Illyrians

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the ancient inhabitants of the Balkans. For other uses, see Illyrians (disambiguation).
Illyrian tribes in the 1st–2nd centuries AD.

The Illyrians (

Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, along with the Thracians and Greeks
.

The territory the Illyrians inhabited came to be known as Illyria to later Greek and Roman authors, who identified a territory that corresponds to most of Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, much of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, western and central Serbia and some parts of Slovenia between the Adriatic Sea in the west, the Drava river in the north, the Morava river in the east and the Ceraunian Mountains in the south.[1] The first account of Illyrian people dates back to the 6th century BC, in the works of the ancient Greek writer Hecataeus of Miletus.

The name "Illyrians", as applied by the ancient Greeks to their northern neighbors, may have referred to a broad, ill-defined group of people. It has been suggested that the Illyrian tribes never collectively identified as "Illyrians", and that it is unlikely that they used any collective nomenclature at all.[2] Illyrians seems to be the name of a specific Illyrian tribe who were among the first to encounter the ancient Greeks during the Bronze Age.[3] The Greeks later applied this term Illyrians, pars pro toto, to all people with similar language and customs.[4]

In archaeological, historical and linguistic studies, research about the Illyrians, from the late 19th to the 21st century, has moved from

Iapyges, and speaking the Messapic language).[5][6]

The term "Illyrians" last appears in the historical record in the 7th century, referring to a Byzantine garrison operating within the former Roman province of Illyricum.[7] What happened to the Illyrians after the settlement of the Slavs in the region is a matter of debate among scholars, and includes the hypothesis of the origin of the Albanian language from an Illyrian language, which is often supported by scholars for obvious geographic and historical reasons but not yet proven.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Etymology

While the Illyrians are largely recorded under the ethnonyms of Illyrioi (Ἰλλυριοί) and Illyrii, these appear to be misspelt renditions by Greek or Latin-speaking writers. Based on historically attested forms denoting specific Illyrian tribes or the Illyrians as a whole (e.g., Úlloí (Ύλλοί) and Hil(l)uri),[14][15] the native tribal name from which these renditions were based has been reconstructed by linguists such as Heiner Eichner as *Hillurio- (< older *Hullurio-). According to Eichner, this ethnonym, translating to 'water snake', is derived from Proto-Indo-European *ud-lo ('of water, aquatic') sharing a common root with Ancient Greek üllos (ϋλλος) meaning 'fish'[16] or a 'small water snake'.[17] The Illyrian ethnonym shows a dl > ll shift via assimilation as well as the addition of the suffix -uri(o) which is found in Illyrian toponyms such as Tragurium.[16]

Eichner also points out the tribal name's close semantic correspondence to that of the

Enchelei which translates to 'eel-people', depicting a similar motif of aquatic snake-like fauna. It is also pointed out that the Ancient Greeks must have learned this name from a tribe in southern Illyria, later applying it to all related and neighbouring peoples.[18]

Terminology and attestation

The terms Illyrians, Illyria and Illyricum have been used throughout history for ethnic and geographic contextualizations that have changed over time. Re-contextualizations of these terms often confused ancient writers and modern scholars. Notable scholarly efforts have been dedicated to trying to analyze and explain these changes.[19]

The first known mention of Illyrians occurred in the late 6th and the early 5th century BC in fragments of

Ancient Greeks clearly considered the Illyrians as a completely distinct ethnos from both the neighboring Thracians and the Macedonians.[31]

Most scholars hold that the territory originally designated as 'Illyrian' was roughly located in the region of the south-eastern

Adriatic (modern Albania and Montenegro) and its hinterland, then was later extended to the whole Roman Illyricum province, which stretched from the eastern Adriatic to the Danube.[19] After the Illyrians had come to be widely known to the Greeks due to their proximity, this ethnic designation was broadened to include other peoples who, for some reason, were considered by ancient writers to be related with those peoples originally designated as Illyrians (Ἰλλυριοί, Illyrioi).[25][32]

The original designation may have occurred either during the Middle/Late

Corcyra, they started to have some knowledge and perceptions of the indigenous peoples of western Balkans.[2]

It has been suggested that the Illyrian tribes evidently never collectively identified themselves as Illyrians and that it is unlikely that they used any collective nomenclature at all.

eponymous tribe, or whether it has been applied to designate the indigenous population as a general term for some other specific reason.[38]

Illyrii proprie dicti

Main article: Illyrii proprie dicti

Ancient Roman writers

Lissus, and Pliny and Mela may have followed a literary tradition that dates back as early as Hecataeus of Miletus.[20][38] Placed in central Albania, the Illyrii proprie dicti also might have been Rome's first contact with Illyrian peoples. In that case, it did not indicate an original area from which the Illyrians expanded.[39] The area of the Illyrii proprie dicti is largely included in the southern Illyrian onomastic province in modern linguistics.[40]

Origins

Further information:
Glasinac culture and Central Bosnian cultural group
Sites from prehistory in Illyria (J. Wilkes, 1992).

Archaeology

The Illyrians emerged from the fusion of PIE-descended Yamnaya-related population movements ca. 2500 BCE in the Balkans with the pre-existing Balkan Neolithic population, initially forming "Proto-Illyrian" Bronze Age cultures in the Balkans.[41][42][43] The proto-Illyrians during the course of their settlement towards the Adriatic coast merged with such populations of a pre-Illyrian substratum – like Enchelei might have been – leading to the formation of the historical Illyrians who were attested in later times. It has been suggested that the myth of Cadmus and Harmonia may be a reflection in mythology of the end of the pre-Illyrian era in the southern Adriatic region as well as in those regions located north of Macedonia and Epirus.[44]

Older Pan-Illyrian theories which emerged in the 1920s placed the proto-Illyrians as the original inhabitants of a very large area which reached central Europe. These theories, which have been dismissed, were used in the politics of the era and its racialist notions of Nordicism and Aryanism.[34] The main fact which these theories tried to address was the existence of traces of Illyrian toponymy in parts of Europe beyond the western Balkans, an issue whose origins are still unclear.[45] The specific theories have found little archaeological corroboration, as no convincing evidence for significant migratory movements from the Urnfield-Lusatian culture into the west Balkans has ever been found.[46][47][48]

Archaeogenetics

Mathieson et al. 2018

HV0e.[49] Freilich et al. 2021 identify the Veliki Vanik samples as related to the Cetina culture
(EBA-MBA western Balkans).

