The Ilienses (or ''Iolaes'', later known as ''Diagesbes'' Strabo, Geographica V, 2,7.) were an ancient Nuragic people who lived during the Bronze and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

s in central-southern

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, as well as one of the three major groups among which the ancient

Sardinians The Sardinians, or Sards ( sc, Sardos or ; Italian and Sassarese: ''Sardi''; Gallurese: ''Saldi''), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy de ...

considered themselves divided (along with the Corsi and the

Balares The Balares were one of the three major groups among which the Nuragic Sardinians considered themselves divided (along with the Corsi and the Ilienses). History Pausanias in his work ''Periegesis'' speculated that the Balares were the descend ...

). After the

Sicilian Wars The Sicilian Wars, or Greco-Punic Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between ancient Carthage and the Greek city-states led by Syracuse, Sicily over control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean between 580 and 265 BC. Carthage's econo ...

began with the Punic invasion in the sixth century BC, part of them retreated to the mountainous interior of the island, from which they opposed for centuries the foreign rule.

History

Mythological origins

According to the legend recorded by Greek historians, the etymology of their name (Iolaes) is to be traced back to

Iolaus In Greek mythology, Iolaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος ''Iólaos'') was a Theban divine hero. He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the Argonauts. Family Iolaus was ...

, the hero who led the ''Thespiades'', sons of

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

and the daughters of

Thespius In Greek mythology, Thespius (; Ancient Greek: Θέσπιος ''Théspios'') or Thestius (; Ancient Greek: Θέστιος) Pausanias, 9.27.7 was a legendary founder and king of Thespiae, Boeotia. His life account is considered part of Greek mythol ...

(king of the Boeotian city-state of

Thespiae Thespiae ( ; grc, Θεσπιαί, Thespiaí) was an ancient Greek city (''polis'') in Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which run eastward from the foot of Mount Helicon to Thebes, near modern Thespies. Histo ...

) in Sardinia, where he founded a colony. Another myth tell that the old inhabitants of Ilium, better known as

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

, after the fall of the city established themselves in this part of Sardinia (where they mixed with the Iolaes), hence the name of Ilienses.

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...

considered the Ilienses as the oldest people of the island. . Bronzetto sardo 1-2

Nuragic period

Despite the myth, they were most likely a tribal group indigenous to the island. According to the archaeologist Giovanni Ugas, the Ilienses were the most important population of Nuragic Sardinia and were connected with the

Sherden The Sherden ( Egyptian: ''šrdn'', ''šꜣrdꜣnꜣ'' or ''šꜣrdynꜣ'', Ugaritic: ''šrdnn(m)'' and ''trtn(m)'', possibly Akkadian: ''še-er-ta-an-nu''; also glossed “Shardana” or “Sherdanu”) are one of the several ethnic groups the Sea ...

, one of the

Sea Peoples The Sea Peoples are a hypothesized seafaring confederation that attacked ancient Egypt and other regions in the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BCE).. Quote: "First coined in 1881 by the Fren ...

widely cited in Ancient Egyptian sources. This hypothesis has been, however, opposed by other archaeologists and historians.

Eduardo Blasco Ferrer Eduardo Blasco Ferrer (Barcelona, 1956 – Bastia, 12 January 2017) was a Spanish-Italian linguist and a professor at the University of Cagliari, Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , ...

correlates their name with the Iberian root ''*ili-'', meaning settlement. In the nuragic period their territory extended from the plain of

Campidano Campidano ( sc, Campidànu) is a plain located in South-Western Sardinia (Italy), covering approximately 100 kilometres between Cagliari and Oristano. Geography Geologically, it is a graben, a tectonic structure formed in the mid-Pliocene/early ...

(called in antiquity ''Iolean plain'') to the

Tirso river Tirso is Spanish and Portuguese for Thyrsus, and usually refers to the saint of that name (Saint Thyrsus) (San Tirso, Santo Tirso). It can also refer to: People * Tirso Cruz III (born 1952), Filipino actor * Tirso de Molina (1579-1648), Spanish ...

in north where began the territory of the

. They were probably divided into 40 tribes, each ruled by a king or chieftain. These rulers lived in the complex

nuraghi The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese dialect, Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese dialect, Campidanese Sardinian , Italian language, Italian ), or also nurhag in English language, English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in ...

