Dimale

Dimale or Dimallum (Greek: Διμάλη or Δίμαλλον, Latin: Dimallum) was an ancient town in Illyria, possibly situated in the territory of the Illyrian Parthini, east of the ancient Greek colony of Apollonia near modern Krotinë, Berat County, Albania.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The city was of uncertain foundation, Greek or Illyrian.[9][10][11][12]

Dimale
Διμάλη
Shown within Albania
Alternative nameΔίμαλλον, Dimallum
LocationKrotinë, Berat County, Albania
RegionIllyria
Coordinates
TypeSettlement
History
PeriodsHellenistic, Roman
CulturesIllyrian, Greek, Roman
Site notes
OwnershipPublic

Name

The place name Dimallum belongs to the southeast Dalmatian onomastic area of Illyrian.[13] It is a compound of di + mal. The root mal – considered of Illyrian or of Thracian origin[14] – is reflected in many ancient Balkan toponyms such as Malontum, Maloventum, Malontina, Dacia Maluensis etc.[14][15] The Illyrian toponym Dimallum is related to Albanian di-male, meaning "two mountains", with the Proto-Albanian form reconstructed as mol-no.[15]

History

According to N.G.L. Hammond, Dimale was possibly founded by King Pyrrhus of Epirus, or by settlers from the nearby Greek colony of Apollonia.[12] M. B. Hatzopoulos believes that the non-Greek name of the city, the lack of any Greek founding legends associated with it and the mixed (colonial Greek, Greek from Epirus, non-Greek) onomastics of its inhabitants create the impression that Dimale had not a Greek character from the beginning, being originally a Parthinian settlement that was Hellenized under the influence of the Epirote state and Apollonia.[9] Although, the city is frequently linked with the Parthini in various sources, it was never explicitly stated to be a city of that tribe.[16]

During the Second Illyrian War in 219 BC, Demetrius of Pharos, after expelling all his opponents from Dimale, fortified the city against an imminent Roman attack and left to defend Pharos. In spite of the fortress of Dimale being considered impregnable, the Romans, under the command of L. Aemilius Paullus, captured the city in a seven-day siege with local Illyrian help. After Demetrius' complete defeat at Roman hands and ultimate flight to Macedonia, Dimale entered into a friendly relationship (amicitia) with Rome.[17] During the First Macedonian war, in 213 or 212 BC, Philip V of Macedon managed to take control of the city[18] but, after an unsuccessful Roman assault led by P. Sempronius Tuditanus in 205 B.C., the city was given up by Philip V in the peace treaty between Rome and Macedon in Phoenice the same year.[19]

Findings and organization

The identification of the site with the ancient city became possible thanks to the discovery of ancient tiles stamped with the word DIMALLITAN in Northwestern or Doric Greek (ΔΙΜΑΛΛΙΤΑΝ "of the Dimallians").[4] Epigraphy in Dimale mentions a number of Greek offices[16] such as prytanis, grammateus and phylarchos as well as a single dedication to Phoebus.[20] The city hosted a number of monuments, typical of the ancient Greek architectural style, such as a stoa.[16]

See also

References

Notes

    Citations
    1. Christ, Karl (1974). Hannibal. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. p. 290. ISBN 978-3-534-06077-1. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
    2. Bengtson, Hermann (June 2009). Griechische Geschichte: von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit. C.H.Beck. p. 399. ISBN 978-3-406-58940-9. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
    3. Kaffka, Thomas (November 2007). Der Erste Makedonische Krieg: Imperialismus, Hegemoniestreben oder Expansion?- Rom und die östliche Mittelmeerwelt im 2./1. Jh. V. Chr. GRIN Verlag. p. 10. ISBN 978-3-638-84946-3. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
    4. J. Wilkes. The Illyrians. Blackwell, 1995, p. 133.
    5. Gruen, Erich S. (1986). The Hellenistic world and the coming of Rome. University of California Press. p. 381. ISBN 978-0-520-05737-1. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
    6. Anton Hermann (1954). "International Treaties in Antiquity". Classica et mediaevalia. Dansk selskab for oldtids- og middelalderforskning. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
    7. Winnifrith, Tom (2002). Badlands, borderlands: a history of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania. Duckworth. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7156-3201-7. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
    8. Stipčević, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians: history and culture. Noyes Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-8155-5052-5. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
    9. M. B. Hatzopoulos. The Borders of Hellenism in Epirus during Antiquity. Epirus: Ekdotike Athenon, p. 145, 1997.
    10. Czacharowski, Antoni (2001). Bürgertum und Rittertum im Spätmittelalter : Festgabe zu seinem siebzigsten Geburtstag (1. Aufl. ed.). Toruń: Wydawn. Uniw. Miko·laja Kopernika. p. 101. ISBN 978-83-232-1031-3.
    11. Marjeta Šašel Kos. Zgodovinska podoba prostora med Akvilejo, Jadranom in Sirmijem pri Kasiju Dionu in Herodijanu. Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti. p. 68.
    12. Hammond, N. G. L. (1989). "The Illyrian Atintani, the Epirotic Atintanes and the Roman Protectorate". The Journal of Roman Studies. 79: 11–25. JSTOR 301177.
    13. De Simone, Carlo (11 June 2018). "Illyrian". In Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 1869. ISBN 978-3-11-054243-1.
    14. Doçi, Rexhep (2008). "Illyrian-Albanian Toponyms". In Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav (eds.). Namenforschung / Name Studies / Les noms propres. 1. Halbband. Walter de Gruyter. p. 718. ISBN 3110203421.
    15. Illyés, Elemér (1992) [1988]. , 2nd (revised) edition 1992). Ethnic continuity in the Carpatho-Danubian area, p. 220]. p. 220.
      mal: "shore, bank, edge." Thracian toponym Malua, Dacia Maluensis, translated to Dacia Ripensis, also Illyrian Malontum, Dimallum, cf., Alb. Dimale, "two mountains." The ancient Albanian form is reconstructed as *mol-no; modern Alb. mal, "mountain," Romanian mal, "bank, mountain."
    16. Hatzopoulos, M. B. (1997). Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization. Athens: Hidryma Kōnstantinos G. Karamanlēs [u.a.] p. 144. ISBN 960-213-371-6.
    17. Errington 1989, pp. 92–93.
    18. Errington 1989, p. 98.
    19. Errington 1989, p. 104.
    20. Halil Myrto, "Dimale" in Albania archeologica: bibliografia sistematica dei centri antichi, Volume 1: A-D, 1998

    Bibliography

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