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Dardania prior to Roman conquest, shown with red on the upper part of the map

Dardania (^{[pronunciation?]}; Ancient Greek: Δαρδανία; Latin: Dardania) was the region of the Dardani (Ancient Greek: Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι, Δαρδανίωνες;^[1] Latin: Dardani^[2]). Located at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone, their identification as either an Illyrian or Thracian tribe is uncertain.^[3][4] Their territory itself was not considered part of Illyria^[5] by Strabo. The term used for their territory was (Ancient Greek: Δαρδανική),^[6] while for other tribes had more unspecified terms, such as (Ancient Greek: Αὐταριατῶν χώρα) for the Autariatae. Other than that, little to no data^[7] exists on the territory of the Dardanii prior to Roman conquest, especially on its southern extent.

The region was inhabited by Illyrians, Celts^[8][9] and Thracians.^[3][9] After Roman conquest of Illyria at 168 BC, Romans colonized and founded several cities in the region.^[10]

Name and mythic origins[link]

Beginning with Johann Georg von Hahn in 1854, 19th century historical linguistics concluded that Dardanoi and Dardania may be related to a proto-Albanian word meaning pear tree (dardha in modern Albanian the definite form, dardhë indefinite form). Opinions differ whether the ultimate etymon of this word in Proto-Indo-European was *g'hord-, or *dheregh-.^[11]

Robert Graves connected Greek δάρδανος "burned up" (from the verb δαρδάπτω dardapto "...to wear, to slay, to burn up").^[12]

In Greek mythology, Dardanus (Δάρδανος), one of the sons of Illyrius (the others being Enchelus, Autarieus, Maedus, Taulas, and Perrhaebus) was the eponymous ancestor of the Dardanoi (Δάρδανοι).^[13] Some Roman ethnographers proposed a connection between Dardani of the Balkans and the Dardans of Troy, having a group of Dardan colonists settle in the Balkans and subsequently degenerate into a state of barbarism,^[14] but the Romans^[15] considered them to be Greeks as a whole, which contradicts modern scholarship.

History[link]

The Dardanians are first mentioned in 4th century BC. when their king Bardyllis succeeded into bringing various tribes in a single organization. Under his leadership Dardanians defeated several times Macedonians and Molossians. At this time they were strong enough to rule Macedonia through a puppet king in 392-391 BC and their continuous invasions forced a later Macedonian king to pay them a tribute in 372 BC In 385-384 they allied with Dionysius I of Syracuse and defeated the Molossians in a battle killing up to 15,000 Molossian soldiers and ruling their territory for a short period. They returned raiding the Molossians in 360. In 359 BC Dardanians under Bardyllis won a decisive battle against a Macedonian king Perdiccas III by killing the Macedonian king himself and 4,000 of his soldiers, and occupied the cities of upper Macedonia.^[16][17]

Following the disastrous defeat of Macedonians by Dardanians, when king Philip II took control of the Macedonian throne in 358, he reaffirmed the treaty with Dardanians marrying the Illyrian princess Audata, probably the daughter or the niece of Bardyllis.^[18] This gave Philip valuable time to gather its forces and to defeat Dardanians still under Bardyllis in the decisive Erigon Valley battle by killing about 7,000 of them eliminating the Dardanian menace for some time.^[17][19]

In 334 BC under the lead of Cleitus the son of Bardyllis, Dardanians in alliance with other Illyrian tribes, of the Taulanti under Glaukias and Autariate, attacked Macedonia which was this time under Alexander the Great. The Dardanians managed to capture some cities but were eventually defeated later by Alexander's forces ^[20][21]

In winter 280-279 BC when Celts invaded Macedonia, the Dardanian king offered to help Macedonians with 20,000 soldiers, but they were refused by Macedonian king Ptolemy Keraunos, eventually contributing to his defeat and consequent death.^[22][23] Unlike Macedonia, Dardanians suffered little under the Celtic invasion and Dardanian forces attacked them while they were returning north.

