The Sardiatae or Sardiates (alternatively: ''Sardeatae'', ''Sardeates'' or ''Sardiotai'') were an Illyrian

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

that lived in Dalmatia, in the

Pliva Pliva d.o.o. is a pharmaceutical company based in Zagreb, Croatia that primarily manufactures and sells generic drugs. It is a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceuticals. Pliva is one of the world's largest producers of Generic drug, generic Adderall. ...

valley around the area of Jajce and

Šipovo Šipovo ( sr-cyrl, Шипово) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the southern part of the Bosanska Krajina region. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,293 inhabitant ...

, in present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. They are mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, who locates them in the '' conventus iuridicus'' of

Salonae Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia. Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in ...

, and reports that they had 52 '' decuriae''. They are also mentioned by

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 importance ...

, and in the ''Libri Coloniarum'' ("Book of Colonies") of the '' Gromatici Veteres'' (c. 5th century AD) along with the Tariotes. The Sardiates are documented, along with other Illyrian tribes like the

Pirustae This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria ( grc-gre, Ἰλλυρία; la, Illyria). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks ...

and Baridustae, in the epigraphic material of

Alburnus Maior ''Alburnus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows. They are known commonly as bleaks. A group of species in the genus is known as shemayas. The genus occurs in the western Palearctic realm, and the center of diversit ...

in Roman Dacia, a mining town where several Illyrian peoples moved by the time of Roman emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

. A great number of inscriptions were recently found reporting the tribal name of the Sardiatae, which were produced after they moved to the new town in Dacia from their ancient tribal areas in Dalmatia. A ''

collegium A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their rea ...

Sardiatensium/Sardiatarum'' is also attested in Alburnus Maior. The existence of ''collegia'' of the Sardiatae and of the Baridustae certainly suggests a location of those communities within or near the mining district..

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* * * * * * * * * Illyrian tribes Illyrian Bosnia and Herzegovina Ancient tribes in Bosnia and Herzegovina Ancient tribes in Dacia {{BosniaandHerzegovina-stub