ByllisFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaByllis

Native namesAlbanian:BylisGreek: or

Detail of the late antique cathedral complex and theAdriatic seain the distance.

Cultural Monument of Albania

Byllis

Bylis

Shown within Albania

LocationHekal,Fier County

Coordinates40.5403N 19.7375ECoordinates:40.5403N 19.7375E

Typecity

History

PeriodsHellenistic, Roman, Late antique, Byzantine

CulturesIllyrian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine

Site notes

Excavationdates19781991, 2000-present

ArchaeologistsCamillo Prashniker,Neritan eka,Sknder Muaj,Jean-Pierre Sodini,Pascale Chevalier,Nicolas Beaudry

OwnershipPublic

Websitehttp://www.parkuarkeologjikbylis.gov.al

Byllis(AncientGreek: or ) was an ancient city located in the region ofIllyria. The remains of Byllis are situated north-east ofVlor, 25 kilometers from the sea inHekal,Mallakastr District,Albania.Stephanus of Byzantiummentions Byllis as a seaside city (erroneously) in Illyria and its foundation legend, according to which the city was built byMyrmidonsunderNeoptolemus,returning from the Trojan War, a tradition confirmed by numismatics.[1]TheByllionesare first attested in the mid-4th century BC, in the description of the geographer Pseudo-Scylax,[2]and also asking the oracle ofDodonato which god they should sacrifice in order to ensure the safety of their possessions. The archaeological attestation of the city is possible as far back as the second half of the 4th century BC and was later conquered by Pyrrhus.[3]According to another view, Byllis was found by kingPyrrhus of Epirus.Byllis receivedsacred Greek envoys, known as theoroi during the early 2nd century BC, indicator of the city'sGreekcharacter.[4]Contents[hide] 1The city 2League of the Bylliones 3Roman and Byzantine rule 4Association with see of Apollonia 5See also 6References 6.1Citations 6.2Bibliography 7External linksThe city[edit]Byllis, being a Greek-speaking city,[5]on the borders of Illyria and Epirus, had its own stadium and theatre during the Hellenistic era.[6]About its foundation it has been suggested that Byllis was founded by Greek settlers,[7]though the fact that it had a mixed population is attested by the Illyrian names of officials.[8]The city had its own coinage which was different from that of the tribe of the Bylliones.[9]M. B. Hatzopoulos believes that Byllis is the northernmost non-colonian Greek city in the region.[10]The walls of Byllis were 2,200m long, enclosing 30 hectares of a plain atop a hill 524m above sea level. There were 6 gates in the city walls. The road coming fromApolloniapassed through two of them, crossing Byllis in the direction of the narrows of gorges of theVjosariver on the way toMacedoniaor those ofAntigoniain the direction ofEpirus. In 2011 during a road reconstruction near the archaeological park found in the site a statue of the Hellenistic era, which may depict an Illyrian soldier or a war deity, was discovered.[11]However, there is little point in proposing an Illyrian label for city in which language, institutions, officials, onomastics, city-planning and fortifications were Greek.[12]

Epirus in antiquity.

Image of the ancient site of Byllis and the riverVjosain the distance.League of the Bylliones[edit]The League (Koinon)[disambiguation needed]of theIllyriantribe of the Bylliones (Ancient Greek: ), which had beenhellenizedto a degree and was bilingual,[13]was a coalition of one or two poleis,[14]as attested after 232 BC.[15]The league was restricted to Byllis andNikaea,[16]and Byllis considered Nikaia as one of itsdemes.[14]Nikaia was a member of the league, as a 2nd-century BC inscription indicates.[17]The only attestation of the city aspolisis in the work ofStephanus of Byzantiumin the 6th century,[18]On the other hand the citizens of Byllis were called Byllideis (Greek:).[12]Roman and Byzantine rule[edit]Under theRoman Empire, Byllis became part of theprovinceofEpirus Nova. The walls of Byllis carry more than four inscriptions with details regarding their construction by the engineer Victorinus, as ordered byEmperor Justinian I(483-565).[19][20]Association with see of Apollonia[edit]One of the participants in theCouncil of Ephesusin 431 was a Felix who signed once as Bishop ofApolloniaand Byllis, at another time as Bishop of Apollonia. Some assume that the two towns formed a single episcopal see, others suppose he was, strictly speaking, Bishop only of Apollonia, but was temporarily in charge also of Byllis during a vacancy of that see. At theCouncil of Chalcedonin 451, Eusebius subscribes simply as Bishop of Apollonia. In the letter of the bishops ofEpirus Novato the Byzantine EmperorLeo Iin 458, Philocharis subscribed as Bishop of what the manuscripts call "Vallidus", and which editors think should be corrected to "Byllis". Whether Philocharis is to be considered Bishop also of Apollonia depends on the interpretation of the position of Felix in 431.[21][22][23]TheAnnuario Pontificiolists Apollonia as atitular see, thus recognizing that it was once a residentialdiocese, asuffraganof the archbishopric ofDyrrachium.[24]It grants no such recognition to Byllis.[25]