Patterson et al. 2022 study examined 18 samples from the Middle Bronze Age up to Early Iron Age Croatia, which was part of Illyria. Out of the nine Y-DNA samples retrieved, which coincide with the historical territory where Illyrians lived (including tested

Liburni sites), almost all belonged to the patrilineal line J2b2a1-L283 (>J-PH1602 > J-Y86930 and >J-Z1297 subclades) with the exception of one R1b-L2. The mtDNA haplogroups fell under various subclades of H, H1, H3b, H5, J1c2, J1c3, T2a1a, T2b, T2b23, U5a1g, U8b1b1, HV0e. In a three-way admixture model, they approximately had 49-59% EEF, 35-46% Steppe and 2-10% WHG-related ancestry.[50] In Lazaridis et al. (2022) key parts of the territory of historical territory of Illyria were tested. In 18 samples from the Cetina culture, all males except for one (R-L51 > Z2118) carried Y-DNA haplogroup J-L283. Many of them could be further identified as J-L283 > Z597 (> J-Y15058 > J-Z38240 > J-PH1602). The majority of individuals carried mtDNA haplogroups J1c1 and H6a1a. The related Posušje culture yielded the same Y-DNA haplogroup (J-L283 > J-Z38240). The same J-L283 population appears in the MBA-IA Velim Kosa tumuli of Liburni in Croatia (J-PH1602), and similar in LBA-IA Velika Gruda tumuli in Montenegro (J-Z2507 > J-Z1297 > J-Y21878). The oldest J-L283 (> J-Z597) sample in the study was found in MBA Shkrel, northern Albania as early as the 19th century BCE. In northern Albania, IA Çinamak, half of them men carried J-L283 (> J-Z622, J-Y21878) and the other half R-M269 (R-CTS1450, R-PF7563). The oldest sample in Çinamak dates to the first era of post-Yamnaya movements (EBA) and carries R-M269.[51] Autosomally, Croatian Bronze Age samples from various sites, from Cetina valley and Bezdanjača Cave were "extremely similar in their ancestral makeup",[52] while from Montenegro's Velika Gruda mainly had an admixture of "Anatolian Neolithic (~50%), Eastern European hunter-gatherer (~12%), and Balkan hunter-gatherer ancestry (~18%)".[53] The oldest Balkan J-L283 samples have been found in final Early Bronze Age (ca. 1950 BCE) site of Mokrin in Serbia and about 100-150 years later in Shkrel, northern Albania.[54][55]

Aneli et al. 2022 based on samples from EIA Dalmatia argue that the Early Iron Age Illyrians made "part of the same Mediterranean continuum" with the "autochthonous [...] Roman Republicans" and had high affinity with Daunians, part of Iapygians in Apulia, southeastern Italy. Iron Age male samples from Daunian sites have yielded J-M241>J-L283+, R-M269>Z2103+ and I-M223 lineages.[56] Three Bronze Age males which carry J-L283 have been found in the Late Bronze Age Nuragic civilization of Sardinia. This late find in Sardinia in comparison to western Balkan samples suggests a dispersal from the western Balkans towards this region, perhaps via an intermediary group in the Italian peninsula.[57]

In ancient Greek and Roman literature

Different versions of the genealogy of the Illyrians, their tribes and their eponymous ancestor,

Galatea—was recorded by Appian (1st–2nd century AD) in his Illyrike.[58]

According to the first version

eponymous ancestor of the whole Illyrian people.[61] In one of these versions, Illyrius was named so after Cadmus left him by a river named the Illyrian, where a serpent found and raised him.[60]

Appian writes that many mythological stories were still circulating in his time,

Enchelei and the Autariatae, whose political strength has been highly weakened, reflects a pre-Roman historical situation.[65][note 3]

Basically, ancient Greeks included in their mythological accounts all the peoples with whom they had close contacts. In Roman times, ancient Romans created more mythical or genealogical relations to include various new peoples, regardless of their large ethnic and cultural differences. Appian's genealogy lists the earliest known peoples of Illyria in the group of the first generation, consisting mostly of southern Illyrian peoples firstly encountered by the Greeks, some of which were the

Paeones until late Roman times. The Scordisci and Pannonians were considered Illyrian mainly because they belonged to Illyricum since the early Roman Imperial period.[68]

History

For Illyrian prehistory and the Bronze Age, see Illyrians § Origins.

Iron Age

Illyrian tribes in the 7th–4th centuries BCE.

Depending on the complexity of the diverse

arable farming and livestock (mixed farming) rearing had constituted the economic basis of the Illyrians during the Iron Age.[citation needed
]

In southern

Enchelei, which seems to have reached its height from the 8th–7th centuries BC, but the kingdom fell from dominant power around the 6th century BC.[69] It seems that the weakening of the kingdom of Enchelae resulted in their assimilation and inclusion into a newly established Illyrian realm at the latest in the 5th century BC, marking the arising of the Dassaretii, who appear to have replaced the Enchelei in the lakeland area of Lychnidus.[70][71] According to a number of modern scholars the dynasty of Bardylis—the first attested Illyrian dynasty—was Dassaretan.[72][note 4]

The weakening of the Enchelean realm was also caused by the strengthening of another Illyrian kingdom established in its vicinity—that of the

Glaukias' rule, in the years between 335 BC and 302 BC.[82][83][84]

The

Illyrian kingdoms frequently came into conflicts with the neighbouring Ancient Macedonians, and the Illyrian pirates were also seen as significant threat to the neighbouring peoples.[citation needed
]

At the

Greek colonies
on the Dalmatian islands.

