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Illyro-Roman is a term used in historiography and anthropological studies for the Romanized Illyrians within the ancient Roman provinces of Illyricum, Dalmatia, Moesia, Pannonia and Dardania.
The Illyrian tribes were considered barbarians by both the Romans and the Hellenic peoples in the southern Balkans. The term Illyrian originally denoted one tribe that lived around Lake Scutari situated along the border of Albania and Montenegro. [1] They were considered among the vast group of barbarian peoples such as the Gauls, Germans, and Dacians. The conquest of Illyria in 168 BC, along with that of Epirus, consolidated the Roman domain over the Adriatic Sea. The mountainous geography of the region meant that the region was hard to subdue, but by 9 CE the Great Illyrian Revolt had been quelled and from then on the region would supply large numbers of non-citizen soldiers to the Roman Auxilia.
The Romanization of these barbarian peoples eventually transformed them into the most valuable soldiers of the Late Roman Army, with a substantial portion of the officials and generals coming from a northern balkanic background, such as Illyria, Dalmatia, Pannonia and Moesia. One emperor, Decius, several usurpers and during the reign of Gallienus, who started the professionalization of the high command of the army, large numbers of soldiers achieved high rank within the army. They took the place which the Senatorial order had had the privilege of holding since the time of Augustus, 250 years earlier, the command of the legions and armed provinces.
Illyricum was heavily colonized by the Romans beginning in the third century BC. The Romans founded the cities of Acruvium, Cibalae, Mursa, Narona, Siscia, and established colonies at Salona, Sirmium, Epidaurum, Aequum, Iader, Rhizon, and in many other cities. These cities were colonized by Roman war veterans.
It was from this group that the most successful emperors of the time came from and it was they who brought the Crisis of the Third Century to an end. Examples include Claudius II Gothicus, Aurelian, Probus and later on Anastasius I Dicorus. There was also the case of Justinian, who was noted for undertaking large-scale political and legislative reform that restructured the Roman empire. He was born in 483 near Scupi (modern Skopje) to an obscure Illyro-Roman family and became an associate emperor to his uncle, Justin I, who adopted him. [2] However, other sources note that Justinian came from a Thraco-Roman background. [3] [4] The creator of the Tetrarchy Diocletian and his fellow Tetrarchs Maximian, Constantius Chlorus (father of the first Christian emperor Constantine) and Severus II were also of Illyro-Roman background.
There are scholars who note that the military spirit and Latin education of the Roman emperors with Illyrian stock often conflicted with the contemporary ideals of an ancient culture, which is based on classical Greek. [5]
During the Middle Ages, the descendants of the Illyro-Romans have influenced the growth of the Balkan peninsula. [6] It is said that their wandering enterprise facilitated commerce and opened ancient trade routes. These people had access to old Roman road network, which seemed to be known only among themselves. [6] Artifacts excavated (e.g. sepulchral slabs) in Serbia showed Illyro-Roman workmanship that favored decoration that were rude almost to grotesqueness. [7] It is believed that Illyro-Roman inhabitants of this particular site copied the style from their ancient Illyro-Roman predecessors. [7]
Pannonia was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now western Hungary, western Slovakia, eastern Austria, northern Croatia, north-western Serbia, northern Slovenia, and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In classical and late antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians.
Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous province of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians and Celts, it was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC and subsequently became the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia Inferior. In 294 AD, Sirmium was proclaimed one of four capitals of the Roman Empire. It was also the capital of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum and of Pannonia Secunda. The site is protected as an archaeological Site of Exceptional Importance. The modern region of Syrmia was named after the city.
The Illyriciani or Illyrian emperors were a group of Roman emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century who were of Illyrian origins and hailed from the region of Illyricum, and were raised chiefly from the ranks of the Roman army.
Illyricum was a Roman province that existed from 27 BC to sometime during the reign of Vespasian. The province comprised Illyria/Dalmatia in the south and Pannonia in the north. Illyria included the area along the east coast of the Adriatic Sea and its inland mountains, eventually being named Dalmatia. Pannonia included the northern plains that now are a part of Serbia, Croatia and Hungary. The area roughly corresponded to part or all of the territories of today's Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia.
