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Dardania (; grc, Δαρδανία; la, Dardania) was a
Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
in the Central
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, initially an unofficial region in
Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
(87–284), and then a province administratively part of the Diocese of Moesia (293–337). It was named after the tribe of the
Dardani The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
who inhabited the region in classical antiquity prior to the Roman conquest.


Background

Dardania is named after the Dardani, a tribe that lived in the region and formed the Kingdom of Dardania in the 4th century BC. The eastern parts of the region were at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone. In archaeological research, Illyrian names are predominant in western Dardania (present-day Kosovo), while Thracian names are mostly found in eastern Dardania (present-day south-eastern Serbia). Thracian names are absent in western Dardania; some Illyrian names appear in the eastern parts. The correspondence of Illyrian names - including those of the ruling elite - in Dardania with those of the southern Illyrians suggests a "thracianization" of parts of Dardania. Celts were present in Dardania in 279 BC. In 179 BC, the
Bastarnae The Bastarnae (Latin variants: ''Bastarni'', or ''Basternae''; grc, Βαστάρναι or Βαστέρναι) and Peucini ( grc, Πευκῖνοι) were two ancient peoples who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited areas north of the Roman fronti ...
conquered the Dardani, who later in 174 pushed them out, in a war which proved catastrophic, with a few years later, in 170 BC, the Macedonians defeating the Dardani. Macedonia and Illyria became Roman protectorates in 168 BC. The
Scordisci The Scordisci ( el, Σκορδίσκοι) were a Celtic Iron Age cultural group centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morava) and Danube rivers. They were historically n ...
, a tribe of Celtic origin, most likely subdued the Dardani in the mid-2nd century BC, after which there is for a long time no mention of the Dardani. In 97 BC the Dardani are mentioned again, defeated by the Macedonian Roman army. Dardanian slaves or freedmen at the time of the Roman conquest were clearly of Paleo-Balkan origin, according to their personal names, noted as being mostly of the "Central-Dalmatian type". Dardania was
Romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing writ ...
early on.


Administration

After the Roman conquest, the pre-Roman Dardania eventually was organized into the
Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
province. During the reign of
Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
(81–96), in 86, Moesia was subdivided into Upper and Lower Moesia (Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior). The old name of Dardania was used for a new province part of Moesia Superior.
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...
(100–170) calls Dardania a special district of Moesia Superior. The Diocese of Moesia was a
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
established by Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305). During his reign, the diocese included 11 provinces, one of which was Dardania. Dardania and Moesia Prima were established by dividing them from Moesia Superior, probably under Diocletian. During or likely after emperor Constantine I (r. 306–337), Dacia Mediterranea was created out of parts of Dardania and Thrace. The two new dioceses, Moesia and
Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ...
, were grouped into the new
praetorian prefecture of Illyricum The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum ( la, praefectura praetorio per Illyricum; el, ἐπαρχότης/ὑπαρχία ῶν πραιτωρίωντοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ, also termed simply the Prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four ...
in the second half of the 4th century, which essentially covered the same area as the earlier Diocese of Moesia.


Religion

Little is known regarding Christianity in the Balkans in the three first centuries AD. Bishop Dacus of Macedonia, from Dardania, was present at the
First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effor ...
(325). In 535, emperor
Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(527-565) created the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima as a regional primacy with ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all provinces of the Diocese of Dacia, including the province of ''Dardania''.


Economy

According to the '' Expositio totius mundi'' (ca. 350), Dardania supplied Macedonia with cheese and lard.


Cities and towns

The main centres of Roman Dardania were Scupi (Skopje), Naissus (Niš) and Ulpiana ( Lipjan). At the time of Moesia Superior, the towns in Dardania included Scupi, Naissus, Ulpiana, Therranda, Vicianum,
Vindenis ''Part of a series of articles upon Archaeology of Kosovo'' Vendenis or Vindenis was an ancient city in Dardania in Kosovo. Among three road stations that were constructed in Dardania during the Roman Period, Statio Vindenis, is one of the id ...
, Velanis, Dardapara,
Quemedava Quemedava was an ancient Dacian city in Dardania mentioned by Procopius.Ethnic continuity in the Carpatho-Danubian area by Elemér Illyés,1988,,p. 223 See also * Dacian davae * List of ancient cities in Illyria * List of ancient cities in Thr ...
and Damastion. The Romans occupied Naissos ( la, Naissus) in the period of the "Dardanian War" (75–73 BC), and set up a legionary camp. The city (called ''refugia'' and ''vici'' in pre-Roman relation), because of its strategic position (Thracians were based to the south) developed as an important garrison and market town of Moesia Superior. The Romans also founded a mining town named ''
municipium Dardanicum Municipium Dardanorum or Municipium DardanicumThe Illyrians by J. J. Wilkes, 1992, , p. 258,"In the south the new city named municipium Dardanicum, was another 'mining town' connected with the local workings (Metalla Dardanica)." was a Roman ...
''.


Aftermath

The area remained part of the Eastern Roman,
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
, after the Eastern–Western Roman split in the 5th century.
Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman ge ...
(500–560) used the old Roman provinces to describe the geography of the Balkans. According to ''Buildings of Justinian'' IV, there were 8 new and 61 restored fortifications in Dardania. Dardania was a region in which Justinian's restoration process was predominant. In 518 an earthquake devastated Dardania, followed by famine that killed much of the population and weakened the Empire's defences. According to Florin Curta, a small number of Slavs (
Sclaveni The ' (in Latin) or ' (various forms in Greek, see below) were early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became the progenitors of modern South Slavs. They were mentioned by early Byz ...
and Antes) migrated to the Balkans in the 6th century.


See also

*
Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...
*
Dardani The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
* Kingdom of Dardania * Serbia in the Roman era * Archaeology of Kosovo *
Illyricum (Roman province) Illyricum was a Roman province that existed from 27 BC to sometime during the reign of Vespasian (69–79 AD). The province comprised Illyria/Dalmatia in the south and Pannonia in the north. Illyria included the area along the east coast of t ...
*
Roman heritage in Kosovo The Roman heritage sites in Kosovo represent a multitude of monuments of material and spiritual culture, which reflect the Roman period in this region. Among them, a special place is occupied by those that represent the development of art, such as ...


References


Sources

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External links

{{Authority control Late Roman provinces Serbia in the Roman era Macedonia (Roman province) Bulgaria in the Roman era States and territories established in the 3rd century States and territories disestablished in the 6th century