By Prof. Dr. Ahmet Leitani,
Beirut University, Lebanon
"Perdikas son of Argeo(s)
leading his Makestes (Macedonians) approaching to Vedissa (Edessa) citadel as
descending from
upper Illyria,offered sacrifice to uppermost (god) Savaz(i)os.
Later when conquered entire Midas country, being outraged with
foreign Greeks who were charged for intrigues, extincted them immediatelly
while released indigenous Briges (Phrygians) to wander away, since both thesepeople spoke different languages.
Since then being elder sovereign of Brigea (Phrygia) enjoyed the
profits of this most ancient city renaming it to Aegae while kept
repelling fugitives to return with exemption of captives.
This marble
chronicle
was chiseled by Dredas son of Gordios in Greek language as memorial of a sorrowful recall"
INTRODUCTION
Found
a decade ago near Greek-Macedonian borders, this 2800 years old, white
marble chronicle, chiseled in late Phoenician characters, unvails in archaic
Greek language some important details concerning 8th c. BC Macedonian invasion in Balkans.
Among provided data, testifies displacment of indigenous Phrygians by Macedonians in Asia Minor and nongreek origin of these
prehistoric people. Inscription that measures 50X70 cm, was found accidentally in
1999 by a Macedonian farmer inside a prehistoric cave-sarcofagus near Greek-Macedonian borderline. It weighs 42 kg,
On June 2000
was sold to a Greek amateure
archaeologist, who declared it to Greek Ministry of Culture.
Until today Greek authorities invoking "unknown provenance" and "unclear
archaelogical context", remain unconcerned avoiding to issue a private ownership
licence and apply beaurocratic obstacles to prevent farther publicity. Last decades
such stance on issues contradicting Greek national aspect on Macedonian history, is common practice in Greece.
Text features a
seldom scripture format consisted of 400 modified late
Phoenician letters arranged in six Π shaped lines directed continuously from right to
left, like most Semetic scriptures. The language used is archaic Greek,
probably a 8th c. Doric dialect. Author is called Dredas son of
Gordios, probably the last Phrygian king before Macedonian invasion. Inscription
is well preserved having a thin lustrous calcite encrustation as surface patina .
After its founding
remains into Rebublic of Macedonia.
King Midas at
his legendary gardens in prehistoric Edessa
First capital of
Macedonian kingdom was the renamed to Aegae Phrygian prehistoric capital of Vedyssa,
present day Edessa,
legendary for its waterfalls and gardens, where king Midas reigned. This overthrows
recently revised Greek aspect that Aegae was located in present
day Kutles/Vergina settlement near Veroia, instead of Edessa
First Macedonian
king was Perdikasson of
Argeos and no Karanos as believed by some historians. The
name Karanos known from other sources, has adjective meaning derived from
Doric word kara = head (ancient Greek verb karanio (Καρανίω) =
I lead)
Early king of
Phrygia and founder of Edessa was Midas. Its name was dynastic with successors bearing same name inneo-Phrygiankingdom of Asia Minor.
On 8th c. BC
Hellenes were called "Grekestes" (later Greki) and Macedonians were called "Makestes"
Foreign Greek
colonialists that sojournedin Phrygia, had been exterminated by invading Macedonians,
after been considered
guilty for intrigues.
Phrygians also called Bryges or Brygi (Βρύγες ή Βρίγοι), were
expelled by invading Macedonians far away to Asia
Minor.Both people speak a no Greek language.
Savazios the
supreme god in Balkans, was worshiped by both Phrygians and
Macedonians.
The king Midas great tumulus
at Gordion, Turkey
The
Phrygian's Exodus: A deep insight into dark prehistory
From Balkans to Anatolia
During middle and late Bronze Age (2.000-1200 BC) Phrygians, Illyrians, Thracians and Pelasgians consisted the indigenous Indoeuropean people living in southern Balkan peninsula. Around
1800 B.C. these people suffered invasion of Greeks or Acheans. Greeks moved
to southern areas where they settled permanently displacing the indigenous
Pelasgians. Dorians, the second Greek tribe, invaded same area about 1200
BC, closing the cycle of Greek penetration.
Macedonia continued to be inhabited by Phrygians and Thracians, two
distinct non Greek people, until 8th c. BC when Macedonians invaded this region. Macedonians (known as Makednoi or
Maketes), a new indoeuropean tribe, occupied a small valley in central
Phrygia called Imathia, expelling indigenous Phrygians to central Anatolia.
For many years there was a controversy between scholars about
ethnic origin of ancient Macedonians, dating of invasion, location of their
first capital Aigai and name of
their first king. The newlly found inscription, a magnificent chronicle written
in archaic Greeks, uses late Phoenician symbols and solves many problems
concerning the dark age of Balkan prehistory.
