Dindari or Dindarii (Greek: Δινδάριοι),[1] were an Illyrian tribe that formed part of the Scordisci cultural group.[2] They dwelled by the Drina Valley, of present-day Bosnia and Serbia.

History edit

According to the Roman author Pliny, the Dindari were a medium-sized Illyrian tribe made up of 33 decury, accounting to approximately 3,300 males.[3][4]

During the time of the Great Illyrian Revolt, the Dindari formed part of the Scordisci alliance. However, the Dindari did not take part in the Illyrian revolt of AD 6-9, but were nonetheless reconquered by the Romans following the surrender of the Illyrian rebels.[4] Following the Roman conquest of the Scordisci, the civitas of the Dindari was formed (Dindariorum, listed by Pliny the Elder within Dalmatia). Fragmentary inscriptions on tombstones depicting the Dindari were found in and around the Skelani area.[5] The location of the tombstones suggests that the tribal center of the Dindari was possibly in the Drina valley region of Skelani and Srebrenica. The Roman conquest of the region resulted in the subjugation and Romanization of the Dindari, and the settlement of Roman citizens in the area inhabited by the Dindari.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, ISBN 0-631-19807-5, page 217, "...with high mountains, Siculotae (24), Glintidiones (44) and Scirtari, who dwelt along the border with Macedonia. In northeast Bosnia the Dindari are located by the record of one of their chiefs (principes) in the Drina valley."
  2. ^ Population and economy of the eastern part of the Roman province of Dalmatia, 2002, ISBN 1-84171-440-2, p. 24: "[T]he Dindari were a branch of the Scordisci."
  3. ^ a b Imamovic, Enver (2012). "Srebrenica and its surroundings during the Roman period". Monumenta Srebrenica. 1: 103–131. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b Dzino, Danijel (2005). Illyrian policy of Rome in the late republic and early principate (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Adelaide. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  5. ^ Pliny Nat. Hist. III 142; L’Année Epigraphique 1910, 216 cf. A. and J. S ˇAS ˇEL, Inscriptiones Latinae quae in Iugoslavia inter annos MCMII et MCMXL repertae et editae sunt (Situla 25, Ljubljana 1986) p. 83 no. 1544: [D(is) m(anibus)] P. A[...] princ[eps? civitatis] Dinda[riorum ...].