The Balares were one of the three major groups among which the Nuragic

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 deri ...

considered themselves divided (along with the Corsi and the

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 ...

History

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 th ...

in his work ''Periegesis'' speculated that the Balares were the descendants of the Iberian and African mercenaries 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 classi ...

, adding that in the language of the Corsi, "Balares" translates to ''fugitives''. In the ''Historiae'',

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan o ...

mentions a possible origin from the city of Palla,

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. Archaeologist Giovanni Ugas proposed that they derived from the first wave of the

Beaker people The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from ar ...

who settled in the island in the late

Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

from the Franco-Iberian area and that they were related with the ancient peoples of the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

; their name has been connected with that of Balarus, a chief of the

Vettones The Vettones (Greek: ''Ouettones'') were a pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula of possibly Celtic ethnicity. Origins Lujan (2007) concludes that some of the names of the Vettones show clearly western Hispano-Celtic features. Reissued i ...

. According to Ugas, during the Nuragic period the Balares lived in the whole north-western part of the island (

Nurra The Nurra is a geographical region in the northwest of Sardinia, Italy. It is the second largest plain of the island, located between the towns of Sassari, Porto Torres and Alghero. It covers a surface of 700 km² and is bounded by the S ...

Anglona Anglona is a historical region of northern Sardinia, Italy. Its main center is Castelsardo. Geography Anglona is bounded by the sea northwards, from east by the Coghinas river, from south by Monte Sassu and from west by the Silis River and t ...

, Sassarese); their territory bordered with the Ilienses in the south ( Tirso) and with the Corsi in the north-east (

Mount Limbara Mount Limbara (Gallurese: ''Monti di Limbara'', sc, Monte de Limbara) is a rocky granitic massif in north-eastern Sardinia, Italy. It is located in the geographical and historical region of Gallura. Its highest peak is Punta Sa Berritta (1, ...

). After the

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

occupation of Sardinia, part of the Balares, along with the Ilienses and the Corsi, retreated in the mountainous region called

Barbagia Barbagia (; sc, Barbàgia or ) is a geographical region, geographical, cultural region, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massi ...

to resist the invaders. In 177 BC, the Balares and Ilienses revolted against the Romans but they were defeated by the legions of

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

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

in the

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...

mention them among the "nations of mountaineers" that raided the Italian coast.

Balares tribes (Balari)

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 ...

, 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 (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologe ...

and the Corsi (for whom

is named) and north of the

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 ...

and the

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: ) ...

* Giddilitani * Lucuidonenses / Luquidonenses / Lugudonenses / Liguidonenses (Lugudonensi), they dwelt south of the

and the

and north of the Æsaronenses (not to be confused with the Longonenses) * Nurritani, in

territory (not the same tribe as the Nurrenses or the Norenses /

Noritani The Noritani also called Norenses were an ancient people of Sardinia, noted by Ptolemy (III, 3). They dwelt at the extreme south part of the island, immediately south of the Neapolitani and the Valentini. Their chief town was Nora (modern Pula ...

) * Perfugae / Perfugae Balares * Turritani * Uddadhaddaritani / Uddhadaddhar(itani) Numisiarum (part of the Balares and not of the

or Iolaes

Bibliography

References

Ancient peoples of Sardinia Tribes conquered by Rome {{italy-hist-stub

History

Balares tribes (Balari)

See also

Bibliography

References