, called "polilobates", such as Su Nuraxi of

Barumini Barumini ( sc, Barùmini) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about northeast of Sanluri. Barumini borders the following municipalities: Gerg ...

. In what was once their territory, very important are the findings of Mycenaean artifacts, confirming the wealth of exchanges between these two ancient populations. Of particular interest are also the Oxhide ingot, which perhaps came from

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and was discovered in various locations, including the Cagliari area, in the

province of Ogliastra The province of Ogliastra ( it, provincia dell'Ogliastra , sc, provìntzia de s'Ogiastra) was a former province in eastern Sardinia, Italy. Ogliastra was the most mountainous province in Sardinia. With only some 57,642 inhabitants, it was also t ...

and other central areas. Between 1300 and 1200 BC in central-southern Sardinia was produced a kind of gray pottery also called "gray Sardinian"; remains of this type of pottery have been found in Kommos, Crete, and at Cannatello near

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Punic and Roman period

As witnessed by the ancient sources ( Diodorus Siculus, '' Bibliotheca historica'' and

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, ''Description of Greece'') since the sixth century BC this population opposed fiercely to the domination of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...

. After the end of the First Punic War in 238 BC the Romans occupied the main strongholds of the Punic Sardinia, but the people of the interior opposed even to the new invaders. In 227 BC,

Corsica and Sardinia The Province of Sardinia and Corsica ( la, Provincia Sardinia et Corsica) was an ancient Roman province including the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. Pre-Roman times The Nuragic civilization flourished in Sardinia from 1800 to 500 BC. The ...

became the second

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 ...

(the first was Sicily). The outbreak of the Second Punic War and the victories of Hannibal in the Italian Peninsula provoked new stirrings of rebellion in Sardinia where, after the Roman defeat at the Battle of Cannae, the Sardinian-Punic landowner and military

Hampsicora Hampsicora (3rd century BC - Cornus, 215 BC) was a Sardo-Punic political leader and landowner of Sardinia, and the leader of the major anti-Roman revolt () in the province of 215 BC. The sources describe Hampsicora as the richest among the land ...

, helped by the Carthaginians and by Ilienses, organized a new uprising. In 215 BC the rebels were defeated and massacred in the battle of

Decimomannu Decimomannu ( sc, Deximumannu or ) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It is located about northwest of central Cagliari and had a population of about 8,115 . Geography Decimomannu borders the municipalities of ...

by Titus Manlius Torquatus and so

lost the island definitively. In Roman times the Ilienses and the Balares of the interior continued to resist, but in 177 BC they were heavily defeated by the consul

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ( 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the Roma ...

who killed or enslaved about 80,000 Sardinians. However still in imperial time they were not completely subjugated by

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and continued to live relatively independently in the central region called

Barbagia Barbagia (; sc, Barbàgia or ) is a geographical, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massif. The name comes from Cicero, wh ...

Ilienses / Iolaes tribes (Iolei)

* Acconites (Acconiti) * Aechilenenses / Aichilenses (Aichilensi) / Cornenses / Cornenses Pelliti * Aesaronenses / Aisaronenses (Esanorensi) * Alcitani ( Alkitani) * Alticientes ( Altikientes) / Altic(ienses) *

Barbaricini Barbagia (; sc, Barbàgia or ) is a geographical, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massif. The name comes from Cicero, who ...

( Barbarikini) (in the region later known as

) * Beronicenses ( Beronikenses) (Beronicensi) * Bulgares ( Ilienses Bulgares) * Campani ( Patulcenses Campani) * Caralitani (

Carales Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian na ...

, today's Cagliari, was in their territory) *

Carenses The Carenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Coracenses The Coracenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Tibulati The Tibulati (Greek: ), a ...

, they dwelt south of the

Coracenses The Coracenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Tibulati The Tibulati (Greek: ), also called Tibulates and Tibulatii, were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy ...

and north of the Salcitani and the Lucuidonenses. * Celes(itani) /

Celsitani The Celsitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Rucensi The Rucensi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudiu ...

, they dwelt south of the

Rucensi The Rucensi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote abou ...

and north of the

Scapitani The Scapitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Celsitani and the Corpicenses and north of the Neapolitani and the Valentini (ancient people), Valentini. See FurtherPtolemy's Geography online R ...

and the Siculensi. *

Corpicenses The Corpicenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote ...

