View source for Amantia

{{Short description|Archaeological park in Albania}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{About|the town|the insect genus|Amantia (planthopper)}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name            = Amantia
| native_name     = Ἀμάντια
| alternate_name  = Ἀβάντια, Abantia
| image           = Parku Kombëtar i Amantias (v. 2010).jpg
| image_size      = 250px
| caption         = Arched entrance in Amantia
| map             = 
| map_type        = Albania
| map_caption     = Location in Albania
| coordinates     = {{coord|40|22|44.6|N|19|41|55.8|E|display=inline}}
| location        = Ploç, [[Vlorë County]], Albania
| region          =  [[Illyria]], [[Epirus]]
| type            = Settlement
| length          =
| width           =
| height          =
| builder         =
| material        = 
| built           =
| abandoned       =
| epochs          = {{hlist|Iron Age|Classical|Hellenistic|Roman}}
| cultures        = {{hlist|Illyrian|Greek|Roman}}
| occupants       =
| event           =
| excavations     =
| archaeologists  =
| condition       =
| ownership       = [[Government of Albania]]
| public_access   =
| website         =
| notes           =
| designation1    = Cultural Monument of Albania
}}

'''Amantia''' ({{Langx|grc|Ἀμάντια, Ἀβάντια}}; {{langx|la|Amantia}}) was an ancient city and the main settlement of the [[Amantes (tribe)|Amantes]], traditionally located in southern [[Illyria]] in classical antiquity. In [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] times the city was either part of [[Illyrian kingdom|Illyria]] or [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirus]]. In [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times it was included within [[Illyris|Epirus Nova]], in the [[Macedonia (Roman province)|province of Macedonia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hoti|2022|pp=245, 249}}; {{harvnb|Lippert|Matzinger|2021|p=100}}; {{harvnb|Kunstmann|2019|p=92}}; {{harvnb|Bol|Höckmann|Schollmeyer|2008|p=50}}; {{harvnb|Wilson|2006|p=266}}; {{harvnb|Hernandez|2017|pp=257–258}}; {{harvnb|Hammond|1992|p=37}}; {{harvnb|Dmitriev|2005|p=147}}; {{harvnb|Funke|Moustakis|Hochschulz|2004|page=342}}; {{harvnb|Pojani|1999|p=251}}.</ref> The site has been identified with the village of [[Ploçë]], [[Vlorë County]], Albania.{{sfn|Funke|Moustakis|Hochschulz|2004|page=342}} Amantia was designated as an [[Protected areas of Albania#Archaeological Parks|archaeological park]] on 7 April 2003 by the government of Albania.<ref name="Tusa">{{cite web |last=Tusa |first=Sebastiano |publisher=[[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]] (UNESCO) |title=Menaxhimi Fiskal dhe Struktura Drejtuese e Sistemit të Parqeve Arkeologjike në Shqipëri në vëmendje të veçantë: Parqet Arkeologjike: Apolloni dhe Antigone |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Venice/pdf/news/unesco%20shqip.pdf |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122175208/http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Venice/pdf/news/unesco%20shqip.pdf |archive-date=22 November 2020 |page=8 |language=Albanian}}</ref>

The massive walls of Amantia were built before the end of the 4th century BC, and literary sources report them as an [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] rather than [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirote]] or [[Macedon]]ian foundation. Later Amantia acquired the trappings of a [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] town.<ref name="Winnifrith2002">{{harvnb|Winnifrith|2002|p=58|ps=: "There are however, some other sites in Southern Albania which cannot be attributed to sudden Macedonian or Molossian advance, notably Amantia, Byllis and Selce, thought by some to be Pelium, where Alexander the Great fought a difficult campaign. Their massive walls were constructed before the end of the fourth century, and the literary sources talk of them as Illyrian rather than Epirote or Macedonian foundations. Later Amantia and Byllis acquired the trappings of a Hellenistic town."}}</ref> In 230 BC Amantia became part of the Koinon [[Epirote League|Epirus]].<ref>{{harvnb|Zindel|Lippert|Lahi|Kiel|2018|pp=242}}</ref> Amantia received sacred ancient Greek envoys, known as ''[[theoroi]]'', around the early 2nd century BC, which only cities that were considered Greek were eligible to receive. The time duration that passed before Illyrian cities were documented on a list of ''theorodokoi'' clarifies that acculturation did take place in southern Illyria; however, it indicates that the process was gradual.<ref name="Stocker309">{{harvnb|Stocker|2009|p=309|ps=: "The Argive list also included two specific cities in Chaonia, Phoinice and Himara, both of which must have been Greek, but no "Illyrian" cities. A century later, however, on the Delphic list (ca. 220-189 B.C.), Byllis and Abantiai were included among the recipients of a sacred envoy.1102 The length of time that elapsed before Illyrian cities were recorded on a list of theorodokoi makes it clear that acculturation did occur in southern Illyria, but that the process was gradual."}}</ref>

Amantia occupied an important defensive position above the [[Aoos|Aoos/Vjosë]] river valley to the east, and on the road to the coast and the Bay of [[Vlorë|Aulon]]. At the archaeological site of Ploçë, a [[temple]] dedicated to [[Aphrodite]], a theatre, and a [[stadium]] have also been found.<ref>{{harvnb|Anamali|1972|pp=68, 85}}; {{harvnb|Funke|Moustakis|Hochschulz|2004|page=342}}.</ref>

== Etymology ==
[[Pseudo-Skylax]] (''Periplus''. 26) and [[Lycophron]] (''Alexandra''. 1043) recorded the toponym Ἀμάντια, ''Amantia''. The Delphic list of ''theorodokoi'' reported the form Ἀβάντια, ''Abantia''. The city-ethnic is recorded as Ἀμάντιεύς, ''Amantieus'' by Pseudo Skylax (27).{{sfn|Funke|Moustakis|Hochschulz|2004|page=342}} The town's demonym was ''Amantieus'' ({{langx|grc|Ἀμάντιεύς}}).{{sfn|Funke|Moustakis|Hochschulz|2004|page=342}}

