ORIGINS It is understood that the Illyrians were a tribal people having their own distinct language and culture, but the ancient written records tell little of their origins some of which seems to be tied up in Greek and Roman myth. The Roman historian, Appian, tells the story of Poseiden's son, Polyphemus who resides on the island of Sicily, and his love for Galatia, a sea nymph. She bears Polyphemus three sons one of them being Illyrius who founded Illyria. However, this appears unlikely, although it makes for a good story, as the Illyrians were not known as one-eyed barbarians nor as having originated from Sicily. In any case, archaeology has been a bit more helpful. It can be stated that the Illyrians were Indo-Europeans of the Aryan race - a Caucasoid people believed to have originated from the Caucasus Mountains in today's Georgia republic south of Russia. It is generally accepted that the Illyrians settled in the Balkan peninsula at the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age sometime in the middle to late second millennium BC, although, there is ample evidence of artifacts resembling Illyrian type that date much earlier. The Illyrians are said to have been the bearers of the Hallstatt culture - a period in history that denotes the transition from the use of bronze to iron in Central and Western Europe - and objects found in Illyrian burial places suggest more than average funeral rites; a known characteristic of the Hallstatt culture, but the Illyrians were not the only people associated with this culture. The Venetic and Celtic peoples also qualify suggesting that the central european origins of the Hallstatt culture could have arisen from a Pre-Illyrian, Pre-Venetic, and Pre-Celtic peoples who were at one time one group of people and only later branched off into three distinct groups (see Herm, The Celts). Yet, evidence that the Illyrians intially settled the eastern Mediterranean, from the Caucasus region, and then migrated from Asia Minor are found in ancient texts. Homer's Iliad states that the Trojans had allies fighting along side them to fend off the Achaeans (Greeks) at the time of the Trojan War. These allies are noted as the Dardanians and the Paeonians. No other peoples are named as such except for the tribes of the same name in Illyria. These Illyrians could have shared a kinship with the Trojans or were Trojan themselves as Dardanus was the mythical founder of Troy and ancestor to the Dardanians as stated in the Iliad. In addition, some artifacts found within the vicinity of ancient Troy have been acknowledged as Illyrian proto-type. Further support upholding the claim of Illyrian origins in Asia Minor come from Egyptian hieroglyphs. In the thirteenth century BC, Ramesses the Great of Egypt fought a battle with the Hittites - another people of unknown origin who spoke an Indo-European language and created an empire in Asia Minor now central Turkey - over the control of Kadesh. The Hittites also had allies and the Egyptians recorded them as the Dardanians (see Gurney, The Hittites). Once again, no other peoples resemble this name except for the Dardanians of Illyria. If the Dardanians did not have a kinship with the Hittites they must have dwelled near by (Trojans?) and consorted with them. Moreover, a connection between the Illyrian name and the tantalizingly similar ancient name of a Hittite mythical serpent "Ilurjanka" assists the hypothesis of their Asia Minor origins. This serpentine connection is further supported by the story of yet another "Illyrian genesis." The ancient writer, Apollodorus, recorded the Phoenician, Cadmus, coming to the aid of the Encheleae who were at war with the Illyrians of the north. Cadmus conquered them and was named ruler by the Encheleae. His wife, Harmonia, bore him a son, Illyrius, who also ruled over them, thus, were named after him. At birth, Illyrius was supposedly empowered by a serpent (Ilurjanka?). In addition, his parents, Cadmus and Harmonia, were punished by the Greek god Zeus for past grievances and forced to live out the rest of their days as serpents. In fact, the very tribe that Cadmus comes to aid, the Encheleae, were known by the ancient Greeks as "eel men" and one can surely see the serpentine likeness of an eel. Even the root word in "Illyrian" means "to turn" or "wind around" in the Greek and it has been well established that in southern Illyria the serpent was the primary and divine symbol of worship (See Religion). Other connections of the Illyrians to Asia Minor were mentioned earlier with the Veneti tribe of Italy and the Eneti of Paphlagonia (see Tribes and map below), but the Phrygian tribe, the Bryges, appearence at the the city of Epidamnus (see Dynasties) supports this migration theory from Asia Minor as the Bryges may have joined the Illyrians in their exodus. This argument is lastly supported by the arrival of the Illyrians in the Balkans (certainly from the east) coinciding at or around the same time (thirteenth century BC) as the fall of Troy, the demise of the Hittite kingdom and the large-scale movement of peoples from the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Bronze Age. In any case, their connection to the eastern Mediterranean cannot be refuted. Note: The serpentine image above is for dramatic purposes and has no connection to Illyrian artifacts. |
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
