Illyricum (Roman province)
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Illyricum ἐπαρχία Ιλλυρίας | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Province of Roman Empire | |||||||||||
27 BC–69/79 AD | |||||||||||
Province of Illyricum | |||||||||||
Capital | Salona | ||||||||||
Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||||
• Established | 27 BC | ||||||||||
• Dissolved during the reign of Vespasian; new provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia created | 69/79 AD | ||||||||||
|
Illyricum /ɪˈlɪrɪkəm/ was a Roman province that existed from 27 BC to sometime during the reign of Vespasian (69–79 AD). 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.
Name and etymology
The term Illyrians was used to describe the inhabitants of the area as far back as the late 6th century BC by Hecataeus of Miletus.
Geography
Illyria/Dalmatia stretched from the
Illyria stretched from the River Drilon (
Historical background
Illyrian Wars
The Romans fought three Illyrian wars between 229 BC and 168 BC. The
From the Illyrian Wars to the Roman Civil Wars
In 156 BC the Dalmatae made an attack of the Illyrian subjects of Rome (this source by Appian is considered ambiguous) and refused to see Roman ambassadors. The consul Gaius Marcius Figulus undertook a campaign against them. While he was preparing his camp the Dalmatae overpowered his guards and drove him out of the camp. He fled through the plain as far as the river Naro. He then hoped to catch the Dalmatae unawares as they went back home for the winter, but they had assembled because they had heard of his arrival. Still, he drove them into the city of Delminium. He could not attack this strongly fortified town. Thus he attacked other towns which were partly deserted because of the Dalmatae concentrating their forces at Delminium. He then returned to Delminium and catapulted flaming projectiles damaging and burning significant parts of the town.[7] Livy's Periochae recorded the campaign of Gaius Marcius Figulus and noted that in the next year, 155 BC, the consul Scipio Nasica Corculum subdued the Dalmatae.[8]
In 135 BC two Illyrian tribes, the Ardiaei and the Palarii, raided Roman Illyria while the Romans were busy with the Numantine War in Hispania and the First Servile War in Sicily. The Romans sent ambassadors, but they refused to negotiate. The Romans levied an army of 10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry. The Illyrians sent ambassadors to plea for pardon. Rome asked for indemnities for the people who had been attacked. Since the Illyrians were slow to respond, the consul Servius Fulvius Flaccus marched against them. According to Appian this was only a minor expedition.[9] It is likely that by Roman Illyria Appian meant four coastal towns which had a large Roman population.
In 129 BC the consul
In a passage Appian wrote that in 119 BC the consul
In 115 BC the consul
In 113 BC the consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was sent to face an invasion by the Cimbri (a Germanic tribe) which had entered into Illyricum and then into Noricum. He was defeated at the Battle of Noreia in Noricum.[13][14]
In 78–76 BC a certain Gaius Cosconius was sent into Illyricum as proconsul. He fought there for two years, reduced a great part of Dalmatia and seized Salona (near today's Solin, near Split, Croatia), one of the major towns in Dalmatia.[15][16] Later the Roman settlement of Colonia Martia Iulia Salona was founded, probably after the Roman civil wars.
Caesar's governorship
In 59 BC the
Caesar took on his proconsulships in 58 BC. Only Gallia Narbonensis was a province in the sense of a formal administrative unit. The other two were provinces in the sense of areas of military command which were assigned to high military commanders in areas where there were rebellions or threats of attacks. In the past
The fact that Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum were the areas of command initially assigned to Caesar could indicate that Caesar had an eye on Illyricum to attain military glory with which he could bolster his political clout in Rome.
