Illyrian Bosnia and Herzegovina – an overview of a cultural legacy

Writen by: Ardian Axhanela ( Adjanela)

Introduction

Studies of ancient cultures have always been particularly challenging for many reasons, especially for ancient cultures that did not have an alphabet or a written language of their own, such as ancient Illyrians. Secondly, the spoken languages themselves are not a rigid, stable and non-changing form, but rather something that keeps changing continuously. The words themselves are not a static and they change in the course of time and one single word belonging to a single language may have many different forms, depending on the regional dialect where it is in use. We often come across a word written or pronounced identically in several different languages but their meaning might be different or unrelated altogether. Then there’s the variety of world languages that makes the written and spoken languages that have the capacity to intermingle and influence one anther, and this goes in particular for  the lingua franca languages, ancient Greek and Latin in ancient times, for example, and modern English today, which primarily influence other, less influential languages, but also borrow occasionally from them. Perhaps the closest example we can take today is the mutual influence between modern English and the languages spoken in countries where English has entered through colonization (e.g. India), or more recently as the official language of  International Peace-Keeping  institution and international community present in courtiers stricken by recent conflicts

(the countries of Former Yugoslavia).

            The historical evidence indicates that there were lingua franca languages in ancient times too, and they influenced and even intermingled (although not as much as they exerted influence) with those languages of those peoples and cultures subjugates by the more powerful cultures that imposed their language(s) as lingua franca, either through military power. So, in the end, it is the correlation of forces that determines which particular language will prevail as a dominant one in a country or a whole region where several languages exist, or in the entire world, be it through military might, be it through trade and economy in general, or bit of a both. According to the rules of this power theory, the language of a culture colonized or occupied by a colonizer, occupier or some global superpower is likely to be assimilated into the language of the colonizer/occupier, change under the influence of the colonizer/occupier’s language, or vanish altogether as such in the course of time, depending on how long the colonizing power stay in the territory it occupied and the policy it applies in terms of imposing its language onto the colonized culture. Hence, the longer the power a culture lasts, the longer its language will live. With the decline of a culture’s power, comes the decline of its language, as in the example of ancient Rome.

            As for ancient Illyrian language, or perhaps languages, there certainly was a time in history when the Illyrian languages must have been the dominant ones in the area inhabited by ancient Illyrians, at least at the time they were powerful enough to preserve their lands from the rival neighboring cultures or any other intruder. At the time they evolved from tribal society into powerful kingdoms, the Illyrians particularly capable of preserve their languages, if we are to apply the power-theory, for ancient historians tell us that at certain period of ancient history the Illyrian kingdoms were so mighty as to rival and even threaten ancient Greeks and Macedonians of Phillip II. This perhaps goes in particular for the Illyrian kingdom ruled by king Agron, son of Pleuratus, from the ruling house of Ardiaei. Polybius[1] described Agron’s kingdom as “the most powerful force, both by land and sea, of any of the kings who reigned in Illyria before him”. Historical records show that no foreign, non-Illyrian power ever managed to occupy Illyrian-inhabited lands, until Romans finally managed to achieve that after years of gradual colonization of Illyrian lands and the final act of military subjugation of Illyrians, following the great losses they suffered trying to crush the last great Illyrian resistance against Rome, the Great Illyrian Revolt, also known as Bellum Batonianum. This Illyrian revolt is said to have brought the regime of Augustus to the brink of disaster.[2]  

            On the other hand, it is reasonable to believe that kingdoms of the time, including the Illyrian ones must have engaged in diplomatic relations much more frequently than those more isolated ones, many of which were still had a tribal organization of their societies. Linguistically, this means that the diplomatic lingua franca of that time, ancient Greek language must have penetrated and influenced those Illyrian peoples geographically closer to ancient Greeks much more than it influenced those inhabiting remote regions, further away from the Greek lands. 

            In nutshell, the Illyrian languages were present in the Balkan region, and probably the only ones spoken in the entire Illyrian-inhabited territory for centuries, as it usage was ensured by Illyrian lands never being occupied by non-Illyrian power, until Roman occupation. Even after the Romans occupied Illyrian lands, the Illyrian language must have been in use among Illyrians, for there is no evidence that Romans ever imposed the strict rules or laws imposing Latin language on their subjects. This is probably due to the fact that Latin was one of the very few written languages of the time, and as such it was inevitably predestined to take over other languages. However, Illyrian language had a good chance of surviving in verbal communication in parts where there was not much contact between Illyrians and Romans, specifically more remote Illyrian areas. 

            In addition to onomastic material pertaining to ancient Illyrians, there is a number of cultural and traditional elements in Bosnia and Herzegovina that have been connected through comparative studies with the culture of ancient Illyrians.

However, the scarce material and written historical records available so far does not allow us to draw any approximate conclusion as to the territorial extent of Illyrian language and culture, and the extent of the survival of Illyrian language and culture and their assimilations into contemporary ethnic and regional cultures of the Balkans. In addition to scarce material finding pertaining to Illyrian language and culture, Illyrian study has certainly been affected by political interference, which created misconceptions and misuses of Illyrian language, history and culture.     

 Misconceptions and misuses of Illyrians

It has been quite a while since the scholarly Illyrian studies became overshadowed by the politically biased interpretations and skirmishing. Needless to say, this kind of approach is not only far from being scholarly, but it also created political stereotypes and circular definitions pertaining to Illyrians. The very word Illyrian has been so contaminated generally by political interference that any mentioning of it must necessarily engage some extreme political skirmishing of the two extremely opposing views, one claiming  that Illyrians have absolutely nothing to do with modern inhabitants of former Illyrian lands (specifically Albanians, who claim Illyrian descent), and the other favoring the idea that there was a direct and absolutely uninterrupted development of Illyrian society into that of modern Albanian. Again, the truth might be somewhere in between.

In addition to being hostage of the abovementioned skirmishing between the two opposing views mentioned above influenced by politics, the study of Illyrians has specifically been contaminated by the non-academic (non-scholarly) interpretations and skirmishing, particularly since the emergency of internet. Although such non-scholarly discussions come from non-scholars, they nevertheless hinder the study of Illyrians by means of disseminating biased theories, particularly abundant in the internet. Luckily, the non-academic interferences generally still don’t have any credibility capable of challenging the works of serious and unbiased scholars, which for the most part is still preserved in the form of hard-copy material (books, periodicals, journals, etc.). The problems, however, start when scholars engage in study that is not motivated by genuine academic motives, be it for political or personal reasons. There is certainly no doubt that Illyrian culture must have left a trace in the culture of Albanians, for the mere fact that Albanians inhabit the territory that was historically the center of Illyrian might, a part of Illyrian lands commonly believed to have been the most developed of all Illyrian territories, probably due to the vicinity of ancient Greek civilization. However, a direct and uninterrupted evolution from Illyrian society to modern Albanian one, without any influence of other culture is both theoretically and practically implausible, and this rule goes well for most cultures, including the Slavonic ones.

In fact, this reminds us that no culture is immune to the influence of other culture(s), be it the smallest possible influence, as in the case of very isolated societies. For this particular reason I decided to take the sample of Illyrians inhabiting modern day Bosnia and Herzegovina, perceived by ancient and modern historians as less susceptible to influences of other cultures compared to Illyrians inhabiting other parts of the Balkans and Mediterranean, particularly the southern Illyrians, who as mentioned above, were more open to foreign influence due to their geopolitical position, particularly ancient Greek cultural and linguistic influence. However, even the inland Illyrians, such as those that once inhabited what is now the territory of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, must have been exposed to various other, non-Illyrian linguistic and cultural influences.

In turn, it can be concluded to some degree of certainty that Illyrian culture must have had some influence on the cultures of contemporary inhabitants of former Illyrian lands, the Slavs and Albanians, as did other cultures present culturally in this territory, namely the Greek and the Roman. Any serious comparative study is likely to confirm this conclusion. Likewise, the names of Illyrian tribes and peoples themselves indicate that Illyrian language and culture were exposed to other cultures, especially the dominant cultures of that time, the Greek and later the Roman, but also potentially some other cultures they might have had contacts with. I hold this to be perhaps one of the most obvious arguments against the unfortunately still present narrow-minded non-scholarly approach to the study of Illyrians.

No doubt that the study of any culture is affected if politicized. The beauty of a culture is best seen if a culture is studied for the sake of learning the culture itself and the role that it had in the overall development of humankind, including, various inventions, living skills and certainly the language. Hence, before moving on to deciphering the names of Illyrian tribes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and tracing some other potential remains of the language of Bosnian Illyrians, those considered to have had the best chance of preserving the most authentic Illyrian linguistic and cultural heritage due to their mountainous homeland, a natural defense form foreign occupation and influence at that time, one ought to provide a short glimpse of the development of Illyrian society as such. This in itself will further support the claims that no society, ancient or modern, more or less isolated is immune to the variety of cultural influences, and it is with respect to this fact that any culture is best analyzed and studied. Furthermore, a glimpse of the development of Illyrian society may help diminish the misunderstanding and confusion created over the use of term “Illyrian tribes” for the Illyrians from the time of Illyrian kingdoms and states. Kingdoms and states, which ancient Greek authors ascribe to Illyrians at least as early as the fifth century B.C., should by default exclude “tribes” in terms of our modern understanding of this word (a primitive level of societal organization), for no “tribe” of the kind that matches our modern usage of this word could have created kingdoms and states. I hereby suggest that the contemporary usage of the term “Illyrian tribes” be revised and reexamined when talking about the period of Illyrian kingdoms/states.

