Illyricum Roman Province

The Illyrian kingdom is one of the coasts of the eastern shore of the Adriatic , corresponding roughly to the west of Croatia , in Slovenia and of Albania now. The Illyrians appear towards the ^twentieth century BC. AD. They are a people native Indo-European which included Dalmatian and Pannonian. To -1300 , they settled on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic.
Today, archaeologists associate with the culture of Hallstatt.

They were divided into several tribes (or ethne), the main were: Ardiens (Ardian), the Dalmatians , the Dardanians (or DardaNet in Albanian), the Dassaretia the Kaons the Labatesles the Penester the Taulantins the Thesprotians etc.. Each had a king, so there was no political unity common to all. The Illyrians were the first with the Greeks to settle in the Balkans and an important kingdom. In ^the seventh century BC. BC and ^the sixth century BC. AD , Illyria suffered a Hellenization due to strong relations with the Greeks, who founded trading posts: Apollonia , Epidamnus-Dyrrhachion , Lissos , Orikos and coastal Dalmatian : Issa, Corfu , Melaina , Pharos. In ^the fourth century BC. AD , we witness the formation of several Illyrian kingdoms.

The great difficulty for the knowledge of the history of the Illyrians lies in the absence of text written in the Illyrian language. All sources are from the Greco-Roman literature. Polybius , Greek historian and political theorist, ( -210 / -126 ) argues that the language spoken in Shkodra (or Scodra today Shkoder, in northern Albania ) at the court of King Genthios ( -180 / -168 ) was different from the Greek , but it was found no written record. They give a very partial view of life at that time, they relate primarily conflicts between worlds Greek and Illyrian.

The land of the Illyrians

It was noted that at one period the Illyrians unite around a leader, but without great dynastic continuity. The last kingdom of Illyria was founded in -385 , by King Bardylis ^I. ( -385 / -358 ) that unifies the country and take its capital Shkodra. He began a policy of expansion and invades the high Macedonia , requiring the payment of tribute to their king Amyntas III ( -393 / -370 -369 ). In -385 , he defeated the kings Molossians of Epirus with the help of Dionysius of Syracuse. In -360 , the Macedonian king Perdiccas III ( -365 / -359 ) is beaten and killed with 4,000 of his men. But the years following Bardylis facing the new king of Macedonia Philip II ( -359 / -336 ) and he was killed in action. This is definitely Illyrian kingdom conquered by -355 by Philip II and built his empire.

The daughter of Bardylis, Birken, will one of the wives of the king of Epirus Pyrrhus ^I. ( -307 / -272 ). His successors Gravosa (-358/-344) and Pleuratus ^I. , we know almost nothing. This last comes face to the King of Macedonia Alexander the Great ( -336 / -323 ), which takes into -335 Illyrian city of Pelion. After Cleithos , a companion of Alexander, the royal title passes Glaucias (or Glaukias, 317-303), king of Taulantins , who reigns over a community located further west in the hinterland of Dyrrachion (or Durres, the second largest city of Albania ). At the end of the ^third century BC. AD , royalty back to the dynasty of Ardiens , which keeps its capital Shkodra in northern Albania , whose territory spans the Montenegro today, the Croatian southern and south of the Neretva. Some of these dynasties have left rich tombs, as Trebenishte which were unearthed golden masks and bronze vases ^of the sixth century and e Poshtme Selce ( Croatia ) which have been unearthed ceramics, pieces of finery, coins, tools and weapons ^of the third century.

A province of the Roman Empire

In -229 , Rome ventured for the first time east of the Adriatic. It declared war on the kingdom of Illyria after a diplomatic incident with the queen Teuta , who was accused by Rome of plundering the Roman merchants.

The Roman Republic begins the conquest of this region with the capture of Durazzo in 229 BC. AD at the center of Albania today, under the pretext of putting an end to piracy in this region of the Adriatic Sea and includes part of Albania today.

The region is a scene of confrontation between Julius Caesar and Pompey , especially in the cities of Durazzo, from Apollonia and Oricum.

After extending until the Roman conquest Danube under Augustus , the Roman province of Illyria is created in 9 BC. AD. In 10 , the province was divided between Pannonia and Dalmatia and Illyria the term fell into disuse.

Literature

The name Illyria was used in the literature. William Shakespeare is the action of one of his comedies, Twelfth Night (c. 1599-1601) in the kingdom of Illyria. It is also found as a country under the action of Dirty Hands (1948) by Jean-Paul Sartre but unspecified location. As the Roman province of Illyria is central to the novel by Anne Leseleuc , the Kalends of September.

See also

Internal Links

• Illyrian provinces , provinces annexed by the First Empire French from 1809 to 1814.
• the Hounds , neighboring people
• Roman Governor
• Late Antiquity

External Links

• Illyria and Dalmatia, the last bastion of the Roman by Yann Le Bohec, Professor of Roman History at the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne.
• Epirus, Illyria and Epidamnus
• http://www.clio.fr/BIBLIOTHEQUE/les_illyriens_aux_limites_du_monde_grec.asp
• http://www.cosmovisions.com/histIllyrie.htm

• Ancient Rome portal

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