After Philip II of Macedon defeated Bardylis (358 BC), the Grabaei under Grabos II became the strongest state in Illyria.[85] Philip II killed 7,000 Illyrians in a great victory and annexed the territory up to Lake Ohrid. Next, Philip II reduced the Grabaei, and then went for the Ardiaei, defeated the Triballi (339 BC), and fought with Pleurias (337 BC).[86]

Queen Teuta of the Ardieai orders the Roman ambassadors to be killed – painted by Augustyn Mirys

During the second part of the 3rd century BC, a number of Illyrian tribes seem to have united to form a

proto-state stretching from the central part of present-day Albania up to Neretva river in Herzegovina. The political entity was financed on piracy and ruled from 250 BC by the king Agron
. The Illyrian attack under Agron, against Aerolians mounted in either 232 or 231 BC, is described by Polybius:

One hundred lembi with 5000 men on board sailed up to land at Medion. Dropping anchor at daybreak, they disembarked speedily and in secret. They then formed up in the order that was usual in their own country, and advanced in their several companies against the

hoplites and cavalry in front of their own lines on the level ground, and with a portion of their cavalry and their light infantry they hastened to occupy some rising ground in front of their camp, which nature had made easily defensible. A single charge, however, of the Illyrians, whose numbers and close order gave them irresistible weight, served to dislodge the light-armed troops, and forced the cavalry who were on the ground with them to retire to the hoplites. But the Illyrians, being on higher ground, and charging down on from it upon the Aetolian trrops formed up on the plain, routed them without difficulty. The Medionians joined the action by sallying out of the town and charging the Aetolians, thus, after killing a great number, and taking a still greater number prisoners, and becoming masters also of their arms and baggage, the Illyrians, having carried out the orders of Agron, conveyed their baggage and the rest of their booty to their boats and immediately set sail for their own country.[87]

He was succeeded by his wife Teuta, who assumed the regency for her stepson Pinnes following Agron's death in 231 BC.[88]

In his work

Roman Navy crossed the Adriatic Sea to launch an invasion.[92]
The impetus behind the emergence of larger regional groups, such as "Iapodes", "Liburnians", "Pannonians" etc., is traced to increased contacts with the Mediterranean and La Tène 'global worlds'.[93] This catalyzed "the development of more complex political institutions and the increase in differences between individual communities".[94] Emerging local elites selectively adopted either La Tène or Hellenistic and, later, Roman cultural templates "in order to legitimize and strengthen domination within their communities. They were competing fiercely through either alliance or conflict and resistance to Roman expansion. Thus, they established more complex political alliances, which convinced (Greco-Roman) sources to see them as 'ethnic' identities."[95]

The

Illyrian revolt was crushed under Augustus, resulting in the division of Illyria in the provinces of Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south. [citation needed] Depictions of the Illyrians, usually described as "barbarians" or "savages", are universally negative in Greek and Roman sources.[96]

Roman era and Late Antiquity

Main article:
Illyrian Wars
Further information: Roman provinces of Illyricum, Dalmatia, and Moesia

Prior to the

Scodra.[97] The Great Illyrian Uprising took place in the Roman province of Illyricum in the 1st century AD, in which an alliance of native peoples revolted against the Romans. The main ancient source that describes this military conflict is Velleius Paterculus, which was incorporated into the second book of Roman History. Another ancient source about it is the biography of Octavius Augustus by Pliny the Elder.[98] The two leaders of uprising were Bato the Breucian and Bato the Daesitiate.[citation needed
]

Geographically, the name 'Illyria' came to mean Roman Illyricum which from the 4th century to the 7th century signified the

Alburnus Maior where they formed their own communities. In Trajan's period these population movements were likely part of a deliberate policy of resettling, while later they involved free migrations. In their new regions, they were free salaried workers. Inscriptions show that by that era many of Illyrians had acquired Roman citizenship.[99]

By the end of the 2nd century and beginning of the 3rd century CE, Illyrian populations had been highly integrated in the Roman Empire and formed a core population of its Balkan provinces. During the

Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius , a native of Sirmium, is usually recognized as the first Illyrian emperor in historiography.[105]
The rise of the Illyrian Emperors represents the rise of the role of the army in imperial politics and the increasing shift of the center of imperial politics from the city of Rome itself to the eastern provinces of the empire.

The term Illyrians last appears in the historical record in the 7th century AD, in the

Southern Slavs up to the 19th century,[108] being revived in particular during the Habsburg monarchy.[109][110] In Byzantine literature, references to Illyria as a defined region in administrative terms end after 1204 and the term specifically began to refer only to the more confined Albanian territory.[111]

Society

Social and political organisation

The structure of Illyrian society during classical antiquity was characterised by a conglomeration of numerous tribes and small realms ruled by warrior elites, a situation similar to that in most other societies at that time. Thucidides in the History of the Peloponnesian War (5th century BC) addresses the social organisation of the Illyrian tribes via a speech he attributes to Brasidas, in which he recounts that the mode of rulership among the Illyrian tribes is that of dynasteia—which Thucidides used in reference to foreign customs—neither democratic, nor oligarchic. Brasidas then goes on to explain that in the dynasteia the ruler rose to power "by no other means than by superiority in fighting".[112] Pseudo-Scymnus (2nd century BC) in reference to the social organisation of Illyrian tribes in earlier times than the era he lived in makes a distinction between three modes of social organisation. A part of the Illyrians were organized under hereditary kingdoms, a second part was organized under chieftains who were elected but held no hereditary power and some Illyrians were organised in autonomous communities governed by their own internal tribal laws. In these communities social stratification had not yet emerged.[113]

Warfare

Main articles: Illyrian warfare and weaponry

The history of

pirate activity in the Adriatic Sea within the Mediterranean Sea.[citation needed
]

The Illyrians were a notorious

seafaring people with a strong reputation for piracy especially common during the regency of king Agron and later queen Teuta.[114][115] They used fast and maneuverable ships of types known as lembus and liburna which were subsequently used by the Ancient Macedonians and Romans.[116] Livy described the Illyrians along the Liburnians and Istrians as nations of savages in general noted for their piracy.[117]

torques around their necks.[122]

Apart from conflicts between Illyrians and neighbouring nations and tribes, numerous wars were recorded among Illyrian tribes too. [citation needed]

Culture

Language

The chromolithographic Bronze belt plaque of Vače, Slovenia of the Hallstatt culture
Main article: Illyrian language
Further information: Paleo-Balkan languages and Thraco-Illyrian
See also:
Messapian, Liburnian, and Venetic

The

Slavicization which possibly lead to the extinction of their languages.[123][124][125] In modern research, use of concepts like "Hellenization" and "Romanization" has declined as they have been criticized as simplistic notions which can't describe the actual processes via which material development moved from the centres of the ancient Mediterranean to its periphery.[96]

