the sack of Thermum, the Aetolian political and religious capital, the Aetolians agreed to peace. Philip's troops destroyed 2,000 statues and hauled away vast sums of treasure which included some fifteen thousand shields and suits of arms with which

6636-465: Was believed by Strabo to have been the same as that of the Bessi, which he also refers to by the name of Tetrakomai . According to a modern reading of the sources, however, it is possible that the Tetrachoritai and other Thracian groups associated with the Bessi were originally smaller tribes that later became a part of a Bessian-led tribal conglomerate, on the other hand, it is also possible that

6720-602: Was distinguished in his campaigns against the Thracians, to the point in which the people of Delphi erected an equestrian statue in his honour. The statue bore a bilingual inscription which outlined the consul's victory against the Celtic Scordisci and "Bessi and the rest of the Thracians" ( pros Bessous [k]ai tous loipous Thrai[kas] ). A virtually identical statue is also noted as having been erected in Europus . The disparate locations of these statues suggests that

6804-631: Was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by the Social War in Greece (220-217 BC) and a struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic . He would lead Macedon against Rome in the First (212-205 BC) and Second (200-196 BC) Macedonian Wars. While he lost the latter, Philip later allied with Rome against Antiochus III in

6888-543: Was not in violation of any of the terms of the Peace of Phoenice, but in vain. As he returned to Macedonia after the fall of Abydos, he learnt of the landing of Sulpicius' force in Epirus. Gaius Claudius Centho was sent with 20 ships and 1,000 men to aid the Athenians, then led a surprise raid on the city of Chalcis in Euboea , one of the key Antigonid strongholds known as the 'fetters of Greece'. Philip rushed to Chalcis with

6972-781: Was not prepared to go this far and he was persuaded to send an embassy to the Roman Senate. When this embassy reached Rome, the Senate demanded that Philip surrender the "fetters of Greece," Demetrias, Chalcis, and Corinth, but Philip's envoys claimed they had no permission to agree to this, so the war continued. Over the rest of the winter, Philip mobilised all the manpower of his kingdom, which amounted to 18,000 men. To these he added 4,000 peltasts from Thrace and Illyria, and 2,500 mercenaries. All these forces were gathered at Dion . In June 197 BC, Flamininus marched north through Thermopylae , with allies from Aetolia, Gortyn , Apollonia, and Athamania. Philip marched south into Thessaly and

7056-706: Was severe and marked the permanent end of their use. Over the winter of 200-199 BC, the diplomatic efforts of Philip, Sulpicius, and the Athenians centred on the Aetolian League , which seemed inclined to support the Romans but remained neutral at this stage. In the spring, Sulpicius and the Dardanians separately invaded Upper Macedonia, while the Aetolian League joined the war on the Roman side and invaded Magnesia and Perrhaebia , then continued to ravage Thessaly . There, Philip suddenly appeared and completely defeated their force. He spent some time besieging

#643356