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'Bato I', or 'Baton of Dalmatia' was the warlord of Illyrian tribe Daesitiates, in the Great Illyrian revolt against Roman Empire, in 6-9 CE.

Contents

Background

Revolt

See also

References

Background

He was probably born between 35 and 30 BCE in upper Bosnia, then belonging to the to Illyrian Daesitiates. Bato was a member of the Daesitiates tribe, whose homeland was central Bosnia, and at the critical point in time he chose to lead his people in their struggle against their occupiers; the Romans.
From 33 BCE the Daesitiates were under Roman rule as an autonomous civitas peregrini. The Civitas of Daesitiates was part of provincia Illyricum with its capital in Salona on the Adriatic coast. Baton was member of a distinguished native family, and as an adult he was probably a political and military official of Daesitiates, which was ruled by an elected public assembly.

Revolt

In 6 CE Romans planned to attack the Marcomanic kingdom and for that Augustus ordered the mobilisation of Illyrian auxiliary forces. But in spring the same year Illyrian forces in Bosnia rebeled with Baton as their leader. In the panonian region of Illyricum, Breucos peoples also rose in rebellion. The Breucos chief, also named Baton, became leader of the Pannonian rebels. These two centres of resistance united in autumn 6 CE, and the two Batons became war leaders of an allied Illyrian rebel army.
Rome sent 15 legions and the same number of auxiliares, allies and mercenary forces crush the Illyrians, amongst them many roman veterans. The supreme commander of all roman forces was Tiberius. After two years of war, in the summer of 8 CE Baton the Breucos surrendered his forces to Tiberius on the bank of the Bosnia river, but soon after he was captured by Baton the Daesitiates, whose assembly put the Breucos leader to death. The next year Tiberius and Germanicus launched an operation against the Daesitiates forces. After fierce battles in September of 9 CE, only a few days before the Battle of Teutoburg forest, Baton and the Daesitiates surrendered to Tiberius. When Tiberius asked Baton and the Daesitiates why they had rebeled, Baton is reputed to have answered : "You Romans are to blame for this ; for you send as guardians of your flocks, not dogs or shepherds, but wolves".
Baton of Dalmatia spent the rest of his life in the Italian town of Ravena.

See also

★ Illyricum (Roman province)

★ Illyrians

★ Daesitiates

References

★ Salmedin Mesihovic, «Dezitijati: kulturna i narodnosno-politička zajednica u Iliriku i osvajanja Oktavijanova doba» (doctoral disertation, Zagreb, 2007)

★ Veleius Paterculus II, CX, 4-5;

★ Ovid, Ex Ponto, II, I, 46;

★ Svetonius. Tib. 20;

★ Cassius Dio (LV, 29, 2; LV, 32, 3; LV, 34, 4; LVI, 12, 2-3; LVI, 13, 2; LVI, 16, 1-3),

★ Strabo Geo. (VII, 5, 3), and inscription CIL V 3346 Verona.