Chaonians

c. 500 BC), the author of Περίοδος Γῆς or Περιήγησις (Description of the Earth or Periegesis), which have been preserved in the geographical lexicon Ἐθνικά (Ethnica) of Stephanus of Byzantium (fl.

[27] A number of fortified farmsteads which likely belonged to landowners linked to Pyrrhus appeared during this era, mostly between Phoenice and Bouthroton in Matomara, Metoqi, Çumpora, Çuka and Malathrea and in Dobra.

[47][37][48][49][50] Strongholds of the Amantes that separated them from the Chaonians were Cerja on the right side of Shushica, and Matohasanaj,[26][46] which controlled a natural route between southern Illyria and Epirus.

[51] According to Šašel Kos, at the time of Pseudo-Scylax, Chaonians as well as all the peoples to the north and to the south of Chaonia were living in villages, while Greece began at the Greek polis of Ambracia.

[58] For Lazari and Kanta-Kitsou (2010), the main geographical positions of the peoples of Epirus had become fixed by the 8th century BCE with further divisions involving internal re-organization between smaller units.

[65] Pliny and Strabo define the natural border of Chaonia at the Acroceraunian Mountains,[26] while Appian in his description of Illyria describes Epirus as starting south of the Aoos river.

They would also have suffered losses at the hands of the Illyrian Taulantii and the settlers at Apollonia, who would have captured the southern part of the coastal plain, which coincides with the present-day region of Malakastra.

[75] Archaeological material from the classical and Hellenistic periods near Tragjas, Vlorë, (Bregu i Kishës) fits well into a series of prehistoric fortifications located throughout the Chaonian coast.

[76] To the uncertainty of the most ancient phases of population settlement of the Chaonian indigenous hinterland corresponds the solid projection of Korkyra on the "Mainland", reflected in the 7th century BC pre-colonial emergence of Bouthroton.

In the events of 430 BC, the Chaonians are mentioned along with other adjacent tribes as allies of Ambracia called "barbarian" by Thucydides, attacking Argos, however without managing to conquer the city.

[83] Thucydides mentions that the Chaonians who "were famed for being the best from that part of the mainland" occupied the center of the allied army in the attack against the capital of Acarnania, Stratos and suffered heavy losses as they were defeated by Stratians.

The weakening of Korkyrean power, which was consumed by the civil war, and the ever expansive Athenian influence among the Epirote groups, in particular in favor of the Molossians, led to a shift in the internal political balances and tribal territorial boundaries in Epirus.

[92][95] Chaonia is mentioned in a list of theorodokoi of Epidauros dating back to c. mid-4th century BC, which provides evidence for the existence of a Chaonian independent tribal state.

[95][92] The itineraries of the theorodokoi sacred envoys may also confirm Chaonian independence until the end of the fourth century BC, delaying the alliance with (and possibly subjection to) the Molossian state, which the rest of Epirus would have already joined.

[103] Between 317 BC-297 BC political changes, as indicated by an inscription on a bronze plate found in Dodona, reveal the expansion of the Molossian state and the creation of the military alliance of the Epirotes (symmachia), with Chaonia being part of it.

[101] The foundation of the city of Antigonia around 296/295 BC on the Drino valley in Chaonia by Pyrrhus of Epirus, naming it after his first wife, Antigone, marks the end of this process of unification.

While the latter regions faced great destruction including the burning of many settlements and widespread enslavement, Chaonia remained unaffected and continued to flourish with the exception of the city of Antigonea, built by the Aeacid king of Epirus, Pyrrhus, in Chaonian territory, which was burnt down.

In Virgil's Georgics, a poem that described and idealized rural life, the author praised the goods of agriculture, contrasting the pre-eminent pastoral model; that of Chaonia.

[123] This made the adoption of a new way of life imperative, because the nomadic or semi-nomadic economy could not sustain the ever-increasing population, while constant raids and military operations would make extensive living in unfortified villages problematic; especially with the transhumant seasonal movement of men.

[124] This required a shift to a more permanent and organized settlement, which ensured better defense and the parallel exercise of various economic activities, such as agriculture, hunting, fishing and animal husbandry; the latter, however, on a more limited scale than that of nomadic or semi-nomadic.

This reveals the strong bond between the slaves and their owners; possibly due to the late adoption of slavery in the region, and the preservation of tribal ties, the core of which was the house, and therefore all the members attached to it were largely integral.

[130] Due to the fact that Greek toponyms preserving archaic features are very densely found in the wider area, it appears, according to Vladimir I. Georgiev, that speakers of the Proto-Greek language inhabited a region which included Chaonia before the Late Bronze Age migrations (ca.

[135] In the northern part of the region of Epirus, contact with Illyrian-speakers may have further increased sub-dialectal variation within North-West Doric, although concrete evidence outside of onomastics is lacking.

[137] David R. Hernandez (2018) states that an older theory by Pierre Cabanes (1979) that Chaonians spoke Illyrian, while Molossians and Thesprotians Greek is unlikely since the notion of any ethnic and lingual division inside Epirus appears unfounded.

[157][better source needed] On the Chaonian coast numerous euploia sanctuaries have been found where sailors have left their epigraphic trace on the rock of cliffs or natural cavities.

[158] Modern scholarship hardly denies the belonging of the Chaonians to Greek culture and ethnicity, though classical era literature preferred a more 'peripheral' connotation and described them as "barbaroi".

[160] Older theories (Crossland (1982), Nillson (1909)) posited a possible (partial) Hellenization of pre-classical Epirus, however such views relied on subjective ancient testimonies and are not supported by the epigraph evidence especially the earliest texts.

[86] The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax makes a clear distinction between the Chaonians and their northern neighbours, the Illyrian tribes that occupied the coastal and hinterland regions further north.

[168] According to Plutarch, the Molossian king Tharrhypas was the first to introduce Greek letters and customs in Epirus, and to administer the cities with humane laws, when he was sent to Athens to be educated in the 5th century BC.

[171][172][2] The list which was compiled in 360 or 356 BC includes the sacred envoys (members of the ruling family of each tribe or subtribe) of the Molossians, Kassopeans, Chaonians and Thesprotians.