TheIapygians orApulians (Latin:Iapyges, Iapygii) were anIndo-European-speaking people, dwelling in an eponymous region of the southeasternItalian Peninsula named Iapygia (modernApulia) between the beginning of the first millennium BC and the first century BC. They were divided into three tribal groups: theDaunians,Peucetians andMessapians.[1] They spokeMessapic, a language ofPaleo-Balkan provenance.[2]
After their lands were gradually colonized by theRomans from the late 4th century onward and eventually annexed to theRoman Republic by the early 1st century BC, Iapygians were fully Latinized and assimilated intoRoman culture.
The region was known to the Greeks of the 5th century BC asIapygía (Ἰαπυγία), and its inhabitants as theIápyges (Ἰάπυγες). It was probably the term used by the indigenous peoples to designate themselves.[3] The nameIapyges has also been compared to that of theIapydes, anIllyrian tribe of northernDalmatia.[4]
Some ancient sources treat Iapygians and Messapians as synonymous, and several writers of the Roman period referred to them asApuli in the north,Poediculi in the centre, andSallentini orCalabri in the south. By the middle of the 3rd century, Iapygians were generally divided by contemporary observers among three peoples: theDaunians in the north, thePeucetians in the centre, and theMessapians in the south.[3] This tripartite cultural division is supported by archaeological findings, such as variations in ceramics, settlement patterns, and funerary practices.[5] Discrepancies in the names given by Greek and Roman observers may indicate that the sub-ethnic Iapygian structures were unstable and sometimes fragmented.[3]
In the southern part of Apulia, the natives themselves divided the region into two parts: one around the Iapygian Cape inhabited by theSalentinoi and another by theKalabroi. For central and northern Apulia, Strabo notes that while Greek sources refer to groups such as thePeuketioi (also calledPoidikloi) andDaunioi, the natives collectively called the areaApulia.[5]
Iapygia (modern-dayApulia) was located in the southeastern part of theItalian Peninsula, between theApennine Mountains and theAdriatic Sea.[6]
The northeast area of the region, dominated by the massif ofMonte Gargano (1,055 m), was largely unsuited for agriculture and abandoned to forests.[6] To the south and west of the Gargano stretched the largest plain of peninsular Italy, theTavoliere delle Puglie. Although it mainly consists of sands and gravels, the plain is also crossed by several rivers. In ancient times, the land was best suited for cereal cultivation and, above all, for the pasturage of sheep in the winter. TheOfanto river, one of the longest rivers of theItalian Peninsula, marked the southern border of the plain.[6] Despite their name, the imperviousDaunian Mountains (1,152 m), west of the plain, were strongly held by theHirpini, anOscan-speakingSamnite tribe.[7]
Central Iapygia was composed of theMurge Plateau (686 m), an area poor in rivers. The western half of the massif was suitable only for grazing sheep; nearer the sea, the land was more adapted to cultivation, and likely used in ancient times to produce grains.[8]
In theSalento peninsula, the landscape was more varied, though still without river formation. Olives are known to have been cultivated in this area during the pre-Roman period, but the scale of the production is uncertain.[8] SeveralGreek colonies were located on the coast of theGulf of Taranto, nearby the indigenousMessapians in southern Iapygia, most notablyTaras, founded in the late 8th century BC, andMetapontion, founded in the late 7th century.[8]
| The Palaeo-Balkanic Indo-European branch based on the chapters "Albanian" (Hyllested & Joseph 2022) and "Armenian" (Olsen & Thorsø 2022) in Olander (ed.)The Indo-European Language Family |
The Iapygians were a "relatively homogeneous linguistic community" speaking a non-Italic,Indo-European language, commonly called 'Messapic'. The language, written in variants of the Greek alphabet, is attested from the mid-6th to the late-2nd century BC.[9] Some scholars have argued that the term 'Iapygian languages' should be preferred to refer to those dialects, and the term 'Messapic' reserved to the inscriptions found in theSalento peninsula, where the specificMessapian people dwelt in the pre-Roman era.[9]
Messapic is grouped in the same Indo-European branch withAlbanian, titledAlbanoid orIllyric.[10][11][12] Hyllested & Joseph (2022), in agreement with recent bibliography, identifyGraeco-Phrygian as the IE branch closest to the Albanian-Messapic one. These two branches form an areal grouping – which is often called "Balkan IE" – with Armenian.[11]
During the 6th century BC, Messapia, and more marginally Peucetia, underwent Hellenizing cultural influences, mainly from the nearbyTaras. The use of writing systems was introduced in this period, with the acquisition of the Laconian-Tarantine alphabet and its adaptation to the Messapic language.[13][14] The second great Hellenizing wave occurred during the 4th century BC, this time also involving Daunia and marking the beginning ofPeucetian andDaunian epigraphic records, in a local variant of the Hellenistic alphabet that replaced the older Messapic script.[13][15][16]