Gordion the new Phrygian Capital substitutes Edessa
Glorious kingdoms of Iron Age
Around 800 BC the Phrygians
(former Vryges or Vrigi) expelled by Macedonians,
abandoned their eternal homeland and capital Edessa, seeking refuge in western Asia Minor. In modern terms it was a
genocide impaired by invading barbarians. In Anatolia they established a
neo-Phrygian kingdom with Gordion city as capital, in vast lands of
collapsed Hittite empire.
Back in Balkans the Makestes or Maketes or
Makedni (later Makedonians) established their own kingdom in former Brigian
(Phrygian) lands having Aegae city (former Phrygian Vedyssa, present day Edessa) as capital. The name of new kingdom was
Imathia (A word of
Illyrian origin) that was renamed to Macedon or Macedonia after its expansion. It lasted seven centuries until 168
BC when it was conquered by Romans who annexed it as Roman province. On 9th c. AD
the region of ancient Thrace was renamed Macedonia by Romans distorting the eternal
meaning of this ethno-geographic term.
Ancient Phrygia
West of Ankara: MEMORIEs of GLORIOUS past
676 BC:
A barbarian invasion exterminates the neo-Phrygian kingdom in Anatolia
The neo-Phrygian kingdom
in western Anatolia survived from 9th c. till
676 BC when was destroyed after invasion of Cimmerian.
Last king Midas II commited suicide drinking the blood of a bull and the new
capital Gordion city located west of modern Ankara, was looted and burned to
ashes by barbarian invaders.
The old tragedy that occured 300 years
ago in Balkans was repeated again. Midas prehistoric kingdom came to final end.
However the spirit of Phrygian civilization survived forever. In Persian, Romam,
Byzantine and Ottoman eras Provincia Phrygia constituted a distinct part
of these multinational empires.
Today Turkey
recognizes Phrygian civilization promoting its deeds. Elements of this unique
culture as the Phrygian hat symbolyzing liberty, the famous Phrygian
musical mode, the legendary Gordian knot cut by Alexander the Great and
the eternal man's dream to obtain wealth and gold, survived among modern
people reflecting the prehistoric king Midas legends.
Phrygians invented
a civilization of gold and stone, a realistic aspect of life and
prosperity, similar to eternal people's dreams
for wealth, glory and immortality.
1. Perdikas son of Argeo(s)
leading his Makestes (Macedonians) when approached to citadel of Vedissa (Edessa), coming down from
upper Illyria,offered sacrifice to uppermost (god) Savaz(i)os.
Then when conquered entire Midas state, being outraged with
foreign Greeks who were charged for intrigues, extincted them immediatelly
while released indigenous Briges (Phrygians) to wander away, because both thesepeople spoke different languages.
From then on
being elder sovereign of Brigea (Phrygia) enjoyed the profits of this most ancient city renaming it to Aegae while kept repelling fugitives from return with exemption of captives.
This marble chronicle was chiseled by Dredas son of Gordios in Greek language in memory of a sorrowful recall.
2. Ο
Περδίκας
γυιός του Αργαίου επικεφαλής των Μακεστών
μόλις κατέφθασε στην Ακρόπολη της Εδεσσας προερχόμενος από την
άνω Ιλλυρία,
έκανε θυσία στον ύψιστο Θεό Σαβάζ(ι)ον.
Στην συνέχεια αφού κυρίευσε την
χώραν του Μίδα, τους ξένους Γρεκούς αμέσως εξόντωσε
οργισμένος
επειδή
βαρύνοντο με ραδιουργίες,ενώ τους γηγενείς Βρύγες άφησε να
περιπλανώνται μακρυά, επειδή οι δύο αυτοίλαοί ήσαν ξενόγλωσσοι.
Από
τότε ως γηραιός βασιλέας της Βρυγαίας (Φρυγίας) εκμεταλλευόταν την πανάρχαιη αυτή πόλη αφού την ονόμασε Αιγαί, εμπόδιζοντας τους φυγάδες να
επιστρέψουν εκτός από όσους συλλαμβάνοντο αιχμάλωτοι.
Την μαρμάρινη
αυτή επιγραφή χάραξε στην Γρεκική γλώσσα ο Δρέδας γυιός του Γορδίουως χρονικό θλιβερής
ανάμνησης.
