Antipatreia, a city referring to Antipater?

Today Berat in Albania is specially known for its Ottoman houses, which amazingly have survived the severe communist regime of Enver Hoxha. Not my cup of tea, sorry, but my attention rises when I read a street sign Rruga Antipatrea, a street named after Antipater? It feels like meeting family and of course, I have to explore this source.

Well, it seems that Berat is built on top of ancient Antipatreia, originally settled by a Greek tribe here in northern Epirus in the 6^th century BC. The name Antipatreia apparently leads us back to Cassander who took control of the region in 314 BC. When the Romans arrived in 200 BC, they are said to have razed the city walls and massacred the entire male population. No wonder I see no trace from antiquity. The Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II in turn strengthened the walls again in the 5th century and about one hundred years later Emperor Justinian entirely rebuilt them. We had to wait till the 13^th century for a revival of Berat when a fortress was built, and this is now the heart of old Berat with picturesque streets and medieval houses and churches.

Berat is beautifully set on both banks of the Osum River and under this threatening sky, it seems to revive some spirits from the past. A strange encounter to say the least.