Lynkestis

The etymology of the geographical name Lynkos/Lynkestis and tribal name Lynkestai is uncertain. The geographical names that contain the root Λυγκ- Lynk- either may refer to the "lynx" or not, and they may well be of Pre-Greek origin. It seems possible that the Greek word for "lynx" (λύγξ, λύγκος) came from those toponyms. The tribal name Lyncestae or Lynkestai bears the typical West Greek or Illyrian . ==Geography==

Lynkestis was the northernmost mountainous region of Upper Macedonia, located east of the Prespa Lakes. Lynkestis bordered with Pelagonia to the northeast, Emathia and Almopia to the southeast, and Orestia, Eordaia and the Haliacmon river at some distance to the south. To the west Lynkestis bordered with Illyria. Lynkestis was strategically very important because the major east–west route and one of the north–south routes passed through the core of this region. , founded by Philip II. Lynkestis was a small region but strategically situated as it was the entry point for Illyrian movements into central Macedonia. Another important east–west route between Illyria and Macedonia was controlled by Heraclea Lyncestis, which was founded by Philip to prevent Illyrian raids from the west into Macedon. Lynkestis and the rest of Upper Macedonia was characterized by cold winters with rainfalls that were very heavy, and hot summers. In this region life was hard and mainly a matter of survival. According to the season of the year the mostly nomadic pastoralist people of the area moved their flocks of cattle, goats and sheep to the various pasture lands. There were perhaps no towns of any size in Lynkestis prior to the foundation of Heraclea Lyncestis in the mid 4th century BC. The settlements were described only as "villages", which are typical of tribal peoples. ==History==

