Sirrhas of Lyncestae

Sirhas of Lyncestae

1st Illyrian ruler (king? *), vorst van Elymiotis

En, Sh, Bs

Note: (king? *) - Greek sources do not provide and not mentioned information that he was a king, but it can be assumed that he was been a king.

Sirras or Sirrhas (Ancient Greek: Σίρρας; d. 390 BC) was the son-in-law of the king of Lynkestis, Arrhabaeus (fl. 423–393 BC), having married his daughter Irra. He participated in an Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition's defeat of the attempted invasion of Lynkestis by the Macedonian king Archelaus. He may have been a Lynkestian prince-regent [1] or an Illyrian chieftain, [2] part of the Illyrian force in a previous and also successful Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition against Sparta and Macedon during the Peloponnesian War. [3][4][5][6]

Sirras' daughter Eurydice married Amyntas III, king of Macedon; the youngest of their sons was Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.

Name Sirras

The origin of the name Sirras or Sirrhas is somewhat obscure.[7][8] It has been suggested that the characteristic doubling of the r (Greek: ρ) and the ending in -as (-ας) are typical of Macedonian names. [8][9] Historian Waldemar Heckel notes that the "name does not appear elsewhere in Upper Makedonia, nor does it repeat within the family",[8] but others interpret the name as being Lynkestian and not attested in Illyria. [10][11]

Biography

Origin

Sirras' origin is disputed, scholars being mainly divided on whether he was Illyrian [12] or Lynkestian. [13] Some have theorized that his father was probably the Illyrian chieftain Grabos, [14] while his mother was perhaps a native Macedonian.[8]

The only evidence for Sirras' ethnicity in ancient literature is the description of his daughter Eurydice's ethnicity, expressly described as "Illyrian", and through her maternal grand-father Arrhabaeus as "Lynkestian" from the Doric Greek Bacchiadae family. Modern scholars are divided on whether they are historically accurate or not, or whether they are mutually exclusive or not. [15][16]

Participation in the Peloponnesian War

• Battle of Lyncestis

War against Archelaus I of Macedon

Family

Sirras' daughter, Eurydice, married King Amyntas III of Macedon in around 390 BC, probably in a Macedonian effort to establish an alliance with both the Illyrians and Lynkestians,[28] or to detach the Lynkestians from their historical alliance with the Illyrians,[24][29][30] after Amyntas was defeated by Illyrians or an Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition in 393 BC.[31][32] One of the sons from this marriage was the future Philip II of Macedon.

References

Bibliography

Lynkestis

Sirhas je bio prvi ilirski vladar spomenut u grčkim izvorima.

Prema Fanuli Papazoglu, negdje pred kraj vladanja makedonskog kralja Arhelaja (oko 400. god. pne.), došlo je do rata Makedonaca na čelu sa kraljem Arhalejem i sjevernomakedonskog plemena Linkesta sa kraljem Arabajem, koje je živjelo u današnjoj oblasti Pelagonija i grada Bitole[1] Linkesti su se već decenijama borili za svoju nezavisnost protiv sve moćnije dinastije Argeada. U toj borbi Iliri su im pružili podršku, jer ni oni nisu bili ravnodušni na sve veću moć makedonske države. Sira je bio ilirski vladar i oženjen Arabejovom kćerkom. Izvori ne kažu da je Sira bio kralj, ali se to može predpostaviti, obzirom da se njegova kćer Euridika (to ime je dobila kao makedonska kraljica, dok su je predhodno zvali Ilirka i varvarka), udala za makedonskog kralja Amintu i rodila mu tri sina: Aleksandra II, Perdiku III i Filipa II (oca Aleksandra Makedonskog).[2] Bez obzira na ženidbu kralja Aminte sa ilirskom princezom, upadi Ilira na makedonsku teritoriju nisu prestajali, jer je novi vladar Ilira postao Bardilis I (prvi ilirski kralj).

Historičar John Wilkes iznosi izmijenjenu verziju, bez spominjanja Sire. Prvi spomen Ilira u grčkim izvorima vezan je za godinu 424. pne. i sukob Makedonaca sa kraljem Perdikom i Linkesta. U okviru makedonsko-grčkih ratova, tada su Spartanci pružili pomoć Makedoniji, koja je bila protivnik Atene. Perdika je predložio da sačekaju pomoć ilirski plaćenika. Oni su se međutim oprijedili da pomoć pruže Linkestima sa kraljem Arhabejom. Tukidid navodi da je među Makedoncima i Spartancima zavlado strah od njihovog umijeća ratovanja, da su odlučili da se povuku. Kasnije će kralj Aminta oženiti Euridiku iz Linkeste.[3]