| Revision as of 23:31, 22 August 2005 editAlex '05 (talk | contribs)15,289 edits I didn't include the South Italian tribes because it's been proven that the language of the Messapii was not related close to Albanian in any way, so it disproves the Illyrian-Albanian hypothesis← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:34, 22 August 2005 edit undoAlex '05 (talk | contribs)15,289 edits but if you insist, I will present this fact.Next edit → | ||
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| The Illyrians may have appeared in the western part of the Balkan peninsula about ], a period coinciding with the end of the ] and the beginning of the ]. The Illyrians were not a unified body but a group of many different tribes. These tribes however had a common culture and spoke related languages. | The Illyrians may have appeared in the western part of the Balkan peninsula about ], a period coinciding with the end of the ] and the beginning of the ]. The Illyrians were not a unified body but a group of many different tribes. These tribes however had a common culture and spoke related languages. | ||
| Whether the ] descends from an Illyrian language is disputed among scholars (''see ]''). | Whether the ] descends from an Illyrian language is disputed among scholars (''see ]''). The only attested Illyrian language is ], which is not closely related to Albanian. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 23:34, 22 August 2005
The Illyrians were an Indo-European people who inhabited the western Balkans (from Epirus up into Pannonia) and parts of Southern Italy in ancient times and into the Common era. They spoke languages grouped in the Illyrian languages, a separate branch of Indo-European.
The Illyrians may have appeared in the western part of the Balkan peninsula about 1000 BC, a period coinciding with the end of the Bronze age and the beginning of the Iron age. The Illyrians were not a unified body but a group of many different tribes. These tribes however had a common culture and spoke related languages.
Whether the Albanian language descends from an Illyrian language is disputed among scholars (see Origin of Albanians). The only attested Illyrian language is Messapian, which is not closely related to Albanian.