Penestae (tribe)

The Penestae were an Illyrian tribe dwelling in southeastern Illyria, in an inland region that was called Penestia, which was located around the Black Drin valley north of Lake Ohrid, between present-day Albania and North Macedonia.[1] They are mentioned by Livy in the accounts of the events concerning the Third Roman-Macedonian War (171–168 BC).[2]

This article is about the Illyrian tribe. For other uses, see Penestai.

Name

The tribe is mentioned only by Livy (1st century BC – 1st century AD) as Penestae (in Latin). They appear several times in Livy's accounts of the Third Roman-Macedonian War, which occurred in the early 2nd century BC.[2]

Based on the presence of the typical Illyrian suffix -st-, the name is considered to be Illyrian, such as Pirustae, for example.[3][4] However, the name may also be connected to the Πενέσται (Penestai), a Thessalian social class, which can alternatively be considered a simple linguistic change of the Ancient Greek term Μενέσται (Menéstai, "those who remain"), as already pointed out by Archemachus of Euboea, or related to the Ancient Greek πένης (pénes, "poor").[4]

Geography

The tribe inhabited Penestia, an inland region in southeastern Illyria, located around the Black Drin valley north of Lake Ohrid. The Penestae bordered the Dassaretii and Parthini in the south, the Dardani in the north from which they were separated by the Skardon (or Scardus) Mountains. In the east the Penestae neighbored Macedonia. Stuberra (present-day Čepigovo) was the nearest city used by Perseus of Macedon to access Uscana in Penestia from the south-east. The westernmost territory of the Penestae allowed to reach the region of the Labeatae.[2][5]

Settlements

The chief settlement of the Penestae was Uscana, most likely located in the valley of the Black Drin in the region of Dibra.[6] The territory of the Penestae appears to have been densely populated, because Livy mentions the existence of eleven fortified settlements, in addition to Uscana, Draudacum and Oaeneum,[7] the latter being a strategically important settlement on the route to the tribal region of the Labeatae, over which Gentius ruled.[5]

History

In Livy's accounts of the Third Macedonian War, which was fought between the Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Macedon in the years 171–168 BC, the Penestae are not considered part of the realm of the Illyrian king Gentius.[8] During the that war the Penestae, alongside the Parthini, remained loyal to Rome.[9]

Perseus of Macedon, after his successful diplomatic actions in Epirus and military campaigns against the Dardani, also undertake several campains in Penestia. Firstly he stopped at Stuberra for supplies and equipment, and then he proceeded to Uscana in Penestian territory.[5]

Siege of Uscana

The stronghold of Uscana was occupied by a mixed force of Romans and Illyrians. The city resisted intensely until its inhabitants relized that they did not have enough grain to counter the siege over a much longer period, noting that Perseus' Macedonian forces brought up to the walls their siege sheds. Therefore the Romans asked the Macedonian king to be allowed to leave with their properties and weapons or with their life and freedom. Perseus granted the first request, but then he confiscated the soldiers' weapons, took the Romans into custody and brought them to Stuberra. Meanwhile the Macedonian king sold into slavery the Illyrian soldiers and the inhabitants of the town.[5]

Siege of Oaeneum

The Macedonian king aimed also to capture Oaeneum, another Penestian town strategically located on the route to the territory of the Labeatae and the Illyrian kingdom of Gentius. Hence Perseus left Stuberra and returned to Penestia. Proceeding on the way to Oaeneum he captured also Draudacum and eleven other strongholds, mainly without undertaking battles; nevertheless he succeeded in taking 1,500 Roman soldiers prisoner. In order to besiege Oaeneum, the Macedonians built a mound against the city-wall on which ladders were brought up by the soldiers. The city was besieged and subdued by the Macedonians, who murdered the adult males and took into custody the women and children. The booty obtained from the victory over the city was distributed to Perseus' men. The Macedonian victorious army returned to Stuberra, from where Perseus immediately sent envoys to Genthius to inform him about the great successes he achieved that year, and to urge the Illyrian king to join Macedon against Rome. Perseus' ambassadors crossed the Skardus Mountains with great difficulty, then they went down to the Illyrian coast arriving in Scodra. Genthius therefore summoned them to Lissus.[5]

Culture

Language
Main article: Illyrian language

The idiom spoken by the Peneaste belonged to the southeastern Illyrian linguistic area.[10][11]

References

Citations
  1. Stipčević 1989, p. 28; Jaupaj 2019, p. 69.
  2. Jaupaj 2019, p. 69
  3. Leukart 1994, p. 158
  4. Guijarro Ruano & del Barrio Vega 2019, p. 314
  5. Burton 2017, p. 144
  6. Jaupaj 2019, p. 69; Wilkes 1992, pp. 136, 172; Mesihović & Šačić 2015, p. 65.
  7. Jaupaj 2019, p. 69
  8. Jaupaj 2019, p. 70
  9. Burton 2017, p. 145
  10. Polomé 1983, p. 537
  11. Šašel Kos 2002, p. 117

Bibliography
  • Burton, Paul J. (2017). Rome and the Third Macedonian War. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-10444-0.
  • Guijarro Ruano, Paloma; del Barrio Vega, Maria Luisa (2019). "Greek lexicography and the designation of helotic-like populations in Ancient Greece: The history of three compounds". In Giannakis, Georgios K.; Charalambakis, Christoforos; Montanari, Franco; Rengakos, Antonios (eds.). Studies in Greek Lexicography. Trends in Classics - Supplementary Volumes. 72. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. pp. 309–329. ISBN 9783110622744.
  • Jaupaj, Lavdosh (2019). Etudes des interactions culturelles en aire Illyro-épirote du VII au III siècle av. J.-C (Thesis). Université de Lyon; Instituti i Arkeologjisë (Albanie).
  • Leukart, Alex (1994). Die frühgriechischen Nomina auf -tās und -ās: Untersuchungen zu ihrer Herkunft und Ausbreitung (unter Vergleich mit den Nomina auf -eús) (in German). Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 9783700120759.
  • Mesihović, Salmedin; Šačić, Amra (2015). Historija Ilira [History of Illyrians] (in Bosnian). Sarajevo: Univerzitet u Sarajevu [University of Sarajevo]. ISBN 978-9958-600-65-4.
  • Polomé, Edgar C. (1983). "The Linguistic Situation in the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire". In Wolfgang Haase (ed.). Sprache und Literatur (Sprachen und Schriften [Forts.]). Walter de Gruyter. pp. 509–553. ISBN 3110847035.
  • Šašel Kos, Marjeta (2002). "Pyrrhus and Illyrian Kingdom(s?)". Greek Influence Along the East Adriatic Coast. Knjiga Mediterana. 26: 101–119. ISBN 9531631549.
  • Stipčević, Aleksandar (1989). Iliri: povijest, život, kultura (in Croatian). Zagreb: Školska knjiga. ISBN 9788603991062.
  • Wilkes, John J. (1992). The Illyrians. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-19807-5.
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