The Greek emporion Pistiros near Vetren between greater powers – 450-278 B.C.  

The history of survival of Emporion Pistiros between various mightier powers from 5th to early 3rd century B.C., where we excavate since 1992 regularly with our Bulgarian colleaegues and the University of Lioverpool, is a good subject for a case study of the system of political interrelations in Thrace, and how the small emporion had to ensure its existenceby balancing between much mightier neighbours. The place was visited since the end of the 6th century and probably served also at that time as a place where Greek merchants met their clients. But the city was founded in the third quarter of the 5th century B.C., apparently soon after the defeat of Thasos by the Athenians. So already its foundation reflects the history of interactions between much greater powers. Its founders and those who became emporitai, while also keeping their citizenship in their native cities, were Thasians, Maroneians and citizens of Apollonia. It is still a question whether the small Apollonia, apoikia of the Thasians, is mentioned in the famous inscription, or the mighty city of Apollonia Pontica, though the first interpretation still has more credibility. The founders were apparently ktistes, they divided their kleroi like in other Greek cities, and the division of plots was – with only small changes – during the whole existence of the emporion. How it was possible to found a strongly fortified city so far inland, even if apparently accessible for small boats on the Hebros – Marica river, needs an explanation. The first idea, expressed by the excavator Mieczyslaw Domaradzki, that the city was also a royal residence of the sub-king of the Upper Maritsa valley, has little probability. No palace, nothing like hierarchy known from smaller sites –thurseis, or from Seuthopolis, has not been uncovered at Pistiros, and M. Domardzki changed his mind soon after the famous inscription was found. Only very few scholars, among them G. Tsetskhladze, still expressed such opinion still in late nineties. The problem of identification of the place as Emporion Pistiros is also the most probable solution, as shown by further survey at the Roman Bona Mansio, some 3 km away. Apparently the city walls of the emporion served as quarry when building the Roman mansio, and a large number of stones used for the construction of Bona Mansio can easily be identified as coming from the emporion city walls: alternative explanations have therefore much less credibility.

The reasons for the foundation of the city were apparently several. It had in vicinity mining areas (copper, iron) and enough wood, it was river harbour with several “roads” southwards across the Rhodopes. It was situated in the marginal part of the Odrysean kingdom, and it could also used the northern road to the second-in-rank Thracian kingdom of the time, the Triballoi, for its trade.

The building of the fortified city so far inland, however, could not be accomplished without a kind of consent of the local ruler, and the Vetren monumental tomb, built in the same masonry technique (with identical traces of working tools) as the city walls, may well have been his grave. The Vetren tomb is one of the earliest of its kind, dated to ca. 400 B.C., so roughly one generation (30-40 years) after the foundation of the city, what might be a reasonable period of friendly coexistence of the emporitai with the local ruler. Beyond doubt, the emporitai had to pay for the permission by some taxation, as they did later to Kotys. The excavations gave the picture of some more friendly time during the first quarter of the 4th century B.C., in which no destruction happened, with the exception of some floods.

After the death of the local ruler, the mighty king Kotys in his program to unification of Odrysean Thrace over all the territory south of the Sredna Planina apparently attacked the city, partly destroyed its walls, set fire on its houses. But he then closed with the emporitai the well-known contract for common benefit. He protected the city and its properties, but apparently not without financial reward. The new fortifications of Pistiros were less strong, the dependence of the city of Kotys I probably closer, the taxation probably a little bit higher, but the autonomy of the emporion was confirmed by the contract and the system worked long for common benefit. As far as we know from the Demosthes’ mention in his speech Ad Aristokrates, the revenues from the emporia in Thrace were high, but the customers of the Greek merchants paid the higher price willingly. The contract was also confirmed by his successor, probably Kersobleptes, as the inscribed document mentions.

But the Greek emporion lived in no isolation from their Thracian neighbours, Though some of them had no accesss into the fortified city, they lived around. Parhaps even those Greeks who were not full-right emporitai had to settle outside the walls. All the bgraffiti known from Pistiros are in Ionic dialect, the only exception being a graffito Kora (in Doric), found in an extramural house situated just westwards of the western city wall.

But what perhaps concerned the house-owners of non-emporitai, certainly did not mean that only Greeks lived within-the-walls. The population on this periphery of the Greek world was apparently of mixed character, as it was also in most Greek colonies situated on the territory of mightier neighbours. The graffiti found at Pistiros show Greek and Thracian names as well, a large part of the loom-weights found in the city (which were made in the households, with female fingerprints) is of Thracian type, unknown in Greek cities, including the North Aegean colonies. So the emporitai married local women frequently, accepted even some Thracians into the city, but the full “citizenship” was reserved to those mentioned in the inscription, or perhaps to those to whom it was granted.

Philip II apparently conquered the town in late forties and to some extent damaged the city walls, but no fire was set, and the emporitai accepted the new ruler without larger problems. This was in all probability under similar conditions, as no change in the architecture and trade links of the emporion can be noticed. Philip apparently let it flourish as an important centre of metal extraction and working and of trade along the Marica and also with the north. The bullae found in the city may well have been of wax diptycha securing the property of mines around the city, as they are known also from other 4th century – Hellenistic metalworking areas.

Only under Lysimachus, with changes of commercial network in central Thrace in favour of places situated more to the east and the north, the city lost much of its importance. Very serious blow was the destruction around 300 B.C., probably caused by an attack of the Celts, whose first invasion was stopped by Lysimachus in 298 B.C. It would hardly be destroyed during the minor wars between Lysimachus and Seuthes III, as its taxation could be profitable to both of them. Only the Celts, being barbarians, did not understand yet, as they learned later, that such a city could event them bring a profit. After this blow, however, the city was reconstructed, even in a more modest way, using the spolia of earlier buildings even for their tiled roofs.

The final destruction of the city is well dated by the large hoard of 560 coins, mainly by Lysimachus, including his last issues, by swords and spearheads of Celtic types and by the late Duchcov fibula found in the destruction: the city was completely destroyed by the Celtic campaign led by Kommontorios in 279/8 B.C. The city was also looted, and only by chance the hoard of silver and gold coins was not found by them. In balancing between mighty neighbours – Odrysians, Triballoi, Athenians and Macedonians Pistiros was rather successful for some 160 years, but only after this bad example other Greek cities learned how to appease the wild warriors – by paying them for peace and by hiring them as mercenaries.

After this destruction only a modest settlement with metal smelting workshops existed here, and the place was finally abandoned after another flood during the first half of the 2nd century B.C.

The main publications are Pistoros I and Pistiros II (the third volume is in preparation) and a complementary volume in Studia Hercynia 7; preliminary reports are in all volumes of Studia Hercynia.

Season 2007.

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