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Dimale

Coordinates:40°42′59″N19°47′49″E/ 40.71639°N 19.79694°E/40.71639; 19.79694
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Dimale
Διμάλη
Dimale is located in Albania
Dimale
Shown within Albania
Alternative nameΔιμάλλον, Dimallum
LocationKrotinë,Berat County,Albania
RegionIllyria
Coordinates40°42′59″N19°47′49″E/ 40.71639°N 19.79694°E/40.71639; 19.79694
TypeSettlement
History
PeriodsIron Age, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman
CulturesIllyrian, Greek, Roman
Site notes
OwnershipPublic

DimaleorDimallum(Illyrian:Διμάλη /Dimálē;[1]Ancient Greek:Διμάλη or Διμάλλον;Latin:Dimallum) was a town in southernIllyriain classical antiquity which was situated in the vicinity or within the territory of theParthini,anIllyriantribe. It was built on a hill of 450 m above sea level, in the hinterland ofApollonia,about 30 km from the eastern coast of theAdriatic.It is located in todayKrotinë,Berat County,Albania.[2]

The first walls of Dimale were built around mid-4th century BC when the Illyrians went through a dynamic development founding their own cities. The urban settlement was built on an already existent Illyrian hilltop proto-urban area dating back to the previous century.[3]In theHellenistic period(between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC) the town experienced its climax, during a phase marked by intense urban planning, including the construction of a newcity walland the building of severalstoas,atemple,and atheater,showing a significant influence of theAncient Greek cultureon the local Illyrian inhabitants. Manufacturing and materials seem to witness an intense exchange with nearby Apollonia.[4]

The fortified town of Dimale was regarded as impenetrable by Illyrians.[5]It was involved in theSecond Roman-Illyrian War[6]and theFirst Roman-Macedonian War.[7]

Name

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The Illyrian toponym is attested in literary sources and epigraphic material, written as Διμάλη inGreek scriptandDimalluminLatin script.[1]

The toponym belongs to the southeast Dalmatian onomastic area ofIllyrian.[8]It is a compound ofdi+mal.The rootmal– is reflected in manyancient Balkan(Illyrian orThracian) toponyms such asMalontum,Maloventum,Malontina,Dacia Maluensisetc.[9][10]The Illyrian toponymDimallumhas been connected toAlbaniandi-male,meaning "two mountains", with theProto-Albanianform of the second component reconstructed asmol-no.[10]The Illyrian reconstruction of the first component has been rendered as*d(ṷ)i-,'two'. ThereforeDimalemust have meant '(settlement between) two mountains' in Illyrian.[1]

History

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At Dimale anIllyrianpre-urban and proto-urban settlement of the 5th-4th centuries BC is confirmed by pottery found in the site.[11][12]However physical architectural remains of this period have not been preserved.[13]The Illyrian settlement seems to have included initially only a small inhabited area on the hill, which was fortified in the 4th century BC,[14][12]representing one of the proto-urban centres that were established in the hinterland of southernIllyria(todayAlbania), especially during the developedIron Age.These proto-urban centres were fortified sites different to the small unwalled villages known askomai.The processes of the development of these proto-urban settlements are unclear to scholars, who also have not yet completely understood the role of these sites, whether they were hilltop shelters, towns or meeting centres of regional trading.[15]

The development and prosperity of the town occurred in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. During this period a new wall was built replacing the first fortification. The new wall comprised the whole hill of Dimale. The town made available sufficient financial resources to undertake a social and religious construction program. Severalstoas,atemple,and atheaterwere built, showing a significant influence of theAncient Greek cultureon the local Illyrian inhabitants.[16]It has been indicated that the city was a centre of the Illyrian tribe ofParthini,and was belatedlyHellenizedunder the influence ofApolloniaand theEpirote League.[17]

Roman period

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Dimale appears in ancient sources of the Roman period that describes the wars involving theRoman Republic.During theSecond Illyrian Warin 219 BC,Demetrius of Pharos,after expelling all his opponents from Dimale, fortified the city against an imminentRomanattack and left to defendPharos.In spite of the fortress of Dimale being considered impregnable, the Romans, under the command ofL. Aemilius Paullus,captured the city in a seven-day siege with local Illyrian help. After Demetrius' complete defeat at Roman hands and ultimate flight to Macedonia, Dimale entered into a friendly relationship (amicitia) with Rome.[6]During theFirst Macedonian war,in 213 or 212 BC,Philip V of Macedonmanaged to take control of the city[18]but, after an unsuccessful Roman assault led byP. Sempronius Tuditanusin 205 BC, the city reverted to its previous status in the negotiations between Philip V andRomePhoenice(Treaty of Phoenice) the same year.[19]

Findings and organization

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Sketch of the fortress of Dimale at the site ofKrotinëbyCamillo Praschniker,1918.