The name ''Amantia'' and the tribal name ''[[Amantes (tribe)|Amantes]]'' have been connected with the [[Albanian language|Albanian]] term ''[[:wikt:amë#Etymology 2|amë/ãmë]]'' ("river-bed, fountain, spring").<ref>{{harvnb|Çabej|1996|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OK5iAAAAMAAJ&dq=searchwithinvolume&q=Amantes 119 (117, 444)]|ps=: "1. guègue ''amë'' "lit de fleuve", "canal", "source, fontaine"; tosque ''e preva vijën e ujit më të ëmët'', etc.; on peut grouper ici même le nom de la tribu illyrienne des ''Amantes'' comme "reverains", ainsi que le nom de la ville antique d'Amantia à Ploçë actuelle;"}}.</ref> It has been suggested that the root morpheme ''*Amant-'' was perhaps a "barbarized" version of ''*Abant-'' in relation to the [[Abantes]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Keith G. |title=Archaic Eretria: A Political and Social History from the Earliest Times to 490 BC |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-45097-8 |page=39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiaDAgAAQBAJ |language=en |date=2004}}</ref> The name ''Amantia'' is generally accepted as [[Illyrian language|Illyrian]].{{sfn|Baldi|1983|p=168}} The toponym corresponds to [[Amantea|Amantia]] in southern Italy which is linked to the Illyrian movements via the Adriatic ([[Iapygians]]) in antiquity.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Palmer |first1=Leonard Robert |title=The Latin Language |date=1988 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=0-8061-2136-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O7z4Sl-SgFEC |page=40}}</ref> A [[Amantini|homonymous Illyrian tribe]] lived in eastern [[Slavonia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Mesihović|2014|p=116|ps=: "A uz to, i kod Ilira se nailazi na još jedan sličan slučaj odnosno istoimnosti dvije zajednice, pa tako imamo Amantine u istočnoj Slavoniji i prilično južno skoro na granicama ilirskog svijeta i Epira."}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Image label begin|image=June 22 2013 432 HSV Albanische Riviera.jpg|width={{{width|280}}}|float={{{float|left}}}|font-size=78%|padding=8px}}
{{Image label|x=0.10|y=0.23|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|{{big|[[Adriatic Sea|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Adriatic<br />Sea</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.15|y=1.0|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Strait of Otranto|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Strait of<br />Otranto</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.07|y=0.42|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|<small>[[Sazan Island|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Sason&nbsp;&nbsp;•<br />Island</span>]]</small>}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.81|y=0.06|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Margëlliç Castle|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">• ''Margëlliç''</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.75|y=0.11|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Lofkënd|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">''Lofkënd'' •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.85|y=0.31|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Byllis|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Byllis<br />•</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.915|y=0.37|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Nikaia, Illyria|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">• Nikaia</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.39|y=0.405|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Triport, Albania|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">• Triport</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.38|y=0.48|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Vlorë|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Aulon •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.425|y=0.53|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Kaninë|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">''Kaninë'' •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.51|y=0.61|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Olympe|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Olympe •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.68|y=0.68|scale={{{width|280}}}|text=<span style="color: #FFFFFF">{{Rotate text|0|'''Amantia •'''}}</span>}}
{{Image label|x=0.735|y=0.735|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Matohasanaj|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">''Matohasanaj'' •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.25|y=0.45|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Bay of Vlorë|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Bay of<br />Vlorë</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.22|y=0.65|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|60|{{small|[[Karaburun Peninsula, Albania|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Akrokeraunia</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.28|y=0.78|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Oricum|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Orikos •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.51|y=1.112|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Palaeste|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Palaeste •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.28|y=0.11|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|{{small|[[Aoös|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Aoös</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.59|y=0.22|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|40|{{small|[[Aoös|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Aoös</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.74|y=0.36|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|30|{{small|[[Aoös|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Aoös</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.95|y=0.58|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|50|{{small|[[Aoös|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Aoös</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.595|y=0.48|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|70|{{small|[[Shushicë (river)|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Shushicë</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.755|y=0.86|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|60|{{small|[[Shushicë (river)|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Shushicë</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.90|y=1.02|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|35|{{small|[[Shushicë (river)|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Shushicë</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.50|y=0.86|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|{{small|[[Dukat, Albania|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">''Dukat''</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.60|y=0.99|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|40|{{small|[[Llogara Pass|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">''Llogara''</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.71|y=0.90|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Cerje, Vlorë|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">''Cerje'' •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.72|y=1.04|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Ceraunian Mountains|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Ceraunian<br />Mountains</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.735|y=1.235|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Himarë (town)|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Chimera •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.76|y=1.287|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Panormus (Epirus)|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Panormos •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.915|y=1.33|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|[[Borsh|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">''Borsh'' •</span>]]}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.6|y=1.27|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|{{big|[[Ionian Sea|<span style="color: #87CEFA">Ionian<br />Sea</span>]]}}}}}}
{{Image label|x=0.08|y=1.30|scale={{{width|280}}}|text={{Rotate text|0|{{small|[[List of archaeological sites by country#Albania|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Ancient sites in</span>]] [[Aoos River|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">the Lower Aoös,</span>]]<br />[[Bay of Vlorë|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">Bay of Vlorë</span>]] [[Ceraunian Mountains|<span style="color: #FFFFFF">and Ceraunian Mts.</span>]]}}}}}}
{{image label end}}
The earliest of the written sources that recorded the toponym ''Amantia'' is the [[Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax|''Periplus'' of Pseudo-Skylax]] (4th century BC), mentioning it as a city in Illyria.{{sfn|Hernandez|2017|pp=257–258}} By listing it as the only site between the two ''[[poleis]]'' of [[Apollonia (Illyria)|Apollonia]] and [[Orikos]], the account of Pseudo-Skylax suggests that Amantia was somehow important. It seems that in the ''Periplus'' the toponym Amantia denotes the territory rather than the urban center of the polis.{{sfn|Funke|Moustakis|Hochschulz|2004|page=342}} It has been suggested that in the ''Periplus'' Orikos is identified as a Greek city placed in the territory of Amantia, the latter being regarded as an Illyrian city.<ref name=Hernandez2017>{{harvnb|Hernandez|2017|pp=257–258|ps=: "Drawing upon earlier written sources about sailing voyages (''periploi''), the ''Periplous'' of Pseudo-Skylax (28–33) traces the coast of the Mediterranean and purports to be a "circumnavigation of the inhabited world". The text was composed in the third quarter of the 4th century B.C. The description of Epeiros moves southward along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas in the direction of mainland Greece. It appears to represent Epeiros in the years ca. 380–360 B.C. In Illyria, Epidamnos and Apollonia are listed as Greek cities (πόλεις Ἑλληνίδες). Orikos is identified as a polis located within the territory of an Illyrian city, Amantia. After Illyria, the text lists Chaonia."}}</ref> Lycophron's ''Alexandra'' (3rd century BC) attests Amantia as a polis in the urban sense.{{sfn|Funke|Moustakis|Hochschulz|2004|page=342}}

