The Roman occupation

When the Romans first began to expand into the Balkans in the third century BC, the area was inhabited by Thracian, Illyrian and Celtic tribes. The Thracians and Illyrians had been to a great extent Hellenised during the fourth century BC, when the Macedonian empire of Philip and Alexander flourished. Greek colonies had been established along the Adriatic coastlands even earlier. The Celts, who migrated into the Balkans in the fourth century BC and settled mainly in the northern lowlands, became assimilated into the Illyrian community, the chief legacy of their presence being numerous Celtic elements in place names. For a time before the Roman invasions several powerful Illyrian or Graeco-Illyrian kingdoms existed in places as far apart as modern Albania and Macedonia in the south and the upper Sava basin in the north. Remarkable examples of the wealth, power and high cultural attainments of the Illyrians have been found in the excavations of royal tombs. The friezes which decorate the situla discovered at Vače, near present-day Ljubljana, depict scenes of ritual sacrifices, feasts, battles, sport and pastimes which suggest that a highly organised, metal-using society existed in this area in the fifth century BC. There are signs of both Greek and Etruscan influences.

The Illyrians were the first to feel the power of Rome. During the third century BC Roman attacks began on Illyrian tribes settled in the Neretva valley, followed by raids on the Greek cities on the Albanian coast. Most of the coastlands were brought under Roman rule during the Illyrian wars of Octavian in 35–33 BC.