Edessa
- A city of Macedonia, the burial-place of the kings, Liv. 45, 29; Just. 7, 1, 7.
- —Hence, Edessaeus, a, um, adj., of Edessa: Antiphilus (dux), Liv. 42, 51.—
- II A city of Mesopotamia, in the province of Osrhoëne, now Rhoa or Orfa, Plin. 5, 24, 21, § 86; Tac. A. 12, 12; Amm.20, 11, 4; 21, 7, 7; and where Caracalla died, Aur. Vict. Epit. 21; Eutr. 8, 11.
- —Hence, Edessēnus, a, um, adj., of Edessa: sepulcra, Amm.18, 7.
- 1. stad in Macedonië; — adj. Edessaeus, a, um;
- 2. stad in Z.O.-Turkije, nu Urfa.
EDESSA(Ἔδεσσα: Eth. Ἐδεσσαῖος, Ἐδεσσηνός), the ancient capital of Macedonia, was seated on the Egnatian way, at the entrance of a pass, which was the most important to the kingdom, as leading from the maritime provinces into Upper Macedonia, and, by another branch of the same pass, into Lyncestis and Pelagonia. (Plb. 5.97.4, 34.12.7; Strab. 7. p. 323, 10. p. 449; Ptol. 3.13.39, 8.12.7; Itin. Anton.; Itin. Hierosol.; Peut. Tab.;Hierocl.; Const. Porph. de Them. 2.2.) Aegae and Edessa, though some have considered that they were different towns, are no doubt to be considered as identical, the former being probably the older form. (Comp. Niebuhr, Lect. on Anc. Hist. vol. 2. p. 254, trans.; Tafel, Thessal. p. 308, de Viae Egnat. Parte Occid. p. 48.) The commanding and picturesque site upon which the town was built was the original centre of the Macedonians, and the residence of the dynasty which sprang from the Temenid Perdiccas. The seat of government was afterwards transferred to the marshes of Pella, which lay in the maritime plain beneath the ridge through which the Lydias forces its way to the sea. But the old capital always remained the national hearth (ἑστία, Diod. Excerpt. p. 563) of the Macedonian race, and the burial-place for their kings. The body of Alexander the Great, though by the intrigues of Ptolemy it was taken to Memphis, was to have reposed at Aegae (Paus. 1.6.3),--the spot where his father Philip fell by the hand of Pausanias (Diod. 16.91, 92). The murdered Eurydice and her husband were buried here by order of Cassander, after having been removed from Amphipolis. (Diod. 19.52; Athen. 4. p. 155.) Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, when he had taken the town, gave up the royal tombs to be rifled by his Gallic mercenaries, in hopes of finding treasure. (Plut. Pyrrh. 26.) After the Roman conquest, Edessa ( nobilis urbs,Liv. 45.30) belonged to the third region; and imperial coins, ranging from Augustus to Sabinia Tranquillina, wife of the third Gordian, have been found, with the epigraph ΕΔΕΣΣΑΙΩΝ. (Eckhel, vol. 2. p. 71; Sestini, Mon. Vet. p. 37.)
In the reign of Basil II., Bodena (Βοδηνά, Cedren. vol. 2. p. 705; Glycas, p. 309),--whence the modern name,--which was strongly fortified, was one of the Bulgarian conquests of that emperor. (Le Beau, Bas Empire, vol. 14. p. 195.)
Vodhená, in the grandeur of its situation, in the magnificence of the surrounding country, and the extent of the rich prospect which it commands, is not inferior to any situation in Greece. Notwithstanding its ancient importance, the Hellenic remains are few; the site, from its natural advantages, has doubtlessly been always occupied by a town, and new constructions have caused the destruction of the more ancient. The only vestige of Hellenic fortifications that has been discovered is a piece of wall which supports one of the modern houses on the edge of the cliff; but there are many scattered remains in the town, among which are some inscriptions of the time of the Roman Empire. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. pp. 272--279.)