Peucetii. Based on historical and archaeological data, it has been widely thought that Messapic reached Apulia through the Illyrian migrations across the Adriatic Sea.[5][6]

On both sides of the border region between southern Illyria and northern Epirus, the contact between the Illyrian and Greek languages produced an area of bilingualism between the two, although it is unclear how the impact of the one language to the other developed because of the scarcity of available archaeological material. However, this did not occur at the same level on both sides, with the Illyrians being more willing to adopt the more prestigious Greek language.[126][127] Ongoing research may provide further knowledge about these contacts beyond present limited sources.[127] Illyrians were exposed not only to Doric and Epirote Greek but also to Attic-Ionic.[127]

The Illyrian languages were once thought to be connected to the Venetic language in the Italian Peninsula but this view was abandoned.[128] Other scholars have linked them with the adjacent Thracian language supposing an intermediate convergence area or dialect continuum, but this view is also not generally supported. All these languages were likely extinct by the 5th century AD although traditionally, the Albanian language is identified as the descendant of Illyrian dialects that survived in remote areas of the Balkans during the Middle Ages but evidence "is too meager and contradictory for us to know whether the term Illyrian even referred to a single language".[129][130]

The ancestor dialects of the Albanian language would have survived somewhere along the boundary of

Ancient Greek linguistic influence, the Jireček Line. There are various modern historians and linguists who believe that the modern Albanian language might have descended from a southern Illyrian dialect whereas an alternative hypothesis holds that Albanian was descended from the Thracian language.[131][129] Not enough is known of the ancient language to completely prove or disprove either hypothesis, see Origin of the Albanians.[132]

Linguistic evidence and subgrouping

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Modern studies about Illyrian onomastics, the main field via which the Illyrians have been linguistically investigated as no written records have been found, began in the 1920s and sought to more accurately define Illyrian tribes, the commonalities, relations and differences between each other as they were conditioned by specific local cultural, ecological and economic factors, which further subdivided them into different groupings.

Bosnia (except for its northern regions), central Dalmatia (Lika) and its hinterland in the central Balkans included western Serbia and Sandžak. The third onomastic province further to the north defined as North Adriatic area includes Liburnia and the region of modern Ljubljana in Slovenia. It is part of a larger linguistic area different from Illyrian that also comprises Venetic and its Istrian variety. These areas are not strictly defined geographically as there was some overlap between them.[136][137][135] The region of the Dardani (modern Kosovo, parts of northern North Macedonia, parts of eastern Serbia) saw the overlap of the southern Illyrian and Dalmatian onomastic provinces. Local Illyrian anthroponymy is also found in the area.[138]

In its onomastics, southern Illyrian (or south-east Dalmatian) has close relations with

toponyms in central and northern Greece show phonetic characteristics that were thought to[according to whom?] indicate that Illyrians or closely related peoples were settled in those regions before the introduction of the Greek language.[dubious – discuss][140] However, such views largely relied on subjective ancient testimonies and are not supported by the earliest evidence (epigraphic etc.).[141]

Religion

Main article: Illyrian religion
See also: Paleo-Balkan mythology

The Illyrians, as most ancient civilizations, were

Illyrian tribes, and a number of deities evidently appear only in specific regions.[145]

In

Jupiter. Laburus was also a local deity worshipped in Emona, perhaps a deity protecting the boatmen sailing.[citation needed
]

It seems that the Illyrians did not develop a uniform cosmology on which to center their religious practices.

Cleitus the Illyrian as sacrificing three boys, three girls and three rams just before his battle with Alexander the Great.[150] The most common type of burial among the Iron Age Illyrians was tumulus or mound burial. The kin of the first tumuli was buried around that, and the higher the status of those in these burials the higher the mound. Archaeology has found many artifacts placed within these tumuli such as weapons, ornaments, garments and clay vessels. The rich spectrum in religious beliefs and burial rituals that emerged in Illyria, especially during the Roman period, may reflect the variation in cultural identities in this region.[151]

Archaeology

See also: List of settlements in Illyria
Further information:
Prehistoric Balkans
Adriatic sea in the distance.
Walls of ancient Daorson, located at Ošanići near Stolac in Bosnia and Herzegovina
.

In total, at least six material cultures have been described to have emerged in Illyrian territories. Based on existing archaeological finds, comparative archaeological and geographical definition about them has been difficult.[152] Archaeogenetic studies have shown that a major Y-DNA haplogroup among Illyrians, J2b-L283 spread via Cetina culture across the eastern Adriatic from the Cetina valley in Croatia to Montenegro and northern Albania. The earliest archaeogenetic find related to Cetina in Albania is the Shkrel tumulus (19th century BCE). It is the oldest J2b-L283 find in the region historically known as Illyria. Freilich et al. (2021) determined that Cetina related samples from Veliki Vanik carry similar ancestry to a Copper Age sample from the site of Beli Manastir-Popova Zemlja (late Vučedol culture), eastern Croatia. The same autosomal profile persists in the Iron Age sample from Jazinka cave.[153] Cetina finds have been found in the western Adriatic since the second half of the third millennium in southern Italy. In Albania, new excavations show spread of Cetina culture in sites of central Albania (Blazi, Nezir, Keputa). Inland Cetina spread in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in particular Kotorac, a site near Sarajevo and contacts have been demonstrated with the Belotić Bela Crkva culture.[154] During the developed Middle Bronze Age, Belotić Bela Crkva which has been recognized as another Proto-Illyrian culture developed in northeastern Bosnia and western Serbia (Čačak area). Both inhumation and cremation have been observed in sites of this culture. Similar burial customs have been observed in the Glasinac plateau of eastern Bosnia, where the Glasinac-Mati culture first developed.[155]

During the 7th century BC, the beginning of the Iron Age, the Illyrians emerge as an ethnic group with a distinct culture and art form. Various Illyrian tribes appeared, under the influence of the Halstatt cultures from the north, and they organized their regional centers.

