Bato the Daesitiate (also known as Bato of the Daesitiates) was a chieftain of the Daesitiates, an

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

n tribe which fought against the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

between 6 and 9 AD in a conflict known as '' Bellum Batonianum'' ("Bato's War").

Biography

Bato was probably born between 35 and 30 BC in what is today Upper

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Bato belonged to the indigenous Daesitiates tribe, whose homeland was in what is today central

, and at a critical point in time he chose to lead his people in their struggle against their Roman occupiers. Bato wanted to be like the Great Illyrian king

Bardylis Bardylis or Bardyllis (; ; –358 BC) was an Illyrian king, and the founder of the first attested Illyrian dynasty. During his reign, Bardylis aimed to make Illyria a regional power interfering with Macedon. He united many southern Illyrian ...

. From 33 BC, the Daesitiates were under Roman rule as a semi-independent peregrine

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

. The civitas of the Daesitiates was part of provincia Illyricum with its capital in

Salona Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western ...

on the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

coast. Bato was probably a member of a distinguished indigenous family, and as an adult he was probably a political and military official of the Daesitiates. In 6 AD, the Romans planned to attack the

Marcomanni The Marcomanni were a Germanic people who lived close to the border of the Roman Empire, north of the River Danube, and are mentioned in Roman records from approximately 60 BC until about 400 AD. They were one of the most important members of th ...

Magna Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superi ...

and for that

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, the Roman emperor, ordered the mobilisation of Illyrian auxiliary forces. But in spring the same year Illyrian forces in Bosnia rebelled with Bato as their leader. In the

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

n region of Illyricum, the

Breuci This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria (; ). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks, causing the name Illyrians to be ap ...

also rebelled. The leader of the Breuci, also named Bato, became leader of the Pannonian rebels. These two centres of resistance united in the autumn of 6 AD, and the two Batos became war-leaders of an allied rebel army. Rome sent 10 legions and the same number of auxiliaries, allies, and mercenary forces to crush the uprising. Many within the legions were Roman war veterans. The supreme commander of all Roman forces was future emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

. Bato the Daesitiate unsuccessfully attempted to take

, and after he was defeated by Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus, the governor of Illyricum, he withdrew north to join forces with the other Bato, the leader of the Breuci. After two years of war, in the summer of 8 AD, Bato of the Breuci surrendered his forces to Tiberius on the bank of the river Bathinus (probably the river Bosna). Soon afterwards, he was captured by Bato of the Daesitiates, whose assembly put Bato of the Breuci to death. In the next year, Tiberius and his nephew

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...

launched an operation against the Daesitiates. After fierce battles in September 9 AD, only a few days before the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between September 8 and 11, 9&nbs ...

, Bato and the Daesitiates surrendered to Tiberius. It is alleged that when Tiberius asked Bato and the Daesitiates why they had rebelled, Bato was reputed to have answered: "You Romans are to blame for this; for you send as guardians of your flocks, not dogs or shepherds, but wolves." Bato spent the rest of his life in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

town of

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

. - ''He sent Bato to Ravenna.''

References

Bibliography

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; ) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the period from the death of ...

II, CX, 4–5. * Ovidius, ''Ex Ponto'' II, I, 46. *

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

, ''

The Twelve Caesars ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'' or ''The Lives of the Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 Roman Emperor, emperors of the Roma ...

'', ''Tiberius'' 20. *

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, ''Roman History'' LV, 29, 2; LV, 32, 3; LV, 34, 4; LVI, 12, 2–3; LVI, 13, 2; LVI, 16, 1–3. *

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 ...

''Geography'' VII, 5, 3; and an inscription () in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

External links

Bitka za Ilirik (Battle for Illyricum): Batonian revolt
Prof.dr. Salmedin Mesihović
Into the Roman World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bato I Illyrian royalty 30s BC births 1st-century deaths 1st-century monarchs in Europe

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links