ORIGINS It is understood that the Illyrians were a tribal people governed by chieftains, but the ancient written records tell little else of their culture, their language and their origins. Archaeology, though, has been a little more helpful as to who the Illyrians were and with the aid of ancient writings, it has become a bit more clear. It appears 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 were 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. Objects found in Illyrian burial places suggest more than average funeral rites; a known characteristic of the Hallstatt culture. The Illyrian language, supposedly, falls into two groups: the Venetic (supposedly spoken by the northern Illyrians) and the Messapic (supposedly spoken by the southern Illyrians). The connection of the Illyrian language to these groups are based on ancient inscriptions found in the areas of northern and southern Italy (see tribes) and the resemblance of place names as well as proper names to those of Illyria proper. However, the linguistic history of the Illyrian language can be categorized as a direct branch of the ancient Indo-European language - a common parent language spoken in prehistoric Europe and Asia - and survives, in part, with the Albanians. The origins of the Illyrians, however, remain unclear. It can be stated that the Illyrians were Indo-Europeans of an Aryan race - a Caucasoid people believed to have originated from the Caucasus Mountains in today's Georgia republic south of Russia. On the other hand, evidence of an Illyrian migration from what is now present day Turkey can be 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. Another piece of ancient writing that supports the claim of Illyrian origins in Turkey come from ancient 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 eastern Turkey - over the control of Syria. The Hittites also had allies and the Egyptians recorded them as the "Drdny."* 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, thus, consorting with them. Furthermore, a connection between the language of the ancient Phrygians of Asia Minor and the Illyrians has also been made and it is believed that the ancient Illyri-Thraco tribe, the Bryges, (once inhabitants of Macedon or Thrace) were one and the same people.** 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 this region in the east cannot be refuted. * Gurney, The Hittites pp 59 ** Wilkes, The Illyrians, 145 |
">
">
">
">