 Illyrian society       

Certainly, before moving on to providing a glimpse of  linguistic and cultural legacy left behind the Illyrian tribes/peoples that inhabited Bosnia and Herzegovina from prehistory to the end of Roman empire, which evolved into a common Illyrian state/kingdom as early as  fifth century B.C.[3], it might be necessary to say a word or two on the development of Illyrian society, particularly in terms of defining a “tribe” in that context, for the purpose of diminishing any stereotypical or negative connotation that this word might ascribe to ancient Illyrians. In other words, I am herby pointing out to the inappropriateness of the usage of the term “tribes” for the period of Illyrian history by the time of which they have evolved from tribal organization into states and kingdoms. Hence, it is no coincidence that the Illyrian rulers of that time were regularly referred to by ancient Greeks and later Romans as ‘kings’. Obviously, ancient chronicles either wrongly used the word ‘kings’, for the Illyrian rules of the historic period in question, or wrongly used the word ‘tribes’. The mere fact is that these two terms are mutually explicable, in linguistic and contextual sense – kings rule kingdoms, not tribes.

No phrase pertaining to word Illyrian has been probably more frequently and often inappropriately used then the phrase “Illyrian tribes”. While on one hand ancient Greek and Roman source indeed mention “Illyrian tribes”, they also mention Illyrian “states” and “kingdoms”, which certainly exclude tribal organization of society, which may have existed at an earlier stage of the development of Illyrian society.  Therefore, one might need to examine the development of Illyrian society in order to provide a closer insight into the meaning of term “tribes”, which should not be understood in terms of early tribal society but rather a term that seems to be often vaguely used, not only in modern times, but perhaps in ancient times too.

M Holleaux sums up the development of Illyrian society as follows: “These peoples were initially divided into independent peoples or tribes, with their respective rulers.  At the 5^th and the 4^th century the most prominent of peoples in the south were the Taulanti, whose king Glaucas dared stand up to Alexander, beat Cassander, took Pyrrhus under his protection, and demonstrated his might to the nearby Greek cities of Dyrach, Apollonia and Corcyra, either as an ally or as an enemy. We assume that some time after the year 250 – without knowing the exact period of time – the entire political system mentioned above disappeared. A great Illyrian state was established thereafter and it was ruled by one single ruler, whose rule was recognized by local dynasties and leaders of peoples or cities. The origin of that state and the time when it came into being are unknown. It seems, however, the unification which resulted in the creation of that state was carried out by the tribe of Ardiaei”. [4] Some other authors, on the other hand, argue against the dynastic continuity proposed by Holleaux, Papazoglu and others, arguing instead that there was more than one royal Illyrian dynasty, such as Ardiaean, reigning from 340 to 160 B.C., Dardanian, best renown for its kings Bardhylis, Clitis, Monounion, Mytilis, Grabaean, with the king Grabo, the state of Taulanti, ruled by king Glaucas, etc. In any case, both  groups of scholars more or less agree about one thing – only southern Illyria was subject to political unification of its peoples, while the rest of Illyria, which was known even less than its more developed, southern part remained fragmented until the Roman conquest.[5]

Another strong argument supporting the claim that the use of term “tribes” in the literal sense is inappropriate and misleading if applied to Illyrians of the fifth century and onwards, is the theory that the abovementioned Illyrian kingdoms came into being as a result of a significant demographic growth among Illyrians, who could no longer sustain themselves by classical tribal organization, whose economy was mainly based on pastoral transhumance up until that point in history.[6] It was precisely the growth in population that forced them to seek out new ways of sustain themselves. Hence, the overpopulated society of Illyria could no longer engage in live stock breeding. It was forced to adopt the sedentary way of life and to agriculture instead.[7] Certainly, agriculture progressed better in areas which provided natural environment suitable for this particular branch of economy, in particular large fertile fields and terraces.

This inevitably leads to a conclusion that those Illyrian lands that provided favorable environment for the development of agriculture developed more than those that didn’t. Accordingly, one could ascribe the advancement of southern Illyria, the first among Illyrian lands to create states and kingdoms, and the most powerful ones too, precisely to natural environment in southern parts of Illyrian inhabited lands, which were much more favorable for the development of agriculture then other, more mountainous inland regions. Just as an example, in 335, Alexander the great sent Filota (Phylotes?) to the great agricultural plateau in the area of Korca (modern Albania) for food supplies for his army, as large as it was.[8] Likewise, one may be lead into conclusion that the rich material findings of the Iapodes, Illyrian people inhabiting northern parts of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, fertile and plain as they are, indicates that the Iapodes were perhaps economically much more advanced than Illyrian peoples whose lands lacked fertile plains or sea, the two key natural sources of development of a society.      

The demographic growth, in turn, can best be explained by a significant increase in the birth rate, for there was no reason for any decrease in mortality. On the contrary, Diodorus[9] provides very high number of losses in battles: fifteen thousand Mollosians in 385 B.C., four thousand Macedonians in 360 B.C., and seven thousand Illyrians in 361 B.C. The high rate of mortality caused by wars of that time, on the other hand needed to be compensated by the high birth rates, and this theory can be supported by the fact that there were no miscarriages recorded among Illyrians, as opposed to Greeks[10], who were obviously more advanced and inevitably aware and familiar with contraception, unlike Illyrians.

Another reason why southern Illyrian peoples developed more rapidly then other should certainly be found  in the vicinity of Greek cultural influence, be it Greek colonies  within Illyrian lands, or Greek states themselves bordering the Illyrian ones (down south).

In any case, the available data, provide by ancient Greek  historians and writers speak about Illyrian peoples, kingdoms and  states, that as mentioned above emerged as early as fifth century  B.C. among southern Illyrians, who  later crated  the Illyrian state, the most powerful of Illyrian states and certainly one of the most powerful  in ancient world of that time. This fact alone is sufficient to support the notion that the use of term “Illyrian tribes” would be inappropriate for those Illyrian societies organized as states or kingdoms. Perhaps “Illyrian peoples” would be linguistically and contextually a more objective phrase.

bviously, it seems that not all of Illyrian inhabited lands developed in the same way, as mentioned above. This inevitably leads to a conclusion that some Illyrian lands remained organized around tribes, while others, in particular southern Illyrian lands.  Due to geographical position, Illyrian tribes and peoples remote from ancient Greece, like those inhabiting the territory of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina in time ancient Greece were not exposed so much to ancient Greek influence, including the Greek language, unlike southern Illyrians, and presumably had a better chance of preserving their authentic Illyrian language(s) than southern Illyrians. On the other hand, an onomastic enquiry into the names of Illyrian people and places in Bosnia and Herzegovina indicates that despite of Bosnian Illyrians being better protected from foreign influence than southern Illyrians, some non-Illyrian linguistic influence, including the ancient Greek one, must have taken place among them too. This, in turn, supports the notion that no culture could ever have avoided at least some cultural and linguistic intermingling or mutual influence.

Illyrian studies

Before going further, it may be useful to remind ourselves of the fact that we owe all we know today about ancient Illyrians to written texts made by ancient Greeks and later Romans on one hand, and archaeological findings on the other. In particular, the texts and the archaeological findings were passed onto our generation owing to the efforts and studies of a whole generation of scholars, starting with those from the time of Austrian-Hungarian Empire, when the first significant Illyrian studies began, and all the way down to our time, with figures like George Zippel, Theodor Mommsen, George Hahn, Carlo Machesetti, Alfons Mullner, Jernej Pečnik, Simon Rutar, Josef Szobathy, Moritz Hoernes, Geza Alfody, and others.

As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first significant study of Illyrians began with the foundation of Zemaljski Muzej in Sarajevo in 1888, and in particular the work of Ćiro Truhelka. In 20^th century, the most prominent figures in the study of Illyrians were late Alojz Benac and Aleksandar Stipčević, whose contribution in this field is invaluable. As for Illyrian onomastics in former Yugoslavia, and Illyrian language in general, we owe gratitude to the scholarly efforts of Radoslav Katičić.

            Finally, Albanian scholars like Eqrem Cabej, Muzafer Korkuti, Selim Islami, F. Prendi, Skender Anamali, Neritan Ceka, and others no doubt share equal merits for studying and rediscovering the world of ancient Illyrians.

Linguistic legacy of Illyrian tribal/peoples names in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Although the territory inhabited by ancient Illyrians, and their respective states and/or kingdoms is subject to debates among scholars, it is certain that the territory of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina was undoubtedly part of Illyrian inhabited lands. In fact, the first dominant culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina that we have some written records about (as found in ancient Greek and subsequently Roman writings and documents), as well as the material remains was that of  Illyrians. Hence, the earliest known linguistic substratum covering the territory of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina is the Illyrian one. However, this does not mean that the names of Illyrian tribes/peoples stem from the Illyrian language, at least not all of them. Besides, it cannot be deduced with certainty which particular tribe names are Illyrian, given that very little is known about the Illyrian language itself in general.

