LYCHNIDOS

In the III century BC Rome expressed its aspiration towards the Balkans. Military actions begun and the Illyrian territories were used as starting bases in the war against the mighty Macedonian State. The Roman Empire lead three wars against Macedonia where the Macedonians, during the rules of Philip V and Perseus, tasted defeat for the first time. The whereabouts of these defeats are not precisely known. Perhaps they even happened in the region of Lychnidos. After the Third Macedonian War against King Perseus, Lychnidos became the main Roman base in the northern regions of Macedonia. It was at this exact time that the name was frequently heard.

In 148 BC Macedonia became a Roman colony that stretched to the Adriatic Sea to the west. The situation remained unchanged throughout the Early Roman Empire. Within the province, Dasaretia together with Lychnidos retained its status of a free community - one chronicle writer described Dasaretians as libera gens.

As a main centre of Dasaretians, Lychnidos had a great significance during the period of Roman Republic. The importance of Lychnidos is evident from numerous epigraphic monuments found in Ohrid. These monuments were erected by Dasaretians and their governmental bodies and are amongst the most important remnants of ancient Ohrid.

During the Late classical period Lychnidos was mentioned as an episcopal centre. The exact date of the foundation of the Lychnidos Episcopacy is not known. It was first mentioned in the acts of the church conclave in Serdika (343 AD) where Dionysius de Macedonia de Lychnido appears as one of the signatories. In fact, Dionysius is the only known bishop in Lychnidos in IV century.

Lychnidos was last mentioned on the occasion of its destruction. Among all the rest of heavy disasters that struck the Roman Empire during the reign of Ustinian (wars, floods, plague), earthquakes were also noted. According to the historical sources, in the earthquake that occurred on 29th and 30th May 526 AD, several thousand people from Lychnidos were killed. There are no further records of Lychnidos in historical documents. It also remains unclear whether or not Justinian rebuilt the town?