Early period Lyncestis and the rest of Upper Macedonia is marked in the Late Bronze Age by the appearance of finds of Mycenaean Greek manufacture, and in the Late Bronze Age–Early Iron Age by the appearance and spread of matt-painted pottery known as "Macedonian matt-painted ware", "north-western matt-painted ware", "Doric ware", etc. The latter is believed by older and modern scholars to have been manufactured by local northwestern Greek tribes that were mentioned in the narratives of Herodotus, including Macedonians and Dorians, who according to the Ancient Greek author travelled from the south northwards before settling in the Pindus mountain range. Lynkestis was among the districts that constituted the heartland of Upper Macedonia in the Archaic and early Classical period. The inhabitants of Lynkestis, like other peoples in Upper Macedonia, were mostly nomadic tribes, who were ruled by individual chieftains and who probably lived in basic settlements in the tribal areas instead of actual towns. Their way of life was based on conditions which in general combined sedentary agriculture and transhumant pasturing. Lynkestians, like other Upper Macedonians as well as Lower Macedonians, might well have believed they were descendants of the mythical figure of Makedon, claiming he was a son of Zeus, the chief god of the Greek pantheon. However, their chieftains had more in common with their Illyrian and Paeonian neighbors than their supposed countrymen, the Lower Macedonians. Though it is noted that the populations of both Upper and Lower Macedonia apparently shared a common language and a common way of life which differed from those inhabiting Illyria and Thrace. From early times the Lynkestians were ruled by a basileus as the rest of Upper Macedonia and Lower Macedonia. As early as the 7th century BC occasional Illyrian invasions against Argead Macedonia inevitably also involved the Upper Macedonian regions of Lynkestis, Orestis, Eordaea, Elimea and Tymphaea, because they were located between Illyrian territory and the lands of the Argeads, who were based at Aegae. Before the rise of Macedon Upper Macedonia had been under constant attacks and raids by Illyrians: from the rise of the Argead dynasty until unification with Lower Macedonia. On the other hand, Billows (2018) says that the Illyrian invasions constituted more of a threat to raid and pillage against Upper Macedonia than to occupy or dominate Macedonia territory. Lynkestian kingdom Lynkestis was originally an autonomous kingdom in the region of Upper Macedonia. It remained outside the region of power of the Macedonian Argead kings until Philip's conquest in 358 BC. Lynkestis' lack of loyalty to the Argeads and their Macedonian kingdom was due in part to the Illyrian non-Macedonian elements of that region, and in part to the rivalries of its ruling families towards the Argeads. The initial strengthening of the positions of the various basileus in Macedonia may rest in the common ethnic and linguistic affinities of most people of Upper Macedonia, but it was fragile, as testified by the claim of independence of Lynkestis under its ruler Arrhabaeus during the Peloponnesian War. About mid 5th century BC a royal dynasty claiming descent from aristocratic Bacchiad exiles from Corinth, who went to Lynkestis through Corcyra and Illyria, established itself ruling over Lynkestian Macedonians. The kings of Lynkestis were Greek-speaking. In the second half of the 5th century BC Lynkestis was the strongest tribal state in Upper Macedonia under Bomerus' son Arrhabaeus, Classical era . A nominal confederacy between Lynkestis and the Upper Macedonian regions of Elimeia, Orestis and Pelagonia as well as Lower Macedonia (Pieria and Bottiaea) was created during the reign of Alexander I of Macedon (c. 495–454 B.C.). A pacification between Arrhabaeus and Perdiccas was started by Athenians. Perdiccas was interested in peace with Lynkestis due to his recent defeat in the Lynkestian campaign, the Lynkestian-Illyrian collaboration, and his new enmity with Brasidas. On the other hand, Arrhabaeus was interested in peace with the Argeads to avert future invasions of his realm by Macedon. In 413 Perdiccas's son Archelaus obtained the throne of Macedon, and he evidently continued his father's conflict against the Lynkestians, probably involving Illyrians. The Macedonian king undertook a war against the Lynkestian Arrhabaeus and his Illyrian or Lynkestian ally, Sirras. Seeking help from the king of Elimeia, the marriage of Archelaus' eldest daughter with the king of Elimeia ensured a solid Upper Macedonian ally for Archelaus' war against Arrhabaeus and Sirras. which apparently held the Illyrians momentarily at bay. The Illyrians (or an Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition) under king Bardylis invaded Macedon in 393 BC, reaching Lower Macedonia as far as the Thermaic Gulf. They expelled the Macedonian king Amyntas III out of Macedonia, and a puppet king, Argaeus II, who may have been a Lynkestian ruler, was appointed to the throne of Macedon. After two years, with the aid of Thessalians, Amyntas retook the throne of Macedon. Another possible Illyrian invasion of Macedon occurred around mid 380s. Amyntas retained his throne, but had to pay tribute to Bardylis. Philip's victories against the Illyrians in 358 BC overturned decades of Illyrian raids upon Macedonia, and he was able to unite Upper and Lower Macedonia for the first time in the history of those regions. In civilian life all Upper Macedonian populations retained the epithet "Macedonians" ( etc.) in contrast to the non-Macedonian conquered populations; Illyrians, Paeonians, Chalkidians etc. The populations of Upper Macedonia contributed decisively to Alexander's victorious Indian campaign; three out of six brigades of Alexander's military in 330 BC came from Upper Macedonia and an essential part of them were men from Lyncestis. Regional infantry regiments (taxeis) served in Alexander's army were composed of men from various Upper Macedonian regions including Lyncestis. In contrast to non-Macedonians who served in their own units and were general listed separately in the sources. ==Lynkestian dynasty==

Lynkestian king Arrhabaeus who ruled in the second half of the 5th century BC was the son of Bomerus. Amyntas, one of the commanders sent by Philip II to defeat some of the Greek cities in Asia Minor, was a son of the Lynkestian king Arrhabaeus. Aeropus of Lynkestis, who was exiled by Philip II when he suspected him of treason, had three sons: Arrhabaeus, Heromenes, and Alexander. ==Culture==

Language The available inscriptional evidence suggests that the people of Lynkestis spoke Northwest Greek, in contrast to those of Lower Macedonia who may have spoken Aeolic Greek. The Greek geographer Hecateus when describing the region in 6th century BC placed the Lynkestians in the Molossian cluster of tribes, an indication that Lynkestians were Greek speakers from that time. The Macedonian population residing in Upper and Lower Macedonia appears to have spoken a language that belonged to the same branch of the Indo-European family. Whereas the adjacent populations in Illyria and Thrace spoke different languages that belong to separate branches of the Indo-European linguistic family. Findings, linked to the specific cult, are found all over Upper Macedonia. Based on the archaeological findings other cults include those of Demeter, Appolo, Artemis, Dioskouroi, Athena, Aphrodite and Dionysos. ==See also==