The Phrygians - ancestors of the ancient Macedonians

 The Phrygians were the oldest people who lived in Macedonia, and one of the oldest and most numerous peoples on the Balkan Peninsula.

Their arrival in the Balkans probably came from Northern Europe during the Indo-European migrations in the middle of the second millennium BC. According to professor of ancient history Eugene Borza, the Phrygians were part of the Lusatian culture that moved to the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula during the Late Bronze Age.

There are various theories about the origin of their name, according to Herman Miller, theirr name could be derived from the Indo-European root of the German word "Berg" (bark, mountain) and the Slavic "Breg" for coast (which in addition to coast also meant up, hill or mountain) be related to. (Note: because of the german appellation "Bryger" = Brygians, instead of Phrygians. Also in Macedonian their appellation is Бриги/Brigi).

The most famous king of the Phrygians, Midas, is in the so-called "Hellenic mythology" known for his ability to turn everything he touches into gold. According to the told-tradition, he was the king of the Macedonian mountain Bermion, who planted the famous rose garden.

Phrygians

According to archaeological excavations, they lived in the area between Lake Prespa and Lake Ohrid, Macedonia, as also Durres, southern Albania and Epirus, more precisely in the upper reaches of the Erigon.

The old historian Herodotus called the Phrygians the oldest people in the world, and according to him they were the inventors of various skills (metalworking, coinage, wheel invention, Marcias music) and are mentioned in the Iliad as allies of the Trojan wars against the Achaeans.

In the Balkan Peninsula, as a large population, they disappeared in the early Iron Age, but their language and onomastics, as well as elements of material culture, are preserved in the culture of the ancient Macedonians.

According to the personal names preserved, the Phrygians have similarities with the names of the Paionians, Pelagonians, Edonians and other Macedonian tribes. The researchers O. Hass and I. Pudic support the Phrygian thesis, i.e. that the ancient Macedonians descended from the Phrygians.

According to Nade Proeva, the Phrygians are an important part of the Macedonian ethnogenesis.

SOURCE: Macedonian newspaper Nova Makedonija (Macedonian)

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