XXII – GREAT SCYTHIAN MIGRATIONS – PROTO SLAVS IN THE BALKANS – RESHAPING PREH

XXII – GREAT SCYTHIAN MIGRATIONS – PROTO SLAVS IN THE BALKANS – RESHAPING PREHISTORIC AEGEA

From archaeological findings, it was determined that turmoil and uncertainty had taken place in the Balkans during the transitional period from the Bronze to the Iron Age (1200-800 BC), similar to that of the Neolithic Age. (Papastavrou, I,: Istoria tis Arhaias Ellados, p. 172, Hiotelli, Athinai, 1972, Grashanin, M.: Prehistory of Serbia, I, 1973, Belgrade, Gavela, 1988.) This conclusion was reached by Heurtlei (1939) who did research on the material culture in Macedonia. Heurtlei concluded that it was towards the end of the Mycenaean period and during the early sub-geometric period that the Balkans were penetrated by migrations. There were elements about these people that tied them to the Mediana people, a group of people who originated in the Nish and Paracin vicinity in Serbia (1300-1000 year BC) and migrated in the direction towards south Morava, Vardar and the Aegean. It is believed that one of these migrating waves contributed to the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization and the Hittite state and caused population shifts in the Balkans, which pushed people towards Asia Minor and the Middle East all the way to Egypt. This wave of migrating “people of the sea” was eventually stopped by Pharaoh Ramses III, 1194-1190 BC. Information regarding this was found in one of the Pharaoh’s epigrams in the Medinet Hub Temple. The epigram described how Ramses III stopped the “Danunite” (Pod-Danubians), “Peleshati” (Pelasgians), Phrygians (Brigians), “Saka-Libyas”, “Sakalashi-Slavs”, etc., from invading Egypt. (Childe, VG: The Aryans, a Study of Indo-European Origin, London, 1927.; Papastavrou, I,: Istoria tis Arhaias Elladodz, p. 26-30, Hiotelli, Athinai, 1972.; Macqueen, JG: The Hittites and their contemporaries in Asia Minor, p. 157, London, in 1986.) In this study we are particularly interested in the Sakalashi.

According to Childe (Childe, VG: The Aryans, a Study of Indo-European Origin, p. 63, 82, London, 1927) the earliest information about the Saka-lashi, a people from the north, of Danunian Borean or Hyperborean origin, comes from the Egyptians. This information was preserved in Egyptian monuments dating back to around 1400 BC. According to Merneptah (1225-1215), author of this information, Egypt defeated the “worldwide northern hordes” at Egypt’s northern borders. He also mentioned that also included among the groups that fought were the Saka-lashi. The ethnonym Saka-lashi comes from the Arabian word “Saka” meaning Slavs. The Persians called the Slavs “Saki”. The name “Saka-libi” was used in 665 AD, to describe a Slav detachment of 5,000 soldiers approaching the Arabs in Syria. (Ostrogorski, G.: Byzantine History, p. 132, Education,

Belgrade, 1969.) Several years later in 692 AD, during Justinian II’s reign, a large formation of Saka-libi, consisting of 20,000 troops, escaped from the Arabs.

The ethnonym “Skiti” (Scythians) first appeared in Herodotus’s (485-425 BC) description regarding the spread of the Persian Empire in Asia and the Balkans. The ethnomym “Skiti”, according to etymologist Mpampiniotis (Mpampiniotis, G., Synhroni gramatiki tis koinis neas Elinikis, p. 163, Athina, 1967), is of unknown origin because it is derived from the Slavic verb “skita” meaning “to roam” because the Skiti were nomads. In military literature, their mode of warfare was known as “Scythian style” of fighting which was later applied against Darius, Napoleon and Hitler.

