Bylazora or Vilazora ( grc, Βυλάζωρα) was a

Paeonian In antiquity, Paeonia or Paionia ( grc, Παιονία, Paionía) was the land and kingdom of the Paeonians or Paionians ( grc, Παίονες, Paíones). The exact original boundaries of Paeonia, like the early history of its inhabitants, a ...

city from the period of early classic antiquity. It is located near the village of Knezhje, which is part of the municipality of

Sveti Nikole Sveti Nikole ( mk, Свети Николе ; meaning ''Saint Nicholas''; rup, San Nicole) is a town in North Macedonia. It is the seat of Sveti Nikole Municipality and a center of a plain called Ovče Pole (''Plain of sheep''), famous for sheep ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

History

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

tells us: In 219 BC, the Dardanians collected their forces for a raid into Macedonia and at that time Bylazora must already have been in their hands. With its location at Sveti Nikole, Bylazora commanded the entrance to a long defile and, no less important, a route southwestwards into Pelagonia via the Babuna Valley, or Raec Valley into

Styberra Stymbara ( grc, Στύμβαρα), also known as Stuberra (Στυβέρρα) or Stubera, was a town on the frontier of Macedonia, which is by some assigned to Deuriopus, and by others to Pelagonia, which in the campaign of 200 BCE was the thi ...

and interior of the Macedonian Kingdom. It can be assumed that Bylazora, as the largest Paeonian town, must have been in Dardanian possession when Philip V captured it in 217 BC, with the aim of garrisoning it and ending Dardanian raids. Bylazora is also mentioned by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

in his "The History of Rome" when Perseus in 168 BC arranged military support from the Gauls who were campaigning in Desudaba, Maedica, requesting the Gaulish army to shift their camp to Bylazora, a place in Paeonia, and their officers to go in a body to him at Almana on the River Axius. The geographic dominance over the surrounding valley has determined the communications significance of the city in ancient times. It was situated between the states (or sometimes provinces) of the

Dardani The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...

, and of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

and Macedonia. Ancient Bylazora was the largest and most significant city of Paionia, mentioned in the records of

and

Titus Livius Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

. They emphasize its strategic geographic position as a frontier of the northern border of Macedonia against the

ans. According to experts, there are two significant dates related to the relations between ancient Macedonia and Bylazora: The first is 217 BC when king

Philip V of Macedonia Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king (Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon aga ...

reconstructed its fortifications; The second is 168 BC when king Perseus of Macedonia, during the

Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman f ...

, arranged military support from the

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

who were camping nearby in defending the city against the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Discovery

A strange fabrication, to the effect that Bylazora was located at the village of Kneze near Sveti Nikole stems from professor Ivan Mikulcic, who in 1976 set foot on the hill called Safara and claimed "this is Bylazora" without presenting a single substantial fact. In that manner he was able to move the ancient Bylazora on the bank of the Axius River to the inland of Paeonia at Kneze near Sveti Nikole. In August 2008, a team of researchers led by archaeologist Boban Husenovski from the National Museum of Macedonia with the participation of researchers from the Texas Foundation for Archaeological & Historical Research discovered the main gate of a city, fortification walls, and plenty of small archaeological finds that have been dated to between the 6th and 3rd century BC. From these findings, they have been able to confirm that these are in fact the remains of the ancient Paeonian city of Bylazora. The excavations are ongoing (2008).

External links

2008 Summary Report, TFAHR

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in North Macedonia Paeonia (kingdom) Geography of ancient Paeonia Former populated places in the Balkans Sveti Nikole Municipality