Eordaea

For the genus of moths, see Eordaea (moth).

Eordaea (Greek: Εορδαία - Eordaia, Latin: Eordaea) was an ancient kingdom and later administrative unit of Ancient Macedonia. It was part of the ancient geographical region of Upper Macedonia. The modern province and municipality Eordaia were named after the ancient kingdom.

The capital of Eordaea was the city of Eordaea (Greek: Εορδαία, κείμενη της λίμνης), which was mentioned by many historians and geographers of the antiquity.

History

The history of Eordaea can be found stretching long before 2000 BCE when the first Greeks known as the Aeolians and Arcadians began to inhabit this area. Remnants of the exploited copper mines from 2700 up until 1200 BCE indicate strongly that the Greeks inhabited Eordaea for thousands of years. Iron mines have also been exploited in the Eordean region.

Ptolemy I Soter is the most known notable person of Ancient Eordaea. He was born between 367 and 357 BCE and he is most known as a distinguished General of Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Ptolemy is known in antiquity as the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Alexandria in Egypt, which thrived until the death of Cleopatra the last reigning Pharaoh of Egypt.

Recent discoveries

Within a 50-year period, paleontologists and archaeologists have made many discoveries due to the industrial development of the Eordean countryside. In particular, the skeletal fossils of a prehistoric mammoth, a prehistoric elephant, and Stone Age tools have all been found within the province of Eordaea. These finds add to knowledge on the variety of animal species and human artifacts in this particular region of western Macedonia.

Many ancient cities of Eordaea are mentioned and many archaeological sites have been examined on the past decades, certainly around the Vegoritida lake, but it is difficult to distinguish the name of this cities.

The most significant cities, according to Ancient Greeks, Roman and Byzantine Greeks writers, were the city of Eordaea, as mentioned, Arnissa (Greek: Άρνισσα), Vegora (Greek: Βεγόρα) and Kelli (Greek: Κέλλαι).