Some historical quotes correlating Greek and Phoenician letters
"Ουχ οι αυτοί ήσαν παρά πάσι τοις
Ελλησι χαρακτήρες"
"The letters
were not always the same for all Greeks"
Homer Ilias H 185
"Kοινή
μεν ουν τα γράμματα Φοινίκεια κληθήναι δια το παρά τους Έλληνας εκ Φοινίκων
μετενεχθήναι"
"By
common decission they called these letters Phoenician because they were
transferred from Phoenicians to Greeks"
Diodorus the
Sicelian 3, 67
"Οι μεν Ελληνες πρότερον δε Γρεκοί καλούμενοι"
"The Hellenes which in the past were called
Greeks"
AristotlesMeteorologica
I, 352 a
"Της νυν Ελλάδος πρότερον δε Πελασγίης
καλουμένης"
"Of present day Hellas that in the
past was called Pelasgia"
Herodotus c. 450
BC
"Εκ δε του χρησμού προθυμότερος γενόμενος ο Κάρανος
συν τισιν Ελλησιν αποικίαν στειλάμενος ελθών εις Μακεδονίαν έκτισεν πόλιν και
Μακεδόνων εβασίλευσεν και την προτέραν καλουμένην Εδεσσαν πόλιν Αιγάς
μετωνόμασεν από των αιγών.Ωκειτο δε το παλαιόν
η Εδεσσα υπό Φρυγώνκαι Λυδών και των
μετάΜίδου
διακομισθέντων εις την Ευρώπην "
"Karanos prompted by oracle entered Macedonia accompanied by some Greeks to colonize it and build a city and reigned over Macedonians and the former city called Edessa renamed to Aegae due to the abound goats. Because Edessa
in old years was inhabited by Phrygians and Lydians and those who
were moved in Europe with Midas"
Euphorion the Chalkidian,Antiochean
poet, preserved fragment 30, 3th c .BC
"Οι δε Φρύγες ως Μακεδόνες λέγουσι εκαλέοντο Βρίγες χρόνο όσον Ευρωπήϊοι
εόντες σύνοικοι ήσαν Μακεδόσι, μεταβάντες δε εις την Ασίαν άμα την χώρα και
τούνομα μετέβαλλον εις Φρύγας"
" Σύμφωνα με τους Μακεδόνες, οι Φρύγες ονομάζοντο Βρίγες όσο καιρό κατοικούσαν στην Ευρώπη μαζί με τους Μακεδόνες, μόλις όμως μετανάστευσαν στην Ασία μαζί με την χώρα τους άλλαξαν και το όνομά τους σε Φρύγες"
"Phrygians, as Macedonians say, were called Briges as long
time as they were Europeans residing with Macedonians, but when they moved to
Asia changed their name simultaneusly with their homeland"
HerodotusVII 73
"Ες άλλην γην της Μακεδονίας οίκησαν
πέλας των κήπων των λεγομένων είναι Μίδεω του Γορδιέω,εν τοίοι φύεται αυτόματα ρόδα,
εν έκαστον έχον εξήκοντα φύλλα, οδμή τε υπερφέροντα των άλλων"
"They
[the Macedonians] settled to another land of Macedonia near gardens sayed to belong
to
Midas son of Gordios, where roses flourish having sixty leaves and odor superior
than others"
Herodotus VIII 138
"Βέδυ γαρ τους Φρύγας το ύδωρ καλείν"
"Because the Phrygians call the water
as Vedi"
Klimis the Alexandrian
"Οι δε Αιγύπτιοι νομίζουσι Φρύγας προτέρους γενέσθαι εαυτών, των
δε άλλων εαυτούς"
"Οι Αιγύπτιοι πιστεύουν ότι είναι αρχαιότεροι κάθε άλλου λαού εκτός από τους Φρύγες που είναι αρχαιότεροι των Αιγυπτίων"
"Egyptians consider that Phrygians are more ancient than them,
but Egyptians are more ancient than any other people"
Herodotus B 2
"O δε
Δαρδανίδας
Διός
λέκτρων
τρύφημα
φίλον,
χρυσέοισιν
άφυσσε
λοιβαν
εκ
κρατήρων
γυάλοις,
o Φρύγιος
Γανυμήδης"
"Και του Δαρδάνου
ο απόγονος, ο Φρύγιος Γανυμήδης, η αγαπημένη απόλαυση της αγκαλιάς του Δία,
νέκταρ κερνούσε από χρυσά και βαθουλά κροντήρια"
Ευριπίδης, Ιφιγένεια
εν Αυλίδι, 1050-1054
Some
abstracts from modern sources
"Phrygians
are supposed to have migrated from the Balkans (Macedonia and Thrace)
somewhere between 12th and the 8th centuries BC. This point is not clear,
as many works are dealing on the object now, so we can expect new knowledge.The
beginning of the Phrygian state is unknown. It appears for the first time
as a well-organized kingdom, under Midas' authority, in the end of the
8th c. BC. We know nothing for sure before him, but there was probably a king
Gordias. We have very little information about the rise of Phrygia"
"Legends and history also record
how the Phrygians had initially settled in area of Macedonia.
Known in this area in classical times as the Bryges, we can theorize
whether they prompted the Dorian, Thessalian and other movements
south about this time, or if they were part of a general southward movement of
peoples in the Balkans in this era. The Bryges were known to have
lingered at various locations in the region of greater Macedonia for
centuries after their brethren had debarked for Anatolia".
