Achaeans (tribe)
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The Achaeans (/əˈkiːənz/; Greek: Ἀχαιοί, romanized: Akhaioí) were one of the four major tribes into which Herodotus divided the Greeks, along with the Aeolians, Ionians and Dorians. They inhabited the region of Achaea in the northern Peloponnese, and played an active role in the colonization of Italy, founding important cities such as Sybaris, Kroton and Metapontum. Unlike the other major tribes, the Achaeans did not have a separate dialect in the Classical period, instead using a form of Doric.
The etymology of the term Ἀχαιοί is unknown. Robert S. P. Beekes proposed that it originated in a Pre-Greek form *Akaywa-.[1] Margalit Finkelberg, while acknowledging that its ultimate etymology is unknown, proposed an intermediate Greek form *Ἀχαϝyοί.[2]
The term Ἀχαιοί was also used by Homer to refer to Greeks as a whole, and may relate to the Hittite term Ahhiyawa, believed to refer to Mycenaean Greece or part of it.[3][4][5][6]
History
In the Classical era the Achaeans inhabited the region of Achaea in the northern Peloponnese, and later established colonies in Italy including Kroton and Sybaris.[7] [8][9][10] They spoke Achaean Doric Greek, a dialect of Doric Greek.[11][12] In Hellenistic times, an Achaean Doric koine developed which was eventually replaced by the Attic-based Koine Greek in the 2nd century BC.[13]
The Achaeans cemented their common identity in the 6th century BC in response to the rising power of Sicyon to the east and Sparta to the south, and during the 5th century BC in response to the expansionism of the Achaemenids.[14] Herodotus described them as unified nation composed of 12 city-states: Pellene, Aegeira, Aegae, Bura, Helike, Aegion, Rhypes, Patrai, Pherae, Olenos, Dyme and Tritaia.[15] The rise of Macedonia in the late 4th century BC seems to have destroyed this first Achaean League, with the Macedonians eventually controlling so many of the member city-states that the Achaean federal government had virtually ceased to function.[16]
After Macedon's defeat by the Romans in the early 2nd century BC, the League was able to finally defeat a heavily weakened Sparta and take control of the entire Peloponnese. However, as the Roman influence in the area grew, the league erupted into an open revolt against Roman domination, in what is known as Achaean War. The Achaeans were defeated at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC and the League was dissolved by the Romans.[17]
