Pannonia

Julius Pokorny believed the name Pannonia is derived from Illyrian, from the Proto-Indo-European root *pen-, "swamp, water, wet" (cf. English fen, "marsh"; Hindi pani, "water").[7]

Pliny the Elder, in Natural History, places the eastern regions of the Hercynium jugum, the "Hercynian mountain chain", in Pannonia and Dacia (now Romania).[8] He also gives us some dramaticised description[9] of its composition, in which the proximity of the forest trees causes competitive struggle among them (inter se rixantes). He mentions its gigantic oaks.[10] But even he—if the passage in question is not an interpolated marginal gloss—is subject to the legends of the gloomy forest. He mentions unusual birds, which have feathers that "shine like fires at night". Medieval bestiaries named these birds the Ercinee. The impenetrable nature of the Hercynia Silva hindered the last concerted Roman foray into the forest, by Drusus, during 12–9 BC: Florus asserts that Drusus invisum atque inaccessum in id tempus Hercynium saltum (Hercynia saltus, the "Hercynian ravine-land")[11] patefecit.[12]

The Illyrians (Illyrii) were the first known people to inhabit the region. Their immigration took place during the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. The leading class of the indigenous population was expelled or killed, while the majority of the population was obliged to pay tax. The locals were massacred in only some places, so the old crafts and traditions endured. The culture of the region changed with the arrival of more Illyrian warriors, who even engaged in conflicts with the earlier arrived Illyrians.[13] The Illyrians in Pannonia were distinguished by the Romans as Pannonians (Pannonii).

Pannonia was connected to the Italian Peninsula by trade since the 2nd millennium BC. Amber from Jutland and East Prussia arrived to there through Transdanubia. Later in the 1st millennium BC, industrial products of the Veneti and Etruscans, and from the Este culture were brought here.[14]

In the Iron Age, new conqueror peoples arrived, beginning with the Cimmerians who flew from the Scythians. The Scythians afterwards settled in great numbers.[13] Unlike others, they fought with iron weapons and had an advanced aristocracy.[15]

The influx of the Celtic tribes, starting from the 4th century BC eventually broke the domination of the Illyrians and Scythians. Part of the Illyrians retreated to the Balkans, while the bigger part of the defeated folk stayed on their lands and were assimilated by time. The Celts had superior agriculture and industry. Though they didn't get to establish states because of their scattered disposition, some tribes minted their own coins.[15]

In 16 BC, Augustus conquered the Kingdom of Noricum.[16]

The tribes of the Pannonians, to which no army of the Roman people had ever penetrated before my principate, having been subdued by Tiberius Nero who was then my stepson and my legate, I brought under the sovereignty of the Roman people, and I pushed forward the frontier of Illyricum as far as the bank of the river Danube. An army of Dacians which crossed to the south of that river was, under my auspices, defeated and crushed, and afterwards my own army was led across the Danube and compelled the tribes of the Dacians to submit to the orders of the Roman people.

— Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti, paragraph 30[17]

For one and a half century prior to the Roman invasion, the Celts and the Romans were in stable trade relations. Roman merchants brought industrial products in exchange for slaves and resources.[18] However, the strengthening of the empire necessarily led to the annexation of new territories.[19] Octavian maintained large armies to keep the balance with Mark Antony, so to put a better face on his activity, he expanded Roman dominions, among other places, in Pannonia.[20] There were two main strategic reasons for the invasion. First, the Romans wanted to obstruct the Dacian expansion into the area. Second, the Romans wanted to pacify the Scordisci tribe based in southern Pannonia whose attacks slowed the seizure of the Balkans.[19] The conquest of lands up to the Danube would not only establish a better defendable border, but would also allow the legions to move more freely and receive supplies more swiftly.[21]

Between 12 and 9 BC Augustus pushed the border to the Danube.[19] The Dacian king Cotiso died in 9 BC.

Gerulata- a Roman military camp located near today's Rusovce, Slovakia.

During the Migration Period in the 5th century, some parts of Pannonia were ceded to the Huns in 433 by Flavius Aetius, the magister militum of the Western Roman Empire.[28] After the collapse of the Hunnic empire in 454, large numbers of Ostrogoths were settled by Emperor Marcian in the province as foederati. The Eastern Roman Empire controlled southern parts of Pannonia in the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I. The Byzantine province of Pannonia with its capital at Sirmium was temporarily restored, but it included only a small southeastern part of historical Pannonia.

Afterwards, it was again invaded by the Avars in the 560s, and the Slavs, who first may settled c. 480s but became independent only from the 7th century. In 790s, it was invaded by the Franks, who used the name "Pannonia" to designate the newly formed frontier province, the March of Pannonia. The term Pannonia was also used for Slavic polity like Lower Pannonia that was vassal to the Frankish Empire.

Aerial photography: Gorsium - Tác - Hungary

Aquincum, Hungary

Ruins of Imperial Palace in Sirmium

The native settlements consisted of pagi (cantons) containing a number of vici (villages), the majority of the large towns being of Roman origin. The cities and towns in Pannonia were:

The country was fairly productive, especially after the great forests had been cleared by Probus and Galerius. Before that time, timber had been one of its most important exports. Its chief agricultural products were oats and barley, from which the inhabitants brewed a kind of beer named sabaea. Vines and olive trees were little cultivated. Pannonia was also famous for its breed of hunting dogs. Although no mention is made of its mineral wealth by the ancients, it is probable that it contained iron and silver mines.

Pannonia had sanctuaries for Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, official deities of empire, and also for old Celtic deities. In Aquincum there was one for the mother goddess. The imperial cult was also present. In addition, Judaism and eastern mystery cults also appeared, the latter centered around Mithra, Isis, Anubis and Serapis.[23]

Christianity began to spread inside the province in the 2nd century. Its popularity didn't decrease even during the big persecutions in the late 3rd century. In the 4th century, basilicas and funeral chapels were built. We know of the Temple of Saint Quirinus in Savaria and numerous early Christian memorials from Aquincum, Sopianae, Fenékpuszta, and Arian Christian ones from Csopak.[23]

The ancient name Pannonia is retained in the modern term Pannonian plain.

• Pannonian plain
• Roman provinces
• Diocese of Pannonia

• Parat, Josip. "Izbori i pregledi antičkih literarnih izvora za povijest južne Panonije" [Selections and Surveys of Ancient Literary Sources for the History of Southern Pannonia]. In: Scrinia Slavonica 15, br. 1 (2015): 9-33.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pannonia.

• "Pannonia" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 680.
• "Pannonia". Encyclopædia Britannica (online ed.). 29 March 2018.
• "Pannonia". unrv.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
• Pannonia map
• Pannonia map
• Aerial photography: Gorsium - Tác - Hungary
• Aerial photography: Aquincum - Budapest - Hungary

Timeline of the Roman Empire
Notes: