PROCCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN THE ALBANIAN REGION

Xhyheri, Muçaj 2014

S. Xhyheri, S. Muçaj, Një monedhë e Jubës I të Numidisë në Bylis dhe
tropaeum-i për Ciceronin e Ri, Candavia 4, 2014, p. 83-94.

LITERARY SOURCES

Caesar, Les Guerres civiles, books II-III, (ed.) P. Fabre, CUF 1936.

Cicero, In Pisonem, livres XVI-1, (ed.) P. Grimal, CUF 1966.

Neritan CEKA
Livy, Histoire romaine, livres XLIII-XLIV, (ed.) P. Jal, CUF (1982). Olgita CEKA

Pliny, Naturalis Historiae, (ed.) S. Islami, F. Prendi, H. Ceka, S. Anamali, Ilirët dhe
Iliria te autorët antikë, Tiranë 2002. A PERIPOLARCHOS INSCRIPTION FROM THE
FORTRESS OF MATOHASANAJ
Strabo, Géographie, tome IV, (ed.) R. Baladié, CUF 1989.
An inscription, occasionally found in the fortress of Matohasanaj in the
Tepelena district enables the recognition of the name and function of an unknown
peripolarchos1. The inscription is carved into a limestone votive slab, which is partially
preserved in the dimensions of h. 24 cm , l. 20-25 cm (fig.1). Approximately half
of the inscription is absent, the lower part being broken off. The correct reading by
the authors on the basis of the remaining image would be:

1 Ἀράτῳ
περιπολαρχῶν
Ἀ]λέξανδρος
[- - -]οκλέος I
5 [- - - - - -] Δ̣ΑΡ
-----------

“To Aratos, when Alexander the son of […]okleos… was peripolarchos,”.

Thus only the first part of the inscription is completed, dating the carving of
the dedication to Alexander’s mandate as peripolarchos, whose patronymic can
be reconstructed in several variants, filling in the first three damaged letters
as Damokleos, Filokleos or so on. Three letters have remained in the last row,

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apparently part of the name of a second person. Given the character of the letters, The Salaria valley
the inscription should be dated to the second half of the IIIrd century BC2 must have belonged to the
Based on the studies of the fortifications in the territory of the Amantes, Amantes, as well as the plateau
Matohasanaj has been determined to be a fortress with an area of 3ha3. In its of Mount Këndrevica, where
fortifications, surrounding an area of about 3 ha (fig. 2), two pre-roman construction they were bordered on the West
periods have been distinguished. The first period is dated to the end of the Vth by the Chaonians. This was
century BC, shortly after the founding of Amantia. The second period, characterized an area of mountain pasture,
by pseudo-isodomic masonry and rectangular towers, belongs to the middle of the where there is evidence of an
IIIrd century BC. The lack of ancient buildings within the fortification indicates the ancient centre only in Nivica,
military character of the fortress, but the presence of ancient graves evidences a with findings of bronze coins
continuous human presence4. The purpose of its construction was the protection of of Amantia, as well as a bronze
the main natural road leading from Amantia to Aooi and Antigonea stenae. figurine of Zeus of the Vth
Displaying the peripolarchos as an eponymous function in the above inscription century BC10. The boundary
confirms the role of Matohasanaj as a fortress in the service of the main centre of neighbour of the Koinon of the
the Amantes, Amantia, as has been concluded from previous studies, based only Amantes toward the southwest
on architectural features and geographical position5. was the Koinon of the Atintanes,
The inscription offers as well an indication of the extent of the Koinon of which expanded into the
the Amantes towards the southeast, where the Bença river can be considered a Drino valley during the Vth- Figure 1. The inscription from Matohasanaj.
natural border. In this territory, the valley controlled by the castle of Matohasanaj IInd century BC11.
constitutes a geographical micro-unit, which is limited by the arc of Dhëmblani
mountain, the bed of the river Vjosa (Aoos) and the pass of Salaria toward the Another fortress can
southeast. be taken as an orientation
Situated only about 12 km from Amantia, the fortress of Matohasanaj was point in looking for the west
one of its vanguards, because at the same distance from the fortress of Matohasanaj border of the Koinon of the
along the Vjosa valley, near Dukaj village of the Tepelena district, another ancient Amantes, at the beginning
fortification is found, playing the role of a boundary fortress. It has an area of 0,5ha of the Shushica valley, where
with an approximately rectangular layout, reinforced on the south side with three they were separated from
rectangular towers at equal distances apart6, a feature that we see in the fortification Chaonians. It is the fortress
of the period of Pyrrhus in Antigonea7. of Cerje, a fortification with
Like that of Matohasanaj, the Dukaj fortification was located in a micro- an area of about 2 ha, in a
region, in the most south-westerly part of the territory of the Amantes, which rectangular shape, reinforced
constituted an autonomous koinon in the framework of the Koinon of the Amantes8. with two rectangular towers
As evidence of the vertical structure of that kind of federation, a previous finding and a circular one at three of its
also serves, of an inscription of the IIrd-IInd sentury BC, dedicated to Poseidon by angles (fig. 3)12. The surface of
a koinon ton syggonon, interpreted as a fellowship of relatives on the basis of blood ties, the fortress contains residential
that is, a tribe9. The inscription comes from the village of Salaria, which might have traces and it seems that in
been under the dependence of the Matohasanaj fortress. It attests to the developed addition to a military function, Figure 2. The plan of the fortress of Matohasanaj
social and political life in the territory of the Koinon of the Amantes. it had also an economic role, (after CEKA N. 1975)

490 491
 Neritan CEKA, Olgita CEKA
because it controlled a stone bridge, just under the fortress, that secured passage
over the Shushica River13.
The quadratic plan and the usage of a round tower place the construction
of this fortress at the period of the dominion of King Pyrrhus in this area14. The
lack of other fortifications until the Shushica valley begins proves that the fortress
of Cerje was as well the centre of another autonomous koinon, part of the Koinon of
the Amantes, bordering the territory controlled by the Chaonian fortress of Borsh
through the Drrasa Pass 15.
As to the extension to the west of Amantine territory, it is more problematic
to define their border with the polis of Apollonia. Acknowledging the city of
Olympe as a capital of an autonomous koinon within the Koinon of the Amantes16,
we cannot say this in the case of the ancient fortress of Kanina. It is considered as
an Amantine centre “ex silentio” by a number of scholars17. The typical techniques
of construction of the krepis of its surrounding walls made of limestone blocks with a
hyper-structures of bricks causes us to list Kanina’s fortification with other the mid
IVth century BC fortifications such as Apollonia and contemporary fortifications in
Margëlliç, Gurëzezë and Treport18. It is possible that this similarity was related to
the control of this fortress by Apollonia, which is reinforced by significant findings
of Apolloniate coins during excavation, while those of Amantia are lacking19. If
we exclude the ancient city of Triport in Vlora Bay as an Amantine town, and
also, as Amantia maritima20, we have to seek the western border of the Koinon of the
Amantes, the one with Apollonia, at an inner part of the hilly region on the left
Figure 3. The
hill of the
fortress of
Matohasanaj.
View from the
Aoos valley.
492
A PERIPOLARCHOS INSCRIPTION FROM THE FORTRESS OF MATOHASANAJ
bank of the Aoos River. The area of Selenica would be acceptable, if its mines
were identified with the famous Nymphaeum. Livy (XLII, 36, 8) places it in the
lands of Apollonia21, while Pliny (3, 23 (26) writes that it was located at the border
of Apollonia, inhabited by “ barbarian Amantes and Byllines”22 L. Ampelius in
Miracula Mundi ( VIII, 1) places the Nymphaeum just five miles from Amantia23
and, like Pliny, considers it to be a border.
Such a profound intersection of the Apolloniate border with Amantine
territory could have been achieved only as a result of hostilities, and it seems that
N.G.L Hammond is right, when he stated that the cause of the war between the
Apolloniates and the Amantes of Thronion was control of the Nymphaeum24. The
possession of the bituminous mining of the Selenica area by Apollonia seems to be
confirmed by the stele of Selenica25, bearing an inscription dedicated at the time,
when the prytanis was Lysen, the son of Sostrion, and toxarchos was Patron, the son
of Eukleidas, sculpted in the style of Apolloniate workshops.
The name of Lysen as prytanis also appears on the Apolloniate drachmas
of the IIIrd-IInd century BC 26, while the function of toxarchos is documented in
this area only in Apollonia27. Placing the function of toxarchos on a monument that
was erected in the borderlands of the territory of Apollonia may be linked to the
specific task he had in surveillance and border protection, that is, a similar function
or even an identical one to that of peripolarchos. This fits with the mobile nature
and light weaponry of the archers, and the absence, until now, of the peripolarchos
function in the inscriptions of Apollonia.
Figure 4. The
plan of the
fortress of Cerje
(after CEKA N.
1975 b)
493
 Neritan CEKA, Olgita CEKA
The inscription of Matohasanaj is the second one to be found in a koinon fortress
and contains as an eponymous a peripolarchos, an official in charge of the control
and protection of the territory. The geographical position of the Matohasanaj
fortification is almost symmetrical with the fortification of Rabie on the other bank
of the Vjosa, where another peripolarchos inscription was found, accompanied by the
grammateus, secretary of the body, and the peripoloi, the border guards28.
Unfortunately the inscription of Matohasanaj is truncated, preserving only
the name of the peripolarchos, after which it the name of the troops accompanying
him would be expected. Common to both inscriptions is the use of the περιπολαρχῶν
form, to determine the time of the announcement of the decree, in accordance
with the appointed functionary.
In the case of the Rabie inscription, the association of a grammateus proves
that the peripolarchos was also the representative of the central government, who
could take several immediate decisions in the countryside areas, where he carried
