One column containg two treaties between Amyntas III of Macedon

Amyntas III of Macedon

Amyntas III son of Arrhidaeus and father of Philip II, was king of Macedon in 393 BC, and again from 392 to 370 BC. He was also a paternal grandfather of Alexander the Great....

 and the Chalkidian League

Chalkidian League

The Chalkidian League was a federal state that existed on the shores of the north west Aegean from around 430 BCE until it was destroyed by Philip II of Macedon in 348 BCE.-History:...

 has been discovered at Olynthus

Olynthus

Olynthus was an ancient city of Chalcidice, built mostly on two flat-topped hills 30–40m in height, in a fertile plain at the head of the Gulf of Torone, near the neck of the peninsula of Pallene, about 2.5 kilometers from the sea, and about 60 stadia Olynthus was an ancient city of...

 (the capital of the League). The first treaty is dated in ca.393 BC, the second one before 382 BC. The language of the texts is Ionic Greek

Ionic Greek

Ionic Greek was a subdialect of the Attic–Ionic dialect group of Ancient Greek .-History:Ionic dialect appears to have spread originally from the Greek mainland across the Aegean at the time of the Dorian invasions, around the 11th Century B.C.By the end of the Greek Dark Ages in the 5th Century...

, the main dialect of Chalcidice.

Text and translation

Ionic Greek original text

Translation

Treaties with Amyntas, son of Erridaios. Treaties between Amyntas son of Errhidaios and the Chalcidians· They shall be allies with each other against all men for fifty years. If anyone attacks the land of Amyntas or the Chalcidians, the Chalcidians shall assist Amyntas and Amyntas the Chalcidians— —] — —] Importation is to be permitted of pitch and timber for all kinds of construction and shipbuilding, except fir wood , whatever the koinon Koinon Koinon , meaning "common" and interpreted as "commonwealth", "league" or "federation" were a number of associations of cities in ancient and early modern Greek history. The various federations termed Koinon were:...  (the Chalkidian League Chalkidian League The Chalkidian League was a federal state that existed on the shores of the north west Aegean from around 430 BCE until it was destroyed by Philip II of Macedon in 348 BCE.-History:... ) does not need. Even this (i.e. fir) the League may export, informing Amyntas before exporting and paying the prescribed dues. Exportation as well as transit of other (commodities) [shall be permitted] after the payment of dues by the Chalcidians [when they export] from Macedonia and by the Macedonians [when they export] from Chalcidice. With the Amphipolitans Amphipolis Amphipolis was an ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day region of Central Macedonia. It was built on a raised plateau overlooking the east bank of the river Strymon where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the Aegean Sea. Founded in... , Bottiaeans Bottike Bottike or Bottice was a western region of ancient Chalcidice, inhabited by Bottiaeans, who , were expelled from their homeland Bottiaea by Macedonians sometime in the Archaic period . Their chief polis was Spartolos. Bottiaeans were members and allies of the Delian League... , Acanthians and Mendaeans, they shall not make friendship, neither Amyntas nor the Chalcidians separately, but with common consent; [and only] if both parties decide, then they should be joined in alliance. Oath of alliance. I shall preserve the agreements of the Chalcidians and if anyone attacks on the land of Amyntas, I shall assist Amyntas [— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —]

Historical background

After the Illyrian invasion of Macedonia in 393 BC, Amyntas was driven out and Argaeus II

Argaeus II of Macedon

Argaeus II of Macedon , was a pretender to the Macedonian crown, who, with the assistance of the Illyrians, expelled King Amyntas III from his dominions in 393 BC and kept possession of the throne for about a year...

 was installed in the throne. With the aid of the Thessalian family Aleuadae

Aleuadae

The Aleuadae were an ancient Thessalian family of Larissa who claimed descent from the mythical Aleuas. The Aleuadae were the noblest and most powerful among all the families of Thessaly, whence Herodotus calls its members "rulers" or "kings" .-Aleuas:The first Aleuas, who bore the epithet of...

 under Medius, Amyntas recovered his kingdom (Diodorus

Diodorus Siculus

Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...

 14.92.3). To shore up his country against the threat of the Illyrians, Amyntas established an alliance with the Chalkidian League.

In 383/2 BC Illyrians invaded again and defeated Amyntas in battle. A present of land was made to the Olynthians by Amyntas III, seeking for help. At that time the League was more powerful; not only did the alliance break down but the Chalcidians actually seized Amyntas' capital of Pella

Pella

Pella , an ancient Greek city located in Pella Prefecture of Macedonia in Greece, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.-Etymology:...

 and lands of Macedon (DS 15.19.2; Isok. 6.46; cf. Hammond/Griffith 1979, 174-6). With the help of Sparta

Sparta

Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...

, Thessalians

Ancient Thessaly

Ancient Thessaly or Thessalia was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean period, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name which continued to be used for one of the major tribes of Greece, the Aeolians, and their dialect of Greek, .-History:Thessaly was home to an...

, Elimiotes

Elimiotis

Elimiotis or Elimeia or Elimaea was a region of Upper Macedonia that was located along the Haliacmon, north of Perrhaebia/Thessaly, west of Pieria, east of Parauaea, and south of Orestis. In earlier times, it was independent, but later was incorporated into the Argead kingdom of Macedon...

, Iphicrates

Iphicrates

Iphicrates was an Athenian general, the son of a shoemaker, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC....

, Cotys I and city-states in Chalcidice opposing Olynthus, Amyntas recovered his kingdom and the Spartans dissolved the League in 379 BC

379 BC

Year 379 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Capitolinus, Vulso, Iullus, Sextilius, Albinius, Antistius, Trebonius and Erenucius...

. As Justin (7.4.6) states about Amyntas Cum Illyriis deinde et cum Olynthiis gravia bella gessit ..serious wars he made.

So, unlike the first treaty, the second one is clearly beneficial to the League rather Amyntas. Not only concerning the wood exports, which are related to the aims of the maritime League for constructing an effective navy (Amyntas actually would have little interest in wood from Chalcidice or building a navy) but also the third parties mentioned, are all potential enemies of the League and not Amyntas, whose main threat was from the North, the Illyrians.