Western Southeast Europe (909 BCE – 819 CE) Early Iron & Antiquity — Greek Colonies, Illyrian Kingdoms, Rome, and Migrations

Geographic and Environmental Context

• Anchors: Epidamnos/Dyrrhachium (Durrës),  Apollonia (Albania), Issa (Vis), Pharos (Hvar), Narona (Neretva), Salona (Split), Scodra (Shkodër) and Skodra Lake, Skupi (Skopje), Siscia (Sisak), Aquileia approaches in the northwest.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Generally temperate; agricultural basins productive; Adriatic storms structured sailing seasons.

Societies & Political Developments

• Greek colonies (6th–4th c. BCE) dotted the Adriatic; Illyrian tribes formed kingdoms (e.g., Ardiaei).

• Rome subdued Illyria (3rd–2nd c. BCE); established Dalmatia, Pannonia, Macedonia provinces; roads (Via Egnatia west end) and cities (Salona, Scodra, Narona).

• Late Antiquity: Goths, Huns, Avars, and Slavs crossed; Slavic settlement (6th–7th c.) reshaped the interior; Byzantium held coastal nodes; early Croatian and Serbian polities emerged in the 7th–9th c.; Avar Khaganate waned.

Economy & Trade

• Coastal wine–oil–fish-sauce industries (amphorae); inland grain and livestock; timber and salt.

• Adriatic coasting linked Italy–Balkans; Sava–Drava and Vardar–Morava carried inland traffic.

Technology & Material Culture

• Iron tools/weapons; Roman masonry, baths, amphitheaters; hillforts continued in uplands; early medieval timber churches and forts appeared.

Belief & Symbolism

• Greek and Roman cults; Thracian/Illyrian deities; Christianity spread by late Roman era; Slavic paganism persisted into 8th–9th c.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Agro-pastoral + maritime economies hedged risk; fortified coastal towns and hillforts provided continuity through migrations.

Legacy & Transition

By 819 CE, Western Southeast Europe was a layered frontier: Byzantine–Roman urbanism along the Adriatic, Slavic interior communities, and early Croatian/Serbian formations — a base for the medieval developments to come.