Vače situla was discovered in 1882 and attributed to Illyrians. Prehistoric remains indicate no more than average height, male 165 cm (5 ft 5 in), female 153 cm (5 ft 0 in).[121]

Early Middle Ages

It is also evident that in a region which stretches from the southern Dalmatian coast, its hinterland, Montenegro, northern Albania up to Kosovo and Dardania, apart from a uniformity in onomastics there were also some archaeological similarities. However, it cannot be determined whether these tribes living there also formed a linguistic unity.[160]

The

Arbanon.[161] Illyrian-Albanian links were the main focus of Albanian nationalism during the Communism period.[162] What was established in this early phase of research was that Komani-Kruja settlements represented a local, non-Slavic population which has been described as Romanized Illyrian, Latin-speaking or Latin-literate.[163][164] This is corroborated by the absence of Slavic toponyms and survival of Latin ones in the Komani-Kruja area. In terms of historiography, the thesis of older Albanian archaeology is an untestable hypothesis as no historical sources exist which can link Komani-Kruja to the first definite attestation of medieval Albanians in the 11th century.[163][164] The nationalist interpretation of the Komani-Kruja cemeteries has been roundly rejected by non-Albanian scholars. John Wilkes has described it as "a highly improbable reconstruction of Albanian history". Some Albanian scholars even today have continued to espouse this model of continuity.[165]

Limited excavations campaigns occurred until the 1990s. Objects from a vast area covering nearby regions the entire Byzantine Empire, the northern Balkans and Hungary and sea routes from Sicily to Crimea were found in Dalmace and other sites coming from many different production centres: local, Byzantine, Sicilian, Avar-Slavic, Hungarian, Crimean and even possibly Merovingian and Carolingian. Within Albanian archaeology, based on the continuity of pre-Roman Illyrian forms in the production of several types of local objects found in graves, the population of Komani-Kruja was framed as a group which descended from the local Illyrians who "re-asserted their independence" from the Roman Empire after many centuries and formed the core of the later historical region of

Arbanon.[161] As research focused almost entirely on grave contexts and burial sites, settlements and living spaces were often ignored.[166] Other views stressed that as an archaeological culture it shouldn't be connected to a single social or ethnic group but be contextualized in a broader Roman-Byzantine or Christian framework, nor should material finds be separated in ethnic categories as they can't be correlated to a specific culture. In this view, cemeteries from nearby regions which were classified as belonging to Slavic groups shouldn't be viewed as necessarily representing another people but as representations of class and other social factors as "ethnic identity was only one factor of varying importance".[167] Yugoslav archaeology proposed an opposite narrative and tried to frame the population as Slavic, especially in the region of western Macedonia.[168] Archaeological research has shown that these sites were not related to regions then inhabited by Slavs and even in regions like Macedonia, no Slavic settlements had been founded in the 7th century.[169]

Archaeologically, while it was considered possible and even likely that Komani-Kruja sites were used continuously from the 7th century onwards, it remained an untested hypothesis as research was still limited.[170] Whether this population represented local continuity or arrived at an earlier period from a more northern location as the Slavs entered the Balkans remained unclear at the time but regardless of their ultimate geographical origins, these groups maintained Justinianic era cultural traditions of the 6th century possibly as a statement of their collective identity and derived their material cultural references from the Justinianic military system.[171] In this context, they may have used burial customs as a means of reference to an "idealized image of the past Roman power".[171]

Research greatly expanded after 2009, and the first survey of Komani's topography was produced in 2014. Until then, except for the area of the cemetery, the size of the settlement and its extension remained unknown. In 2014, it was revealed that Komani occupied an area of more than 40 ha, a much larger territory than originally thought. Its oldest settlement phase dates to the Hellenistic era.[172] Proper development began in late antiquity and continued well into the Middle Ages (13th-14th centuries). It indicates that Komani was a late Roman fort and an important trading node in the networks of Praevalitana and Dardania. Participation in trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean via sea routes seems to have been very limited even in nearby coastal territory in this era.[173] The collapse of the Roman administration in the Balkans was followed by a broad demographic collapse with the exception of Komani-Kruja and neighbouring mountainous regions.[174] In the Avar-Slavic raids, communities from present-day northern Albania and nearby areas clustered around hill sites for better protection as is the case of other areas like Lezha and Sarda. During the 7th century, as Byzantine authority was reestablished after the Avar-Slavic raids and the prosperity of the settlements increased, Komani saw an increase in population and a new elite began to take shape. Increase in population and wealth was marked by the establishment of new settlements and new churches in their vicinity. Komani formed a local network with Lezha and Kruja and in turn this network was integrated in the wider Byzantine Mediterranean world, maintained contacts with the northern Balkans and engaged in long-distance trade.[175] Winnifrith (2020) recently described this population as the survival of a "Latin-Illyrian" culture which emerged later in historical records as Albanians and Vlachs. In Winnifrith's view, the geographical conditions of northern Albania favored the continuation of the Albanian language in hilly and mountainous areas as opposed to lowland valleys.[176] He adds that the language and religion of this culture remain uncertain. With bishops absent abroad, "the mountain flocks cannot have been too versed in theological or linguistic niceties".[176]

Nationalism

Albanians

Further information: Albanian nationalism

The possible continuity between the Illyrian populations of the Western Balkans in antiquity and the

Albanian nationalism from the 19th century until the present day.[177][178]

South Slavs

Further information: Illyrian movement

At the beginning of the 19th century, many educated Europeans, based on a poor knowledge of history and ethnology, regarded the South Slavs as the descendants of ancient Illyrians. When Napoleon conquered part of the South Slavic lands, these areas were named after ancient Illyrian provinces (1809–1814).[179] After the demise of the First French Empire in 1815, the Habsburg monarchy became increasingly centralized and authoritarian, and fear of Magyarization arouse patriotic resistance among Croatians.[180] Under the influence of Romantic nationalism, a self-identified "Illyrian movement", in the form of a Croatian national revival, opened a literary and journalistic campaign initiated by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the years of 1835–49.[181][182]

