The first centralized state in the region of Epirus was formed by the Molassian Aeacidae dynasty c. 370 BC. They were allies of the increasingly powerful Macedonian Kingdom; the Molassian princess Olympias married Philip II of Macedon, and would go on to become the mother of Alexander the Great.
When Alexander died in 330 BC, Epirus emerged as a Kingdom proper under Aeacides. Coinage of the three Epirote tribes ceased to be struck, and a new coinage with the legend 'EPIROTES' was struck. In 295 BC, his son Pyrrhus ascended to the throne. He was a skillful general, and initiated a major offensive in Sicily and the Italian peninsula against the Roman Republic and Carthage. Though militarily successful, he was unable to hold on to the territory and returned to Epirus in 275, having lost all his Italian and Sicilian possessions.
In 233 BC, the last surviving member of the Aeacid royal house, Deidamia, was murdered. Her death brought the Epirote royal family to an abrupt extinction and a federal republic was set up, though with diminished territory. The new Epirote capital was therefore established at Phoenice, the political center of the Chaonians.
When Alexander died in 330 BC, Epirus emerged as a Kingdom proper under Aeacides. Coinage of the three Epirote tribes ceased to be struck, and a new coinage with the legend 'EPIROTES' was struck. In 295 BC, his son Pyrrhus ascended to the throne. He was a skillful general, and initiated a major offensive in Sicily and the Italian peninsula against the Roman Republic and Carthage. Though militarily successful, he was unable to hold on to the territory and returned to Epirus in 275, having lost all his Italian and Sicilian possessions.
In 233 BC, the last surviving member of the Aeacid royal house, Deidamia, was murdered. Her death brought the Epirote royal family to an abrupt extinction and a federal republic was set up, though with diminished territory. The new Epirote capital was therefore established at Phoenice, the political center of the Chaonians.
(1)
Epirote League
An
AR
Drachm
struck 210 B.C.
in
Federal Mint
Obverse: Head of Zeus Dodonaeus right wearing oak wreath, monogram behind.
Reverse: ΑΠΕΙ - ΡΩΤΑΝ - Eagle with closed wings standing right on thunderbolt, oak wreath around.
Diameter:
19.7 mm
Die Orientation: 9 H
Weight: 4.32 g
Die Orientation: 9 H
Weight: 4.32 g
No notes for this coin
Franke, Epirus 32ff.