out his function29. Even in the case of the decree of the Koinon of the Balaites,
the two grammateis who accompanied the peripolarchos Aristen, son of Parmen,
received the same favours in return for the services they had performed for that
political community. The exact location of the origin of this important inscription
is not known, besides the general information that it comes from the province of
Mallakastra. Due to the similarity of the ethnic features of the Balaites to those of
the Byllines, and the similarity of some personal names to those of Apollonia, its
affiliation has been assumed to a political community in the city of Gurzeza, which
still has not been intensively excavated30.
The truncated preservation of the Matohasanaj inscription presents us
with another dilemma: its dedication to Aratos. The only parallelism can be found
in the Passaron inscription (SEG 37-529) , interpreted by A. Oikonomides as the
name of a fictional Epirote princess named Arato (Ἀρατὼ), who dedicated the relief
to Zeus Areios31. On the basis of numerous examples from the region32, it would
be expected for the dedication on the inscription of Matohasanaj to be have been
made to a god, however neither in the Greek pantheon, nor in the local one, is a
deity (or its epiclesis) named Aratos known. Consequently, it should be taken into
consideration that it might be the name of a well-known person, such as the strategos
of the Achaean League Aratos, who held this function several times from 245 to
213 BC. This period coincides with the approximate dating of the inscription,
but what can connect this remarkable personality of the Hellenistic world with the
remote periphery of the events of that time?
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A PERIPOLARCHOS INSCRIPTION FROM THE FORTRESS OF MATOHASANAJ
We can consider two dates and historical events that implicate the Achaean League
led at the time by the strategos Aratos in the border territory between Epirus and
Southern Illyria.
The first event is the Illyrian attack in the invasion of Phoenice when the
Achaean League led by strategos Aratos came to the aid of Epirote League. For
nearly a decade, Demetrius II of Macedonia and the Illyrian king Agron had been
allies, to confront the danger that threatened their borders by the Dardanians, and
to avoid the fragmentation of Epirus, reversing the aims of the Aetolian League for
expansion33. But with the death of Agron, the Illyrian fleet of Queen Teuta invaded
Phoenice from the sea, while Skerdilaidas marched through the Stenae of Antigonea
and forced the Epirotic army to flee to Atintania34. The neutrality of Atintania
towards the Illyrian Kingdom during the Skerdilaidas march shows that it was also
independent from the Epirote League, at least since the death of Alexander II, circa
240 BC. It seems that during the reign of Agron, the Illyrian Kingdom had also
put under its control the Illyrian regions annexed by Pyrrhus circa 284-282 BC and
those annexed later by the Alexander II of Epirus35.
It is not known which side the Amantes and Byllines would have been
positioned on during this conflict, because neither of these two boundary
communities are mentioned in the events of this time, which is interpreted as a
possibility for including them under the territory of the Koinon of the Atintanes36.
At a time when the capital of the Epirote League fell into the hands of the Illyrians,
Epirus sought the aid of two main military forces of Greece, the Aetolian League
and the Achaean League. Although relatively far away, the Achaeans came to
help with their troops, which were aligned along with the Epirotes and Aetolians,
ready for a battle against the army of Scerdilaidas in the field of Helikranon near
Phoenice (Polyb.2, 6, 1-2).
But the battle did not take place, because Teuta hastened to make a peace
with Epirus, leaving Phoenice free and pulling its troops out of the territory of
Epirus. The peace was accompanied by an alliance between the Illyrians, Epirus
and Acarnania, whose main aim was the hostility towards Achaeans and Aetolians,
as Polybius comments (2, 6, 10). Polybius (2, 6, 7-8) has synthesized the impression
that these events left with the phrase “ They had caused in the minds of the Greeks
who lived along the coast no little consternation and alarm;…They all began to be anxious
not merely as in former times for their property in the open country, but for the safety of themselves
and their cities”, which concern was reinforced by the attack against Dyrrhachium
and the landing on Corcyra (Corfu) of the Illyrian fleet of Demeter Pharos in
229 BC (Polyb.2, 9, 8; 2, 10, 8). With the “τὰς παραλίας οἰκοῦσι τῶν Ἑλλήνων “
495
 Neritan CEKA, Olgita CEKA A PERIPOLARCHOS INSCRIPTION FROM THE FORTRESS OF MATOHASANAJ

