Histrier

The Histrians or Istrians ( lat . Histrii ) were an ancient tribe that inhabited the peninsula of Istria (lat. Histria ) and the neighboring regions to the north. 177 BC Their territory was conquered by the Roman army and incorporated into the empire .

Settlement area

The territory of the Istrians included the peninsula named after them, but at least at times extended beyond it. Archaeologists also found Istrian artifacts in and to the west of Trieste , as well as in the southern part of Carniola . In the west the area of the Istrians bordered on that of the Venetians , in the north their neighbors were Celtic tribes, in the northeast the Iapods and somewhere between the present-day towns of Opatija and Rijeka the Istrian area met the territory of the Liburnians . For the time around 200 BC The Roman historian Titus Livius tells of three cities ( oppida ) of the Istrians: Nesactium , the capital in the south of the peninsula, as well as Mutilla and Faveria . Nesactium, which later also became an important Roman settlement, has been well researched archaeologically. It is located in the present-day village of Vizače / Valtura, 10 kilometers east of Pula.

language

The language of the Istrians is largely unknown, only a few toponyms and a few personal names have survived. Because of the limited amount of material, some researchers want to recognize a close linguistic relationship with the Venetians, others with the Illyrian Liburnians. It seems relatively certain that the Istrians did not belong to the Celtic peoples.

history

Istria was on the edge of the Greek world. The Greeks only established a few small trading bases in this region, B. Aegida (near Koper ) and Emonia (today Novigrad ). At that time, however, the Istrians had very intensive trade relations with the Greeks, as can be proven by numerous finds of Greek ceramics.

At the turn of the 5th to the 4th century BC Celtic tribes invaded Istria. But they could either be repulsed or integrated by the local population, because the culture of the Istrians continues uninterrupted.

In the second half of the 3rd century BC The Istrians appear for the first time in written records. This is due to the expansion of the Romans north of the Pos , which also made the Istrian peninsula an area of interest for Rome. The ancient writers described the Istrians as skilful seafarers and feared pirates, a stereotype that they attached to almost all Illyrian peoples on the eastern Adriatic coast, rightly or wrongly. In any case, pirate activities of the Istrians were the foundation of the Romans when they were after the conquest of Veneto in 221 BC. Undertook a war expedition to the Istrian peninsula. Rome won within a short time, but renounced the occupation of Istria. At that time the Senate shied away from conquest east of the Adriatic and tried to control those areas indirectly. It is believed that during their campaign the Romans destroyed an important Istrian coastal fortress on the spot where they founded the Pola colony 150 years later .

To protect their conquests in the north, the Romans established the colony of Aquileia . The Istrians saw this foundation as a threat to their independence and tried the new city in 181 BC. To destroy BC, but were repulsed. Three years later, the Senate again decided to send an army against the Istrians to eliminate the problem in the northeast once and for all.

The Istrians were led by their only king known by name, Epulo (Aepulo). Titus Livius characterizes him as a fierce, tough fighter who took power in Istria when the defense against the Romans was being prepared there. After some initial difficulties, the Romans were able to manage under their consul Aulus Manlius Vulso in 178 BC. To achieve a complete victory. After a long siege, the capital Nesactium was finally taken. King Epulo and many Istrians committed suicide so as not to fall into the hands of the Romans. Mutilla and Faveria continued to resist for some time and were therefore razed to the ground by the Romans after the conquest. The victory was celebrated in Rome with a two-day festival.

Much of the Istrian population was taken away into slavery. The Romans began from 177 BC. To create many fortified bases on the coast of the peninsula. It seems that the Istrians were not yet completely subdued at this point, so the strong military presence was necessary. Roman civil settlements ( coloniae or municipia ) did not yet exist in the early phase of Roman rule. Until the middle of the 1st century BC It was mainly Roman merchants who were active in Istria and traded with the local population in the shadow of the forts. (The Istrian coast was one of the endpoints of the Amber Road coming from Central Europe , the most important trade route between the Baltic Sea and the Adriatic Sea, along which the ore-rich Noricum lay.)

When Julius Caesar 58 BC When the governorship of Gaul and Illyricum was granted, Istria also fell under his control. During this time, the Roman colonization of the country began. A third of the land was declared the property of the state ( ager publicus ) and given to Roman citizens. This provoked minor revolts of the Istrians, which the Romans quickly mastered. The rapid Romanization of Istria began. Around 50 BC Pula is re-established as a Roman colony Pietas Iulia . Pliny the Elder names the oppidum Nesactium in his Naturalis Historia as a municipium . It had the typical facilities: the Romans had built temples and thermal baths and laid out a forum. Under Augustus and Tiberius , Istria became a region of Italy. All free residents of Istria have been Roman citizens since then.

Traces of the Istrian culture remained until the time of the Principate, which prove the continued existence of this tribe. Autochthonous deities continued to be worshiped. The important goddess Magna Mater Deorum - a statue from the 2nd century AD is kept in the Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula - is e.g. B. of Istrian origin. Many place names in the region still show the Istrian origin: Triest (Tergestum), Buzet / Pinguente (Piquentum), Pićan / Pedina (Petina), Labin / Albona (Albona) and Plomin / Fianona (Flanona).

Ancient sources

Titus Livius : Ab urbe condita, VI, 40-41.
Pliny: Historia Naturalis, III, 19th century.

literature

Marina DeFranceschini: Le ville romane della X regio (Venetia et Histria). Catalogo e carta archeologica dell'insediamento romano nel territorio, dall'età repubblicana al tardo impero. 2 vols. Roma 1999.
Luciano Bosio: Le strade romane della Venetia e dell'Histria. Padova 1997. ISBN 88-86413-26-2
Alka Starac: Rimsko vladanje u histriji i liburniji. Društveno i pravno uređenje prema literarnoj, natpisnoj i arheološkoj građi. Vol. 1. Histrija. Pula 1999
Robert Matijašić: L'Istria tra Epulone e Augusto. Archeologia e storia della romanizzazione dell'Istria (II sec.aC- I sec.dC). In: Preistoria e protostoria dell'Alto Adriatico. Atti della XXI Settimana di Studi Aquileiesi (1990). Udine 1991, pp. 235-251.
Histria, Istra, Istria. An archaeological jewel in the Adriatic . Exhibition catalog. Pula 2005.
G. Gravisi: Nomi locali istriani derivati da nomi de piante. In: Pagine Istriane. 6.1908.
Hans-Dieter and Elke Kaspar: "Istria - An archaeological journey of discovery", Schonungen 2005, ISBN 3-925696-18-0

Magazines

Histria antiqua. Časopis Međunarodnog Istrazivačkog Centra za Arheologiju (= Journal of the International Research Center for Archeology). Pula 1.1995 ff. ISSN 1331-4270
Histria archaeologica. Pula 1.1970 ff. ISSN 0350-6320