List of ancient tribes in Illyria

Albani

Albani or Albanoi (Greek: Ἀλβανοί) were an Illyrian tribe whose first historical account appears in a work of Ptolemy, the citizens of Albanopolis (Ἀλβανόπολις), in the region lying to the east of the Ionian sea, and in the center of modern Albania, near the city of Krujë.

Ardiaei

Ardiaei or Ouardiaei (Greek Ἀρδιαῖοι or Οὐαρδαῖοι; Latin Vardiaei), was an Illyrian tribe, residing inland, that eventually settled on the Adriatic coast. The Ardiaei had 20 decuriae. The Ardiaean dynasty ruled over the Illyrian Kingdom.

Autariatae

Autariatae or Autariates (Greek Αὐταριάται) was an Illyrian tribe that became prominent between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. The tribe had been Celticized.

Bathiatae

Bathiatae was an Illyrian tribe.

Bylliones

Bylliones (Greek Βυλλίονες) was an Illyrian tribe They were affected by a partial cultural Hellenisation.

Deretini

Deretini or Derriopes (Greek Δερρίοπες) was an Illyrian tribe in Narona conventus with 14 decuriae.

Cavii

Cavii (Latin Cavi) was an Illyrian tribe. They lived close to lake Skodra. Their main settlement was Epicaria. They are mentioned rarely by ancient writers.

Chelidones

Chelidones (Greek Χελιδόνες) was an Illyrian tribe whose name in Greek meant 'snail-men'. They lived in the Mat or Drin valleys.

Daorsi

Daorsi or Duersi or Daorsii or Daorsei (Greek Δαόριζοι, Δαούρσιοι) was an Illyrian tribe. Another name of the tribe was Daversi. The Daorsi had suffered attacks from the Delmatae that made them along with Issa seek the aid of the Roman state. The Daorsi fought on the Roman side, providing them with their strong navy abandoning Caravantius. After the Illyrian Wars, the Daorsi were given immunity. Their most important city was Daorson. They had 17 decuriae.

Dassareti

Dassareti (Greek Δασσαρῆται) was an Illyrian tribe. They were located between the Dardani and the Ardiaei. Appian of Alexandria wrote in his Illyrian wars that according to the Ancient Greeks, Illyrius, the ancestor of the Illyrians, had a daughter, Dassaro, from whom sprang the Dassareti.

Deuri

Deuri (Greek Δερβανοί) was an Illyrian tribe. Other possible names are Derrioi and Derbanoi. The Deuri had 25 decuriae.

Dyestes

Dyestes or Dyestae (Greek Δυέσται) was an Illyrian tribe located around the silver mines of Damastion. Only Strabo passingly mentions this tribe.

Kinambroi

Kinambroi (Greek Κινάμβροι) was an Illyrian tribe.They surrendered to Octavian in 33 BC.

Enchelei

The Enchelei or Sesarethii (Greek Ἐγχελεῖς, Σεσαρηθίους (accusative of *Σεσαρήθιοι)) were an Illyrian tribe. Their name, given by the Greeks, meant "eel-men". In Greek mythology, Cadmus and Harmonia ruled over them. Several locations are hypothesized for the Encheleans: around Lake Ohrid; above Lake Ohrid or the region of Lynkestis south of the Taulantii.

Maezaei

Maezaei has been the tribal group of Maezaeis (Μαζαῖοις), including 269 decuriae.

Melcumani

Melcumani or Merromenoi or Melkomenioi (Greek Μελκομένιοι) was an Illyrian tribe. The Melcumani had 24 decuriae.

Narensi

Narensi or Narensii or Narensioi (Greek Ναρήνσιοι) or Naresioi or Naresii (Greek Ναρήσιοι) was the name of a newly formed Illyrian tribe from various peoples at the river Naron. The Narensi had 102 decuriae.

Penestae

Penestae (Greek: Πενέσται) was the name of an Illyrian tribe. Their chief town was Uscana.

Sardeates

Sardeates or Sardiotai (Latin Sardeates) was an Illyrian tribe close to Jajce. Sardeates were later settled in Dacia. The Sardeates had 52 decuriae.

Selepitani

Selepitani (Latin Selepitani) was an Illyrian tribe located below the Lake Scutari.

Dalmatae

Dalmatae were an ancient Illyrian tribe. They were later Celticized. The Delmatae had 342 decuriae.

