The city of Philippi
is only casually mentioned by Arrian
when Alexander rides up from Amphipolis
to subdue the rebelling Thracian tribe of the Triballi. This happened in 335 BC
and the purpose was to safeguard his rear before setting out for Asia .
The event may have passed me by were it not
that the Museum of Philippi exhibits two fragments of an inscription showing a
royal decree of Alexander the Great
defining the limits of the agricultural area that was under control of Philippi.
The decree, probably written between 336-334 BC, was on the wall of one of the
city’s public buildings although we don’t know which one. From Philippi,
the king passed Mount Orbelus (in the Pirin
Mountains of modern Bulgaria ) and crossed the Haemus
Mountains , heading for the Danube . But
that is another story.
Early in his march, an embassy
from Philippi
came to Alexander with the request to
set clear boundaries for the agricultural lands under their dominion. In
this decree, Alexander confirms the
boundaries between Philippi
and its Thracian neighbors as enacted by his father Philip,
and suggests tax payment for the agriculture of areas that were uncultivated in those days - probably because originally these were marshlands. The ‘land’ of
Philippi
includes the plain that is surrounded by hills and the area of marshes as far
as the land of Serres (some 80
km west of Philippi)
and the bridges of the River Aggites (a tributary of the Strymon River that
empties into the Aegean Sea at Amphipolis).
The decree also tells us that Philotas
and Leonnatus
were sent to make sure that the king’s decision was implemented.
We tend to look at cities as an entity on their own but often forget that they were depending for their food on the farmers cultivating the surrounding fields. This decree certain sheds light on the urban organization in antiquity.
We tend to look at cities as an entity on their own but often forget that they were depending for their food on the farmers cultivating the surrounding fields. This decree certain sheds light on the urban organization in antiquity.
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