Dyrrhachium and Apollonia can be inferred, who joined their delegates with those Achaean command was decisive in conquering Evas Mountain41, which contributed
of the Corcyrean metropolis in a delegation that was sent to the Achaeans and the to changing the destiny of the battle in favour of Antigonus Doson and his ally
Aetolians to seek help against the Illyrians. The request was immediately fulfilled Aratos42. In the battle, they were stationed among the Macedonians and served as
with the sending of ten Achaean ships37 which joined the Corcyreans, but they support to the Achaean cavalry commanded by Philopoemen (Plut. Philop., 6, 1-3)43.
suffered a naval defeat in the battle against the Illyrian-Acarnanian fleet near Paxos After a few days the Macedonian king was forced urgently to leave the Peloponnese
island, close to Corcyra (Polyb. II, 10, 1-8) . with all his army, and turn back to Macedonia, where in a battle he defeated the
The immediate participation of the delegates of Dyrrhachium and Illyrians, who had invaded his kingdom. But from which regions did come oι
Apollonia alongside the mission of the Corcyreans that was sent in 229 BC to seek σύμμαχοι - allies of Antigonus Doson in Sellasia, that is 1600 Illyrian fighters under
help to the Aetolian League and the Achaean League, cannot be left without echo the command of Demetrius of Pharos and other 1050 Epirote warriors ? And who
along their route and especially in the valley of the Aoos, which had already become were the Illyrians that attacked his kingdom?44 Certainly they would not have been
a crossroad for the royal Illyrian army. In the situation of the Illyrian Kingdom’s the Illyrians governed by Demetrius of Pharos and Scerdilaidas, who were members
southward expansion and its inclusion in the alliance of the Epirote League, it of the Hellenic League, but other Illyrians, on the border with Dardanians, enemies
seemed that the main hope of those regions, threatened by Queen Teuta’s authority, of the Illyrian kingdom45.
relied on two major Hellenic leagues, the Achaean and the Aetolian. Since the
passage of Scerdilaidas by the Matohasanaj fortress in the spring of 230 BC until The Illyrian- Epirote composition of troops, most important part of which
the resumption of military actions by the Illyrian fleet along the Adriatic and Ionian was under the command of Demetrius of Pharos, shows that they came from
coast in the spring of 229 BC, it was natural that tensions were created in the Koinon bordering regions, which in this case would be the regions of Atintania and southern
of the Amantes, which may have followed the same political line as Apollonia and Epirote. Demetrius of Pharos detached Atintania from the Roman protectorate in
Dyrrhachium. the years 223-222 BC, while Rome was busy fighting the Cisalpine Gauls46.
The Achaean League, as the strongest political and military organisation
of Greece, remained one of the guarantees of the autonomy and welfare that the
Amantes cities had enjoyed in this period. The figure of Aratos as the league’s strategos,
was the most popular one of Greece38, and as such could become emblematic of
Epirus, as well as of the Koinon of the Amantes, which bordered it. That Aratos
himself continued to have a special relationship with Epirus is proven by his refusal
to participate in the campaign planned against Epirus by Philip V of Macedonia,
in accordance with the commitments undertaken towards the treaty with Hannibal,
in 214 BC39.
The second event that historically implies a link of the region of the Amantes
with the Achaean League led by Aratos was the battle of Sellasia in 222 BC,
between the Hellenic League led by the Macedonian king Antigonus Doson and its
ally the Achaean League, on the one hand, and the Sparta of King Cleomenes III
and his ally, the Aetolian League on the other hand (Polyb., 2, 47, 4-6; Plut., Aratos,
41, 4). According to Polybius (2, 65, 4) the army of the Hellenic League counted
among its allies 1000 foot soldiers and 50 equestrians who came from Epirus, and
also 1600 Illyrians under the command of Demetrius of Pharos40. In the victory
of the Hellenic League in that battle, the Illyrian army incorporated under the Figure 5. The territories of the Amantes and Bylliones. IV-II centuries BC.