Herodotus, in his “History” (Herodotus, History, V, 9, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) wrote that: “… the land of the Scythians extended in the east-west direction, from Enet in the Adriatic on the west, to Media and Persia in the east. The Istar (Danube) River flowed right through their country... and past Istria there was an endless wilderness. I was able to figure out that the people living on the other side of Istria were called “Sigini” and dressed similarly to the Megiani”.

The “Eneti” or “Veneti” - hence the name “Venetsia” (Venice), were a proto-Slavic Scythian tribe. They lived in the Adriatic in the province Venice and had Patavia (modern Padua) as their capital. According to Homer (Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, II, 851, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. Gjurigj MN)) there were many heroes among the Eneti in Paphlagonia in the Trojan Army compositions. “Pilemen, a Paphlagonian guide, was a hero from the country of the Eneti, where wild mules lived...”

This is consistent with Herodotus’s quotes who said that they moved from Media. Enetia on the coast of the Adriatic Sea at that time was known for breeding horses. Enetia was famous for its stallions (Enetai pöloi).

Again, according to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 99, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988), “…Thrace extended down to the sea in front of Scythia. Scythia lay immediately behind Thrace in the same bay, and the river Istar flowed through it with its mouth turned to the southeast”. Hekatai (Hekataios) of Miletus (549-478) was one of the oldest ancient historians and geographers. Among other things, he wrote a book entitled “Around the World”. In the chapter about Europe, where he attempts to view the whole of Thrace, he wrote that “Thrace had natural boundaries enveloping many countries past the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, up to the west coast of Pontus, extending north of Mount Hem (Balkan) and stretching west to the Rila and Pirin Mountains”. These were the true boundaries of Thrace and the Thracians as confirmed by the results of archaeological and linguistic studies conducted by modern authors (Srejovic, MD., Cermanovkj-Kuzmanovic, A..: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology, p. 49, SKZ, Belgrade 1992., Popov D., 2008 19) who believed it covered the territories of present day Bulgaria.

Meaning, according to Herodotus, the Scythian western border in the Balkans was the Adriatic Sea (“... to Enet in the Adriatic...”). The Scythian eastern border was Thrace (“... lies immediately behind Thrace”). The northern boundary is uncertain because, as he wrote: “... The river Istar-Danube runs through it...” i.e. both banks of the Istar belong to the Scythians. The southern Scythian border is also quite vague. Herodotus wrote (Herodotus, History, IV, 99, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988), “... This region, which stretches from the Istar to the east and the southeast, to the so-called city Kerkinitid, is actually old Scythia...”

There was a city called Karkinitida (karkinos meaning cancer) in Crimea. However, in Benseler-Kaegijev’s Greek-German dictionary, “Kerkinitis” is the name of a lake in Macedonia through which the river Strimon (Struma) flows. In addition to Lake Kerkinitis, there are also the oronym Kerkini (Belasitsa) and the city Kerkini. The word “Kerkinitis” belongs to the Paleo-Balkan Glossology, where “kerkis-keritidos” means pipe, narrow strait. On the terrain this represents the Struma River Gorge located between the mountains Kerkini (Belasitsa) and Orbel.

Regarding the Scythian religion, Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 59, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) wrote: “They observed only the following gods: Above all Hestia, after that Zeus and Geia and thought of Geia as Zeus’s wife. And after that they observed Apollo, the celestial Aphrodite, (Hercules) and Ares. All Scythians observed these gods but the so-called royal Scythians also made sacrifices to Poseidon.” The Scythians, in their language, called “Hestia” “Tabiti” and Zeus, in my opinion, had a very nice name too. He was called “Papei” i.e. “papaios” meaning grandpa.

From this we can conclude that the Scythians respected the Hyperborean gods of the Danube hydrological system, later called Olympic gods.

Zeus’s Scythians

According to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 5-142, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) regarding the Scythian ethnogenesis in relation to Zeus: “When the Scythians speak of themselves they say that they are the youngest nation in the world. The first man born in their empty country was Targitai, son of Zeus and a daughter of the river Boristena. I did not believe them but they insisted their story was true. The parentless Targitai had three sons named Lipoksai, Aproksai and Kolaksai, the youngest... the Scythian kings, called the Paralati, originated from Kolaksai. All together they were called Skoliti (Skölos-Skölosoi), named after their king but the Hellenes called them “Skutai” (Scythians).”

