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| ==The fate of the Illyrians== | ==The fate of the Illyrians== | ||
| The Illyrians are mentioned for the last time in ''Miracula Sancti Demetri'' (7th century AD).<ref>The compilation ''Miracula Sancti Demetri'' contains the legendary '']'' of ].</ref> |
The Illyrians are mentioned for the last time in ''Miracula Sancti Demetri'' (7th century AD).<ref>The compilation ''Miracula Sancti Demetri'' contains the legendary '']'' of ].</ref> Historians and linguists conclude that the modern ] are the descendants of the Illyrians and that the ] derives from the ]<ref name="britannica">http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-42640/Albania</ref><ref>Malcolm, Noel. "Kosovo, a short history", 1998, ISBN 0-814-75598-4.</ref>. Some dispute this, claiming that Albanians were not autochthonous and that Albanian derives from a dialect of the now-extinct ]<ref name="britannica" /> while others claim that the Illyrians were assimilated by the Serbs and Croats when they arrived in the Balkans, and that Albanian cannot derive from Illyrian due to according to them Illyrian being a ] and Albanian being a ].<ref>Duridanov, Ivan. "The Language of the Thracians"</ref><ref></ref> The perception of Illyrian as centum language was based on analysis of Venetic language in northern Italy which scholars believed was related to Illyrian language. Recent research show that this language and Illyrian had nothing in common and that Illyrian probably was Satem language after all<ref>http://knigite.abv.bg/en/nm/kosovo.html</ref>. | ||
| {{further|]}} | |||
| ==Later usage of the term== | ==Later usage of the term== | ||
| The term ''Illyrians'' was revived in the ] to designate ] (], ], ], etc), because of the opinion that they were descendants of the slavicized Illyrians. When ] conquered part of the South Slavic lands in the beginning of the 19th century, these areas were named ]. |
The term ''Illyrians'' was revived in the ] to designate ] (], ], ], etc), because of the opinion that they were descendants of the slavicized Illyrians. When ] conquered part of the South Slavic lands in the beginning of the 19th century, these areas were named ]. | ||
| Under the influence of ], a self-identified "]" (Croatian: ''Ilirski pokret'') in the form of a Croatian national revival, opened a literary and journalistic campaign that was initiated by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the years of 1835-1849.<ref>Elinor Murray Despalatovic, ''Ljudevit Gaj and the Illyrian Movement'' New York: East European Quarterly, 1975.</ref> This movement, under the banner of ''Illlyrism'', aimed to create a Croatian national establishment under Austro-Hungarian rule, through linguistic and ethnic unity among South Slavs. It was repressed by the Habsburg authorities after the failed ]. | Under the influence of ], a self-identified "]" (Croatian: ''Ilirski pokret'') in the form of a Croatian national revival, opened a literary and journalistic campaign that was initiated by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the years of 1835-1849.<ref>Elinor Murray Despalatovic, ''Ljudevit Gaj and the Illyrian Movement'' New York: East European Quarterly, 1975.</ref> This movement, under the banner of ''Illlyrism'', aimed to create a Croatian national establishment under Austro-Hungarian rule, through linguistic and ethnic unity among South Slavs. It was repressed by the Habsburg authorities after the failed ]. | ||
Revision as of 06:33, 24 May 2007
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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 "Indo-European" 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. Among those who take the meaningfulness of the terms "people" or "tribe" for granted, the consensus of the "primordialists"— those who take ethnicity for a basic organizing principle from times of old— is that the ethnic ancestors of the Illyrians, labelled "Proto-Illyrians", branched off from the main linguistic 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 (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, based upon their uses of the Paleo-Balkan languages: 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 river.
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.
Iron Age remains
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
The Illyrians are mentioned for the last time in Miracula Sancti Demetri (7th century AD). Historians and linguists conclude that the modern Albanians are the descendants of the Illyrians and that the Albanian language derives from the Illyrian language. Some dispute this, claiming that Albanians were not autochthonous and that Albanian derives from a dialect of the now-extinct Thracian language while others claim that the Illyrians were assimilated by the Serbs and Croats when they arrived in the Balkans, and that Albanian cannot derive from Illyrian due to according to them Illyrian being a centum language and Albanian being a satem one. The perception of Illyrian as centum language was based on analysis of Venetic language in northern Italy which scholars believed was related to Illyrian language. Recent research show that this language and Illyrian had nothing in common and that Illyrian probably was Satem language after all.
Later usage of the term
The term Illyrians was revived 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.
Under the influence of Romantic nationalism, a self-identified "Illyrian movement" (Croatian: Ilirski pokret) in the form of a Croatian national revival, opened a literary and journalistic campaign that was initiated by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the years of 1835-1849. This movement, under the banner of Illlyrism, aimed to create a Croatian national establishment under Austro-Hungarian rule, through linguistic and ethnic unity among South Slavs. It was repressed by the Habsburg authorities after the failed Revolutions of 1848.
See also
- Illyria
- List of Illyrian tribes
- List of Illyrians
- Illyrian gods
- Illyrian languages
- Adriatic Veneti
- Liburnians
- The Races of Europe
- Queen Teuta
Notes
- "Indo-European" in this context simply means "speaking Indo-European languages".
- By implication, a broader usage was current when Pliny wrote.
- Anthony D. Smith, The Ethnic Origins of Nations (Oxford, 1966) pp 6ff, coined the term to separate these thinkers from those who view ethnicity as a situational construct, the product of history, rather than a cause, influenced by a variety of political, economic, and cultural factors. The issue of ethnicity remains intractable even millennia later: see Walter Pohl, "Conceptions of Ethnicity in Early Medieval Studies" Debating the Middle Ages: Issues and Readings, ed. Lester K. Little and Barbara H. Rosenwein, (Blackwell), 1998, pp 13-24.(On-line text).
- The compilation Miracula Sancti Demetri contains the legendary acta of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki.
- ^ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-42640/Albania
- Malcolm, Noel. "Kosovo, a short history", 1998, ISBN 0-814-75598-4.
- Duridanov, Ivan. "The Language of the Thracians"
- Centum and Satem languages
- http://knigite.abv.bg/en/nm/kosovo.html
- Elinor Murray Despalatovic, Ljudevit Gaj and the Illyrian Movement New York: East European Quarterly, 1975.
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, ISBN 0-631-14671-7.
- 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)