Laeaeans

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Paeonia tribes and environs PaeoniaPaioniaMap.png
Paeonia tribes and environs

The Laeaeans ( /lˈənz/ ; Ancient Greek : Λαιαῖοι) were a Paeonian tribe who in the 4th century BC lived adjacent to the Agrianes, another Paeonian tribe, along the upper course of the Strymon river, at the western edge of Thrace. They were not incorporated into the Odrysian state or the Paeonian state, remaining an independent tribe outside the borders of those kingdoms. According to Thucydides, the Laeaeans, along with the Agrianes, the Thracian Dii, and other tribes, joined Sitalkes in his unsuccessful campaign against Perdiccas II of Macedon. [1] The coins issued by the Laeaeans are judged to be of crude workmanship, and seem to be imitations of finer minted coins issued by other neighboring Paeonian tribes such as the Derrones. A typical coin bears the inscription LAIAI (Laeaeans) on the obverse, and a Pegasus in a double linear square on the reverse. It is unclear whether or not the Laeaeans were conquered by Philip II or Alexander the Great, although their neighbors are recorded by historians such as Arrian as client kings. [2]

Agrianes

The Agrianes or Agrianians, were a tribe whose country was centered at Upper Strymon, in present-day western Bulgaria, and also held areas of southeasternmost Serbia in the ancient Roman provinces of Dacia Mediterranea, at the time situated north of the Dentheletae. In the times of Philip II, the territory of the Agrianes was administered by Pella. They were crack javelin throwers and an elite unit of Alexander the Great's light infantry, who fought under the command of General Attalus.

Struma (river) river in Bulgaria and Greece

The Struma or Strymónas is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymṓn. Its drainage area is 17,330 km2 (6,690 sq mi), of which 10,797 km2 (4,169 sq mi) in Bulgaria, 6,295 km2 (2,431 sq mi) in Greece and the rest in north Macedonia. It takes its source from the Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria, runs first westward, then southward, forming a number of gorges, enters Greek territory at the Kula village. In Greece it is the main waterway feeding and exiting from Lake Kerkini, a significant centre for migratory wildfowl. The river flows into the Strymonian Gulf in Aegean Sea, near Amphipolis in the Serres regional unit. The river's length is 415 kilometres.

Thrace kingdom of Thracians

Thrace is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south and the Black Sea to the east. It comprises southeastern Bulgaria, northeastern Greece and the European part of Turkey.

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Year 429 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tricipitinus and Fidenas. The denomination 429 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Battle of Gaugamela decisive battle of Alexander the Greats invasion of the Persian Achaemenid Empire

The Battle of Gaugamela, also called the Battle of Arbela, was the decisive battle of Alexander the Great's invasion of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. In 331 BC Alexander's army of the Hellenic League met the Persian army of Darius III near Gaugamela, close to the modern city of Dohuk in Iraqi Kurdistan. Though heavily outnumbered, Alexander emerged victorious due to his army's superior tactics and his deft employment of light infantry. It was a decisive victory for the Hellenic League and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.

Paeonia (kingdom) historical region

In antiquity, Paeonia or Paionia was the land and kingdom of the Paeonians (Παίονες).

Pčinja District District of Serbia in Southern and Eastern Serbia

The Pčinja District is one of nine administrative districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia. It covers the southern part of Serbia, bordering the disputed territory of Kosovo, Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Its administrative center is the city of Vranje.

Odrysian kingdom Former state union of Thracian tribes

The Odrysian Kingdom was a state union of over 40 Thracian tribes and 22 kingdoms that existed between the 5th century BC and the 1st century AD. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria, spreading to parts of Southeastern Romania, parts of Northern Greece and parts of modern-day European Turkey.

Sitalces ancient king of Thracia Odrysia

Sitalces (Sitalkes) was one of the great kings of the Thracian Odrysian state. He was the son of Teres I, and on the sudden death of his father in 431 BC succeeded to the throne. Sitalces enlarged his kingdom by successful wars, and it soon comprised the whole territory from Abdera in the south to the mouths of the Danube in the north, and from the Black Sea in the east to the sources of the Struma in the west.

