Akornion was an important citizen of the
Ionian Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
colony of
Dionysopolis (today's
Balchik
Balchik ( ; , ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is in Dobrich Province, 35 km southeast of Dobrich and 42 km no ...
, on the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
coast of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
).
He is mentioned in the
Decree of Dionysopolis The Decree of Dionysopolis was written around 48 BC by the citizens of Dionysopolis (today's Balchik, on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria) to Akornion, who traveled far away in a diplomatic mission to meet somebody's farther in ''Argedauon''. The ...
, written around 48 BC by the citizens of the
polis
Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...
. The decree mentions that Akornion was sent far away in a diplomatic mission to meet somebody's father in ''Argedauon'', potentially the
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...
n towns of
Argidava
Argidava (''Argidaua'', ''Arcidava'', ''Arcidaua'', ''Argedava'', ''Argedauon'', ''Argedabon'', ''Sargedava'', ''Sargedauon'', ''Zargedava'', ''Zargedauon'', ) was a Dacians, Dacian fortress town close to the Danube, inhabited and governed by ...
or
Argedava
Argedava (''Argedauon'', ''Sargedava'', ''Sargedauon'', ''Zargedava'', ''Zargedauon'', ) was potentially an important Dacians, Dacian town mentioned in the Decree of Dionysopolis (48 BC), and maybe located at Popești, Giurgiu, Popești, ...
. The decree, a fragmentary marble inscription, is located in the
National Historical Museum in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, Bulgaria.
The inscription also refers to the Dacian king
Burebista
Burebista () was the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82/61BC to 45/44BC. He was the first king who successfully unified the tribes of the Dacian kingdom, which comprised the area located between the Danube, Tisza, and Dniester rivers, ...
, and one interpretation is that Akornion was his chief adviser (, literally "first friend") in Dionysopolis. Other sources indicate that Akornion was sent as an ambassador of Burebista to
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...
, to discuss an alliance against
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
.
See also
*
Dionysopolis
*
Burebista
Burebista () was the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82/61BC to 45/44BC. He was the first king who successfully unified the tribes of the Dacian kingdom, which comprised the area located between the Danube, Tisza, and Dniester rivers, ...
*
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...
Notes
References
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*
*
*
External links
Searchable Greek Inscriptions at The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) - Segment from ''Decree of Dionysopolis'' reviewed in ''Inscriptiones graecae in Bulgaria repertae'' by Georgi Mihailov
1st-century BC Greek people
People from Balchik
Dacia
{{AncientGreece-stub