Po redaktohet Illyrians (paragraf)

== Culture ==
=== Language ===
[[File:Chromolithographie_replica_of_belt_belonging_to_the_Hallstatt_culture.jpg|thumb|350px|right|The [[Chromolithography|chromolithographic]] Bronze belt plaque of [[Vače]], [[Slovenia]] of the [[Hallstatt culture]]]] {{Main|Illyrian language}}
{{Further|Thraco-Illyrian}}
{{See also|Albanian language|Messapian language|Venetic language|Paleo-Balkan languages|l1=Albanian|l2=Messapian|l3=Venetic|l4=Paleo-Balkan languages}}

The [[Illyrian languages|languages]] spoken by the [[Illyrian tribes]] are an extinct and poorly attested [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] group, and it is not clear whether the languages belonged to the [[centum]] or the [[satem]] group. The Illyrians were subject to varying degrees of [[Celticization]], [[Hellenization]], [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanization]] and later [[Slavicization]] which possibly lead to the extinction of their languages.<ref>{{harvnb|Bunson|1995|p=202}}; {{harvnb|Mócsy|1974}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Pomeroy|Burstein|Donlan|Roberts|2008|p=255}}</ref><ref name="Bowden 2003 211">{{harvnb|Bowden|2003|p=211}}; {{harvnb|Kazhdan|1991|p=248}}.</ref> In modern research, use of concepts like "Hellenization" and "Romanization" has declined as they have been criticized as simplistic notions which can't describe the actual processes via which material development moved from the centres of the ancient Mediterranean to its periphery.<ref name="Wilkes4">{{harvnb|Wilkes|1992|p=4}}</ref>

The vast majority of knowledge of Illyrian is based on the [[Messapian language]] if the latter is considered an Illyrian [[dialect]].{{cn|date=January 2023}} The non-Messapian testimonies of Illyrian are too fragmentary to allow any conclusions whether Messapian should be considered part of Illyrian proper, although it has been widely thought<!-- by whom? --> that Messapian was related to Illyrian. An [[extinct language|extinct]] Indo-European language, Messapian was once spoken in [[Salento|Messapia]] in the southeastern [[Italian Peninsula]]. It was spoken by the three [[Iapygians|Iapygian tribes]] of the region, the [[Messapii|Messapians]], the [[Daunii]] and the [[Peucetii]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

On both sides on the border region between southern Illyria and northern Epirus the contact between the Illyrian and Greek languages produced an area of bilingualism between the two, although it is unclear how the impact of the one language to the other developed because of the scarcity of available archaeological material. However, this did not occur at the same level on both sides, with the Illyrians being more willing to adopt the more prestigious Greek language.{{sfn|Malkin|1998|p=143}}<ref name="Filos222"/> Ongoing research may provide further knowledge about these contacts beyond present limited sources.<ref name="Filos222">{{harvnb|Filos|2017|pp=222, 241}}</ref> Illyrians were exposed not only to Doric and [[Epirote Greek]] but also to Attic-Ionic.<ref name="Filos222"/>

The Illyrian languages were once thought to be connected to the [[Venetic language]] in the Italian Peninsula but this view was abandoned.<ref>{{harvnb|Wilkes|1992|p=183}}.</ref> Other scholars have linked them with the adjacent [[Thracian language]] supposing an intermediate [[sprachbund|convergence area]] or [[dialect continuum]], but this view is also not generally supported. All these languages were likely extinct by the 5th century AD although traditionally, the [[Albanian language]] is identified as the descendant of Illyrian dialects that survived in remote areas of the Balkans during the [[Middle Ages]] but evidence "is too meager and contradictory for us to know whether the term Illyrian even referred to a single language".<ref name="linguistlist.org">[http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/LLDescription.cfm?code=xil ''Eastern Michigan University Linguist List: The Illyrian Language''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218071454/http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/LLDescription.cfm?code=xil |date=2012-02-18 }}, linguistlist.org; accessed April 3, 2014</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Ammon|Dittmar|Mattheier|Trudgill|2006|p=1874}}: "Traditionally, Albanian is identified as the descendant of Illyrian, but Hamp (1994a) argues that the evidence is too meager and contradictory for us to know whether the term Illyrian even referred to a single language."</ref>

