Histri

Attributes: | +75% Raid Damage, +10% Speed, -15% Unit Morale

The **Histri** are a small-medium Illyric faction located in the northeastern corner of the map in Histria.

Their only starting neighbours are the Veneti.

The Histri are notable for their very isolated starting position, making them a potentially good faction for beginners as there are very few borders to worry about defending.

### In-game Description

"The Histri, who gave their name to the Istrian peninsula on which they reside, were a fierce Illyrian or possibly Venetic tribe notorious for its frequent pirate raids along the of the Adriatic coast. When Roman influence over the Veneti and Illyrians grew, the Histrian king Aepulo began to lead aggressive attacks against Roman to curb their power, including a major attack on Aquilea in 181, and led a fierce defense of his capital Nesactium (including the mass slaughter of his population's women and children to unnerve the Romans) before the Histri fell and he killed himself to avoid being taken prisoner."

### Starting Cities

* **Nesactium**: The heavily fortified capital of the Histri, Nesactium sits nourished by a river and would not fall until the Romans diverted it in 177 BCE to help with their siege and finish the conquest of Istria. This was not enough to make Nesactium surrender, and Livy reports that the local garrison massacred the Histrian women and children atop the walls in an effort to scare off the Romans, but the Romans were not deterred, scaled the walls, and slew most of the Histrians and captured 5,632 people as slaves. Nesactium was resettled for a time, but would never regain its prominence and eventually be abandoned.
* **Parentium**: Parentium (modern Parenzo) is a small fishing village of the Histri. Originally settled on a small peninsula off the Istrian peninsula before the arrival of the Histri, it grew considerably under Histrian and Roman rule.
* **Piquentum**: Piquentum (modern Buzet) is a town in the Istrian peninsula settled since at least the Bronze Age, when Illyrian tribes began to establish walled settlements in the area.
* **Tergeste**: Tergeste is a city thought to belong to the Histri or the Carni which sits on the Tergestinus Sinus, a bay named after the city. The only good harbour on this part of the Tergestinus Sinus, it would flourish after joining Rome in 177 BCE.

### Strategy

With only one land border to worry about, the Histri have a relaxed start. Clever use of diplomacy and/or defensive chokepoints can keep the player safe from the Veneti, after which you'll have little to worry about for the early game, although other factions may eventually start sending naval incursions across the Adriatic Sea.

Since the Veneti are your only land neighbour, they are the only possible target for overland expansion initially. The Histri's starting position also lends itself very well to expanding across the sea instead, targeting the territories of factions such as the North Etruscans or Picentes.

The Histri's penalty to unit morale can be detrimental to prolonged battles and sieges. Instead, it can be better to use your speed and raid damage bonuses to destroy the economy and food supply of enemy factions by targeting their resource buildings, after which it will be much easier to deal the killing blow. It can be helpful to use your ships in this process to land raiding parties behind enemy defenses.

### Trivia & History

* The Histri were likely more closely related to the nearby Veneti than to other Illyric tribes, and as such they were probably ethnically and linguistically closer to the Latin and Sabellic peoples of Italy than to the Illyrians proper. They would likely have been in close contact with the Illyrians and culturally influenced by them regardless, explaining their in-game designation as part of the Illyric faction group.
* The Histri had a reputation for piracy along the Adriatic, and were protected by the rockiness of their coasts which posed a problem to invading forces unfamiliar with their shores.
* The Romans historically conquered the Histri in the 170s BC, making them one of the last in-game factions to be subdued by Rome.
* The faction icon depicts an Illyric ship, with the exact design being taken from an incision on bronze greaves found in Glasinac in modern Bosnia, dating to the 8th or 7th Centuries BC.