Iapydes

The Iapydes (or Iapodes, Japodes) [Greek,"Ιάποδες"] were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula. The first written mention of an Illyrian tribe known as "Iapydes" is by Hecataeus of Miletus.

Baridustae

Baridustae were an Illyrian tribe that was later settled in Dacia along with Pirustae and Sardeates.The Baridustae was a Dalmatian tribe.

Docleatae

Docleatae or Dokleatai (Greek: Δοκλεάται) were an Illyrian tribe that lived in what is now Montenegro. Their capital was Doclea (or Dioclea), and they are called after the town. They had settled west of the Morača river, up to Montenegro's present-day borders with Herzegovina. The Docleatae were prominent for their cheese, which was exported to various Roman provinces within the Roman Empire. They were composed of parts of the Taulantii, the Pleraei or Pyraei, Endirudini, Sasaei, Grabaei, Labeatae that came together after the Great Illyrian revolt. The Docleatae had 33 decuriae.

Pleraei

Pleraei or Pyraei or Palarioi (Greek: Παλάριοι) was the name of an Illyrian tribe.

Endirudini

Endirudini or Enderini Interphrourinoi (Greek: Ιντερφρουρῖνοι) was the name of an Illyrian tribe that became part of the Docleatae. They were located on the east of lake Scodra at Enderon near Niksic.

Sasaei

Sasaei was the name of an Illyrian tribe that became part of the Docleatae.

Grabaei

The Grabaei or Kambaioi (Greek: Καμβαῖοι) were a minor Illyrian group that lived around Lake Scutari.

Labeates

Labeates or Labeatae (Greek: Λαβεάται) was an Illyrian tribe that lived (after being defeated by Parmenio) around Scodra.

Deraemestae

Deraemestae or Deraemistae (Latin Deraemistae) was the name of an Illyrian tribe. The Deraemestae was composed of parts of several other tribes such as the Ozuaei, Taulantii, Partheni, Hemasini, Arthitae and Armistae. The Deramestae had 30 decuriae.

Oxuaioi

Ozuaei or Oxuaioi (Greek: Ὀξυαῖοι) was the name of one of the tribes comprising the Deramestae.

Hemasini

Hippasinoi or Hemasini (Greek: Ἱππασῖνοι) was the name of one of the tribes comprising the Deramestae.

Arthitae

Arthitae was the name of one of the tribes comprising the Deramestae.

Armistae

Armistae was the name of one of the tribes comprising the Deramestae.

Taulantii

Taulantii (Greek Ταυλάντιοι) was the name of a cluster of Illyrian tribes. According to Greek mythology Taulas (Tαύλας), one of the six sons of Illyrius, was the eponymous ancestor of the Taulanti. They lived on the Adriatic coast of Illyria (modern Albania), between to the vicinity of the city of Epidamnus (modern Durrës). This tribe played an important role in Illyrian history of the 4th-3rd centuries BC,when King Glaukias (335 BC- 302 BC) ruled over them. This tribe had become bilingual being under the effects of an early Hellenisation. Taulantii could prepare mead, wine from honey like the Abri.

Abri

Abri (Greek: Ἄβροι) were an Illyrian tribe. They could prepare mead, a wine from honey, and were known to the Greeks for that method. They were Taulantii and affected by Hellenisation.

Parthini

The Parthini or Partheni or Peerthenetai (Greek Παρθῖνοι, Παρθηνοί) were Illyrians, part of the Taulantii who may be placed to the north in the mountainous neighborhood of Epidamnus, and thus, next to the Taulantii. After the death of Philip, king of Macedon, they appear to have been added to the dominions of Pleuratus, an Illyrian prince allied to the Romans. Their principal town was Parthus which was taken by Caesar in the course of his campaign with Pompeius. The double-hilled Dimale, the strongest among the Illyrian places, with two citadels on two heights, connected by a wall, was within their territory. There is no indication, however, of its precise situation, which was probably between Lissus and Epidamnus. Livy (59 BC – 17 AD), mentions two other fortesses: Eugenium and Bargulum. They had been affected by Hellenisation.

Pannonian tribes

Pannonians (Latin: Pannonii, Ancient Greek: Παννόνιοι) was an Illyrian tribe, who inhabited the southern part of what was later known as Roman province of Pannonia, south of the river Drava (Dravus), and the northern part of the future Roman province of Dalmatia. The Pannonian tribes appear to have been Celticized. Later, a number of Pannonians settled in Dacia.