The ancestor dialects of the Albanian language would have survived somewhere along the boundary of [[Western Roman Empire|Latin]] and [[Eastern Roman Empire|Ancient Greek]] linguistic influence, the [[Jireček Line]]. There are various modern historians and linguists who believe that the modern Albanian language might have descended from a southern Illyrian dialect whereas an alternative hypothesis holds that Albanian was descended from the Thracian language.<ref>
*{{harvnb|Ceka|2005|pages=40–42, 59}}
*Thunmann, Johannes E. "Untersuchungen uber die Geschichte der Oslichen Europaischen Volger". Teil, Leipzig, 1774.
*see Malcolm, Noel. ''Origins: Serbs, Vlachs, and Albanians.'' Malcolm is of the opinion that the Albanian language was an Illyrian dialect preserved in Dardania and then it (re-?)conquered the Albanian lowlands
*Indo-European language and culture: an introduction By Benjamin W. Fortson Edition: 5, illustrated Published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2004 {{ISBN|1-4051-0316-7}}, {{ISBN|978-1-4051-0316-9}}
*Stipčević, Alexander. Iliri (2nd edition). Zagreb, 1989 (also published in Italian as "Gli Illiri")
*NGL Hammond The Relations of Illyrian Albania with the Greeks and the Romans. In Perspectives on Albania, edited by Tom Winnifrith, St. Martin’s Press, New York 1992
*Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture By J. P. Mallory, Douglas Q. Adams Edition: illustrated Published by Taylor & Francis, 1997 {{ISBN|1-884964-98-2}}, {{ISBN|978-1-884964-98-5}}</ref><ref name="linguistlist.org"/> Not enough is known of the ancient language to completely prove or disprove either hypothesis, see [[Origin of the Albanians]].<ref>{{harvnb|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=9}};{{harvnb|Fortson|2004}}</ref>

==== Linguistic evidence and subgrouping ====
{{Indo-European topics}}
Modern studies about Illyrian onomastics, the main field via which the Illyrians have been linguistically investigated as no written records have been found, began in the 1920s and sought to more accurately define Illyrian tribes, the commonalities, relations and differences between each other as they were conditioned by specific local cultural, ecological and economic factors, which further subdivided them into different groupings.{{sfn|Stipčević|1977|p=15}}{{Sfn|Fine|1983|pp=9–10}} This approach has led in contemporary research in the definition of three main onomastic provinces in which Illyrian personal names appear near exclusively in the archaeological material of each province. The southern Illyrian or south-eastern Dalmatian province was the area of the proper Illyrians (the core of which was the territory of ''Illyrii proprie dicti'' of the classical authors, located in modern Albania) and includes most of [[Albania]], [[Montenegro]] and their hinterlands. This area extended along the Adriatic coast from the [[Aoos|Aous valley]]<ref name="Wilkes92"/> in the south, up to and beyond the [[Neretva]] valley in the north.<ref name="Wilkes92">{{harvnb|Wilkes|1992|p=92}}</ref>{{sfn|De Simone|2017|p=1869}} The second onomastic province, the central Illyrian or middle Dalmatian-Pannonian province began to its north and covered a larger area than the southern province. It extended along the Adriatic coast between the [[Krka (Croatia)|Krka]] and [[Cetina]] rivers, covered much of [[Bosnia]] (except for its northern regions), central Dalmatia ([[Lika]]) and its hinterland in the central Balkans included western [[Serbia]] and [[Sandžak]]. The third onomastic province further to the north defined as North Adriatic area includes [[Liburnia]] and the region of modern [[Ljubljana]] in [[Slovenia]]. It is part of a larger linguistic area different from Illyrian that also comprises [[Venetic language|Venetic]] and its [[Istria]]n variety. These areas are not strictly defined geographically as there was some overlap between them.{{Sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=70}}{{sfn|Polomé|1982|p=867}}{{sfn|De Simone|2017|p=1869}} The region of the [[Dardani]] (modern Kosovo, parts of northern [[North Macedonia]], parts of eastern Serbia) saw the overlap of the southern Illyrian and Dalmatian onomastic provinces. Local Illyrian anthroponymy is also found in the area.{{sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=86}}

In its onomastics, southern Illyrian (or south-east Dalmatian) has close relations with [[Messapic language|Messapic]]. Most of these relations are shared with the central Dalmatian area.{{sfn|Polomé|1983|p=537}}  In older scholarship (Crossland (1982)), some [[toponyms]] in central and northern Greece show phonetic characteristics that were thought to{{according to whom|date=August 2020}} indicate that Illyrians or closely related peoples were settled in those regions before the introduction of the [[Greek language]].{{dubious|date=August 2020}}{{sfn|Crossland|1982|pp=841–842}} However, such views largely relied on subjective ancient testimonies and are not supported by the earliest evidence (epigraphic etc.).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Giannakis|first1=Georgios|last2=Crespo|first2=Emilio|last3=Filos|first3=Panagiotis|title=Studies in Ancient Greek Dialects: From Central Greece to the Black Sea|date=2017|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|isbn=9783110532135|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UrxGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA224|language=en |quote=Crossland posited a posited (partial) Hellenization of pre-classical Epirus, with Greek elites ruling over non-Greek populations; cf. Nilsson (1909). A very brief synopsis of older works and views is available in Kokoszko&Witczak (2009,112) who in turn also favor a 'Hellenization' scenario Nonetheless, such views, which rely largely on some subjective ancient testimonies, are no supported by the earliest (and not only) epigraphic evidence.|page=222}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Illyrian religion}}
{{See also|Paleo-Balkan mythology}}

