Overview of Ethnic Structure of Dardania during the Roman Period

Abstract

Pre-Roman Dardania was inhabited by an indigenous Dardanian population. The Roman invasion was followed by the introduction of a number of novelties regarding the administration, political and economic system, but it also reflected in the differentiation of ethnic composition. Consequently, the ethnic structure in Dardania changed significantly and became multi-ethnic inhabited by the local population, the Romanised locals, the Thracians, the Romans, the Celts, the Greeks and the Orientals. This multi-ethnic structure is best reflected by epigraphic monuments discovered throughout the Dardanian territory. A general overview of the ethnic structure living in Dardania during the Roman period will be presented in this paper, based on onomastic data offered by epigraphic sources.

Keywords: Dardania, ethnic structure, tria nomina.