Since its settlement, Messapic was in contact with theItalic languages of the region. In the centuries before Roman annexation, the frontier between Messapic andOscan ran through Frentania-Irpinia-Lucania-Apulia. An "Oscanization" and "Samnitization" process gradually took place which is attested in contemporary sources via the attestation of dual identities for settlements. In these regions an Oscan/Lucanian population and a large Daunian element intermixed in different ways.Larinum, a settlement which has produced a large body of Oscan onomastics is described as a "Daunian city" andHorace who was fromVenusia in the transboundary area between the Daunians and the Lucanians described himself as "Lucanian or Apulian". The creation of Roman colonies in southern Italy after the early 4th century BCE had a great impact in the Latinization of the area.[17]
By the 4th century BC, inscriptions from central Iapygia suggest that the local artisan class had acquired some proficiency in theGreek language,[18] while the whole regional elite was used to learningLatin by the 3rd century BC. TheOscan language became also widespread after Italic peoples had occupied the territory in that period.[19] Along with the Messapic dialects, Greek, Oscan and Latin were consequently spoken and written all together in the whole region ofIapygia during the Romanization period,[20] and bilingualism in Greek and Messapic was probably common in theSalento peninsula.[21]
The late pre-Roman religion of the Iapygians appears as a substrate of indigenous beliefs mixed withGreek elements.[4] The Roman conquest probably accelerated the hellenisation of a region already influenced by contacts withMagna Grecia from the 8th century BC onward.[22]Aphrodite andAthena were thus worshipped in Iapygia asAprodita andAthana, respectively.[23] Some deities of native origin have also been highlighted by scholars, such asZis ('sky-god'),Menzanas ('lord of horses'),Venas ('desire'),Taotor ('the people, community'), and perhapsDamatura ('mother-earth').[24]
Pre-Roman religious cults have also left few material traces.[25] Preserved evidence indicates that indigenous Iapygian beliefs featured the worship of the Indo-European sky godZis, the practice of livinghorse sacrifice toZis Menzanas (Iovis/Iuppiter Menzanas), the fulfilling of oracles for anyone who slept wrapped in the skin of a sacrificed ewe, and the curative powers of the waters at theherõon of the godPodalirius, preserved in Greek tales.[26][4][27][28] Several cave sanctuaries have been identified on the coast, most notably the Grotta Porcinara sanctuary (Santa Maria di Leuca), in which both Messapian and Greek marines used to write their vows on the walls.[25]
It is likely thatPeucetians had no civic cult requiring public buildings, and if urban sanctuaries have been identified inDaunia (atTeanum Apulum,Lavello, orCanosa), no conspicuous buildings are found before the Romanization period.[25]
The Iapygian peoples were noted for their ornamental dress.[3] By the 7th century BC, the Daunian aristocracy were wearing highly ornate costumes and much jewellery, a custom that persisted into the classical period, with depictions of Iapygians with long hair, wearing highly patterned short tunics with elaborate fringes. Young women were portrayed with long tunics belted at the waist, generally with a headband or diadem.[3] On ritual or ceremonial occasions, the women of central Iapygia wore a distinctive form of mantle over their heads that left the headband visible above the brow.[29]
Iapygian funeral traditions were distinct from those of neighbouring Italic peoples: whereas the latter banished adult burials to the fringes of their settlements, the inhabitants of Iapygia buried their dead both outside and inside their own settlements.[30][29] Although females might occasionally be buried with weapons, arms, and armour, such grave-goods were normally reserved for male funerals.[31]
Until the end of the 4th century BC, the normal practice amongDaunians andPeucetians was to lay out the body in a fetal position with the legs drawn up towards the chest, perhaps symbolizing the rebirth of the soul in the womb of Mother Earth.[25] Messapians, by contrast, laid out their dead in the extended position as did other Italic peoples. From the 3rd century BC, extended burials with the body lying on its back began to appear in Daunia and Peucetia, although the previous custom survived well into the 2nd century BC in some areas.[25]
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The development of a distinct Iapygian culture in southeastern Italy is widely considered to be the result of a confluence of local Apulian material cultures with Balkanic traditions following the cross-Adriatic migrations of proto-Messapic speakers in the early first millennium BC.[33][34][2][32][note 1]
The Iapygians most likely left the eastern coasts of theAdriatic for Italy from the 11th century BC onwards,[35] merging with pre-existingItalic andMycenean cultures and providing a decisive cultural and linguistic imprint.[13] The three main Iapygian tribal groups–Daunians, Peucetians and Messapians–retained a remarkable cultural unity in the first phase of their development. After the 8th century BC, however, they began a phase marked by a process of differentiation due to internal and external causes.[13]
