Lysimachia
Lysimachia was an ancient city located on the isthmus connecting the Thracian Chersonese (modern-day Gallipoli peninsula) to the mainland of Thrace, strategically positioned near the southern coast of the Black Gulf. Founded in 309 BC by Lysimachus, one of Alexander the Great's successors, the city was established to control the critical passage of the Hellespont and was built upon the remains of earlier settlements, Cardia and Pactye. Initially flourishing, Lysimachia minted coins featuring the young Heracles, symbolizing its cultural connections.
The city's fortunes fluctuated following the defeat and death of Lysimachus in 281 BC, as it came under various controls, including that of Seleucus I Nicator and later the Celts, who invaded around 279/278 BC. Over the centuries, Lysimachia experienced multiple occupations and periods of influence from various powers, including the Aetolian League and the Seleucid Empire. Despite its resilience, the city faced destruction multiple times, notably by the Thracians and Philip V of Macedonia. By the time of Pliny the Elder in the 1st century AD, Lysimachia was reported to be deserted, marking the end of its significance as an urban center.
Lysimachia
Lysimacheia (near Baklaburnu, in European Turkey)
A city on the isthmus joining the Thracian Chersonese (Gallipoli peninsula) to the mainland of Thrace, on the south coast of the Melas (Black) Gulf (Gulf of Saros). The settlement was founded and fortified by one of Alexander the Great's successors, Lysimachus, in 309, near the site of the ancient towns of Cardia and Pactye, which he destroyed—bringing their population into Lysimachia, which was intended to command the Chersonese and the passage of the Hellespont (Dardanelles). Its first coins depicted the young Heracles, in a lion's skin.
After the defeat and death of Lysimachus (281) the city came under the control of Seleucus I Nicator; but he was murdered there by Ptolemy I Soter's son Ptolemy Keraunos (Thunderbolt) in the same year. In 279/278 Lysimachia fell to the invading Celts (Galatians), but they were driven out shortly afterward. An inscription of slightly later date recently discovered at Ilium (Troy) records a treaty between Lysimachia and a Seleucid monach, either Antiochus I Soter (281–261) or Antiochus II Theos (261–246).
In about the middle of the third century the place passed briefly under Egyptian influence and then became a member of the Aetolian League. Occupied by Philip V of Macedonia in 202–200, it shortly afterward suffered destruction at the hands of the Thracians, but was rebuilt by the Seleucid Antiochus III the Great (195), who collected the scattered citizens, redeemed those who had been enslaved, and brought in new settlers. During the campaign that led to Antiochus' defeat by the Romans, Lysimachia was seized by Lucius Cornelius Scipio (later Asiaticus), but handed over to the kingdom of Pergamum. About 144, it was captured and destroyed by the Thracians, under King Diegylis, for a second time. According to Pliny the Elder (d. AD 79), the site was deserted in his day.