MORE FROM ANCIENT TIMES

Ancient

The spread of Roman citizenship in subsequent generations bound Illyria more closely to the Roman Empire. Most importantly, the fighting men of lllyria became a principal source of soldiers for the Roman army. Most the Roman soldier- emperors, after the later part of the 3rd centery A.D., were of Illyrian origin, ‘Virtus Illyrici’ or ‘Genius Illyrici’. When Septimus Severus, governor of the Danube provinces, seized the throne in 193 A.D., he disbanded the Italian Praetorian Guard, replacing them with soldiers recruited largely in Illyria and Thrace. In 268 A.D. this Preatorian Guard killed Emperor Gallienus and replaced him with Claudius II, one of the brilliant young Illyrian officers, promoted by the ranks. He was succeeded by Aurelian, another skillful Illyrian general, who secured the Danubian frontiers. Aurelian restored both Eastern and Western Provinces to the Roman Empire he reconquered Gaul and stabilized the Roman economy. Later in Roman history, the army of Eastern Rome proclaimed another Illyrian as Emperor, Probus. He liberated Gaul from the Franks and Alemani, and freed Egypt from Sudanese invaders.

Between 282 and 285 A.D., another Illyrian, Marcus Aurelius Carus, was declared Emperor. Upon his death, his son Carinus claimed the throne. The Army of Eastern Rome ignored Carinus, and selected as Emperor one of their own officers, Diocletian, also an Illyrian. He restored the Roman Empire to its former greatness and in 286 A.D., promoted a fellow Illyrian, Maximilian, to the rank of Caesar and Augustus, in recognition of his victories. To further strengthen the imperial power and to assist in ruling, both Diocletian and Maximian chose young Illyrian men as Caesar. Diocletian selected Gaius Galerius in the East, and Maximian chose C. Flavius Constantinus in the West. The latter was the father of the future Constantine the Great. Diocletian and Maximian adopted these young men and gave them their daughters’ hand in marriage, thereby cementing the ties between the East and the West.

Illyria was one the first scenes of the evangelic activities of Paul the Apostle, in which the Christian message was preached. According to the Bible, Paul the Apostle "fully preached the gospel of Christ roundabout Illyricum", and in the flourishing cities of Dyrrachium and Appolonia, still in existence in present Albania. Octavius Augustus had studied at a military academy in Appolonia, before returning to Rome to become its Emperor, when his uncle, Julius Caesar was assassinated. Cicero called Appolonia a "beautiful and imposing city". William Shakespeare had chosen Appolonia as an attractive scene of events in his famous play "The Twelfth Night".

It was during this period of time, the worst persecution of Christians took place. The first martyrs of Christendom in Europe, Florin in 117 A.D. and Lorin in 138 A.D., both Illyrians, had been killed in Ulpiana (near present Prishtina). The Roman Emperor Galerius from Illyria, convinced of the futility of the persecutions on the Christians, issued the Edict of Toleration, which granted Christians the freedom of worship. To the newly instituted Christian Empire, Illyria contributed the men who instituted it. Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and put the symbol of Christ on his soldiers’ shields. He was a native of Naissus ( Kosova), which at that time was an Albanian town, just as it is now a Serbian one. Saint Jerome, the first translator of the Holy Scriptures into Latin, and the Father of Church of Christ, is noted in Butler’s book, Lives of Saints, as born in Illyria and speaking the Illyrian language. Pope Sylvester, and the Emperors of Byzantium, during the 6th century A.D., Justin and his nephew Justinian, were also of Illyrian descent.

The division of the Roman Empire made Illyria, a continuous bone of contention between these two parts of the Empire. One particularly irritating dispute between these two halves of the Empire, was a territorial one. Illyria lay west of the north-south line separating them, and was usually considered part of the West. The Court of Constantinople coveted and seized part of it. This action resented the West and caused Illyria to serve as a perpetual reason for enmity between the two, the same as Albania is doing today.

During the periods of the great tribal migrations, Illyria was repeatedly subject to the first invasions. In 395 A.D., the Visigoths under Alaric, descended upon Illyria, Macedonia and Greece. Their assault was followed by the Huns and then by the Ostrogoths in 461 A.D. From the late 6th century to the mid 7th century, the Slavs, natives of the regions between the Don River and Black Sea, in present Russia and Ukraine, flooded the Balkans, putting an end to Byzantine authority as well as the Roman civilization in this area. Four distinct Slav groups may be identified in the Balkans in the 10th century. They were respectively the ancestors of the present day Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and Bulgarians. Within this territory, there were many non-Slav people, mostly survivors of the Illyrians. The memories of Pax Romana, found in the coastal cities of the Adriatic, whether under Byzantium or Slav rule, still evoke strong memories, today. They are the Romanized Illyrians, who retained their Latin culture and dominated the Albanian language. Secondly, the ruins of Diocletian’s Palace at Split, and the remnants of Via Egnatia evoked these memories. This route, Via Egnatia, crossing the Balkan peninsula, linked Rome with the Illyrian ports of Appolonia and Dyrrachium to Constantinople. Via Egnatia was used by the Albanians until late in the last century.

After the barbarian invasions and Slav migrations, the Romanized Illyrians of the north were gradually assimilated or disappeared from the historical scene. Those in the south, who populated New Epirus, Old Epirus, Dardania (present Kosova and western Macedonia) and the south of Prevalitania (present Montenegro) resisted on, by retaining intact a separate Illyrian identity and their own order and social system. In the course of centuries, this old population, with its tormented history, was to lose its ancient name of Illyrian, and entered medieval times under the name of Albanian. The last time, the Illyrians have been mentioned as an ethnic group, was in the 7th century A.D. document of the Byzantine Empire called Miracula Sancti Demetrii. The habitat of the Illyrian tribe of Albanoi was distinguished in the 2nd century A.D., by the Alexandrin geographer Claudius Ptolemy. In the 11th century, the Byzantine historian Michael Attalaite had mentioned the Albanians, as participating in the military revolt fermented by General George Maniaces against Constantinople in 1043. By the end of the 11th century, the Normans occupied these territories and referred to them as Albania. Due to the depression of the Byzantine Empire in the late 12th century, the first Albanian state, Albanoi, reigned by native kings, was recorded.