Macedonia – 4000 Years Of Albanian Continuance

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Shkrimi ne vijim eshte ne gjuhen angleze. Meqe nuk gjeta ndonje rubrike publikiesh ne gjuhen angleze, e vendosa ne kategorine e historise. Nese nuk e ka vendin ketu, atehere i lus moderatoret qe ta zhvendosin ne vendin perkates. Ju falemnderit!

Macedonia – Its Albanian Affiliation

MACEDONIA – 4000 YEARS OF ALBANIAN CONTINUANCE



Written by: ALBPelasgian
Translated by: qiellikalter
© ARBERIAONLINE – All rights reserved

The writings of ancient Greek and Roman authors confirm implicitly the Illyrian identity of Ancient Macedonians: Pliny the Elder [IV, X, 33], Strabo [7, 7, 1; 7.7.8; 7, 11], Ptolemy [3, 12]. Based on this clear information, a large number of historians and linguists of the XIX-th and XX-th century uphold a hypothesis on Illyrian identity of Macedonians. We can mention here: Karl Otfrid Muller, William Smith, Charl Anthony, G. Finlay etc. Later on, other well known linguists that do support the thesis of an Illyrian essence in the Ancient Macedonians language are: G. Kazaroff, M. Rostovtzeff, M. Budimir, H. Baric (Miltiades Hatzopoulos: 1999).

Even the greatest supporters of the hypothesis that the Macedonians were Greeks, do accept a strong influence of the Illyrian language into the Ancient Macedonian language. Paliga states: “It is therefore difficult to say whether the ancient Macedonians spoke an idiom closer to Thracian, Illyrian, Greek or a specific idiom.” ( Paglia cited in Fol 2002 : 219)

Hammond (1989) accepts that when: “the Macedonians expanded, they overlaid and lived with peoples who spoke Illyrian, Paeonian, Thracian and Phrygian, and they certainly borrowed words from them which excited the authors of lexica and glossaries”. (Hammond 1989:13)

To be fair, the debate on the characteristics of the Macedonian language is still unfinished, because there are: ‘theories varying from a basically Illyrian “creole” to a Greek-thracian-illyrian ‘pidgin’. (Anastasios-Phoivos Christidēs 2007)

Archaeological data show an undisputable Illyrian presence in the Ancient Macedonia. Archaeological findings in Vergina (Aigai – an Illyrian foundation, i.e capital of Ancient Macedonia) show similarity as well as uniformity to the Glasinac Culture, which is a typical Illyrian culture. This is what Hammond (1976) says regarding this point:

“The period of Illyrian control in the plain of Macedonia lasted from c. 800 to c. 650 B.C. The evidence has survived almost entirely in warrior-graves and women’s graves which were much less numerous. There were cremations sometimes in urns, as well as inhumations, large pithoi were used as coffins, e.g. at Vergina; and burials were grouped together, sometimes under a tumulus and sometimes not. New articles were bronze pendants of various kinds, bronze belt-plates, large bronze spectacle-fibulae, armlets of thin bronze wire and armlets of heavy bronze metal with incised decoration, and many bronze beads of various shapes. At Vergina, where the same cemetery was used for Illyrian chieftains, two new forms of bowl were evidently copied from wooden prototypes, such as are made by the Vlachs in modern times. New tumuli constructed for Illyrian chieftains contained many spearheads and spear-butts, sickle-shaped knives and heavy bracelets. The homeland of these new elements was in central Yugoslavia, and the typical site there was Glasinac, where the tumuli were numbered in thousands.
In the cemetery at Vergina the period of greatest prosperity, c. 900-800 B.C., was followed by radical changes and a growing impoverishment. In some tumuli the partly cremated remains were placed in urns, and sickle shaped knives with whetstones and spears over two metres in length with iron head and iron butt accompanied some of the warriors. In Upper Macedonia the presence of lllyrian rulers was shown by burials with similar weapons and ornaments at Visoi and Petilep in Pelagoma; at Pateli in Eordaea, and at Vucedol near Skopje and by Titov Veles. Objects typical of them have been found in small numbers at Kozani and at sites in the middle Haliacmon valley. To the east of the Vardar they seem to have driven the Paeonians back towards the Strymon valley, and there are concentrations of Illyrian objects at Kumanovo and at Radanja near Stip. Large numbers of tumuli are reported in this area; some at least were made probably for Illyrian warriors. Other groups of Illyrians established themselves in the middle Strymon valley, where their name in Classical times was the Maedi; in the Kumli valley between Doiran and Serres; and in the vicinity of Amphipolis. There were penetrations also into northwest Bulgaria and even beyond the Danube in Rumania.
The expansion of the Illyrian tribes had some effects also on northern and central Greece. At Vitsa in Zagori burials were made in shallow trenches, or in cist-graves roofed with branches on which stones were placed, or under a cairn of stones. The burials were close-packed; set in three layers, and very close to the settlement, and the cemetery was in use from just before 900 B.C. into the fifth century B.C. To judge from the objects buried with the dead this community had contacts with Barc, vergina, Vodhine, the Illyrians, and also southern Greece”.
( Hammond 1976: 154/155)

Also, the ancient traditions show that prior to the Macedonian hegemony, the territories north of mount Olymp were called “Illyria”. This is what Herodotus (8.137) confirms:

137. Now of this Alexander the seventh ancestor was that Perdiccas who first became despot of the Macedonians, and that in the manner which here follows:–From Argos there fled to the Illyrians three brothers of the descendents of Temenos, Gauanes, Aëropos, and Perdiccas; and passing over from the Illyrians into the upper parts of Macedonia they came to the city of Lebaia.

137. τοῦ δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου τούτου ἕβδομος γενέτωρ Περδίκκης ἐστὶ ὁ κτησάμενος τῶν Μακεδόνων τὴν τυραννίδα τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. ἐξ Ἄργεος ἔφυγον ἐς Ἰλλυριοὺς τῶν Τημένου ἀπογόνων τρεῖς ἀδελφεοί, Γαυάνης τε καὶ Ἀέροπος καὶ Περδίκκης, ἐκ δὲ Ἰλλυριῶν ὑπερβαλόντες ἐς τὴν ἄνω Μακεδονίην ἀπίκοντο ἐς Λεβαίην πόλιν.

The latest archaeological findings do support this statement. Here, we can mention the table with inscriptions found a decade ago near the Greek-Macedonian border. This 2800 years old, white marble chronicle, chiselled in late Phoenician characters, unveils in archaic Greek language some important details concerning 8th c. BC Macedonian invasion in the Balkans.