Illyricum during Caesar's Civil War
Appian wrote that while Caesar was in Gaul the Dalmatae seized
In January 49 BC Caesar started a civil war against the forces of the senate led by
In the summer 48 BC Caesar sent Quintus Cornificius to Illyricum as a
Marcus Octavius sought to take advantage of this to seize Illyria. Cornificius asked Publius Vatinius, who was in Brundisium (Brindisi, southern Italy), to come to his aid and informed him that Octavius was making alliances with the locals and attacking Caesarian garrisons, sometimes with his fleet and sometimes with land forces, using native troops—the Caesarians were Caesar's supporters. Vatinius asked a Caesarian lieutenant in Greece to send him a fleet, but this was taking too long. He armed some civilian ships whose size was poorly suited for fighting and added them to the few warships he had and left for Illyria. He did not pursue Octavius so as not to be delayed. Instead, he recovered some coastal towns which had sided with Octavius and by-passed others, proceeding as quickly as he could. In this way he managed to force Octavius to abandon his attack on Epidaurus (Epidaurum in Latin, modern Cavtat, near Dubrovnik, Croatia) with his approach. Octavius thought that his fleet was superior to the small ships of Vatinius and sailed to the island of Tauris. Vatinius pursued him without knowing that he had gone to that island. While the sea was rough he was caught unawares when the fleet of Octavius appeared ready for battle and was superior in formation. Vatinius decided to try his luck and attacked first, charging Octavius' flagship with one of his warships. The crush was hard and the ram of the latter was smashed away. The battle was fought at close range in narrow sea. Vatinius had the better and at nightfall the remnants of the enemy fleet fled. The next day Vatinius refitted his ships and 85 captured ships and the day after that he set off for the island of Issa (Vis, Croatia), thinking that Octavius had retreated there. When he got there the islanders surrendered and told him that Octavius had left for Sicily. Having cleared the Adriatic Sea, he returned to Brundisium.[22]
In 45 BC Caesar was planning a war against
The assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC led to a conflict between the leaders of the plot murder him,
The campaigns of Octavian in Illyricum (35–33 BC)
Caesar's Civil War, the Liberators' Civil War and the resistance against the second triumvirate which
In 35 BC Octavian campaigned against the
Octavian marched on the
.Cassius Dio wrote that after the fall of this city the rest of Pannonia surrendered. After this Octavian left Fufius Geminus there with a small force and returned to Rome. He set out to lead an expedition into Britain and had already reached Gaul in the winter of 34 BC when some of the newly conquered peoples in Pannonia and the Dalmatians rose in revolt.
Still in 34 BC, the Romans seized the town of Sunodium at the edge of the forest in which the army of Aulus Gabinius had been entrapped by the Dalmatians in a long and deep gorge between two mountains. After Octavian had burned Sunodium the Dalmatians laid an ambush. However, he was protected by soldiers he had sent to the summits of the mountains to follow him on either side while he passed through the gorge. He cut down trees and captured and burned all the towns he found on his way. In 33 BC he besieged the city of Setovia. An enemy force came to its assistance, but he prevented it from entering the place. Octavian was struck by a stone on the knee and was confined for several days. He returned to Rome to take up his consulship and got Titus Statilius to continue the siege. He then went back to Dalmatia. The Dalmatians were cut off from foreign supplies and were hungry. They met Octavian while he was on his way and surrendered. He demanded 700 of their children as hostages, and the standards of the Roman legions which had been taken from Aulus Gabinius when he was routed. They complied and also promised to pay the tribute which had been in arrears since the time of Julius Caesar. Octavian then moved on the Derbani, who also sued for peace, gave hostages, and promised to pay the tribute in arrears. Other tribes did the same on his approach. He could not reach some tribes due to sickness. These gave no hostages and made no treaties. Appian wrote that it seemed that they were subjugated later and that Octavian subdued the whole Illyrian country, including both the tribes which had rebelled and those which had never before been under Roman rule.[35] It is likely that Appian was referring to just Illyria/Dalmatia, rather or the whole of that was to become the province of Illyricum. With regard to Pannonia, some historians think that Octavian probably conquered the southern part of Pannonia and that the northern part was conquered in the Pannonian War (see below).[36]
