by Lulzim Osmanaj
Abstract
This study examines the concept of Illyrians in the Czech Republic, focusing on the Lusatian culture and the pre-Celtic/Illyrian layer of place names. Archaeological and linguistic evidence links the Lusatian culture, spanning western Poland, Slovakia, the Sudetenland, and Lower Austria, to Illyrian populations rather than Germanic or Slavic groups. Classical sources, such as Tacitus and Ptolemy, preserve toponyms with characteristic Illyrian suffixes (-ona, -ista, -ika), while remnants of tribes like the Osi/Pannonians reinforce this presence. This research highlights the significance of Illyrian elements in Central European prehistory, showing a distinct pre-Celtic influence on local onomastics and cultural development.
● The scientific discussion on the formation of place names in the areas that today include the Czech Republic, especially by addressing the Lusatian culture and its connection with the Illyrians. The debate is long-standing among archaeologists and linguists to interpret this culture as Germanic, Slavic or Illyrian – but ultimately many important scholars have seen it as closest to the Illyrians.
● Archaeological and linguistic studies of the Central European area have shed light on the role of the Illyrians as early carriers of several bronze and iron cultures. The Lusatian culture, extending from western Poland, Slovakia, the Sudetenland to Lower Austria, is closely associated with an Illyrian presence. Germanic or Slavic theories about this culture have been rejected, especially for linguistic and chronological reasons. Thus, some archaeologists (such as Kossinna, Menghin, Much) see it as an Illyrian-based culture.
● In the Czech Republic and its surrounding regions, ancient place names that are thought to be of Illyrian or pre-Celtic origin have also been preserved. These names have been preserved mainly through ancient authors, especially Ptolemy, and have similarities with well-known Illyrian suffixes (-ona, -onae, -ista, -ika, etc.). Some examples are:
Stragona (on Ptolemy’s map, in the upper Elbe region) – is associated with typical Illyrian suffixes such as -ona (compare Flanona, Narona, Emona).
Leukaristos – a name with a suffix documented as typically Illyrian.
Nomistérion (east of the Moldau) – comparable to Numistro/Numistron in southern Italy, related to Illyrian onomastics.
Setuia (in the lands of the Quadi, near the Sudetes) – close to Setovia in Dalmatia.
Arsonion and Arsicua – with suffixes -ona and -ika, which are known to be common in Illyrian toponymy.
Also, remnants of tribes such as the Ossetians (mentioned by Tacitus in Slovakia around 100 AD), who are considered Pannonians and therefore Illyrians, reinforce the presence of the Illyrian element in this region.
The Illyrians in the Czech Republic and surrounding areas are represented more through the Lusatian culture and a number of toponyms with characteristic Illyrian suffixes, which attest to an important pre-Celtic layer in the history of place names.
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Classical sources
Tacitus, Germania, 1st century AD – mentions the Ossi (Osi) in Slovakia as Pannonii, thus related to the Illyrians.
Ptolemy (Ptolemy), Geographia, Book II, chap. 10 – contains place names such as Stragona, Leukaristos, Nomisterion, Setuia, which are analyzed as having typical Illyrian suffixes.
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Studies of the 19th–20th centuries
JL Pič, Die Urnengräber Böhmens (Prague, 1907) – deals with Lusatian culture in Bohemia.
J. Kostrzewski, Wielkopolska w pradziejach (Poznań, 1919) – connects the Lusatian culture with proto-Slavic populations, but the hypothesis was later rejected.
J. Czekanowski, Wstęp do historii Słowian (Lwów, 1927) – temporarily supported the Slavic theory of Lusatian culture.
C. Schuchhardt, Urgeschichte von Deutschland (1919) – representative of the Germanic hypothesis on Lusatian culture.
Gustav Kossinna, Die Herkunft der Germanen (1911) – considered Lusatian culture to be Illyrian.
Rudolf Much, Die Germania des Tacitus (1937) – deals with Illyrian elements in Central Europe.
Menghin, O., Urgeschichte der bildenden Kunst in Europa (1931) – supports the Illyrian connection of Lusatian culture.
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Linguistic and onomastic studies
Hans Krahe, Die Sprache der Illyrier (1929–1937, various volumes) – the most comprehensive analysis of Illyrian suffixes and toponyms.
Norbert Jokl, various articles in Reallexikon der Vorgeschichte (vol. VI, 1926) – on Illyrian toponymy.
M. Vasmer, Sprachliche Untersuchungen zur Vorgeschichte der Slawen (1923) – argues the impossibility of the Slavic hypothesis for Lusatian culture.