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In 220 BC Demetrius there would be a natural interest in the main Greek protagonists of those events, in
of Pharos expanded his which Aratos occupied a special place.
possessions in southern Two epigraphic documents of the Koinon of the Byllines also coincide with
Illyria where he had the this interest. The first is the dedication (SEG XXIV 1969, 449) of a statue from part
opportunity to remain an ally of that koinon to the Molossian Kryson Saburtiou in the shrine of Dodona, before it
on the borders of the Hellenic was destroyed by the Aetolians51. The inscription does not make clear what specific
League, which was currently services he had done for the Byllines, but it is likely that they are correlated to a
under the leadership of Philip possible commitment of their koinon to the Hellenic League. The second epigraphic
V47. This year also marked the document suggest that this new status of the Koinon of the Byllines can be connected
prevalence of different political to the invitation that was made to them through the teores of Delphi to take part in
positions of two half-kings a Pan-Hellenic festival52, probably the one of Soteira after the peace of Naupactos
governing Illyria. By violating in 217 BC.
the terms of peace of the year The second intervention of Rome in Illyria in 219-218 BC and the departure
228 BC, which prohibited of Demetrius of Pharos from the political scene returned the attention of Illlyrian
the Illyrian fleet from sailing political actors to their own internal affairs, while echoes of the figure of Aratos can
south of Lissos, Sclerdilaidas be felt in the role that he played in the punishment of the Aetolians by his ally Philip
and Demetrius of Pharos V and in forcing them to sign the peace of Naupactos. Until his death in 213 BC,
undertook a maritime incursion Aratos remained a respected figure in Greece, and Plutarch (Arat. 53) reports that
against the town of Pylos in in his honour an Arateion was built in Sicyon, where sacrifices were made annually
Messenia. After the failure of by a particular priest. Could his cult have reached into a territory that owed to him
the attack, Scerdilaidas, with a temporary period of glory to him? The Inscriptions of Matohasanaj pose only a
the mediation of his brother- hypothesis that awaits further evidence.
in-law, the king Amynander of
Athamania, made an alliance Figure 6. The stele of Selenica at Piazza Cafarelli-
with the Aetolian League and Rome. NOTES
together they attacked their
former ally, the Achaean League of Aratos48. But suddenly, Demetrius of Pharos 1 Trushaj- Sina- Jaupaj 2015, f. 387-392.
in turn from that campaign was allied to the Macedonians, and at the request of 2 Ceka N. 1993, f. 22 and note 13, points out as characteristic of the inscriptions of
Tauron, the general of Philip V, he came to the aid of the Achaean League and as the third century BC the quadratic shape of the sigma and eta, before starting of the usage
punishment struck at the coast of their enemy, the Aetolian League (Polyb. 4, 19,7- of lunate forms toward the end of that century.
9)49. In these political developments also the Epirote League had taken the side of 3 Ceka N. 1975b, pp. 33-37. See also: Cabanes- Korkuti- Baçe- Ceka N. 2008,
the Macedonians and the Achaean League, accepting Sparta and Messenia in a pp. 210-211.
broad alliance against the Aetolian League. The consequences were catastrophic, 4 Ceka N. 1975b, pp. 33-37, tab.IV.
with a devastating attack by the Aetolians in Epirus in 219 BC., during which a part 5 Ceka N. 1975b, p. 47, where, together with the castle of Cerje, Matohasanaj
of the sanctuary of Dodona was destroyed50. is characterized as a strategic fortress in defence of the periphery of the territory of the
On the eve of the Second Illyrian-Roman War, it seemed that southern Amantes.
Illyrians and Epirotes were living as they never had before within the events of 6 Cabanes- Korkuti- Baçe- Ceka N. 2008, p. 212.
Greek history and close to those of the Peloponnese. Under these circumstances 7 Ceka N. 2011, p.659.