Prof.Doc. Ahmet Leitani at Beirut University in Lebanon has worked on the transcript, transliteration and translation of this inscription. According to his work the inscription reads:

Περδίκας Αργαίο[υ] καρανίων ιδίοις Μακέσταις (Μακεδόνες) καθύπερθεν Ιλλυραίας αγχίμολος επ’ άκρα Βεδ[ύ]σσας Σαβάζω οφσιμέδοντι έρεχσεν. Μίδου επ’ αν αίαν κάσχεθε οθνείους Γρεκέστας επί σκευωρήμασι λεληδορημένους αυθ’ ανήρε σκυδμαίνων Βρύγας δε παλαίχθονας αλάσθαι τηλόθ’ είε αμφ’ αλλοθρόας. Εκτου το πάλλιστον άστυ Αιγάς προσγορεύσας εκάρπο. Κράντωρ δη Βρυγαίας γεραίτερος παλιντραπέλους άλαλκε πλην ζωγρημένων. Το δ’ ούν μαρμάρεον μνάματος χάριν Δρέδας Γορδίου Γρεκιστί έχσεσεν ες γραμάτεα λυγρά

Ελληνικά

Ο Περδίκας γυιός του Αργαίου επικεφαλής των Μακεστών (Μακεδόνων) μόλις έφθασε στην Ακρόπολη της Εδεσσας προερχόμενος από την άνω Ιλλυρία έκανε θυσία στον ύψιστο (Θεό) Σαβάζ(ι)ον. Στην συνέχεια αφού κυρίευσε την χώραν του Μίδα, τους ξένους Γκρεκούς εξόντωσε αμέσως οργισμένος επειδή βαρύνοντο με ραδιουργίες, ενώ τους γηγενείς Φρύγες άφησε να περιπλανώνται μακρυά, επειδή αυτοί οι δύο λαοί ήσαν ξενόγλωσσοι Από τότε ως γηραιός βασιλέας της Φρυγίας εκμεταλλευόταν την πανάρχαιη αυτή πόλη (Εδεσσα) αφού πρώτα την μετονόμασε σε Αιγαί εμπόδιζοντας τους φυγάδες να επιστρέψουν εκτός από αυτούς που συλλαμβάνοντο αιχμάλωτοι Την μαρμάρινη αυτή επιγραφή χάραξε σε Γκρεκική γλώσσα ο Δρέδας γυιός του Γορδίου σαν χρονικό θλιβερής ανάμνησης.

English

Perdikas son of Argeos leading his Makestes when approached to Vedissa (Edessa) citadel, headed down from upper Illyria, offered sacrifice to uppermost (god) Savazos. Afterwards when conquered entire Midas country, being outraged with foreign Greeks who were charged for intrigues, extincted them immediatelly while released indigenous Briges to wander away, because both these people spoke different languages. Since then being elder sovereign of Brigea enjoyed the profits of very ancient city renaming it to Aigai while kept reppeling fugitives to return with excemption of captives. This marble chronicle was chiseled in Greek language by Dredas son of Gordios, in memory of a sorrowful remembrance. (Bugarmak n.d.)

Also, Strabon [7.5.1] states that:

“What is now called Macedonia was in earlier times called Emathia. And it took its present name from Macedon, one of its early chieftains. And there was also a city Emathia close to the sea. Now a part of this country was taken and held by certain of the Epeirotes and the Illyrians, but most by the Bottiaei and the Thracians.”

The most reasonable and logical explanation regarding the etymology of the name of the Ancient Macedonia is found in the language of Illyrians and Epirotes, who were the ethnic inhabitants of Ancient Macedonia. The very name of Macedonia, formerly known as ‘Emathia,’ derives in all probability from the Albanian word “E Madhia”, meaning “The Greatest”. (Larned et al 1922)

The ties of kinship among the kindred peoples of Illyria, Molossia, and Macedonia were still more strengthened by the intermarriages between their dynasties, Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, was a daughter of Molossia. Through the right of succession derived from the intermarriages, the same king sometimes happened to rule two or all three kingdoms. (Chekrezi 1919)

The ancient myths as well, tell us that the Macedonians have had a close relationship with the Illyrians. In the Ethnika of Stephanus of Byzantium Atintan is the son of the Macedon (Μακεδών). At the same time, the ancient chronicles mention Atintians as an Illyrian tribe, located between Illyria, Epirus and Macedonia. Even during the Medieval times, the Byzantine writers refer to Albanians as Macedonians. Macedonian at that time marked someone who spoke Albanian. Until about the fifteenth century Albanians were not called Albanians but Illyrians, or even Macedonians. This means that the terms Macedonian, Illyrian and Albanian were interchangeable and were used to note the Medieval Albanian.



At that time, even the educated Albanians were signing and declaring themselves as Macedonians. For instance, P. Bodganus (1685) described himself as ‘Macedo’ and the Italo-Albanian Nicola Chetta (1742-1802) described his people as ‘Macedoni’ (7.24). This is the reason why the propagandistic battles between the Slavs and the Greeks for the Macedonian identity are simply failed efforts to steal Macedonia territorially and historically.

In a letter sent to the Prince of Taranto, George Kastriota Scanderbeg, the Albanian National Hero, reaffirms himself as a descendant of Alexander the Great and of Pirro of Epirus:

“I do not have to speak for the Epiroti. They are very much stronger men than your Tarantini, a species of wet men who are born only to fish. If you want to say that Albania is part of Macedonia I would concede that a lot more of our ancestors were nobles who went as far as India under Alexander the Great and defeated all those peoples with incredible difficulty. From those men come these who you called sheep. But the nature of things is not changed. Why do your men run away in the faces of sheep? (illyrians n.d)

As shown above, the ancient written material, the archaeological findings, as well as mythological, ethnographical and linguistic material, they all testify to the fact that Macedonia was and is Albanian during 4000 years of her history.

Last but not least, let’s cite the words of Edith Durham (1917):

‘The Albanians are among the very oldest inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula.
Classical authors give the names of very many tribes which dwelt in those lands when history
dawns. The Greeks classed them as ‘barbarians’ and they spoke a non-Greek tongue.
They were united in groups under native kings, and of these groups some of the most important
were the Macedonians, the Illyrians, and the Epirotes. According to Strabo, all three spoke
the same language. And it is from the Illyrians and the Epirotes that the Albanians of to-day
descend. Modern Albanian, in all probability, derives from the language of Alexander the Great
and King Pyrrhus‘. (Edith Durham 1917: 83)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Pliny the Elder ‘Natural History’
2. Strabo ‘Geographica’
3. Claudius Ptolemaeus ‘Geographia’
4. Miltiades Hatzopoulos 1999 ‘The speech of the ancient Macedonians, in the light of recent epigraphic discoveries’ – VI International Symposion on Ancient Macedonia.
5. Aleksandŭr Fol 2002 ‘Thrace and the Aegean’
6. Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond 1989 ‘The Macedonian State: origins, institutions, and history’
7. Anastasios-Phoivos Christidēs 2007 ‘A history of ancient Greek: from the beginnings to late antiquity’
8. Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond 1976 ‘Migrations and invasions in Greece and adjacent areas’
9. Herodotus ‘The Histories’
10. Η ΙΛΛΥΡΙΚΗ ΚΑΤΑΓΩΓΗ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΩΝ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ THE ILLYRIAN ORIGIN OF ANCIENT MACEDONIANS:http://www.bulgarmak.org/albanian_origin.htm accessed on 25/05/10
11. Josephus Nelson Larned, Augustus Hunt Shearer 1922 ‘The new Larned History for ready reference, reading and research Volume I’
12. Constantin Anastasi Chekrezi 1919 ‘Albania past and present’
13. ‘Letter from Skanderbeg to the Prince of Taranto’ http://www.illyrians.org/skletter2tar.htm accessed on 25/05/10
14. M. Edith Durham 2005 ‘Albania and the Albanians: selected articles and letters 1903-1944′

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Maqedoni - Vitet 4000 e vazhdim Shqiptare
Shkrimi eshte ne vijim ne gjuhen angleze. Meqe Nuk gjeta ndonje rubrike publikiesh ne gjuhen angleze, e vendosa ne kategorine e historise. Nuk Nese e Ka vendin ketu, atehere i Lush moderatoret qe ta zhvendosin ne vendin perkates. Ju falemnderit!

