As shown above, the ancient written material, the archaeological findings, as well as mythological, ethnographical and linguistic material, they all testify to the fact that Macedonia was and is Albanian during 4000 years of her history. Web:http://www.albpelasgian.com/uncategorized/macedonia-4000-years-of-albanian-continuance.html- Η ΙΛΛΥΡΙΚΗ ΚΑΤΑΓΩΓΗ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΩΝ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ - MACEDONIA – 4000 YEARS OF ALBANIAN CONTINUANCE - Macedonia – Its Albanian Affiliation

1. Macedonia – Its
Albanian Affiliation l
(marjan.dodaj @ 2011/I)
Affiliation
MACEDONIA
4000 YEARS OF ALBANIAN
CONTINUANCE
CONTINUANCE
- 1 -
(marjan.dodaj @ 2011/I)

2. MACEDONIA – 4000 YEARS OF ALBANIAN CONTINUANCE
Posted by : ALBPelasgian ( http://www.albpelasgian.com/uncategorized/macedonia-4000-
years-of-albanian-continuance.html )
Macedonia – Its Albanian Affiliation
Written by: ALBPelasgian
Translated by: qiellikalter
© ARBERIAONLINE – All rights reserved
Η ΙΛΛΥΡΙΚΗ ΚΑΤΑΓ ΓΗ Τ Ν ΑΡΧΑΙ Ν ΜΑΚΕ∆ΟΝ Ν
The writings of ancient Greek and Roman authors confirm implicitly the Illyrian identity of
Ancient Macedonians: Pliny the Elder [IV, X, 33], Strabo [7, 7, 1; 7.7.8; 7, 11], Ptolemy [3,
12]. Based on this clear information, a large number of historians and linguists of the XIX-th
and XX-th century uphold a hypothesis on Illyrian identity of Macedonians. We can mention
here: Karl Otfrid Muller, William Smith, Charl Anthony, G. Finlay etc. Later on, other well
known linguists that do support the thesis of an Illyrian essence in the Ancient Macedonians
language are: G. Kazaroff, M. Rostovtzeff, M. Budimir, H. Baric (Miltiades Hatzopoulos: 1999).
Even the greatest supporters of the hypothesis that the Macedonians were Greeks, do accept a
strong influence of the Illyrian language into the Ancient Macedonian language. Paliga states:
“It is therefore difficult to say whether the ancient Macedonians spoke an idiom closer to
Thracian, Illyrian, Greek or a specific idiom.” ( Paglia cited in Fol 2002 : 219)
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3. Hammond (1989) accepts that when: “the Macedonians expanded, they overlaid and lived with
peoples who spoke Illyrian, Paeonian, Thracian and Phrygian, and they certainly borrowed
words from them which excited the authors of lexica and glossaries”. (Hammond 1989:13)
To be fair, the debate on the characteristics of the Macedonian language is still unfinished,
because there are: ‘theories varying from a basically Illyrian “creole” to a Greek-thracian-
illyrian ‘pidgin’. (Anastasios-Phoivos Christidēs 2007)
Archaeological data show an undisputable Illyrian presence in the Ancient Macedonia.
Archaeological findings in Vergina (Aigai – an Illyrian foundation, i.e capital of Ancient
Macedonia) show similarity as well as uniformity to the Glasinac Culture, which is a typical
Illyrian culture. This is what Hammond (1976) says regarding this point:
“The period of Illyrian control in the plain of Macedonia lasted from c. 800 to c. 650 B.C. The
evidence has survived almost entirely in warrior-graves and women’s graves which were much
less numerous. There were cremations sometimes in urns, as well as inhumations, large pithoi
were used as coffins, e.g. at Vergina; and burials were grouped together, sometimes under a
tumulus and sometimes not. New articles were bronze pendants of various kinds, bronze belt-
plates, large bronze spectacle-fibulae, armlets of thin bronze wire and armlets of heavy bronze
metal with incised decoration, and many bronze beads of various shapes. At Vergina, where the
same cemetery was used for Illyrian chieftains, two new forms of bowl were evidently copied
from wooden prototypes, such as are made by the Vlachs in modern times. New tumuli
constructed for Illyrian chieftains contained many spearheads and spear-butts, sickle-shaped
knives and heavy bracelets. The homeland of these new elements was in central Yugoslavia, and
the typical site there was Glasinac, where the tumuli were numbered in thousands.
