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The Dardani were an ancient Balkan tribe, of mixed Thracian - Illyrian origin. In the 1st century BC, they invaded the Roman
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 province of Macedonia
Macedonia (Roman province)

The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus defeated Andriscus of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved....
 together with the Scordisci
Scordisci

The Scordisci were an ancient tribe centred in what would beceome the Roman Province of lower Pannonia, at the confluence of the Sava , Drava and Danube rivers ....
 and the Maedi
Maedi

The Maedi were a Thracian tribe who, in historic times, occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along the middle course of the Strymon and the upper course of the Nestus rivers, ....
. In AD 6
6

Year 6 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar....
, they were conquered by Rome and became part of the province of Moesia Superior, part of present day Kosovo
Kosovo

Kosovo is a disputed region in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo . Serbia does not recognise the secession of Kosovo and considers it a United Nations-governed entity within its sovereign territory, the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija that was re-created by Slobodan M...
. According to Strabo
Strabo

Strabo was a Ancient Greeks history, geography and philosophy....
, they were divided into two sub-groups, the Galabri
Galabri

Galabrii was a Thraco-Illyrian tribe of the Dardani.References ...
 and the Thunaki
Thunaki

Thunatae was a Thraco-Illyrian tribe of the Dardani.References ...
.

ng on the border between Thracian
Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. Today the name Thrace designates a region spread over southern Bulgaria , northeastern Greece , and European Turkey ....
 and Illyria
Illyria

'Illyria' was in Classical antiquity a region in the western part of today's Balkan Peninsula, inhabited by tribes of Illyrians, an ancient people who spoke the Illyrian languages....
n influence, the Dardani appear to have been a prototypically "balkanized" Thraco-Illyrian tribe.

Beginning with Johann Georg von Hahn
Johann Georg von Hahn

Johann Georg von Hahn was an Austrian diplomat, Philology and specialist in Albanian history, language and culture.In 1847, Hahn was named Austrian consul in Ioannina....
 in 1854, 19th century historical linguistics
Historical linguistics

Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages;...
 concluded that Dardanoi and Dardania may be related to a proto-Albanian
Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European languages spoken by nearly 6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including the west of the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia....
 word meaning pear tree (dardhë in modern Albanian).






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The Dardani were an ancient Balkan tribe, of mixed Thracian - Illyrian origin. In the 1st century BC, they invaded the Roman
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 province of Macedonia
Macedonia (Roman province)

The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus defeated Andriscus of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved....
 together with the Scordisci
Scordisci

The Scordisci were an ancient tribe centred in what would beceome the Roman Province of lower Pannonia, at the confluence of the Sava , Drava and Danube rivers ....
 and the Maedi
Maedi

The Maedi were a Thracian tribe who, in historic times, occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along the middle course of the Strymon and the upper course of the Nestus rivers, ....
. In AD 6
6

Year 6 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar....
, they were conquered by Rome and became part of the province of Moesia Superior, part of present day Kosovo
Kosovo

Kosovo is a disputed region in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo . Serbia does not recognise the secession of Kosovo and considers it a United Nations-governed entity within its sovereign territory, the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija that was re-created by Slobodan M...
. According to Strabo
Strabo

Strabo was a Ancient Greeks history, geography and philosophy....
, they were divided into two sub-groups, the Galabri
Galabri

Galabrii was a Thraco-Illyrian tribe of the Dardani.References ...
 and the Thunaki
Thunaki

Thunatae was a Thraco-Illyrian tribe of the Dardani.References ...
.

Name and etymology

Living on the border between Thracian
Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. Today the name Thrace designates a region spread over southern Bulgaria , northeastern Greece , and European Turkey ....
 and Illyria
Illyria

'Illyria' was in Classical antiquity a region in the western part of today's Balkan Peninsula, inhabited by tribes of Illyrians, an ancient people who spoke the Illyrian languages....
n influence, the Dardani appear to have been a prototypically "balkanized" Thraco-Illyrian tribe.

Beginning with Johann Georg von Hahn
Johann Georg von Hahn

Johann Georg von Hahn was an Austrian diplomat, Philology and specialist in Albanian history, language and culture.In 1847, Hahn was named Austrian consul in Ioannina....
 in 1854, 19th century historical linguistics
Historical linguistics

Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages;...
 concluded that Dardanoi and Dardania may be related to a proto-Albanian
Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European languages spoken by nearly 6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including the west of the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia....
 word meaning pear tree (dardhë in modern Albanian). Opinions differ whether the ultimate etymon of this word in Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the unattested, linguistic reconstruction common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans....
 was *g'hord- (which would make it related also to Greek achrás 'wild pear'), or *dheregh-..

The distribution of ancient names found inscribed in Dardania are one of the main evidences that support the idea that the Dardani were Illyrians commingled with Thracians. Thracian names are found mostly in eastern Dardania, from Scupi
Scupi

Scupi it is an archaeological site located between Zajcev Rid and the Vardar River, several kilometers from the center of Skopje, in Republic of Macedonia....
 to Naissus and Remesiana
Remesiana

Remesiana was an ancient city in what is now Serbia. Its modern name is Bela Palanka....
, although some Illyrian
Illyrian languages

The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as Illyrians: Delmatae, Pannoni, Illyrians, Autariates, Taulanti ....
 names occur. Illyrian names are dominant in the western areas, where Thracian names are not found.

Robert Graves
Robert Graves

Robert Ranke Graves was an England poet, translator and novelist. During his long life, he produced more than 140 works. He was the son of the Anglo-Irish writer Alfred Perceval Graves and Amalie von Ranke, a niece of the famous German historian Leopold von Ranke....
 connected Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 d??da??? "burned up" (from the verb da?d?pt? dardapto "to wear, to slay, to burn up")..