The territory of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina covers northeast parts of ancient Roman province of Dalmatia and southeast parts of Roman province of Pannonia, both being primarily populated by Illyrians.

As mentioned earlier, an insight into the etymologies of  Illyrian tribe names, in this case those inhabiting the territory of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, might  shed some more light  on  linguistic and social development of Illyrian societies, which as highlighted earlier was certainly enriched and influenced by the contacts with other cultures (and vice versa). In order to illustrate this, I will provide a simple comparison of the Illyrian names (those of tribes, personal and place names) with Indo-European vocabulary, as Illyrian has been classified as a Indo-European language, Greek, Latin, and Albanian, which although not part of the abovementioned, once dominant languages of the Illyrian inhabited lands and the ancient world has continually been subject to Illyrian studies, as its distinctive vocabulary, morphology and phonetic rules attracted many philologists, of whom several have confidently proclaimed its origin from ancient Illyrian[11].

Interestingly enough, the influence of the dominant languages of the ancient world, Greek and Latin on the etymology of the names of Illyrian peoples was never stressed enough by the majority of prominent scholars that studied Illyrians. One should certainly not exclude the possibility of  Illyrian etymologies being influence by some languages of the time that were not as dominant  as  ancient Greek and Latin, but might nevertheless exerted some influence on Illyrian language, or specifically Illyrian tribe names.

The Illyrian peoples that inhabited the territory  comprising modern Bosnia and Herzegovina were Andizeti/Andizetes, Ardiaei, Autariatae, Breuci, Daorsi, Dalmatae/Delmatae, Daesititates, Deuri, Deretini, Dindari, Ditiones, Iapodes (Japodes/Iapydes), Meazei, Narensi, and perhaps a few other small Illyrian communities.

 Andizeti/Andizetes

This is certainly one of those Illyrian peoples most scarcely referred to. Strabo identifies them as Pannonian (Illyrian) people, along with Breuci, Deuri, Deretini, Dindari, Ditiones, Ditiones, Maezei and Daesitiates.[12] They started receiving Roman citizenship in the reign of Trajan (AD 98-117), along with other Illyrian communities of southeast Pannonia.[13]Pliny mentions several Pannonian civitates, including that of Andizetes, saying that their name was known before the Roman conquest, along with Boii, Breuci, Amantini, Scordisci and Latobici.[14]

Although they didn’t seem to have particularly significant role for the history of Illyrians, the Andizetes might be interesting in linguistic sense, for a mere fact that the possible root word ‘And’(izetes) is among the most frequently occurring linguistic element throughout the entire territory inhabited by Illyrians, particularly in southeast Pannonia. Thus we find personal Illyrian names like Andes (m.)/Andia (f) in Katičić’s middle Dalmatian-Pannonian onomastic province (corresponding with modern Bosnia and Herzegovina), but also among the south-Illyrian names, with other variants like Andena included. This name appears too on the list of Illyrian names in Dardanian territory, in the form of Andio and Andinus, the latter being found among Dalmatians, in addition to Andius, found in central Dalmatian group.[15]  

There closest Indo-European root-word is ‘andh-‘, ‘anedh-’, meaning ‘to grow’, ‘to blossom’.[16]

Tracing ‘and’, as a potential root-word of Andizetes and all of the abovementioned pertinent personal names like Andes, Andio, Andia etc. inevitably requires  a comparison with ancient Greek language, as the first dominant lingua franca  in the region  inhabited by Illyrians (roughly south-east Europe, popularly known as the Balkans). Indeed, the root-word ‘and’ is found in ancient Greek, in the words ‘andreia’ (bravery), and ‘andrikos’-‘manly, virile’. However, the abovementioned Greek words stem from ‘aner’, meaning ‘man’, the genitive being ‘andros’.[17] This implies that the root word of  Greek  ‘andros’, ‘andreia’, ‘andros’ or ‘andrikos’ in fact is not ‘and’, but ‘an’, which rules out  Greek as an etymological explanation for  Andizetes, unless the abovementioned  Illyrian  ‘Andizetes’ or  the pertinent personal names  (Andes, Andio etc.) represent some corrupt form of  Greek ‘aner” or its derivatives.

As for Latin, if one excludes all Latin words  deriving from the abovementioned ancient Greek derivation of ‘aner’, like Andromache,  Andromeda, Andronicus, etc., the only Latin word in which  ‘and’ can be found is ‘andabata’, meaning ‘blindfold gladiator’. Given that gladiators were for the most part not Romans but the subject peoples, especially the warlike Illyrians, Thracians,  Dacians and Celts, it is plausible that ‘andabata’ might as well been a personal name, or even more likely a ‘gladiator’ nickname composed of a personal name or nickname ‘anda’ and Latin suffix ‘bata’, a derivative of Latin ‘batuo’-‘batere’ – ‘to beat’, which makes perfect sense for a gladiator nickname. The nickname ‘Anda’ in turn is said to have been a reference to =a gladiator who fought with a helmet without openings”.[18]

Finally, the closest match between Andizetes found in Albanian language is the Albanian word ‘andë’ (Northern, Gheg dialect) or ‘ëndje’ ‘ënde’ (Southern, Tosk dialect), meaning ‘appetite, pleasure, desire, wish’, from Proto-Albanian word ‘anta’, derived from anja.[19] Pokorny[20] too finds a connection between Albanian ‘ënde’ and Indo-European ‘andh’. Indeed Albanian ‘end’, means ‘pollen’, from Proto-Albanian ‘anda’, etymologically connected with Sanskrit andhas –‘herb’ thus making the connection to IE root-word ‘andh’ –‘to blossom’.[21]

 Ardiaei/Vardaei (Ardiaeans)

            Ardiaei were noted in ancient history as one of the most prominent Illyrian people, and the founders of one of the most powerful Illyrian dynasties, from which the most powerful of all Illyrian kingdoms sprang, the Kingdom of Agron, later ruled by his widow Teuta.[22]

It was in a campaign against the Ardiaei that the legendary Phillip II, the father of Alexander the Great was seriously wounded.[23]They were at the apex of their power in the third century B.C., but the rising power of the Romans eventually subdued them. [24]

Indo-European lexicon contains several root-words ‘ar’, but if the root-word of Ardiaei is ‘ard’ rather than ‘ar’ than there is only a few Indo-European root-words to look at, namely ‘ardh’ , meaning ‘pole’ and  ‘ardi’ or ‘rdi’ –‘point, edge’. In Armanian there is ‘ardn’ –‘lance, spear’, and in Lithuanian ‘ardas’ means ‘pole scaffold for drying flax’.[25]

Ardiaei were recorded by ancient Greeks as Ardiaioi. As for the etymology, Greek language the closest Greek word containing ‘ard’, the presumed root-word of Ardiaei/Ardiaioi is ‘ardis’, meaning ‘head of the arrow, sting’.[26]  There is also ‘vardia’, Greek for ‘watch/duty/shift’ (‘guard’ implicit), corresponding directly to ‘Vardaei’, another name for Ardiaei.[27] Vardaei, one other variant of Ardiaei, also bears similarity with the name of the Vardar river in Macedonia, so this could be yet another area to explore.

One of the closest linguistic matches seems to be Latin ardea, meaning heron. Interestingly enough, a small town located in the area adjacent to Neretva river (which was precisely the original homeland of ancient Illyrian community of Ardiaei[28]) is called Čapljina, deriving from čaplja, which in former Serbo-Croatian language (nowadays divided into Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin and Serbian) means precisely heron. This theory opens up many possibilities for the interpretation of the origin of this name, such as heron having totemic pagan value, due to its  presence in this area, and thus influencing the etymology, for example.

However, the problem with the Latin ‘ardea’ theory is that Ardiaei might have been mentioned as such before Illyrians came into contact with the Latin language. Specifically, Theopompus, a Greek historian who lived around 380 B.C. recorded an episode between the Celts and the Ardiaei. He describes the cunning of the Celts in overcoming the enemy. The Celts aware of the need the Ardiaei had for food and drink withdrew from their camp, leaving in a very conspicuous place much food and drink mixed with poisonous weeds. Unsuspecting the Ardiaei came to the abandoned camp and fell on the viands, oblivious of the enemy. Then the Celts returned and overwhelmed them with ease. He also said of the Illyrian Ardiaioi (Vardaei suggested as an emendation) that they ‘owned 300.000 prospelatai (dependants) like Helots’. [29] This makes the Greek word ‘vardia’  the most plausible explanation for the etymology of Ardiaei, whereby Ardiaei or Ardiaioi is in fact  a variation or the corrupt form of Vardaei, and Vardaei in turn is most likely to be a derivative of  Greek ‘vardia’, and contextual meaning makes sense too.

On the other hand, Greek historian Strabo says in paragraph 6 (Book 7, chapter 5)[30] of his Geographica: “The Ardiaei were called by the men of later times "Vardiaei", by which the name Ardiaei/Ardiaioi preceded Vardaei.

Obviously, a more tangible conclusion in terms of the etymology of Ardiaei will have to wait until it is determined which of the two words, Ardiaei/Ardiaioi or Vardaei came first, given the discrepancy between the two words, Ardiaioi/Ardiaei on one hand, and Vardaei on the other.  

