Ancient Illirya

Indo-Europeans in the Western Balkans

The main evidence for the Indo-European invasions—or rather, the Indo-European migrations—comes from the Bronze Age cemeteries in Bosnia (Belotić, Bela Crkva), where the dead were cremated and the skull was separated from the body. In contrast to the sky or earth burial that was practiced earlier in the Goddess culture, the graves were mainly of warriors, with metal objects found in them. People found in these tombs from the Middle Bronze Age onwards (from the 2nd millennium BC) are considered to be Proto-Illyrians. Sometimes there is a stone circle around the tomb and valuable objects inside the tomb itself.

Below the central tomb of the graveyard, there are usually additional tombs that express relationships between a leader and his warriors. A new type of warrior tomb appears not only in Bosnia, but also in Albania, where the first such tombs were found in Maliq in the Korça Valley. There are artificial mounds of stone and earth erected above the tombs, with metal objects inside. This fits Gimbutas’s Kurgan hypothesis about a new population arriving in the Balkans, characterized by mound building. It was a patriarchal society that replaced the ancient matriarchal, peaceful civilizations, possibly destroying them.

The Indo-European invaders to the Balkans were divided into three different groups, which consolidated into different peoples: in the east were the Thracians (whom the Bulgarians claim as their ancestors), in the west—the Illyrians (Albanians, Kosovars, and Croats claim to be their successors), and in the center—the Macedonians and Greeks. In the north, there was a large settlement of Celts, mainly in the areas of present-day Serbia.

There were several characteristics of the Indo-Europeans: First of all, their history was perceived as circular. This concept was expressed in the religions of India and the Celts. In addition, they believed in an ancient struggle between good and evil. They believed that this world was an illusion and that there was another world beyond the material world, which was the real world, since this world was only a screen. Indo-European culture was to some extent a culture of magic, but different from Egyptian magic—closer to nature.

The Indo-Europeans brought a new religious concept, based on a male god, a cyclical concept of life, and the aspiration for eternal life. They also brought the use of bronze, iron, and horses; warlike abilities; tribal organization; mythologies; and language. Society was based on warriors and the leader, divided into classes, and generally discriminating against women. However, it was not homogeneous, and in various places, remnants of the concepts and customs of the ancient goddess culture remained.

The emergence of the Illyrians

Research on the ancient Illyrians began in the 19th century and was influenced by national historiographical concepts, mainly as developed in the academic institutions of Bosnia, Sarajevo, and Albania. The claim that the Albanians are descendants of the Illyrians first appeared in the mid-19th century. In fact, since World War II, there has been a governmental intention in Albania (during the dictatorial rule of Enver Hoxha) to forge a connection between the Albanians and the Illyrians.

The issue of Illyrian history is critical in Kosovo, which claims their continuity and, in fact, adopted the symbol of the Illyrian Dardanian tribes who lived in this region more than two thousand years ago—it appears on the state flag. In Croatia, Illyrian studies have also developed in the context of the awakening of national identity and sentiment.

The Illyrians lived in tribes united among themselves in loose confederations, worshiping the forces of nature. They believed in a cyclical and regenerating deity, engaged in seafaring and worship of the dead. Women played an important role in the Illyrian world. The family was the basis of society. They were a sturdy people who engaged in cattle herding and farming, who fought bravely for their freedom and founded independent kingdoms, building impressive fortresses in strategic sites characterized by giant stones. We do not know much about them, since they had no written language—there are no Illyrian inscriptions and no writing.

There is a theory that the Illyrians were a people who arrived in their entirety in the western Balkans, but not before parts of them reached Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, and Central Europe. According to this theory, there are linguistic remains of their presence in those regions, which serve as proof that they moved there before arriving in the Balkans.

Roman historians refer to the Illyrians as a homogeneous people (Strabo identifies the Illyrians as a separate nation, similar to the Macedonians and Thracians), and indeed, Illyria was a distinct and clear province during the Roman Empire. However, this is the product of later developments, and the Illyrian people probably emerged gradually and in a non-homogeneous manner as a result of processes that occurred in the western Balkans during the Bronze Age, including the arrival of new peoples from the east, probably Indo-Europeans.

