Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Illyrians & the Romans
The Illyrians were the first known people to inhabit the region, arriving during the late
Iron Age. By 1000 BC a common Illyrian language and culture had spread across much of
the Balkans. Interaction amongst groups was not always friendly - hill forts were the most
common form of settlement - but distinctive Illyrian art forms such as amber and bronze
jewellery evolved. In time the Illyrians established a loose federation of tribes centred in
what is now Macedonia and northern Albania.
Maritime Greeks created coastal colonies on the sites of some Illyrian settlements
around 400 BC. Thereafter Hellenic culture gradually spread out from Greek centres, par-
ticularly from Bouthoe (Budva). The Romans eventually followed, initially at the behest
of the Greeks who sought protection from the Illyrian Queen Teuta. The Illyrians contin-
ued to resist the Romans until 168 BC, when the last Illyrian king, Gentius, was defeated.
The Romans fully absorbed the Balkans into their provinces and established networks of
forts, roads and trade routes from the Danube to the Aegean. However, outside the towns
Illyrian culture remained dominant.
The Romans established the province of Dalmatia, which included what is now
Montenegro. The most important Roman town in this region was Doclea (present-day
Podgorica), founded around AD 100. Archaeological finds indicate that it was a hub in an
extensive trade network.
Over the centuries the Roman Empire gradually declined. Invaders from the north and
west began encroaching on Roman territory and in 395 the empire was formally split, the
western half retaining Rome as capital and the eastern half (which eventually became the
Byzantine Empire) choosing Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). What is now
Montenegro lay on the fault line between these two entities.
In the 6th century the Byzantine Emperor Justinian took control of the previously
Roman-ruled parts of the Balkans, pushing out the Ostrogoths who had bowled through
the region. He brought with him Christianity.
For all their ferocity, the Avars disappeared swiftly from the annals of history. To 'die away like Avars' is a
common Balkan saying.
