The city of Garescus in Orbelia/Parorbelia (Osogovija) in Macedonia
was listed by Ptolemy as the sole, most important or the largest town in
the region, that coincides with the location occupied by Golemo
Gradište at Konjuh. Golemo Gradište with the meaning of “a large city”
is an acropolis, a fortified city that was built by the Paeonian tribe
Garesci on a hill, a plain area by the Kriva River. Garescus was
strategically raised on a place to guard the Paeonian kingdom eastwards
against the Illyrians and to control the important road, through the
valley of Kriva Reka, with bearing from Scupi to Serdica. Paeonia was
ruled by Patraos until his death in 315 BC as an independent kingdom,
subjected to Macedonia. Shortly after the new king Audoleon came to the
throne, Paeonia must have been attacked by the Autariatae, Illyrian
people, forcing inhabitants of Garescus to flee from their city.
Diodorus informs us that Cassander assisted Audoleon against Autariate,
and that having conquered them, he settled 20,000 men, women and
children in the Mount Orbelus. According to Strabo, the Macedonian king
Cassander founded Thessalonica in 315 after he had rased to the ground
the towns in Crusis and those on the Thermaic Gulf, about 26 in number,
by settling all inhabitants together in one city. Obviously, the
refugees from Garescus must have also been moved to settle in the newly
built city of
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Thessalonica, like those people moved from the demolished cities. A
quite precised description of Parorbelia’s location as district was
given by Strabo telling that Parorbelia in Macedonia is situated near
Agrianes. The Agrianes were a Paeonian tribe not included in the
Paeonian kingdom, occupying the district around Pautalia and the source
of the Strymon River. In 279-278 BC the Celts/Gauls invaded the Paeonian
kingdom with a huge army and carried out immense atrocities destroying
everything on their path. Paeonia was repeatedly ruined by many
invaders, and during the Roman rule the country was divided into two
parts, forming the second and the third region of Macedonia.
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