ABSTRACT
The ruling house of Lynkos or Lynkestis is first attested in the context of the events of 424/3 by Thucydides, who mentions an Arrhabaios, “king of the Lynkestians” (Thuc. 4.79.2: Λυγκηστῶν βασιλέα); the historian describes him in greater detail four chapters later as “Arrhabaios son of Bromeros, king of the Lynkestian Makedonians” (Thuc. 4.83.1: Ἀρραβαῖον τὸν Βρομεροῦ Λυγκηστῶν Μακεδόνων βασιλέα). Like the Argeadai (or Temenids) and the Molossian Aiakidai, the Lynkestian rulers claimed Greek descent, tracing their ancestry back to the Bakchiadai of Korinth. 1 It is clear that in the 420s the Upper Makedonians, and the Lynkestians in particular, were fiercely independent and that Perdikkas II was far more concerned with them than with his commitments to his Greek allies. 2 Unfortunately, we know very little about the chronology of Arrhabaios’ reign. Much depends upon the date of the peace treaty between Perdikkas and Athens (IG I2 71 = I3 89), which mentions philia and symmachia between Perdikkas and Arrhabaios. This has been dated by many scholars to 423/2, after Perdikkas’ defection from Brasidas (Thuc. 4.132), but some have placed it as early as the middle of the fifth century or as late as 415; the letter forms appear to support a later date. 3 What we can say with certainty is that Arrhabaios I (the son of Bromeros) acceded to the kingship no later than the mid-420s, and that there is no compelling evidence for the view that the king of the same name, who waged war in conjunction with Sirrhas against Perdikkas’ successor, Archelaos (whose reign ended in 399), was a different individual. 4
