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Guess the ancient city!

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could it be Vaison la Romaine (France, near Lyon) ?

Yes, spot on! I thought that would take a little longer... over to you!

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well I went there when I was around and kept a good memory of the place, very interesting one by the way...

 

Now well go to a ancient city that, I hope, will be hard to identify :

 

gallery_2692_152_48396.jpg

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So is it proving a challenge and do the honourable assembly require some tips ? This place was visited by a roman delegation in the late second century B.C. during an effort to settle various quarels in an area torn between the competing interest of various international powers...

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My spontaneous reaction to your clue was Alexandria (Popilius and the circle in the sand) but that should have been 168 BC?

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Alexandria plays a role in the enigm as it was the capital of one of the international powers I mentionned but it is not the place we are looking for, which is much smaller and, at the time we're speaking of (which is some 40 to 50 years from the date you spoke of), is in a league of cities which has been warring another league for some time. With this city (I should say town...) we are right in the middle of the topic hellenistic diplomatic fightings and roman intervention.

I will add to elements to that : the picture is the old town center and the building on the picture is archaic, at the time we're speaking of most of the population has relocated some kilometers from here to the city's port, a port still in existance today.

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Alexandria plays a role in the enigm as it was the capital of one of the international powers I mentionned but it is not the place we are looking for, which is much smaller and, at the time we're speaking of (which is some 40 to 50 years from the date you spoke of), is in a league of cities which has been warring another league for some time. With this city (I should say town...) we are right in the middle of the topic hellenistic diplomatic fightings and roman intervention.

I will add to elements to that : the picture is the old town center and the building on the picture is archaic, at the time we're speaking of most of the population has relocated some kilometers from here to the city's port, a port still in existance today.

If you are talking about Naupaktos, that would be either the late III century BC (ie, like 217 BC) or the early II century BC (ie, 191 BC).

Edited by sylla

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I am not speaking of Naupaktos. To be more precise, the roman delegation came to this town in the last quarter of the second century B.C. and Livy is one of our main sources.

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Rhodes is the second internationnal player I spoke of, doing a war by proxy against ptolemaic Egypt during this period, the city we are looking for being part of the egyptian alliance.

 

Epigraphic evidences are quite numerous in the city and give detailled informations on the conflict of which I'm speaking. A french scholar, Henri Van Effenterre, worked on the history of this city.

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Rhodes is the second internationnal player I spoke of, doing a war by proxy against ptolemaic Egypt during this period, the city we are looking for being part of the egyptian alliance.

 

Epigraphic evidences are quite numerous in the city and give detailled informations on the conflict of which I'm speaking. A french scholar, Henri Van Effenterre, worked on the history of this city.

Malia?

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that would have been too easy, since this is the best known dig of Van Effenterre ;) But you're on the right island. We are indeed in Crete and the war we are speaking of is the war between cretan cities organized in two leagues under the patronage of Rhodes and Egypt, a war which forced the mediation of the romans led by Q. Fabius Maximus, probably in 113/112 BC.

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