The Illyrians, as most ancient civilizations, were [[polytheistic]] and worshipped many [[god]]s and [[deities]] developed of the powers of [[nature]]. The most numerous traces—still insufficiently studied—of [[religious practice]]s of the pre-Roman era are those relating to [[religious symbol]]ism. Symbols are depicted in every variety of ornament and reveal that the chief object of the prehistoric cult of the Illyrians was the [[Sun]],{{sfn|Stipčević|1977|p=182}}{{sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=244}} worshipped in a widespread and complex religious system.{{sfn|Stipčević|1977|p=182}} The solar deity was depicted as a [[Geometry|geometrical]] figure such as the [[spiral]], the concentric [[circle]] and the [[swastika]], or as an [[animal]] figure the likes of the [[birds]], [[Snake|serpents]] and [[horses]].{{sfn|Stipčević|1977|pp=182, 186}}{{sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=244}} The symbols of water-fowl and horses were more common in the north, while the serpent was more common in the south.{{sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=244}} Illyrian deities were mentioned in inscriptions on [[statues]], [[monuments]], and [[coins]] of the [[Ancient Rome|Roman period]], and some [[Interpretatio graeca|interpreted]] by Ancient writers through [[comparative religion]].{{sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=245}}{{sfn|West|2007|p=15}} There appears to be no single most prominent god for all the [[List of ancient Illyrian peoples and tribes|Illyrian tribes]], and a number of deities evidently appear only in specific regions.{{sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=245}}

In [[Illyris]], [[Deipaturos|Dei-pátrous]] was a god worshiped as the [[Sky Father]], [[Prende]] was the love-goddess and the consort of the thunder-god [[Perendi]], [[En (deity)|En or Enji]] was the fire-god, Jupiter Parthinus was a chief deity of the [[Parthini]], Redon was a tutelary deity of sailors appearing on many inscriptions in the coastal towns of [[Lissus (Illyria)|Lissus]], [[Daorson]], [[Scodra]] and [[Dyrrhachium]], while [[Medaurus]] was the protector deity of [[Risinium]], with a monumental equestrian statue dominating the city from the acropolis. In [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]] and [[Pannonia]] one of the most popular ritual traditions during the Roman period was the cult of the Roman [[tutelary deity]] of the wild, woods and fields [[Silvanus (mythology)|Silvanus]], depicted with iconography of [[Pan (god)|Pan]]. The Roman deity of wine, fertility and freedom [[Liber]] was worshipped with the attributes of Silvanus, and those of [[Terminus (god)|Terminus]], the god protector of boundaries. Tadenus was a Dalmatian deity bearing the identity or epithet of [[Apollo]] in inscriptions found near the source of the Bosna river. The Delmatae also had Armatus as a war god in [[Delminium]]. The Silvanae, a feminine plural of Silvanus, were featured on many dedications across Pannonia. In the hot springs of Topusko ([[Pannonia Superior]]), sacrificial altars were dedicated to Vidasus and Thana (identified with [[Silvanus (mythology)|Silvanus]] and [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]), whose names invariably stand side by side as companions. Aecorna or Arquornia was a lake or river tutelary goddess worshipped exclusively in the cities of [[Nauportus]] and [[Emona]], where she was the most important deity next to [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]. Laburus was also a local deity worshipped in Emona, perhaps a deity protecting the boatmen sailing.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

It seems that the Illyrians did not develop a uniform cosmology on which to center their religious practices.{{sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=244}} A number of Illyrian toponyms and anthroponyms derived from animal names and reflected the beliefs in animals as [[myth]]ological ancestors and protectors.{{sfn|Stipčević|1977|p=197}} The [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpent]] was one of the most important animal [[totems]].{{sfn|Stipčević|1976|p=235}} Illyrians believed in the force of [[Spell (ritual)|spells]] and the [[evil eye]], in the magic power of protective and beneficial [[amulet]]s which could avert the evil eye or the bad intentions of enemies.{{sfn|Stipčević|1977|p=182}}{{sfn|Wilkes|1992|p=245}} Human sacrifice also played a role in the lives of the Illyrians.<ref>{{harvnb|Wilkes|1992|p=123}}.</ref> [[Arrian]] records the chieftain [[Cleitus (Dardania)|Cleitus the Illyrian]] as sacrificing three boys, three girls and three rams just before his battle with [[Alexander the Great]].<ref name="Wright">{{cite book |author1=F. A. Wright |title=ALEXANDER THE GREAT |date=1934 |publisher=GEORGE ROUTLEDGE SONS, LTD. |location=London |pages=63–64 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.72588/2015.72588.Alexender-The-Great_djvu.txt}}</ref> The most common type of burial among the [[Iron Age]] Illyrians was [[tumulus]] or mound burial. The kin of the first tumuli was buried around that, and the higher the status of those in these burials the higher the mound. [[Archaeology]] has found many artifacts placed within these tumuli such as weapons, ornaments, garments and clay vessels. The rich spectrum in religious beliefs and burial rituals that emerged in Illyria, especially during the Roman period, may reflect the variation in cultural identities in this region.{{Sfn|Brandt|Ingvaldsen|Prusac|2014|p=249}}