Phrygians the earliest Celts
"Establishing their capital at
Edessa in their decades sojourning in Macedonia, the Bryges’
language and culture mixed with that of the local Thracians while they
dominating an area equivalent to Philip’s Macedonia. After some
time dominating northern Greece and the southern Balkans, the bulk of the
Bryges moved on into Anatolia, picking up the mantle dropped by the
Hittites and filling up the power vacuum there to become known as the
Phrygians. The reason for this may have been connected with their knowledge
of the legends of the former Hittite riches or that of the contemporary
Near Eastern states. New pressures from the north by the Illyrians
and others could also have prompted their
new migration"
Phrygians the earliest Celts
"Edessa,
the most ancient city of first Macedonians, the legendary and historical capital
of Argeades royal dynasty, known in the era of Macedonian kings as Aegae,
was built by Bryges a prehistoric pepople existing in the middle of 3th
millenium BC, long ago before Greek tribes emerged in Europe"
Alice Stougianakis, Greek archaologist worked in 60's
Edessa excavations. Abstract from her article in Edessian Chronicles Magazine, May
1972
"The Illyrian origin of ancient Macedonians"
Essay by Sokrates
Liakos, Thessaloniki 1985
Dating
OF
inscription
After extensive study by scholars,
the Edessa inscription was dated to early 8th c. BC. This conclusion is
based on type of late Phoenician characters, on usage the
ΧΣ and
ΦΣ double consonant instead of
later greek consonants
Ξ and
Ψ, on fact
that the so called Dipylos inscription dated from 750 BC, considered as
the oldest Greek inscription, incorporates some later alphabet features, on peculiar Greek
dialect aplied in text and mainly on right to left primary direction of
writing that preceded the so called Voustrofidon writing (alternating
right-left writing)and the last introduced left to
right directed modern writing.
Tumuli in Macedonia: Hidden Civilizations
MACEDONIAN, THRACIAN OR MAYBY PHRYGIAN?
Pending questions
concerning the ancient "Macedonian" tombs in northern Greece in
comparison to Thracian and Phrygian burial mounds (tumuli) at Bulgaria and Turkey
About sixty
"Macedonian" tombs have been found in Greek part of Macedonia
(see map). They belong to unknown kings, noblemen and warlords. Among them the
famous royal tomb attributed to Philip II found in Vergina (Kutles) village, near Veroia
where is located the supposed
ancient Aegae city, first capital of Macedonian kingdom.
No one of these tombs incorporates inscriptions. Greek archaeologists suggest entombment time back in 3th - 4th c. BC avoiding to clarify if they have been reused in multiple successive burials during earlier time.
Dating is based only on mobile artifacts, relics and some frescoes. Nevertheless tomb architecture exhibits
a peculiar style with one or two chambers having double marble doors and
vaulted semi barrel light stone roof. This tomb style has never been found in southern Greece.
Furthermore, numerous related graveyards have been excavated around mounds
without publicity from Greek authorities who never accepted existence of
Phrygian tombs and ignore deliberatelly any trace of
civilizations earlier than Greek in northern part of country.
Persuant to
Greek state controlled archaeologists, all ancient sites in Macedonia older than 6th c. BC are labelled as "Iron Age" or "Neolithic". All great tumuli discovered in northern Greece are covered by huge protective soil mounds (tumuli) a practice similar to ancient Thracians in Bulgaria and neo-Phrygian burial sites in Turkey including the famous king Midas great tumulus in ancient Gordion.
The arised question is why the so called Macedonian tombs are not related to ignored Phrygian burial sites in northern Greece and why are considered to be Greek although there are fundamental differences in architecture styling. Maybe the answer should be investigated in the stereotype claim of Greeks that ancient Macedonians were a pure Greek tribe. Another arised question concerns the Phrygian graveyards and royal tombs of Phrygian kings in present day "Greek Macedonia" spanning a period of 2000 years? Strangelly no one of them has been found.
Burial Mounds in Balkans
STRIKING SIMILARITIES
A
mysterious
common
burial
practice
among Thracians, Phrygians
and Macedonians
The 4th c. BC "Macedonian" tumulus at
Derveni near Thessaloniki, Norhern Greece
The 7th c. BC king Midas neo
Phrygian tumulus at ancient Gordion city, Turkey
The 6th c. BC Thracian tumulus at
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
In the photos above comparison is displayed between king
Midas tomb in Gordion Turkey, a Thracian mound tomb in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
and a typical "Macedonian" tomb found in Derveni,
Thessaloniki, Greece. Similarity is obvious.
Thracian tumuli in Bulgaria: Golden masks and royal crowns found
edonian invasion in Balkans.