In the cemetery at Vergina the period of greatest prosperity, c. 900-800 B.C., was followed by
radical changes and a growing impoverishment. In some tumuli the partly cremated remains
were placed in urns, and sickle shaped knives with whetstones and spears over two metres in
length with iron head and iron butt accompanied some of the warriors. In Upper Macedonia
the presence of lllyrian rulers was shown by burials with similar weapons and ornaments at
Visoi and Petilep in Pelagoma; at Pateli in Eordaea, and at Vucedol near Skopje and by Titov
Veles. Objects typical of them have been found in small numbers at Kozani and at sites in the
middle Haliacmon valley. To the east of the Vardar they seem to have driven the Paeonians
back towards the Strymon valley, and there are concentrations of Illyrian objects at Kumanovo
and at Radanja near Stip. Large numbers of tumuli are reported in this area; some at least
were made probably for Illyrian warriors. Other groups of Illyrians established themselves in
the middle Strymon valley, where their name in Classical times was the Maedi; in the Kumli
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4. valley between Doiran and Serres; and in the vicinity of Amphipolis. There were penetrations
also into northwest Bulgaria and even beyond the Danube in Rumania.
The expansion of the Illyrian tribes had some effects also on northern and central Greece. At
Vitsa in Zagori burials were made in shallow trenches, or in cist-graves roofed with branches
on which stones were placed, or under a cairn of stones. The burials were close-packed; set in
three layers, and very close to the settlement, and the cemetery was in use from just before 900
B.C. into the fifth century B.C. To judge from the objects buried with the dead this community
had contacts with Barc, vergina, Vodhine, the Illyrians, and also southern Greece”.
( Hammond 1976: 154/155)
Also, the ancient traditions show that prior to the Macedonian hegemony, the territories north of
mount Olymp were called “Illyria”. This is what Herodotus (8.137) confirms:
Quote:
137. Now of this Alexander the seventh ancestor was that Perdiccas who first became despot of
the Macedonians, and that in the manner which here follows:–From Argos there fled to the
Illyrians three brothers of the descendents of Temenos, Gauanes, Aëropos, and Perdiccas; and
passing over from the Illyrians into the upper parts of Macedonia they came to the city of
Lebaia.
Quote:
137. τοῦ δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου τούτου ἕβδοµος γενέτωρ Περδίκκης ἐστὶ ὁ κτησάµενος τῶν
Μακεδόνων τὴν τυραννίδα τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. ἐξ Ἄργεος ἔφυγον ἐς Ἰλλυριοὺς τῶν Τηµένου
ἀπογόνων τρεῖς ἀδελφεοί, Γαυάνης τε καὶ Ἀέροπος καὶ Περδίκκης, ἐκ δὲ Ἰλλυριῶν
ὑπερβαλόντες ἐς τὴν ἄνω Μακεδονίην ἀπίκοντο ἐς Λεβαίην πόλιν.
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5. The latest archaeological findings do support this statement. Here, we can mention the table
with inscriptions found a decade ago near the Greek-Macedonian border. This 2800 years old,
white marble chronicle, chiselled in late Phoenician characters, unveils in archaic Greek
language some important details concerning 8th c. BC Macedonian invasion in the Balkans.
