Po redaktohet Rhizon

'''Rhizon''' ({{lang-grc|Ῥίζων}}; {{lang-la|Risinium}}) was a city in classical and Roman antiquity. Rhizon is the oldest settlement in the [[Bay of Kotor]] and the modern town of [[Risan]] (modern [[Montenegro]]) stands near the old city. Originally it was an [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] settlement that developed gradually and became the [[Capital city|capital]] of the Illyrian [[Ardiaei|Ardiaean]] Kingdom under [[Agron of Illyria|Agron]] and [[Teuta]].<ref>{{harvnb|Dyczek|2020|p=423}}</ref> It was the last stronghold of queen [[Teuta]] in the [[Illyrian Wars|first Illyrian war]] against the Romans. It maintained its status as a significant regional settlement well into the Roman era.

==History==
[[File:Bay of Kotor Illiryan fortresses.jpg|right|thumb|Rhizon (marked 1) was one of three Illyrian fortresses on the hills overlooking Bay of Kotor, and became the capital of the Illyrian [[Ardiaei|Ardiaean]] Kingdom under [[Agron of Illyria|Agron]] and [[Teuta]].]]

[[Herodian]] (2nd century A.D.) mentions that ''Rhizon'' takes its name from ''Rizon'', son of [[Cadmus]] and brother of [[Illyrius]].<ref name="SaselKos122">{{harvnb|Šašel Kos|1993|p=122}}</ref> The earliest mention of ''Rhizon'' dates back to the 4th century BCE in the [[Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax]] who mentions it as a settlement of the [[Enchelei]]. It later developed as a settlement of another Illyrian tribe, the [[Ardiaei]]. Rhizon had been the main fortress in the [[Illyria]]n state under [[Agron of Illyria|Agron]] where [[Queen Teuta]] took refuge during the [[Illyrian Wars]].<ref name="SaselKos122"/> During the short reign of the Illyrian Queen Teuta, ''Rhizon'' became the capital of her state.

During these periods a mint was established that issued several coinages:
* autonomous coinages of the town, in bronze,
* the royal coinage of king [[Ballaios]], in silver and bronze,
* most probably, the coinage labeled “Coinage from the Rhizonian Gulf”, which has been considered as the coinage of an alliance in which Rhizon played a part, in silver and bronze.

The [[chronology]] of these [[Currency|coinage]]s is still not defined with precision, primarily because the historical background of their issuance remains little known. There is hardly any mention in the literary sources of the town of ''Rhizon'', and none of the king Ballaios. However, several features of these coinages - such as the characteristics of style, elements of inscription and iconography (especially the presence of the title “[[basileus]]” on the coinage of [[Ballaios]], and the presence of a Macedonian shield on the “Coinage from the Rhizonian Gulf”), metrology, choice of coined metals, etc. – point to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE as the general chronological framework for the activity of the Rhizonian mint and for the successive issuance of the coinages of different issuing authorities there. A 2010 excavation unearthed about 4656 coins from the mint of Ballaios, which confirmed the status of the city as that of his royal mint.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Risan coin hoard |url=http://www.novae.uw.edu.pl/english/coinhoard.htm |publisher=Research Centre University of Warsaw}}</ref>

Formerly the [[Bay of Kotor]] was known as Sinus Rhizonicus and Rhizonic Gulf ({{lang-grc|Ῥιζονικὸς κόλπος}}) <ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc1:7.5.8 Strabo, Geography, §7.5.8]</ref> after the ([[Greek language|Greek]]) name of ''Rhizon'', the leading town in anticity of the bay. ''Rhizon'' had also its own protector, a deity called Medaurus, who was depicted as carrying a lance and riding on horseback.{{sfn|Wilkes|1995|p=247}} Prior to Roman control in the region, the degree of [[Hellenization|Hellenistic]] acculturation at Rhizon was very high.<ref>Épire, Illyrie, Macédoine: mélanges offerts au professeur Pierre Cabanes by Danièle Berranger, Pierre Cabanes, Danièle Berranger-Auserve, page 130</ref>