A tradition reported by [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] (2nd century AD) alleges that the settlement was founded by [[Locrians]] from nearby [[Thronium (Illyria)|Thronium]] and [[Abantes]] from [[Euboea]].<ref>Pausanias. ''Description of Greece'', 5.22.3-5.22.4.</ref> [[Stephanus Byzantius]] – based on Pausanias – mentions that Amantia was founded on Illyrian territory by the Euboean Abantes "returning from the Trojan war".<ref name=Haztopoulos/><ref>Amantia: Illyrion moira, plesion Orikou kai Kerkuras eks Abanton apo Troias nostesanton oikismene.</ref> According to another legend reported by [[Lycophron]] in his ''Alexandra'', [[Elpenor]] – who actually died at Troy – and the Abantes from Euboea went to the island Othronos and were driven by swarms of snakes to the land of the [[Atintanians|Atintanes]] towards the city of Amantia.<ref>{{harvnb|Malkin|1998|page=79}}.</ref>{{sfn|Castiglioni|2003|p=876|ps=: "Di lui, probabilmente rifecendosi a una variante della leggenda diffusa nella nativa Calcide, racconta Licofrone, nella sua Alessandra, ai versi 1034-1046. Con linguaggio piuttosto oscuro, egli narra della fuga di Elefenore dall'isola di Otrono, isoletta a nord di Corcira, dove, insieme agli Abanti si era rifugiato dopo il conflitto troiano, e del suo stanziarsi presso il paese degli Atintani40, verso la città di Amantia lungo le rive del fiume Polianto, l'attuale Shushica."}} It has been suggested that the data from Pausanias is more in accordance with the settlement of the Euboean colony in Thronion in the coastal site of Triport located in front of the [[Acroceraunian Mountains]] northwest of [[Vlorë|Aulon]], not in Amantia in the site of Ploç located south of the Aoos valley in the hinterland of Aulon.<ref>{{harvnb|Cabanes|2011|p=76|ps=: "Thronion mund të ndodhet në sitin e Triportit, në veriperëndim të Vlorës, dhe jo në dy sitet e tjera arkeologjike të kësaj zone: Mavrovë e cila është Olympe antike dhe Plloça që korrespondon me Amantian antike. Ky lokalizim i Thronionit i korrespondon më mirë të dhënave të Pausanias, i cili e vendos këtë ... domethënë "përballë Maleve Akrokeraune": po aq sa ky pohim mund të aplikohet në sitin e Triportit, po aq ai nuk i përshtatet sitit të Amantias në fshatin Plloçë ose atij të Olympes në Mavrovë."}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Cabanes|2008|p=171|ps=: " the descendants of the Euboean colonists who had settled in Thronium (Pausanias 5. 22. 2–4), which should be located on the archaeological site of Treport on the coast, north-west of Aulon (Vlorë), and not in Amantia situated in Ploça village, south of the Aoos valley in the Vlorë hinterland."}}</ref> Pausanias' data have been compared with the information provided by an [[Apollonia, Illyria|Apollonian]] commemorative monument, suggesting an "oppositional ethnicity" between the Greek colonial associations of the [[Bay of Vlorë|Bay of Aulon]] (i.e. the area called ''Abantis''), and the barbarians of the hinterland.<ref>{{harvnb|Malkin|2001|pp=192–193}}</ref>

Amantia was located on the territory of the [[Amantes (tribe)|Amantes]], who were described as an [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] people in the [[Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax]] (mid. 4th century BCE),{{sfn|Shipley|2019|p=115}} as [[Epirotes]] by [[Proxenos]] (3rd century B.C) and by Hesychius, and as barbarians by [[Pliny the Elder]].<ref name=Haztopoulos>{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|1997|p=143}}.</ref> It is situated on the slope of a high hill and had only its [[acropolis]] fortified. The massive walls of Amantia are considered of Illyrian foundation and are dated to before the end of the 4th century BC.<ref name="Winnifrith2002"/>

The city was built around 450 BC on the site of a proto-urban settlement. Already from the beginning it had a fortified acropolis that was surrounded by a 2.1 km long wall, with also a lower town. The original walls made of irregularly slammed [[limestone]] were renewed in the 4th century with [[Opus isodomum|isodomic]] [[ashlar]] layers.{{sfn|Lippert|Matzinger|2021|p=100}} By the 4th century or later, the indigenous site became a town very much organised on a Greek model, acquiring the trappings of a [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] city.<ref name=Papadopoulos/><ref name="Winnifrith2002"/> It has been suggested that in terms of fortifications, masonry and general architecture, language and religion Amantia shares the same features as the rest of the settlements of the Greek world of that time.<ref name=Hammond1992>{{harvnb|Hammond|1992|p=37|ps=: "cities such as Lissus, Amantia... were 'Illyrian cities'. The archaeological evidence seems to be against them. For in sites fortifications, towers gates and masonry and in the construction of theatres, odeons, temples and agoras the cities of Epirus and Illyris are indistinguishable, in the titles of the city-officials and the language of their decrees these cities are entirely Greek."}}</ref> But it has been also assumed that like other Illyrian cities Amantia, was not a ''[[polis]]'' of the Greek type.{{sfn|Lippert|Matzinger|2021|p=100}} Amantia was among the main cities and tribal centres of Epirus during the Hellenistic period.<ref name=Hernandez2020>{{harvnb|Hernandez|Hodges|2020|p=305|ps=: Many of the mighty cities that had prospered in Hellenistic times as tribal capitals, such as Amantia, Phoinike, Gitana, Elea and Kassope,  together with many other smaller satellite settlements and fortresses, diminished rapidly in importance and prestige and received little investment under the Roman Empire. These cities were among the  largest in Epirus, many with theatres and impressive public buildings. At the time when they were founded, they were well positioned in the landscape to defend the territorial boundaries of the Epirote tribal groups.}}</ref>

