Byllis Cathedral.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Byllis ( gr, Βύλλις; sq, Bylis; la, Byllis) or Bullis or Boullis (Βουλλίς) was an ancient city and the chief settlement of the Illyrian tribe of the Bylliones, traditionally located in southern
Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...
. In
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
times the city was either part of
Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...
or Epirus. In Roman times it was included within Epirus Nova, in the province of Macedonia. The remains of Byllis are situated north-east of Vlorë, 25 kilometers from the sea in
Hekal Hekal is a village and a former municipality in the Fier County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Mallakastër Mallakastër ( sq-definite, Mallakastra) is a region and a municip ...
, Fier County, Albania. Byllis was designated as an archaeological park on 7 April 2003 by the government of Albania. The massive walls of Byllis were built before the end of the 4th century BC and literary sources report them as an Illyrian rather than
Epirote Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των ...
or Macedonian foundation. Later Byllis acquired the trappings of a Hellenistic town, and because the southernmost Illyrian tribes, including the Bylliones, were inclined to become bilingual, it was also a Greek-speaking city. Byllis received sacred ancient Greek envoys, known as theoroi, during the early 2nd century BC, which only cities that were considered Greek were eligible to receive. Peter Allan Hansen
Carmina epigraphica Graeca
Novus Eboracus, 1983. , p. 295: "Sacred envoys from Greek sanctuaries visited Greek cities only: Dyrrachium, Apollonia, Oricum, Amantia and Byllis (''BCH'' 45
921 __NOTOC__ Year 921 ( CMXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March – Battle of Pegae: Bulgarian forces under ''kavhan'' (first ...
1f.), from which it appears that Byllis was a Greek city, founded probably by Pyrrhus, or that its citizens, the Byllideis, had become Greek-speaking.".
The time duration that passed before Illyrian cities were documented on a list of ''theorodokoi'' clarifies that acculturation did take place in southern Illyria, however it indicates that the process was gradual. During the Roman-Illyrian war in 169/168 BC the Bylliones took part on the Roman side against the Illyrian king Gentius. However, the subsequent alliance of Byllis with Molossians and Macedonians led to its sacking and destruction by the Romans. After a long decline, in 30 BC the city became a Roman colony. In Roman times Byllis rose again, also becoming a bishopric in late antiquity.


Name


Attestation

The toponym is attested as on epigraphic material from the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, and as by Ptolemy in his '' Geography''. The city ethnic is attested as ''Byllion'' on the inscription of an oracular lead tablet from Dodona dating back to the 4th century BC and on coins of the Hellenistic era dating back to the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, or as by Pseudo-Scymnus. The city is attested as a polis exclusively in the work of
Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...
in the 6th century AD, who mentions it as , and its ethnicon as . Stephanus of Byzantium mentions a town called Byllis as a seaside city in Illyria and its foundation legend, according to which the city was supposedly built by Myrmidons under Neoptolemus, returning from the Trojan War towards its homeland. This legendary tradition of the city is reflected also by numismatics.


Usage

It has been suggested that the city had its own ''ethnic'', , with coinage which bore the legend minted separately from the coinage of the tribe of the Bylliones which bore the legend . However both those names appear on coins that were issued by the '' koinon'' of the Bylliones. A recent analysis of the epigraphy and numismatics of the area seems to indicate an alternating use of the names: the ''ethnos'' with its territory on the one hand, and the "tribal" polis that was the capital of the ''ethnos'' on the other hand, being internally organized with a political authority represented by the decision-making bodies of the ''koinon'' of the Bylliones, while representing the urban center of reference for the community.


History


Classical period

Byllis was founded on the territory of the Illyrian community of the Bylliones around 350 BC, on an already existent proto-urban area dating back to the previous century. Initially it was one of the several fortified Illyrian hilltops that controlled the high hills of the region of Mallakastër. The area was on the edge of the sphere of influence by Apollonia and
Epidamnos The ancient Greek city of Epidamnos or Epidamnus ( grc-gre, Ἐπίδαμνος), ( sq, Epidamni) later the Roman Dyrrachium (Δυρράχιον) ( sq, Dyrrahu) (modern Durrës, Albania), was founded in 627 BC in Illyria by a group of colonists ...
, as well as of Epirus. The foundation of the Illyrian city in the 4th century on the northern edge of the Aoos valley is probably connected with the presence of bitumen mines near Selenica, which were located on the opposite edge of the valley. Mid-4th century BC fortification walls were built with isodomic
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
layers. The walls were 2.25 km long and 3.5 m wide, enclosing an area of 30 hectares around a steep hill. In the sanctuary of Dodona a 4th-century BC inscription on a lead foil provides the earliest known attestation of the Bylliones, asking to which deity they should sacrifice in order to ensure the safety of their possessions.