One of the most popular theory among Albanians themselves is a theory according to which Ardiaei is connected to Albanian word ‘ardhja’, meaning ‘arrival’/’descent’ or ‘future’, therefore making the Ardiaei the descendants. The popularity of Illyrian names among Albanian, in this particular case the popularity of Ardiaeans among modern Albanians is attested in the existence of a popular modern Albanian name of Ardian or Ardijan, literally meaning ‘an Ardiaean’ in Albanian language. Linguistically speaking, Ardian or Ardian is literally a singular form of the word Ardianet or Ardijanet, Albanian for Ardiaiei/Ardiaioi/Ardiaeans.  

 Autariatae

According to Strabo, the Autariatae were “once the greatest and most powerful people”. It is assumed that their centers were in eastern part of Bosnia, in the neighborhood of Tara river (a name which is connected conjecturally with the Autariatae) and eastwards to the river Morava and Lim. [31]As  influential and large as they were, the Autariatae  were probably made up of several smaller Illyrian people, including the people of Glasinac culture in eastern Bosnia, where a tradition of tumulus burial had continued almost without interruption from Bronze Age times.[32] Autariatae were known to have been involved in a long-running feud with the Ardiaei over the possession of a salt-source near the common border. However, the Autariatea never created a royal dynasty as powerful and historically significant as the Ardiaei.

The known Indo-European lexicon does not contain a word directly corresponding with the word ‘Autariatae’ or  any root word  like  ‘aut’, ‘autar’, ‘autaria’ or the like. Combined with the theory of Stipčević that the name of the river Tara is connected conjecturally with the ‘Autariatae’[33], the abovementioned  lack of  any  similar word in the Indo-European  dictionary leads to the conclusion that  the root word in fact may not be ‘aut’ or ‘autar’. Instead, the word might be made up of a prefix ‘au’, the root-word ‘tar’ and a variety of suffixes. The most similar Indo-European rootword is ‘ter’  - ‘tremble,dabble’, corresponding with Old Indian ‘tarala’, ‘taruna’ –‘young,tender’, ‘tarh’ -‘shatter, crunch’,  ‘tarku’ – ‘spindle’, similar to Old Prussian ‘tarkue’, and Old Church Slavonic ‘traka’,  for ‘strap, band’.[34]

As far as the deciphering the etymology of Autariatae by means of Greek language is concerned, the Greek language does not offer any word closely matching Autariatae. However, if the root-word of Autariatae is ‘tar’, than there is a number of corresponding words in Greek, such as ‘taragma’ – ‘agitation, shaking’ and  ‘tarazo’ – ‘disturb, upset’.

Latin, on the other hand contains many words starting with “Au”, if we suppose that the latter is the prefix, based on the assumption that the name of modern river Tara is the main component of Autariatae. However, the problem with the theory of Autariatae originating in Latin language is that the Autariatae were known as such to ancient Greeks long before the contacts between Romans and Illyrians. Appianus of Alexandria, the author of Illyrike, a chapter of his history of the Roman Empire dedicated to Illyrians, one of many people Rome defeated and incorporated, provides the short history of Illyrians, from their beginnings with legendary Illyrios, the founder of Illyrians in the most distant past, long before the existence of Romans. Among other things, Appian says: “Illyrius had six sons, Encheleus, Autarieus, Dardanus, Maedus, Taulas and Perrhaebus, also daughters, Partho, Daortho, Dassari, and others.”[35] One can clearly identify the names of the most prominent Illyrian peoples in the abovementioned personal names, namely the Enchelae, Autariatae, Dardani, Taulanti, Prthini, Daorsi/Daversi, Dassaretae etc. The Autariatae are also mentioned in Periples of Pseudo Scilax, as one of the peoples living at the hinterland of Epidamnus/Dyrachion.[36] 

Breuci

 Breuci were said to have lived along the lower stretch of the Sava.[37]

Strabo identifies Breuci as a Pannonian people, along with Andizetes, Ditiones, Pirustae, Maezaei and Daesitiates.[38] They  started receiving Roman citizenship in the reign of Trajan ( AD 98-117), along with other Illyrian communities of southeast Pannonia, the Andizetes and  Scordisci.[39]

Breuci entered the history through one of the most significant point in the history of Illyrians – The Batons’ Uprising, also known as The Great Illyrian Revolt, as one of the most outstanding Illyrian tribes along the leaders of the uprising, the Daesitiates of central Bosnia[40] (see Daesitiates below).

            As regards the corresponding Indo-European root-word, there  seems to be several that may be etymologically related to ‘Breuci’, particularly the root-word ‘bhre’, but Pokorny  relates ‘Breuci’ specifically to the  Indo-European ‘bhreu-k-(k)’, meaning ‘to strike, to throw’. [41] 

No Greek word corresponding directly with Breuci can be found, unless this name represents some corrupt Greek form.

The closest corresponding word in Latin is ‘brevi’, meaning ‘short’, but Breuci is one of the names of Panonian Illyrians believed to have been known before the Roman conquest, along with Boii, Andizetes, Amantini, Scordisci and Latobici.[42]

As regards the Albanian connection to the word,  possible correspondence may be found in the word  ‘bark’ – ‘belly, womb, abdomen’, derived from Proto-Albanian ‘baruka’, and further continuing ‘bhor-uko’, a derivative of the Indo-European root-word ‘bher’ – ‘to carry’. There is also Albanian ‘baruke’ meaning ‘fleece’, deriving  again from Proto-Albanian ‘baruka’ which in turn  comes from ‘barwa>berr’ –‘sheep, goat’. However, if one is to connect Albanian etymologies with   Indo-European ‘bhreu-k’, as a potential etymology for ‘Breuci’, as suggested by Pokorny, then the closest correspondence in Albanian language might be ‘brej’ – ‘to gnaw’, from Proto-Albanian ‘brainja’, further connected with IE ‘bhrei’ – ‘to cut’.[43]  Pokorny[44], however, relates Albanian ‘prek’ –‘touch, frisk, violate’ or ‘pres’  derived possibly from Illyrian ‘breuks’, -‘ to crunch with teeth, to cut’ with IE ‘breuq’, as one other possible etymological originator of the Illyrian  name of ‘Breuci’. In addition Pokorny supposes that Illyrian Breuci itself might have derived from Breones, which allegedly evolved according to Albanian phonetic laws –t > -nt > n hence ‘Breuones<Breuontes, and only Albanian displays the common – k > -th, -t shift found in Illyrian. VN Breuci: Illyr.VN Breunoi (from Breuones).[45]

 Dalmatae/Delmatae

The Delmatae were famous for their long and bitter wars against Romans. Because of these wars their name became, for the Romans, synonymous with Illyrian resistance along the western coastal region of the Balkans, and was given the province in the form of Dalmatia. The Dalmatae, lived in the interior, i.e. in present-day Herzegovina, where their tribal center, Delminium, was established. In the third century B.C. they moved towards the sea and occupied the coastal region between the rivers Krka and Cetina.[46]

            In his Indo-European dictionary, Pokorny relates ‘Delmatae’ to  the Indo-European root-word ‘dhē(i)’ – (besides dh-ei-ö), -‘to suck’, and basically  connects its various derivatives with milk, including the Albanian  word for sheep ‘dele’ (dhailhn-), delmë ds., ‘dhalle’- ‘sour milk’, Illyrian ‘dalm’ –‘sheep’ etc.[47]

             There is no word in Greek or Latin languages corresponding directly to Dalmatae, unless again, this represents some very corrupt form of some words in either of the languages. In the case of Latin, however, this is unlikely for the simple reason that  Dalmatia , as a place inhabited by an Illyrian people was mentioned  by Herodotus in his writings as early as  5^th century B.C., long before the contacts between the Illyrians and Romans took place. [48]

Through comparative study of words covering languages nowadays existent in the territories once inhabited by Illyrians, the greatest similarty with Delmatae was found in Albanian language, more specifically in “delma”, meaning “sheep” in Albanian.[49]

Adrian Room[50] on the other hand ascribes the name of Dalmatia, and implacably the Delmatae, to the Indo-European root word dhal, perhaps with reference to its mountain pastures. This interpretation, obviously, again leads us to ‘sheeps’, making the Albanian  language  the plausible explanation for this particular etymology, given that  the ‘pastures’ and ‘sheeps’ lead to one another conceptually. Another pasture-related word found in Albanian is ‘dhall’, a dairy product traditionally made by Albanian shepherd. In addition, Albanian ‘djal’, meaning ‘boy, youth’, comes from Proto-Albanian ‘dela’, almost identical with modern Albanian word for  sheep (‘dele, delja’) is a derivative of Indo-European ‘dhei’, meaning ‘to suck’[51]. However, one should not rush into a conclusion that this word, or words came directly from Illyrian. The only slightly more certain conclusion that the above-mentioned similarities point out to is that the abovementioned pasture-related Albanian words preserved their original Indo-European forms better then other languages.

Daesititates

The Daesitiates lived in central Bosnia surrounded by a number of other, smaller Illyrian communities like Dindari, Deuri, Deretini and the Maezei[52]. The name of Daesitiates will be remembered in the history of Illyrians and ancient Roman-time history in general, as a synonym for resistance against Roman reign. Ever since the establishment of the Roman province of Illyricum, the former kingdom of Illyria, was every now and then subject to Illyrian revolts and uprisings.

