User talk:Zoupan/Dalmatae

The Dalmatae or Delmatae were an ancient people in Illyria who inhabited the core of what would then become known as Dalmatia after the Roman conquest — now the eastern Adriatic coast in Croatia, between the rivers Krka and Neretva.

Name
The name Dalmatae appears to be a cognate of the modern Albanian word delmë, meaning "sheep". The Illyrian town of Delminium probably shares this etymology.

Identification, culture and society
G. Alföldy notes that the use of the term "Illyrian" is problematic, as it tends in modern age to extend (in the broader sense) over neighbouring peoples and tribes such as the Pannonii and Dalmatae. He justifies the designation only when designating apparently close linguistic relatedness between the Illyrians, Pannonii and Dalmatae. Based on correspondence between Illyrian personal names in southern Noricum and those of the Pannonian tribes and especially the Dalmatae, Alföldy suggested that the Dalmatae, who 'undoubtedly came from the north', migrated to the Adriatic from Noricum – having arrived at the turn of the 3rd- and 2nd centuries BC after Celts possibly expelled Illyrian groups among whom were Dalmatae.

According to J. J. Wilkes, archaeology and onomastics shows that the Dalmatae were akin to eastern Illyrians and northern Pannonii. The tribe was subject to Celtic influences, and has been described as "Celticized". One of the Dalmatian tribes was called Baridustae that later was settled in Roman Dacia.

The archaeological remnants suggest their material culture was more primitive than those of surrounding tribes, especially in comparison with the Liburnians. Only their production of weapons was rather advanced. Their elite had stone built houses only, but numerous Dalmatae herdmen yet settled in natural caves, and a characteristic detail in their usual clothing was the fur cap.

Their nomadic society had a strong patriarchal structure, consisting chiefly of shepherds, warriors and their chieftains. Their main jobs had been the extensive cattle breeding, and the iterative plundering of other surrounding tribes and of coastal towns at Adriatic.

Pliny the Elder also mentions a subtribe called the Tariotes.

History
The Dalmatae are first mentioned regarding the year 158 BC, by Polybius (c.  200–118 BC). They inhabited a land that was earlier that of the Manii and Nestoi. These two tribes are no longer mentioned after the appearance of the Dalmatae.

Roman conquest
There were some iterative Roman conflicts with the Dalmatae lasting for 160 years. The main reason was the perpetual aggressiveness of nomadic Dalmatae against all their neighbours (Liburni, Daorsi, Ardiei, etc.), and also towards the Issaean federation, Greek-led Roman allies in central Adriatic islands, and so their pacification appeared inevitable. Dalmatae land was mostly a rocky calcareous country with many pathless mountains, ideal for infinite guerilla wars. The Dalmatae erected some 400 stone fortresses and 50 major citadels against the Romans.

The first Dalmatian war in 156–155 BC finished with the destruction of capital Delminium by consul Scipio Nasica. The second Dalmatian war was fought in 119–118 BC, apparently ending in Roman victory as consul L. Caecilius Metellus celebrated triumph in 117 BC and assumed his surname Delmaticus. The third Dalmatian war 78–76 BC finished with the capture of Salona by the proconsul C. Cosconius.

During the Roman Civil war of 49–44 BC, the Delmatae (led by Versos (soldier) and Testimos) sided with Pompey and continuously fought against the Caesarian generals Gabinius and Vatinius. The fourth and final conflict occurred 34–33 BC during Octavian's expedition to Illyricum because of their iterative revolts, and finished with the capture of the new Delmatian capital- Soetovio (now Klis). The last revolts of Delmatae under their federal leader Bato, against Romans were in 12 BC and the Great Illyrian Revolt in 6-9 AD; both also failed and finished by a terminal pacification of bellicose Delmatae.

Afterwards, the Dalmatae formed numerous Roman auxiliaries:
 * Cohors I Delmatarum
 * Cohors I Delmatarum milliaria equitata
 * Cohors II Delmatarum
 * Cohors III Delmatarum equitata c.R. pf
 * Cohors IV Delmatarum
 * Cohors V Delmatarum
 * Cohors V Delmatarum c.R.
 * Cohors VI Delmatarum equitata
 * Cohors VII Delmatarum equitata
 * And later the Equites Dalmatae

Religion
The major collective deity of Delmatic federation was their pastoral god 'Sylvanus' they called Vidasus. His divine wife was 'Thana', a Delmatic goddess mostly comparable with Roman Diana and Greek Artemis. Their frequent reliefs often accompanied by nymphs, are partly conserved up today in some cliffs of Dalmatia; in Imotski valley also their temple used from 4th to 1st century BC, was unearthed. The third important one of Delmatae was a wargod 'Armatus' comparable with Roman Mars and Greek Ares. Their bad deity was the celestial Dragon devouring the sun or moon in the eclipses.

A strong weapons cult was very specific for the patriarchal Delmatae, and in their masculine tombs different weapons are widely present (that is rare in neighbouring peoples e.g. Liburni, Iapydes, etc.). Their usual tombs were under the stone tumuli of kurgan type. After the classic Roman reports (Muzic 1998), nomadic Delmatae were extremely superstitious, and they had a primitive panic dread from all celestial phenomena: any view on the night stars was for them forbidden in the fear of a sure death, and in the case of solar or lunar eclipses they repeated tremendous collective howling because of the immediate world ending, made hysterical suicides etc.

Linguistic affinity
The ancient Dalmatian language was part of the Illyrian languages, which were spoken in the western part of the Balkans. According to J. J. Wilkes, the name Dalmatae appears to be connected with the Albanian word delmë, which means sheep in English. During the Celtic settlements in the Balkans the Dalmatian language was partly influenced by the Celtic language regarding personal names and toponyms.

Among onomastic findings are personal names Bato (frequent in Dalmatae, found in Maezaei and Pannonia), Beusas (mainly found among Dalmatae, comparable with Messapic bosat, Iapodic Buzetius and possibly Pannonian Busio), Candalio (found in Noricum as Candala), Dasto (found only in Dalmatae in Illyria and in Noricum), Laedicalius and La(e)dietis (Laidus in Daesitiates; second element in Illyrian royal Skerdilaidas), Lavus (characteristically Dalmatae, found in Noricum), Panes (characteristically Dalmatae, found in Noricum), and others.

The original language of the Delmatae is scarcely known save a few toponyms noted by the Romans. Since the Roman conquest, town-dwelling Dalmatae were gradually Romanized, while shepherds in the countryside were assimilated more slowly. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Dalmatian citizens spoke the Romance Dalmatian language which is regarded intermediary between Italian and Romanian.

Literature

 * Muzic, Ivan: Autoctonia e prereligione sul suolo della provincia Romana di Dalmazia. Accademia Archeologica Italiana, Roma 1994 (5th edition: Slaveni, Goti i Hrvati na teritoriju rimske provincije Dalmacije Zagreb 1998, 599 p.)
 * Zaninovic, M.: Ilirsko pleme Delmati. Godišnjak (Annuaire) 4-5, 27 p., Centar za balkanološke studije, Sarajevo 1966–1967.