Between the mountains that form the drainage basin of the Sava and Danube, a process of “Illyrianization” took place, which was only completed with the arrival of the Romans. In earlier periods, there were probably several Illyrian entities that were consolidated according to the geographical terrain.

The Illyrians in the Neretva River basin in Herzegovina were called the Daorsi, and their city or identity was Daorson, also called Ošanići, where there is a city with megalithic walls from the 4th century BC and probable Greek influence, in a way reminiscent of Mycenae. A treasure trove of iron, bronze, and silver molds was discovered there, indicating that the place was a center for the production of jewelry and iron tools.

To the north, on the border of Italy, were the Istri tribes, who lived on the Istrian Peninsula near Trieste. Next to them were the Veneti tribes, who reached as far as Venice and even further, which means that Illyrian influence extended into northeastern Italy.

To the south of them were the Liburni, who inhabited the coastal plain as far as the city of Zadar (in the middle of the Croatian coast). They were sexually free, and perhaps as a result, raised their children together, because they did not know who the father was. They had a strange custom: at the age of 8, each child adopted a father based on physical resemblance. It was a matriarchal society that existed as such until the Roman period.

Dalmatian Illyria (Dalmatae) was the coastal region of southern Croatia, the Dubrovnik area, and the mountainous regions of Bosnia. The capital, Delminium, is a few dozen kilometers from Mostar.

In the area of Lake Shkodër, northern Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia was the kingdom of the Ardiaei tribes, which reached its peak in the 3rd century BC under the leadership of Queen Teuta, from the fortress of Rozafa near Shkodër. Another of their capitals was the city of Risan on the Bay of Kotor.

Kosovo was home to the bold Dardani tribes. They loved music, played flutes and stringed instruments, and were considered a stable factor in a changing world. It was a strong alliance of tribes. According to the Greeks, they originated in the Dardanelles in Asia Minor. Dardanus, the founder of Troy, is their father, and they migrated from the area, settled in Kosovo, and became barbarians.

Other groups were called Triballi, Scordisci, Moesi, and Autariatae.

The earliest mention of the Illyrians is a written guide to sailing around the Adriatic Sea from the 4th century BC. It is probably related to the circles of the Persian navy and has been mistakenly attributed to a man named Scylax of Caryanda. He mentions a people called the Liburni, who are part of the Illyrians, a free people ruled by women.

The historical borders of Illyria, according to coins and descriptions by Roman and Greek writers, extend from southern Albania through the Lake Ohrid region to Skopje, and from there to Kosovo and parts of Serbia, north of the Sava River to the Adriatic coast near Istria. Some writers include parts of Italy—Apulia and Calabria—in Illyria. Some scholars believe that there was an Illyrian migration to Italy in the early 1st millennium BC. Others say that in southern Italy there was another people called the Messapians, who had a sub-language similar to Illyrian.

The borders of Illyria are outlined by Appianus of Alexandria, who lived in the 2nd century AD. He claims that the country was named after the son of the Cyclops Polyphemus and his wife Galatia. They had three children—Illyrus, Gallus, and Celtus—and they are the ancestors of the Galatian peoples (Asia Minor), the Celts, and the Illyrians. Illyrus had six sons and three daughters, who are the fathers and mothers of the various Illyrian groups, such as the Dardanians or Drusi.Top of Form

Illyrian life

The broken land of the western Balkans led to political and national dispersion. There were no large population centers, and the typical settlement was a fortified hill. The Illyrians ate mainly meat and milk and grazing was seasonal, going up the mountains in the summer and down to the valleys in the winter. The weather was colder than today and the areas where they lived were forested. They wore a felt hat and moccasin leather shoes, a thick coat and a tunic.

The hearth was decorated with a swastika and waves, which was probably a religious sign, a cult of the dead. The Illyrians had a loom and they baked bread in special ovens. The weights on the loom had symbols of ancestral spirits. So did the spinning wheels. They loved jewelry, the men decorated their weapons. They practiced magic and the evil eye, worshiped natural forces and animals, especially the snake (which is sometimes a dragon) and perhaps also the wolf (Ulcin). They worshipped the sun, birds, horses, and sanctified springs such as those of the Buna River in Herzegovina. Their gods were not particularly prominent, and among them were female deities associated with a local version of Diana (the cult of the Thracian rider reached Illyria in Roman times, and Asclepius the healing serpent in Greek times). They did not have many iconographic figures, but rather geometric decorations such as the flower of life, chevrons, triangles, waves, meanders, and more, which were probably preserved from the time of the goddess culture.

