Rhizon

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Rhizon was the capital of the Illyrian kingdom under the Ardiaei. During the Roman rule it was known as Rhizinium. Rhizon is the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor and the modern town of Risan (modern Montenegro) stands near the old city.

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Originally it was an Illyrian settlement that developed gradually and became the capital of the Illyrian Ardiaean Kingdom under Agron and Teuta. [1] It was the last stronghold of queen Teuta in the first Illyrian war against the Romans. It maintained its status as a significant regional settlement well into the Roman era.

Name

Originally in Illyrian proper territory, the city is attested in Ancient Greek as Ῥίζων and in Latin as Risinium. The toponym has been compared with Albanian : rrjedh, meaning 'flow', 'stream', deriving from Proto-Indo-European *(H)reǵ- 'flow', whence in turn meaning 'river', 'stream', etc. [2]

History

Rhizon (marked 1) was one of three Illyrian fortresses on the hills overlooking Bay of Kotor, and became the capital of the Illyrian Ardiaean Kingdom under Agron and Teuta. Bay of Kotor Illiryan fortresses.jpg
Rhizon (marked 1) was one of three Illyrian fortresses on the hills overlooking Bay of Kotor, and became the capital of the Illyrian Ardiaean Kingdom under Agron and Teuta.

Herodian (2nd century A.D.) mentions that Rhizon takes its name from Rizon, son of Cadmus and brother of Illyrius. [3] The earliest mention of Rhizon dates back to the 4th century BCE in the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax who mentions it as a settlement of the Enchelei. It later developed as a settlement of another Illyrian tribe, the Ardiaei. Rhizon had been the main fortress in the Illyrian state under Agron where Queen Teuta took refuge during the Illyrian Wars. [3] During the short reign of the Illyrian Queen Teuta, Rhizon became the capital of her state.

During these periods a mint was established that issued several coinages:

The chronology of these coinages is still not defined with precision, primarily because the historical background of their issuance remains little known. There is hardly any mention in the literary sources of the town of Rhizon, and none of the king Ballaios. However, several features of these coinages - such as the characteristics of style, elements of inscription and iconography (especially the presence of the title “basileus” on the coinage of Ballaios, and the presence of a Macedonian shield on the “Coinage from the Rhizonian Gulf”), metrology, choice of coined metals, etc. – point to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE as the general chronological framework for the activity of the Rhizonian mint and for the successive issuance of the coinages of different issuing authorities there. A 2010 excavation unearthed about 4656 coins from the mint of Ballaios, which confirmed the status of the city as that of his royal mint. [4]

Formerly the Bay of Kotor was known as Sinus Rhizonicus and Rhizonic Gulf (Ancient Greek : Ῥιζονικὸς κόλπος) [5] after the (Greek) name of Rhizon, the leading town in anticity of the bay. Rhizon had also its own protector, a deity called Medaurus, who was depicted as carrying a lance and riding on horseback. [6] Prior to Roman control in the region, the degree of Hellenistic acculturation at Rhizon was very high. [7]

Roman roads in Montenegro, showing Rhizinium Roman Roads in Montenegro 800.jpg
Roman roads in Montenegro, showing Rhizinium

In Roman times, Rhizinium is documented as an oppidum civium Romanorum. Two Roman routes led through the Bay of Kotor. The most prosperous time for Roman Rhizinium came during the 1st and 2nd centuries, when huge villas were made in the area and the city had 10,000 inhabitants. Five mosaics are the most valuable remains of that period - not only for Risan but also for Montenegro. [8] The best preserved one shows Hypnos, the Greek deity of sleep. It is the only known image of this kind in the Balkans. The famous archeologist Sir Arthur Evans led those initial excavations in 1885.

The protector-god of Rhizon/Risinium was the Illyrian war deity, Medaurus. Medaurus is mentioned in a dedication carved in Lambaesis (north Africa) by a Roman legatus native of Risinium and more scarcely in two other inscriptions found in Risinium and Santa Maria di Leuca (Lecce). [9] The Lambaesis dedication also indicates that an equestrian statue of Medaurus had been erected there, likely the replica of a monumental statue located in Risinium. [10] Archeological research in Risinium in the 21st century suggests that the statue of Medaurus was set up on a base of at least 15x20m, and situated on the acropolis where it dominated the city. [11]

The invasions of the Avars and Slavs left the city deserted. The last reference of a bishop in Risan dates back to 595.

Legacy

On the Gradina hill, above the archeological site of Carine, a fortification is situated containing remains of an Illyrian acropolis.

