Demetriada ( dr. Greek Δημητριάς , lat. Demetrias ) is an ancient Greek city of ancient Magnesia , a region in Thessaly (now central and eastern Greece ). Located on a hill off the northern coast of Pagasitikos Gulf, 1.5 kilometers south of the modern city of Volos . It was an important port [1] .
| Ancient city | |
| Demetriad | |
|---|---|
| Greek Δημητριάς | |
| Modern location | Volos , Magnesia , Thessaly , Greece |
Content
- 1 History
- 2 Archeology
- 3 notes
- 4 References
History
Demetriad was founded by the path of Sineikism in 294 BC. e. Demetrius I Poliorket , who populated the city with the inhabitants of Nelia, Pagas , Ormenia, Risunta, Sepiada, Olizon, Beba and Iolk , who became its villages [2] . Soon, Demetriada became an important political center of Macedonia and the beloved residence of the Macedonian kings. This was facilitated by the favorable location of the city: from here it was convenient to manage the internal affairs of Thessaly, as well as the neighboring coastal territories. King Philip V of Macedonia called Demetriad one of the three shackles of Greece: the other two - Chalkis on Euboea and Corinth in Achaea [3] [4] .
In 196 BC e., the Romans defeated the Battle of Kinoskofalah over Philip V. A year earlier, they took possession of the Demetriad and placed a garrison in the city [5] [6] . Four years later, the forces of the Aetolian Union took the city, taking its defenders by surprise. The Aetolians teamed up with Antiochus III of the Seleucid dynasty, who at that time was at war with the Romans . The war ended with the defeat of Antiochus [7] . After his return to Asia in 191 BC. e., Demetriada surrendered to the army of Philip, who received permission from Rome to manage this territory [8] . The city continued to remain in the hands of Philip and his successors until the fall of the Macedonian monarchy after the Battle of Pidne in 169 BC. e. [9]
During the reign of the Roman Empire, the city lost its former significance, although it was the capital of the Magnesian Union. In Christian times, some noteworthy buildings were erected here, primarily two churches: one in the northern part of the port - the so-called. the Basilica of Democracy, and another one - south of the city, outside its walls, known as the cemetery basilica. During the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (306–337), the city became the center of the Diocese of Dimitriad . It is currently the titular diocese of the Catholic Church [10] .
According to Procopius of Caesarea ( De Aedificiis , 4.3.5), Demetriad was rebuilt under Justinian I (527-565), but other data indicate the possibility that “the old city life has probably sunk into oblivion by the beginning of the VI century” (T.E. Gregory). Demetriad is mentioned by Hierocles , who lived in the VI century [11] . Nearby territories were inhabited by Slavic Velegesite tribes in the 7th – 8th centuries, plundered by the Saracens in 901/2 and Bulgarian rebels during the uprising of Peter Delyan in 1040 [12] .
After the Fourth Crusade, the city was granted the possession of the Byzantine Empress in exile Euphrosyne Dukini Kamatira , and after her death in 1210 Margarita of Hungary , the widow of the King of Thessalonica Boniface of Monferre . The city came under the rule of Manuel Comnenus Duc . 1240, but de facto controlled by a branch of the Melissin dynasty. In the 1270s, under Demetrides, the Byzantines won an important victory over the Venetians and the Lombard barons of Euboea [12] .
The Catalan company looted the city in 1310 and retained control of it until at least 1381, although starting in 1333 its inhabitants began to move to neighboring Volos . Demetriad was finally captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1393 [12] .
Archeology
Demetriad is located in the Ayvaliotika ( Αϊβαλιώτικα ) region of the city of Volos [13] [14] .
A description of the ruins of the ancient city is contained in the notes of the archaeologist William Martin Lick , which was in its place at the beginning of the XIX century [15] .
Demetriad is located about 3 km south of Volos . Excavations here have been going on since the end of the 19th century. The ruins of the walls (about 11 km in length) and the acropolis , which was located in the north-west of the city at its highest point, have survived to this day. The ruins of a theater, a geron (a temple above the theater), an aqueduct, a sacred agora (a temple and the administrative center of the city), and anactoron (a royal palace) to the east of the city on a hilltop, which was occupied until the middle of the II century BC, were also discovered . e., and later used by the Romans as a cemetery [16] [17] .
Notes
- ↑ Dimitriad and Almir metropolis // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church and Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2007. - T. XIV. - S. 708-709. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89572-024-0 .
- ↑ Strabo . Geography. IX. from. 436
- ↑ Polybius . The World History. XVII, 11
- ↑ Titus Livy . History from the foundation of the city. Xxxii, 37
- ↑ Polybius . The World History. XVIII, 28.
- ↑ Titus Livy . History from the foundation of the city. Xxxiii, 31.
- ↑ Titus Livy . History from the foundation of the city. Xxxv, 34, 43.
- ↑ Titus Livy . History from the foundation of the city. XXXVI, 33
- ↑ Titus Livy . History from the foundation of the city. Xliv, 13
- ↑ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013
- ↑ Hierocles Synecdem
- ↑ 1 2 3 Gregory, Timothy E. Demetrias // The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium / Kazhdan, Alexander. - Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. - P. 603-604. - ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6 .
- ↑ Demetrias, Aivaliotika . Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire . Lund University (October 14, 2015). Date of treatment April 9, 2019.
- ↑ Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World / Richard Talbert, ed .. - Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000 .-- P. 55.
- ↑ William Martin Leake. Travels in Northern Greece. - 1835. - Vol. IV. - P. 375.
- ↑ Archaeological Site of Demetrias (English) , GTP. Date of treatment November 24, 2018.
- ↑ Demetrias. History . Ministry of Culture and Sports (2012). Date of treatment November 24, 2018.
Links
- Demetrias. History . Ministry of Culture and Sports (2012). Date of treatment November 24, 2018.