[E.B.J]EDESSA(ἡ Ἔδεσσα: Eth. Ἐδεσσαῖος, Ἐδεσσηνός), a town of great importance in the northern extremity of Mesopotamia, in the province of Osrhoëne, which itself is said to have derived its name from one of the early kings of the town. (Dionys. Patr. ap. Assem.2. p. 98; Procop. B. P. 2.17.) It was situated on the river Scirtus (now Daisan), a small tributary of the Euphrates, and was distant about 40 miles from Zeugma ( Itin. Ant. l. c. ), and a day's journey from Batna (Procop. B. P. 2.12). Accounts differ as to the date of its foundation, some placing it extremely early, and ascendingto mythical times, as St. Isidore, who attributes its origin to Nembroth or Nimrod, and St. Ephrem, who says Nimrod ruled at Arach and Edessa (Comment, in Genesim.) It is, however, most likely that Appian is correct in stating that it was really built by Seleucus, and that it was one of the many towns, built or restored about the same period of history to which European names were given by the Macedonian rulers. ( Syr. 57.) The same statement is made by Cedrenus (1. p. 166). Its position has not been clearly noted by some ancient writers. Thus Stephanus and Strabo placed it in Syria, the latter confounding it with Hierapolis, and stating that, like it, it bore anciently the name of Bambyce (Βαμβύκη, 16. p. 748). Pliny asserts that it was in Arabia, and was called Antiocheia-Calirrhoes, from a fountain of that name which existed in the city (5.24. s. 21), This position is certainly wrong; but the remark is curious, as it connects the town with some notices in other authors. Thus Stephanus (l. c.) states that it was called Edessa from the force of its waters (διὰ δὴν τῶν ὑδάτων δύμην οὕτω κληθεῖσα), and from the town of the same name in Macedonia; while, in his list of the places which bore the name of Antiocheia, the 8th is designated ἡ ἐπὶ τῆς Καλιρρόης λίμνης.Ancient coins of Edessa abound between the ages of Commodus and Trajanus Decius; the majority of them reading, on the reverse, ΚΟΛ. Μ. ΕΔΕΞΞΑor ΕΔΕΞΑ, or with the insertion of the title Metropolis,ΚΟΛ. ΜΑΚ. ΕΔΕΞΞΑ. ΜΗΤΡ.The exact meaning of the second word ΜΑΚ.has not been satisfactorily explained; but we cannot help suspecting that it refers to the popular belief in the Macedonian origin of the city, ΚΟΛ. ΜΑΚ.being short for ΚΛΛΩΝΙΑ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ.The obverses present busts of the Abgari or local rulers, and of the contemporaneous Roman emperors. There exists, too, a peculiar class of autonomous Greek copper coins, all of which bear on the obverses heads of Antiochus IV., and are perfectly alike in their fabric and art. Their reverses bear respectively the names of an Antiocheia in Ptolemais, Mygdonia, and near Daphne; the fourth has been till this time undetermined. It reads ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΕΠΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΡΟΗΙ.With the evidence stated above, we make no doubt that this coin belongs to the 8th Antiocheia of Stephanus, one of the names, as it appears, of Edessa, and the title whereby it may have been usually recognised during the period of Antiochus IV. There is no reasonable objection to the belief that the modern town of Orfahor Urfahrepresents the site of the ancient Edessa. (Tavernier, 2.4; Pococke, 2. p. 232; Niebuhr, 2. p. 407.) In this instance the most ancient name; appears to have been preserved, Isidorus speaking of Μαννούορρα, evidently the Orrha of Mannus, who was one of the kings of Edessa.