The Pannonians were not definitely subdued within the province of Illyricum until the Great Illyrian Revolt, which started in 6 AD when the Pannonians, together with the Dalmatians and other Illyrian tribes, revolted, and engaged the Roman Empire in a hard-fought campaign that lasted for three years, when they were finally overcome by the future emperor Tiberius and Germanicus in 9 AD. At that point, the province of Illyricum was dissolved, and its lands were divided between the new provinces of Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south. The date of the division is unknown, most certainly after 20 AD but before 50 AD.

The Pannonian tribes inhabited the area between the river Drava and the Dalmatian coast. Early archaeology and onomastics show that they were culturally different from southern Illyrians, Iapodes, and the La Tene peoples commonly known as the Celts, though they were later Celticized. However, there are some cultural similarities between the Pannonians and Dalmatians. Many of the Pannonians lived in areas with rich iron ore deposits, so that iron mining and production was an important part of their economy before and after the Roman conquest. Apart from Segestica, the Pannonians did not have settlements of importance in pre-Roman times that were actually Celtic. Ancient sources (Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Appian of Alexandria) mention few of the Pannonian tribes by name, and historians and archaeologists have located some of them. Those tribes were:

Amantini

Amantini (Greek Ἄμαντες) was the name of a Pannonian Illyrian tribe. They greatly resisted the Romans but were sold as slaves after their defeat. The Amantini were close to Sirmium. In a similar case to the Illyrian Atintani and the ancient Greek Atintanes or Atintanians, the Amantes were ancient Greeks whilst the Amantini Illyrians, from Pannonia An ancient Greek polis with the name Amantia existed.

Breuci

Breuci (Greek Βρεῦκοι) were Illyrians of the subtribe of Pannonians. They greatly resisted the Romans but were sold as slaves after their defeat. They started receiving Roman citizenship during Trajan's rule. It is likely that the name of the north-eastern Bosnian city Brčko is derived from the name of this tribe. A number of Breuci settled in Dacia.

Bato the Breucian of the Breuci tribe and Pinnes from Pannonia were among the leaders of the Great Illyrian Revolt, together with Bato the Daesitiate of the Daesitiates from Dalmatia.

Colapiani

Colapiani was the name of an Illyrian tribe. The Colapiani were created from the Pannonian Breuci along with the Osseriates and the Celtic Varciani. They lived in the central and southern White Carniola, along the Kupa river, and were mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy. The archeologists Jaro Šašel and Dragan Božič have attributed the Vinica material culture to Colapiani, but opinions are divided.

Daesitiates

Daesitiates or Daezitiates were an Illyrian tribe that lived in what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina during the time of the Roman Republic. Along with the Maezaei, the Daesitiates belonged to the Pannonians. They were prominent from the end of the 4th century BC up until the beginning of the 3rd century AD. Evidence of their daily activities can be found in literary sources, as well as in the rich material finds that belong to the autochthonous Middle-Bosnian cultural group. Because the Daesitiates were present during Roman rule in the western Balkans, their name can be found in many inscriptions and historical works of ancient writers. During the 19th century, scientific interest in the Daesitiates materialized whereby research was focused in parts of Upper Bosnia. However, all research efforts have yet to provide a complete analysis of the Daesitiates. The Daesitiates were unquestionably one of the main components of the Illyrian ethno-cultural complex that stretched from the southern Adriatic to the Danube in the north. They specifically lived in the centre of the Illyrian West-Balkan and Pannonian world. The capital of the tribe was the modern day town of Breza located in Bosnia.

After nearly three centuries of political independence, the Daesitiates (and their polity) were conquered by Roman Emperor Augustus. Afterwards, the Daesitiates were incorporated into the province of Illyricum with a low total of 103 decuriae.

Ultimately, the widening gap between the Roman government and its subjects in Illyricum led to the Great Illyrian revolt, which began in the spring of 6 AD. The Daesitiates were the first to revolt under the leadership of Bato the Daesitiate and were soon joined by the Breuci. Other natives were recruited to fight against the Marcomanni while the rebellion swiftly overtook enormous areas of the western Balkans and the Danube region. The role of the Daesitiates in the rebellion was immense, which contributed to their ultimate disappearance.

Pirustae

Pirustae or Peiroustai or Pyrissaioi or Piroustai (Greek Πειροῦσται or Πυρισσαῖοι) were an Pannonian Illyrian tribe that lived in modern Montenegro. According to some sources, they had also lived in territories outside of modern-day Montenegro, but the majority of archaeologists, including the famous British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, say that the Pirustae had lived in northern Montenegro, around present-day Pljevlja and that they were prominent miners. Their prominence in mining has been seen in epigraphic monuments from Dacia's mining regions. Pirustae along with other Pannonians and Illyrians like the Sardeates were later settled in Dacia (modern-day Romania).