Again according to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 6, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988), “This is what the Scythians said about their existence. From Targitai, their first king, to the Dorian campaigns against them (at the Danube in 512 BC), on the whole, neither less nor more, a thousand years had passed…” It follows then that the Scythians appeared on the historical scene in the Balkans around 1,500 BC, i.e. about 388 years before the Hellenic Dorians, who, according to Thucydides’s calculations (Thucydides, Povijest Peloponeskog rata, p. I, 12, Dereta, Belgrade, 1991), “The Hellenes were migrating… on the 60th year after the capture of Ilei (Troy).”

As mentioned earlier, we have the toponym “Skolos” in Macedonian Halkidiki near Olynthus, as well as in Greek Boeotia, on the right bank of the river Asop in Platea, a few kilometres away from Athens. (Pauzania, Perrigissis tis Ellados, IX, 8 (prev. Pasini: Vodič po Heladi), Logos, Split, 1989th, Herodotus, History, IX, 15, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988, Thucydides V, 18.)

Hercules’s Scythians

According to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 8-10, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) regarding the Scythian ethnogenesis in relation to Hercules: “... The Hellenes from the Black Sea coast have said that: ‘When Hercules was guiding Gerion’s cattle he passed through the country in which the Scythians now live. At that time the country was uninhabited’. Garion himself did not live at the Black Sea, but in Okeana (Danube) on an island that the Hellenes called Eriteia (current Romanian name, while the Serbians call it Ada Kale), located behind Hercules’s pillars near the city Gadira... And when Hercules came to the country which is now called Scythia, he wore his lion’s skin because it was winter and fell asleep. His cattle, which at that time were sent to pasture, disappeared in a mysterious way.”

Birth of the Hileian – Shumadian Scythians

According to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 9, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988), “And when he woke up, Hercules began to search, looking all over the place until he finally arrived at the country called Hileia - Shumadia (Hileis meaning forest). Here, in a cave, he met a being who was half snake and half woman. The bottom half from the waist down was snake.” This being was Ehidna, Forko or Tartan’s daughter. (Hesiodus, Fragmenta & Theogonia, p. 295.) “She admitted that the animals were stolen but did not want to return all of them until Hercules agreed to mate with her. Before leaving Hileia, where Ehidna was master, she told Hercules that under her heart she was carrying three of his sons. Hercules then gave her his bow and belt on which hung a golden vessel and instructed her as follows: ‘When you determine that our sons are grown up, I suggest you remember this and you will not make a mistake. Whoever from the boys can stretch the bow and tie this belt, as I am showing you, should remain in this country. Whoever cannot, you should send out to the world. If you do this you will have great joy and you will fulfill my request’.”

“After Hercules left, Ehidna gave birth to Agatirs, Gelon and Skit... Ehidna expelled Agatirs and Gelon because they were unable to pull the bow and tie the belt. But Skit, the youngest, did perform the given tasks and thus was allowed to remain at home. And from this Herculean son all later Scythian kings were born.”

The Agatirsi

Agatirs became an eponimic hero and king of the Agatirsi, a Scythian tribe located at the confluence of the Tisa River and its tributaries Maris (Maros) and Köros, in today’s Segedin and Arad, near Budim at the Szöny archaeological site. According to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 104, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988), the Agatirsi were very rich, decorated with gold, happy people who treated each other like brothers and were very brave. Agatirs was mentioned as a participant in the Scythian Royal Assembly in 512 BC, during the Dorian aggressions.

