To the Greek geographers Illyria meant the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and the adjoining mountainous territory stretching into the interior, all of which was the abode of Illyrian tribes. During the time of the division of provinces under Hadrian, it was subdivided into seventeen provinces, comprising also Thrace. During Constantine the Great in A. In Illyricum's early history, constant warfare with neighboring tribes forced the Illyrians to unite for the common good.
Over time, they became a constant source of irritation for the Spartans and the Macedonia. In B. C, they assaulted the Spartans during the Peloponnesian War, on their march across Thessaly and Macedon causing a Spartan retreat. In fact, in BC, the Illyrians nearly succeeded in destroying Macedon, however, Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, subdued the Illyrians and captured part of their kingdom.
After the fall of Alexander and the decline of Greek power during the 3rd century BC, the Illyrians turned their fortunes to piracy. Conducting their raids from the secluded harbors of the coast, they ravaged the shores of Italy and Greece and preyed on the commerce of the Adriatic.
In response to calls for help from Greece, Rome demanded a cessation of the piracy, but the Illyrians rejected. This rejection led to two successive defeats in the Roman wars of and BCE, the Illyrians would submit. Illyria, however, remained a powerful kingdom with its capital at Skodra, until BCE, when the Dalmatians declared themselves independent of king Gentius.
So the history of Dalmatia began when the tribe from which the country derives its name declared itself independent of Gentius, the Illyrian king, and established a republic. After the Dalmatians had split from the kingdom, the Romans conquered Gentius and established BCE one of the earliest Roman colonies as Illyricum. An examination of this statement involves three questions: What is the force of the preposition "even unto" mechri?
What meaning is borne by the word Illyricum? Force of "even unto": In Greek, as in English, the preposition "unto" may either be exclusive or inclusive. In other words, Paul may mean that he has preached throughout Macedonia as far as the Illyrian frontier, or his words may involve a journey within Illyricum itself, extending perhaps to Dyrrhachium mod. Durazzo on the Adriatic seaboard, which, though belonging politically to Macedonia, lay in "Greek, Illyria.
Meaning of "Illyricum": What, then, does the word "Illyricum" denote? It is sometimes used, like the Greek terms Illyris and Illyria, to signify a vast area lying between the Danube on the North and Macedonia and Thrace on the South, extending from the Adriatic and the Alps to the Black Sea, and inhabited by a number of warlike and semi-civilized tribes known to the Greeks under the general title of Illyrians Appian, Illyr.
Appian Illyr. But Illyricum has also a narrower and more precise meaning, denoting a single Roman province, which varied in extent with the advance of the Roman conquest but was finally organized in 10 A. At first it bore the name superior provincia Illyricum or simply Illyricum; later it came to be known as Dalmatia Tac. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: Ancient History, Europe.
Enter your search terms:. In prehistoric times a group of tribes speaking dialects of an Indo-European language swept down to the northern and eastern shores of the Adriatic and established themselves there. The region that they occupied came to be known as Illyria, and therefore the name has vague limits. Among the Illyrian peoples were the tribes later called the Dalmatians and the Pannonians; therefore Illyria is sometimes taken in the widest sense to include the whole area occupied by the Pannonians, and thus to reach from Epirus N to the Danube.
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