The Romans adapted and used the term barbarian towards tribal non-Romans such as the Berbers, Germanics, Celts, Iberians, Thracians, Illyrians, and Sarmatians. Lucian – a native of Samosata, in the former kingdom of Commagene, which had been absorbed by the Roman Empire and made part of the province of Syria – used the term "barbarian" to describe himself. Because he was a noted satirist, this could have indicated self-deprecating irony. Cicero described the mountain area of inner Sardinia as "a land of barbarians".