Related Research Articles

The Illyro-Roman Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Illyrian kingdom of the Ardiaei. In the First Illyrian War, which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adriatic Sea increased after the First Punic War at a time when Ardiaei power increased under queen Teuta. Attacks on trading vessels of Rome's Italic allies by Illyrian pirates and the death of a Roman envoy named Coruncanius on Teuta's orders, prompted the Roman senate to dispatch a Roman army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus. Rome expelled Illyrian garrisons from a number of Greek cities including Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra, Pharos and established a protectorate over these Greek towns. The Romans also set up Demetrius of Pharos as a power in Illyria to counterbalance the power of Teuta.

Triteuta was an Illyrian queen and the first wife of the Illyrian king Agron of the Ardiaei, with whom she had a son named Pinnes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinnes (Ardiaean)</span>

Pinnes was the son of Agron, king of the Ardiaei in Illyria, and Agron's first wife Triteuta. He officially succeeded his father as king in 230 BC, but the Ardiaean kingdom was ruled by Agron's second wife, Queen Teuta.

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Demetrius of Pharos was a ruler of Pharos involved in the First Illyrian War, after which he ruled a portion of the Illyrian Adriatic coast on behalf of the Romans, as a client king.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Risan</span> Town in Kotor, Montenegro

Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It traces its origins to the ancient settlement of Rhizon, the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentius</span> Illyrian King

Gentius was an Illyrian king who belonged to the Labeatan dynasty. He ruled in 181–168 BC, being the last attested Illyrian king. He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept positive relations with Rome. The capital city of the Illyrian kingdom under Gentius was Scodra.

Scerdilaidas or Skerdilaid was an Illyrian ruler of the Illyrian kingdom under the Labeatan dynasty. Before taking the throne, Scerdilaidas was commander of the Illyrian armies and played a major role in the Illyrian Wars against the Romans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballaios</span> Illyrian king

Ballaios was an Illyrian king of the Ardiaei tribe. Attested only in coinage, Ballaios is considered as the predecessor of Agron. He is considered to have been a powerful and influential king as testified by the abundance of his silver and bronze coinage found along both coasts of the Adriatic. A hoard found in 2010 is one of the biggest hoards of ancient coins known, not only from Illyria. The capital of Ballaios' kingdom was Rhizon.

The Ardiaei were an Illyrian people who resided in the territory of present-day Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its right bank on the west, and extending to Lake Shkodra to the southeast. From the 3rd century BC to 168 BC the capital cities of the Ardiaean State were Rhizon and Scodra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monounios</span> Illyrian king

Monounios or Monunius was an Illyrian king who reigned in southern Illyria, in the territory of the Taulantii, around the hinterland of Dyrrhachion and Apollonia. He is the first known Illyrian king to have struck his own silver coins, which were minted in Dyrrhachion. The fact that Monounios' coins were struck in the city mint of Dyrrhachion stresses that he exercised to some extent his authority over the city, as did his successor and probably son Mytilos later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illyrian kingdom</span> Ancient illyrian kingdom

The Illyrian Kingdom was an Illyrian political entity that existed on the western part of the Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. Regardless of the number of the alternately ruling dynasties, of their tribal affiliation, and of the actual extension of their kingdom, it represented an alliance of Illyrian tribes that united under the rulership of a single leader, expressly referred to as "King of the Illyrians" in ancient historical records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daorson</span>

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Medaurus was the Illyrian guardian deity of the city of Risinium, and possibly a war god.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labeatae</span> Illyrian people

The Labeatae, Labeatai or Labeates were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria, between modern Albania and Montenegro, around Lake Scodra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illyrian coinage</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape of Rodon</span> Rocky cape in Albania

The Cape of Rodon or Cape of Skanderbeg is a rocky cape on the Adriatic Sea north of Durrës, Albania. On the Cape is the Rodoni Castle, built by Skanderbeg in 1463. and a Saint Anthony Church. Further south in the bay between the cape and Rrushkull Reserve there exist several beach resorts like Fshati Turistik Lura while Lalzit Bay Resort is under construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teuta</span> Queen regent of the Ardiaei

Teuta was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC.

This is a list of Illyrian rulers from the Ardiean-Labeatan dynasty:

References

  1. ↑ Dyczek 2020 , p. 423
  2. ↑ Savić & Ligorio 2022, p. 20.
  3. 1 2 Šašel Kos 1993 , p. 122
  4. ↑ "The Risan coin hoard". Research Centre University of Warsaw.
  5. ↑ Strabo, Geography, §7.5.8
  6. ↑ Wilkes 1995, p. 247.
  7. ↑ Épire, Illyrie, Macédoine: mélanges offerts au professeur Pierre Cabanes by Danièle Berranger, Pierre Cabanes, Danièle Berranger-Auserve, page 130
  8. ↑ Video of beautiful Roman mosaics
  9. ↑ Dyczek et al. 2014, pp. 82–83.
  10. ↑ Dyczek et al. 2014, pp. 73–74.
  11. ↑ Dyczek et al. 2014, pp. 81.

Sources

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