The identification of the site ofKrotinëwith the ancient Illyrian city became possible thanks to the discovery of ancienttilesstamped with the wordDIMALLITAN(Greek: ΔΙΜΑΛΛΙΤΑΝ).[20][21]The epigraphic material found at Dimale is mainly constituted by stamps on tiles datable between the 3rd and 2nd century BC, and by some stone inscriptions.[21]The inscriptions are written innorthwest Doric Greek.[22]The name of thepolisis written in the form Διμάλλας,Dimallas,while the name of theethniconis written in the genitive plural Διμαλλίταν,Dimallitan.[21]

Epigraphy in Dimale mentions a number of Greek offices[22]such as prytanis, grammateus and phylarchos as well as a single dedication toPhoebus.[23]The inscriptions bear both non-Greek onomastics and Greek onomastics with names typical of Epirus and the Corinthian colonies.[22]The city hosted a number of monuments, typical of the ancient Greek architectural style, such as astoa.[22]The indication of the office ofphylarchos,also attested atEpidamnos,would imply that the Illyrian city of Dimale adopted inHellenistic timesa system ofphylaion the model of the nearbyCorinthianpoleis. Archaeological investigation suggests the economic and cultural influence of nearbyApollonia,however, in terms of institutional organization, the office ofphylarchosat Dimale is hardly attributable to the Apollonian influence.[24]It is difficult to determine whether Dimale was the capital of akoinonor organized as a city-state. The inscriptions of theethnicondepicted on coins do not provide a definitive answer. The proximity of the theater and the agora seems to be closer to the Illyrian-Epirote model rather than to the Greek city model. It can therefore be assumed that the theater was used as a place for political assemblies.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcLippert & Matzinger 2021,p. 131.
  2. ^Muka & Heinzelmann 2014,p. 223;Lasagni 2019,p. 64;Jaupaj 2019,p. 194;Christ 1974,p.290;Bengtson 2009,p.399;Kaffka 2007,p.10;Wilkes 1992,p. 133;Gruen 1986,p.381;Winnifrith 2002,p.33;Stipčević 1974,p. 99;Hatzopoulos 1997,pp. 144–145;Šašel Kos 2005,p. 406.
  3. ^Dautaj 2009,p. 281;Muka & Heinzelmann 2012,p. 390;Lasagni 2019,p. 65;Fiedler et al. 2021,p. 137.
  4. ^Lasagni 2019,p. 65;Muka & Heinzelmann 2012,p. 390.
  5. ^Stipčević 1974,p. 53: "Demetrus took refuge in the fortified town of Dimallum. The Illyrians had regarded Dimallum as impregnable, and this was precisely the reason why the Romans had decided to attack it.
  6. ^abErrington 1989,pp. 92–93.
  7. ^Errington 1989,pp. 98, 104.
  8. ^De Simone 2018,p.1869
  9. ^Doçi 2008,p. 718
  10. ^abIllyés 1992,p.220:"mal:"shore, bank, edge." Thracian toponymMalua,Dacia Maluensis, translated to Dacia Ripensis, also IllyrianMalontum, Dimallum,cf., Alb.Dimale,"two mountains." The ancient Albanian form is reconstructed as*mol-no;modern Alb.mal,"mountain," Romanianmal,"bank, mountain". "
  11. ^Dautaj 2009,p. 281: "Emërtimi qeramikë e pikturuar helenistike e Dimalit, në një farë mënyre, nënkupton vazhdimësinë e saj nga periudhat e mëparshme, konkretisht të qeramikës së pikturuar para dhe protourbane ilire, me të cilën ka mjaft dukuri e pika takimi, natyrisht me risi e novatorizëm në kushtet e zhvillimit të gjithanshëm të jetës urbane në periudhën helenistike."
  12. ^abMuka & Heinzelmann 2012,p. 390: "Në përmbledhje të rezultateve të dy fushatave arkeologjike, krijohet një panoramë më e plotë rreth Dimalit: vendbanimi ilir duket të ketë qenë banuar fillimisht gjatë shek. V-IV p.e. sonë, në një sipërfaqe më të vogël, të përqendruar kryesisht në kodrën e akropolit, e cila u fortifikua në shek. IV p.e. sonë."
