The Balares were one of the three major groups among which the Nuragic

Sardinians Sardinians or Sards are an Italians, Italian ethno-linguistic group and a nation indigenous to Sardinia, an island in the western Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean which is administratively an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special st ...

considered themselves divided (along with the Corsi and the Ilienses).

History

Pausanias in his work ''Periegesis'' speculated that the Balares were the descendants of the Iberian and African mercenaries of

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

, adding that in the language of the Corsi, "Balares" translates to ''fugitives''. In the ''Historiae'',

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (, ; –35 BC), was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius ...

mentions a possible origin from the city of Palla,

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. Archaeologist Giovanni Ugas proposed that they derived from the first wave of the Beaker people who settled in the island in the late

Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

from the Franco-Iberian area and that they were related with the ancient peoples of the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

; their name has been connected with that of Balarus, a chief of the

Vettones The Vettones (Greek language, Greek: ''Ouettones'') were an Prehistoric Iberia#Iron Age, Iron Age pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula. Origins Lujan (2007) concludes that some of the names of the Vettones show clearly Hispano-Celtic lan ...

. According to Ugas, during the Nuragic period the Balares lived in the whole north-western part of the island ( Nurra, Anglona, Sassarese); their territory bordered with the Ilienses in the south ( Tirso) and with the Corsi in the north-east ( Mount Limbara). After the

Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

and Roman occupation of Sardinia, part of the Balares, along with the Ilienses and the Corsi, retreated in the mountainous region called Barbagia to resist the invaders. In 177 BC, the Balares and Ilienses revolted against the Romans but they were defeated by the legions of

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (; 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

in the

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...

mention them among the "nations of mountaineers" that raided the Italian coast.

Balares tribes (Balari)

* Coracenses, they dwelt south of the Tibulati and the Corsi (for whom

is named) and north of the Carenses and the Cunusitani * Giddilitani * Lucuidonenses / Luquidonenses / Lugudonenses / Liguidonenses (Lugudonensi), they dwelt south of the Carenses and the Cunusitani and north of the Æsaronenses (not to be confused with the Longonenses) * Nurritani, in Nurra territory (not the same tribe as the Nurrenses or the Norenses / Noritani) * Perfugae / Perfugae Balares * Turritani * Uddadhaddaritani / Uddhadaddhar(itani) Numisiarum (part of the Balares and not of the Ilienses or Iolaes

Bibliography

References

Ancient peoples of Sardinia Tribes conquered by Rome {{italy-hist-stub

History

Balares tribes (Balari)

See also

Bibliography

References