At the second half of the 4th century Amantia received sacred [[theoroi]] ambassadors from [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], southern Greece, indicator that the locals were treated as Greek.<ref>{{harvnb|Zindel|Lippert|Lahi|Kiel|2018|pp=37}}</ref> By the 3rd century BC, the town was strengthened economically and minted its own coins. In 230 BC Amantia joined the [[Epirote League|Koinon of the Epirotes]].<ref>{{harvnb|Zindel|Lippert|Lahi|Kiel|2018|pp=242}}</ref> The fact that Amantia received [[theoroi]] from Delphi during the early 2nd century BC, indicates that it was listed among the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] cities in the area north of the [[Acroceraunia]]n mountains.<ref name=Hatzopoulos145>{{cite book|last1=Hatzopoulos|first1=M. B.|last2=Sakellariou|first2=M.|last3=Loukopoulou| first3=L. D.|title=Epirus, Four Thousand Years of Greek History and Civilization|publisher=Ekdotike Athenon|year=1997|isbn=960-213-377-5|quote=Ωστόσο, την πιο αδιαμφησβήτητη μαρτυρία για την ελληνικότητα των πόλεων αυτών πρός Β των Ακροκεραυνίων και συνάμα γιά τα όρια του Ελληνισμού στην περιοχή αυτήν δίνει το ηπειρωτικό τμήμα του μεγάλου καταλόγου των θεαροδόκων των Δελφών των αρχών του 2ου αι. π.Χ. Σ'αυτόν, εκτός από την Κασσώπη, Δωδώνη, Φοινίκη, τις Κεμάρες την Απολλωνία και το Δυρράχιον, αναφέρονται ο Ωρικός, η Αβαντία (Αμαντία) και η Βυλλίς, που αποτελεί την βορειότερη μη αποικιακή Ελληνίδα πόλη στην περιοχή αυτή.|page=145|language=el}}</ref> 

In 168 BC during the [[Illyro-Roman_Wars#Third_Illyrian_War|3rd Illyrian-Roman War]] Amantia supported the Roman side. In the middle of the 2nd century BC Amantia was found in alliance with Apollonia, most probably as part of a united pro-Roman policy against various Illyrian states.<ref>{{harvnb|Zindel|Lippert|Lahi|Kiel|2018|pp=242}}</ref> Following the Roman annexation of the region (148 BC), the city became part of the [[Roman province]] of [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]] and then [[Epirus Novus]]. Throughout the Roman period, Amantia was a [[civitas libera]].{{sfn|Haensch|2012|p=75}} Amantia was among the thriving settlements of Epirus during the last two centuries B.C.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hernandez |first1=David Ray |title=Excavations of the Roman Forum at Butrint (2004-2007) |journal=The Archaeology of a Hellenistic and Roman Port in Epirus |date=2010 |page=305 |citeseerx=10.1.1.1032.9477 |quote=The largest cities in northern Epirus, such as Butrint, Phoenice, Oricum, and Amantia prospered during the last two centuries of the Hellenistic period, while the coastal cities of southern Epirus in the territories of Thesprotia and Cassiopeia continued to be inhabited, but with a depressed economy... The stadium, which Anamali dates to the 2nd century B.C., together with the 317 Hellenistic coins and numerous bronze figurines, demonstrate that Amantia thrived in the last two centuries B.C.}}</ref>

Eulalius, one of the Eastern bishops at the [[Council of Sardica]] who refused to recognize its right to revoke the condemnation of [[Athanasius of Alexandria]] and withdrew in a body to [[Plovdiv|Philippopolis]], was probably bishop of this town, but some think he was [[bishop of Amasea]].<ref>Michel Lequien, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_86weAemI-e4C ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus''], Paris 1740, Vol. II, coll. 250-251</ref><ref>Daniele Farlati-Jacopo Coleti, ''[[Illyricum Sacrum]]'', vol. VII, Venezia 1817, [https://books.google.com/books?id=z1zLr_T1esUC&pg=PA394] pp. 394-395</ref><ref>Siméon Vailhé, v. ''Amantia'', in [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6561037d/f503.image ''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''], vol. II, Paris 1914, coll. 953-954</ref><ref>P. Feder, ''Studien zu Hilarius von Poitiers'', Wien 1911, tomo II, pp. 71-72.</ref> During the early 4th century a [[basilica]] was erected.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chrysos |first1=E. |title=Roads, Cities and Fortresses of Epirus |journal=Epirus |date=1997 |page=154 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV1oAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Ekdotike Athenon |isbn=978-960-213-371-2 |language=en}}</ref> No longer a residential [[bishopric]], Amantia is today listed by the [[Catholic Church]] as a [[titular see]].<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 830</ref>

Amantia is an [[Protected areas of Albania#Archaeological Parks|archaeological park]] of [[Albania]], designed as such on 7 April 2003 by the [[government of Albania]].<ref name="Tusa"/>

== Culture ==
The culture of the region had a language that is not well known, and it seems to have not had its own writing system.{{sfn|Quantin|Dimo|2011|p=149}} Amantia's urban organization occurred at a period of wider evolution among the settlements of the broader area of Epirus as a result of the previous development among Molossian cities.<ref>{{cite book|last=Andreou|first=Joanna |chapter=Development of the Settlements |editor=M. V. Sakellariou|title=Epirus: 4000 Years of Greek History and Culture |year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV1oAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Ekdotike Athenon|isbn=978-960-213-371-2|page=100|quote=The evolution of the Molossian cities affected the broader area of Epirus in both the immediate and long-term, and accounts for the urban organization of Bouchetion, Elatria, Torone, Bouthrotos and Amantia at this same period.}}</ref> The first inscriptions in Amantia appear in the 4th century BC, during the [[Hellenistic era]], and are in Greek. The onomastics are mainly Greek, with some non-Greek names.{{sfn|Winnifrith|2002|p=174}} The local culture readily borrowed iconography and technique from the Greeks.{{sfn|Quantin|Dimo|2011|p=149}} Many cults of Amantia are of the typical Greek pantheon, such as [[Zeus]], [[Aphrodite]], [[Pandemos]] and [[Pan (god)|Pan]].<ref name="Hatzopoulos1997">{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|1997|p=143|ps=: "The language of the inscriptions is undoubtedly Greek and, in particular, all known citizens have Greek names. The cults of Amantia are typically Greek (Zeus, Aphrodite, Pandemos, Pan and the Nymphs)."}}</ref> The cult of Aphrodite probably dates from the archaic era – with Amantia being in such a case among the first settlements in the region to worship the goddess<ref>{{harvnb|Dieterle|2007|p=101|ps=: "ursprünglich zwei verschiedene Aphrodite - Kulte existierten : ein älterer , wahrscheinlich aus archaischer Zeit , in Ambrakia , Kassope , Dodona , Apollonia und Amantia und ein jüngerer in Zakynthos , Leukas, Korkyra, Ambrakia und in Buthrotos."}}</ref> – or from the Hellenistic era along with the cult of [[Athena]].<ref>{{harvnb|Funke|Moustakis|Hochschulz|2004|page=342|ps=: "Cults of Aphrodite (Ceka (1990) 218) and Athena (Tzouvara-Souli (1979) fig. 1) are attested; they are probably of Hellenistic date."}}</ref> The temple of Aphrodite in Amantia is an example of the Hellenistic influence in present-day Albania via contact with the nearby Greek colonies.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hansen |first1=Inge Lyse |last2=Hodges |first2=Richard |last3=Leppard |first3=Sarah |title=Butrint 4: The Archaeology and Histories of an Ionian Town |date=8 January 2013 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-78297-102-3 |page=170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2X9-AwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> The cult of [[Heracles]] has been also confirmed in the city.<ref>{{harvnb|Dieterle|2007|p=129|ps=: "In Epirus ist der Herakleskult häufiger in den korinthischen Kolonien anzutreffen , so beispielsweise in Ambrakia , Epidamnos und Amantia"}}</ref> Apollo was also among the prominent deities worshipped in Amantia as in the nearby Corinthian colonies and surrounding settlements in today's northweestern Greece and southern Albania,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abdy |first1=Richard Anthony |title=Roman Butrint: An Assessment |year=2007 |publisher=Oxbow Books for the Butrint Foundation |isbn=978-1-84217-234-6 |page=168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kHlpAAAAMAAJ |language=en |quote=Apollo was particurlaly prominent within the settlements ... including ... Amantia and Oricum)}}</ref> but also in nearby Molossian towns.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tzouvara-Souli |first1=Chryseis |title=The Cults of Apollo in Northwestern Greece |journal=Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens (MoDIA) |date=2001 |volume=3 |page=233 |url=https://tidsskrift.dk/MoDIA/article/view/126747 |access-date=28 November 2023 |language=en |issn=2597-2642}}</ref>