The last attempt to turn to Romans out of Illyrian was made between 6 and 9 A.D., and it was known from the names of its two leaders, as the Baton’s uprising, the initiator and the leader being Baton of the Daesitiates. The cause of the uprising this time was the recruitment of men among the Daesitiates ordered by Tiberius, who was then preparing the war against the Germanic tribes. The leader of the rebellious Daesitiates was one Baton. Other Illyrian tribes soon joined the rebels; the most outstanding among them were the Breuci tribe with their king, Pinnes, and their commander, who was called Baton too. These two Batons were central figures in this magnificent show of resistance, which for the first time in history united a large number of tribes in a struggle against their common enemy. The Baton’s uprising caused great disquiet in Rome itself. According to Seutonius, it was the most difficult war that Rome waged after the Carthaginian wars.[53]

The Roman campaign against the Illyrian revolt lasted for over three years and it was in the town of Arduba (present day Vranduk) that the last heroic Illyrian resistance against the Romans took place. While the Roman legions stormed the town the Illyrian women took their children and, in order to avoid being enslaved by the enemy, threw themselves into the fires that were raging all over Arduba. When Baton realized that further resistance was impossible, he surrendered to the Romans. He made no demands for himself, according to the history of Dio Casius, but asked that the lives of his soldiers be spared. When Tiberius asked him why he rose against the Romans, Baton replied that it was because the Senate in Rome sent wolves rather than shepherds to govern the Illyrians. Tiberius spared Baton’s life and sent him as captive to Ravenna, where he died.[54]

The etymology of Daesitiates might as well remain uncertain for a long time to come, given the scarce information we have about Illyrian language in general. If one is to deduct  the supposed ending ‘ates’ from the word Daesitiate, based on  comparison with other Illyrian tribe names with the same or similar ending ( e.g. Labeates, Oseriates, Sardeates etc.),  what remains as a root-word is Daesiti, with  plural ending ‘i’, the singular being  Daesit. The closest linguistic match one may find in Albanian language is ‘dash’, meaning ‘ram’.  Indeed, this match does seem plausible  from the perspective of  ethno linguistic point of view, given that societies at the tribal level have been known throughout history to  name their tribes after an animal, as is the case, for example with native American tribes. Further, more ‘dash’ is plausible for one other reason – it points out the abundance of sheep and rams at that time, as sheep-breeding was one of the earliest Illyrian economies. The same reason makes the Albanian word for sheep, ‘delme’ or ‘dele’ a plausible cognate for Delamatae.

As the form ‘Daesitiates’ is a Latin written form of the name, (with “ae” =’e’), the closest Indo-European root-word might be ‘des-’, ‘dēs-’, meaning ‘to find’. However, given the fact that vowels are generally flexible and prone to a wide variety of changes, one should consider other Indo-European root-words. Also, the sound ‘d’ is also recorded as ‘dh’. Hence, there is an Indo-European root-word ‘dheues-, dhues-, dheus-, dhus-‘, meaning ‘to dissipate, blow, scatter, dust, rain, breathe, parish, die’.[55] Jokl[56] derives  Albanian ‘dash’ precisely from  a variable of this particular Indo-European  root-word, ‘dhuosi’.

As for ancient Greek, ‘dasos’ meaning ‘forest/woodland’, may be considered, or even ‘deisi’, meaning ‘prayer’ or ‘supplication’.

Latin language provides several potential  explanation, such as ‘ desido’, meaning ‘to settle down’,  ‘desitus’, plural form of ‘desino’ –‘to leave off, abandon, to stop, desist…’. In order to ascribe the origin of Daesitiates to Latin language, it is crucial to find a historic source referring to this particular name before the contacts between Illyrians and Romans took place.

It may be noteworthy that south-Slavonic (particularly Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian) ‘dasa’, meaning  ‘ace’,  certainly attracts attention precisely because of its meaning, which has connotation of belligerence, common to both Daesitiates (as in the tradition of early tribal  societies of naming their tribes after warlike animals or animals in general) and Albanian ‘dash’ (ram).  As the conventional and standardized history holds that Slavs came to the Balkans, former home of ancient Illyrians not earlier than the end of fifth century A.D., it seems plausible to conclude that ‘dasa’, as in a possible cognate of Daesitiates, or Albanian ‘dash’ (if we allow for this hypothetical possibility), is not originally a Slavonic word but entered the Slavic language from either Illyrian, Walachian (Vlah) or possibly Albanian. A further support to this theory may be found by trying to find ‘dasa’, or a similar word with the same or similar meaning in other Slavic/Slavonic languages, in order to determine whether or not this word is actually Slavic/Slavonic. On the other hand, ‘dasa’ as in Slavonic for ‘ace’, might be traced back to Latin ‘datio’, - ‘(laws) making’.

Again, this is only a tiny scratch on the surface of etymological studies of Illyrian language, and as such it is far from any tangible conclusion at this stage. It may, however, serve as some initial point or a call for a more serious and in depth study in this area, the one that is immune to political manipulations.

Daorsi/Daversi

The Daorsi (Daversi) also inhabited the region of the river Neretva. Their center was a large fortified settlement discovered and excavated near the village of Ošanić, near Stolac in Herzegovina.[57]

In his history of Illyrians entitled Illyrike, Appian mentioned Daortho as one of the daughters of legendary founder of the Illyrians, Illyrios.[58] If Appian based this on writings of ancient, pre-Roman time Greek historians, then the etymology of Daorsi/Daversi certainly should not be traced by means of Latin language.

The closest match found in Greek is perhaps ‘davli’, meaning ‘torch’ or ‘firebrand’.

Daorsi/Daversi  contains root-words bearing striking similarity with Slavonic  words for “giving”, specifically ‘ dao’, literally past tense of  verb ‘ to give’, and ‘dav (ati)’, the root-word of  ‘davati’- to give. Whether or not this is a coincidence, amidst the fact that Daortho, a daughter of Illyrios mentioned long before any appearance of Slavs in history, is subject to thorough ethno-linguistic and history query. 

Deretini, Deuri, Dindari, Ditiones and Maezei

The record on Deretini, Deuri, Dindari, Ditiones and Maezei so far is very scarce and it does not provide much information except for saying that they were small Illyrian communities living near the great Daesitiates.[59] They were identified by Strabo as Pannonians.[60]Deuri inhabited area around modern Bosnian town of Bugojno and had 25 decuriae.[61]Dindari are located by the record on one of their chiefs (Principes) in the Drina valley, in northeast Bosnia.[62] Ditiones were located in the southwest Bosnia and had 239 decuriae. [63]Maezei constituted communities of western Pannonian groups within Roman Dalmatia in Roman time, along with Daesitiates.[64] They were the west Pannonian neighbors of the Iapodes/Japodes, and their cemetery at Sanski Most contained some imported objects from Greece and Italy of the fourth and third centuries BC, along with traditional ornaments such as spectacle-brooches.[65]

This is just one of many examples supporting the main notion of this essay that no culture can go without being influenced at least to some degree by other cultures, and northern Illyrians, although more isolated and less advanced than southern Illyrians, were nevertheless open to the influence of other cultures, as the trade has always been an inevitable part of life of every culture, no matter how remote or isolated it is, and northern Illyrians, after all were not particularly isolated. Rather, they were remote from the developed ancient Greece, and that’s why they were lagging in development comaperd to southern Illyrians, who were bordering Greece, but not that they were particularly isolated.

In fact, the Pannonians of Bosnia exhibit no homogeneous or distinctive material culture, and the general impression is of long-established communities gradually adopting new ways of life from more advanced societies of the plains to the north and east, but receiving few imports from Greece via Neretva or from Italy via Sava valley. Their lands were rich in timber and mineral deposits, especially along the main river valleys, the Sana, Vrbas, Bosna and Drina, although it remains uncertain how much of the deposits in gold, silver and iron were worked in pre-Roman times.[66]

The remains clearly show that Pannonians did make a lot of use of bronze during the Bronze Age, Age, during which time many of the Pannonian hill-top fortresses, like that partly excavated at Pod near Bugojno (Southwest Bosnia) were built. A similar fortified settlement with a long occupation continuing into Roman times existed on the Debelo Brdo hill in Sarajevo.[67] They certainly worked iron during the subsequent Iron Age too. The commerce was certainly developed among the Pannonians as early as Bronze Age, as indicated by the local metalwork influenced in from and ornament by imports form southern and central Italy, as wellas the bronze and pottery vessels.[68] Could they have been influenced by non-Pannonian and non-Illyrian languages too? Certainly could.

            Talking about the etymology of the names of these small Pannonian Illyrian peoples/communities, the first comparative element, the Indo-European vocabulary provides the following comparative matches:

Deretini

There is a significant number of Indo-European ‘der’-based  root-words, such as ‘dera, dra’ -‘to work’,   ‘der’ –‘hand’ (connected with Albanian ‘dora’ –‘hand’), to murmur, to chat, to run, to cut, split, skin,  ‘deru’ – ‘tree’, and many more.[69]

The closest Greek words seem to be ‘deras’ –‘golden fleece’, ‘derma’ –‘skin’, and possibly ‘derno’ –‘beat, flog’.[70]

Latin language too contains a number of ‘der’-based words, but no detailed etymological or ethno linguistic study has been carried out in order to provide for a potential etymological explanation of Illyrian ‘Deretini’.

