Map of the Kingdom of Macedon with Bisaltia located in the eastern districts of the kingdom.
Bisaltia (
Greek: Βισαλτία) or Bisaltica was an ancient country which was bordered by
Sintice on the north,
Crestonia on the west,
Mygdonia on the south and was separated by
Odomantis on the north-east and
Edonis on the south-east by river
Strymon.The eponymous inhabitants, known as the
Bisaltae, were a
Thracian people. Later, the region was annexed by the
kingdom of Macedon and became one of its districts. The most important town in Bisaltia was the
Greek city of Argilos.[1] There was also a river named Bisaltes in the region, which has not been certainly identified.
In Roman times, Bisaltia crossed a branch of the via Egnatia, in which the Roman sources (Itineraria) mention four horses change stations : Trinlo (=Tragilos), Graero, Arason (=Arolos) and Euporia.[2] In various sites of Bisaltia have been found so far several interesting inscriptions of imperial times.[3]
Important towns of Bisaltia were Argilos,
Berge and
Brea.
^An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen,2005,
ISBN0-19-814099-1,page 810,"There were three polis in Bisaltia of which one was considered a colony of Andros"
^[1]Archived 2017-04-24 at the
Wayback Machine D. C. Samsaris, Historical Geography of Eastern Macedonia during the Antiquity (in Greek), Thessaloniki 1976 (Society for Macedonian Studies), p. 24, 117-119.
ISBN960-7265-16-5.