[[File:Roman Roads in Montenegro 800.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Roman roads in Montenegro, showing Rhizinium]]

In [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times, ''Rhizinium'' is documented as an oppidum civium Romanorum.  Two Roman routes led through the [[Bay of Kotor]]. The most prosperous time for Roman ''Rhizinium'' came during the 1st and 2nd centuries, when huge villas were made in the area and the city had 10,000 inhabitants.  Five mosaics are the most valuable remains of that period - not only for Risan but also for [[Montenegro]].<ref>[http://montenegrina.net/nauka/arheologija/rimski-mozaici-iz-risna/ Video of beautiful Roman mosaics]</ref> The best preserved one shows [[Hypnos]], the Greek deity of sleep. It is the only known image of this kind in the [[Balkans]]. The famous [[archeologist]] Sir [[Arthur Evans]] led those initial [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavations]] in 1885. 

The protector-god of Rhizon/Risinium was the Illyrian war deity, [[Medaurus]]. Medaurus is mentioned in a dedication carved in [[Lambaesis]] (north Africa) by a Roman [[legatus]] native of Risinium and more scarcely in two other inscriptions found in Risinium and [[Santa Maria di Leuca]] ([[Province of Lecce|Lecce]]).{{Sfn|Dyczek|Kolendo|Łajtar|Plóciennik|2014|pp=82–83}} The Lambaesis dedication also indicates that an equestrian statue of Medaurus had been erected there, likely the replica of a monumental statue located in Risinium.{{Sfn|Dyczek|Kolendo|Łajtar|Plóciennik|2014|pp=73–74}} Archeological research in Risinium in the 21st century suggests that the statue of Medaurus was set up on a base of at least 15x20m, and situated on the [[acropolis]] where it dominated the city.{{Sfn|Dyczek|Kolendo|Łajtar|Plóciennik|2014|pp=81}}

The invasions of the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] and [[Slavs]] left the city deserted. The last reference of a [[bishop]] in Risan dates back to 595.

==Legacy==
On the Gradina hill, above the archeological site of Carine, a fortification is situated containing remains of an Illyrian-Greek acropolis.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{Cite journal|last1=Dyczek|first1=Piotr|last2=Kolendo|first2=Jerzy|last3=Łajtar|first3=Adam|last4=Plóciennik|first4=Tomasz|last5=Rzepkowski|first5=Krzysztof|date=2014|title=Une inscription métrique de Lambaesis (CIL, VIII, 2581 ; F. Buecheler, Carmina Latina epigraphica, 1527) et la statue du dieu illyrien Médaure|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/antaf_0066-4871_2014_num_50_1_1560|journal=Antiquités africaines|volume=50|issue=1|pages=73–84|doi=10.3406/antaf.2014.1560 }}
*{{cite book|last=Dyczek|first=Piotr|chapter=Rhizon – capital of the Illyrian kingdom – some remarks|editor1=Krzysztof Jakubiak|editor2=Adam Lajtar|title=Ex Oriente Lux. Studies in Honour of Jolanta Młynarczyk|publisher=Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego|year=2020|pages=423–433}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Šašel Kos |first1=Marjeta |title=Cadmus and Harmonia in Illyria |journal=Arheološki vestnik |date=1993 |volume=44 |url=https://www.academia.edu/489633}}
*{{cite book|last=Wilkes|first=John J.|title=The Illyrians|year=1995|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=0-631-19807-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Nv6SPRKqs8C}}

{{Illyrians}}
{{coord missing|Montenegro}}

[[Category:Cities in ancient Illyria]]
[[Category:Illyrian Montenegro]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Montenegro]]
[[Category:Former populated places in the Balkans]]
[[Category:Hellenistic Montenegro]]