Epidamnos
Epidamnos
Ancient Greek colonial in Illyria
The city of Epidamnos (Greek: Επίδαμνος) later the Roman Dyrrachium [1][2][3] (Albanian: Dyrrahu) (modern Durrës, Albania), was founded in 627 BC[4] in Illyria by [5] Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra (modern Corfu).[6] Aristotle's Politics several times draws for examples on the internal government of Epidamnos, which was run as a tight oligarchy that appointed a ruling magistrate; tradesmen and craftsmen were excluded from power, until internal strife produced a more democratic government. The exiled oligarchs appealed to Corcyra while the democrats enlisted the help of Corinth, initiating a struggle between the two mother cities described by Thucydides as a cause of the Peloponnesian War. Individual trading with the local Illyrians was forbidden at Epidamnos: all traffic was through the authorized city agent or poletes[citation needed]. In the fourth century BC the city-state was part of the kingdoms of Cassander and Pyrrhus. The general vicinity of Epidamnos was called Epidamnia.[7]