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Durazzo
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Durrës (Serbian: Драч; Italian: Durazzo) is the most ancient and one of the most economically important cities of Albania.
Durrës is located on the central Albanian coast at 41°19′N 19°27′E, about 33 km (20 miles) west of the capital Tirana. It is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari (300 km away) and Brindisi (200 km away). It has a population of around 114,000 (2003 estimate).
The city was founded as Epidamnos in 627 BC by Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra (Corfu). Its geographical position was highly advantageous, being sited around a natural rocky harbour which was surrounded by inland swamps and high cliffs on the seaward side, making the city very difficult to attack from either land or sea. Epidamnos was noted for being a politically advanced society, prompting the ancient philosopher Aristotle to praise its political system. However, Corinth and Corcyra quarrelled over the city, helping to precipitate the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC.
Epidamnos was seized by Glaucias, the king of Illyria, in 312 BC and subsequently passed to the Roman Republic in 229 BC, following which it was developed as a major Roman military and naval base. The Romans renamed it Dyrrachium (Greek: ΔυÏ?Ï?άχιον / Dyrrhachion; see also List of traditional Greek place names). They considered the name Epidamnos to be inauspicious because of its wholly coincidental similarities with the Latin word damnum, meaning "loss" or "harm". The meaning of Dyrrachium is unclear but it has been suggested that it refers to the imposing cliffs near the city. Julius Caesar's rival Pompey made a stand there in 48 BC before fleeing south to Greece. Under Roman rule, Dyrrachium prospered; it became the western end of the Via Egnatia, the great Roman road that led to Thessalonica and on to Constantinople. Another lesser road led south to the city of Buthrotum, now called Butrint. The Roman emperor Caesar Augustus made the city a colony for veterans of his legions following the Battle of Actium, proclaiming it a civitas libera (free town).
In the 4th century AD, Dyrrachium was made the capital of the Roman province of Epirus nova. It was the birthplace of the emperor Anastasius I in circa 430. Some time later that century, Dyrrachium was struck by a powerful earthquake which destroyed the city's defences. Anastasius I rebuilt and strengthened the city walls, thus creating the strongest fortifications in the western Balkans. The 12m (36ft)-high walls were so thick that, according to the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, four horsemen could ride abreast on them. Significant portions of the ancient city defences still remain, although they have been much reduced over the centuries.
Like much of the rest of the Balkans, Dyrrachium and the surrounding Dyrraciensis provinciae suffered considerably from barbarian incursions during the Migrations Period. It was besieged in 481 by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, and had to fend off frequent attacks by the Bulgarians. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the city passed to the Byzantine Empire in the 8th century. It continued to be an important port and a major link between the empire and western Europe.
Durrës is located on the central Albanian coast at 41°19′N 19°27′E, about 33 km (20 miles) west of the capital Tirana. It is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari (300 km away) and Brindisi (200 km away). It has a population of around 114,000 (2003 estimate).
The city was founded as Epidamnos in 627 BC by Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra (Corfu). Its geographical position was highly advantageous, being sited around a natural rocky harbour which was surrounded by inland swamps and high cliffs on the seaward side, making the city very difficult to attack from either land or sea. Epidamnos was noted for being a politically advanced society, prompting the ancient philosopher Aristotle to praise its political system. However, Corinth and Corcyra quarrelled over the city, helping to precipitate the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC.
Epidamnos was seized by Glaucias, the king of Illyria, in 312 BC and subsequently passed to the Roman Republic in 229 BC, following which it was developed as a major Roman military and naval base. The Romans renamed it Dyrrachium (Greek: ΔυÏ?Ï?άχιον / Dyrrhachion; see also List of traditional Greek place names). They considered the name Epidamnos to be inauspicious because of its wholly coincidental similarities with the Latin word damnum, meaning "loss" or "harm". The meaning of Dyrrachium is unclear but it has been suggested that it refers to the imposing cliffs near the city. Julius Caesar's rival Pompey made a stand there in 48 BC before fleeing south to Greece. Under Roman rule, Dyrrachium prospered; it became the western end of the Via Egnatia, the great Roman road that led to Thessalonica and on to Constantinople. Another lesser road led south to the city of Buthrotum, now called Butrint. The Roman emperor Caesar Augustus made the city a colony for veterans of his legions following the Battle of Actium, proclaiming it a civitas libera (free town).
In the 4th century AD, Dyrrachium was made the capital of the Roman province of Epirus nova. It was the birthplace of the emperor Anastasius I in circa 430. Some time later that century, Dyrrachium was struck by a powerful earthquake which destroyed the city's defences. Anastasius I rebuilt and strengthened the city walls, thus creating the strongest fortifications in the western Balkans. The 12m (36ft)-high walls were so thick that, according to the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, four horsemen could ride abreast on them. Significant portions of the ancient city defences still remain, although they have been much reduced over the centuries.
Like much of the rest of the Balkans, Dyrrachium and the surrounding Dyrraciensis provinciae suffered considerably from barbarian incursions during the Migrations Period. It was besieged in 481 by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, and had to fend off frequent attacks by the Bulgarians. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the city passed to the Byzantine Empire in the 8th century. It continued to be an important port and a major link between the empire and western Europe.
Chapi