Illyria
This article is about the ancient region in the south of Europe. For other uses of this word, see Illyria (disambiguation).Illyria (
Anc. Gk. ; also
Illyris,
Illyrikon,
Latin Illyricum) was in
Classical antiquity a region in the western part of today's
Balkan Peninsula, founded by the tribes and clans of
Illyrians, an ancient people who spoke the
Illyrian languages. The delineation of ancient Illyria can pose a problem to historians, since before the Roman conquest the Illyrians were not unified into an Illyrian kingdom, and Illyria's borders before Rome are not always clear. For example, the
Dalmatae, though classed as an Illyrian tribe by language, were only subject to the kingdom of Illyria for a short time and soon defected during the reign of
King Gentius.
Some archaeologists propose that the Proto-Illyrians settled in what would become Illyria as early as the Early
Bronze Age, and presumably soon mingled with the previous non-Indo-European inhabitants. This mixture would eventually result in the formation of the Illyrian tribes who inhabited Illyria in the Classical period-who were kin to tribes further north, also often classed as Illyrians: the
Dalmatae,
Pannoni, and others.
The Illyrians produced and traded cattle, horses, agricultural goods, and wares fashioned from locally-mined copper and iron. Feuds and warfare were constant facts of life for the Illyrian tribes, and Illyrian pirates plagued shipping on the Adriatic Sea. Councils of elders chose the chieftains who headed each of the numerous Illyrian tribes.
From time to time, local chieftains extended their rule over other tribes and formed short-lived kingdoms. During the
5th century BC, a well-developed Illyrian population center existed as far north as the upper Sava River valley in what is now
Slovenia. Illyrian
friezes discovered near the present-day Slovenian city of
Ljubljana depict ritual sacrifices, feasts, battles, sporting events, and other activities.
At various times, groups of Illyrians migrated over land and sea into
Italy.
The Illyrian king
Bardyllis turned Illyria into a formidable local power in the
4th century BC. The main cities of the Illyrian kingdom were
Lissus (today it is located in
Lezha, Albania) and
Epidamnus (also known as
Dyrrhacion, Dyrrhachium, today located in
Durrës, Albania).
In
359 BC, King
Perdiccas III of
Macedonia was killed by attacking Illyrians. In
358 BC, however, Macedonia's
Philip II, the father of
Alexander the Great, defeated the Illyrians and assumed control of their territory as far as
Lake Ohrid.
Alexander himself routed the forces of the Illyrian chieftain
Cleitus in
335 BC, and Illyrian tribal leaders and soldiers accompanied Alexander on his conquest of
Persia. After Alexander's death in
323 BC, independent Illyrian kingdoms again arose. In
312 BC,
King Glaukias expelled the Greeks from Epidamnus. By the end of the
third century, an Illyrian kingdom based near what is now the Albanian city of
Shkodër (ancient
Scodra) controlled parts of northern Albania,
Montenegro, and
Herzegovina. Under
Queen Teuta, Illyrians attacked Roman merchant vessels plying the Adriatic Sea and gave Rome an excuse to invade the Balkans.
In the
Illyrian Wars of
229 BC and
219 BC, Rome overran the Illyrian settlements in the
Neretva river valley and suppressed the piracy that had made the Adriatic unsafe. In 180 BC the Dalmatians declared themselves independent of the Illyrian
king Gentius, who kept his capital at
Scodra. The Romans defeated Gentius, the last king of Illyria, at Scodra in
168 BC and captured him, bringing him to Rome in
165 BC. Four client-republics were set up, which were in fact ruled by Rome. Later, the region would be directly governed by Rome and organized as a
province.
For the subsequent Roman period of Illyrian history, see Roman province of Illyricum.The Illyrian town of Rhizon (
Risan,
Montenegro) had its own protector called Medauras, depicted as carrying a lance and riding on horseback.
Human sacrifice also played a role in the lives of the Illyrians. The ancient historian
Arrian records the Illyrian chieftain Kleitus sacrificing three boys, three girls and three rams just before his battle with
Alexander the Great.
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 brought forth numerous artifacts placed within these tumuli such as weapons, ornaments, garments, and clay vessels. Illirians believed these items were necessary for a dead person's journey into the afterlife.
After the province of
Illyricum was divided into
Dalmatia and
Pannonia in
10 AD, the terms "Illyria" and "Illyrian" would generally go out of use, but would still be used in some circles. The name
Illyria was revived by
Napoleon for the '
Provinces of Illyria' that were incorporated into the
French Empire from
1809 to
1813, and the
Kingdom of Illyria was part of
Austria until
1849, after which time it was not used in the reorganised
Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The name
Illyrians was used by some groups among the
Croats up to their period of
romantic nationalism in the
19th century, but was eventually abandoned as a misleading anachronism.
In drama and literature Illyria can be a half-fictional country, e.g., in
William Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night,
Jean-Paul Sartre's
Les Mains Sales and in
Lloyd Alexander's
The Illyrian Adventure ISBN 0141303131.
*
Illyrians*
Illyrian languages*
Roman province of Illyricum*
History of Montenegro*
History of Albania*
History of the Balkans*
Bosnian pyramids*Wilkes, John.
The Illyrians. 1992, Blackwell Publishing.
*
Illyria region in google map
