Alexandria's founded by Alexander

Alexandria's founded by Alexander the Great (by year BC): 334 Alexandria in Troia (Turkey) - 333 Alexandria at Issus/Alexandrette (Iskenderun, Turkey) - 332 Alexandria of Caria/by the Latmos (Alinda, Turkey) - 331 Alexandria Mygdoniae - 331 Alexandria (Egypt) - 330 Alexandria Ariana (Herat, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria of the Prophthasia/in Dragiana/Phrada (Farah, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in Arachosia (Kandahar, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in the Caucasus (Begram, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria of the Paropanisades (Ghazni, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria Eschate or Ultima (Khodjend, Tajikistan) - 329 Alexandria on the Oxus (Termez, Afghanistan) - 328 Alexandria in Margiana (Merv, Turkmenistan) - 326 Alexandria Nicaea (on the Hydaspes, India) - 326 Alexandria Bucephala (on the Hydaspes, India) - 325 Alexandria Sogdia - 325 Alexandria Oreitide - 325 Alexandria in Opiene / Alexandria on the Indus (confluence of Indus & Acesines, India) - 325 Alexandria Rambacia (Bela, Pakistan) - 325 Alexandria Xylinepolis (Patala, India) - 325 Alexandria in Carminia (Gulashkird, Iran) - 324 Alexandria-on-the-Tigris/Antiochia-in-Susiana/Charax (Spasinou Charax on the Tigris, Iraq) - ?Alexandria of Carmahle? (Kahnu)

Thursday, May 1, 2014

More Treasure Finds from ancient Macedonia

It is wonderful news that in spite of its poor financial state, excavations in Greece are still on-going. To my greatest satisfaction, the most recent discoveries are coming from the Vergina area, ancient Aegae.

The pieces recovered from five different tombs are very refined and one of them could have belonged to King Cassander, the bloody ruler of Macedonia who took the Macedonian crown after killing Alexander’s mother, wife and son(s). Himself being the son of Antipater, Alexander’s regent while campaigning in the east, Cassander married Alexander’s sister Thessalonica, establishing the Antipatrid dynasty. 

Another quite important tomb shows a large underground room whose walls are decorated with garlands of ivy and flowers. Based on the impressive ceramic objects and an iron sword found in this tomb it can be dated to 420-410 BC and could well belong to King Perdiccas II, one of Alexander’s ancestors who died in 413 BC.

Yet another Macedonian tomb was discovered showing Doric columns and a façade that is similar to that of the tomb that supposedly belongs to Alexander IV, the son of Alexander the Great.



[Attic lekythoi and Funeral mourning representation found at the Royal Necropolis of Aegae, Vergina. Pictures from Archaeology News Network, Credit: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ/ΥΠΠΟ/STR]

In total twenty tombs were excavated ranging from the 4th to the  3rd century BC . Although these burial sites have been plundered in the past, they still yielded some impressive artifacts.

Further to the south, in ancient Corinth, a hoard of 51 Macedonian gold coins has been found in a cavity in the rocks. The coins featuring Philip II were minted in Pella and Amphipolis in Macedonia, while those showing Alexander the Great come from Amphipolis in Greece, Miletus and Tarsus in Asia Minor, Salamis in Cyprus and from Sidon in Phoenicia. The hoard was concealed shortly after 330 BC when Alexander was still in Asia and a Macedonian garrison was posted in Corinth to protect the isthmus.


[Picture from Pinterest fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net]

2 comments:

  1. Some of these ancient Greek phenotypes survived. Enslaved. Once deported. Greece did nothing to protect them (Syria, Iraq, Sinjar-mountains, Yemen, Kashmir)? Compare:

    https://www.pinterest.de/cephyrq/ancient-ethnic-phenotypes-ii/

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    1. We are all part of the Indo-European civilization. Through the ages, countless peoples have moved constantly between east and west and back leaving their imprints in more than one way. Whether we want it or not, we are all part of one big family.

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