Within the boundaries of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina, there have been many layers of prehistoric cultures whose creation and disappearance are linked to migrations of unidentified ethnic groups.
Pannonia Savia or simply Savia, also known as Pannonia Ripariensis, was a Late Roman province. It was formed in the year 295, during the Tetrarchy reform of Roman emperor Diocletian, and assigned to the civil diocese of Pannonia, which was attached in the fourth century to the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum, and later to the Praetorian prefecture of Italy.
The Diocese of Pannonia, from 395 known as the Diocese of Illyricum, was a diocese of the Late Roman Empire. The seat of the vicarius was Sirmium.
The Bellum Batonianum was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in the 1st century AD, in which an alliance of native peoples of the two regions of Illyricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia, revolted against the Romans. The rebellion began among native peoples who had been recruited as auxiliary troops for the Roman army. They were led by Bato the Daesitiate, a chieftain of the Daesitiatae in the central part of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, and were later joined by the Breuci, a tribe in Pannonia led by Bato the Breucian. Many other tribes in Illyria also joined the revolt.
Dacia Aureliana was a province in the eastern half of the Roman Empire established by Roman Emperor Aurelian in the territory of former Moesia Superior after his evacuation of Dacia Traiana beyond the Danube in 271. Between 271/275 and 285, it occupied most of what is today northwestern Bulgaria and eastern Serbia. Its capital was in Serdica.
The Diocese of Dacia was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, in the area of modern western Bulgaria, central Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, northern Albania and northern North Macedonia. It was subordinate to the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. Its capital was at Serdica.
Dalmatia was a Roman province. Its name is derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae, which lived in the central area of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It encompassed the northern part of present-day Albania, much of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia, thus covering an area significantly larger than the current Croatian region of Dalmatia. Originally this region was called Illyria or Illyricum.
Praevalitana was a Late Roman province that existed between c. 284 and c. 600. It included parts of present-day Montenegro, Albania, and part of present-day Kosovo. Its capital city was Doclea, later Scodra.
Dardania was a Roman province in the Central Balkans, initially an unofficial region in Moesia (87–284), and then a province administratively part of the Diocese of Moesia (293–337). It was named after the tribe of the Dardani who inhabited the region in classical antiquity prior to the Roman conquest.
Celticisation, or Celticization, was historically the process of conquering and assimilating by the ancient Celts, or via cultural exchange driven by proximity and trade. Today, as the Celtic inhabited-areas significantly differ, the term still refers to making something Celtic, usually focusing around the Celtic nations and their languages.
Much of the territory of the modern state of Serbia was part of the Roman Empire and later the Eastern Roman Empire. In particular, the region of Central Serbia was under Roman rule for about 800 years, starting from the 1st century BC, interrupted by the arrival of the Slavs into the Balkans during the 6th century, but continued after fall of the First Bulgarian Empire in the early 11th century and permanently ended with the rise of the Second Bulgarian Empire in the late 12th century. The territories were administratively divided into the provinces of Moesia, Pannonia and Dardania. Moesia Superior roughly corresponds to modern Serbia proper; Pannonia Inferior included the eastern part of Serbia proper; Dardania included the western part of Serbia proper. After its reconquest from the Bulgarians by Emperor Basil II in 1018, it was reorganized into the Theme of Bulgaria.
Mazaei or Maezaei were a sub-tribe of the Illyrians, autochthonous to the interior of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina, settled mainly in the Sana river basin, the middle course of Vrbas, and around the Vrbanja and Ugar rivers.
Illyrology or Illyrian studies is interdisciplinary academic field which focuses on scientific study of Illyria and Illyrians as a regional and thematic branch of the larger disciplines of ancient history and archaeology. A practitioner of the discipline is called Illyrologist. His duty is to investigate the range of ancient Illyrian history, culture, art, language, heraldry, numizmatic, mythology, economics, ethics, etc. from c. 1000 BC up to the end of Roman rule around the 5th century.
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