Editing Bitola (section)

===Ancient and early Byzantine periods===
The region of Bitola was known as [[Lynkestis]] in antiquity, a region that became part of [[Upper Macedonia]], and was ruled by semi-independent chieftains until the later [[Argead dynasty|Argead]] rulers of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]]. The tribes of Lynkestis were known as ''Lynkestai''. According to [[Nicholas Hammond]], they were a [[Greeks|Greek]] tribe belonging to the [[Molossians|Molossian]] group of the [[Epirotes]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=edited by John Boardman [and] N.G.L.|title=The expansion of the Greek world, eighth to sixth centuries B.C.|year=1982|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-521-23447-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0qAoqP4g1fEC&pg=PA266 |edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière|title=Collected Studies: Further studies on various topics|year=1993|publisher=A.M. Hakkert|page=158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eW0iAQAAIAAJ&q=%22the+Lyncestae+in+the+region+of+Fiorina%2C+the+Orestae+in+the+region+of+Kastoria%2C+and+the+Elimeotae+in+the+region+of+Kozani.+These+tribes+were+all+Epirotic+tribes+and+they+talked+the+Greek+language+but+with+a+different+dialect%22}}</ref> There are important metal artifacts from the ancient period at the necropolis of Crkvište near the village of [[Beranci]]. A golden earring dating from the 4th century BC is depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the Macedonian 10-[[Macedonian denar|denar]] banknote, issued in 1996.<ref>[http://www.nbrm.gov.mk National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia]. Macedonian currency. Banknotes in circulation: [http://www.nbrm.gov.mk/default-en.asp?ItemID=A82826138490824E874DC0F6B8BCE3DE 10 Denars] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329085722/http://www.nbrm.gov.mk/default-en.asp?ItemID=A82826138490824E874DC0F6B8BCE3DE |date=2008-03-29 }}. – Retrieved on 30 March 2009.</ref>

[[Heraclea Lyncestis]] ({{langx|grc|Ἠράκλεια Λυγκηστίς}}<ref>[[NGL Hammond|Hammond, N. G. L.]], (1972), ''A History of Macedonia'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 59</ref> - ''City of Hercules upon the Land of the Lynx'') was an important settlement from the [[Hellenistic period]] till the early [[Middle Ages]]. It was founded by [[Philip II of Macedon]] by the middle of the 4th century BC, and named after the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] hero [[Heracles]]. With its strategic location, it became a prosperous city. The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] conquered this part of Macedon in 148 BC and destroyed the political power of the city. However, its prosperity continued mainly due to the Roman [[Via Egnatia]] road which passed near the city. A number of archaeological monuments from the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] period can be seen today in Heraclea, including a [[portico]], [[thermae]] (baths), a [[Roman theatre (structure)|theater]]. The theatre was once capable of housing an audience of around 2,500 people.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

In the early [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea became an important [[Bishop|episcopal]] centre. Some of its bishops were mentioned in the acts of the first [[Ecumenical council|Church Councils]], including Bishop Evagrius of Heraclea in the Acts of the [[Archbishopric of Sardica#Council of Sardica|Sardica Council]] of 343. The city walls, a number of [[History of Christianity|Early Christian]] [[basilica]]s, the bishop's residence, and a lavish city fountain are some of the remains of this period. The floors in the three [[nave]]s of the Great Basilica are covered with [[mosaic]]s with a very rich floral and figurative [[iconography]]; these well preserved mosaics are often regarded as one of the finest examples of the early [[Christian art]] in the region. During the 4th and 6th centuries, the names of other bishops from Heraclea were recorded. The city was sacked by [[Ostrogoths|Ostrogothic]] forces, commanded by [[Theodoric the Great]] in 472 AD and, despite a large gift to him from the city's bishop, it was sacked again in 479. It was restored in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. However, in the late 6th century the city suffered successive attacks by various tribes, and eventually the region was settled by the early [[Slavic peoples]]. Its imperial buildings fell into disrepair and the city gradually declined to a small settlement, and survived as such until around the 11th century AD.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}