Maedi

The Maedi were a Thracian tribe in antiquity. In historic times, they occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along the middle course of the Strymon, between the Kresna Gorge and the Rupel Pass. Strabo says that the Maedi bordered eastward on the Thunatae of Dardania, and that the Axius flowed through their territory.

Paeonian, sometimes spelled Paionian, is a poorly-attested, extinct language spoken by the ancient Paeonians until late antiquity.

Ancient Macedonian army antique armed force

The army of the Kingdom of Macedon was among the greatest military forces of the ancient world. It was created and made formidable by King Philip II of Macedon; previously the army of Macedon had been of little account in the politics of the Greek world, and Macedonia had been regarded as a second-rate power.

Pieres

The Pieres were a Thracian tribe connected with the Brygi, that long before the archaic period in Greece occupied the narrow strip of plain land, or low hill, between the mouths of the Peneius and the Haliacmon rivers, at the foot of the great woody steeps of mount Olympus. This region was named after them as Pieria.

Derrones

The Derrones were a Thracian or a Paionian tribe. Our knowledge of them comes from coins bearing variations of the legend of DERRONIKON (ΔΕΡΡΟΝΙΚΟΝ) - DERR (ΔΕΡΡ). The letters used in the coins are Greek, although this does not prove that the Derrones spoke the same language as their southern neighbours. These coins, which were perhaps made for export as much as for internal trade, are traditionally dated to 500-450 BC.

Kale-Krševica Place

Kale-Krševica is an Ancient Macedonian archaeological site of more than 4 hectares and so far some 1,000 squares have been excavated with a former fortified town in the hills of Krševica overlooking Bujanovac and Vranje, to the south of Ristovac in southern Serbia. It has a history back to the 13th century BC as a settlement with elements of an acropolis, but main preserved characteristics is from the Greek-mediterranean style urban town in the 5th or 4th century BC with stone walls and necropolis. Finds of coins of Philip II, Alexander III, Cassander, Demetrios Poliorketes and Pelagia correspond in general to the chronological span of the archaeological material discovered so far in the course of excavations and may be considered the northernmost Ancient Macedonian city. The Paeonian tribe of Agrianes dwelled in this region, the Scordisci are believed to have razed the town to the ground in 279 BC. The town had at least 3,000 inhabitants in the 4th and 3rd century.

Odomanti

Odomanti or Odomantes were an ancient Thracian tribe. Some regard it as Paeonian, while others claim, that the tribe was with certainty Thracian. The Odomanti are noted by Herodotus, Thucydides, Stephanus of Byzantium and Pliny the Elder.

Almopians

Almopians or Almopes were an ancient Paeonian tribe. They inhabited the region of Almopia in Lower Macedonia, which was named after the tribe. According to the Greek mythology, the founder of the tribe was thought to be the Giant demigod Almops whom they highly worshiped.

Siropaiones

Siro-Paeonians or Siropaiones were an ancient Paeonian tribe inhabiting the ancient city of Siris and the Strymon plain. They were one of eight (Herodotus) or ten (Thucydides) tribes of Paeonia. They were situated from the Bisaltae and Odomanti to the south, Sinthi to the north, the Strymon to the east, Maedi to the west, and a mountain chain separating them from Crestonia. Their capital was Siris (Serres). They were defeated by Persian general Megabazus. They were expelled by the Persians to Asia Minor, where they are assumed to have founded Serraepolis.

Illyrian coinage

Illyrian coinage which began in the 6th century BC continued up to the 1st century of Roman rule. It was the southern Illyrians who minted the first coins followed by the northern Illyrian during the Roman era. Illyrian coins have also been found in other areas apart from Illyria, such ancient Macedonia, Italy, Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt.

References

  1. Thucydides, 2.96.
  2. Arrian. Anabasis, 1.16.3.