Maqedoni - lidhjen e saj shqiptare

MAQEDONI - 4000 VITET E vazhdim SHQIPTARE



Shkruar nga: ALBPelasgian
Perkthyer nga: qiellikalter
© ARBERIAONLINE - Të gjitha të drejtat e rezervuara

Shkrimet e autorëve të lashtë grek dhe romak të konfirmojë dyshim identitetin e maqedonasve të lashtë ilir: Pliny [Plaku IV, X, 33], Straboni [7, 7, 1, 7.7.8, 7, 11], Ptolemeu [3, 12 ]. Bazuar në këtë informacion të qartë, një numër i madh i historianëve dhe gjuhëtarëve të shekullit të XIX-të dhe XX-të përkrah një hipotezë mbi identitetin ilir të maqedonasve. Ne mund të përmendim këtu: Karl Otfrid Muller, William Smith, Charl Antoni, G. Finlay etj Më pas, gjuhëtarët të tjerë të njohur që e mbështesin tezën e një thelb ilire në gjuhën maqedonasit e lashtë janë: G. Kazaroff, M. Rostovtzeff , M. Budimir, H. Bariç (Miltiades Hatzopoulos: 1999).

Edhe mbështetësit më e madhe e hipoteza se maqedonasit janë grekët, nuk pranojnë një ndikim të madh të gjuhës ilire në gjuhën maqedonase lashtë. Paliga thekson: "Për këtë arsye është e vështirë për të thënë se maqedonasit e lashtë fliste një dialekt të ngushtë të thrakas, ilire, greke ose një dialekt të veçantë." (Cituar në Paglia pasuar 2002: 219)

Hammond (1989), pranon se kur: "e maqedonasve të zgjeruar, që veshi dhe jetuar me të popujve që fliste shqip, Paeonian, thrakase dhe Phrygian, dhe ata sigurisht huazuar fjalë nga ato që ngacmuar autorët e lexica dhe glossaries". (Hammond 1989:13)

Për të qenë të drejtë, debati mbi karakteristikat e gjuhës maqedonase është ende i papërfunduar, sepse atje janë: "teori të ndryshme nga një Creole thelb ilire" "të një grek-ilir-thrakas" bastarduar ". (Anastasios-Phoivos Christidēs 2007)

Të dhënat arkeologjike tregojnë një prani të padiskutueshme ilire në Maqedoni lashtë. Gjetjet arkeologjike në Vergina (Aigai - një fondacion ilire, pra kryeqyteti i lashtë i Maqedonisë), tregojnë ngjashmëri, si dhe uniformitetin e Kulturës Glasinac, i cili është një kulturë tipike ilire. Kjo është ajo që Hammond (1976) thotë në lidhje me këtë pikë:

Citim:
"Periudha e kontrollit ilire në fushës e Maqedonisë zgjati nga shek 800 të c. 650 para erës sonë Të dhënat i ka mbijetuar pothuaj tërësisht në varre-luftëtar dhe varret e grave të cilat ishin shumë më pak të shumta. Ka qenë kremimin ndonjëherë në urns, si dhe inhumations, pithoi të mëdha u përdorën si arkivole, p.sh. në Vergina, dhe varrimet janë grupuar së bashku, disa herë nën një kodër dhe ndonjëherë jo. Artikujt e reja janë pendants bronzi të llojeve të ndryshme, rrip bronz-pllaka, tablo të mëdha bronz-fibulat, armlets prej teli bronzi të hollë dhe armlets e metaleve të rënda bronzi me dekoratë incizuar, dhe rruaza prej bronxi shumë forma të ndryshme. Në Vergina, ku varrezat e njëjtë është përdorur për paria ilire, dy forma të reja të tas u kopjuar dukshëm nga prototipa druri, të tilla si janë bërë nga Vllehët në kohët moderne. tumulare të reja të ndërtuara për paria ilire, që përmban shumë organizon dhe shtiza-butts, thika drapër-formë dhe rrathë të rënda. Atdheun e këtyre elementeve të reja është në Jugosllavi qendrore, dhe vend tipik ka pasur Glasinac, ku tuma u regjistruan në mijëra.
Në varrezat në Vergina periudhën e prosperitetit të madh, c. 900-800 pes, u pasua nga ndryshime radikale dhe një varfërim në rritje. Në disa tuma djegur pjesërisht mbetet ishin vendosur në urns, dhe thika drapër formë me whetstones dhe shtiza mbi dy metra ne gjatesi me kokë hekur dhe prapanicë hekur shoqëruar disa prej luftëtarëve. Në Epërme Maqedoni prania e drejtuesve lllyrian u treguar nga varrimet me armë të ngjashme dhe stoli në Visoi dhe Petilep në Pelagoma, në Pateli në Eordaea, dhe në Vucedol pranë Shkupit dhe nga Titov Veles. Objektet tipike prej tyre janë gjetur në një numër të vogël në Kozani dhe në faqet në luginën e mesme Haliacmon. Në lindje të Vardarit ata duket se kanë nxitur Paeonians prapa drejt luginës Strymon, dhe ka përqendrimet e objekteve ilire në Kumanovë dhe në Radanja pranë Shtip. Numra të konsiderueshëm të tuma janë raportuar në këtë fushë, të paktën disa ndoshta u bënë për të luftëtarëve ilir. Grupet e tjera të ilirëve krijuar vetë në luginën e mesme Strymon, ku emri i tyre në kohë klasike ishte Maedi, në luginën e Kumli midis Doiran dhe Serres, dhe në afërsi të Amphipolis. Ka pasur penetrations edhe në veriperëndim të Bullgarisë dhe madje edhe përtej Danubit në Rumani.
Zgjerimi i fiseve ilire kishte disa efekte edhe në Greqinë veriore dhe qendrore. Në Zagori Vitsa në varrime të ishin bërë në llogore të cekët, ose në varre-mauzole prej guri roofed me degë në të cilën ishin vendosur gurë, ose sipas një muranë e gurë. Varrimet ishin pranë të mbushura, të vendosura në tre shtresa, dhe shumë afër zgjidhjes, dhe varrezat ishte në përdorim prej para 900 p.e.s. në shekullin e pestë para erës sonë Për të gjykuar nga objektet e varrosur me të vdekurit ky komunitet kishte kontakte me Barc, Vergina, Vodhine, ilirët, si dhe Greqinë e jugut ".
(Hammond 1976: 154/155)
Gjithashtu, traditat e lashta tregojnë se para hegjemoninë maqedonase, territoret në veri të malit Olymp u quajtur "Illyria". Kjo është ajo që Herodoti (8,137) pohon:

Citim:
137. Tani e këtij Aleksandrit të paraardhësi i shtatë ishte se Perdiccas të parë u bë despot i maqedonasve, dhe se në mënyrë që këtu më poshtë:-Nga Argos ka ikur për ilirët tre vëllezërit e pasardhësit të Temenos, Gauanes, Aëropos, dhe Perdiccas; dhe mbi kalimin nga ilirët në pjesën e sipërme të Maqedonisë arritën në qytetin e Lebaia.
Citim:
137. τοῦ δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου τούτου ἕβδομος γενέτωρ Περδίκκης ἐστὶ ὁ κτησάμενος τῶν Μακεδόνων τὴν τυραννίδα τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. ἐξ Ἄργεος ἔφυγον ἐς Ἰλλυριοὺς τῶν Τημένου ἀπογόνων τρεῖς ἀδελφεοί, Γαυάνης τε καὶ Ἀέροπος καὶ Περδίκκης, ἐκ δὲ Ἰλλυριῶν ὑπερβαλόντες ἐς τὴν ἄνω Μακεδονίην ἀπίκοντο ἐς Λεβαίην πόλιν.
Zbulimet e fundit arkeologjike e mbështesin këtë deklaratë. Këtu, mund të përmendim në tryezë me mbishkrimet janë gjetur një dekadë më parë në afërsi të kufirit greko-maqedonas. Kjo 2800 vjet e vjetër, kronikë të bardhë mermeri, i gdhendur në gërma fund fenikas, zbulon në gjuhën arkaike greke disa detaje të rëndësishme në lidhje me 8 c. Pes pushtimit maqedonas në Ballkan.



