Akornion was an important citizen of the Ionian

Ionians

The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided...

 Greek colony of Dionysopolis (today's Balchik

Balchik

Balchik is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is located in Dobrich Oblast and is 42 km northeast of Varna...

, on the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 coast of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

).

He is mentioned in the Decree of Dionysopolis

Decree of Dionysopolis

The Decree of Dionysopolis was written around 48 BC by the citizens of Dionysopolis to Akornion, who traveled far away in a diplomatic mission to meet somebody's farther in Argedauon...

, written around 48 BC by the citizens of the polis

Polis

Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...

. The decree mentions that Akornion far away in a diplomatic mission to meet somebody's farther in Argedauon, potentially the Dacian towns of Argidava

Argidava

Argidava is a genus of moth in the family Geometridae.-References:*...

 or Argedava

Argedava

Argedava was an important Dacian town mentioned in the Decree of Dionysopolis , and potentially located at Popeşti, a district in the town of Mihăileşti, Giurgiu County, Romania.- Decree of Dionysopolis :This decree was written by the citizens of Dionysopolis to Akornion, who traveled far away in a...

. The decree, a fragmentary marble inscription, is presently located in the National Historical Museum

National Historical Museum (Bulgaria)

The National Historical Museum in Sofia is Bulgaria's largest museum. It was founded on 5 May 1973 and its first representative exposition was opened in 1984 to commemorate 1300 years of Bulgarian history...

 in Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

.

The inscription also refers to the Dacian king Burebista

Burebista

Burebista was a king of the Getae and Dacians, who unified for the first time their tribes and ruled them between 82 BC and 44 BC. He led plunder and conquest raids across Central and Southeastern Europe, subjugating most of the neighbouring tribes...

, and one interpretation is that Akornion was his chief adviser in Dionysopolis.. Other sources indicate that Akornion was sent as an ambassador of Burebista to Pompey

Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...

, to discuss an alliance against Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

.

External links

• Searchable Greek Inscriptions at The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) - Segment from Decree of Dionysopolis reviewed in Inscriptiones graecae in Bulgaria repertae by Georgi Mihailov