As regards the Albanian language, the most direct similarity is found with  Albanian ‘derr’ –‘pig’, but  the problem with this theory is that Albanian ‘derr’ has been ascribed  by Pokorny and other language scholars to Indo-European root-word ‘gher’, ‘ghers’, meaning  ‘rigid, pig’. [71]

Deuri

Indo-European lexicons contains a root-word ‘dheu’ –‘to run, stream, flow’ as one of many different possible cognate of Illyrian ‘Deuri’, if one supposes that the root-word here is ‘deur’, and if one takes the connotation of river (to run, stream) to be the foundation of  the name of this particular Illyrian people. However, without further through and extensive ethno-linguistic analysis one cannot be certain of that.

Greek vocabulary does not contain anything that would very closely match the ‘deur’, the supposed root word of ‘Deuri’. However, this by no means implies that the Greek language should be ruled out as a possible etymological originator of the name of Illyrian Deuri simply due to the fact that this might be just one of many possible forms of some ancient Greek word, depending on case, number, gender or even mispronunciation by ancient Romans.

            On the other hand, Latin language provides the most closely matching word – ‘deuro’ –‘to burn up, to frost’.[72] This opens up for the possibility that some of the Illyrian tribe-people names might as well be Latin language-based, unless their etymologies are Latin interpretations of Illyrian names, which due to extremely scarce linguistic evidence for Illyrian is far from certain for now.

Dindari

            The closest matching Indo-European root-word is ‘deino-, dino-‘, - ‘day’.[73]

            The closest ‘din’-based  word in Greek is ‘dini’ –‘whirlpool, whirwind’[74], while the only two references  to any ‘din’-based  root-word found in Latin language are ‘Dyndimene’ –‘Cybele’, and the Dindymus mountain in Mysia (sacred to Cybele). Ancient Phrygian name of a mountain was ‘Dindinos’, related to air. ‘dind’ –‘hill, lifting’, and Illyrian tribe name of Dindaroi is ascribed to the same Indo-European etymology, possibly to Indo European root-word ‘deien- (thematic deino-, dino-) –‘day’.[75] The extension en-stem *deien-(thematic deino-, dino-) is of Illyrian origin. The attribute nouns that derived from adjectives in Illyr. Alb. take-ta, -nta suffix which was then reduced to common alb. n>nt>t phonetic mutation.[76]           

            Finally, Albanian language too has a word referring to day, ‘din’ –‘to break (of the day)’, from Proto Albanian *dine, a denominative verb based on IE * dino-~*deino- ‘day. The Sanskrit word for ‘day ‘is dina, Slavic * dan, Lithuanian diena, Latvian diena etc. [77]

Iapodes/Iapydes/Japodes

The Iapodes inhabited the land that lies between the River Sana in the east and the Velebit Mountains and the River Zrmanja in the south and the Adriatic Sea in the west (until the fourth century B.C.) The territory in Istria bordered that of Histri along the River Raša and the remnants of their material culture are also found south of Slovenia.        

What they were certainly know  in history for were the wars they waged against the invading Romans, and put up a fierce resistance to Romans  from  the year 159 to 129 B.C., when they were finally subdued by  the Roman armies of  Caius Sempronius Tuditanus, the campaign of which also subdued the Liburni.[78] The Iapodes were also to be found among those tribes admitted to the religious rites described on the Iguvinian tablets, which indicates that they were undoubtedly present at that time (fifth-fourth century B.C.) in central Italy. It is thought that the Iapodes also took part in the migrations of the Balkan peoples towards the shores of the Apennine peninsula.[79]

This claim may be supported by the fact that their name, also recorded as Iapydes bears similarity with Iapyges who inhabited Apulia.[80]

According to the testimony of some classical writers (Strabo and Dionysius Helicarnassus[81]), the Iapodes intermingled with Celts to such an extent that they were in fact regarded as a Celto-Illyrian tribe. While it is correct that Celtic culture had a certain degree of influence on that of the Iapodes, this influence was no greater that the influence the Celts had on any other Illyrian tribe who were not referred to as Celto Illyrian or Illyro-Celtic.

If one deducts the obvious ending (suffix) ‘es’ from Iapodes, one will have ‘iapod’ or perhaps ‘iap’ as a root to this word. Indo-European glossary does not have a root-word directly or very closely matching ‘iapod’ or ‘iap’. Again, this by no means implies that this word is not of Indo-European origin. It merely  means that  words are very flexible and prone to changes, various inscriptions and pronunciations.

The closest corresponding word in Greek is Iapetus. In Greek mythology, Iapetus was a TITAN and a son of GE and URANUS.[82] However, there is no word found in Greek vocabulary corresponding directly with either Iapetus or Iapodes.

Latin too has no directly corresponding word, except for Iapyx, which only designated Iapygian; Apulian,[83] belonging to a region in ital whose name is of obscure origin.

Like Greek and Latin, Albanian vocabulary too contains a word corresponding closely to Iapodes, the word ‘jap’, meaning ‘to give’. Again, whether or not this is a mere coincidence is something that may only be determined through an extensive ethno linguistic study, bearing in mind that some words  alter their forms significantly in the course of history  while some other change to a lesser degree.  

Narensi

Narensi were yet another small Illyrian people, or perhaps even a small Illyrian community, that might have been initially a tribe. There is no particular mention of the Narensi except that they are to be found on the list of Illyrian tribes in the Neretva River area. Pliny wrote in his Natural History that the Narensi were one of those Illyrian communities (civitates) grouped under the Roman policy regulating local Illyrian provinces and autonomy into judicial assizes (conventus) [84], and they were most likely a grouping of communities along the middle and upper course of the river Naron/Narenta (Neretva)[85], as indicated in their name, which may be translated as ‘The Naronians’,

‘The Narentians’, the inhabitants of the river Naron/Narenta, Neretva being its modern name.

Although there doesn’t seem to an Indo-European word identical to ‘nar’, the possible rot-word to ‘Narensi’, there is a number  of Indo-European languages containing  words based on ‘nar’ root word such as  Old Indian ‘nar’ – ‘man, person’, all of which are supposed to have derived from Indo-European root-word ,ner’ – ‘vital energy; man’.[86]

Tracing the etymology of the name of the river Naron/Narenta (Neretva) by applying Greek language, the most immediate linguistic and conceptual match is found in Greek word for water, ‘nero.[87]  Although the name of the river is recorded in ancient inscriptions and by ancient historians as Naro(n)[88], with an ‘a’, not ‘e’ (Nero(n)), the very meaning ( ‘water’), makes this Greek word one of the most plausible explanation for its etymology. After all, the flexibility of vowels (e.g. ‘a’ and ‘e’) has been attested since long in the linguistics, and one of perhaps most notable example of this rule is the name of Illyrian Delmatae, that exists  also  as Dalmatae.

The closest match in Latin is ‘narro’ – ‘to tell, relate, say’.[89]

Possible Albanian cognate might be ‘njeri’-, man, person’, stemming precisely from the abovementioned Indo European root word ‘ner’, with the identical meaning.

There is also the Iberian or Aquitanian root element of ‘nar’, meaning river, and found in many rivers names.[90]

Relation between Illyrian tribe/people names and personal Illyrian names

It is noteworthy that some similarities between the tribe names and personal Illyrian names are obvious.

Some four decades ago, a Zagreb based philologist Radoslav Katičić began a methodical analysis of the personal names found on gravestones or on monuments, as well as the names in the works of classical authors. As a result, Katičić established that there were four clearly defined name-areas, i.e. southeastern, the Dalmato-Pannonian, the northern Adriatic and the Noricum areas[91]. Modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina corresponds roughly with the name area defined by Katičić as middle Dalmatian-Pannonian. The term ‘Dalmatian-Pannonian’ is a reflection of Katičić’s rejection that a Pannonian onomastic province is distinct from that of the Delmatae (Dalmatian) because the number of names on which it is based is too small, while there is too much in common in the distribution of names among them.[92]

The commonest Illyrian names in the middle Dalmatian-Pannonian province (modern Bosnia and Herzegovina) were Andes (m.)/Andia (f.)[93], Baezus/Baezo, Bubant, Ditus[94], Iettus, Paio, Panes[95], Panto(m.)/Pantia(f), Pinsus, Plares, Sinus, Stataria, Stennas, Suttis and Vendo[96]. Large number of Illyrian names on tombstones  were discovered in  the cemeteries near Durres (Albania) and include names very similar to those of Katičić’s middle Dalmatian-Panonian province, found also in other Illyrian-inhabited lands: Andena (f.), Antis (f. two examples), Batina, Batouna, (obvious similarity with  Bato, popular in Dalmatia), Billena, Boiken, Breigos, Brykos, Cillanus[97], Dazaios/Dazos[98], Epentinus, Epicadus, Epidamnos, Gentios[99], Laidas/Laidon[100], Mallika, Monoun(ios), Lydra, Pinnes[101], Plares, Posant(io)[102], Scodrina[103], Stataria, Stenn(as), Teutaia[104], Verzo, Zaimina etc.[105]

The personal Illyrian name of Andes, shows obvious similarity with the name of the Illyrian tribe of Andizetes. As mentioned earlier, if we extract the “es” ending, the one we find in many other Illyrian tribe names, what remains is the root word “And”, and the names with the root word of ‘And’ are some of the most frequently occurring throughout all Illyrian inhabited lands, although primarily in Dalmatia and Pannonia, which roughly corresponds with the territory of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina..