Other cults like that of the male fertility deity are common of southern Illyria.{{sfn|Quantin|Dimo|2011|p=150}} It seems that the iconographies of this deity were derivations of Egyptian or Italic iconographies ([[Bes]]-[[Silenus]]), mainly from the Greek colony of [[Taranto|Taras]], which were widespread in the region from the 4th century BC, but enriched with very stylistic innovations. In the [[Roman Empire|Roman period]] this deity has undergone transformations mainly of Eastern influence.{{sfn|Quantin|Dimo|2011|p=148}} Some label this deity as the Illyrian god of fertility. In reality, it is futile to approach ancient cults in ethnic or national terms.{{sfn|Quantin|Dimo|2011|p=149}} The South of the [[Adriatic]] is clearly a region of religious exchanges, in which facts must be shifted, before considering them to belong to just one culture.{{sfn|Quantin|Dimo|2011|p=135}} The [[Illyrian religion|Illyrian]]-[[Greek mythology|Greek]] cult of the nymphs was widespread in the region as well as in Amantia.{{sfn|Anamali|1992|pp=135-136}}{{sfn|Hatzopoulos|1997|p=143}} An ancient sanctuary of the [[eternal fire]] called ''[[Nymphaion (fire sanctuary)|Nymphaion]]'' was located in an area near Amantia and the [[Amantes (tribe)|Amantes]].{{sfn|Bejko|Morris|Papadopoulos|Schepartz|2015|p=4}}{{sfn|Ceka|Ceka|2017|p=493}} Amantia's prosperity during the [[Hellenistic era]] could explain the bilingualism of the settlement in that period.<ref name="Shpuza2014"/>

On the basis of language, institutions, officials, onomastics, city-planning and fortifications it has been described as a Greek city by historians N.G.L. Hammond (1989),<ref name=Hammond1989>{{cite journal |last1=Hammond |first1=N. G. L. |title=The Illyrian Atintani, the Epirotic Atintanes and the Roman Protectorate |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |date=1989 |volume=79 |pages=11–25 |doi=10.2307/301177 |jstor=301177 |s2cid=162831458 |issn=0075-4358 |quote= The fallacy of supposing that the cities of northern Epirus were 'Illyrian cities', made clear in my book Epirus in I967, has been reasserted by F. Papazoglou I986, 439 as regards Amantia, Byllis, Nicaea and Olympe ('J'ai dit 'a bon escient "cites grecques"...  There is little point in proposing an Illyrian label for cities in which the language, the institutions, the officials, the onomastics, the city-planning and the fortifications were Greek.}}</ref><ref name=Hammond1992/> Šašel Kos (1986),<ref name=Kos68>{{cite book |last1=Kos |first1=Marjeta Šašel |title=Historical outline of the region between Aquileia, the Adriatic, and Sirmium in Cassius Dio and Herodian |date=1986 |publisher=Kulturna skupnost Slovenije |page=68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGwZAAAAMAAJ |quote=The conditions were that regions and populations captured by the Romans ( from Lissus to the territory north of Phoenice and in the east up to the Dassaretes , the Greek towns of Dyrrhachium , Apollonia , Aulon , Oricum , Dimale , Byllis  , Amantia and Antigonea , and the tribes of the Parthini , Bylliones and Atintanes ) were to become part of a Roman sphere of interest, controlled by the Romans.}}</ref> Hatzopoulos (1997),<ref name=Hatzopoulos145/> Rudolf Haensch (2012),{{sfn|Haensch|2012|p=86|ps=: "Ebenso wenig überzeugt die von Patsch geäußerte und von Cabanes wiederaufgegriffene Vermutung, daß "sich in Alt-Pljoča eine lateinische Enklave befand"76. Wie sollte eine solche Enklave in einer griechischen Stadt von derartiger Bedeutung sein, daß sie sich in einer Monumentalinschrift verewigen konnte? "}} and as a Greek city in southern Illyria, in the territory of the Illyrian tribe of [[Amantes (tribe)|Amantes]] by [[Fanula Papazoglou]] (1986).{{sfn|Papazoglou|1986|p=439|ps=: "Avec Amantia, Byllis et Nikaia, Olympe (ou Olympa, en dorien) est l'une des quatre cites grecques de la partie la plus méridionale de l'Illyrie, entre le bas Aoos et Orikos, sur le territoire des tribus illyriennes des Bylliones et des Amantes, connues par les sources litteraires, les inscriptions, les monnaies et les vestiges archeologiques."}} It has been described as a Hellenized Illyrian city-state by Eckstein (2008), and Lasagni (2019),{{sfn|Lasagni|2019|p=73|ps=: "poleis illiriche ellenizzate di Byllis o Amantia" ... Eckstein 2008, 52-54 (cit. a pagina 53): «Whereas Apollonia was a Roman amicus, no links were established with the Hellenized Illyrian city-states of Byllis and Amantia, ...}} and as an Illyrian city by Olgita Ceka (2012),{{sfn|Ceka|2012|p=59|ps=: "..., vere e proprie città illiriche possono essere considerate Scodra, Lissus, Zgërdhesh, Dimale, Byllis, Klos, Amantia, Olympe e Antigoneia, alle quali si devono aggiungere anche Përsqop, Berat, Selca e Poshtme, Hija e Korbit, Gurëzeza, Kanina e Treport, dotate di cinte mura-rie che racchiudevano vaste superfci e che dominavano regioni ben delineate del punto di vista geografco."}} and Jaupaj (2019).{{sfn|Jaupaj|2019|p=170|ps=: "À part Dyrrhachion et Apollonia, durant cette période on a des émissions des villes illyriennes come Amantia, Bylis, Olympè, Dimale, Skodra, Lissos, et en Épire de Phoinikè, Bouthrôtos et Antigonea."}} Winnifrith considered the massive walls of Amantia as of Illyrian rather than Epirote or Macedonian foundation, and that the site later acquired the trappings of a Hellenistic city.<ref name="Winnifrith2002"/> Mesihović (2014) has described Amantia as an Illyrian city built and governed according to the Greek model.<ref>{{harvnb|Mesihović|2014|ps=: "S druge strane, južno od spomenutih rijeka nalazio se jedan svijet oličen između ostalog i u ilirskim gradovima izgrađenim i upravljanim po grčkom obrascu kao što su Bilis i Amantija, i oni se nisu mogli osjećati isto kao i ustanički Iliri."}}</ref> Papadopoulos (2016) described it as an indigenous site that by the 4th century BC or later developed into a city very much organised on a Greek model.<ref name=Papadopoulos>{{harvnb|Papadopoulos|2016|p=382|ps=: "...indigenous sites that became, by the 4th century BC or later, cities very much organised on a Greek model (e.g. Byllis, Nikaia, Amantia, Lissos)."}}</ref> According to Lippert and Matzinger (2021), like other Illyrian cities, Amantia was not a ''[[polis]]'' of the Greek type.{{sfn|Lippert|Matzinger|2021|p=100}}

