Illyrians

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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 (from northern Epirus to southern Pannonia) and even perhaps parts of Southern Italy in Classical times into the Common era. It is, however, unclear whether 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 tribes by the ancient Greeks, Illyrioi having perhaps originally designated only a single tribe that came to be widely known to the Greeks due to proximity. Indeed, such a tribe known as the Illyroi are known 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.

Pliny in his Natural History implies a specific usage, when speaking of Illyri proprie dictii ("Illyrians properly so-called") among the native communities in 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

Contents 1 Origins 1.1 An Illyrian invasion 1.2 Bronze Age remains 1.3 Iron Age remains 2 Illyrian peoples in the Classical period 3 The Roman conquest 4 The fate of the Illyrians 5 See also 6 References

Origins

The Illyrians are considered to have spoken languages belonging to a branch of Indo-European known as Illyrian languages.

An Illyrian invasion

A 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 probably created the conditions for the Achaean Greeks to colonise the coast of Asia Minor and the Dorians to start their invasion.

After the Proto-Illyrians' arrival, it is presumed that they commingled to some degree with the previous non-Indo-European inhabitants of the region (see Neolithic Europe). This mingling is considered to have formed the nucleus of what would become the Illyrian tribes of the classical age, who in this scenario would have a continuity going back to a mixture of native peoples and invading Indo-Europeans in the Early Bronze Age of the western Balkans.

Bronze Age remains

In the western Balkans, there are few remains to connect with these 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.

Iron Age remains

Illyrian peoples in the Classical period

The Roman conquest

The fate of the Illyrians

The real fate of the Illyrians is not entirely clear and is still up to debate. Some scholars believe the Illyrians became extinct, while others uphold the theory that Albanian is related to the language of the Illyrians, thus making Albania the descendant nation of these ancient people. The latter is the more widely accepted variant.

See also

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

References

• Wilkes, John. The Illyrians. Blackwell Publishing, 1992.
• Dragoslav Srejovic, Les Illyriens et Thraces, 1997.de:Illyrer

es:Ilirios fr:Illyrien nl:Illyriërs hr:Iliri pt:Ilírios ro:Iliri ru:Иллирийцы sv:Illyrer zh:伊利里亚人