Iapodes

Not to be confused withIazygesorIapyges.

TheIapodes(orIapydes,Japodes;Greek:Ἰάποδες;Serbo-Croatian:Japodi) were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from theLiburnians,off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of theIstrianpeninsula. They occupied the interior of the country between theColapis(Kupa) andOeneus(Una) rivers, and theVelebitmountain range (Mons Baebius) which separated them from the coastal Liburnians.Their territory covered the central inlands of modernCroatiaand Una River Valley in today'sBosnia and Herzegovina.Archaeological documentation confirms their presence in these countries at least from 9th century BC, and they persisted in their area longer than a millennium. The ancient written documentation on inland Iapodes is scarcer than on the adjacent coastal peoples (Liburni, Delmatae, etc.) that had more frequent maritime contacts with ancient Greeks and Romans.

The Iapodes had their maximal development and territorial expansion from the 8th to 4th centuries BC. They settled mostly in inland mountain valleys between Pannonia and the coastal Adriatic basin, but in disputation with southernLiburnithey periodically reached also the northern Adriatic coast atVinodol valley(classicalValdevinum).

Knowledge of the Iapodes' culture is largely nebulous due to a lack of material evidence. The Iapodes are believed to have beenIllyrians,probably a subgroup ofPannonians,or a mixed group with connections to the Pannonians,Celts,and/orVeneti.

A major scholar of the Japodi was archaeologistBranka Raunig.

Iapodes territory in cca 5th century BC

Origin and affinity

Iapodian metalwork

The exact origin of early Iapodes is uncertain; archaeological documentation suggests mixed affinities to earlyPannoniiand otherIllyrians.The first written mention of an Illyrian tribe is from Greek writers from the 6th century BC. They are provisionally described byStraboas a mixed race ofCeltsand Illyrians, who used Celtic weapons,tattooedthemselves, and lived chiefly onspeltandmillet;however, Strabo's suggestion of a mixed Celtic-Illyrian Iapodes culture is not confirmed by archaeology. Originally, Iapodes existed at least from the 9th century BC, and Celtic influence reached the region in the 4th century BC when Iapodes entered a decline. Archeological evidence of typical Celtic culture is documented only in the marginal contact zone of the Iapodes and the CelticTauriscialong theKupariver valley (now theSlovenian-Croatianborder). Elsewhere, and especially in the main Iapodian area of theLikahighlands inCroatia,definite Celtic artifacts are scarce and explicable merely by commercial exchanges.

Roman conquest

Romans said of the Iapodes that they were a warlike race addicted to plundering expeditions,but other archaeological documentation confirms their main economical activity was mining and metallurgy. That attracted the pragmatic Romans to conquer their country, whose river valleys were also a natural way for strategic communications between the Adriatic and Pannonia. Therefore, induced conflicts started from 171 BC, when consulGaius Cassius Longinusfirst attacked Iapodes. In 129 BC, Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus attacked the Iapodes and was nearly defeated, butDecimus Iunius Brutusarrived and rescued him, and he celebrated atriumph.Lucius Aurelius CottaandGaius Caecilius Metellusundertook another expedition against the Iapodes in 119, which concluded with a triumph in 117. In 78–76 BC they were also attacked byGaius Cosconiusas part of a war against the Dalmatians.They had afoedusfrom 56 BC with Rome and paid atributum,but then from 52–47 BC rebelled. In 34 BC they were finally conquered byAugustus Caesar.Then they conserved a partial autonomy with a domesticpraepositus Iapodum.

Culture and society

Due to the rich and extensive forests of their mountainous country, their houses were mostly wooden huts, and they rarely used stone constructions except in some major fortifications. Their settlements were mostly on hilltops, including between 400–3,000 dwellers, and the main Iapodian settlements in Roman times wereMetulum,Terpon,ArupiumandAvendo.

They cultivated chiefly cereals and grapes, and kept varied cattle. Their early metallurgy developed a half millennium before Celtic influence that induced here minor modifications. Their society was simple including warriors, villagers, herdsmen, miners, and metalworkers. In that early phase neither leaders nor elite were indicated, and these independent Iapodes had no detectable collective political organisation. Under the Romans, a Romanized elite emerged, led by thepraepositus Iapoduminstalled by Romans.

Their classical culture was a varied mixture of Pannonian, Illyrian, Greek and Roman influences, mostly without proper peculiarities. Their figural art included the frequent metal decorations in the form of triangles and spirals, andlarge amber pearls and amber figurines.The Iapodian language before the Romans is mostly unknown: the only indications available are their toponyms and necropolis inscriptions from Roman times. These scarce onomastic indications suggest the Iapodian tongue may be correlated with other Illyrian and Pannonian tribes. During their independence, the Iapodes appear to have been completely illiterate and left no inscriptions before the Roman conquest.

Religion

The original religion of Iapodes is scarcely known, and it appears to be similar with other eastward Illyrians. They knew the divine pair of water-deitiesVidassus(as RomanSylvanus) andThana(as RomanDiana), whose rocky reliefs persist today at some springs in their area. They worshiped theholy horseas their tribaltotem,and also theholy snakesas the symbol of their ancestors. Their early tombs were usually in caves, and then in Roman times often in wooden sarcophagi and also incinerated in ceramic urns.

Japodian burial urnswere art a unique form influenced to a degree by theSitulaart of northern Illyria and Italy and by Greek art.

Archaeogenetics

Aarchaeogeneticstudies published inNature(2022) examined 8 samples from three Early Iron Age Iapodes sites. All five tested men belonged to theY-DNA haplogrouppatrilineal line J2b2a1-L283 (> J-Y86930). ThemtDNA haplogroupsfell under H, H1, 2x H3b, H5, T2a1a, T2b and U5a1g.

Gallery

• 
  Iapodian ceramics and metalwork
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  Pre-Roman bronze spiral booch
• 
  Fluted urn and lid with jewellery, 8th century BC.
• 
  Necklaces, Early Iron Age, VI th-V th centuries BC).
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  Pectoral of amber beads.
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  Artefacts from the Grave of Gospić-Lipe, late Bronze Age, Eighth century BC.
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  Potteries and fibula from the Grave of Gospić-Lipe, late Bronze Age, Eighth century BC.

See also

• Lika
• Bindus (Illyrian god)

Sources

• Mitja Gustin et al.:Keltoi in Yugoslavia (Die Kelten und ihre Zeitgenossen auf dem Gebiet Jugoslawiens).Narodni muzej, Ljubljana 1984.
• Radoslav Katicic:Zur Frage der keltischen und pannonischen Namengebiete im römischen Dalmatien.Godisnjak (Annuaire) 3, 55 p., Centar za balkanoloske studije, Sarajevo 1965.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Iapydes".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 215.