Little is known of the history of Edessa, subsequently to its foundation by Seleucus, till Christian times: but during the wars between the Graeco-Roman empire and the Persians, and in Ecclesiastical history, Edessa plays a very prominent part. Many notices of the events of the period may be found in the following authorities. (Procop. B. P. 1.17, &c., B. G. 4.14, &c., de Aedific. 2.7; Evagrius, H. E. 4.8--26; Malala, Chron. 17. p. 418; Hierocl. p. 714; Dionys. Patriarch. ap. Assem. l. c.;Theophanes and Cedrenus.) It appears that the town suffered as much from natural causes as from the attacks. of enemies. Of these, the river Scirtus was the principal cause, no less than four destructive foods being recorded in the Chronicon Edessenum (ap. Assem. p. 386) and other works. In A.D. 718 the town was nearly destroyed by an earthquake (Dionys. Patr. ap. Assem. 2. p. 259), yet the work of restoration (commenced by Justinian after one of the floods, Procop. de Aedif. 2.7) must have been rapid, or the importance of the place, itself very great, since it appears from the Chronicon of Bar Hebraeus, that as late as A.D. 1184 there were no less than 15 large churches which fell into the hands of the Saracens. (Assem. 2. p. 368). In A.D. 1285 it is coupled with other deserted and ruined towns, such as Beroea and Haran, by Maphrianus. (Assem. 2. p. 260.) Since then, it has never risen to its former greatness, though it is and has been a place of some importance for the inland trade between Kurdistan and Aleppo. The original government of Edessa appears to have been vested in kings or petty princes, more or less dependent on the neighbouring empires, first on the rulers of the Syro-Macedonian dynasty, and then under the Roman and Byzantine emperors. The local names of the kings were Abgarus and Mannus; titles which appear to have been preserved among them, like the names of the Pharaohs and Ptolemies in Egypt. Their names are found (as stated before) on the Greek coins of Edessa, till the time of Trajanus Decius. A series of them is given by Dionysius (ap. Assem. l. c.), and many of them are mentioned in the histories of the times (Procop. Bell. 4.17., Eusebius, and the Chronicon Edessenum).
Edessa was celebrated in Christian times for its schools of theology, to which students came from great distances. Of these, the most important was the Schola Persica.This school appears to have been limited to Christians of the Persian nation. The professors are memorable in history for the part they took in, the Nestorian controversy, under the guidance of John, Patriarch of Antioch, and Ibas, Bishop of Edessa, A.D. 449--457, against St. Cyril, It is clear from a letter of Beth Arsamensis, and from the Chronicon Edessenum, that their Nestorian teaching was the cause of the ruin of this school. The professors were expelled by Martyrus, Bishop of Edessa, and the school itself pulled down by order of Zeno the Roman emperor, A.D. 489, and a: church dedicated to St. Mary was built on its ruins. (Simeon Beth Arsamensis ap. Assem. 1. p. 353; Chron. Edess. ap. Assem. 1. p. 406,; Theodor. H. E. 2.558. 566.) The expulsion of the professors was doubtless one chief cause of the immediate and subsequent spread of the Nestorian heresy. There was, besides the Schola Persica, at least: one other school for miscellaneous pupils and learning. St. Epiphanius shows that the Syriac language was in his day, much studied by the Persians (Haeres.66), and it is manifest that Edessa was for many years the principal seat of Oriental learning. COIN OF EDESSA IN MESOPOTAMIA.
[V](Ἔδεσσα). (1) Also called Antiochia Callirrhoé (Old Test. Ur), a very ancient city in the north of Mesopotamia, the capital of Osroëné, and the seat of an independent kingdom from B.C. 137 to A.D. 216. (See Abgarus.) Here Caracalla was murdered, A.D. 217. In Christian times, Edessa was celebrated for its schools of theology.
(2) A city of Macedonia, once the capital and the burialplace of the kings (Plut. Pyrrh. 26).
Very ancient city of Emathia on the NE slope of Mt. Vermion. The first inhabitants of the area were the Bryges, a Thracian tribe known under the name of Phrygians in Asia Minor, where they finally took refuge after being driven back by the Macedonians coming from the W, from the mountains of Pindus, and from Upper Macedonia, ca. 700 B.C. (Hdt. 8.137; Just. 7.1). Linguistically the word Edessa is considered Phrygian (from vedy-water), and it survived over the centuries, alternating at times with the word Aigai, a common name for many Greek towns. Edessa was the first capital of the Macedonians in historical times, until King Archelaos (413-399 B.C.) transferred his seat to Pella.