Prof.Doc. Ahmet Leitani në Bejrut Universiteti në Liban ka punuar në transkriptin, alfabetit dhe të përkthimit të këtij mbishkrim. Sipas punën e tij të shkruar thotë:

Citim:
Περδίκας Αργαίο [υ] καρανίων ιδίοις Μακέσταις (Μακεδόνες) άκρα καθύπερθεν Ιλλυραίας αγχίμολος επ 'Βεδ [ύ] σσας Σαβάζω οφσιμέδοντι έρεχσεν. αν Μίδου επ 'αίαν κάσχεθε οθνείους Γρεκέστας επί σκευωρήμασι λεληδορημένους αυθ' ανήρε είε αμφ 'αλλοθρόας σκυδμαίνων Βρύγας δε παλαίχθονας αλάσθαι τηλόθ'. Εκτου το πάλλιστον άστυ Αιγάς προσγορεύσας εκάρπο. Κράντωρ δη Βρυγαίας γεραίτερος παλιντραπέλους άλαλκε πλην ζωγρημένων. Το δ 'ούν μαρμάρεον μνάματος χάριν Δρέδας Γορδίου Γρεκιστί έχσεσεν ες γραμάτεα λυγρά
Citim:
Ελληνικά

Ο Περδίκας γυιός του Αργαίου επικεφαλής των Μακεστών (Μακεδόνων) μόλις έφθασε στην Ακρόπολη της Εδεσσας προερχόμενος από την άνω Ιλλυρία έκανε θυσία στον ύψιστο (Θεό) Σαβάζ (ι) ον. Στην συνέχεια αφού κυρίευσε την χώραν του Μίδα, τους ξένους Γκρεκούς εξόντωσε αμέσως οργισμένος επειδή βαρύνοντο με ραδιουργίες, ενώ τους γηγενείς Φρύγες άφησε να περιπλανώνται μακρυά, επειδή αυτοί οι δύο λαοί ήσαν ξενόγλωσσοι Από τότε ως γηραιός βασιλέας της Φρυγίας εκμεταλλευόταν την πανάρχαιη αυτή πόλη (Εδεσσα ) αφού πρώτα την μετονόμασε σε Αιγαί εμπόδιζοντας τους φυγάδες να επιστρέψουν εκτός από αυτούς που συλλαμβάνοντο αιχμάλωτοι Την μαρμάρινη αυτή επιγραφή χάραξε σε Γκρεκική γλώσσα ο Δρέδας γυιός του Γορδίου σαν χρονικό θλιβερής ανάμνησης.
Citim:
Anglisht

bir Perdikas e Argeos kryesor Makestes e tij kur iu afrua për Vedissa (Edesa) kala, u drejtuan poshtë nga Illyria e sipërme, për të ofruar flijim i fuqishmi (zot) Savazos. Më pas kur Midas pushtuar tërë vendin, duke i shkelur me grekët e huaj të cilët ishin akuzuar për intrigat, extincted ata immediatelly duke lëshuar Briges indigjene të gjarpëron larg, sepse të dy këta njerëz foli gjuhë të ndryshme. Që atëherë po i madh sovran e Brigea gëzonin fitimet e qytetit të lashtë shumë të riemërimin atë për të mbajtur reppeling Aigai ndërsa të kërkuarit për t'u kthyer me excemption e robërve. Kjo kronikë mermer ishte chiseled në gjuhën greke nga djali i Dredas e Gordios, në kujtim të një kujtim i dhimbshëm. (Bugarmak n.d.)
Gjithashtu, Strabon [7.5.1] thekson se:

Citim:
"Ajo që quhet tani Maqedonia ishte në kohët më të hershme të quajtur Emathia. Dhe ajo mori emrin e vet të pranishëm nga Maqedonisë, një nga paria e tij e hershme. Dhe aty ishte edhe një qytet afër Emathia në det. Tani një pjesë e këtij vendi është marrë dhe mbajtur nga disa të Epeirotes dhe ilirët, por shumica nga Bottiaei dhe thrakëve. "
Shpjegimi më i arsyeshëm dhe logjik në lidhje me etimologjinë e emrit të Maqedonisë lashtë gjendet në gjuhën e ilirëve dhe Epirote, të cilët ishin banorët etnikë të lashtë Maqedoni. Emri shumë e Maqedonisë, e njohur dikur si "Emathia, 'rrjedh sipas të gjitha gjasave nga fjala shqipe" E Madhia ", që do të thotë" "madh. (Larned et al 1922)

Lidhjet e farefisnisë midis popujve të afërmit e Ilirisë, Molossia, dhe Maqedonia ishin ende më të forcuar nga intermarriages mes dinastive të tyre, Olympias, nëna e Aleksandrit të Madh, ishte një vajzë e Molossia. Nëpërmjet të drejtën e vazhdimësisë që rrjedhin nga intermarriages, mbreti njëjta ka ndodhur ndonjëherë të sundimit të dy apo të tre mbreterive. (Chekrezi 1919)

Mitet e lashta, si edhe, na tregoni se maqedonasit kanë pasur një marrëdhënie të ngushtë me ilirët. Në Ethnika e Stephanus e Atintan bizantin është i biri i Maqedonisë (Μακεδών). Në të njëjtën kohë, kronikat e lashta Atintians përmend si një fis ilir, që ndodhet në mes Iliri, Epir dhe Maqedoni. Edhe gjatë kohës mesjetare, bizantine shkrimtarëve referohen shqiptarëve si maqedonasit. Maqedonase në atë kohë shënuan një person që fliste shqip. Deri në lidhje me shqiptarët e shekullit të pesëmbëdhjetë nuk u bëri thirrje shqiptarëve, por ilirët, apo edhe maqedonasit. Kjo do të thotë se kushtet maqedonas, ilire dhe shqiptare u këmbyeshëm dhe u përdorën për të vënë në dukje mesjetare shqiptare.



Në atë kohë, madje edhe shqiptarë të arsimuar ishin duke nënshkruar dhe shpallur veten maqedonas. Për shembull, P. Bodganus (1685) e përshkroi veten si "Maqedonisë" dhe Italo-Shqiptare Nicola Chetta (1742-1802) e përshkroi popullin e vet si 'Macedoni' (7,24). Kjo është arsyeja pse betejat propagandistike në mes sllavëve dhe grekëve për identitetin maqedonas nuk janë thjesht përpjekje për të vjedhur Maqedoni territorialisht dhe historikisht.

