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Also known as Dyrrhachium, Epidamnus, Dyrrachium

Dyrrhachion (Latin: Dyrrhachium; Ancient Greek: Δυρράχιον), originally founded as Epidamnos (Ancient Greek: Ἐπίδαμνος, Albanian: Epidamn), was a prominent city on the Adriatic coast, located in the territory of the Illyrian Taulantii and corresponding to modern Durrës, Albania. Founded around 627 BC by settlers from Corinth and Corcyra (modern Corfu), the city developed into a major political, commercial, and military hub. While established as a Greek colony, Epidamnos stood within Taulantii territory and long remained entangled with Illyrian power, before becoming a key Roman and later Byzant

Key facts

Ancient site.name
Dyrrhachion (Epidamnos)
Ancient site.native_name
Δυρράχιον / Ἐπίδαμνος
Ancient site.alternate_name
Dyrrhachium (Lat.), Dyrrah, Durrës
Ancient site.image
Durrës amphitheater (Albania).JPG
Ancient site.caption
The amphitheater of Durrës
Ancient site.map_type
Albania
Ancient site.location
Durrës, Durrës County, Albania
Ancient site.region
Adriatic coast, Illyria
Ancient site.type
Settlement
Ancient site.part_of
Durrës
Ancient site.built
7th century BC
Ancient site.epochs
Archaic Greek; Classical; Hellenistic; Roman; Byzantine; Medieval
Ancient site.cultures
Greek, Illyrian, Roman, Byzantine

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Durrës amphitheater (Albania).JPG
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Dyrrhachion
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Article

7 sections
Contents
  • Archaic, Classical and Greek period (7th century BC – 3rd century BC)
  • Roman period (3rd century BC – 4th century AD)
  • Byzantine and medieval period
  • Legacy and modern significance
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Dyrrhachion (Latin: Dyrrhachium; Ancient Greek: Δυρράχιον), originally founded as Epidamnos (Ancient Greek: Ἐπίδαμνος, Albanian: Epidamn), was a prominent city on the Adriatic coast, located in the territory of the Illyrian Taulantii and corresponding to modern Durrës, Albania. Founded around 627 BC by settlers from Corinth and Corcyra (modern Corfu), the city developed into a major political, commercial, and military hub. While established as a Greek colony, Epidamnos stood within Taulantii territory and long remained entangled with Illyrian power, before becoming a key Roman and later Byzantine stronghold.

== Archaic, Classical and Greek period (7th century BC – 3rd century BC) == Epidamnos was established in a strategic coastal location, facilitating maritime trade and interaction with the Illyrians, making it a vital trading hub between the wider Greek world and the Taulantii hinterland. The Taulantii tribe played a key role in the city's development, and evidence suggests a degree of cultural fusion between the Greek settlers and the indigenous Illyrians. The Taulantii exerted territorial control and at times direct overlordship, even as the polis maintained Greek civic institutions.

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