Dyrrhachion was founded by Greek colonists from Corinth and Corfu as Epidamnos in 627 BC, and has been continuously inhabited ever since.
After the Illyrian Wars with the Roman Republic in 229 BC ended in a decisive defeat for the Illyrians, the city passed to Roman rule, under which it was developed as a major military and naval base.
The Romans renamed it Dyrrachion, as they considered the name Epidamnos to be inauspicious because of its similarities with the Latin word damnum, meaning "loss" or "harm".
Under Roman rule, Dyrrachium prospered; it became the western end of the Via Egnatia, the great Roman road that led to Thessalonica and on to Constantinople.
After the Illyrian Wars with the Roman Republic in 229 BC ended in a decisive defeat for the Illyrians, the city passed to Roman rule, under which it was developed as a major military and naval base.
The Romans renamed it Dyrrachion, as they considered the name Epidamnos to be inauspicious because of its similarities with the Latin word damnum, meaning "loss" or "harm".
Under Roman rule, Dyrrachium prospered; it became the western end of the Via Egnatia, the great Roman road that led to Thessalonica and on to Constantinople.
Modern location: Durrës, Albania
(1)
Dyrrhachion
An
AR
Drachm
struck 92-48 BC
in
Dyrrhachion
Obverse: Cow standing right, calf standing left, ivy-wreath, tripod right; ΦIΛΩTAΣ, (AΓ)
Reverse: Double stellate pattern within double linear square; ΔYP_KΛEI_TOPI_OY
Diameter:
17 mm
Die Orientation: -
Weight: 3.29 g
Die Orientation: -
Weight: 3.29 g
Roman Protectorate
Ceka 454