page_title: Dalmatae
hierarchical_section_title: Dalmatae
context_page_description: The Delmatae were a group of Illyrian tribes which lived in Dalmatia - which takes its name from them - and present-day western Bosnia and Herzegovina in classical antiquity.
  The Delmatae appear in historical record for the first time in 181 BCE, when upon the death of their ruler Pleuratus III of the Illyrian kingdom, they refused to accept the rule of his son, Gentius and seceded. They expanded and came to include coastal Illyrian tribes like the Hylli and the Nesti and increased their territory to the north against the Liburni. Conflict with Roman expansionism and its local allies in the eastern Adriatic began in 156-55 BC. The Roman–Dalmatae Wars lasted until 33 BC when Octavian installed Roman hegemony in Dalmatia. Local instability and minor rebellions continued in the province of Dalmatia and culminated in the Great Illyrian Revolt in Dalmatia and closely linked Pannonia in 6 CE. The revolt, which lasted for three years, involved more half a million combatants, auxilliaries and civilians on both side.
context_section_description: The Delmatae (alternatively, Dalmatae in the Roman era) were a group of Illyrian tribes which lived in Dalmatia - which takes its name from them - and present-day western Bosnia and Herzegovina in classical antiquity.
  The Delmatae appear in historical record for the first time in 181 BCE, when upon the death of their ruler Pleuratus III of the Illyrian kingdom, they refused to accept the rule of his son, Gentius and seceded. They expanded and came to include  coastal Illyrian tribes like the Hylli and the Nesti and increased their territory to the north against the Liburni. Conflict with Roman expansionism and its local allies in the eastern Adriatic began in 156-55 BC. The Roman–Dalmatae Wars lasted until 33 BC when Octavian (the later Emperor Augustus) installed Roman hegemony in Dalmatia. Local instability and minor rebellions continued in the province of Dalmatia and culminated in the Great Illyrian Revolt in Dalmatia and closely linked Pannonia in 6 CE. The revolt, which lasted for three years, involved more half a million combatants, auxilliaries and civilians on both side. In the aftermath, some Delmataean communities were relocated in the northern Sandzak region and others were resettled in parts of Carinthia to provide labor for the Roman mines. The defeat of the revolt began the integration of Dalmatia which in turn led to the romanization of the region by the early Middle Ages.
caption: Map depicting the Adriatic Searegion in PreRoman time, showing several Illyrian tribes and the extent of the territory of some tribes.