Povijesni prilozi, Vol. 35 No. 50, 2016.
Original scientific paper
Ethnic Identities in Southern Pannonia and Dalmatia during the Reign of Justinian
Hrvoje Gračanin
Jana Škrgulja
Abstract
The paper focuses on historical and archaeological evidence regarding the presence of various ethnical identity groups in the area between River Drava and the Adriatic during the so-called Justinian’s Era or, more precisely, in the first half of the 6th century. The accent has been on the theoretical and methodological issues concerning the ethnonym labels in the written sources and the relationship between material culture and ethnic identity. The authors have raised the question whether archaeological sources can serve to define ethnic borders and to what extent, the basic hypothesis being that both types of sources, written as well as the material ones, have the force of argument when it comes to determining the content and form of ethnic identity.
Even though it may seem so at the first glance, written sources do not have absolute advantage when it comes to offering clues about ethnic identity, although they should by no means be neglected in favour of archaeological analysis. The solution is to achieve a synergy of all available sources, both written and archaeological. The researcher must be aware of the limitations that both types of sources impose, especially concerning the area between River Drava and the Adriatic. Despite its indubitable value, the historical narrative based on the existing written sources, unless there is no prospect of finding a new one, can offer only a partial answer to the research question, even with a methodologically innovative analysis. The key therefore lies in archaeology, in fresh, systematic, and methodologically guided research that will ensure a far broader objective base and lead to more positive and better grounded insights in order to define more reliably the contexts that are necessary for an accurate interpretation. Archaeological sources should not be used to draw conclusions on social, cultural, or religious identity function alone, since it is also valid regarding ethnicity. What is needed is to adopt a more nuanced approach, devoid of all generalization or automatism.
So far, it can be said that, in most cases, ethnic identity groups mentioned in the written sources for southern Pannonia and Dalmatia cannot be identified with precision in archaeological sources, although it may sometimes seem otherwise, which has occasionally led to overgeneralized interpretations and far-reaching historical reconstructions. The interpreted written sources indicate that there were local Romanic groups living in southern Dalmatia and Pannonia during the first half of the 6th century, which external observers could identify on the provincial level (as Pannonians), on the basis of an urban entity raised to the regional level (as Siscians), or according to the cultural-political key (as Romans). Besides those, the sources also mention various barbaric ethnic identity groups, the most prominent among them being the (Ostro-)Goths, the Gepids, the Langobards, the Suevians, and the Herules. At the same time, the available written sources prove to be less useful when it comes to the precise location of these groups, their numbers, the material aspect of their identity, their organization and quality of life, the socio-cultural features of their communities, or their interethnic relations. Only some future archaeological research may possibly offer some answers to these and similar questions.
Keywords
ethnic identities; historical evidence; archaeological evidence; southern Pannonia; Dalmatia; Justinianic Age; 6th century
Hrčak ID:
167035
URI
Publication date:
29.8.2016.
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