The endings “as”, “es” ( for example Andes), “is”, “os” and “us” found among many Illyrian names remind of a Greek influence, while endings “o”, “on” and “en” are found almost exclusively among Illyrian names (for example, Andio or Bato(n)). However, it is noteworthy that the abovementioned ending “es”, which we find in many Illyrian names exists today in Albanian language, as a dative case ending (Nominative – the Who or what?: Anda; Dative - Whom?: Andes). What is even more significant in terms of name structure and etymology is the fact that “es” also represents Albanian genitive case ending (Nominative: Anda, Genitive (of Who(m))?: i Andes, “of Anda”).

If we accept that names and surnames traditionally represent the genitive case (for example Johnson = Son of John, or O’Connor = (Son) of Connor) then the following example might be interesting, although in no way definitely conclusive. In addition, Albanian word ‘andja’, meaning ‘strong desire’, ‘wish’ or ‘lust’ derives from Proto-Albanian word ‘anda’, of the same meaning and identical to ancient female Illyrian name. Certainly in order to reach a tangible conclusion here additional and thorough ethno-linguistic research must be carried out.

            Breukas appears as a personal Illyrian name on the list of names in the Roman province of Pannonia.[106]Dasius might possibly be related to Deasitiates, as do the Delmataean (Dalmatian) names Daza(s), Dasius and Dazomensus, almost identical with Pannonian Dasa(s), Dasto and Damensus.

As for the connection between personal Dalmatian-Pannonian  names and the names of those small Pannonian/Illyrian communities  such as Deretini, Deuri, Dindari, Ditiones and Maezei, there have been very few  matching Illyrian names were found so far,  and they include Ditus among the Delamatae, and Ditius[107], Diteio[108], Ditus and Ditueio[109] among the Iapodes/Japodes, all  akin to Ditiones. No closely corresponding name matches have been found for Deretini, Deuri and Dindari. There is  a north-east Pannonian name Daetor[110], that might possible  or distantly be related to Deretini or Deuri, and Thracian Dinentilla, which bears some similarity with Dindari, although  any conclusion in this case would be far from certain.  Messor[111], bear similarity with Maezei.   

Toponyms (place-names)

It might be worthwhile mentioning that there is also similarity found between Illyrian tribe names and the toponyms (place names) as recorded at the time of Illyrians in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ancient historians recorded the following toponyms at the time Bosnia and Herzegovina was a home of ancient Illyrians: Albius (nowadays Kapela), Arduba (possibly Vranduk) [112], Arupini or Aruium (the hill of Vital near the town of Prozor), Daorson (an ancient Illyrian city of Daorsi, in Ošanići near Stolac), Delminium (the Duvno area), Narenta (Neretva river), Pelva (near Livno), Salvium (Glamoč), Novae (near Imotski), Diluntum (Ljubinje), Malvesa (Skelani on the Drina river), Domavia (Gradina) etc.[113] The toponyms are evidently written in Latin language or may potentially be Latin transcription of otherwise Illyrian or some other  etymologies.

Some toponyms in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been analyzed more extensively than others and related to potential Illyrian etymologies. Posant, for example bears some similarity with ‘Bosna’ (Bosnia), and it may be related to the latter through the flexibility of sound ‘P’ and the gradual disappearance of vowel ‘e’ in Poseni. Bosna was  initially a river name, which subsequently gave name to a whole region of central Bosnia and Herzegovina. In fact, the name of the country is composed of two country’s regions, Bosnia, the central and northern part of the country, and Herzegovina down south. In turn, it is believed that a river recorded in history as Bathinus flumen is precisely the river Bosna (Bosnia) of today, and some similarity is evident too.

There seem to be some similarity between the root-word Posen and Bathin, but it is far from certain. However, the root-word of Bathinus bears more similarity with one of the most frequently occurring Illyrian name, Bato, found in almost every Illyrian onomastic province, but most often in Katičić’s Dalmatian-Pannonian onomastic province and Alfody’s “Real (southern) Illyrian” one. Bato was also the name of the leaders of the Great Illyrian Revolt against Romans in 9 A.D., the Bato of the Daesitiates and the Bato of the Breuci. Baezus/Baezo common among the Dalmatae along with Bato, and similar to Messapian name Bosat or Panonian Busio, all  equally bear some similarity to Bosna (Bosnia), although again further onomastic and ethno-linguistic enquiry must be carried out for any tangible conclusion to be reached.

There was also an Illyrian town of Bassania recorded in ancient history as one of the cities under Roman control that the last Illyrian king, Gentius intended to attack.[114] Bassania was a town in Pannonia, (modern Petrovci), organized out of the Scordisci and Cibalae (Vinkovci in Croatia) from the Cornacates, both places situated on the major roads of the Danube area. [115]  The similarity with Bosna is evident and the connection might be possible here too.

 As regards the etymology of the popular Illyrian name of Bato, it is obviously similar to Latin battuere, meaning ‘to strike’, or even  derive from the  root  *bha, meaning ‘say’, ‘tell’, the Latin version being ‘fari’ for example. [116] Bato is also similar to Albanian ‘bac’ or ‘baca’, almost exclusively used by the Gheg, or Northern Albanians, and Slav ‘bata’, both meaning ‘elder brother’, ‘uncle’. Albanian ‘bac(a)’ derives from Proto-Albanian ‘batja’ a Lallwort with the same abovementioned meaning. The Albanian word is the source of Romanian ‘baci’, meaning ‘chief shepherd’ or ‘cheese-maker’, and the Slavic and Hungarian words for ‘shepherd’ were in turn borrowed from Megleno-Romanian ‘batš’. [117]

One of the most popular deities in Illyrian Bosnia and Herzegovina was  Bindo or Bindus (originating in northwest parts of Bosnia, around the city of Bihać), which Professor Ruzhdi Ushaku  relates to Albanian ‘bind’, meaning ‘to convince’ or ‘to make believe’[118]. Ushaku further ascribes the name of Bihać to a derivative of Bindhus, Bindhać>Bihać.

There is a notable similarity between the name of the Breuci, an Illyrian people, and Brčko, a town located in north-east Bosnia and Herzegovina, which corresponds with the territory once inhabited by the Breuci.

Adriatic see too constitutes part of the modern state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically the town of Neum and beyond. Although no such Illyrian tribe name containing the root word ‘Adr’, ‘Adri’ or anything similar to Adriatic has been found in that form (note that Ardiaei, although similar is generally considered as unrelated to Adria or Adriatic by linguistic experts and historians and a different etymology), it is noteworthy saying a few word about  this famous etymology. Adrian Room[119], for example asserts that the Adriatic sea takes its name from the Venetian port of Adria, which also gave the personal name ADRIAN (also HADRIAN, the Roman emperor[120]) and  the name of this port, in turn probably comes from  the Illyrian word adur, ‘water’, ‘sea’, although today the port is 12 miles (20 kilometers) inland.

Tracing Illyrian cultural legacy in the traditional music, art and ethnology of Bosnia and Herzegovina

While studying the musical folklore of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo ethnologist Cvjetko Rihtman found that certain polyphonic forms found in Bosnia and Herzegovina did not exist among other Slav peoples. In his further research Rihtman connected particular polyphonic forms to particular areas and found that these areas corresponded to the geographical areas inhabited by Illyrians. The findings led Rihtman him to the conclusion that these forms must have been in use in this region before the Slavs arrived and that they represented a survival of Illyrian musical culture.[121]

The traditional vocal musical tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina known as ‘ganga’ is certainly interesting and worth exploring further  in terms of tracing potential remnants of possibly Illyrian musical traditions in this country. This particular tradition does not seem to have any direct parallels among any other Slavic traditions, nor among any other ethnic culture present in Bosnia and Herzegovina throughout history. There is too a peculiarity pertaining to the very word ‘ganga’, the fact that it is almost identically to  Albanian word for song, kënga (pronounced by northern Albanians, the Ghegs as ‘kanga’). Whether or not this is a mere coincidence, and if this coincidence has anything to do with Illyrian language again depend on the depth and the extend of further scientific ethno-linguistic enquire taken. While on one hand  the Albanian ‘kënga’ (kanga) is believed to derive from Latin ‘canticum’, from which modern Italian ‘cantare’ is obviously derive  too, it is  the specific similarity between the south-Slavonic word ‘ganga’ and the Albanian  ‘kanga’ that makes this particular and potential connection between  the south-Slavonic and  Albanian language worth exploring further.

Furthermore, some forms of traditional dance in Bosnia and Herzegovina,

particularly ‘kolo’[122] have preserved their original paleo-Balkan form and character.[123] Likewise, the so called ‘gluha kola’ (the silent dancing[124]), such as ‘Glamočko kolo’ are certainly worth the attention in terms of  tracing  Illyrian traditional dance, as the former  are not found  as such among any other Slavic/Slavonic culture.