Hellenistic period

The city experienced a notable development in the Hellenistic period, representing the chief settlement of the Illyrian '' koinon'' of the Bylliones, of which several hilltop centers are found in the lower valley of the Aoos river. The archaeological remains confirm that in Hellenistic times Byllis was a cultural and political centre of the region. The creation of Hellenistic cities such as Byllis in the territory of southern Albania has been attributed to the successors of Alexander the Great and Pyrrhus of Epirus. In 314 the territorial community of Byllis was occupied by Cassander of Macedon. After two years it was under the rule of the Illyrian king Glaukias of the Taulantii, who drove out the Macedonians from the region. Afterwards the area was occupied by Pyrrhus of Epirus and his son
Alexander II of Epirus Alexander II (Greek: Άλέξανδρος) was a king of Epirus, and the son of Pyrrhus and Lanassa, the daughter of the Sicilian tyrant Agathocles. Reign He succeeded his father as king in 272 BC, and continued the war which his father had beg ...
. In 270 BC the Illyrian king
Mytilos Mytilos or Mytilus ( grc, Μύτιλος; la, Mytilus; ruled 270231 BC) was an Illyrian king who reigned in southern Illyria, around the hinterland of Dyrrhachion and Apollonia. He was the successor of Monunios, and probably his son. Mytilus ...
established control over the hinterland of Apollonia. Nevertheless the life of Byllis proceeded without much alteration. Local inscriptions begin in the middle of the 4th century BC and are related to a polis-like organization. They are exclusively in Greek, as are institutions, the titles of the officials and other parts of the organization of the settlement.. Those inscriptions reveal typical features of the north-western Greek dialect. Archaeological explorations have not yet found a sanctuary or temple in the city of Byllis, however, a series of inscriptions show the adoption of the Ancient Greek cults of Zeus,
Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
,
Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...
and Artemis. Among the typical Ancient Greek cults found in Byllis are those of Zeus Tropaios,
Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
Teleia, Poseidon, Parthenos. Ancient sources and epigraphic material provide evidence that the territory of the Bylliones included, close to the bitumen mines, a fire sanctuary with an
oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...
, named Nymphaion in ancient Greek historiography, which was located on the border with nearby Apollonia. The nymphaeum also appears as a fire symbol engraved on coins of Byllis minted in the 3rd-2nd century BC. A relief found near Byllis also shows the nymphs and a cloth wrapped around this fire, a scene that is repeated only with the nymphs depicted on a 1st-century BC silver coin of Apollonia, suggesting an admixture of local traditions and religions with the forms and practices brought by Greek colonists at Apollonia. Under Greek influence the local Illyrian spontaneous and naturalistic cult started its canonization. The corpus of the names in Hellenistic epigraphic material mainly belong to the northern Greek onomastic area (e.g. Alexander, Andriscus, Archelaus, Kebbas, Maketa, Machatas, Nikanor, Peukolaos, Phalakros, Philotas, Drimakos and Alexommas) while a few names belong to Illyrian onomastics (e.g. Preuratos, Triteutas, Trasos). In the second half of the 20th century historians Fanoula Papazoglu and
N.G.L. Hammond Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond, (15 November 1907 – 24 March 2001) was a British historian, geographer, classicist and an operative for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in occupied Greece during the Second World War. Hammo ...
have asserted that Byllis was an Ancient Greek foundation on the territory of the Illyrian Bylliones, and
Miltiades Hatzopoulos Miltiades (; grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was a Greek Athenian citizen known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. He was the son of Cimon C ...
(1997) has asserted that it was the northernmost Greek city of non-colonial foundation in the region.M. B. Hatzopoulos
''The Borders of Hellenism in Epirus during Antiquity''
Epirus: Ekdotike Athenon, p. 145, 1997.
In the 21st century scholars consider Byllis as an Illyrian city that later acquired the trappings of a
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
town, becoming very much organized on a Greek model. Because the southernmost Illyrian tribes, including the Bylliones, were inclined to become bilingual, it was also a Greek-speaking city.N.G.L Hammond
Perspectives on Albania
Macmillan, 1992. , p. 37: The southernmost Illyrian tribes tended to become bilingual. Thus Byllis, the largest city in the territory of the Illyrian Bylliones, was a Greek-speaking city, visited by Greek envoys from the shrines of Greece.
Byllis received ancient Greek sacred envoys ( theoroi) from
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
, during the early 2nd century BC. Only cities that were considered Greek were eligible to receive theoroi, which indicates that by this time Byllis was considered a Greek city or that its inhabitants had become Greek-speaking. The time duration that passed before Illyrian cities were documented on a list of ''theorodokoi'' clarifies that acculturation did take place in southern Illyria, however it indicates that the process was gradual. In the Hellenistic era (3rd century BC) a stadium, a theatre, an agora, two stoas, a cistern and a peristyle temple were built in the city. There were 6 gates in the city walls. The road coming from Apollonia passed through two of them, crossing Byllis in the direction of the narrows of gorges of the Vjosa river on the way to
Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
or those of Antigonia in the direction of Epirus. In 2011 during a road reconstruction near the archaeological park found in the site a statue of the Hellenistic era, which may depict an Illyrian soldier or a war deity, was discovered. The Illyrian ''koinon'' of the Bylliones, which had been
hellenized Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the ...
to a degree and was bilingual, was a coalition of one or two poleis,Pleket, H. W. ''Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum'', Volume XXXIX: 1989. as attested after 232 BC. The league was restricted to Byllis and Nikaea, and Byllis considered Nikaia as one of its demes. Nikaia was a member of the league, as a 2nd-century BC inscription indicates. During the Roman-Illyrian war in 169/168 BC the Bylliones took part on the Roman side against the Illyrian king Gentius. However, subsequently Byllis allied with the Molossians and Macedonians against the Romans, leading to its sacking and destruction by the Roman army.