In popular culture

  • The plot of 2022 movie
    Illyrian tribes.[183]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hecataeus' works can only be analyzed indirectly since the fragments have been preserved in the works of other ancient authors. The majority of the fragments are transmitted in the geographical lexicon (Ἐθνικά, Ethnica) of Stephanus of Byzantium (6th century AD), of which we possess only a later abridgment (epitome by Hermolaos). On the other hand, Stephanus is regarded by modern scholars a reliable source in general.[22][23]
  2. Acarnanians and further north in the territory of modern-day central and northern Albania, where Epidamnus/Dyrrhachium and Apollonia were founded by Greek colonists.[28]
    The Aous river, traditionally seen as a border region between Illyria and Epirus has been challenged as having such a status in contemporary research. Rather a transboundary area existed between Illyrians and tribes of Epirus which included the land of the Atintanians in the north and Tymphaea to the south. More recent scholarship places the Ceraunian Mountains as the barrier between Illyrians and the tribes of Epirus. But this mountainous barrier did not act as a border but rather as an area of cultural meeting.[29][30]
  3. Pompeius Trogus for the early history of the Illyrians.[65]
  4. ^ There is also another historical reconstruction that considers Bardylis a Dardanian ruler, who during the expansion of his dominion included the region of Dassaretis in his realm, but this interpretation has been challenged by historians who consider Dardania too far north for the events involving the Illyrian king Bardylis and his dynasty.[73][74][75]
  5. Macedonia ruled by Argaeus I, somewhere between 678 and 640 BC, the historian Polyaenus (fl. 2nd-century CE) recorded the oldest known king in Illyria, Galaurus or Galabrus, a ruler of the Taulantii who reigned in the latter part of the 7th century BC. However, nothing guarantees the authenticity of Polyaenus' passage.[78]

