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Illyrians has come to refer to a broad, ill-defined group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans (from northern Epirus to southern Pannonia) and even perhaps parts of Southern Italy in ancient times into the Common era. It is, however, unclear whether in reality there was such a broad group that identified as Illyrians, and some argue that the ethnonym Illyres came to be applied to this large group of tribes by the ancient Greeks, Illyres having perhaps originally designated only a single tribe that came to be widely known to the Greeks due to proximity.

This tribe, the Illyres, are known to have occupied a small and well-defined part of the south Adriatic coast, around the Lake of Schodër astride the modern frontier between Albania and Montenegro. Evidence for this idea may be found in Appian's Illyrike:

The Greeks call those people Illyrian who dwell beyond Macedonia and Thrace, from Chaonia and Thesprotia to the river Danube. --Appian, Illyrike 1

Pliny in his Natural History speaks of Illyri proprie dictii ("Illyrians properly so-called") among the native communities in Roman Dalmatia.

Whatever the case, this article will use the terms Illyrian and Illyrians to refer to the greater body of tribes that have come to be regarded as Illyrian.

Origins

The Illyrians are considered to have spoken languages belonging to a branch of Indo-European known as Illyrian. The Proto-Indo-European ancestors of the Illyrians---who have been dubbed "the proto-Illyrians"---would have migrated into the Balkans in some undetermined early age, possibly shortly after the Eneolithic, the last phase of the Stone Age, though this is very disputed. After their arrival, it is presumed that they commongled to some degree with the previous non-Indo-european inhabitants of the region (see Neolithic Europe).

The fate of the Illyrians

See also

• Illyria
• List of Illyrian tribes
• List of Illyrians
• Illyrian languages

References

• Wilkes, John. The Illyrians. Blackweell Books, 1992.

• Ancient peoples
• Illyria
• Indo-European peoples