In the [[Roman era]], the use of Greek by the Romans to address the natives was seen not only as a gesture of good will, but also as an effort to promote rapprochement between those communities.<ref name="Shpuza2014">{{harvnb|Shpuza|2014|p=22|ps=: "Tout comme Dyrrachium, Amantia fut prospère à l'époque hellénistique, ce qui pourrait expliquer le choix du bilinguisme.  Ainsi, l'emploi du grec par les Romains pour s'adresser aux indigènes n'est pas seulement un geste de bonne volonté, mais un effort pour favoriser le rapprochement entre communautés.(..)  Autre facette de l'évolution linguistique, la fondation de la colonie va amener non seulement le passage du grec au latin, mais également la transformation de l'onomastique de la ville, devenue à terme presqu'entièrement latine. Ce phénomène implique a contrario l'élimination progressive du stock anthroponymique grec et illyrien."}}</ref> A 2nd century AD bilingual inscription in Greek and Latin dating back to [[Roman Empire|Imperial times]] is found above the fountain of Ploça village. It shows that the establishment of the [[Roman province of Macedonia]] in 148 BC led to the installation of Latin-speaking populations as far as Amantia. The bilingual inscription can also testify that in the ancient site of Ploça there was a Latin [[enclave]] and that the city prospered around 200 AD; it could also be the nature of the text that required the use of both languages.<ref>{{harvnb|Cabanes|2011|pp=96–98}}</ref>

=== Coinage ===

The numismatic material unearthed at Amantia shows that the more numerous coins were of republican Epirote origin, followed by coins with the local legend, which were fewer in number. The territorial proximity to the [[Epirote League|''koinon'' of the Epirotes]] explains the predominant role of the coins of this neighbouring state. The symbols that appear on the bronze coins of Amantia are [[Zeus]] / [[thunderbolt]], [[Dione (mythology)|Dione]] / [[trident]], and [[Artemis]] / [[spear]]head, which were taken from Epirus. The community of the [[Amantes (tribe)|Amantes]] seceded from the Epirote state only at the moment of the fall of the monarchy. At the time of [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]], his son [[Alexander II of Epirus|Alexander II]] and his descendants, Greater Epirus was still strong and controlled both southern [[Illyria]] in the north and part of [[Acarnania]] in the south. In this context it is no wonder that the bronze coins of Amantia, starting from 230 BC, used symbols of the Epirote tradition with which the inhabitants of the city were accustomed, and only the legend on the coins was changed from ΑΠΕΙΡΩΤΑΝ (of the Epirotes) to ΑΜΑΝΤΩΝ (of the Amantes), both written in Greek letters.{{sfn|Cabanes|2011|p=75}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Cabanes|first=P. |chapter=Development of the Settlements |editor=M. V. Sakellariou|title=Epirus: 4000 Years of Greek History and Culture |year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV1oAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Ekdotike Athenon|isbn=978-960-213-371-2|page=91|quote=Archaeological excavations have revealed a number of hoards of coins which show that there was an abandance of Epirote coins at Amantia, and also at Apollonia after 232.}}</ref>

== Institutions ==

The organisation of Amantia is quite similar to that of a [[polis]] rather than of a federal state.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cabanes |first1=P. |title=Political Developments |journal=Epirus: 4000 Years of Greek Civilisation and Culture |date=1997 |page=89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV1oAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Ekdotike Athenon |isbn=978-960-213-371-2 |language=en}}</ref>
The local official titles and institutions display typical names of a Greek settlement of that time, such as: ''prytanis'' ({{langx|el|πρύτανις}}, "the one that presides"), ''grammateus'' ({{langx|el|γραμματεύς}}, "secretary"), toxarchis, [[agonothetes]] and the [[Boule (ancient Greece)|boule]].<ref name=Haztopoulos/>

The town was surrounded with a walled enclosure roughly 2,100m long. A large fort was built with two gates and two defensive towers in the north.