            One other particularly interesting traditional cultural element in Bosnia and Herzegovina is tattooing. Although not present among modern generations of Bosnians, traditional folkloric tattoos can still bee seen in the hands of elderly Bosnian Croat women, particularly the native population of the Lašva river valley but some other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina too.  

Indeed ancient Greek geographer Strabo wrote that the Iapodes, an Illyrian

people inhabiting the north-west of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina customarily tattooed their bodies “just as do other Illyrians and Thracians”.[125]  Strabo’s statement has been confirmed by archeological findings in the necropolises of Glasinac, in the pile-dwellings at Donja Dolina, near Bosanska Gradiška and elsewhere, where some short and very pointed bronze needles fixed to a handle were discovered.[126]

Edith Durham, British traveler, artist and writer who became famous for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century embodied in the book called High Albania, made following observations in regard to the tattooing practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina she personally witnessed:

“There are certain old Roman Catholic communities in Bosnia that have preserved to this day the ancient Illyrian custom of tattooing. This is never practiced by the Orthodox or Moslem Slavs, but is common among both Catholic and Moslem Albanians. It is therefore possible that these tattooed Bosnians, though now Serbophone, descend from the pre-Slavonic inhabitants, and have not yet lost the custom of putting on a distinguishing mark. It is of special interest to note that, of the present tribes in North Albania, the most tattooed are those that relate that they fled from Bosnia to avoid the Turks.”[127]

The patterns and the forms of tattoos found among the women of the Lašva river valley and Bila in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Some of the decorative patterns and shapes of the abovementioned tattoos are very similar or even identical to many ornaments and decorative patterns in the traditional folk clothes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  In this respect, Edith Durham notes:

“Thousands of prehistoric graves exist in vast cemeteries throughout Bosnia and the Herzegovina–similar ones are found in Servia, Montenegro, and High Albania. They yield many bronze and iron objects of the highest interest, for the patterns are still worn, or have been till recently, by the peasants of Bosnia, Servia, Albania, even of Bulgaria. The rayed ball or circle is not only a common pattern in silver, but is also a traditional tattoo pattern (see illustration).

1. Prehistoric Bronze Ornament, Bosnia (Sarajevo Museum, Sjeversko, T. 2).
2. Modern Silver Earring, of type common to Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria, and Kosovo Vilayet.
3, 4, 5, 6. Common Catholic Bosnian Tattoos[128]

Some other patterns typical of Illyrian material remains (the zigzag and concentric circle patterns) are found in some traditional folk costumes in Bosnia and Herzegovina (see the illustration)

Illyrian bronze fibulae and pendants in the form of concentric circles from the Liburnian Illyrian burial ground   

in Nin, 5 th century B.C., the Archaeological Museum  in Zadar[129]

Stone fragments with concentric circle-shaped  decorative patterns in a Zigzag-shaped frame, 5^th Century B.C.

found in one of the Illyrian inhabited regions (Istria).[130]

‘Zubun’- part of the traditional female costume from Herzegovina shows concentric circles patters similar to   

ancient Illyrian ones 

‘Pregača’ ( apron) on a traditional female costume of Dinaric type from Bosnia and Herzegovina showing the zigzag patterns similar  to the Illyrian ones

Concentric circles, the frequently occurring artistic/decorative patterns in Illyrian remains,

the concentric circles, can be found in many medieval Bosnian tombstones, the so called

Stećci

Yet one other custom observed in Bosnia and Herzegovina ascribed to Illyrian tradition and culture is the shaving of beards and heads. This is what Edith Durham recorded:

“It is recorded that in very early days the Illyrians shaved their heads. Head shaving was still practiced by Greeks, Slavs, and Hungarians in the seventeenth century. The custom prevails to this day throughout Albania and Bosnia, and has only recently died out among the Orthodox Montenegrins. It is practiced by Moslems, Catholics, and Orthodox.”[131]

A Bosnian Franciscan priest with his flock, with their heads shaved in the manner typical of several

ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina and  the former Illyrian inhabited lands  (end of 19^th century)[132]

Variety of Head-shaves among Albanian highlanders in Kastrati and Skreli, as recorded by Edith Durham.

similar or identical to those still found among Bosnians in the first half of the last century

Illyrian archaeological finds in Bosnia and Herzegovina

            Of all Illyrian remains, the archaeological ones obviously represent the most concrete legacy of ancient Illyrian culture. Indeed, there have been more than enough of archaeological remains found in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of scientific archaeology in this country to enable us to come to some more specific knowledge of Illyrians.

…..The walls of the ancient Illyrian city of Daorson, named after its founders, the Daorsi

An Illyrian bronze greave from a burial at Glasinac, with a sketch of ship design

at the top of the greave

The ship design found on the bronze greaves from Glasinac

Woman in Illyrian costume, gravestone from Zenica, Zemaljski Museum, Sarajevo.

Relief of Diana, identified as the Illyrian deity of woods and hunting accompanied by other deities, Opačići near Glamoč.

   “BINDO NEPTUNO SACRVM”, an altar dedicated by the Japodes

   (Yapodes) to Bindo, (Bindus Neptunus most likely being the latinised

    version of the original  Illyrian Bindo), the Illyrian deity of the local

   Spring, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1^st  century A.D.

Tombstone from Glamoč depicting  a family, 2^nd century AD, with the inscription of an

Illyrian name of Pino (a version of Pinnes).

Roman cameo depicting the victory of the Romans over the Dalmatians (Illyrians), after the Great Illyrian Revolt (The Batons’ uprising), 1^st century A.D., Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Recent discoveries of Illyrian remains in Bosnia and Herzegovina –

Desilo, Hutovo blato

In spring 2007, Professor Snježana Vasilj of the University of Mostar found 16 Illyrian boats in Desilo, fully-laden with Roman wine amphorae. She interpreted the find as the Illyrian pirate ships sunk by the Romans, but Marina Prusac, Associate Professor in the department of archaeology and Archaeologist Adam Lindhagen, a PhD from the University of Lund instead believe that these are the remains of an ancient Illyrian trading post.  The archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a settlement, the remains of a harbor that probably functioned as a trading post, as well as many sunken boats, fully-laden with wine pitchers – so-called amphorae – from the first century B.C.The archaeologist Adam Lindhagen, who specialized in Roman wine amphorae, says that this is the most important find of all time from the Illyrian areas. The archaeologists from the University of Oslo have found indications that the boats were sunk over a period of almost a hundred years. Their evidence is based on the dating of the wine amphorae.[133]

The wine pitchers believed to belong to ancient Illyrians once inhabiting Bosnia and Herzegovina, discovered in Desilo, near Hutovo Blato in 2007[134]

The archaeologists found the remains of the Illyrian trading post under several meters of mud and ooze.  It appears that parts of the wall that stuck up from the mud by the water’s edge may have functioned as one of the many quays at the trading post. The wall is 20 meters long and 60 centimeters wide, and is built as a polygonal structure. The Norwegian archaeologists also discovered that there were at least twice as many boats as those that had already been registered. The many pieces of pottery found indicate that this was a major trading post.[135]

A pylon indicating the existence of a harbor in Desilo, Hutovo Blato, discovered in 2007.

About a hundred meters from the harbor site they found an Illyrian settlement and the terrace formations in the mountainside, indicating the presence of a settlement that presumably existed for several hundred years or even longer before the trade between the Illyrians and the Romans started. Some graves – older than the other finds – were previously discovered close to the settlement. A number of individual finds have also been made in the area: anchor parts, lance tips and fibula, and metal buckles for fastening clothes. Thanks to the clay and the fresh water the objects are surprisingly well preserved. Salt water would have destroyed the wood.[136]

Archaeologist Adam Lindhagen believes that there might be more remains hidden in the mud.[137]

The discovery of Illyrian ships carrying roman wine pitches, and the discovery of potential Illyrian harbor have not drawn the attention in the circles of global archaeologists and historians. This is a clear indicator that there is so much to be discovered about this still culture well known to ancient Greeks and Romans, but still mysterious to us.

In conclusion

No doubt that Illyrian studies are likely to remain affected by political interference for some time. Illyrian culture, although unfortunately still subject to interference of politics and national-romanticism (albeit with a notable decrease in the latter), remain an unexplored and yet-to-be – discovered domain, certainly worth exploring.  Indeed, there might be so many Illyrian sites unexcavated in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an unbiased, scholarly explorations and study will not only help rediscover the Illyrian language and culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Illyrian culture in general, but some other ancient cultures too, which we might not know much or anything about and might be connected to Illyrians in tone or the other way..

In the end, this overview is just one particular view of the culture and language of ancient Illyrians, which employs a limited but valuable linguistic and material remains archaeologically, historically and to some extent linguistically ascribed to  an ancient Balkan culture referred to by ancient Greek and Roman sources, but yet insufficiently known. As such, this overview should be understood as a call for further elaborate and scholarly (ethical/impartial) study of the yet to be rediscovered Illyrian language and culture, rather then being understood as some definite conclusion.  

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081208092151.htm