Pelagonia ( mk, Пелагонија, Pelagonija; el, Πελαγονíα, Pelagonía) is a geographical region of
Macedonia named after the ancient kingdom. Ancient Pelagonia roughly corresponded to the present-day municipalities of
Bitola,
Prilep
Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.
Name
The name of Prilep appear ...
,
Mogila,
Novaci,
Kruševo
Kruševo ( mk, Крушево ; rup, Crushuva "Crușuva") is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an altit ...
, and
Krivogaštani in
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
and to the municipalities of
Florina
Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'.
The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...
,
Amyntaio and
Prespes
Prespes ( el, Πρέσπες) is a municipality in the Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. Its population in 2011 was 7,380. The seat of the municipality is in Laimos. It was named after Lake Prespa
The Lake Prespa is located o ...
in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
.
History
In antiquity, Pelagonia was roughly bounded by
Paeonia to the north and east,
Lynkestis and
Almopia to the south and
Illyria to the west; and was inhabited by the Pelagones, an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
tribe of
Upper Macedonia, who were centered at the Pelagonian
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
and belonged to the
Molossian
The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On thei ...
tribal state or ''
koinon
''Koinon'' ( el, Κοινόν, pl. Κοινά, ''Koina''), meaning "common", in the sense of "public", had many interpretations, some societal, some governmental. The word was the neuter form of the adjective, roughly equivalent in the government ...
''. The region was annexed to the
Macedonian kingdom during the 4th century BC and became one of its administrative provinces. In medieval times, when the names of
Lynkestis and
Orestis had become obsolete, Pelagonia acquired a broader meaning. This is why the
Battle of Pelagonia (1259) between Byzantines and Latins includes also the current
Kastoria regional unit and ancient Orestis.
Strabo calls Pelagonia by the name ''Tripolitis'' and names only one ancient city of the supposed three in the region;
Azorus. Two notable Pelagonians include the mythological
Pelagon, the eponym of the region, who, according to
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
, was son of the river-god
Axius (modern
Axios Axios commonly refers to:
* Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia
* ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website
Axios may also refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...
or Vardar river) and father of the Paeonian
Asteropaeus in
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
''. The second one is
Menelaus of Pelagonia
Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος, ''Menelaos'') was a local ruler of Pelagonia, honoured as ''euergetes'' ("benefactor") of Athens in 363 BC, for helping Athenians in the war against Amphipolis and the Chalcidian League. In the decree it is ...
(ca. 360 BC) who, according to Bosworth, fled his kingdom when it was annexed by
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
, finding refuge and citizenship in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
.
[Bosworth, A.B. "Philip II and Upper Macedonia", CQ, 21 (1971).]
Today, Pelagonia is a plain shared between
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
and the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
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 ...
region of
Macedonia. It incorporates the southern cities of
Bitola and
Prilep
Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.
Name
The name of Prilep appear ...
in North Macedonia and the northwestern city of
Florina
Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'.
The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...
in Greece; it is also the location of
Medžitlija-Niki, a key border crossing between the two countries. Many
Mycenaean objects have been found in the area, such as the
double axe, later found in
Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. ...
and are exhibited in the Museum of Bitola.
Environment
Important Bird Area
A 137,000 ha tract of the plain has been designated an
Important Bird Area (IBA) by
BirdLife International because it supports populations of
ferruginous duck
The ferruginous duck (''Aythya nyroca''), also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'' an unidentified seabir ...
s,
white stork
The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to e ...
s,
Dalmatian pelican
The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspa ...
s,
Eurasian thick-knees,
little owls,
Eurasian scops owl
The Eurasian scops owl (''Otus scops''), also known as the European scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Him ...
s,
European roller
The European roller (''Coracias garrulus'') is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East, Central Asia and the Maghreb.
The European roller is found in a wide variety of hab ...
s,
lesser kestrel
The lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'') is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to Indi ...
s and
lesser grey shrike
The lesser grey shrike (''Lanius minor'') is a member of the shrike family ''Laniidae''. It breeds in South and Central Europe and western Asia in the summer and migrates to winter quarters in southern Africa in the early autumn, returning in s ...
s.
See also
*
List of Ancient Greek tribes
*
Pelagonia statistical region
The Pelagonia Statistical Region ( mk, Пелагониски Регион) is one of eight statistical regions of North Macedonia. It is located in southwestern part of the country along the eponymous plain. It borders Greece and Albania. Intern ...
References
External links
Pelagonian margins in central Evia island (Greece)The oldest rocks of Greece: first evidence for a Precambrian terrane within the Pelagonian Zone
{{coord, 41.0000, N, 21.3500, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Upper Macedonia
Plains of Greece
Plains of Europe
Ancient Macedonia
Geography of North Macedonia
Bitola Municipality
Resen Municipality
Landforms of Florina (regional unit)
Landforms of Western Macedonia
Prilep Municipality
Geography of ancient Macedonia
Important Bird Areas of North Macedonia