History of Illyria

At the end of the Bronze Age (second millennium BC), fortified Illyrian settlements on hills begin to appear in the western Balkans, alongside tombs in the form of tumuli—artificial mounds containing weapons—indicating a respected warrior class (such as at Glasinac). There is evidence of developed trade and the beginning of wealth accumulation, as well as the use of unique ships. Helmets in a distinctive Illyrian style, horse harnesses, and metal weapons were found in the tombs. Sometimes a group of tombs is located adjacent to one another, most often arranged around a central mound (tumulus). At the heart of the tumulus was a representation of a small house in the shape of a round stone, a circular arrangement of stones, or a pyramid.

At the same time as the Mycenaean period in Greece, cities with intersecting streets begin to appear in various places in Illyria, along with ceramic vessels imported from Greece. Fortresses also begin to be built—large walled areas where the population could take refuge in times of trouble. In the Late Bronze Age, from 1200 BC to the beginning of the Iron Age (800 BC), the use of iron increases, and the trend of peoples migrating south intensifies. Wars lead to the destruction of the Mycenaean cities, heralding the Greek Dark Ages. The invasion of the Dorians severs the ties between the flourishing Illyrian cities and Greece.

However, with the Greek Archaic period (8th century BC), trade resumed. Starting in the 8th century BC, the Illyrians developed the iron production industry, based on the rich mines of the country. They exported amber that came from Poland via river trade routes, bracelets with snakes, iron helmets, gold masks, silver belts, and more.

In the 6th century BC, a new type of warrior elite appeared in Illyria who, instead of enjoying the battlefields, enjoyed music, athletics, hunting, and drinking. There was a dramatic increase in trade and crafts, coinciding with the emergence of classical Greece. Trade routes between Italy, Greece, and the rest of the Balkans crossed Illyria. Class differences developed between the rich and the poor. According to thousands of tombs found in St. Lucia, there were wealthy individuals distinguished by the abundance of jewelry and weapons they possessed, some of which were imported from Italy and Greece.

The Illyrians produced and sold iron products to the peoples of the region—the Greeks, the Etruscans, and others. They used the wealth brought by iron production to build fortified cities and purchase cattle. The new rulers supported long-term trade. In the 5th century BC, the power of the leaders, based on tribal loyalty, reached its peak, but in the 3rd century, the social structure was damaged, probably due to the invasions of the Celtic tribes into the Balkans, and a period of instability and decline in trade began.

In the 4th and 5th centuries BC, the Illyrians built walled areas—in other words, fortresses. These served as refuges for herds and villagers, and later became fortified cities. Impressive remains from this period are found in the Rozafa Fortress in Shkoder, the walls of Berat in southern Albania, the Butrint site in the Bay of Saranda, and the ancient city of Daorson in Bosnia.

Greece and Illyria

According to Greek mythology, Cadmus the Phoenician and Harmonia ruled the Illyrians and founded the cities of Ohrid and Budva. Then they turned into dragons and were transferred to Elysium (a district in Hades), and their son Illyricus ruled in their place.

The Greeks knew the land but were not inclined to sail there or settle it, unlike the Black Sea coast and Sicily (where they founded many new cities—colonies). They believed it was a land of legends connected to Hyperborea (a legendary northern land, like Atlantis). It was a foreign land of magic; the Illyrians were considered barbaric tribes with no cities, whose names were written in the sky—and on top of that, they did not know the vine.

In the 8th century BC, the Greeks established a colony on the island of Corfu (off the coast of southern Albania). After a century, Drachium (now Durrës in Albania) was founded and called Epidaemon, and about a hundred kilometers south of it, in the heart of a fertile plain, Apollonia was founded. From then on, these two cities became central to the history of the western Balkans. The new colonies were associated with the expeditions of Hercules.

The Greeks imported salt, corn, and cattle from the Adriatic and exported wine, ceramics, and metalware. They brought the flour mill and the grinding wheel to Illyricum. They had several stations on the islands north of Durrës, but no significant Greek city. Over time, colonies developed on the islands of Pharos and Issa on the Dalmatian coast.