Në një letër dërguar princit të Tarantos, George Kastriota Skenderbeu, Hero Kombëtar Shqiptar, ripohon veten si pasardhës i Aleksandrit të Madh dhe e Pirro i Epirit:

Citim:
"Unë nuk kam për të folur për Epiroti. Ata janë shumë më të fortë se meshkujt Tarantini tuaj, një specie e burrave i lagësht që janë lindur vetëm për peshk. Nëse ju doni të thoni se Shqipëria është pjesë e Maqedonisë do të pranojnë që shumë më tepër e paraardhësit tanë janë fisnikët që shkuan deri atje sa Indisë nën Aleksandrin e Madh dhe mundën gjithë ata popuj me vështirësi të jashtëzakonshme. Nga ata burra vijnë këto që ju i quajtur dele. Por natyra e gjërave nuk është ndryshuar. Pse burrat tuaj ikur në fytyrat e deleve? (Ilirët n.d)
Siç shihet më lart, materiali i lashtë me shkrim, gjetjet arkeologjike, si dhe mitologjike, materiale etnografike dhe gjuhësore, ata të gjithë dëshmojnë për faktin se Maqedonia ishte dhe është shqiptar gjatë 4000 viteve të historisë së saj.

E fundit, por jo më pak, le të përmendin fjalët e Edith Durham (1917):

Citim:
"Shqiptarët janë ndër banorët më të vjetër shumë të gadishullit të Ballkanit.
autorë klasike jep emrat e shumë fise të shumta që u vendosën në tokat kur historinë
dawns. Grekët klasifikuar ato si 'barbarë' dhe ata folën një gjuhë jo-greke.
Ata ishin të bashkuar në grupe nën mbretërit vendas, dhe nga këto grupe disa prej më të rëndësishme
ishin maqedonasit, iliret, dhe Epirote. Sipas Straboni, të tre foli
të njëjtën gjuhë. Dhe kjo është nga ilirët dhe Epirote që shqiptarët e të përditshme
vijnë. Moderne shqiptare, sipas të gjitha gjasave, buron nga gjuha e Aleksandrit të Madh
dhe "mbreti Pirro. (Edith Durham 1917: 83)
Bibliografia:

1. Historia Pliny the Elder 'Dashuri'
2. Geographica Straboni '
3. Geographia Ptolemaeus Klaudi '
4. Fjala Miltiades Hatzopoulos 1999 'e maqedonëve të lashtë, në dritën e zbulimeve të kohëve të fundit epigraphic' - VI Ndërkombëtare Symposion më e lashtë Maqedoni.
5. Pasuar Aleksandŭr Thrakë 2002 'dhe Egjeut "
6. Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond 1989 "Shteti maqedonas: origjina, institucione, si dhe historinë '
7. Anastasios-Phoivos Christidēs 2007 'Një histori e lashtë greke: nga fillimet për të antikitetit të vonë "
8. Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond Migracionet 1976 'dhe dyndjet në Greqi dhe zonat ngjitur'
9. Historitë e Herodotit '
10. Η ΙΛΛΥΡΙΚΗ ΚΑΤΑΓΩΓΗ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΩΝ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ ILIRO origjinën e maqedonëve të lashtë: http://www.bulgarmak.org/albanian_origin.htm arrihen në 25/05/10
11. Josephus Nelson Larned, Augustus Hunt Shearer 1922 "Historia e re Larned për referim gati, lexim dhe shkrim Vëllimi kërkime unë '
12. kaluar Shqipëria Konstantin Anastasi Chekrezi 1919 'dhe ligji'
13. "Letër nga Skënderbeu për të Princi i Tarantos http://www.illyrians.org/skletter2tar.htm 'arrihen në 25/05/10
14. Shqipëria M. Edith Durham 2005 'dhe shqiptarët: Artikuj dhe letra të zgjedhura 1903-1944 "

[fegi]

Teza për Aleksandërin shqiptar
“Leka i Madh ka folë Shqip dhe duhet të kuptohet si Shqiptar, edhe pse në atë kohë nuk kishte etni shqiptare, por kishte etni ilire, makedhone, dardane, mollose, epirote etj., pra kishte etni Pellazge, e cila është paraardhësja e etnisë së sotme Shqiptare”.
Kjo është ajo çfarë vëren në librin e tij “Leka i Madh: Pellazg-ilir-shqiptar”, autori Shefki Ollomani. Duke u nisur nga fjalët e Aristidh Kolës: “Askush nuk na ka faj,
se vetë i kemi verbuar sytë tanë, me duart tona''!, Ollomani thekson se “Leka i Madh ka folë Ilirisht, pra, Shqip, prandaj ne sot duhet ta quajmë Aleksandrin Shqiptar, pavarësisht se si janë thirrur fiset ilire nëpër shekuj dhe epoka!”.
“Emri i Aleksandërit të Madh ende vazhdon të krijojë turbullira politike. Edhe sot, këtu e dymijë e treqind vjet nga vdekja e tij, duke bërë që politikat e vendeve të ndryshme të varen shpeshherë nga lavdia dhe emri i tij për ta privatizuar, vjedhur e përvetësuar!....
Disa pseudohistorianë të sotëm të fqinjëve tanë të afërt dhe të largët, pretendojnë që Leka i Madh nuk ka prejardhje shqiptare. Por historianët e lashtë kanë lënë shënime që tregojnë se Aleksandri i Madh ishte i biri i mbreti të Maqedonisë - Filipit II dhe i Olimbisë, një princeshë Ilire, e bija e mbretit të Epirit - Neoptolemi I….” Duke u marrë me “teza historike”, ai flet në librin e tij edhe për “të ashtuquajturin shtet maqedonas” dhe territoret ku shtrihet e tij, etj., gjithnjë në linjë të idesë se Aleksandri i Madh ishte shqiptar.

[Bolivari]

Edhe ky shkrim eshte ne anglisht, por shoh qe eshte tejet i vlefshem!!!

The Dorian extraction of Macedones and their relations with Thracians

By: Musë Gurabia

© www.albpelasgian.com
© www.arberiaonline.com

Instead of introduction

The question whether the ancient Macedones were Greeks or not has triggered endless debates among scholarship since XIXth century onwards. The attempts to solve that puzzle were not always of scholar motivation: the involving of modern nationalism in historical domains has tangled the whole issue of Macedones. The question of the actual racial origins of the ancient Macedonians cannot be answered adequately on the basis of the language or of social and religious customs in historical times.

It is, however, historically an unprofitable question, which has only gained in importance in modern times because it has been taken up by nationalists of all kinds in the Balkans and elsewhere and exploited, according to the answer, in the service of territorial and other claims. Hence it is not surprise at all to find out senseless claims either by Greeks and Slavs of Macedonia, whose purpose is to usurp the throne of historical owner of Macedonia.

A scholar who enters on such debate does not have an easy task: first and foremost, he must necessarily refrain from taking any biased political position. What does this mean? The nationalist historiographies systematically have abused with the ancient testimonies and archeological excavations by enhancing the importance of some details in expense of others. Without any scruple, Greek nationalist freaks carry infamous signs like: “Μακεδονία 4000 χρόνια ελληνικής ιστορίας και πολιτισμού (Macedonia: 4000 Years of Greek History and Civilization). In a burst of national pride, they are going to ascribe deceitfully an artificial Hellenism to Macedonia; thereby to justify their nationalist policies in Macedonia.

Actually we have received a number of ancient sources that have been preserved through millennia, who at least are profuse in number. But at the same time, they are quite vague and not clear references; as a matter of fact, the scholars drew up different interpretations. Although the situation is not as hopeless as it seem at the first glimpse: one who is going to dedicate his time on searching the roots of Macedones has to sift with great of caution the ancient sources by omitting corrupted parts.

Who were the Dorians?

It has been assumed that Macedonians owe their origin to the tribes which later were identified as primarily Dorian. In the period which followed the unstable Iron Age, Dorians were established on both sides of the northern extension of the Pindus range. Being restricted into barren mountains, the Proto-Dorians were fond to acquire new arable lands. The trajectory of their migration is treated by a number of scholars in different ways. But all of them principally agree that this migration begun from Pindus range (probably in the early seventh century) with the ultimate destination to the fertile plain of Emathia.

