Palaeste or Palaiste was a town in the

Ceraunian Mountains The Ceraunian Mountains (, , 'Thunderbolt Mountains') are a coastal mountain range in southwestern Albania, within the Vlorë County. The mountain range rises on the northeastern bank of the Ionian Sea and protrudes into the Adriatic Sea. It e ...

, on the

Chaonian The Chaonians () were an ancient Greek people that inhabited the historical region of Epirus which today is part of northwestern Greece and southern Albania.; ; ; ; ; Together with the Molossians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribe ...

coast, between the southern

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

and the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

. The town was placed south of the Akrokeraunian Promontory, the natural boundary that separated

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

from

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

. It was located near modern day

Palasë Palasë ( or ''Palasa''; , ''Palasa'') also Paljasa () (), is a village in Himarë municipality (13 kilometres from the town), Vlorë County, southern Albania. It is located near the Llogara National Park and next to the Ionian coast on the Alb ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Etymology

The name ''Palaiste'' is considered to be Illyrian. It is linked to the root morpheme *pal- (shallow water) and the typical Illyrian suffix -este. The ethnic name ''Palaistinoi'' comes from ''Palaiste'', with the typical Illyrian suffix ''-ino'' often used to form

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

names. The root *pal is also found in the name of the Illyrian tribe of the Plaraioi/Palarioi.

Pseudo-Plutarch Pseudo-Plutarch is the conventional name given to the actual, but unknown, authors of a number of pseudepigrapha (falsely attributed works) attributed to Plutarch but now known not to have been written by him. Some of these works were included in s ...

reports that ''Palaistinos'' was another name of the river Strymon. The name has been speculated to be related to the ethnonym ''

Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...

''.

History

Caesar's landing in 48 B.C

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

writer

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...

reported that it was here that

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 ...

landed from

Brundusium Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

across the Adriatic, in order to carry on the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

against

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. ...

in Illyricum and the oncoming Battle of Dyrrhachium on 10 July 48 BC.

, ''Phars''. 5.460. According to Ian Longhurst, an analysis of other ancient sources, based on geographical and military data, suggests a more likely location for Caesar's landing inside the

Bay of Vlorë The Bay of Vlorë (, ) is a large bay of the Adriatic Sea situated along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast on the Mediterranean Sea in Southern Europe. It opens to the sea in the northwest and is largely surrounded by the lagoon of Narta in the ...

north of the

Neritan Ceka Neritan Ceka (; born 11 February 1941) is an Albanian archaeologist, professor, and politician. He served as Albania's Minister of Internal Affairs from 27 July 1997 to 18 April 1998. Early life Ceka was born in Tirana. Ceka studied at the Qem ...

analysed the local places by a site survey on the Acroceraunia comparing their situation with the ancient sources, and accepted the historical account of Caesar's landing on Palaeste.

Geography

In classical antiquity Palaeste was located in the

, between the southern

and the

. The town was placed south of the Akrokeraunian Promontory, which was the natural boundary that separated

from

. Located near modern day

on the northernmost coastal part of the ancient Kemara region (modern Himara,

), Palaeste was part of the territory of the

Chaones The Chaonians () were an ancient Greek people that inhabited the historical region of Epirus which today is part of northwestern Greece and southern Albania.; ; ; ; ; Together with the Molossians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribe ...

. The present-day village of

Dhërmi Dhërmi ( sq-definite, Dhërmiu; , ''Drymádes'') is a village in Vlorë County, Albania. It is part of the municipality of Himarë. The village lies 42 kilometers south of the city of Vlorë and 69 kilometers north of the southern city of Sarand� ...

has been proposed as a possible location of the ancient site.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{Illyrians Cities in ancient Illyria Populated places in ancient Epirus Former populated places in the Balkans Lost ancient cities and towns Illyrian Albania