Mazaei

Mazaei or Maezaei (Ancient Greek: Μαζαῖοι/Μαιζαῖοι)[1] were a sub-tribe of the Illyrians, settled in what later became Pannonia.[2] They were autochthonous, and inhabited the interior of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly in the Sana river basin, the middle course of Vrbas, and around the Vrbanja and Ugar rivers.

Homeland of the Mazaei (below Catari, yellow labeled)
Illyrian tribes area, with the signed MAEZAEI

Overview

Some areas of their territory were also shared between the Dassaretae and Autariates. They were bordered on the east by the Dardans, on the west by Iapodes, the Una river, Krka waterfalls, and Iasis, on the north by Sava – Drava – Danube, and on the south by Liburni, Delmatae, and Breuci on the north-east.

Like other Illyrians, Mazaei lived in fortified or semi-fortified settlements, subsisting on agriculture, hunting and fishing. Ancient writers like Herodian, Livy, Pliny, Strabo, Theophrastus and others described the Illyrians as tall, strong warriors, and heavy drinkers. They did not maintain personal hygiene, and they lived in patriarchal communities. Every eight years they divided their lands according to each other's struggles and resistance to the enemy. Mazaei had 269 judges.[3]

In 10 AD Roman administrators divided the province of Illyricum into the new provinces: Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south. The term Illyria remained in use in Late Latin and throughout the medieval period.

See also

References
  1. Erwin Koschmieder, Die Welt der Slaven, Volume 30, Sagner, 1985, p. 81.
  2. Wilkes, J. J. (1992): The Illyrians, ISBN 0-631-19807-5.
  3. Šentija J., ed. (1977). Opća enciklopedija Jugoslavenskog leksikografskog zavoda, 3: Foc-Iw. Zagreb: Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod.
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