Illyrians

This article refers to the ancient inhabitants of the Balkans. For other uses of this word, see Illyria (disambiguation).

Illyrians has come to refer to a broad, ill-defined group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans (Illyria, roughly from northern Epirus to southern Pannonia) and even perhaps parts of Southern Italy in classical times into the Common era, and spoke Illyrian languages. It is, however, less believable that in reality there was such a broad group that self-identified as Illyrians, and some argue that the ethnonym Illyrioi came to be applied to this large group of peoples by the ancient Greeks, Illyrioi having perhaps originally designated only a single people that came to be widely known to the Greeks due to proximity. Indeed, such a people known as the Illyrioi are supposed to have occupied a small and well-defined part of the south Adriatic coast, around Skadar Lake astride the modern frontier between Albania and Montenegro. The name may then have expanded and come to be applied to ethnically different peoples such as the Liburni, Delmatae, Iapodes, or the Pannonii.

Pliny in his Natural History applies a stricter usage of the term Illyrii, when speaking of Illyrii proprie dicti ("Illyrians properly so-called") among the native communities in the south of Roman Dalmatia. A passage from Appian's Illyrike is representative of the broader usage of the term:

The Greeks call those people Illyrian who dwell beyond Macedonia and Thrace, from Chaonia and Thesprotia to the river Danube. —Appian, Illyrike 1

Origins

The ethnogenesis of the Illyrians remains a problem for prehistorians, however the consensus is that the ethnic ancestors of the Illyrians, the Proto-Illyrians, branched off from the main Proto-Indo-European trunk before the Iron Age. Current theories of Illyrian origin are based on ancient remnants of material culture found in the area, but archaeological remains alone have so far proven insufficient for a definite answer to the question of the Illyrian ethnogenesis.

When the Proto-Illyrians became a distinct group remains unclear, for example. The process may have begun as early as the Eneolithic (the latest phase of the Stone Age). It is hypothesized (v. Wilkes, pg. 33) that in the Eneolithic period invading Indo-European groups mingled with indigenous pre-Indo-European groups, resulting in the formation of the principal tribal groups of what are now called the Paleo-Balkan peoples: Illyrians, Thracians, and others.

A. Benac and B. Čović, archaeologists from Sarajevo, hypothesize that during the Bronze Age there took place a progressive 'Illyrianization' of peoples dwelling in the lands between the Adriatic and the Sava.

In contrast to an ethnogenesis in the Balkans, another (older) school of scholars maintains the theory of an Illyrian invasion, which involves a great movement of Illyrian tribes from the lowlands of central Europe (modern Hungary), towards South Eastern Europe and the Balkan peninsula. The Illyrian invasion is estimated to have occurred around the 13th century BC. The numerous Thracian names in Illyria have led many scholars to believe that the region was originally inhabited by Thracians, who were either deplaced or submitted to the Illyrian invaders. The Illyrians were most likely in turn pushed eastwards by Celtic or Germanic tribes from the northwest. According to this theory, the Illyrian invasion most likely caused the Thracian expansion to the east, the movement of the Greeks to the south and the Phrygian migration from Thrace into central Asia Minor. The last event may have created the conditions for the Achaean Greeks to colonise the coast of Asia Minor and the Dorians to start their invasion.

Bronze Age remains

In the western Balkans, there are few remains to connect with bronze-using Proto-Illyrians, except in western Serbia and eastern Bosnia. Moreover, with the notable exception of Pod near Bugojno in the upper valley of the Vrbas River, nothing is known of their settlements. Some hill settlements have been identified in western Serbia but the main evidence comes from cemeteries, consisting usually of a small number of burial mounds (tumuli).

In eastern Bosnia in the cemeteries of Belotić and Bela Crkva, the rites of inhumation and cremation are attested, with skeletons in stone cists and cremations in urns. Metal implements appear here side-by-side with stone implements. Most of the remains belong to the fully developed Middle Bronze Age.

Illyrian peoples in the classical period

The Illyrians formed several kingdoms in the central Balkans, and the first known Illyrian king was Bardyllis. Illyrian kingdoms were often in war with ancient Macedonia, and the Illyrian pirates were also a large danger for the neighbouring peoples.

The Roman conquest

After the Roman conquest, most of the Illyrians were romanised, i.e. adopted Latin language and culture. The Illyrian city of Sirmium became one of the four capital cities of the Roman Empire, and several Roman emperors were native Illyrians by origin (see: Illyrian emperors).

The fate of the Illyrians

See also: Origin of Albanians

The Illyrians were last mentioned as such in Miracula Sancti Demetri (7th century AD), after which there is no other record of the name, except for one tribe of theirs, the Albanians.

According to the Britannica and The Library of Congress, data drawn from history and from linguistic, archaeological, and anthropological studies have led to the conclusion that Albanians are the direct descendants of the ancient Illyrians and that the latter were natives of the lands they inhabited, and the Albanian language derives from the Illyrian language. They do however specify that some scholars disputed such theses, arguing that Illyrians were not autochthonous and that Albanian derived from a dialect of the now-extinct Thracian language.

Later usage of the term

The term Illyrians was used in the Habsburg Monarchy to designate South Slavs (Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, etc), because of the opinion that they were descendants of the slavicized Illyrians. When Napoleon conquered part of the South Slavic lands in the beginning of the 19th century, these areas were named Illyrian provinces.

See also

• Illyria
• List of Illyrian tribes
• List of Illyrians
• Illyrian gods
• Illyrian languages
• Adriatic Veneti
• Liburnians
• The Races of Europe

References

• A. Benac, 'Vorillyrier, Protoillyrier und Urillyrier' in: A. Benac(ed.) Symposium sur la delimitation Territoriale et chronologique des Illyriens a l’epoque Prehistorique, Sarajevo 1964, 59-94
• J. J. Wilkes, The Illyrians. Blackwell Publishing, 1992.
• Dragoslav Srejovic, Les Illyriens et Thraces, 1997.
• Alexander Stipčević, Iliri (2nd edition), Zagreb 1989 (also published in Italian as Gli Illiri)
• P. Cabanes, Les Illyriens de Bardylis à Genthios: IVe – IIe siècles avant J. – C., Paris 1988 (ethnic Illyrians and Illyrian kingdom up to 168 BC)

External links

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