498 499
 Neritan CEKA, Olgita CEKA
8 On the pyramidal framework of organisation of the Illyrian-Epirotic koina, see:
Cabanes 1989, pp.49-62 ; Cabanes 1999, pp. 373-382; Cabanes 2012, pp .50-52. See also
Ceka 2009-2010, p.7.
9 Cabanes- Drini 2016, nr. 99, pp. 103-104.
10 Anamali 1984, f.129-130, dates the figurine to IIIrd-IInd cent. BC, but its rigorous
style is typical for 500-470 BC.
11 Ceka N. 2009-2010, pp. 7-14.
12 Ceka N. 1975b, pp.40-43 , tab.VI.
13 Ceka N. 1975b, p.43, fig.37.
14 Ceka N. 2011, p. 659. The similarity with the castle of Dodona is notable, with
the quadratic plan reinforced with towers on the corners and zigzag lines of curtains; cf.
Dakaris 1971, p.72-74, fig.30.
15 Ceka N. 1975b,pp.43-45, considers Borsh as an Amantine castle. Cabanes et alii
2008, pp.143-145, situate it in Chaonia.
16 A secure argument for that would be the autonomous coinage of Olympe bearing
symbols similar to those of Amantia. Dautaj 1981, pp.72-77, has published eight coins of
Olympe he found during excavations, while six coins have also been found of Amantia, six
of Apollonia, thirteen of Epirus and three of Oricos.
17 Baçe 1975, pp.12-13; Ceka N. 1975b, p.22; Komata 1991, pp.114-115.
18 Ceka N. 2011, p.658.
19 Komata 1991, pp. 99-100, has found in a relatively limited surface only three
coins of Apollonia and two of Oricos.
20 For the ancient fortifications see: Bereti 1993, pp.143-159. Baçe 1975, p.15 and
Cabanes et alii, 2008 2008, p.218 identify at Treport a port of Byllis, but Ceka N. 2009-
2010, p.10 argues that the river Aoos during antiquity flowed into Vlora Bay, separating the
ancient city of Treport from the Bylliones and the Amantine hinterland, and relating the
port directly with Apollonia.
21 “Cn. Sicinius (praetor)… ad Nymphaeum in agro Apolloniati castra habebat”.
22 “Apollonia, quondam Corinthiorum colonia,IIII p. a mari recedens, cuius in
finibus celebre Nymphaeum accolunt barbari Amantes et Buliones”. See also Plin. NH., II,
106 :“scatent in Nymphaeo exit e petra flamma, quae pluviis accenditur”.
23 “Miracula quae in terris sunt. Ab Apollonia et cathamantie milia passus quinque
in monte Nymphaeo: ibi ignis est et de terra exit flamma”. Hammond 1967, p. 234, thinks
that Ampelius refers to the Nymphaum of Apollonia and proposes to identify it with Selenica ,
or Romës . In such a case the distance of five milesrefers to the Nymphaeum - Amantia(cath/
amantie).
24 Hammond 1967, p.494, dates the inscription of the monument of Olympia,
erected to commemorate the victory of the Apolloniates against the Amantes of Thronion
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A PERIPOLARCHOS INSCRIPTION FROM THE FORTRESS OF MATOHASANAJ
to around 470-450 BC, without taking into consideration that its sculptor was Lycios, the
son of the famous Myron (Paus., 5.22.3). Since we know that Myron himself was active
between 480-450 BC., Lycios would have become celebrated in the following years around
450- 435, as Beaumont 1952, p.72 proposed. See and Piccinini 2011, pp.239-240
25 Ugolini 1927, pp. 108-109, 193-195, fig. 79 and Cabanes- Ceka N. 1997, nr. 6,
f. 15-16. The stele, considered as lost, was found exposed in the courtyard of the Musei
Capitolini, Piazzale Caffarelli, in Rome, by F. Quantin and N. Ceka.
26 Ceka H. 2008, nr.105, 143.
27 Cabanes- Ceka N. 1997, nr. 5, p. 15.
28 Anamali 1976, pp. 127-129 ; Ceka H. 1982,p p. 71-89 ; Ceka N. 1987, 2, p. 92;
Cabanes et alii 20082008, pp. 186-187.
29 For a detailed analysis of the function of the peripolarchos and for other epigraphic
documents from Acarnania, Epirus, Corfu and Perast on Kotor Bay see: Cabanes 1991, pp.
197-221.
30 Ceka N. 1987, pp. 92-93; Cabanes- Drini 2016, nr. 423, f. 266-7.
31 Oikonomides 1987, f. 121-124: Ἀρα|τὼ Διὶ | οὗ βέλο[ς] | διίπτατ[αι]. See the
normal lecture in: Hammond 1967, p.184 and Cabanes 1976, pp. 246-247: Ἀρὰ τῷ Διὶ | οὗ
βέλο[ς] | διίπτατ[αι]. See also Burzacchini 1999, pp.127-134, with a complete bibliography.
32 See: Cabanes - Drini 2016, nr.96 (Amantia), nr.98 (Dushkarak), nr.99 (Salari),
nr.128 for the Amantine territory and Ceka N. 1987, nr.14 and nr.22 for Byllines territory.
33 Papazoglou 1965, pp. 168-169.
34 Ceka N. 2009-2010, p.13 argues that the Chaonians of Phoenice found shelter in
Antigonea,which in that period was the capital of the Koinon of the Atintanes..
35 Holleaux 1953, p. 83, 94; Cabanes, p. 148, note. 213; Ceka 2013, 2013, pp.
174-176.
The Atintanes also figured independently from the Epirote League in 229 BC (Polyb.
2, 11, 10 and Appian, Illyr., 7. Their geographical position put them in the centre of
historical events, because the Straits of Antigonea presented a strategic point at the border
between the Illyrian and Macedonian kingdoms on one side and on the other the Roman
protectorate installed after 228 BC. The non-inclusion of Atintania in the Epirote League
was also reflected in the decisions of the Peace of Phoenice, where the Atintanes were left
to Philip V of Macedonia. See also Ceka O. 2012, f. 60-61 for the relationship between the
Atintanes and Bylliones in this period.
36 Ceka H. 1956, p.111 rejects the inclusion of the Bylliones in the political
community of the Atintanes, while Ceka N. 2009-2010, pp.15-16 i considers them as one
of three koina making up Atintania. The inclusion of the Byllines and Amantes under one
wider Atintanian community can be concluded from a parallel lecture of Pseudo-Aristotles,
