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Short description

The Scordisci use javelins then swords and shields for melee combat.

Description

The Scordisci were an ancient tribe centred in what would become the Roman Province of lower Pannonia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava) and Danube rivers. They were historically notable from the beginning of the third century B.C. until the turn of the common era. At their zenith, their influence stretched over regions comprising parts of the present-day Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their tribal name may be connected to the name of the Scordus mountain (Šar mountain) which was located between the regions of Illyria and Paionia.

The ethnic affiliation of the Scordisci has been debated by historians. Some refer to them as a Celtic tribe, others list them amongst Illyrian or Thracian tribes. Andras Mocsy clarifies their ethnic character, suggesting that they were not a Celtic tribe per se, but a "Celtic political creation". They were formed after 278 BC, as some of the survivors of the Celtic invasions of Greece settled the abovementioned regions, imposing themselves as a thin, yet powerful, ruling class. Rather quickly, they were absorbed by the numerically superior natives, although the Celtic tribal name was retained.

Despite the repulsion from Greece, Celtic power in the Balkans was certainly not at an end. After their formation c. 278 BC, little is heard of the Scordisci for some time. During Macedon's zenith, the attention of the Scordisci was focussed on Pannonia, consolidating their control of the region. They controlled the various Pannonian tribes in the region, extracting tribute and enjoying the status of the most powerful tribe in the central Balkans, and they erected fortresses in Singidunum and Taurunum, founding today's city of Belgrade. The Roman's first siege of Sisak, having been under the control of their Pannonian clients, curtailed Celtic control in Dalmatia and south-western Pannonia. This combined with the turmoil following Alexander the Great's death, prompted the Scordisci to turn their attention southward. They subjugated a number of tribes in Moesia, including the Dardani, several west Thracian tribes and the Paeonians. From 141 BC, the Scordisci were constantly involved in battles against Roman held Macedonia. In 135 BC they were defeated by Cosconius in Thrace. In 118 BC, according to a memorial stone discovered near Thessalonica, Sextus Pompeius, probably the grandfather of the triumvir, was slain fighting against them near Stobi. In 114 BC they surprised and destroyed the army of Gaius Porcius Cato in the western mountains of Serbia, but were defeated by Minucius Rufus in 107 BC.

They still, from time to time, gave trouble to the Roman governors of Macedonia, whose territory they invaded in combination with the Maedi and Dardani. They even advanced as far as Delphi and plundered the temple; but Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus finally overcame them in 88 BC and drove them across the Danube. After this, the power of the Scordisci declined rapidly. This decline was more a result of the political situation in barbaricum rather than the effects of Roman campaigns, as their client tribes, especially the Pannonians, became more powerful and politically independent. Between 56 and 50 BC, the Scordisci were defeated by Burebista's Dacians, and became subject to him. They were crushed in 15 BC by Tiberius, and became Roman subjects, playing the part as mercenaries. They started receiving Roman citizenship during Trajan's rule. With their Romanisation, they ceased to exist as an independent ethno-political unit.