Greek mythology

In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Dardanus
Dardanus

In Greek mythology, Dardanus was a son of Zeus and Electra , daughter of Atlas , and founder of the city of Dardania on Mount Ida in the Troad....
 (???da???), one of the sons of Illyrius
Illyrius

Illyrius is a name known in different stories found in ancient Greek mythology. In one of these stories, Illyrius was the son of Cadmus and Harmonia who eventually ruled Illyria and become the eponymous ancestor of the whole Illyrian people....
 (the others being Enchelus, Autarieus, Maedus, Taulas, and Perrhaebus) was the eponymous ancestor of the Dardanoi ( ???da??? ) .

Some Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 writers proposed a connection between these Dardani of the Balkans
Balkans

The Balkans is the historical name of a geographic subregion of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia....
 and the Dardan
Dardan

The terms Dardan and Dardanian in classical writings were synonymous with the term Trojan, the Dardans being Troys, an ancient people of the Troad in northwestern Anatolia....
s (Trojans
Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
) of the Troad, the popular version of the story being that a group of Dardan colonists had settled in the Balkans and had degenerated in their new Balkan home to a state of barbarism, becoming the Dardani..

History

The Dardani
Dardani

The Dardani were an ancient Balkan tribe, of mixed Thraco-Illyrian origin. In the 1st century BC, they invaded the Roman Empire province of Macedonia together with the Scordisci and the Maedi....
  were a Thraco-Illyrian tribe. They seem to have often been a threat to the Macedon
Macedon

Macedon or Macedonia was the name of a monarchy centred in the northernmost part of ancient Greece. The homeland of the ancient Macedonians, it was bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east....
ians. Dardania's largest towns were those of Ulpiana
Ulpiana

Ulpiana was an ancient city located in what is today the disputed region of Kosovo. It was the capital of Dardania, an Illyrian kingdom. It dates back pre ancient Rome times and is also referred to in the Balkans as Moesia....
 (Pristina
Pristina

||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||}Pristina, also spelled Prishtina or Pri?tina is the capital and largest city of Kosovo, a territory in the Balkans that is disputed between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia following a International reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independen...
), Naissus (Niš
Niš

Ni? is a city in Ni?ava District, Serbia situated at 43.3? N 21.9? E, on the Ni?ava River. With more than 250,000 inhabitants it is the largest city of South Serbia and third-largest city in the country, after Belgrade and Novi Sad....
), Therranda (Prizren
Prizren

Prizren is a historical city located in southern Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the homonymous municipality and District of Prizren....
), Vicianum (Vucitrn
Vucitrn

Vucitrn or Vushtrri is a city and Municipalities of Kosovo in north-eastern Kosovo. It is the seat of the Mitrovica District. The name of the city means "wolf's thorn", the name of the spiny restharrow plant in Serbian....
), Skopi (Stoc, Skopje
Skopje

Skopje is the Capital of and List of cities in the Republic of Macedonia by population in the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population of the country, as well as its political, cultural, economic, and academic centre....
), and its capital was Damastioni.

List of the rulers of Dardania:
  • Bardyllis
    Bardyllis

    Bardyllis of the Illyrians was an Illyrian king who ruled from 385 to 358 BC and founded the Bardyllis Dynasty. He was by origin a charcoal burner and would become king of the Dardanians, an Illyrian tribe....
    ,king,4th century BC
  • Longarus
    Longarus

    Longarus was an Illyrian king of the Dardanii. Also name of the father of a Dalmatian Illyrian chief whose son was called Bato....
    , king, 3rd century BC
  • Bato
    Bato of Dardania

    For other uses, see BatoBato of Dardania was an Illyrian ruler of Dardania..References...
    , king, 3rd and 2nd century BC
  • Monunius
    Monunius

    Monunius in grek form Monunios was an Illyrian king who lived in the 3rd century BC, more specifically a Dardanii ruler. Many Dardanian rulers of the same age were named Monunius and there seems to be some confusion as to whom certain actions and events pertain....
    , king, 3rd century BC
  • Teuta or Etuta
    Etuta

    Teuta or Etleuta the Illyrian was the wife of Gentius and daughter of Monunius. Plator also wanted to marry her, but he was killed by Gentius his own brother who married her instead....
    , queen, 3rd century BC,


Dardania was conquered into the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 in AD 6 by Gaius Scribonius Curio
Gaius Scribonius Curio

Gaius Scribonius Curio was the name of a father and son who lived in the late Roman Republic....
, and became part of the province of Moesia Superior in 87 AD. Emperor Diocletian
Diocletian

Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305....
 later c. 284
284

Events...
 made Dardania into a separate province with its capital at Naissus (Niš).

See also

  • Prehistoric Balkans
    Prehistoric Balkans

    Prehistoric Balkans refers to a period of human presence in Southeastern Europe , which extended through prehistory, conventionally ending with the appearance of Indo-European people and the first written records between ca....
  • Illyria
    Illyria

    'Illyria' was in Classical antiquity a region in the western part of today's Balkan Peninsula, inhabited by tribes of Illyrians, an ancient people who spoke the Illyrian languages....
  • List of Illyrian tribes
    List of Illyrian tribes

    This is a list of Illyrian tribes, including possibly or partly Illyrian tribes, and tribes that inhabited the lands known as Illyria....
  • Dardan
    Dardan

    The terms Dardan and Dardanian in classical writings were synonymous with the term Trojan, the Dardans being Troys, an ancient people of the Troad in northwestern Anatolia....
  • Bardyllis
    Bardyllis

    Bardyllis of the Illyrians was an Illyrian king who ruled from 385 to 358 BC and founded the Bardyllis Dynasty. He was by origin a charcoal burner and would become king of the Dardanians, an Illyrian tribe....


External links