when he writes (De mir. ausc., 833 a, 36) that the bitumen sources of the famous Nymphaeum
501
 Neritan CEKA, Olgita CEKA
were located “Ἐν δὲ Ἀπολλωνίᾳ τῇ πλησίον κειμένῃ τῆς τῶν Ἀτιντάνων χώρας” and Pliny,
NH, 3, 23 (26), makes it precise: “Apollonia, quondam Corinthiorum colonia,IIII p. a mari recedens,
cuius in finibus celebre Nymphaeum accolunt barbari Amantes et Buliones.”. Hammond 1976, f. 234
propose as the source of information of both authors Theopompos of Chios, who compiled
a kind of encyclopaedia during the reign of Philip II of Macedonia, when Atintania became
a part of his kingdom. See: Štrmelj 2015, p. 68, for the date of the original source of
Theopompus for the eastern Adriatic (ca. 380- ca. 320 BC) and Dzino 2014, pp.55-56, who
put it around 330 BC, but from different sources. These two data cannot be interpreted as
proving that the Byllines and Amantes were always parts of Atintania. After the oracular
lamella from Dodona (Lhôte 2006, pp.44-45) in the middle of the fourth century BC,
the Byllines represented a community who possessed and administrated a common public
welfare - παμπασία. This status would be preserved until the time of the Molossian king
Neoptolemos II (317-297 BC), when an inhabitant of Atintania was given the right of ateleia,
reserved only for foreigners (SGDI 1336). This fact shows that Atintania, from where the
citizen came, was independent from the Epirote Symachia. The same status was also given
to the Amantes by Pseudo Scylax (26), who describes them as a boundary population with
the Atintanes.
37 Aratos held the function of strategos for the eighth time during 231-230 BC and
for the ninth between 229-228 BC. During the naval battle of Paxos, Lydiadas from
Megalopolis was strategos.
38 Walbank 1933, p.109; Plut., Arat., 53
39 Plut., Aratus, 51,1: “From this time Aratus began to withdraw from court, and by degrees
to give up all correspondence with Philip. He also refused to accompany him in his expedition into Epirus,
though he was requested for that purpose; choosing to stay at home, lest he should share in the disrepute of his
actions”.
40 “ τῶν δὲ συμμάχων Βοιωτῶν μὲν πεζοὺς δισχιλίους, ἱππεῖς δὲ διακοσίους,
Ἠπειρωτῶν πεζοὺς χιλίους, ἱππεῖς πεντήκοντα, Ἀκαρνάνων ἄλλους τοσούτους, Ἰλλυριῶν
χιλίους ἑξακοσίους, ἐφ’ ὧν ἦν Δημήτριος ὁ Φάριος” (Of the allies there were two thousand infantry,
and two hundred cavalry, from Boeotia; a thousand infantry and fifty cavalry from Epirus; the same number
from Acarnania; and sixteen hundred from Illyria, under the command of Demetrius of Pharos).
41 Le Bohec 1987, p. 203, note. 3: Polyb. 2, 66, 5, 10; 67, 1, 7;68, 9, Plut. Cleom.,
28, 3.
42 Holleaux 1953, p.101.
43 In the battle of Mantinea, opposing the Achaeans to Machanidas tyrant of Sparta,
the Illyrian light troops fought again in 209 BC under the command of Philopoemen, as
strategos of the Achaean League for the first time: Polyb. 11, 11, 5.
502
A PERIPOLARCHOS INSCRIPTION FROM THE FORTRESS OF MATOHASANAJ
44 Polyb. 2, 70, 5: “κατὰ σπουδὴν εἰς Μακεδονίαν. καταλαβὼν δὲ τοὺς Ἰλλυριοὺς
ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ συμβαλὼν ἐκ παρατάξεως τῇ μὲν μάχῃ κατώρθωσε” (He then hastily left
for Macedonia, where he found the Illyrians. Engaging them in a pitched battle, he was
victorious).
45 See Holleaux 1953, p. 98, note.1. Le Bohec1987, pp. 203-208 and note. 21,
considers the Illyrians of Demetrius of Pharos as the bordering allies of the Hellenic
League. See also Cabanes 1988, p. 284.
46 Cabanes 1988, p. 283 and Cabanes 1986, p.84, dates the detaching of Atintania
from the Roman protectorate by Demetrius of Pharos in the years 224-222 BC. ceka N.
2009-2010, p.16, situates this event in 224 BC.; Hammond 1967, p.603 and Islami 2008,
p.105, propose 220 BC., the year preceding the Second Illyrian War (219-218 BC), based on
the passage of Appian (Illyr.8)): “The following year they marched against Demetrius and
his Illyrian fellow culprits”. That passage in deed does not follow the chronology immediately
after the Gallic War. As Appian explains in the same chapter: “While the Romans were
engaged in a three years’ war with the Gauls on the river Po, Demetrius, thinking that they
had their hands full, set forth on a piratical expedition, brought the Istrians, another Illyrian
tribe, into the enterprise, and detached the Atintanes from Rome”. This events happened in
223-222 BC, giving the chanse to Demetrius of Pharos to occupyAtintania. .
47 Le Bohec1987, p. 207.
48 Polyb. 4, 16, 1-10: “Scerdilaidas, directing his course homewards, put in at
Naupactus with forty galleys at the instigation of Amynas, king of the Athamanes, who
happened to be his brother-in-law; and after making an agreement with the Aetolians, by
the agency of Agelaus, for a division of spoils, he promised to join them in their invasion of
Achaia. With this agreement made with Scerdilaidas, and with the co-operation of the city
of Cynaetha, Agelaus, Dorimachus, and Scopas, collected a general levy of the Aetolians,
and invaded Achaia in conjunction with the Illyrians”. Scerdilaidas was offered from Philip
V to enter the Hellenic League that he joined between 219 and 217 BC. See Le Bohec
1987, pp. 207-208.
49 Shih Grainger 1999, pp.264-265
50 Dakaris 1971, p.23; Hammond 1967, p.604; Grainger 1999, pp.279-280.
51 Dakaris 1971, pp.58-59, tab. 9, 1 ; Cabanes-Drini 2016, nr.366.
52 Cabanes-Drini 2016, nr.367.
503
 Neritan CEKA, Olgita CEKA A PERIPOLARCHOS INSCRIPTION FROM THE FORTRESS OF MATOHASANAJ