Appian also wrote that Octavian overcame the Oxyaei, the Perthoneatae, the Bathiatae, the
Roman province
After his campaigns in Illyricum, Octavian fought a war against
The administrative organisation of Illyricum was carried out late in the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) and early in the reign of Tiberius (14–37 AD). Tiberius made initial arrangements in the last weeks of the Batonian war (see below). This work was interrupted by a mutiny of the Roman troops in 14 AD, but was then resumed. We have a fairly detailed picture of the administrative arrangements of Illyricum through
Dalmatia had considerable strategic and economic importance for the Romans. It possessed a number of important commercial ports along its coastline, and had
The Pannonian War (14–10 BC)
From 14 BC to 10 BC there was a series of rebellions in southern Pannonia and northern Dalmatia which Roman writers referred to as bellum pannomicum (the Pannonian war). We have very little information about these events. Most of it comes from brief accounts by Cassius Dio and passing references by other authors. We are not told what the causes were either. The Roman sources had little interest in Illyria from the campaigns of Augustus in 35–33 BC to 16 BC. Cassius Dio wrote that in that year the governor of Illyria for 17–16 BC,
Velleius Paterculus wrote that the Pannonian war started by
Cassius Dio referred to all of these conflicts as rebellions. Dzino argues that it is therefore unlikely that they involved any conquests. The relations of the Romans with locals in frontier areas involved alliance treaties and treaties with client states, both of which entailed nominal independence. The breaking of these treaties was considered as a rebellion and as something which had to be suppressed. Augustus in his propagandistic writing stated that under Tiberius’ command Rome extended her sphere to Pannonian peoples where the Roman army had never been before and that Augustus extended the boundaries of Illyricum to the banks of the River Danube. However, Suetonius implied that this extension to the banks of this river occurred only after the Batonian War (see below).[49] It is likely that in the aftermath of the Pannonian war Roman military presence in southern Pannonia increased. Dzino argues that it is likely that the local communities acted as a compact anti-Roman block and that there may have been pro- and anti-Roman factions. Some may have surrendered peacefully and some of them may have been pro-Roman all along. The communities of the region relied on kinship relationships, rather than formal state institutions. This may have led to political competition. Being friendly to the Romans or challenging them could have involved manoeuvres by local elites to strengthen their power-base. Acquiescence or opposition to the Romans could involve often unpredictable contests over political positions locally.[50]
Batonian War (6–9 AD)
The Batonian War (bellum batonianum in Latin) was a large scale rebellion which was led by
According to
In 7 AD Augustus sent
In 8 AD the Dalmatians and the Pannonians wanted to sue for peace due to famine and disease, but they were prevented from doing so by the rebels, who had no hope of being spared by the Romans and continued to resist. Tiberius had pursued a policy of scorched earth to starve the Pannonians. According to Cassius Dio, Bato the Breucian overthrew Pinnes, the king of the Breuci. He became suspicious of his subject tribes and demanded hostages from the Pannonian garrisons. Bato the Daesitiate defeated him in battle and pinned him in a stronghold. He was handed over to Bato the Daesitiate and he was executed. After this many Pannonians rose in revolt. Marcus Plautius Silvanus conducted a campaign against them, conquered the Breuci and won over other tribes without a battle. Bato the Daesitiate withdrew from Pannonia, occupied the passes leading to Dalmatia and ravaged Dalmatia. In Pannonia there was some brigandage.[56] Velleius Paterculus, wrote that the harsh winter brought rewards because in the following summer all of Pannonia sought peace. The Pannonians laid down their arms at the River Bathinus. Bato was made a prisoner and Pinnes gave himself up.[57][56]