Under the name of Aigai (Diod. 16.3, 92, 19.52, 22 frag. 12; Just. 7.1; Arr. 1.11.1; Plin. HN 4.33; Steph. Byz. s.v. Aigai), the city was closely associated with the palace and the royal cemetery, both of which remained fairly important even after the transfer of the capital to Pella. It was there that religious ceremonies and festivals, weddings, and funerals took place; there that Philip was assassinated in the city theater while celebrating the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra with King Alexander of the Epirots. Members of the royal family were buried in the royal cemetery of Aigai according to the instructions of the head of the Temenid dynasty Perdikka, in order to maintain the dynasty (Just. 7.1). Only Alexander was buried far from Aigai and decline set in. But even after Alexander's death, Kassander buried the monarchs Philip Arridaios and Eurydice, as well as Eurydice's mother Kynna, in Aigai with royal honors.
The city is found under the name Edessa in Polybios (5.97), Diodoros (31.8.8), Strabo (7.223 and 10.449), Appian (Syr. 57), Plutarch (Vit. Pyrrh. 10, 12), Polynenus (2.29.2), Ptolemy (13.39 and 8.12.7), Hierokles, and other Byzantine writers. In later Byzantine years and during the Turkish occupation the Slavic name of the city, Vodena, became more common. Today the city is called Edessa again.
The acropolis extended over the great plateau where the modern city is situated with its famous cataracts. Its position is well fortified and strategically important because, of the three passes over Mt. Vermion, it dominates the one farthest N. Through it came the most important road that connected lower Macedonia on the coast with upper Macedonia and the Adriatic with the Aegean. During Roman times Edessa was a post on the Via Egnatia.
Few remains are preserved from the acropolis of Edessa because of the continuous life of the city and the perishable nature of the building materials in the area (poros and wood). The lower city, on the contrary, has valuable ruins. During the years 1923 to 1924 limited excavations were started, and from 1967 to the present extensive research has been carried on in the whole area of the lower city. The wall enclosure has been established and partly uncovered, as well as gates and rectangular towers. The first period of the walls, characterized by the technique of building with stones of unequal sizes, goes back to the 4th c. B.C., but extensive repairs are noticeable until the later Byzantine years, during which gates, as well as towers, were walled in or rearranged during successive additions and modifications. None of the monuments mentioned by ancient writers (temples, palace, theater, royal tombs, etc.) have yet been found. The artifacts which can be removed are mostly marble architectural fragments, inscriptions, and sculpture, the majority of them dating from the Roman period. An old Christian basilica was also excavated, as well as parts of other Byzantine monuments. The finds are kept in the Edessa Museum and the Thessalonika Museum.
BIBLIOGRAPHYS. Pelekides. Ἀνασκαφή Ἐδέσσης, Deltion 8 (1923) 259-69PI; F. Geyer, “Makedonia” (Topographie) RE 14.1 (1928) 658; J. M. Cormack, Inscriptions from Macedonian Edessa and Pella II (1953) 374-81; id., “Inscriptions from Macedonia,” BSA 58 (1963) 20-24; P. Lévêque, Pyrrhos (1957) 147ff passim; M. Karamanole-Siganidou, Χαλκῆ χείρ Σαβαζίου ἐξ Ἐδέσσης, Deltion 22 (1967) 149-55I; M. Michaelides, Παλαιοχριστιανική Ἔδεσσα Ἀνασκαφή Βασιλικῆς Α, Deltion 23 (1968) 195-220PI; Ph. M. Petsas, Χρονικά Ἀρχαιολογικά1966-67, Μακεδονικά 9 (1969) 175-77 I I; id., Αἰγαί-Πέλλα-Θεσσαλονίκη, Ἀρχαία Μακεδονία, ἔκδ. Ἑταιρείας Μακεδονικῶν Σπουδῶν Θεσσαλονίκη (1970) 203-1911 MPI; N.G.L. Hammond, A History of Macedonia I (1972).
PH. M. PETSAS