Among the numerous Illyrian tribes,
there are some who gained regional importance and formed
kingdoms. The East Coast of the Adriatic Sea was dominated by the
kingdoms of the Enkelejs (4th
century – 335 b.c.), the Taulants (335 – 251 b.c.) and
the Ardians (250 – 168 b.c.). These centuries were
characterized by many fights with the Ancient Macedonians, in a
certain way as a precedent of the bitter actuality ...
After that, there were the three
Roman – Illyrian wars between 229 and 167 b.c. The Romans
tried to conquer Illyrian lands, which is explained by Roman
authors by the necessity of fighting Illyrian pirats tolerated by
Queen Teuta. „This was indeed only a pretext of the Romans
in order to begin war, whereas the true reason of Roman conquests
were hegemonial ambitions of the Romans“[1]
– an interesting parallel to recent complaints about
organized criminality in Albana, which is often an all-to-easy
pretext for denigrating the country for some political reason ...
The history of the Roman –
Illyrian wars shows the decisive importance of victorious
alliances and unity among the different Illyrian tribes, and on
the other hand the fatality of treachery and the principle
„divide et impera“ (divide and rule). The efforts and
difficulties of unifying Albania against existential threats is a
leitmotiv to be found throughout Albanian history.
Kosova in Illyrian times was the
Kingdom of Dardania, which linguists link to the Albanian word
„dardha“, pear. Besides wars with Macedonians and
Romans, in the 3rd
century b.c. Dardans had also to fight against Celts streaming
from Central Europe to the Balkans.
The Illyrian south was the State of
Epiros, first a monarchical federation of Illyrian tribes, with
Pyrrhos as the most important king (297 – 272 b.c.). The
fact that his soldiers called him „eagle“ as a sign of
respect and admiration shows that the Eagle, this complex symbol
with deep meaning for the today Albanians, is neither only an
invention of the Albanian Renaissance of the 19th
century nor just the symbol of the national hero Skėnderbeg, who
fought bravely the Osman invaders. It remounts at least to
Illyrian times and is therefore a symbol of long continuity.
Although for some centuries Greek
was the official language especially in the domain of trade and
after that Latin became influential, the Illyrian language
continued to be important. There are inscriptions with about 1000
Illyrian words written in the Greek or Latin alphabet, mostly
names of people, tribes, gods, rivers and towns. It is an
Indoeuropean language with some common features with the
Thracian. A branch of Illyrian is the Mesapian language of an
Illyrian tribe in Southern Italy. This language was written in a
special alphabet 400 inscriptions have been found in.
In the religious life of the
Illyrian forefathers of the Albanians the matriarchal belief of
the adoration of the life-giving Great Mother was still
widespread. Typical of Illyrian beliefs was also the cult of the
Sun, which later developed smoothly into the adoration of the
Greek sun god Apollon, especially in the town of Apollonia. Of
great importance was also the cult of the snake; and it is not by
chance that Kosova Albanian leader Hashim Thaci during the Kosovo
war was called „snake“. This animal, which was sacred
in all matriarchal religions in Europe and therefore became
demonized by christianity, was considered to be the protector of
fighters and of the dead. The Illyrians worshipped also the Earth
and their ancestors. Besides „imported“ Greek gods, two
authentical Illyrian gods are of special relevance: Redon, the
„lord of the sea“ and mythical father of the town of
Durres, and Medaur, the god of war, represented with the
attribute of a snake.
© 2001 Silke Liria Blumbach. All
rights reserved.
[1] Prof. Dr. Hysni Myzyri, Historia e popullit shqiptar pėr shkollat e mesme, Tirana: Shtėpia Botuese e Librit Shkollor, 1995, p. 15.