The proponents of Greek origin of Macedones base their claim largely on the groundless assumption that Dorian pool was Greek speaking from the very outset. This assumption led them naturally to suggest that Macedonians were Greeks, although not the same with the rest of Greeks. Such a conclusion leaves much to be desired.

Dorians, to begin with, were a conglomeration of tribes who established themselves as overlords of a large section of historical Greece. Scholars still are unsure about the primordial homeland of Dorians: the Dorians were thought to have come from Northern Danubian regions. Dalmatia and Pannonia might have been the very first seats of them before they swamp into southern part of Balkans.

An Illyrian component among them is recognized by a various range of scholars. According to the tradition, there were three main Dorian tribes: Ὑλλέας καὶ Παμφύλους καὶ Δυμανάτας (Hylleis, Pamphyloi, and Dymanatai). Ps-Scylax in his geographical description of eastern shores of Adriatic gives some valuable hints on what we may justly call as Proto-Dorians:

[22]: “The barbarians called Lotus-eaters are the following: Hierastamnai, Boulinoi (Hyllinoi), coterminous with Boulinoi the Hylloi. And these say Hyllos son of Herakles settled them: and they are barbarians. [...] And Boulinoi are an Illyric nation”.

[22]: Εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ λωτοφάγοι καλούμενοι βάρβαροι οἵδε• Ἱεραστάμναι, Βουλινοὶ Ὑλλινοί• Βουλινῶν ὁμοτέρμονεςὝλλοι. Οὗτοι δέ φασιν Ὕλλον τὸν Ἡρακλέους αὐτοὺς κατοικίσαι• εἰσὶ δὲ βάρβαροι. [...]Βουλινοὶ δ᾽ εἰσὶν ἔθνος Ἰλλυρικόν.

This leaves some room to doubt that Proto-Dorians seemingly were similar to the historical Illyrians since they used to live in the same territories. There is absolutely no reliable evidence to attribute any Greek origin to them while it is apparently known that Greeks as an ethnos were not yet consolidated. Thucydides tries to recount this chaotic state:

[1.3]: “The feebleness of antiquity is further proved to me by the circumstance that there appears to have been no common action in Hellas before the Trojan War. And I am inclined to think that the very name was not as yet given to the whole country, and in fact did not exist at all before the time of Hellen, the son of Deucalion; the different tribes, of which the Pelasgian was the most widely spread, gave their own names to different districts”.

[1.3]: δηλοῖ δέ μοι καὶ τόδε τῶν παλαιῶν ἀσθένειαν οὐχ ἥκιστα: πρὸγὰρ τῶν Τρωικῶν οὐδὲν φαίνεται πρότερον κοινῇ ἐργασαμένη ἡἙλλάς: [2] δοκεῖ δέ μοι, οὐδὲ τοὔνομα τοῦτο ξύμπασά πω εἶχεν,ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πρὸ Ἕλληνος τοῦ Δευκαλίωνος καὶ πάνυ οὐδὲ εἶναιἡ ἐπίκλησις αὕτη, κατὰ ἔθνη δὲ ἄλλα τε καὶ τὸ Πελασγικὸν ἐπὶπλεῖστον ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν παρέχεσθαι

Pausanias reports that Dorian expedition took place two generation later after the Trojan War:

[4.3.3 ]: “After the conclusion of the Trojan war and the death of Nestor after his return home, the Dorian expedition and return of the Heracleidae, which took place two generations later, drove the descendants of Nestor from Messenia”.

[4.3.3]: διαπολεμηθέντος δὲ τοῦ πρὸς Ἴλιον πολέμου καὶ Νέστορος ὡς ἐπανῆλθεν οἴκαδε τελευτήσαντος, Δωριέων στόλος καὶ ἡ κάθοδος Ἡρακλειδῶν γενομένη δύο γενεαῖς ὕστερον ἐξέβαλε τοὺς Νηλέως ἀπογόνους ἐκ τῆς Μεσσηνίας.

However, this does not explain for instance what was the ethnic relation of Dorians with the old inhabitants like Achaians who got heavily contracted in the most barren sections of the country. Strabo makes it explicit that many of the former inhabitants were simply driven out by the newcomers:

[009.001.007]: But after the return of the Heracleidae and the partitioning of the country, it came to pass that many of the former inhabitants were driven out of their homelands into Attica by the Heracleidae and the Dorians who came back with them.

[009.001.007]: μετὰ δὲ τὴν τῶν Ἡρακλειδῶν κάθοδον καὶ τὸν τῆς χώρας μερισμὸν ὑπ’ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν συγκατελθόντων αὐτοῖς Δωριέων ἐκπεσεῖν τῆς οἰκείας συνέβη πολλοὺς εἰς τὴν Ἀττικήν

It is quite plausible that Dorians were at least perceived as not having the slightest tie with the Achaians. With the drift of time, they were apparently influenced by the much-advanced Achaians to the degree they were assimilated.

[Herodotus: 68]: Thus he had done to Adrastos; and he also changed the names of the Dorian tribes, in order that the Sikyonians might not have the same tribes as the Argives; in which matter he showed great contempt of the Sikyonians, for the names he gave were taken from the names of a pig and an ass by changing only the endings”.

[Herodotus: 68]: ταῦτα μὲν ἐς Ἄδρηστόν οἱ ἐπεποίητο, φυλὰς δὲ τὰς Δωριέων, ἵνα δὴ μὴ αἱ αὐταὶ ἔωσι τοῖσι Σικυωνίοισι καὶ τοῖσι Ἀργείοισι, μετέβαλε ἐς ἄλλα οὐνόματα. ἔνθα καὶ πλεῖστον κατεγέλασε τῶν Σικυωνίων• ἐπὶ γὰρ ὑός τε καὶ ὄνου τὰς ἐπωνυμίας μετατιθεὶς αὐτὰ τὰ τελευταῖα ἐπέθηκε, πλὴν τῆς ἑωυτοῦ φυλῆς• ταύτῃ δὲ τὸ οὔνομα ἀπὸ τῆς ἑωυτοῦ ἀρχῆς ἔθετο

It is again Strabo who points out that Dorians lost the intercourse with the rest of Dorians, and as a matter of fact they were no longer a part of the same tribe as before:

[Strabo 008.001.002]: “...the Dorians too, since they were few in number and lived in a most rugged country, have, because of their lack of intercourse with others, changed their speech and their other customs to the extent that they are no longer a part of the same tribe as before. And this was precisely the case with the Athenians”.

[Strabo 008.001.002]: “…καὶ τοὺς Δωριέας δὲ ὀλίγους ὄντας καὶ τραχυτάτην οἰκοῦντας χώραν εἰκός ἐστι τῷ ἀνεπιμίκτῳ παρατρέψαι τὴν γλῶτταν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἔθη πρὸς τὸ μὴ ὁμογενές, ὁμογενεῖς πρότερον ὄντας. τοῦτο δ’ αὐτὸ καὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις συνέβη”.

The mutual animosity between Dorians and Achaians lasted as we may infer from ancient sources at least until the Classical period. According to Herodotus, Dorians were strictly prohibited from entering to the Achaian temples on the grounds they were foreigners. According to him, Cleomenes tried to trick the women priests by faking his origin: “Woman, I am not a Dorian, but an Achaian.” ( «ὦ γύναι, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ Δωριεύς εἰμι ἀλλ᾽ Ἀχαιός.»).