Roman and Byzantine period

Under the Roman Empire, Byllis became part of the province of Epirus Nova. Its name often occurs at the time of the Great Roman Civil War. After a long decline, the city rose again in 30 BC as a Roman colony, which is attested by epigraphic material and by Pliny the Elder, who called it ''Colonia Bullidensis''. Its territory is called Bylliake (Βυλλιακή) by
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
. The walls of Byllis carry more than four inscriptions written in Greek with details regarding their construction by the engineer Victorinus, as ordered by
Emperor Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(483-565). During the early Christian period Byllis remained an important settlement in Epirus Nova though it was reduced in size. A significant number of basilica churches have been unearthed which contained mosaic floors and various carvings. Two of those basilicas had possibly diaconicon chambers attached, while a baptistery was established at basicila B.


Association with see of Apollonia

One of the participants in the
Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...
in 431 was a Felix who signed once as Bishop of Apollonia and Byllis, at another time as Bishop of Apollonia. Some assume that the two towns formed a single episcopal see, others suppose he was, strictly speaking, Bishop only of Apollonia, but was temporarily in charge also of Byllis during a vacancy of that see. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Eusebius subscribes simply as Bishop of Apollonia. In the letter of the bishops of Epirus Nova to the Byzantine Emperor Leo I in 458, Philocharis subscribed as Bishop of what the manuscripts call "Vallidus", and which editors think should be corrected to "Byllis". Whether Philocharis is to be considered Bishop also of Apollonia depends on the interpretation of the position of Felix in 431. The '' Annuario Pontificio'' lists Apollonia as a titular see, thus recognizing that it was once a residential diocese, a
suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
of the archbishopric of Dyrrachium. It grants no such recognition to Byllis.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), "Sedi titolari", pp. 819-1013


Gallery


See also

* List of settlements in Illyria * Tourism in Albania


Bibliography

* Beaudry, Nicolas, Chevalier, Pascale (2020). 'Les espaces domestiques et économiques du groupe épiscopal protobyzantin de Byllis (Albanie)', ''Archaeology of a World of Changes. Late Roman and Early Byzantine Architecture, Sculpture and Landscapes'', Oxford, pp. 201–218. * Beaudry, Nicolas (2010). 'Një punishte për prodhimin e verës në Bylisi', ''Monumentet'' 28, pp. 41–50. * Beaudry, Nicolas, Chevalier, Pascale, & Muçaj, Skënder (2010).
Le quartier épiscopal, campagne 2009, Byllis (Albanie)
, ''Bulletin du Centre d'études médiévales d'Auxerre'' 14, pp. 57–60. * Beaudry, Nicolas, ''et al.'' (2003).
Byllis (Albanie)
, ''Bulletin de correspondance hellénique'' 126.2, pp. 659–684. * * * * * * * * * * * Chevalier, Pascale, ''et al.'' (2003). 'Trois basiliques et un groupe épiscopal des Ve-VIe siècles réétudiés à Byllis (Albanie)', ''Hortus Artium Medievalium'' 9, pp. 155–165. * Chevalier, Pascale, ''et al.'' (2008).

, ''Bulletin du Centre d'études médiévales d'Auxerre'' 13, pp. 73–76. * Chevalier, Pascale, Beaudry, Nicolas, & Muçaj, Skënder (2009).

, ''Bulletin du Centre d'études médiévales d'Auxerre'' 13, pp. 73–76. * * Haxhimihali, Marin (2004). 'Byllis et sa région à la lumière des sources écrites du VIe siècle', ''L'Illyrie méridionale et l'Épire dans l'Antiquité'' IV, Paris, pp. 463–466. * * * * * * * * * * * *


Notes


References


External links


Byllis Archaeological Park
{{Authority control Byllis Former populated places in Albania Illyrian Albania Archaeology of Illyria Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Albania Hellenistic Albania Albania in the Roman era Cities in ancient Illyria Coloniae (Roman) Tourist attractions in Fier County Buildings and structures in Fier County