Scirtari

Scirtari or Scirtones were an Illyrian tribe. Scirtari were part of the Pirustae. The Scirtari had 72 decuriae.

Glintidiones

Glintidiones or Glinditiones (Greek Γλιντιδίωνες) were an Illyrian tribe. The Glintidiones may have been part of the Pirustae. The Glintidiones had 44 decuriae.

Ceraunii

Ceraunii or Keraunioi (Greek Κεραύνιοι) was the name of an Illyrian tribe that lived close to the Pirustae in modern Montenegro. The Ceraunii were part of the Pirustae. They had 24 decuriae.

Siculotae

Siculotae or Sikoulotai (Latin Siculotae) were an Illyrian tribe. The Siculotae were part of the Pirustae. The Siculotae had 24 decuriae.

Segestani

Segestani (Greek Σεγεστανοί) were Illyrians of the subtribe of Pannonians who inhabited the area around Segestica (modern-day Sisak in Croatia).

In the 2nd century BC, the Segestani were attacked without lasting success by consuls Lucius Aurelius Cotta and an unidentified Cornelius.

In 35 BC, the Segestani were attacked by Augustus, who conquered and occupied Siscia.

Maezaei

Maezaei or Maizaioi or Mazaioi (Greek Μαζαῖοι) were Illyrians of the subtribe of Pannonians. The Maezaeis had 269 decuriae.

Andizetes

Andizetes, also referred to as Andisetes (Greek Ἀνδιζήτιοι), was a small Illyrian tribe that lived in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not much is known about this tribe except that it is found on the list of Illyrian tribes made by ancient Romans, against whom the Illyrians put up a heroic resistance, perhaps best portrayed during the Great Illyrian Revolt for freedom-the legendary Baton's uprising. The personal name of Andes, popular among the Illyrians of southern Pannonia and much of northern Dalmatia (corresponding roughly with modern Bosnia and Herzegovina), as it seems, derived from the name of this tribe. Another variant of this widespread personal Illyrian name is Andis. They started receiving Roman citizenship during Trajan's rule. They were Pannonians.

Azali

Azali (Greek: Ἄζαλοι) was the name of an Illyrian tribe. After the Great Illyrian Revolt the Azali were deported by the Romans. They were Pannonians.

Ditiones

Ditiones (Greek: Διτίωνες) were Illyrians of the subtribe of Pannonians. The Ditiones had 239 decuriae.

Jasi

Jasi was the name of an Illyrian tribe subtribe of Pannonians.

Oseriates

Osseriates (Latin Oseriates), along with the Celtic Varciani and the Colapiani, were created from the Pannonian Breuci.

Illyrii Proprie Dicti

Illyrii Proprie Dicti were the Illyrians proper, so called by Pliny (23–79 AD) in his Natural History. They later formed the Docleatae. They were the Taulantii, the Pleraei or Pyraei, the Endirudini, Sasaei, Grabaei, Labeatae. Illyrians proper were also some of the native communities of Roman Dalmatia.

Thracian-Illyrian

Atintani

Atintani (Greek: Ατιντάνι) were a tribe in Illyria, north of Via Egnatia. Appian (95 – 165 AD) mentions them close to Epidamnus. During the Illyrian Wars, the Atintani went over to the Romans and, according to Appian, Demetrius of Pharos tried to detach them from Roman authority. The Atintani seem to have originated from the obscure, perhaps Thracian Tynteni, only attested in coins. The Atintani were ruled by the Thracian dynasty of the Peresadyes.

Phrygian

Celtic

Dacian

Greek

Liburnian

In the early historical sources from the 8th century BC, the Liburnians were recorded by name or as separate ethnic groups; and as early as the 6th century BC, Hecateus noted that the Liburnians were also composed of Caulici, Mentores, Syopii and Hythmitae, probably narrow tribal communities. Later, in the 3rd century BC, Callimachus mentioned Mentores, Hymanes, Enchealae and Peucetias as those who once had been a part of them, Ismeni were also recorded as one of their communities.

Messapic

These tribes (Iapygian or Messapic tribes) did not dwell in Illyria, but in the heel of southern Italy. They could have had Illyrian origins or some sort of link with Illyria.

Venetic