Dimallum

Dimale or Dimallum ( Illyrian: Διμάλη /Dimálē/ ; Ancient Greek: Διμάλη or Διμάλλον; Latin: ''Dimallum'') was a town in southern Illyria in classical antiquity which was situated in the vicinity or within the territory of the Parthini, an Illyrian tribe. It was built on a hill of 450 m above sea level, in the hinterland of Apollonia, about 30 km from the eastern coast of the Adriatic. It is located in today Krotinë, Berat County, Albania.

The Illyrian settlement was fortified in the 4th century BC. In the Hellenistic 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 new city wall and the building of several stoas, a temple, and a theater, showing a significant influence of the Ancient Greek culture on the local Illyrian inhabitants. Manufacturing and materials seem to witness an intense exchange with nearby Apollonia.

The fortified town of Dimale was regarded as impenetrable by Illyrians. It was involved in the Second Roman-Illyrian War and the First Roman-Macedonian War.

Name

The Illyrian toponym is attested in literary sources and epigraphic material, written as Διμάλη in Greek script and ''Dimallum'' in Latin script.

The toponym belongs to the southeast Dalmatian onomastic area of Illyrian. It is a compound of ''di'' + ''mal''. The root ''mal'' – is reflected in many ancient Balkan (Illyrian or Thracian) toponyms such as ''Malontum'', ''Maloventum'', ''Malontina'', ''Dacia Maluensis'' etc. The Illyrian toponym ''Dimallum'' has been connected to Albanian ''di-male'', meaning "two mountains", with the Proto-Albanian form of the second component reconstructed as ''mol-no''. The Illyrian reconstruction of the first component has been rendered as ''*d(ṷ)i-'', 'two'. Therefore ''Dimale'' must have meant '(settlement between) two mountains' in Illyrian.

History

At Dimale an Illyrian pre-urban and proto-urban settlement of the 5th-4th centuries BC is confirmed by pottery found in the site. However physical architectural remains of this period have not been preserved. The Illyrian settlement seems to have included initially only a small inhabited area on the hill, which was fortified in the 4th century BC, representing one of the proto-urban centres that were established in the hinterland of southern Illyria (today Albania), especially during the developed Iron Age. These proto-urban centres were fortified sites different to the small unwalled villages known as ''komai''. 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.

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. Several stoas, a temple, and a theater were built, showing a significant influence of the Ancient Greek culture on the local Illyrian inhabitants.

The hypothesis proposed by N.G.L. Hammond, according to which Dimale was possibly founded by King Pyrrhus of Epirus, or by settlers from the nearby Greek colony of Apollonia, is considered completely outdated by recent studies. According to M. B. Hatzopoulos, the non-Greek name of the city, the lack of any Greek founding legends associated with it and the mixed (colonial Greek, Greek from Epirus, non-Greek) onomastics of its inhabitants, suggest that Dimale had not a Greek character from the beginning, being originally a settlement of the Illyrian Parthini, which was Hellenized under the influence of the Epirote state and Apollonia. Although the city is frequently linked with the Parthini in various ancient sources, it was never explicitly stated to be a city of that tribe.

Roman period

Dimale appears in ancient sources of the Roman period that describes the wars involving the Roman Republic. During the Second Illyrian War in 219 BC, Demetrius of Pharos, after expelling all his opponents from Dimale, fortified the city against an imminent Roman attack and left to defend Pharos. In spite of the fortress of Dimale being considered impregnable, the Romans, under the command of L. 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. During the First Macedonian war, in 213 or 212 BC, Philip V of Macedon managed to take control of the city but, after an unsuccessful Roman assault led by P. Sempronius Tuditanus in 205 BC, the city reverted to its previous status in the negotiations between Philip V and Rome Phoenice (Treaty of Phoenice) the same year.

Findings and organization

The identification of the site of Krotinë with the ancient Illyrian city became possible thanks to the discovery of ancient tiles stamped with the word ''DIMALLITAN'' (Greek: ΔΙΜΑΛΛΙΤΑΝ). 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. The name of the ''polis'' is written in the Northwest Doric form Διμάλλας, ''Dimallas'', while the name of the ''ethnicon'' is written in the genitive plural Διμαλλίταν, ''Dimallitan''.

Epigraphy in Dimale mentions a number of Greek offices such as prytanis, grammateus and phylarchos as well as a single dedication to Phoebus. The city hosted a number of monuments, typical of the ancient Greek architectural style, such as a stoa.
The indication of the office of ''phylarchos'', also attested at Epidamnos, would imply that the Illyrian city of Dimale adopted in Hellenistic times a system of ''phylai'' on the model of the nearby Corinthian poleis. Archaeological investigation suggests the economic and cultural influence of nearby Apollonia, however, in terms of institutional organization, the office of ''phylarchos'' at Dimale is hardly attributable to the Apollonian influence. It is difficult to determine whether Dimale was the capital of a ''koinon'' or organized as a city-state. The inscriptions of the ''ethnicon'' depicted 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.

See also

*List of ancient cities in Illyria

References

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External links

Polybius, Histories, 3.18 - Demetrius Fortifies DimalePolybius, Histories, 7.9 - Treaty Between Hannibal and King Philip V of MacedonTitus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, 29.12

{{Illyrians

Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Albania
Archaeology of Illyria
Buildings and structures in Berat County
Cities in ancient Illyria
Former populated places in Albania
Former populated places in the Balkans
Illyrian Albania
Hellenistic Albania
Tourist attractions in Berat County