| |
Adramyttium was an ancient city and bishopric
in Aeolis, in modern-day Turkey. It was originally located at the head of the
Gulf of Adramyttium, at Ören in the Plain of Thebe, 4 kilometres west of
the modern town of Burhaniye, but later moved 13 kilometres northeast to its
current location and became known as Edremit.
Classical period:
The site of Adramyttium was originally settled by Leleges, the indigenous
inhabitants of the Aegean littoral, and people from the neighbouring region of
Mysia. The area was later settled by Lydians, Cimmerians, and Aeolian Greeks,
who gave their name to the region of Aeolis. The area became part of the peraia
(mainland territory) of the city-state of Mytilene in the 8th century, and the
city of Adramyttium was founded in the 6th century. According to Aristotle,
Adramyttium was founded by, and named after, Adramytos, the son of King
Alyattes of Lydia. Prior to his ascension to the throne, Croesus, Alyattes'
successor, was governor of a district centred on Adramyttium. Following the
fall of the Kingdom of Lydia in 546 Adramyttium came under the rule of the
Persian Empire and was administered as part of the satrapy (province) of
Hellespontine Phrygia from the early 5th century onward.
In 422, Pharnaces, the satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, offered asylum to
exiles from the island of Delos, who settled in the city. Thereafter
Adramyttium was considered a Greek city. Arsaces, a general subordinate to
Tissaphernes, the satrap of Lydia and Caria, massacred a number of the Delian
exiles. The Delians returned to Delos in 421/420 when the Athenians permitted
them to do so.
Following the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404, Adramyttium came again under
the control of Mytilene. The Ten Thousand, a Greek mercenary force, travelled
through Adramyttium during their march along the coast. Mytilene retained
control of Adramyttium until 386, after which the city formed again part of the
Persian Empire by the terms of the
Peace of
Antalcidas. During the Great Satraps'
Revolt, Ariobarzanes,
satrap of Hellespontine Phygia, joined the revolt against
Artaxerxes II in 367.
Autophradates, satrap
of Lydia, and Mausolus, satrap
of Caria, besieged Ariobarzanes at Adramyttium in 366. However, the siege of
Adramyttium was abandoned following the arrival of Agesilaus II, King of
Sparta, in 365.
Hellenistic period:
Following his victory at the Battle of the Granicus in 334, Adramyttium came
under the control of Alexander the Great. After Alexander's death in 323, his
empire was divided among the Diadochi at the Partition of Babylon, and
Leonnatus was appointed satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. At the Partition of
Triparadisus in 321, Arrhidaeus succeeded Leonnatus as satrap of Hellespontine
Phrygia.
In 319, Adramyttium and Hellespontine Phrygia were seized by Antigonus I
Monophthalmus, satrap of Greater Phrygia. Adramyttium and Hellespontine Phrygia
remained under the control of Antigonus until the Fourth War of the Diadochi;
the city was taken by force by Prepelaus, a general of Lysimachus, Basileus of
Thrace, in 302. Adramyttium and Lysimachus' other Anatolian territories were
annexed to the Seleucid Empire after Lysimachus' defeat at the Battle of
Corupedium in 281.
An artificial port was constructed at Adramyttium in the early third century,
which subsequently allowed the city to overshadow the neighbouring port of
Cisthene. Adramyttium came under the control of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon
during the rule of Eumenes I, a nominal vassal of the Seleucid Empire, in the
mid-third century.
The alliance between Attalus I, Eumenes's successor, and Rhodes during the
Cretan War led Philip V, King of Macedonia, to invade the Kingdom of Pergamon
and pillage the countryside surrounding Adramyttium in 201. As an ally of Rome,
Pergamon fought in the Roman–Seleucid War against the Seleucid Empire. In
190, Antiochus III plundered the countryside surrounding Adramyttium, but the
appearance of a Roman–Pergamene fleet prevented him from taking the city.
In the second century, cistophori, the coinage of the Kingdom of Pergamon, were
minted at Adramyttium. Attalus III, the last King of Pergamon, bestowed his
kingdom to the Romans in his will, and thus, in 133, Adramyttium came under
Roman control. The city became part of the province of Asia.
|
|