References

  1. ^ Shpuza 2022, p. 553; Zindel et al. 2018, p. 346; Bejko et al. 2015, p. 4; Hammond & Wilkes 2012, p. 726; Dausse 2015, p. 28.
  2. ^ a b c d Roisman & Worthington 2010, p. 280.
  3. ^ Boardman 1982, p. 629.
  4. ^ a b Wilkes 1992, p. 92.
  5. ^ a b Mallory & Adams 1997, pp. 378–379.
  6. ^ a b Fortson 2004, p. 407.
  7. ^ a b Schaefer 2008, p. 130.
  8. ^ Coretta et al. 2022, p. 1122: "Though the origin of the language has been debated, the prevailing opinion in the literature is that it is a descendant of Illyrian (Hetzer 1995)."
  9. ^ Matasović 2019, p. 5: "Much has been written about the origin of the Albanian language. The most probable predecessor of Albanian was Illyrian, since much of the present-day Albania was inhabited by the Illyrians during the Antiquity, but the comparison of the two languages is impossible because almost nothing is known about Illyrian, despite the fact that two handbooks of that language have been published (by Hans Krahe and Anton Mayer)... examination of personal names and toponyms from Illyricum shows that several onomastic areas can be distinguished, and these onomastic areas just might correspond to different languages spoken in ancient Illyricum. If Illyrians actually spoke several different languages, the question arises -from which 'Illyrian' language did Albanian develop, and that question cannot be answered until new data are discovered.The single "Illyrian" gloss preserved in Greek (rhínon 'fog') may have the reflex in Alb. (Gheg) re͂ 'cloud' (Tosk re)< PAlb. *ren-."
  10. ^ Parpola 2012, p. 131: "The poorly attested Illyrian was in antiquity an important Indo-European language in the Balkans, and it is widely believed to survive in the Albanian language (cf. Mallory 1989: 73–76; Fortson 2004: 405–406 and 390)."
  11. ^ Beekes 2011, p. 25: "It is often thought (for obvious geographic reasons) that Albanian descends from ancient Illyrian (see above), but this cannot be ascertained as we know next to nothing about Illyrian itself."
  12. ^ Fortson 2010, p. 446: "Albanian forms its own separate branch of Indo-European; it is the last branch to appear in written records. This is one of the reasons why its origins are shrouded in mystery and controversy. The widespread assertion that it is the modern–day descendant of Illyrian, spoken in much the same region during classical times ([...]), makes geographic and historical sense but is linguistically untestable since we know so little about Illyrian."
  13. ^ Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 11: "Although there are some lexical items that appear to be shared between Romanian (and by extension Dacian) and Albanian, by far the strongest connections can be argued between Albanian and Illyrian. The latter was at least attested in what is historically regarded as Albanian territory and there is no evidence of any major migration into Albanian territory since our records of Illyrian occupation. The loan words from Greek and Latin date back to before the Christian era and suggest that the ancestors of the Albanians must have occupied Albania by then to have absorbed such loans from their histori-cal neighbors. As the Illyrians occupied Albanian territory at this time, they are the most likely recipients of such loans."
  14. ^ Eichner, Heiner (2004). Illyrisch - die unbekannte Sprache (DOC). Die Illyrer. Asparn an der Zaya. p. 105.
  15. ^ Appendini, Francesco Maria (1802). Historiae urbium et Regionum Italiae rariores (in Italian). A. Forni. p. 24.
  16. ^ a b Eichner 2004, p. 106.
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  18. ^ Eichner 2004, pp. 106–7.
  19. ^ a b Dzino 2014a, pp. 45–46.
  20. ^ a b Matijasić 2011, p. 293.
  21. ^ Dzino 2014a, pp. 47–48.
  22. ^ Matijasić 2011, p. 295–296.
  23. ^ Matijasić 2015, p. 132.
  24. ^ Katičić 1976, pp. 154–155.
  25. ^ a b Katičić 1976, p. 156.
  26. ^ Borza, 1991, p. 191: "Illyrian tribes moved about constantly, and there are no fixed land borders to the area known by the Greeks as 'Illyris'. Rouphly speaking, Illyris consisted of the large region north of Epirus and western Macedonia..."
  27. ^ Hammond 1994, p. 438: Illyris', a geographical term which the Greeks applied to a territory neighbouring their own, covers more or less the area of northern and central Albania down to the mouth of the Aous.
  28. ^ Crossland 1982, p. 839: "Greeks of the fifth century B.C. knew the Illyrii as an important non-Greek people living to the north of the Aetolians and the Acarnanians and further north in the territory which now forms central and northern Albania, where Greek colonists had founded Epidamnus (Dyrrhachium) and Apollonia."
  29. ^ Dausse 2015, p. 28:"La cartographie récente de Lauriane Martinez-Sève41 fait apparaître une vaste zone entre Illyrie, Épire et Macédoine, constituée du nord au sud de l'Atintanie, de la Paravée et de la Tymphée. (..) De celle-ci dépend la frontière entre Illyriens et Épirotes. Elle s'applique en revanche moins bien au fleuve Aoos pour définir une frontière entre Épire et Illyrie. Pour les zones de montagnes, nous pouvons citer les monts Acrocérauniens qui pourraient marquer le passage entre la partie chaone de l'Épire et l'Illyrie. Mais la plupart du temps, la montagne est le lieu de vie de nombreuses populations de la Grèce du Nord. À ce titre, elle constitue plus un lieu de rencontre qu'une barrière."
  30. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 97.
  31. ^ Crossland 1982, p. 841.
  32. ^ Wilkes 1992, pp. 81, 183.
  33. ^ a b Campbell 2009, p. 120.
  34. ^ a b Wilkes 1992, p. 38.
  35. ^ Elsie 2015, p. 2.
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  38. ^ a b c Dzino 2014a, p. 46.
  39. ^ Garašanin 1982, pp. 585–586.
  40. ^ a b c Wilkes 1992, p. 92
  41. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 33–35, 39.
  42. ^ Dzino 2014b, p. 15–19.
  43. ^ Lazaridis & Alpaslan-Roodenberg 2022, pp. 8, 10–11, 13.
  44. ^ Šašel Kos 2005, p. 235.
  45. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 39.
  46. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 38, 81.
  47. ^ Stipčević 1977, p. 17.
  48. ^ Dzino 2014b, p. 13–19.
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  59. ^ Šašel Kos 2005, p. 124.
  60. ^ a b c Šašel Kos 2005, p. 124
  61. ^ Grimal & Maxwell-Hyslop 1996, p. 230; Apollodorus & Hard 1999, p. 103 (Book III, 5.4)
  62. ^ a b Šašel Kos 2004, p. 493.
  63. ^ Grimal & Maxwell-Hyslop 1996, p. 168.
  64. ^ Katičić 1995, p. 246.
  65. ^ a b Šašel Kos 2005, p. 123.
  66. ^ Šašel Kos 2004, p. 502.
  67. ^ Papazoglu 1978, p. 213.
  68. ^ Šašel Kos 2004, p. 503.
  69. ^ Stipčević 1989, p. 34.
  70. ^ Šašel Kos 2004, p. 500.
  71. ^ Castiglioni 2010, pp. 93–95.
  72. ^ Mortensen 1991, pp. 49–59; Cabanes 2002, pp. 50–51, 56, 75; Castiglioni 2010, p. 58; Lane Fox 2011, p. 342; Cambi, Čače & Kirigin 2002, p. 106; Mesihović & Šačić 2015, pp. 129–130.
  73. ^ Cabanes 2002, pp. 50–51, 56, 75.
  74. ^ Mortensen 1991, pp. 49–59.
  75. ^ Lane Fox 2011, p. 342.
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  77. ^ Wilkes 1992, pp. 97–98.
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  80. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 112.
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  82. ^ Dzino 2014a, p. 49.
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  84. ^ Stipčević 1989, pp. 35–36.
  85. ^ Hammond 1994, p. 438.
  86. ^ Hammond 1993, pp. 106–107.
  87. ^ Polybius 2.3
  88. ^ Elsie 2015, p. 3.
  89. ^ Bajrić 2014, p. 29.
  90. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 158.
  91. ^ Boak & Sinnigen 1977, p. 111.
  92. ^ Gruen 1986, p. 76.
  93. ^ Dzino 2012, pp. 74–76.
  94. ^ Dzino 2012, p. 97.
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  99. ^ Holleran 2016, p. 103.
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  106. ^ Juka 1984, p. 60: "Since the Illyrians are referred to for the last time as an ethnic group in Miracula Sancti Demetri (7th century AD), some scholars maintain that after the arrival of the Slavs the Illyrians were extinct."