It should be duly pointed out that there was a gigantic gap between the external name of a tribe and its real origin. It was a common practice in the very antiquity to label a people on the basis of a noteworthy king. We may note in passing, Eurpides in his ‘Archelaus’ who has preserved an interesting glimpse which cast some light to our idea:

“Danaus, who was the father of fifty daughters, having arrived in Argos inhabited the city of Inachus, and made a law that those who had before borne the name of Pelasgiotæ throughout Greece should be called Danai.”

Also we have seen in the quoted fragment of Herodotus, the Sikyonians desired to count themselves as equal with the Arigives. For that purpose, Adrastos is said to have changed only the endings of names. This seems to suggest that Hellenism (if we are to use the Classical connotation of the term) never affected Dorians, who preserved a distinct individuality during all the time.

Let us turn back to the scope of chapter. Does the Dorian extraction of Macedones indicate any kind of Hellenism? The answer is a doubtless NO. We have squarely argued that Dorians got Hellenized during their intercourse with the Achaians to the level they were no longer similar with the rest of Dorians. Anyway, the warped assumption that the Dorians of Pindus were Greeks at that time is not sustained at best or groundless at worst.

It has been even assumed that historical Macedonians sprung from Southern Dorians on the grounds that the same southern toponymes could be found as well in Pindus:

[STRABO 008.003.031]: “…and they point out the site of the city on a lofty place between Ossa and Olympus, two mountains that bear the same name as those in Thessaly”.

[STRABO 008.003.031]: “…Πῖσαν εἰρῆσθαι, οἷον πίστραν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ ποτίστρα• τὴν δὲ πόλιν ἱδρυμένην ἐφ’ ὕψους δεικνύουσι μεταξὺ δυεῖν ὀροῖν, Ὄσσης καὶ Ὀλύμπου, ὁμωνύμων τοῖς ἐν Θετταλίᾳ”.

In all probability, a bunch of northern names (like Ossa, Olympus, etc) were spread most likely by any wave of Dorian wanderers. Their presence around the mount Olympus is backed up even by the authority of Diodorus Siculus. He furnishes us with the following excerpt:

[V.80.2]: “The third people to cross over to the island, we are told, were Dorians, under the leadership of Tectamus the son of Dorus; and the account states that the larger number of these Dorians was gathered from the regions about Olympus…”

[V.80.2]: τρίτον δὲ γένος φασὶ τῶν Δωριέων παραβαλεῖν εἰς τὴν νῆσον ἡγουμένου Τεκτάμου τοῦ Δώρου• τούτου δὲ τοῦ λαοῦ μέρος τὸ μὲν πλέον ἀθροισθῆναι λέγουσιν ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὸν Ὄλυμπον τόπων”.

The Dorian extraction of Macedones is indicated originally from the authority of Herodotus who points out that people who later began to be called as Dorian dwelt initially in Pindos and were called “Makednian”:

[Herodotus, Book I. 56]: “…for in the reign of Deucalion this race dwelt in Pthiotis, and in the time of Doros the son of Hellen in the land lying below Ossa and Olympos, which is called Histiaiotis; and when it was driven from Histiaiotis by the sons of Cadmos, it dwelt in Pindos and was called Makednian; and thence it moved afterwards to Dryopis, and from Dryopis it came finally to Peloponnesus, and began to be called Dorian”.

[I,56]… ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ Δευκαλίωνος βασιλέος οἴκεε γῆν τὴν Φθιῶτιν, ἐπὶ δὲ Δώρου τοῦ Ἕλληνος τὴν ὑπὸ τὴν Ὄσσαν τε καὶ τὸν Ὄλυμπον χώρην, καλεομένην δὲ Ἱστιαιῶτιν• ἐκ δὲ τῆς Ἱστιαιώτιδος ὡς ἐξανέστη ὑπὸ Καδμείων, οἴκεε ἐν Πίνδῳ Μακεδνὸν καλεόμενον• ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ αὖτις ἐς τὴν Δρυοπίδα μετέβη καὶ ἐκ τῆς Δρυοπίδος οὕτω ἐς Πελοπόννησον ἐλθὸν Δωρικὸν ἐκλήθη.

If we are to believe Herodotus opinion, Dorians began to be called with this name in the moment they finally came to Peloponnesus. Hence it is not far from the truth that Macedones owe their origin not to Hellenized Dorians of Peloponnesus but to the ones living in Pindos.

The emergence of Macedonian ethnos: the story of Argeads

Much has been written for the establishment of Argead Macedones in the Emathia plain. The ancient writers were somehow more focused on the chief leaders rather than people around them. Herodotus in his story recounts the wanderings of three ‘Macedonian’ brothers and their itinerary:

[137]. Now of this Alexander the seventh ancestor was that Perdiccas who first became despot of the Macedonians, and that in the manner which here follows: From Argos there fled to the Illyrians three brothers of the descendents of Temenos, Gauanes, Aëropos, and Perdiccas; and passing over from the Illyrians into the upper parts of Macedonia they came to the city of Lebaia.

[137]. τοῦ δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου τούτου ἕβδομος γενέτωρ Περδίκκης ἐστὶ ὁ κτησάμενος τῶν Μακεδόνων τὴν τυραννίδα τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. ἐξ Ἄργεος ἔφυγον ἐς Ἰλλυριοὺς τῶν Τημένου ἀπογόνων τρεῖς ἀδελφεοί, Γαυάνης τε καὶ Ἀέροπος καὶ Περδίκκης, ἐκ δὲ Ἰλλυριῶν ὑπερβαλόντες ἐς τὴν ἄνω Μακεδονίην ἀπίκοντο ἐς Λεβαίην πόλιν.

The link with the Peloponnesian Argos is either tenuous and is devoid from historical reality and as such it has been a subject of reproach. Robert M. Errington concedes:

“Herodotos, who probably visited Macedonia at the time of this Alexander, recounts the first, perhaps semiofficial, version, which depends on the similarity of sound between the name of the Peloponnesian town Argos and that of the royal famiy name Argeadai” (1990: 2).

Judging from the geographical description given by Herodotus, we may plainly invoke that this Argos is to be found in Orestia. Strabo gives additional hints on the foundation of that city:

[BookVII,8]: It is said that Orestes once took possession of Orestias – when in exile on account of the murder of his mother – and left the country bearing his name; and that he also founded a city and called it Argos Oresticum.

[BookVII,8]: λέγεται δὲ τὴν Ὀρεστιάδα κατασχεῖν ποτε Ὀρέστης φεύγων τὸν τῆς μητρὸς φόνον καὶ καταλιπεῖν ἐπώνυμον ἑαυτοῦ τὴν χώραν,κτίσαι δὲ καὶ πόλιν, καλεῖσθαι δ’ αὐτὴν Ἄργος Ὀρεστικόν.

The so-called ‘Argive’ Macedonians emerged most likely in the proximity of Ἰλλυριοὺς, Ἄργεος and Λεβαίην. Although we have slender evidences about the inhabitants of these districts, it can be safely conjectured that Illyrians prevailed there.

