The Roman occupation and the Illyrian revolts

 

Faithful to her traditional policy, Rome split the country into several administrative units, some of which were directly governed by her, while the others kept certain autonomy. With this division of South Illyria, Rome tried to prevent the danger of a new coalition against her. These regions were to serve as bases for the campaign which she planed against the northern Illyrians. This new phase of wars between Illyria and Rome, which began in 156 BC with the attack against Dalmatia, lasted for more than 150 years. In the occupied territory Rome instigated a regime of oppression and exploitation. Entire populations were expelled from their land .The Ardians in particular were massacred or sold as slaves and Roman militia or colonist came to settle in the most fertile zones of Illyria.

This provoked a whole series of insurrections on the parts of the Illyrians. The most important was that in the year AD 6, which stirred up all the regions of the Danude as far as Mat in northern Albania. Having formed a regular army of 200,000 infantry and 9000 cavalry, the rebels succeeded in freeing a major part of Illyria. They then got ready to cross into Italian peninsula. Rome was in danger of some very difficult moments because Augustus himself raised the alarm and said "if defence procedures were not taken in ten days, the enemy could enter the city" .The Romans hastened to send their most warlike legions and most capable generals into Illyria, but three years of bitter were needed before Tiberius, the future emperor who commanded the expedition could put an end to the Illyrian resistance .The last tribe to put down their arms were the Pirustae, of whom the Roman writer of that time, Velleius Apaterculus, said :

"They were almost unconquerable, on account of the geography of their country, which was bristling with mountains, and gashed with many gorges, and because of their savage nature and prodigious skill combat... if they finally surrendered, it was not because of any command, but annihilated by the sheer strength of Caesar's army".

If one can believe Suetonius, the Illyrian rebellion in the years AD 6-9 caused the most terrible of the wars which Rome had had to wage since the Punic wars. Rome at this time created the Illyrricum, and Illyrian territories were divided into two provinces, Macedonia and Illyrricum. In AD 10 Illyrricum was divided into two provinces: Dalmatia, which included the territories between the river Mat in the south and the Istria in the north, and Pannonia, which spread north of Dalmatia as far as the Danube. Much later, about second century, Epirus, until then divided into two provinces, Achaia and Macedonia. The provinces had at their head a magistrate who held civil and judicial powers and who decided the fiscal policy. He was helped by the quaestores, the aediles, and the procurators. As far as the administration on these provinces was concerned, the Romans preserved ancient tribal institutions in certain regions which might be useful to them. So in the inland regions, some Illyrian tribes continued to be governed by a praepositus and by their leaders, who in general were loyal to Rome.