Dardanians were a constant threat to the Macedonian kingdom. In 230 under Longarus^[24] they captured Bylazora from Paionians ^[25] and in 229 they attacked again Macedonia defeating in an important battle Macedonian forces under Demetrius II.^[26] In this period their influence on the region grow and some other Illyrian tribes defected Teuta joining Dardanians under Longarus, forcing Teuta to call off her expedition forces in Epirus.^[27] When Philip V rose to the Macedonian throne skirmishing with Dardanians began in 220-219 BC and he managed to capture Bylazora from them in 217 BC. Skirmishes continued in 211 and in 209 when a force of Dardanians under Aeropus, probably a pretender to the Macedonian throne, captured Lychnidus and looted Macedonia taking 20.000 prisoners and retreating before Philip's forces could reach them.^[28] In 201 Bato of Dardania along with Pleuratus the Illyrian and Amynander king of Athamania, cooperated with Roman consul Sulpicius in his expedition against Philip V.^[29] Being always under the menace of Dardanian attacks on Macedonia, around 183 BC Philip V made an alliance with Bastarnae and invited them to settle in Polog, the region of Dardania closest to Macedonia.^[30] A joint campaign of Bastarnae and Macedonians against Dardanians was organized but Philip V died and Perseus of Macedon withdrew its forces from the campaign. Bastarnae crossed the Danube in huge numbers and although they didn't met the Macedonians, they continued the campaign. Some 30,000 Bastarnae under the command of Clondicus, seems to have defeated the Dardanians^[31] but eventually they returned home and the plan of Philip V failed. In 177 BC, Dardanians sent a report to Roman Senate, accusing Perseus of Macedon for being again in alliance with Bastarnae against Dardanians, but the Roman investigating commission failed to find support for such accusations.^[32]

In 88 BC, they invaded the Roman province of Macedonia together with the Scordisci and the Maedi.^[33]

Polybius^[34] writes of an event in which the Dardani ask for Roman aid against their enemies.

When the Rhodian envoys arrived in Rome the Senate, after listening to their address, deferred its answer. Meanwhile the Dardanian envoys came with reports as to the number of the Bastarnae, the size of their men, and their courage in the field.They gave information also of the treacherous practices of Perseus and the Gauls, and said that they were more afraid of him than of the Bastarnae, and therefore begged the help of the Romans. The report of the Dardani being supported by that of the Thessalian envoys who arrived at that time, and who also begged for help, the Senators determined to send some commissioners to see with their own eyes the truth of these reports; and they accordingly at once appointed and despatched Aulus Postumius, accompanied by some young men.

According to Strabo, they were divided into two sub-groups, the Galabri and the Thunaki.^[35]

Dardania and the northern Balkans in Late Antiquity

It seems quite probable that the Dardani actually lost independence in 28 BC thus, the final occupation of Dardania by Rome has been connected with the beginnings of Augustus’ rule in 6 AD, when they were finally conquered by Rome. Dardania was conquered by Gaius Scribonius Curio and the Latin language was soon adopted as the main language of the tribe as many other conquered and Romanized.^[36] At first, Dardania was not a separate Roman province, but became a region in the province of Moesia Superior in AD 87.^[37][38] Emperor Diocletian later (284) made Dardania into a separate ^[37] province with its capital at Naissus (Niš). During the Byzantine administration (in the 6th century), there was a Byzantine province of Dardania that included cities of Ulpiana, Scupi, Stobi, Justiniana Prima, and others.

As with the rest of the Illyrians, today almost nothing survives except for names.^[39] The Illyrians in the antiquity were subject to varying degrees of Celticization,^[40][41] Hellenization,^[42] Romanization^[43][44] and later Slavicisation.

