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 theIstrian peninsula. They occupied the interior of the country between theColapis (Kupa) andOeneus (Una) rivers, and theVelebit mountain range (Mons Baebius) which separated them from the coastal Liburnians.[1] Their territory covered the central inlands of modernCroatia and 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 southernLiburni they 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,[2][3][4] and/orVeneti.[5]
A major scholar of the Japodi was archaeologistBranka Raunig.[6]
The exact origin of early Iapodes is uncertain; archaeological documentation suggests mixed affinities to earlyPannonii and otherIllyrians. The first written mention of an Illyrian tribe is from Greek writers from the 6th century BC. They are provisionally described byStrabo as a mixed race ofCelts and Illyrians, who used Celtic weapons,tattooed themselves, and lived chiefly onspelt andmillet;[1] 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 CelticTaurisci along theKupa river valley (now theSlovenian-Croatian border). Elsewhere, and especially in the main Iapodian area of theLika highlands inCroatia, definite Celtic artifacts are scarce and explicable merely by commercial exchanges.
Romans said of the Iapodes that they were a warlike race addicted to plundering expeditions,[1] 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 Longinus first attacked Iapodes. In 129 BC, Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus attacked the Iapodes and was nearly defeated, butDecimus Iunius Brutus arrived and rescued him, and he celebrated atriumph.[7]Lucius Aurelius Cotta andGaius Caecilius Metellus undertook another expedition against the Iapodes in 119, which concluded with a triumph in 117. In 78–76 BC they were also attacked byGaius Cosconius as part of a war against the Dalmatians.[8] They had afoedus from 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.
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,Arupium andAvendo.
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 Iapodum installed 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.
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),[9] whose rocky reliefs persist today at some springs in their area. They worshiped theholy horse as their tribaltotem, and also theholy snakes as 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 urns were art a unique form influenced to a degree by theSitula art of northern Illyria and Italy and by Greek art.[10]
Aarchaeogenetic studies published inNature (2022) examined 8 samples from three Early Iron Age Iapodes sites. All five tested men belonged to theY-DNA haplogroup patrilineal line J2b2a1-L283 (> J-Y86930[11]). ThemtDNA haplogroups fell under H, H1, 2x H3b, H5, T2a1a, T2b and U5a1g.[12]
It is certain that Vidasus and Thana were local and, most probably, water dieties. [sic]
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.