  13. ^Muka & Heinzelmann 2014,p. 228.
  14. ^Lasagni 2019,p. 65: "l'insediamento illirico venne fortificato nel IV sec. a.C.; nel periodo III-II sec. a.C. la città conobbe il suo floruit, accompagnato da un'intensa attività urbanistica: a questa fase risale, tra le altre cose, l'edificazione di una nuova cinta muraria e del teatro; lavorazioni e materiali sembrano testimoniare un intenso scambio con la vicina Apollonia."
  15. ^Papadopoulos 2016,p. 440.
  16. ^Muka & Heinzelmann 2012,p. 390: "Zhvillimi dhe begatia e qytetit shënohen gjatë shek. III-II p.Kr., periudhë gjatë së cilës fotifikimi i parë i akropolit braktiset dhe në vend të tij qyteti fortifikohet me një mur të ri, i cili përfshin tashmë gjithë kodrën e Dimalit. Gjatë kësaj periudhe, qyteti vuri në dispozicion burime të mjaftueshme financiare për të ndërmarrë një program ndërtimesh me karakter shoqëror dhe religjioz, përfshirë këtu ndërtimin e disa stoave, një tempulli dhe një teatri. Gjithë këto ndërtime dëshmojnë për një gjurmë të konsiderueshme që kultura helene ka lënë tek banorët vendas ilirë."
  17. ^Lasagni 2019,p. 65: "È da considerarsi del tutto superata l’ipotesi, avanzata da Hammond 1968, 14-15, che Dimalla fosse una polis di origine greca, fondata sotto Pirro con un contingente di coloni da Apollonia; cf. infatti Hatzopoulos 1997, 145, che indica piuttosto questa città come centro dell’ethnos illirico dei Parthini, senza alcuna origine greca, ma tardivamente ellenizzato grazie all’influenza di Apollonia e del koinon degli Epiroti."
  18. ^Errington 1989,p. 98.
  19. ^Errington 1989,p. 104.
  20. ^Wilkes 1992,p. 133: "The location of Dimale (or Dimallum), a settlement in the territory of the Parthini, at Krotinc west of Berat, depends on tiles stamped DIMALLITAN (in Greek)."
  21. ^abcLasagni 2019,p. 64: "La città illirica di Dimalla (o Dimale), identificata nell’odierna Krotinë/Berat, a nordovest di Apollonia, ha restituito un insieme di documenti epigrafici costituito per la stragrande maggioranza di bolli su tegole databili tra III e II sec. a.C., e da alcune iscrizioni su pietra. Tra i primi, si segnalano in particolare una serie di bolli relativi adatelierspubblici, alcuni recanti il nome dellapolis,ancora nella forma dorica-nordoccidentale Διμάλλας, altri recante l’etnico al genitivo plurale Διμαλλίταν, indicazioni che l’editore, B. Dautaj, suggeriva di interpretare come afferenti rispettivamente alla sola polis di Dimalla, da una parte, e al koinon dei Dimallitai, dall’altra. "p. 74:" si vedano, quali esempi significativi, la compresenza delle scritte ΔΙΜΑΛΛΙΤΑΝ e ΔΙΜΑΛΛΑ negli stampi su tegola da Dimalla "
  22. ^abcdHatzopoulos 1997,pp. 144–145.
  23. ^Myrto 1998:"Dimale"
  24. ^Lasagni 2019,p. 65: "L’indicazione della carica delphylarchos,che abbiamo visto essere attestata a Epidamnos, implicherebbe che la città illirica di Dimalla avesse adottato in età ellenistica un sistema diphylai– quali che fossero le loro precise funzioni e composizione – sul modello delle vicine poleis corinzie. L’influenza economica e culturale delle poleis hellenides dell’area, e in particolare di Apollonia, sembra emergere dalla stessa indagine archeologica; ma, sul piano istituzionale, sembra difficile credere che la figura del phylarchos possa essere esistita a Dimalla provenendo da tale matrice.
  25. ^Jaupaj 2019,pp. 440–441

Bibliography

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