, they dwelt south of the

and north of the

and the Siculensi. *

Cunusitani The Cunusitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Coracenses The Coracenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Tibulati The Tibulati (Greek: ) ...

/ Cusin(itani), they dwelt south of the

and north of the Salcitani and the Lucuidonenses. * Euthychiani ( Euthicani) (they were not a tribe of the

) * Fifenses * Galillenses (Galillesi) * Hypsitani *

Ilienses The Ilienses (or ''Iolaes'', later known as ''Diagesbes''Strabo, Geographica V, 2,7.) were an ancient Nuragic people who lived during the Bronze and Iron Ages in central-southern Sardinia, as well as one of the three major groups among which the anc ...

( Ilienses Proprii) / Iolei (Iolei Proprii) / Pelliti /

Sardi Pelliti The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) is the principal research institute of the Government of South Australia, with a network of research centres, laboratories and field sites both in metropolitan Adelaide and throughou ...

* Lesitani * Maltamonenses * Martenses *

Mauri Mauri (from which derives the English term "Moors") was the Latin designation for the Berber population of Mauretania, located in the part of North Africa west of Numidia, in present-day northern Morocco and northwestern Algeria. Name ''Mauri'' ...

(Paleo-Sardinian tribe) ( Mauri Ilienses), in an area of far southwestern Sardinia (they may have been a tribe related to or of

origin that was assimilated by the Ilienses (

Iolei The Ilienses (or ''Iolaes'', later known as ''Diagesbes'' Strabo, Geographica V, 2,7.) were an ancient Nuragic people who lived during the Bronze and Iron Ages in central-southern Sardinia, as well as one of the three major groups among which the ...

)) * Moddol(...) * Muthon(enses) *

Neapolitani The Neapolitani were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Scapitani and the Siculensi and north of the Solcitani and the Noritani. Their chief city was Neapolis, located approximately 20 km no ...

, they dwelt north of the Sulcitani and the Noritani. * Noritani / Norenses, they dwelt at the extreme south part of the island, immediately south of the

and the Valentini (not to be confused with the Nurritani or Nurrenses) * Nurrenses ( Nurensi) (not to be confused with the Norenses or Noritani) * Parati * Patulcenses (not to be confused with the Patulcii or Patulci) * Patulcii / Patulci (not to be confused with the Patulcenses) * Rubrenses / Rubri / Rubrinses * Rucenses (Rucensi), they dwelt south of the

Æchilenenses The Æchilenenses also called the Cornenses and Æchilenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt south of the Æsaronenses and north of the Rucensi The Rucensi were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Pt ...

(also called Cornenses) and north of the

and the

* Salcitani (Salkitani), they dwelt south of the

and the

and north of the Æsaronenses. * Sarrapitani *

, they dwelt south of the

and the

and north of the

and the Valentini * Semilitenses (Semilitensi) / Maltamonenses (Maltamonensi) * Siculenses (Siculesi), they dwelt south of the

and the

and north of the

and the Valentini. (may have been a tribe of

Siculian Siculian (or Sicel) is an extinct Indo-European language spoken in central and eastern Sicily by the Sicels. It is attested in less than thirty inscriptions from the late 6th century to 4th century BCE, and in around twenty-five glosses from ancie ...

Sicel The Sicels (; la, Siculi; grc, Σικελοί ''Sikeloi'') were an Italic tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. Their neighbours to the west were the Sicani. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, b ...

origin assimilated by the Ilienses or

) * Sossinates (Sossinati) * Sulcitani / Solcitani, they dwelt at the extreme south part of

, immediately south of the

and the Valentini * Uterini * Uthicenses / Uthikenses / Othocenses * Valentini, they dwelt south of the

and the Siculensi and north of the Solcitani and the Noritani. * Vitenses * ..arri uisiaru

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book , first=Giovanni , last=Ugas , title=L'Alba dei Nuraghi , location=Cagliari , year=2005 , publisher=Fabula editrice , isbn=88-89661-00-3 Ancient peoples of Sardinia Tribes conquered by Rome

History

Mythological origins

Nuragic period

Punic and Roman period

Ilienses / Iolaes tribes (Iolei)

See also

References

Bibliography