The Geloni

Gelon became an eponimic hero and king of the Geloni, a Scythian tribe located between the Agatirsi and the Budini. According to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 108, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) the capital city of the Geloni was called Gelon and was enclosed by wooden walls. Each side of the wall was thirty stages long and quite high. The houses and temples were also made of wood. They had temples of the Hellenic gods with appropriate statues. Every third year they held festivities in honour of god Dionysus. Their language was a mixture of Scythian and Hellenic words. King Gelon was a participant in the Assembly of kings from the Scythian nations, which included the Agatirsi, the Budini, the Sauromati, the Neuri, the Taurisi, the Melanhnemi and others who participated in the wars against the Dorians. The Geloni were good farmers and gardeners.

The Budini

According to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 108, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988), the Budini were a great Scythian tribe with large numbers of people. They were a people of light blue eyes and brown hair, predominantly natives and farmers. Their country was covered with trees and surrounded by swamps, overgrown with reeds, rich with otters and beavers from whose pelts they made their coats. When the Persians invaded the land of the Budini they found a wooden city and burned it down because the Budini had left and there was no one there. The ethnonym “Budini” belongs to the Paleo-Balkan Glossology and consists of the words “bus” meaning bull, and the word “dini” meaning wanderers, i.e. herdsmen.

The Sigini

About the Sigini (Merchant) Scythian tribe in Pannonia, Herodotus (Herodotus, History, V, 9, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) said: “... I was only able to find out that the people living over Istria were called Sigini and dressed like the Megiani... Their country extended to Enet in the Adriatic. When they talked about themselves they said that they moved here from Medeia, but where they came from before that they were unable to explain because it may have happened a long time ago.”

The Singi

According to Senc (Senc, St.: Grčko-Hrvatski rječnik, s. 841, Kr. zemaljska tiskara, Zagreb, 1910), the ethnonym “Singi” belongs to the people of Athos in Macedonia. There is a city in Macedonia called “Singos” located on the west coast of the Singian Gulf (Sinus singiticus), at the mouth of present day Sikia, on the Sitoia Peninsula in Halkidiki.

There is a hypothesis that suggests that the onomastic “Singidunum”, the old name of Belgrade, was of Celtic origin. There is also another possibility. Singidunum could be derived from the Scythian ethnonym Singi from Pannonia or from the Scythian people in ancient Macedonia… “who dressed like the Megiani…” Could it be that when the Scythian tribe the “Singi” arrived at the mouth of the Sava River in Dun-av it gave the city (Belgrade) its name Singi-dun-av? And later as the word was crystallized in the Celtic and Latin languages the name “dom-donus” was

changed to “Dunum” so that we finally have “Singidunum” as a fortress of the Singi or Singi-Dun-av as Singi of the Danube?

Perhaps the name Kale-Meg-dan is of Turkish origin, but it came from the Paleo-Balkan Glossology: Kale-Meg (as)-Dan (Danoubius), which means “great big beautiful Danube”, i.e. view or panorama. Dan is the likeness or the form of the god Dios or Zeus, an anthropomorphism of the theonism of the Danube River and its entire hydrological system. Megas or Magnus means great, strong, radiant, uplifting. The Turkish name for Kalemegdan was Fikir bair, which means “coast of thinking”.

The Tribali

Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 49, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) mentioned the Tribali plain when he wrote about the Danube (Istar), tributaries “… the river Angro (Drina) from Illyria runs north and flows into the Brong (Sava) through the Tribali Plain and Brong flows into Istar…”

The Tribali Plain was located in today’s Shumadia, a region in Serbia located between the Sava and the Danube Rivers and between Western and Great Morava and to the east it included the Pomoravie. On the Bulgarian side it extended to Oksios, today’s River Iskar.

The ethnonym “Tribali” belongs to the Paleo-Balkan Glossology where “tri” means three and “Ba”, “Baal” means king, meaning “three kings”. The Tribali had three kings.

Does this refer to the three kings, Agatirs, Gelon and Skit, who queen Ehidna bore from mating with Hercules? Or were they the kings or Ba-sileusi “Banat”, “Bachka” and “Barania”, i.e. Vojvodina?