== Gallery ==

{{Gallery
| title= | width=170 | height=170 | align=center
| File:City gate of Amantia, Albania.jpg | Gate
| File:Stadium_of_Amantia,_Albania_02.jpg | Stadium
| File:Paloeochristian Basilica and the Temple of Aphrodite. Amantia, Albania 01.jpg | Basilica
| File:God of fertility holding a cornucopia, 3rd-2nd century BC, from Amantia, Archaeological Museum of Tirana, Albania.jpg | Sculpture of the fertility deity
| File:Acropolis_of_Amantia,_Albania.jpg | Acropolis
}}

== See also ==
{{Commons category|Amantia (Albania)}}
*[[List of settlements in Illyria]]
*[[Tourism in Albania]]
*[[Amantes (tribe)|Amantes]]
*[[Abantes]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
*{{cite journal|last=Anamali|first=Skënder|authorlink=Skënder Anamali|title=Amantia|journal=Iliria|volume=2|year=1972|doi=10.3406/iliri.1972.1142|pages=61–133}}
*{{cite book|last=Anamali|first=Skënder|authorlink=Skënder Anamali|chapter=Santuari di Apollonia|pages=127–136|editor1-last=Stazio|editor1-first=Attilio|editor2-last=Ceccoli|editor2-first=Stefania|title=La Magna Grecia e i grandi santuari della madrepatria: atti del trentunesimo Convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia|volume=31|series=Atti del Convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia|publisher=Istituto per la storia e l'archeologia della Magna Grecia|year=1992|language=it|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6L0jAQAAIAAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Baldi|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Baldi|title=An Introduction to the Indo-European Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lq-mkL23oh8C|year=1983|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=978-0-8093-1091-3}}
*{{cite book|last1=Bejko|first1=Lorenc|last2=Morris|first2=Sarah|last3=Papadopoulos|first3=John|last4=Schepartz|first4=Lynne|title=The Excavation of the Prehistoric Burial Tumulus at Lofkend, Albania|year=2015|publisher=ISD LLC|isbn=978-1-938770-52-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TWmRDwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book |last1=Bol |first1=Renate |last2=Höckmann |first2=Ursula |last3=Schollmeyer |first3=Patrick |title=Kult(ur)kontakte: Apollon in Milet/Didyma, Histria, Myus, Naukratis und auf Zypern: Akten der Table Ronde in Mainz vom 11.-12. März 2004 |year=2008 |publisher=VML, Verlag Marie Leidorf |isbn=978-3-89646-441-5 |page=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_m_XAAAAMAAJ |language=de}}
*{{cite book|last=Cabanes|first=Pierre|editor-last=Tsetskhladze|editor-first=Gocha R.|editor-link=Gocha R. Tsetskhladze|title=Greek Colonisation: An Account of Greek Colonies and Other Settlements Overseas|volume=2|chapter=Greek Colonisation in the Adriatic|pages=155–186|publisher=Brill|year=2008|isbn=978-90-474-4244-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bO55DwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite journal|last=Cabanes|first=Pierre|title=Disa çështje mbi Amantët / Interrogations sur les Amantes|journal=Iliria|volume=35|year=2011|pages=75–98|doi=10.3406/iliri.2011.1100|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/iliri_1727-2548_2011_num_35_1_1100}}
*{{cite book|last=Çabej|first=Eqrem|author-link=Eqrem Çabej|title=Studime etimologjike në fushë të shqipes|volume=4|publisher=[[Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë]], Instituti i Gjuhësisë dhe i Letërsisë|year=1996}}
*{{cite journal|last=Castiglioni|first=Maria Paola|title=Il monumento degli Apolloniati a Olimpia|journal=Mélanges de l'École française de Rome: Antiquité|volume=115|number=2|year=2003|pages=867–880|doi=10.3406/mefr.2003.9796}}
*{{cite book|last=Ceka|first=Olgita|chapter=Il koinon e la città. L'esempio di Byllis|title=I processi formativi ed evolutividella città in area adriatica|editor1=G. de Marinis|editor2=G.M. FabriniG. Paci|editor3=R. Perna|editor4=M. Silvestrini|publisher=Archaeopress|series=BAR International Series|volume=2419|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4073-1018-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-cupMwEACAAJ|pages=59–64}}
*{{cite book|last1=Ceka|first1=Neritan|author-link1=Neritan Ceka|last2=Ceka|first2=Olgita|editor1=Luan Përzhita|editor2=Ilir Gjipali|editor3=Gëzim Hoxha|editor4=Belisa Muka|title=New archaeological discoveries in the Albanian regions: proceedings of the international conference 30 - 31 January, Tirana 2017|volume=1|chapter=A Peripolarchos inscription from the castle of Matohasanaj|pages=488–508|publisher=Botimet Albanologjike. Academy for Albanian Studies, Institute of Archaeology|year=2017|isbn=978-9928-141-71-2}}
*{{cite book |last1=Dieterle |first1=Martina |title=Dodona: religionsgeschichtliche und historische Untersuchungen zur Entstehung und Entwicklung des Zeus-Heiligtums |date=2007 |publisher=G.Olms |isbn=978-3-487-13510-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiwbAAAAYAAJ |language=de}}
*{{cite book |last1=Dmitriev |first1=Sviatoslav |title=City Government in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534690-9 |page=147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMiK1490InQC&pg=PT163 |language=en}}
*{{cite book|last1=Funke|first1=Peter|last2=Moustakis|first2=Barbara|last3=Hochschulz|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|editor1=Mogens Herman Hansen|editor2=Thomas Heine Nielsen|title=An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis|chapter=Epeiros|pages=338–350|year=2004|isbn=0-19-814099-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7kRDAAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Haensch |first1=Rudolf |title=Vorausschauender Euerget und Getreideversorgung einer Kleinstad |journal=Tyche: Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Papyrologie und Epigraphik |date=2012 |volume=27 |url=https://journals.univie.ac.at/index.php/tyche/article/download/4929/4743}}
*{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=N. G. L.|editor1-last=Winnifrith|editor1-first=Tom|title=Perspectives On Albania|chapter=The Relations of Illyrian Albania with the Greeks and the Romans|year=1992|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-349-22050-2|page=37|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDywCwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Hatzopoulos|first=M. B.|chapter=The Borders of Hellenism in Epirus during Antiquity|editor=M. V. Sakellariou|title=Ηπειρος: 4000 χρόνια ελληνικής ιστορίας και πολιτισμού|year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV1oAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Ekdotike Athenon|isbn=978-960-213-371-2}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hernandez |first1=David |last2=Hodges |first2=Richard |title=Beyond Butrint: Dominion, Territory, Environment and the Corrupting Sea |journal=Butrint 7: Beyond Butrint: Kalivo, Mursi, Çuka e Aitoit, Diaporit and the Vrina Plain. Surveys and Excavations in the Pavllas River Valley, Albania, 1928–2015 |date=2020 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv13pk71h.29 |jstor=j.ctv13pk71h |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv13pk71h |access-date=27 November 2023|url-access=subscription }}