In 9 AD the war was restricted to Dalmatia. Velleius Paterculus wrote that Augustus gave the chief command of all the forces to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In the summer Lepidus made his way to Tiberius through areas which had not been affected by the war. He was attacked by the locals who had not been weakened by fighting. Lepidus defeated them, ravaged the fields, and burnt houses. He succeeded in reaching Tiberius. This campaign ended the war. Two Dalmatian tribes, the Perustae and Daesitiate, who were almost unconquerable because of their mountain strongholds, the narrow passes in which they lived and their fighting spirit, were almost exterminated. Cassius Dio wrote Germanicus conducted some operations in Dalmatia and seized several towns. Tiberius then split the army into three divisions. He sent two of them to subdue areas of Dalmatia and he went in search of Bato the Daesitiate third one. Tiberius chased the fugitive Bato around the country. He finally besieged him at Adetrium, near Salona. This was on a rock and was surrounded by steep ravines. After a long siege he managed to storm the place. Bato promised to surrender if he and his followers would be pardoned. Tiberius agreed. According to Cassius Dio Tiberius asked Bato why his people had rebelled. He replied: "You Romans are to blame for this; for you send as guardians of your flocks, not dogs or shepherds, but wolves." It is uncertain if this quote can be attributed to Bato, however, due to the habit of ancient writers of creating fictitious quotes and attributing them to historical figures.[58][59][60]
Regions of the province and its later dissolution
The earliest writing which indicates that the province of Illyricum comprised Dalmatia and Pannonia is when Velleius Paterculus mentions Gaius Vibius Postumus was the military commander of Dalmatia in AD 9, towards the end of the Batonian War.[61] It seems that officially the province of Illyricum comprised Upper (Superius) and Lower (Inferius) Illyricum. A transcript of an inscription of a monument honouring Publius Cornelius Dolabella at Epidaurum (Cavtat, near Dubrovnik) attests that Dolabella was appointed governor of Illyricum shortly before Augustus’ death and that the statue was erected by the towns of Upper Illyricum, which implies the existence of an Upper and Lower Illyricum.[62] However, no inscriptions attesting a Lower Illyricum have been found as yet. Dalmatia was called Upper Illyricum. Whilst the names Dalmatia and Pannonia were used in common parlance, it seems that Upper Illyricum (Dalmatia) and Lower Illyricum (Pannonia) were the official names of the two regions. The provincial governor resided in Salona in Dalmatia and governed Upper Illyricum. Lower Illyricum was a military district and a military commander was in charge of this area and its three legions and performed administrative functions as something like a deputy governor.[63]
Writing in the winter of AD 57–58,[64] the Apostle Paul refers to Illyricum in his Letter to the Romans as the westernmost point of his missionary travels so far.[65] The letter reflects his intention in due course to travel to Rome.
The province of Illyricum was eventually dissolved and replaced by two smaller provinces: Dalmatia (the southern area) and Pannonia (the northern and Danubian area). It is unclear when this happened. Kovác noted that an inscription on the base of a statue of Nero erected between 54 and 68 AD attests that it was erected by the veteran of a legion stationed in Pannonia and argues that this is the first
Diocletian's reforms: the praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
In 293 AD the emperor
Military importance
Pannonia was a very valuable source of military manpower for the entire empire. From the 3rd to the 6th century some of the most useful troops were recruited from Pannonia, Dalmatia, Moesia and Roman
See also
- Illyria
- Illyrians
- Prefecture of Illyricum
- Dardania (Roman province)
References
- ^ Wilkes, J. The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe), (1996) p. 208
- ^ Chapot, V; Parker, E. E. The Roman World History of civilization (1997), p. 268
- ^ Smith, W. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
- ^ Mocsy, S. F, "Pannonia and Upper Moesia", in A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire, p. 152
- ^ Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe), p. 203
- ^ Livy, The History of Rome, 45.26.11-15
- ^ a b Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars, 11
- ^ Livy, Periochae, 47.9
- ^ a b c Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars, 10
- ^ Livy, Periochae, 59.20
- ^ Inscriptions from the time of the Roman Republic, translated by E.H.Warmington (1940) CIL I² 652
- ^ Cornelius Nepos, De Viris Illustribus, 72.7
- ^ Appian, The Gallic Wars, 13
- ^ Strabo, Geographia, V, 1.8
- ^ Eutropius, Compendium of Roman History, 6.4
- ^ Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the Pagans, 5.23
- OCLC 882513995.