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Štrmelj 2015
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Premtim ALAJ

LES  IMPORTATION GRECQUE  DANS LE TERRITOIRE DU

KOSOVO PENDANT L’AGE DU FER

L’actuel Kosovo correspond à une grande partie de la Dardanie antique,

qui constituait une aire assez fréquentée par les Grecs, du fait notamment de
la présence du site argentifère de Damastion. Ainsi la pénétration de la culture
grecque a pu se faire en suivant les routes empruntées par les marchands et les
artisans le long des vallées du Drini i Zi, du Lepence, et du Vardar, du côté du
versant égéen, et le long de la vallée du Drini i Bardhë du côté Adriatique1. Depuis
la Dardanie, des produits grecs et des éléments de la culture grecque pouvaient
se diffuser dans le reste de la péninsule des Balkans. Toutefois, dans l’état actuel
de nos connaissances, malgré la position géographique favorable de la Kosovo, les
produits grecs retrouvés sur son territoire sont peu abondants. La raison essentielle
en est la rareté des recherches archéologiques et la faible publication du matériel
récupéré. Il faut rappeler aussi qu’aucune colonie grecque n’est venue s’installer
dans ce territoire, et que la présence grecque, si elle peut être établie, est de nature
emporique.
A partir des données disponibles on enregistre cependant un nombre
non négligeable d’importations grecques qui ont commencé dès l’âge de bronze.
Les sites de cette période ne sont pas tous fouillés, mais à Gllareva, localité qui a
été découverte par hasard lors de la construction de la route Prishtinë-Peja, on a
trouvé des épées de fabrication égéenne. Les mêmes épées ont été trouvées aussi

508 509