page_title: Liburnia
section_title: Roman Liburnia
hierarchical_section_title: Liburnia / Roman Liburnia
caption_attribution_description: English: Territory of the Iron Age Liburnians in period of the Roman conquest (1st century BC - 1st century AD), based on source: S. Čače, Broj liburnskih općina i vjerodostojnost Plinija(Nat. hist. 3, 130; 139-141), Radovi Filozofskog fakulteta u Zadru, 32, Zadar 1993., pages 1-36
context_page_description: Liburnia in ancient geography was the land of the Liburnians, a region along the northeastern Adriatic coast in Europe, in modern Croatia, whose borders shifted according to the extent of the Liburnian dominance at a given time between 11th and 1st century BC. Domination of the Liburnian thalassocracy in the Adriatic Sea was confirmed by several Antique writers, but the archeologists have defined a region of their material culture more precisely in northern Dalmatia, Kvarner and eastern Istria.
context_section_description: When Roman force ended the independence of their naval force in 33 BC, the Liburnians lost their freedom and Liburnia became a part of the Roman province of Dalmatia, but marginal in a military sense. Burnum on the Krka river became a Roman military camp, while the frequently settled and already urbanized plains of Classical Liburnia, in the inland of Iader (Zadar), became easily accessible and controlled by the Roman rulers. However Liburnian seamanship tradition was never wiped out, but became primarily trade-oriented under the new circumstances, a shift which contributed to the economic and cultural flourishing of its ports and cities, as well as to those of the province in general. Despite the process of Romanization that especially affected some of the bigger cities, the Liburnians saved their traditions, cults, typical funeral monuments (Liburnian cipus), names etc., as attested by the archaeological material from those ages.
  After the Roman conquest, the delineation of Liburnia as a region became more settled. Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) gave a detailed geography of Liburnia, noting their tetradekapolis political-regional organization, 14 Liburnian municipalities subject to Scardona (Skradin).  Worth mention were Lacinienses (unknown), Stulpinos (unknown Stulpi), Burnistas (Burnum), Olbonenses (unknown), those who enjoyed Italic law (Ius Italicum) were Alutae (Alvona - Labin), Flanates (Flanona – Plomin, the gulf of Kvarner was named by them - sinus Flanaticus), Lopsi  (around the strategic pass of Vratnik and the town of Lopsica – Sv. Juraj, south from Senj), Varvarini (Varvaria – Bribir), tribute immunity was given to Asseriates (Asseria – Podgrađe near Benkovac) and to the islanders Fertinates (*Fulfinates, Fulfin(i)um - Omišalj on Krk) and Curictae (Curicum, Krk).
  He listed the cities along the coast from north to the south: Alvona (Labin), Flanona (Plomin), Tarsatica (Trsat; in Rijeka), Senia (Senj), Lopsica (Sv. Juraj, south from Senj), Ortoplinia (probably Stinica, in Velebit), Vegium (Karlobag), Argyruntum (Starigrad), Corinium (Karin Donji), Aenona (Nin), civitas Pasini (in Ražanac – Vinjerac – Posedarje range), important island cities Absortium (Apsorus – Osor), Arba (Rab), Crexi (Cres), Gissa (Cissa, Caska near Novalja, Pag), Portunata (Novalja, older was Gissa portu nota – Cissa known by its port Novalja), by the coast colonia Iader (Zadar with status of Roman colony), Colentum insula (Murter, city and island).
  Liburnia was a part of the Roman Empire until its collapse in 476 AD. During the reign of Augustus, the border between the Liburnians and Histri was Arsia river in Istria. In 170 AD a part of north-western Liburnian periphery that included the city Tarsatica (Trsat) was cut off from Liburnia.  The new border was by Vinodol’s synclinal not northern from modern Crikvenica. 
  From the middle of the 2nd century AD, the name "Liburnia" was used not only for the territory settled by the Liburnians, but also for previously "Iapodian" territory in official usage; the Iapodians were included with the Liburnians to the court jurisdiction county of Scardona (Skradin), one of the convent seats in the provinces of Dalmatia. By the end of  330s AD, Liburnia was administratively attached to Dalmatia.  However, it was still treated and recognized as a special and different area.
caption: Liburnia in the age of the Roman conquest
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