  107. ^ Meksi, Aleksandër (1989) Të dhëna për historinë e hershme mesjetare të Shqipërisë (fundi i shek. VI — fillimi i shek. XI), / Données sur l'histoire médiévale ancienne de l'Albanie Iliria Année 1989, 19-1, p. 120
  108. ^ Ćirković 2004, p. 2: "The name Illyrian was used to identify the western wing of the Southern Slavs up to the nineteenth century, although since the Middle Ages it has been used primarily in connection with the Albanians."
  109. ^ Djilas 1991, pp. 20–21.
  110. ^ Stergar 2016, pp. 111–112.
  111. ^ Koder 2017, p. 206.
  112. ^ Matijasić 2011, p. 26.
  113. ^ Šašel Kos 1993, p. 120.
  114. ^ The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes, 1996, page 158, "...Illyrian success continued when command passed to Agron's widow Teuta, who granted individual ships a licence to universal plunder. In 231 ac the fleet and army attacked Ells and Messenia..."
  115. ^ Møller, Bjørn. "Piracy, Maritime Terrorism and Naval Strategy." Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies, November 16, 2008. 10.
  116. ^ Dell, Harry J. 1967. The Origin and Nature of Illyrian Piracy. Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 16, (3) (Jul.): 344-58. 345.
  117. ^ Livy. The History of Rome, Band 2 - The History of Rome, Livy. T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1814. p. 324.
  118. ^ Whitehorne 1994, p. 37; Eckstein 2008, p. 33; Strauss 2009, p. 21; Everitt 2006, p. 154.
  119. ^ Champion 2004, p. 113.
  120. ^ Juvenal 2009, p. 127.
  121. ^ a b Wilkes 1992, p. 219.
  122. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 223.
  123. ^ Bunson 1995, p. 202; Mócsy 1974.
  124. ^ Pomeroy et al. 2008, p. 255
  125. ^ Bowden 2003, p. 211; Kazhdan 1991, p. 248.
  126. ^ Malkin 1998, p. 143.
  127. ^ a b c Filos 2017, pp. 222, 241
  128. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 183.
  129. ^ a b Eastern Michigan University Linguist List: The Illyrian Language Archived 2012-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, linguistlist.org; accessed April 3, 2014
  130. ^ Ammon et al. 2006, p. 1874: "Traditionally, Albanian is identified as the descendant of Illyrian, but Hamp (1994a) argues that the evidence is too meager and contradictory for us to know whether the term Illyrian even referred to a single language."
  131. ^
  132. ^ Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 9;Fortson 2004
  133. ^ Stipčević 1977, p. 15.
  134. ^ Fine 1983, pp. 9–10.
  135. ^ a b De Simone 2017, p. 1869.
  136. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 70.
  137. ^ Polomé 1982, p. 867.
  138. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 86.
  139. ^ Polomé 1983, p. 537.
  140. ^ Crossland 1982, pp. 841–842.
  141. ISBN 9783110532135
    . Crossland posited a posited (partial) Hellenization of pre-classical Epirus, with Greek elites ruling over non-Greek populations; cf. Nilsson (1909). A very brief synopsis of older works and views is available in Kokoszko&Witczak (2009,112) who in turn also favor a 'Hellenization' scenario Nonetheless, such views, which rely largely on some subjective ancient testimonies, are no supported by the earliest (and not only) epigraphic evidence.
  142. ^ a b c Stipčević 1977, p. 182.
  143. ^ a b c d Wilkes 1992, p. 244.
  144. ^ Stipčević 1977, pp. 182, 186.
  145. ^ a b c Wilkes 1992, p. 245.
  146. ^ West 2007, p. 15.
  147. ^ Stipčević 1977, p. 197.
  148. ^ Stipčević 1976, p. 235.
  149. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 123.
  150. ^ F. A. Wright (1934). ALEXANDER THE GREAT. London: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE SONS, LTD. pp. 63–64.
  151. ^ Brandt, Ingvaldsen & Prusac 2014, p. 249.
  152. ^ Stipčević 1977, p. 107.
  153. ^ Freilich et al. 2021.
  154. ^ Gori, Recchia & Tomas 2018, p. 201.
  155. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 34.
  156. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 140.
  157. ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 233.
  158. ^ Bunson 1995, p. 202; Hornblower & Spawforth 2003, p. 426
  159. ^ Hornblower & Spawforth 2003, p. 1106
  160. ^ Matzinger, Joachim (2016). "Die albanische Autochthoniehypotheseaus der Sicht der Sprachwissenschaft" (PDF). Südosteuropa-Institut. Retrieved 9 August 2020. Das Albanische sei die Nachfolgesprache des Illyrischen: An der sprachlichen Realität des Illyrischen kann prinzipiell nicht gezweifelt werden. Auf welcher Basis beruht aber die heutige Kenntnis des Illyrischen? Nach moderner Erkenntnis ist das, was Illyrisch zu nennen ist, auf den geographischen Bereich der süddalmatischen Küste und ihrem Hinterland zu begrenzen (modernes Crna Gora, Nordalbanien und Kosovo/Kosova [antikes Dardanien]), wo nach älteren griechi-schen Autoren Stämme beheimatet waren, die gemeinhin illyrisch benannt wurden (Hei-ner EICHNER). Das Gebiet deckt sich mit einem auch relativ einheitlichen Namensgebiet (Radoslav KATIČIĆ) und es gibt es zum Teil archäologische Übereinstimmungen (Hermann PARZINGER). Ob diese Stämme auch eine sprachlicheEinheitgebildet haben, lässt sich nicht feststellen. Aus diesem Grund darf der Begriff 'Illyrer' und 'illyrisch' primär nur als Sammelbegriffverstanden werden
  161. ^ a b Wilkes 1996, p. 278.
  162. ^ Curta, Florin (2013). "Seventh-Century Fibulae with Bent Stem in the Balkans". Archaeologia Bulgarica. 17 (1): 49–70. In Albania, for a long time, the fibulae with bent stem have been regarded as the foremost element linking the Koman(i) culture to the Iron-Age civilization of the Illyrians, the main focus of Albanian nationalism during the Communist period
  163. ^ a b Wilkes 1996, p. 278
  164. ^ a b Bowden 2003, p. 61
  165. ISSN 0390-0592
    . The nationalist interpretation of the cemeteries has, on the other hand, been roundly rejected by foreign scholars. Wilkes influential volume on the Illyrians described it as "a highly improbable reconstruction of Albanian history", and as noted above, I have published a number of trenchant critiques of it... of the earlier model.
  166. ^ Nallbani 2017, p. 315.
  167. ISBN 978-1-78491-682-4
    . All the cemeteries in south-eastern Albania have exactly the same shapes and incised decoration styles as Lako's ones in Saranda (especially his Nos. 23-27 in Table 3) but are dated later, that is to say between the 8th and 11th/12th centuries. Albanian archaeologists often connect these early medieval cemeteries to the so-called 'Komani-Kruja culture', and associate them with one particurlar ethnic group (regularly described as 'Slavic'). Recently, however, this view has been criticized by other scholars, who prefer to situate the 'Komani-Kruja culture' in a regionalized Romano-Byzantine or Christian context of various ethnic and social groups, adopting additional foreign elements(Popovic 1975:455-457; Popovic 1984: 214-243; Bowden 2003; 210-21; Curta 2006: 103-105). Consequently, we can conclude that the identification of the pottery finds from the Basilica excavation in Saranda with one period (the 6th and 7th centuries) and with one ethnic group (in this case the Slavs) is without doubt erroneous.
  168. ^ Curta 2012, p. 73.
  169. ^ Curta 2012, pp. 73–74
  170. ^ Bowden 2004, p. 229
  171. ^ a b Curta 2013
  172. ^ Nallbani 2017, p. 320.
  173. ^ Curta 2021, p. 79.
  174. ^ Curta 2021, p. 314.
  175. ^ Nallbani 2017, p. 325.
  176. ^ a b Winnifrith 2021, pp. 98–99.
  177. ^ Dzino 2014b, p. 11, 15–16.
  178. ^ Gori, Maja (November 2012). "Who are the Illyrians? The Use and Abuse of Archaeology in the Construction of National and Trans-National Identities in the Southwestern Balkans". Archaeological Review from Cambridge: Archaeology and the (De)Construction of National and Supra-National Polities. 27 (2): 71–84.
  179. ^ Djilas 1991, p. 20.
  180. ^ Djilas 1991, p. 22.
  181. ^ Despalatovic 1975.
  182. ^ Dzino 2014b, p. 9–10.
  183. ^ ""Illyricvm" smo stvarali 8 godina, a rekonstruirali smo i ilirski jezik". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2022-10-16.

Bibliography

External links

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