Prof.Doc. Ahmet Leitani at Beirut University in Lebanon has worked on the transcript,
transliteration and translation of this inscription. According to his work the inscription reads:
Quote:
Περδίκας Αργαίο[υ] καρανίων ιδίοις Μακέσταις (Μακεδόνες) καθύπερθεν Ιλλυραίας
αγχίµολος επ’ άκρα Βεδ[ύ]σσας Σαβάζω οφσιµέδοντι έρεχσεν. Μίδου επ’ αν αίαν κάσχεθε
οθνείους Γρεκέστας επί σκευωρήµασι λεληδορηµένους αυθ’ ανήρε σκυδµαίνων Βρύγας δε
παλαίχθονας αλάσθαι τηλόθ’ είε αµφ’ αλλοθρόας. Εκτου το πάλλιστον άστυ Αιγάς
προσγορεύσας εκάρπο. Κράντωρ δη Βρυγαίας γεραίτερος παλιντραπέλους άλαλκε πλην
ζωγρηµένων. Το δ’ ούν µαρµάρεον µνάµατος χάριν ∆ρέδας Γορδίου Γρεκιστί έχσεσεν ες
γραµάτεα λυγρά
Quote:
Ελληνικά
Ο Περδίκας γυιός του Αργαίου επικεφαλής των Μακεστών (Μακεδόνων) µόλις έφθασε στην
Ακρόπολη της Εδεσσας προερχόµενος από την άνω Ιλλυρία έκανε θυσία στον ύψιστο (Θεό)
Σαβάζ(ι)ον. Στην συνέχεια αφού κυρίευσε την χώραν του Μίδα, τους ξένους Γκρεκούς
εξόντωσε αµέσως οργισµένος επειδή βαρύνοντο µε ραδιουργίες, ενώ τους γηγενείς Φρύγες
άφησε να περιπλανώνται µακρυά, επειδή αυτοί οι δύο λαοί ήσαν ξενόγλωσσοι Από τότε ως
γηραιός βασιλέας της Φρυγίας εκµεταλλευόταν την πανάρχαιη αυτή πόλη (Εδεσσα) αφού
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6. πρώτα την µετονόµασε σε Αιγαί εµπόδιζοντας τους φυγάδες να επιστρέψουν εκτός από αυτούς
που συλλαµβάνοντο αιχµάλωτοι Την µαρµάρινη αυτή επιγραφή χάραξε σε Γκρεκική γλώσσα ο
∆ρέδας γυιός του Γορδίου σαν χρονικό θλιβερής ανάµνησης.
Quote:
English
Perdikas son of Argeos leading his Makestes when approached to Vedissa (Edessa) citadel,
headed down from upper Illyria, offered sacrifice to uppermost (god) Savazos. Afterwards
when conquered entire Midas country, being outraged with foreign Greeks who were charged
for intrigues, extincted them immediatelly while released indigenous Briges to wander away,
because both these people spoke different languages. Since then being elder sovereign of Brigea
enjoyed the profits of very ancient city renaming it to Aigai while kept reppeling fugitives to
return with excemption of captives. This marble chronicle was chiseled in Greek language by
Dredas son of Gordios, in memory of a sorrowful remembrance. (Bugarmak n.d.)
Also, Strabon (7.5.1) states that: “What is now called Macedonia was in earlier times called
Emathia. And it took its present name from Macedon, one of its early chieftains. And there was
also a city Emathia close to the sea. Now a part of this country was taken and held by certain
of the Epeirotes and the Illyrians, but most by the Bottiaei and the Thracians.”
The most reasonable and logical explanation regarding the etymology of the name of the
Ancient Macedonia is found in the language of Illyrians and Epirotes, who were the ethnic
inhabitants of Ancient Macedonia. The very name of Macedonia, formerly known as
‘Emathia,’ derives in all probability from the Albanian word “E Madhia”, meaning “The
Greatest”. (Larned et al 1922)
The ties of kinship among the kindred peoples of Illyria, Molossia, and Macedonia were still
more strengthened by the intermarriages between their dynasties, Olympias, the mother of
Alexander the Great, was a daughter of Molossia. Through the right of succession derived from
the intermarriages, the same king sometimes happened to rule two or all three kingdoms.