According to Thucydides (Thucydides, Povijest Peloponeskog installment, p. II, 96, IV, 101, Dereta, Belgrade, 1991), the Tribali were a free living tribe. They engaged in hunting, fishing and viticulture and most of the time were drunk. In 424 BC they fought against the king of Odrin and won. The king of Odrin was killed in battle. In 339 BC, Sirma (sirmos meaning whirlwind), the Tribali king, fought against Alexander the Great. The battle took place at one of the large islands on the Danube (most likely at Ada-Ostrovo located between the Morava and Mlava Rivers) during Alexander’s northern Balkan campaigns. The Tribali were defeated and lost nearly 300 soldiers. King Sirma was and eponimic hero after whom the Roman city “Sirmium” was named. Sirminum was located near present day Sremska Mitrovitsa. Included among the geographical names in eastern Sumadia-Tribili Plain, are “Resava” River, the village “Resavits” and “Resavska” Cave. These names keep the tradition and folk memory of mythological king Res (Resos) alive. According to Homer (Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, X, 435, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. Gjurigj MN)), king Res was a Thracian king, son of Eion. During the tenth year of the Trojan War, Res went with the Thracians to help King Priam. Res was a strong man and a hero. He was armed with golden weapons and had horses whiter than snow. Res was killed the same day and his remains were returned to his native Hileia and buried in a small cave. About Res’s wealth, Homer (Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, X, 436, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. Gjurigj MN)) wrote: “I saw a lot of beautiful and big horses at his disposal, which were whiter than snow and running like the wind. His cart was adorned with gold and silver and he carried large golden weapons. It was a real wonder to see. It was not befitting for a warrior armed as such to be dead.”

Res became a Thracian deity, kindred to the Thracian Horseman. Res, the deity, hunted in the woods and mountains and, as a demigod, lived in the rich, silver caves of Hileia. The famous tragedian Euripides (485-406) of Salamis, wrote a tragedy about king Res. Res’s myth as a cult hero, Thracian horseman and rider in the Danube, in the Middle Ages, was passed on to St. George and to king Marko. Not long ago, there was a cave painting of a horse and a rider discovered in one of the caves in eastern Serbia, painted between the XV and VIII century BC. The place where the Tribali lived and the strength of the Tribali aristocracy are slowly unearthed by archaeology especially in the tomb discoveries in Hisar near Leskovats and elsewhere in Serbia. Similar findings were also uncovered in Bulgaria in the city Vrats, in the village Rogozen near Vrats, etc., dating from the IV century BC, included among which are 165 precious vessels.

The Dardani

Also included among the old Balkan tribes are the Dardani about whom there is contradictory information among the ancient writers. Their ethnonym “Dardani” is connected to the Scythians, the Illyrians and the Dardanelles. Information about “Dardan” the Scythian comes to us from Apolonius Rodius’s (295-230 BC) Argonautikata (Apolonius Rodius, Argonautika, II, 178) and from Diodorus Siculus’s (90-20 BC) Biblioteka (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Fr. Vogel, IV, 43, Leipzig, 1896). Both authors have stated that Dardan was king of the Scythians in the Balkans. The word “Dardan” is of Scythian-Slavic origin, from the words “Dar” meaning gift and “Dan”, “Danu” meaning Danube-Dios, i.e. “gift from god Dios”-Bozidar. Dardan had a daughter named Ideia (ideia - mountain, forest, i.e. Goritsa) who married Finei, the powerful Thracian king of Salmid, a country located at the shores of the Marmora Sea and the Bosphorus. After being persuaded by Ideia, Finei blinded his sons from his first marriage and, together with their mother Cleopatra, threw them into a dungeon. Cleopatra’s sons were named Pleksip and Pandion.

