It is a well known fact that FYROManians appropriated the Greek history of the ancient Macedonians as it is also a well known fact that in their effort to build their current "pseudo-nation" from scratch, they present Greek archaeological findings as if they are "plucked" from their history.
FYROM today is inhabited by different ethnic groups, such as Albanians and Bulgarians, who both make up the largest portions of the population. Independent researchers agree that the bulk of FYROM's claims on the use of the name "Macedonia", runs mostly through areas which in the ancient world were inhabited by Paeonians and Dardanians and not by Macedonians. The present city of Skopje was located in ancient Dardania and Dardanians, which were merciless enemies of the Macedonians until the end.
The latin historian Junianius Justinus wrote that the Dardanians had "burning hatred" for the Macedonians (immortale odium). The Paeonians remained mostly independent while at the times that they were vassals to the Macedonians, they did not cease to have their own kings and their coins carried the national ΠΑΙΩΝΩΝ (Paeonian), rather than that of the national ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ (Macedonian).
Today, the scientific historical community of FYROM uses the science that it is supposedly committed to serve, by perverting the origin of archaeological findings found in the areas of ancient Dardania and Paeonia. Sometimes they appropriate authentic Greek Macedonian findings, as we shall see later, because of the presence of Greek Macedonians and sometimes they display botched ancient Dardanian findings as if they were Macedonian.
The link (http://www.archaeologica.org.mk/mk/zanimlivost.php?id=138) belongs to a FYROM NGO which aims to promote the usual historical falsehoods, presenting the archaeological site Била Зора-Vylazora-like another archaeological "Macedonian" location. But in fact, Vylazora was an ancient city, a Peonian establishment located within the borders of Paeonia and Dardania, and was held for a long time by ancient Greek Macedonian Kings.
(«...Βυλάζωρα μεγίστην ούσαν πόλιν της Παιονίας και λίαν ευκαίρως κειμένην προς τάς εισβολάς τάς από της Δαρδανικής..»/ Vylazora, a great city of Paeonia located at an area which suited the Dardanian invasions..").Those who will investigate the link above will notice that Vylazora doesn't exist in the English version and the reason for that may very well be that the overall project is under the auspices of the «Texas Foundation for Archaeological & Historical Research» .There are too many Greek inscriptions, pottery, etc. found in Vylazora, which is obviously not "convenient" for them to present to the population of FYR.
Fortunately for science, and unfortunately for FYROM, there are many ancient writers who refer to the history of the area. One of them is the great historian Polybius from Megalopoli [2] who refers to what Vylazora was. Polybius implicitly confirms the later historian Junianius Justinus, when he wrote about the "burning hatred" that Dardanians, and Paeonians, had against the Macedonians.
Let's read what Polyvius wrote about Vylazora and the wider region.
POLYVIOS OF MEGALOPOLIS, HISTORY E, 96. 97. 98. (POLYBII HISTORIARUM QUAE SUPERSUNT)
« [...]Κατά δε τους αυτούς καιρούς Φίλιππος ο βασιλεύς [3] κατελάβετο Βυλάζωρα μεγίστην ούσαν πόλιν της Παιονίας και λίαν ευκαίρως κειμένην προς τάς εισβολάς τάς από της Δαρδανικής εις Μακεδονίαν, ώστε δια της πράξεως ταύτης σχεδόν άπολελύσθαι του φόβου του κατά Δαρδανίους. ού γάρ έτι ράδιον ήν αυτοίς εμβαλείν εις Μακεδονίαν, κρατούντος Φιλίππου τών εισόδων διά της προειρημένης πόλεως. ασφαλισάμενος δε ταύτην, Χρυσόγονον [4] μεν εξαπέστειλε κατά σπουδήν επισυνάξοντα τούς άνω Μακεδόνας. αυτός δε παραλαβών τους έκ της Βοττίας και της Αμφαξίτιδος, ήκεν έχων εις Έδεσσαν [...]» [5]In this paragraph Polybius informs us that King Philip occupied Vylazora, which was strategically located in Dardania - Paeonia, an action which enabled him to control the "passages" and prevent any act of treachery by the Dardanians against Macedonia (ου γαρ έτι ράδιον ην αυτοίς εμβαλείν | because by occupying vylazora it wasn't easy for Dardanians to invade Macedonia).
Notes:
- [1] Junianius Justinus (Justini), was a Latin historian who lived in Rome during the third century AD
- [2] Polybius (203 BC - 120 BC). Greek historian, famous for his book "Histories" or "The Rise of the Roman Empire." Polybius of Megalopolis ranks among the leading historians of the ancient Greek world. A multifaceted personality, he developed political action while he conceived the plan of writing a "real" story that describes and explains the rise of Roman power and the emergence of Rome as a dominant power in the ancient world. Of the 40 books of the Histories of Polybius only the books 1-5 survived as a whole. The Constitutions of Western countries, particularly the United States of America were composed according to the political theories of Polybius.
- [3] Philip V (238 0 179 BC) played a decisive role in the political developments of his time, that have marked the history of the country and generally the whole of Hellenism in the next five centuries, since it was then that began the domination of Rome to the Greek East.
- [4] Chrysogonos a native of Edessa, the general of King Philip V'.
- [5] Below, a clipping from the text of Polybius in image format.
Dora H. Spiridis
MacedoniaHellenicLand.Eu
Posts
