Everything about Illyria totally explained
Illyria (
Ancient Greek Ἰλλυρία;
Latin Illyria ; see also
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. In
Greek mythology,
Illyrius was the son of
Cadmus and
Harmonia who eventually ruled Illyria and become the
eponymous ancestor of the whole Illyrian people. 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.
In the first decades under Byzantine rule (until 461), Illyria suffered the devastation of raids by Visigoths, Huns, and Ostrogoths. Not long after these barbarian invaders swept through the Balkans, the
Slavs appeared. Between the 6th and 8th centuries they settled in Illyrian territories and proceeded to assimilate Illyrian tribes in much of what is now
Montenegro,
Slovenia,
Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
Serbia.
Illyrian kingdom
For the subsequent Roman period of Illyrian history, see Illyricum (Roman province).
The Illyrian king,
Bardyllis turned Illyria into a formidable local power in the
4th century BC. The main cities of the Illyrian kingdom were
Scodra (present-day
Shkodra,
Albania) and
Rhizon (present-day
Risan,
Montenegro). In
359 BC, King
Perdiccas III of
Macedon was killed by attacking Illyrians.
But in
358 BC,
Philip II of Macedon, 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 the Illyrian 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 seized
Epidamnus. By the end of the
3rd century BC, an Illyrian kingdom based in 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 was directly governed by Rome and organized as a
province, with Scodra as its capital
Religion
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 chieftain Cleitus the Illyrian 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 found many artifacts placed within these tumuli such as weapons, ornaments, garments and clay vessels. Illyrians believed these items were necessary for a dead person's journey into the afterlife.
Legacy
After the province of
Illyricum was divided into
Dalmatia and
Pannonia in
10, 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 wasn't used in the reorganised
Austro-Hungarian Empire. The adjective "Illyrian" was also used in political and literary circles during the 19th century Balkan nationalist movements to describe Non-Slavic ideas of unification and independence from Slavs and other foreign powers.
Further Information
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