Liburni

Hellenistic and Roman periods

In 181 BC, the Romans established their colony at Aquileia and took control of all Venetia in the north, thus expanding towards the Illyrian area from the northwest. In 177 BC they conquered Istria to the north of the eastern Adriatic coast, settled by tribe of Histri, while the Iapodes, the northern neighbors of Liburnia, attacked Aquileia in 171 BC. These incidents did not involve Liburnian territory. The Liburnians probably avoided direct conflict with the Romans in order to safeguard their remaining naval activities. After their arrival to the west of Liburnia, Roman legions also appeared on its southern borders, defeating the southern Illyrians and finally king Gentius in 167 BC, and during wars against the tribe of Dalmatae in 156–155 BC. The first Roman appearance in Liburnian waters occurred in 129 BC, during the military expedition of the Roman consul Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus against the Iapodes, which ended with hard-won victories over the Iapodes, Carni, Taurisci and Liburnians.