The 'Pannonians' (
Latin: Pannonii) was a common name for group of culturaly similar tribes cognate to
Illyrians, who inhabited southern part of what was later known as Roman province of
Pannonia, south of river
Drava (Dravus), and northern part of future Roman province of
Dalmatia.
History
In the 2nd century BC, the
Segestani, one of the Pannonian tribes inhabiting area around Segesta (modern
Sisak in
Croatia), were attacked without lasting success by Roman consuls L. Aurelius Cotta and unidentified Cornelius. In 35 BC, the Segestani were attacked by
Augustus, who conquered and occupied
Siscia (
Sisak). The rest of the Pannonians were not, however, definitely subdued until 9 BC, when their lands were incorporated into province of
Illyricum after the bellum Pannonicum, conducted by future emperor Tiberius.
In AD 6, the Pannonians, together with the
Dalmatians and other
Illyrian tribes, revolted, and were overcome by
Tiberius and
Germanicus, after a hard-fought campaign which lasted for three years. Leaders of the rebellion were
Baton (of the
Breuci tribe) and
Pines from Pannonia and another
Baton (of the
Daesidiates) from Dalmatia. After the rebellion was crushed in 9 AD, the province of Illyricum was dissolved, and its lands were divided between the new provinces of
Pannonia in the north and
Dalmatia in the south. The date of the division is unknown, most certainly after AD 20 but before AD 50.
Pannonian tribes
The Pannonian tribes inhabited area between river
Drava and
Dalmatian coast. Archaeology and onomastics shows that they were culturally different from southern
Illyrians,
Iapodes, and La Tene peoples commonly known as the
Celts. However, there are some cultural similarities between the Pannonians and
Dalmatians. Many of the Pannonians lived in the areas with rich iron ore deposits, so that iron mining and production was an important part of their economy before and after the Roman conquest. The Pannonians did not have settlements of importance in pre-Roman times, apart from Segestica (
Siscia).
Ancient sources (
Strabo,
Pliny the Elder,
Appian of Alexadria) mention few of the Pannonian tribes by name, and historians and archaeologists located some of them. The most significant were:
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Breuci (area between the rivers
Sava and
Drava)
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Daesidiates (central
Bosnia)
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Pirustae (northern
Montenegro)
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Segestani (around river
Kupa)
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Maezaei (northwest
Bosnia roughly modern
Bosanska Krajina without
Bihać)
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Ditiones (western
Bosnia)
References
# Z. Marić, ‘Problemes des limites septentrionales du territoire illyrien’ in: A. Benac, Symposium sur la delimitation Territoriale et chronologique des Illyriens a l’epoque Prehistorique, Sarajevo 1964, 177-213 (material culture).
# I. Bojanovski, Bosnie et Herzegovine a l’epoque antique (in Serbo-Croatian of the time), Sarajevo, 1988 (overview).
# M. Šašel-Kos, Appian and Illyricum, Ljubljana, 2005, 375 ff. (with most up to date bibliography).
See also
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Pannonia
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Illyrians
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Illyria
External links
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Map of ancient Balkans