(Chekrezi 1919)
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7. The ancient myths as well, tell us that the Macedonians have had a close relationship with the
Illyrians. In the Ethnika of Stephanus of Byzantium Atintan is the son of the Macedon
(Μακεδών). At the same time, the ancient chronicles mention Atintians as an Illyrian tribe,
located between Illyria, Epirus and Macedonia. Even during the Medieval times, the
Byzantine writers refer to Albanians as Macedonians. Macedonian at that time marked
someone who spoke Albanian. Until about the fifteenth century Albanians were not called
Albanians but Illyrians, or even Macedonians. This means that the terms Macedonian, Illyrian
and Albanian were interchangeable and were used to note the Medieval Albanian.
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8. At that time, even the educated Albanians were signing and declaring themselves as
Macedonians. For instance, P. Bodganus (1685) described himself as ‘Macedo’ and the Italo-
Albanian Nicola Chetta (1742-1802) described his people as ‘Macedoni’ (7.24). This is the
reason why the propagandistic battles between the Slavs and the Greeks for the Macedonian
identity are simply failed efforts to steal Macedonia territorially and historically.
In a letter sent to the Prince of Taranto, George Kastriota Scanderbeg, the Albanian National
Hero, reaffirms himself as a descendant of Alexander the Great and of Pirro of Epirus:
“I do not have to speak for the Epiroti. They are very much stronger men than your Tarantini, a
species of wet men who are born only to fish. If you want to say that Albania is part of
Macedonia I would concede that a lot more of our ancestors were nobles who went as far as
India under Alexander the Great and defeated all those peoples with incredible difficulty.
From those men come these who you called sheep. But the nature of things is not changed. Why
do your men run away in the faces of sheep? (illyrians n.d)
As shown above, the ancient written material, the archaeological findings, as well as
mythological, ethnographical and linguistic material, they all testify to the fact that Macedonia
was and is Albanian during 4000 years of her history.
Last but not least, let’s cite the words of Edith Durham (1917):
‘The Albanians are among the very oldest inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula.
Classical authors give the names of very many tribes which dwelt in those lands when history
dawns. The Greeks classed them as ‘barbarians’ and they spoke a non-Greek tongue.
They were united in groups under native kings, and of these groups some of the most important
were the Macedonians, the Illyrians, and the Epirotes. According to Strabo, all three spoke
the same language. And it is from the Illyrians and the Epirotes that the Albanians of to-day
descend. Modern Albanian, in all probability, derives from the language of Alexander the
Great and King Pyrrhus‘. (Edith Durham 1917: 83)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Pliny the Elder ‘Natural History’
2. Strabo ‘Geographica’
3. Claudius Ptolemaeus ‘Geographia’
4. Miltiades Hatzopoulos 1999 ‘The speech of the ancient Macedonians, in the light of recent
epigraphic discoveries’ – VI International Symposion on Ancient Macedonia.
5. Aleksandŭr Fol 2002 ‘Thrace and the Aegean’
6. Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond 1989 ‘The Macedonian State: origins, institutions,
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9. and history’
7. Anastasios-Phoivos Christidēs 2007 ‘A history of ancient Greek: from the beginnings to late
antiquity’
8. Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond 1976 ‘Migrations and invasions in Greece and
adjacent areas’
9. Herodotus ‘The Histories’
10. Η ΙΛΛΥΡΙΚΗ ΚΑΤΑΓ ΓΗ Τ Ν ΑΡΧΑΙ Ν ΜΑΚΕ∆ΟΝ Ν THE ILLYRIAN ORIGIN
OF ANCIENT MACEDONIANS:http://www.bulgarmak.org/albanian_origin.htm accessed on
25/05/10
11. Josephus Nelson Larned, Augustus Hunt Shearer 1922 ‘The new Larned History for ready
reference, reading and research Volume I’
12. Constantin Anastasi Chekrezi 1919 ‘Albania past and present’
13. ‘Letter from Skanderbeg to the Prince of Taranto’ http://www.illyrians.org/skletter2tar.htm
accessed on 25/05/10
14. M. Edith Durham 2005 ‘Albania and the Albanians: selected articles and letters 1903-1944′
VIDEO: Macedonia - 4000 years of Albanian continuance (Video that shocked both Greece &
FYROM) watch?v=97NS-uZMohw ore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97NS-uZMohw
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