"Man's greatest joy is to slay his enemy, plunder his riches, ride his steeds, see the tears of his loved ones, and embrace his women." - Genghis Kahn - The Ardiaei, the Histri and the Liburni subjugated the art of piracy. In fact, the Liburni were once masters over the whole of the Adriatic (see Tribes). An agricultural strain may have been the reason as to why these tribes took to the sea and in that sense it was one of necessity.(1) However, piracy was a lucrative practice and a recognized trade in those days and so, the lack of arable land may not have played a role at all. On the contrary, their positioning along the Adriatic coast may have played a greater role as the attractive loot carried aboard Greek and Roman trading vessels may have been too tempting to resist. Nonetheless, these seafaring raids brought considerable booty and became a great part of the their economies. In that case, it is no surprise that the Ardiaei, Histri and Liburni embraced this type of living.(2) Yet, it was this practice that the Greeks and Romans despised. Although both practiced piracy in their early histories, for the Illyrians, it would be their downfall. Piratical raids on Italic trading vessels eventually led to warfare with Rome and the subjugation of Illyria by this new rising power in Europe (see Kingdoms). (1) Dell, Origin and Nature of Illyrian Piracy (pp. 357). Dell argues that the Illyrians employed piracy on the basis of gaining foodstuff and cites an example in which the Istrians plundered Roman ships carrying grain. However, Dell does not put much significance on the fact that grain was not only a foodsource but a prized trading commodity and that the Illyrians traded foodstuffs for armory, weapons, currency, etc. (see Papazoglu, Central Balkan Tribes (pp. 463). (2) Stipcevic, Illyrians (pp. 147). |
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