- ^ Julius Caesar, The Gallic Wars, 3.7, 5.1
- ^ a b Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars 12
- ^ Caesar, The Civil War, 3.6
- ^ Julius Caesar, The Alexandrian War, 42-43
- ^ Julius Caesar, The Alexandrian War, 44-47
- ^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars 12-13
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 47.21
- ^ Appian, The Civil Wars, 4.57, 58, 75
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History, 2.69
- ^ Cicero, Philippics, 10.13
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History, 2.78.2
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 48.41.7
- ^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars, 10.18-22
- ^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars, 10.22-24
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 49.37.7
- ^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars, 10.24-27
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 49.38.3
- ^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars, 10.27
- ^ Dzino, D., Bellum Pannonicum: The Roman armies and indigenous communities in southern Pannonia 16‑9 BC, p. 471 [1]
- ^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, The Illyrian Wars, 10.16
- ^ Pliny, Natural History, 2.25-26, 28
- ^ Dzino, D., Illyricum in Roman Politics, pp. 162–168
- ^ Wilkes. J., The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe), p. 224: "... governor of Dalmatia forced the natives to wash out the gold, though they were too ignorant to appreciate its value, and there was an imperial bureau for the Dalmatian gold mines based in Salona."
- ^ Chapot, V.; Parker, E. A, The Romans, World History of civilization (1997), p. 268
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 54.20.1‑3
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History, 2.96.2‑3
- ^ Florus, Epitome of Roman History, 2.24
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 54.24.3, 28.1-2
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 54.31.2-3
- ^ Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Tiberius, 9.2
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 54.36.2 3, 55.2.4
- ^ Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Tiberius, 16
- ^ Dzino, D., "Bellum Pannonicum: The Roman armies and indigenous communities in southern Pannonia 16‑9 BC", pp. 471–472 [2]
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 55.29
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History, 2.110, 112.1-2
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 55.29-30
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 55.29.6, 31.2, 32.3
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History 2.112.3-6, 113
- ^ a b Cassius Dio, Roman History, 55.34.4-7
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History, 2.114.4
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 56.11-16
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History, 2.114.5, 115-1-4
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 55.34.4-7; 56.11-16
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History, 2.116.3
- ^ CIL III, 1741 = ILS 938
- ^ a b Šašel-Kos, "Pannonia or Lower Illyricum?" Tyche, Band 25 (2010), pp. 123–130
- ^ Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook: an Abbreviated Bible Commentary, 23rd edition, Zondervan Publishing House (1962)
- ^ Romans 15:19
- ^ Kovác, P., "A Pisidian Veteran and the Forst Mention of Pannonis", Tyche, 22 (2007), pp. 99–107. PL1
- ^ Kovács, P., "Some Notes on the division of Illyiricum", in Piso, I., (ed.), Die Romischen Provinzen. Bergriff und Gundung (2008), pp. 237–248
- ^ Dusanic, S., "An Early Diploma Milirare", Starinar (1998), p. 51–62 = AE 1998, 1056
- ^ Holder R., P Roman Military Diplomas IV (2003), no. 202
- ^ Talbert, R., Atlas of Classical History (1989), p. 175
- OCLC 877412786.
- ^ Southern, P., Augustus (Roman Imperial Biographies), (1998), p. 245
- ^ Croke, B., Count Marcellinus and his chronicle (2001), p. 54
- ^ Bury, J., The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians (2000), p. 69.
- ISBN 1605204056
Sources
- Primary sources
- Appian, The Foreign Wars, Book 10, The Illyirian Wars; Loeb Classical Library, Vol II, Books 8.2-12, Harvard University Press, 1912; ISBN 978-0674990043 [3]
- Cassius Dio, Roman History, Vol 6, Books. 51–65 (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1989; ISBN 978-0674990920
- Secondary sources
- Dzino, D., The Bellum Pannonicum: The Roman armies and indigenous communities in southern Pannonia 16 9 BC, Actes du Symposium International le Livre. La Roumanie.L ’Europe. Bibliothèque Métropolitaine de Bucarest, Vol III, 4ème édition 20 – 23 Septembre 2011 [4]
- Danijel Dzino (2010). Illyricum in Roman Politics, 229BC–AD68. Cambridge University Press.
- Marjeta Šašel Kos. Appian and Illyricum. Situla 43. (National Museum of Slovenia Ljubljana, 2005)
- Mócsy, András (2014) [1974]. Pannonia and Upper Moesia: A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781317754251.
- Wilkes, J.,The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe), 1996, ISBN 9780631198079