*{{Cite journal|last=Hernandez|first=David R.|date=2017|title=Bouthrotos (Butrint) in the Archaic and Classical Periods: The Acropolis and Temple of Athena Polias|journal=Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens|volume=86|issue=2|pages=205–271|doi=10.2972/hesperia.86.2.0205|jstor=10.2972/hesperia.86.2.0205|s2cid=164963550|issn=0018-098X}}
*{{cite book|last=Hoti|first=Afrim|chapter=Dyrrhachium bizantina e il suo territorio (VI-VIII sec.) |editor=Sonia Antonelli |editor2=Vasco La Salvia |editor3=Maria Cristina Mancini |editor4=Oliva Menozzi |editor5=Marco Moderato |editor6=Maria Carla Somma |title=Archaeologiae Una storia al plural: Studi in memoria di Sara Santoro|publisher=Archaeopress Publishing |date=2022|isbn=978-1-80327-297-9|pages=245–250|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZKJEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA245}}
*{{cite thesis|last=Jaupaj|first=Lavdosh|year=2019|title=Etudes des interactions culturelles en aire Illyro-épirote du VII au III siècle av. J.-C.|publisher=Université de Lyon; Instituti i Arkeologjisë (Albanie)|url=https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02493973/document}}
*{{cite book |last1=Kunstmann |first1=Heinrich |title=Slaven und Prußen an Ostsee, Weichsel und Memel: Über ihre Herkunft vom Balkan und aus Kleinasien |year=2019 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-7460-6327-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T76YDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 |language=de}}
*{{cite book|last=Lasagni|first=Chiara|title=Le realtà locali nel mondo greco: Ricerche su poleis ed ethne della Grecia occidentale|editor1-last=Cresci Marrone|editor1-first=Giovannella|editor2-last=Culasso Gastaldi|editor2-first=Enrica|series=Studi e testi di epigrafia|publisher=Edizioni dell'Orso|year=2019|isbn=978-88-6274-962-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Malkin|first=Irad|title=The Return of Odysseus: Colonization and Ethnicity|location=Berkeley|publisher=University of California Press|year=1998}}
*{{cite book|last=Malkin|first=Irad|editor-last=Malkin|editor-first=Irad|chapter=Greek Ambiguities: Between "Ancient Hellas" and "Barbarian Epirus"|title=Ancient Perceptions of Greek Ethnicity|series=Center for Hellenic Studies colloquia|volume=5|publisher=Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University|year=2001|isbn=978-0-674-00662-1|pages=187–212|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRppAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite book|last1=Lippert|first1=Andreas|last2=Matzinger|first2=Joachim|title=Die Illyrer: Geschichte, Archäologie und Sprache|publisher=Kohlhammer Verlag|year=2021|isbn=978-3-17-037710-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0N9SEAAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Mesihović|first=Salmedin|author-link=Salmedin Mesihović|title=ΙΛΛΥΡΙΚΗ (Ilirike)|publisher=Filozofski fakultet u Sarajevu|year=2014|place=Sarajevo|isbn=978-9958-0311-0-6|language=Bosnian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cK83AwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Papadopoulos|first=John|chapter=Komai, Colonies and Cities in Epirus and Southern Albania: The Failure of the Polis and the Rise of Urbanism on the Fringes of the Greek World|editor-last=Molloy|editor-first=Barry P.C.|title=Of Odysseys and Oddities: Scales and Modes of Interaction Between Prehistoric Aegean Societies and their Neighbours|date=2016|publisher=Oxbow Books|isbn=978-1-78570-232-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O6B8DAAAQBAJ|pages=435–460}}
*{{cite journal|last=Papazoglou|first=Fanoula|title=Politarques en Illyrie|journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte|volume=35|number=4|year=1986|pages=438–448|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag|jstor=4435982}}
*{{cite journal|last=Pojani|first=Iris|title=Dy relieve Apoloniate me temë divine|trans-title=Two Reliefs from Apolonia|journal=Iliria|volume=29|year=1999|pages=243–258|doi=10.3406/iliri.1999.1715|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/iliri_1727-2548_1999_num_29_1_1715}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Quantin|first1=François|last2=Dimo|first2=Arjan|title=Nga Amantia në Apoloni: Kërkime mbi një hyjni të Ilirisë Antike / D'Amantia à Apollonia: Enquête sur une divinité dans le sud de l'Illyrie antique|journal=Iliria|year=2011|volume=35|doi=10.3406/iliri.2011.1102|language=sq, fr|pages=123–153}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Shipley|editor-first=Graham|title=Pseudo-Skylax's Periplous: The Circumnavigation of the Inhabited World: Text, Translation and Commentary|edition=2|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|isbn=978-1-78962-497-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WvDGDwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Shpuza |first1=Saimir |title=Colonia Iulia Augusta Dyrrachinorum |journal=Mélanges de l'École française de Rome: Antiquité |date=2014 |volume=126 |issue=2 |doi=10.4000/mefra.2558 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/mefra/2558?lang=es|url-access=subscription }}
*{{cite book|last=Stocker|first=Sharon R.|title=Illyrian Apollonia: Toward a New Ktisis and Developmental History of the Colony|year=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tg8ynwEACAAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Winnifrith|first=Tom J.|title=Badlands-borderlands: a history of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania |publisher=Duckworth|year=2002|location=London|isbn=0-7156-3201-9|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dkRoAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Nigel Guy |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece |year=2006 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-97334-2 |page=266 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-aFtPdh6-2QC&pg=PA266 |language=en}}
*{{cite book|last1=Zindel|first1=Christian|last2=Lippert|first2=Andreas|last3=Lahi|first3=Bashkim|last4=Kiel|first4=Machiel|title=Albanien: Ein Archäologie- und Kunstführer von der Steinzeit bis ins 19. Jahrhundert|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|year=2018|isbn=978-3-205-20010-9|language=de|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BR9WDwAAQBAJ}}
{{refend}}

{{National parks of Albania}}
{{Ancient Greece topics}}
{{Illyrians}}
{{Castles in Albania}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Archaeological sites in Albania|Amantia]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Albania]]
[[Category:Illyrian Albania]]
[[Category:Hellenistic Albania]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Illyria]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Albania]]
[[Category:Cities in ancient Illyria]]
[[Category:Cities in ancient Epirus]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Epirus]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Vlorë County]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Vlorë County]]