Rulers and nobles[link]

• Bardyllis^[45] of the Dardani from 385 BC -358 BC
  • Audata probably daughter of Bardyllis and wife of Philip II married to him after the battle of 358.^[46]
  • Cleitus the Illyrian son of Bardyllis, 4th century BC^[47]
    • Bardyllis II probably Cleitus son, 4th century BC^[48]
      • Bircenna granddaughter of Cleitus^[49] and daughter of Bardyllis II.^[48] She was a wife of Pyrrhus of Epirus.
• Longarus^[50] of the Dardani father of Bato
• Bato of Dardania^[51] of the Dardani son of Longarus

Dardanian Kingdom[link]

The domain of the Dardanian kings was made up of many^[52] tribes. The first and most prominent king of the Dardani was Bardyllis^[45] who ruled from 385 BC to 358 BC. He was perhaps succeeded by Grabos (358 BC - 356 BC)^[53][54] that may have been^[55] Bardyllis's son. Little is known about Bardyllis II^[56] (4th century BC) Bardyllis's son. Cleitus the Illyrian^[56] (4th century BC) was his son. Tribal chiefs Longarus and his son Bato of Dardania took part in the wars^[51] against Romans and Macedonians. The Dardanians, in all their history, always^[57] had separate domains from the rest of the Illyrians.

Roman Dardania[link]

This section requires expansion.

Roman province of Dardania in the 4th century

Roman province of Dardania in the Late Roman Empire (after eastern part of the province was separated from Dardania and was transformed into new province named Dacia Mediterranea)

Byzantine Dardania, 6th century^{[unbalanced opinion]}

During the administrative reforms of Diocletian (244 - 311) and Constantine I (272 – 337), the Diocese of Moesia was created, encompassing most of the central Balkans and the Greek peninsula. After a few years, however, the diocese was split in two, forming the Diocese of Macedonia and the Diocese of Dacia, encompassing the provinces of Dacia Mediterranea, Moesia Inferior, Dardania, Praevalitana and Dacia Ripensis.

Since 238, Moesia was constantly invaded or raided by the Carpi, and the Goths, who had already invaded Moesia in 250. Hard pressed by the Huns, the Goths again crossed the Danube during the reign of Valens (376) and with his permission settled in Moesia.

Late Roman^[58] Dardania did not include the eastern part of the Dardania of Aurelian.

Byzantine Dardania[link]

This section requires expansion.

The area remained part of the Byzantine empire until the late early 7th century when the Slavic migration destroyed Byzantine authority in most of the Balkan peninsula. Since then Dardania ceased to exist as separate administrative entity.

Cities[link]

Dardania's largest towns by the time it was part of the Roman province of Moesia Superior were Ulpiana, Therranda, Vicianum, Skopi,^[59] Vindenis, and Velanis. By this time Naissus^[60] (a previously Celtic settlement) was the province's most important city.The Romans had organized a mining town municipium Dardanicum^[61] (in modern Socanica near the Ibar valley) was connected with the workings (metalla Dardanica^[61]). Dacians^[62] lived in Dardania in their city Quemedava.

Language[link]

An extenstive study based on onomastics has been undertaken by Radoslav Katičić which puts the Dardani language area in the Central Illyrian area ("Central Illyrian" consisting of most of ex-Yugoslavia, north of southern Montenegro to the west of Morava, excepting ancient Liburnia in the North-West, but perhaps extending into Pannonia in the north).^[63][64]

Greek and Roman Historiography[link]

The tribe was for some reason seen as "extremely barbaric" by Greeks and Romans.^[65][66] Claudius Aelianus and other writers^[who?] wrote that they bathed only three^[67] times in their lives. At birth, when they were wed and after they died. Strabo refers to them as wild^[68] and dwelling in dirty caves under dung-hills.^[69] This however may have had to do not with cleanliness, as bathing had to do with monetary^[70] status from the viewpoint of the Greeks. At the same time, Strabo writes that they had some interest in music as they owned and used flutes and corded instruments.^[69]

See also[link]

• Paleo-Balkanic religion
• Prehistoric Balkans
• Illyria
• List of Illyrian tribes
• Illyrian Wars

References[link]

Other sources[link]

• András Mócsy, Sheppard Frere, Pannonia and Upper Moesia: A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire, Routledge (1974), ISBN 0-7100-7714-9.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Illyria & Illyrians

• Illyria and Illyrians