Contacts between Messapians and Greeks intensified after the end of the 8th century BC and the foundation of the Spartan colony ofTaras, preceded by earlier pre-colonial Mycenaean incursions during which the site of Taras seems to have already played an important role.[4] Until the end of the 7th century, however, Iapygia was generally not encompassed in the area of influence ofGreek colonial territories, and with the exception of Taras, the inhabitants were evidently able to avoid other Greek colonies in the region.[13][36] During the 6th century BC Messapia, and more marginally Peucetia, underwent Hellenizing cultural influences, mainly from the nearby Taras.[13]
The relationship between Messapians and Tarantines deteriorated over time, resulting in a series of clashes between the two peoples from the beginning of the 5th century BC.[13] After two victories of the Tarentines, the Iapygians inflicted a decisive defeat on them, causing the fall of the aristocratic government and the implementation of a democratic one in Taras. It also froze relations between Greeks and the indigenous people for about half a century. Only in the late-5th and 6th centuries did they re-establish relationships. The second great Hellenizing wave occurred during the 4th century BC, this time also involving Daunia.[13]
The Roman conquest of Iapygia started in the late 4th century, with the subjugation of the Canusini and theTeanenses.[37] It paved the way for Roman hegemony in the entire peninsula, as they used their progression in the region to containSamnite power and encircle their territory during theSamnite Wars.[38] By the early third century, Rome had planted two strategic colonies,Luceria (314) andVenusia (291), on the border of Iapygia andSamnium.[39]
In the early period, the Iapygian housing system was made up of small groups ofhuts scattered throughout the territory, different from the laterGreco-Roman tradition of cities. The inhabitants of the rural districts gathered for common decisions, for feasts, for religious practices and rites, and to defend themselves against external attacks.[13]
From the 6th century BC onward, the large but thinly occupied settlements that had been founded around the beginning of the first millennium BC began to take on a more structured form.[40] The largest of them gradually gained the administrative capacity and the manpower to erect stone defensive walls and eventually to mint their own coins, indicating both urbanization and the assertion of political autonomy.[41][40]
By the late 5th century BC,Thucydides noted that some of these Iapygian communities were ruled by powerful individuals, such as the Iapygian king Opis, allied with the Peucetians before being slain by the Tarentines, and the dynast Artas, leader of the Messapians, who provided military support to the Athenians in 413 BC.[42][43]
A small number of settlements had grown into such large fortified centres that they probably regarded themselves as autonomous city-states by the end of the 4th century,[44][45][43] and some of the northern cities were seemingly in control of an extensive territory during that period.[44]Arpi, who had the largest earthen ramparts of Iapygia in the Iron Age, andCanusium, whose territory probably straddled theOfanto River from the coast up toVenusia, appear to have grown into regional hegemonic powers.[46]
This regional hierarchy of urban power, in which a few dominant city-states competed with each other in order to assert their own hegemony over limited resources, most likely led to frequent internecine warfare between the various Iapygian groups, and to external conflicts between them and foreign communities.[44]
It is possible that the Messapians, Peucetians, and likely the Daunians were organised into semi-autonomous local districts, each centered on a nucleated settlement similar to a Greekpolis. These districts were typically governed by dynasts from aristocratic families or elites, and in times of war, they could unite under a common royal leader to form larger ethnic groups.[42]
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As evidenced by items found in graves and warriors shown on red-figure vase paintings, Iapigyan fought with little other defensive armour than a shield, sometimes a leather helmet and a jerkin, exceptionally a breastplate. Their most frequent weapon was the thrusting spear, followed by the javelin, whereas swords were relatively rare. Bronze belts were also a common item found in warrior graves.[47]
Scenes of combat depicted on red-figure vase paintings also demonstrate that the various Iapygian communities were frequently involved in conflict with each other, and that prisoners of war were taken for ransom or to be sold into slavery.[47]
Archaeological evidence suggests thattranshumance was practised in pre-Roman Iapygia during the first millennium BC, and that wide areas of the region were reserved to provide pasture for transhumant sheep.[48] Weaving was indeed an important activity in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The textile made from wool was most likely marketed in the Greek colony ofTaras, and the winter destination of Iapygianpastoralists probably located in theTavoliere plain, where the weaving industry was already well developed by the seventh or early sixth century BC, as evidenced by the depiction of weavers at work on a stelae.[48]
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