Bylazora or Vilazora (

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 ...

: Βιλαζόρα Macedonian: Вилазора) was a

Paeonian In antiquity, Paeonia or Paionia () was the land and kingdom of the Paeonians (or Paionians; ). The exact original boundaries of Paeonia, like the early history of its inhabitants, are obscure, but it is known that it roughly corresponds to m ...

city from the period of early classic antiquity. It is located near the village of Knezhje, which is part of the municipality of Sveti Nikole in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

History

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

tells us: In 219 BC, the Dardanians collected their forces for a raid into Macedonia and at that time Bylazora must already have been in their hands. With its location at Sveti Nikole, Bylazora commanded the entrance to a long defile and, no less important, a route southwestwards into Pelagonia via the Babuna Valley, or Raec Valley into Styberra and interior of the Macedonian Kingdom. It can be assumed that Bylazora, as the largest Paeonian town, must have been in Dardanian possession when Philip V captured it in 217 BC, with the aim of garrisoning it and ending Dardanian raids. Bylazora is also mentioned by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

in his "The History of Rome" when Perseus in 168 BC arranged military support from the Gauls who were campaigning in Desudaba, Maedica, requesting the Gaulish army to shift their camp to Bylazora, a place in Paeonia, and their officers to go in a body to him at Almana on the River Axius. The geographic dominance over the surrounding valley has determined the communications significance of the city in ancient times. It was situated between the states (or sometimes provinces) of the

Dardani The Dardani (; ; ) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Kingdom of Dardania, Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their society wa ...

, and of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

and

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. Ancient Bylazora was the largest and most significant city of Paionia, mentioned in the records of

and

Titus Livius Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

. They emphasize its strategic geographic position as a frontier of the northern border of Macedonia against the

ans. According to experts, there are two significant dates related to the relations between ancient Macedonia and Bylazora: The first is 217 BC when king Philip V of Macedonia reconstructed its fortifications; The second is 168 BC when king Perseus of Macedonia, during the

Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman fe ...

, arranged military support from the

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

who were camping nearby in defending the city against the Romans.

Discovery

A strange fabrication, to the effect that Bylazora was located at the village of Kneze near Sveti Nikole stems from professor Ivan Mikulcic, who in 1976 set foot on the hill called Safara and claimed "this is Bylazora" without presenting a single substantial fact. In that manner he was able to move the ancient Bylazora on the bank of the Axius River to the inland of Paeonia at Kneze near Sveti Nikole. In August 2008, a team of researchers led by archaeologist Boban Husenovski from the National Museum of Macedonia with the participation of researchers from the Texas Foundation for Archaeological & Historical Research discovered the main gate of a city, fortification walls, and plenty of small archaeological finds that have been dated to between the 6th and 3rd century BC. From these findings, they have been able to confirm that these are in fact the remains of the ancient Paeonian city of Bylazora. The excavations are ongoing (2008).

External links

2008 Summary Report, TFAHR

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in North Macedonia Paeonia (kingdom) Geography of ancient Paeonia Former populated places in the Balkans Sveti Nikole Municipality