Cleopatra was a Borean daughter, sister of the Borean (Macedonian) twins Kalei and Zet. When the Argonauts, on their way to Kolhida, arrived at Finei’s court, the king told them about his deplorable fate, of Zeus having blinded him because he abused the divine knowledge given to him by Apollo, about the Harpies grabbing and spoiling his food and about his bitter days in life, and asked them for their help. The Boreans were deeply touched by Finei’s troubles and when the Harpies charged at the set table, Kalei and Zet attacked them with their swords and expelled them from Thrace forever.

After the feast, offered to them by the king, the Boreans heard voices calling for help from the dungeon. The Boreans quickly rushed to the dungeon and freed Cleopatra and the twins. Following Hercules’s advice, they then returned Idea to her father Dardan in Scythia where he ruled alone with his daughter. (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Fr. Vogel, IV, 44, Leipzig, 1896.) According to Eratosthenes, the Argonaut Expedition took place in 1225 BC.

From a historical aspect, however, the earliest reliable information about the Dardani originated in the second half of the V century BC and was related to Macedonian military operations in the Balkans. Archaeological discoveries and linguistic research done in sites in Kosovo, Skopje Valley and the southern Pomoravie show Dardanian ethnogenesis. Today there are about 30 known settlements representing the Neolithic culture of the Central Balkans and the Aegean that existed between 5500 and 4500 BC. (Srejovic, MD., Cermanovkj-Kuzmanovic, A..: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology, p. 191, SKZ, Belgrade 1992.) Linguistic research of onomastics in this area suggests that it belongs to the Paleo-Balkan Glossology, archetypal culture of the Danube civilization, where the hydronymic system of Pannonia represents the theological system of the gods of Olympus. From this we can conclude that Dardania, ethnically and culturally, was tied to the Central Balkan nations such as the Mesi, the Tribali, the Peoni and the Linkesti. In antiquity, Dardania was a region in today’s Kosmet, Presevo Valley and Skopje.

The Peoni Included among the prehistoric peoples of the Central Balkans were the Peoni. Their country was called Peonia.

Eponimic hero and king of the Peoni was Peon (Paiön) about whose origin there are two versions. According to Apian (Appian, Hist. Illyrica, II, 1, 346), Peon was either the son of Poseidon and Helen, brother of Alompei and Edon, and father of Skordisk and Tribal, or, Autar’s son and Ilir’s grandson. Homer has written about Peon as being a physician of the gods. Because of Peon, military doctors of heroes were called Peonidi and so were Apollo and Aesculapius. The name “Peon” as a deity existed as early as 1400 BC, found on a clay tablet inscribed with Linear B letters. (Ventris, Shadwich, 1956, 122)

According Pausanias (Pauzania, Perrigissis tis Ellados, V, 1, 3 (prev. Pasini: Vodič po Heladi), Logos, Split, 1989), Peon was of Lipiti origin, a descendant of the Hyperborean kings Elida, Endimion, Oksil, Augei, Aktor, Hemon, Toant… Endimion, king of Elida in the Peloponnesus had three sons named Epei, Etol and Peon. Because Epei defeated his brothers in Olympia he was chosen to succeed his father. After Epei died Etol became king of Ilida and Peon went to Macedonia “the country across the Axius (Vardar) River” and because of him the region became known as Peonia.

The Peoni had settled the Balkans south of the Dardani located between the Thracians, Macedonians and Pelagonians. They lived near the middle of the river Axius around the rivers Erigon (Tsrna) and Astibos (Bregalnitsa), in whose waters they crowned their Peonian kings. Such rituals were also performed in the valleys of the Strimon River. Included among the tribes living in Peonia were the Argiani (Zhestoki) who lived around the source of the Strimon River and participated in Alexander the Greats’ campaigns with 1000 archers. Next were the Siripentsi who lived on the plain where Seres is located today, along with the Peopli, Leeitsi, Doberi and others. Their centre was Karkinitida which, according to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 99, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988), meant “Old Scythia”. Testimony about Scythian presence in the Byzantine Theme Strimon is provided by Thucydides (Thucydides, Povijest Peloponeskog installment, p. II, 98, Dereta, Belgrade, 1991) in his writing about Thracian king Sitalko’s attacks on Macedonia.

Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in his work “De thematibus”, mentioned that the Peoni existed in 934 BC, which confirms the existence and continuity of Proto-Slavs in this region. The following kings ruled Peonia; Astropev, Likei, Patrei, Nikarh, Basterei, Andoleon, Leon, Dopeon and others. Archaeological excavations in Anzebegovo (Neolithic culture), Gievgelia, Mavrintsi and Isar inside Macedonia, confirm the existence of a high culture with trade links in Asia Minor particularly in Troy, Mycenae and Ionia. Many rich findings such as gold and silver jewelry and highly valued coins have been discovered in Demir Kapia with images of the previously mentioned Peonian kings. (Mikuliħ 38, 1989.)

During the Trojan War the Peoni were allies of Troy. In his chapter regarding the composition of the Trojan army, Homer (Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, II, 848, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. Gjurigj MN) wrote the following about the Peoni: “… The Peoni with their curved arches were led by the hero Pirehmo from distant Amidona, from Aksia the wide river, which fertilizes the earth with its most beautiful water”.

After Pirehmo’s death, Homer (Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, II, XVII, 348, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. Gjurigj MN)) wrote about Apisaon, another Peonian hero: “… and Apisaon, the people’s shepherd, son of Hipasp… came from the fertile land called Peonia…”

Capital cities of Peonia were Astibo (current Shtip) and Stobi. Included among the other Peonian cities were Arg, Vilazora (Veles), Stena (Demir Kapia), Evristus, Bargala, Armohi, Zapara, Dober and Astreon. Included among the rivers were Axius (Vardar), Erigon (Tsrna), Strimon (Struma) and Astibos (Bregalnitsa).

Here is what Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 33, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988), who traveled in this part of the world, had to say about the people and customs of the Peoni. He said that lions existed in Peonia. He also said that when sacrificial offerings were made to the goddess Artemis, the gifts were wrapped in wheat straw. During the Persian occupation of Peonia, some of the Peoni tribes fought fiercely. The Sirio-Peonians and the Pleo-Peonians moved to Phrygia in Asia Minor. Then, after their successful rebellion, they again returned to Peonia. Peonia was annexed by Macedonia during king Philip II’s rule.

Besides the information already provided to us by Herodotus, the following should also be of interest (Herodotus, History, V, 16, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988): “… Those around the Pangei Mountains and Lake Prasiad did not fall into Megabas’s (Persian military commander) hands. He really tried to subdue those who lived on the lake but failed because they lived on the lake water on top of rafters sitting on high stakes accessed from land by narrow bridges. The poles under the scaffolding had been brought there a long time before by the inhabitants of the settlement and later they created the following custom: Whenever any of the men married a woman from the mountain, he had to bring three poles and put them under the scaffolding. In those days men married several times. Everyone had a hut on the scaffolding in which they lived and through the scaffolding had a hole leading down to the lake. In bad times, they fed their horses and cattle with fish because fish were plentiful. In fact fish were so plentiful they could be caught with a net. All the people had to do is lower the net with a rope from the scaffolding into the water and pull it up full of fish…”

The Pelagonians

Immediate neighbours of the Pelagonians were the Almopians to the south, the Peoni to the northeast, and the Linkesti and Deuriopi to the northwest.