As a matter of fact, original Macedonians were more akin to them rather to any other people. All of these territories were constantly excluded from Hellas proper; the Greek presence is barely to be found at the period we are speaking about. As Argive Macedonians became a powerful clan they swamp eastwardly by conquering a multitude of tribes in the Emathia plain. For a clear picture of this expansion we have to utilize Thucydides records:

[2.99]: “Assembling in Doberus, they prepared for descending from the heights upon Lower Macedonia, where the dominions of Perdiccas lay; for the Lyncestae, Elimiots, and other tribes more inland, though Macedonians by blood and allies and, dependents of their kindred, still have their own separate governments. The country on the sea coast, now called Macedonia, was first acquired by Alexander, the father of Perdiccas, and his ancestors, originally Temenids from Argos.This was effected by the expulsion from Pieria of the Pierians, who afterwards inhabited Phagres and other places under Mount Pangaeus, beyond the Strymon indeed the country between Pangaeus and the sea is still called the Pierian gulf of the Bottiaeans, at present neighbors of the Chalcidians, from Bottia, and by the acquisition in Paeonia of a narrow strip along the river Axius extending to Pella and the sea; the district of Mygdonia, between the Axius and the Strymon, being also added by the expulsion of the Edonians. From Eordia also were driven the Eordians, most of whom perished, though a few of them still live round Physca, and the Almopians from Almopia. These Macedonians also conquered places belonging to the other tribes, which are still theirs— Anthemus, Crestonia, Bisaltia, and much of Macedonia proper. The whole is now called Macedonia, and at the time of the invasion of Sitalces, Perdiccas, Alexander’s son, was the reigning king.”

[2.99]:“ξυνηθροίζοντο οὖν ἐν τῇ Δοβήρῳ καὶ παρεσκευάζοντο, ὅπωςκατὰ κορυφὴν ἐσβαλοῦσιν ἐς τὴν κάτω Μακεδονίαν, ἧς ὁΠερδίκκας ἦρχεν. τῶν γὰρ Μακεδόνων εἰσὶ καὶ Λυγκησταὶκαὶ Ἐλιμιῶται καὶ ἄλλα ἔθνη ἐπάνωθεν, ἃ ξύμμαχα μέν ἐστιτούτοις καὶ ὑπήκοα, βασιλείας δ᾽ ἔχει καθ᾽ αὑτά. τὴν δὲ παρὰθάλασσαν νῦν Μακεδονίαν Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Περδίκκου πατὴρ καὶοἱ πρόγονοι αὐτοῦ, Τημενίδαι τὸ ἀρχαῖον ὄντες ἐξ Ἄργους, πρῶτοιἐκτήσαντο καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν ἀναστήσαντες μάχῃ ἐκ μὲν ΠιερίαςΠίερας, οἳ ὕστερον ὑπὸ τὸ Πάγγαιον πέραν Στρυμόνος ᾤκησανΦάγρητα καὶ ἄλλα χωρία καὶ ἔτι καὶ νῦν Πιερικὸς κόλποςκαλεῖται ἡ ὑπὸ τῷ Παγγαίῳ πρὸς θάλασσαν γῆ, ἐκ δὲ τῆςΒοττίας καλουμένης Βοττιαίους, οἳ νῦν ὅμοροι Χαλκιδέωνοἰκοῦσιν: τῆς δὲ Παιονίας παρὰ τὸν Ἀξιὸν ποταμὸν στενήντινα καθήκουσαν ἄνωθεν μέχρι Πέλλης καὶ θαλάσσηςἐκτήσαντο, καὶ πέραν Ἀξιοῦ μέχρι Στρυμόνος τὴν Μυγδονίανκαλουμένην Ἠδῶνας ἐξελάσαντες νέμονται. ἀνέστησαν δὲκαὶ ἐκ τῆς νῦν Ἐορδίας καλουμένης Ἐορδούς, ὧν οἱ μὲν πολλοὶἐφθάρησαν, βραχὺ δέ τι αὐτῶν περὶ Φύσκαν κατῴκηται, καὶ ἐξἈλμωπίας Ἄλμωπας. ἐκράτησαν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν οἱΜακεδόνες οὗτοι, ἃ καὶ νῦν ἔτι ἔχουσι, τόν τε Ἀνθεμοῦντα καὶΚρηστωνίαν καὶ Βισαλτίαν καὶ Μακεδόνων αὐτῶν πολλήν. τὸ δὲξύμπαν Μακεδονία καλεῖται, καὶ Περδίκκας Ἀλεξάνδρουβασιλεὺς αὐτῶν ἦν ὅτε Σιτάλκης ἐπῄει.

The above excerpt does not satisfy our curiosity at all if the previous inhabitants were simply driven out or overlaid by the new rulers. Strabo candidly asserts that:

[ 7.5.11]: “But of all these tribes the Argeadae, as they are called, established themselves as master”.

[7. 5. 11]: “Vτούτων δὲ πάντων οἱ Ἀργεάδαι καλούμενοι κατέστησαν κύριοι”.

If the Strabo’s account carries any validity, then we may surmise that there was no massive expulsion of the native inhabitants. The adjacent areas around original seats of Macedonians are not to be ignored, as some desire. It is very common among Greek nationalist historians to dissociate original Macedonians from their nearby neighbors like Illyrians (the progenitors of modern Albanians), Bryghes and various Thracian tribes.

Macedonia’s first dwellers

The continuous intercourse with them had a great importance in the formation of classical Macedonians, which were strictly excluded from Greece, either in terms of ethnicity and geography. It would be an anomaly of its kind to consider that the traces of previous inhabitants were entirely lost with the arrival of Macedonians. We are going to reveal some of these mysterious tribes:

[Herodotus, VII,73]: “Now the Phrygians, as the Macedonians say, used to be called Brigians during the time that they were natives of Europe and dwelt with the Macedonians; but after they had changed into Asia, with their country they changed also their name and were called Phrygians”.

[Herodotus, VII,73]: οἱ δὲ Φρύγες, ὡς Μακεδόνες λέγουσι, ἐκαλέοντο Βρίγες χρόνον ὅσον Εὐρωπήιοι ἐόντες σύνοικοι ἦσαν Μακεδόσι, μεταβάντες δὲ ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην ἅμα τῇ χώρῃ καὶ τὸ οὔνομα μετέβαλον ἐς Φρύγας.

The ancient sources do not clarify about the identity of Bryghes, but nonetheless a couple of sources assign to them as Thracians. Hence, Strabo hammered home:

[7. 3.2]: “And the Phrygians themselves are Brigians, a Thracian tribe...”.

[7. 3.2]: καὶ αὐτοὶ δ’ οἱ Φρύγες Βρίγες εἰσί, Θρᾴκιόν τι ἔθνος…”.

The cultural impact of Bryghes, Mysians, Pierians and the rest of Thracians is yet to be interpreted. Optimistically, we can say that the examination of extant sources reveal that original Macedonians blended to a certain degree with the Thracians who previously occupied a large section of historical Macedonia. The stubbornness of classical Greeks to not accept Macedonians as their own is at least historically justified. The Hellenization of upper strata of Macedonian society was never enough as to eradicate the non-Greek component of Macedonian people.

Ancient sources:

1. Graham Shipley,The Periplous of Pseudo-Scylax: An Interim Translation, 2008
2. Thomas Hobbes, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
3. W. H. S. Jones and H. A. Ormero, Pausanias , Description of Greece
4. Loeb Classical Library edition, The Geography of Strabo
5. George Rawlinson, The History of Herodotus

Modern sources:

1. Robert Malcolm Errington, A history of Macedonia, University of California Press, 1990
2. M. V. Sakellariou, Macedonia, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization, Ekdotikè Athenon, 1992
3. Apostolos Vasileiou Daskalakēs, The Hellenism of the ancient Macedonians, Institute for Balkan Studies, 1965

http://www.albpelasgian.com/the-dori...thracians.html