The Pelagonians called their country Pelagonia which meant “fertile plain”. Pelagonia is located at the confluence of the rivers Erigon (Tsrna Reka) and a tributary of the Axius (Vardar) River in Macedonia. The mythological name for this region was “Borea” because of the mountains that surround it: from the south it was bordered by Borei (Vorras) i.e. Nidze (Kajmakchalan) and Koziak, from the north it was also bordered by Borei (Vorras) i.e. Babuna. Its residents were called the Boreadi meaning northerners. In the Theogony (Hesiodus, Fragmenta & Theogonia, p. 378 and further), Borei (Voreas) was the god of the north wind, the strongest of all the winds, and lived in the valley of Strimon. Borei served Poseidon and Zeus and created awesome storms under their command. In place of a stallion he fertilized Erihtonei’s mare. Erihtonei was Dardan’s son, ancestor of the Trojan royal daughter. (Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, XX, 230, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. Gjurigj MN.)) Further north from the Boreans were the Hyperboreans, a common name for the people of the north.

Their capital was Pelagonia, located on the shores of the Erigon River.

Besides the myths, the first written records about the Pelagonians appeared around the IV century BC. According to Papazoglu’s (Papazoglou, F..: Macedonian cities in the Roman era. 199, Skopje, 1957) research, there are two articles in question from Athens, from 365 and 363 BC, sent to Menelai, king of Pelagonia. They were recognition letters for the military and financial assistance the king gave the Athenian strategist Timotei in the war against the Halkidians and Amfiopolites. From a historical aspect, these documents demonstrate that the Pelagonians, even in the middle of the IV century BC, had their own separate political community and were led by a king. During times when Pelagonia needed to be strengthened, the various political factions would unite. During the Macedonian state expansion under Philip II (359-336 BC), Pelagonia became an integral part of Macedonia. In later centuries, Pelagonia was mentioned several times by Livy, Strabo and Diodorus, especially during the Roman conquest of Macedonia and its partition. After the divisions, Pelagonia was the centre of the Fourth Macedonian marida. Pelagonia City went into decline and began to disappear after the battles with the Goths at the end of the V century AD. Today there is a region called Pelagonia in Macedonia.

The Linkesti

According to Thucydides (Thucydides, Povijest Peloponeskog rata, p. II, 99, 2, Dereta, Belgrade, 1991), the Linkesti of the Central Balkans were an Upper Macedonian prehistoric tribe. The Linkesti had their own rulers but also recognized the supremacy of the Macedonian kings. Their country was called Linka, but later people began to call it Linkestida. Linkestida was located in the region covered by today’s Lerin-Bitola-Prespa Regions. The capital of Linkestida was called Links and was located on Ahil Island in Lake Mala Prespa. Archeological research has revealed the existence of megalithic walls of Neolithic origin. The island was also a capital of Emperor Samoil’s Patriarchate during the X century AD.

In mythology, “Link” was the eponimenic hero and king of the Scythians. Ovidius (43 BC - 17 AD) in his “Metamorphosis” (Ovidius, Metamorphosis, V, and 650 ponadamu), and Hugini (II century BC) in his “Fables” (Hugini, Fabulae, 259) provided information on Link and Triptolemus, son of Okean and Geia. Some of this information can be found in the chapter on the Boreans. As mentioned earlier, goddess Demeter gave Triptolemus grain seed and winged dragons and ordered him to fly around the world and teach people how to plant and grow crops. On the road he met many people, but only a few good people. Many were cruel, violent and unkind. When he arrived at Link’s court in Linkestia, he told the king that he came from heaven to deliver grain seeds and if he planted them in the ground they would produce a rich harvest. Link was so impressed by what Triptolemus was doing that he too wished to become a gift giver. When Triptolemus was asleep Link approached him with something in his hands and tried to kill him. At that very moment, Demeter, goddess of agriculture transformed Link into a “res” (lynx) and this is how the “res” became known as the links (lynx). According to Scythian Proto-Slav folk recollection, the city “Resen” near Lake Prespa in Macedonia got its name from the “res”.

Arianus (II century BC) in his “Anabasis” mentioned the brothers Heromen and Arabei from Linkestia as suspects in the murder of king

Philip II of Macedonia in 336 BC and a third brother as a participant in a plot against Alexander III.