Review: Balkan Tribes
Reviewed Work(s): The Central Balkan Tribes in Pre-Roman Times by F. Papazoglu
Review by: R. A. Tomlinson
Source: The Classical Review, New Series, Vol. 29, No. 2 (1979), pp. 274-275
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3063205
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274 THE CLASSICAL REVIEW
Despite
Despite these
these
drawbacks,
drawbacks,
the bookthe
remains
book a most
remains
useful a
and
most
stimulating
useful and stim
survey.
survey. I await
I await
the second
the second
volume with
volume
great with
interest.
great interest.
University of Nottingham J. W. RICH
BALKAN TRIBES
F. PAPAZOGLU: The Central Balkan Tribes in Pre-Ro man Times.
Pp. xi + 664; 20 illustrations, 1 map. Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1978.
Paper, 198 Sw. frs.
This book is a translation (the English is excellent) of a work first published in
Serbo-Croat by the Centre for Balkanological Research of the Academy of
Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Hercegovina, Sarajevo, in 1969. It has been
made more up to date by means of 'additional notes', appended at the end; but
the text and main notes have not been altered. These additional notes appear to
have been made in 1972, the date of the preface to the English edition.
Concerned largely with recent archaeological discoveries, they are thus them-
selves not completely up to date.
The axis of the central Balkan region is formed by the valleys of the Morava
and Vardar (Axios) rivers, a natural line of communication, as anyone who has
travelled overland to Greece, whether by car or train, will appreciate. To the
west are the lands of the Illyrians, to the east those of the Thracians, both
groups contributing to the population whose history this book elucidates. Thus,
though the area is in the middle of the Balkan peninsula, it is very much a
border region, an area of movement and transition. This can be seen particularly
with the third population group (represented by the Scordisci), the
Celts, for it is through this region that they reached out to Greece and
Anatolia. We see the history of these peoples essentially through Greek eyes,
followed by the reports of Roman involvement in the Roman historians: never-
theless it is most striking that they were essentially remote from the Greek
world, and that Greek contact with them was sporadic and, probably, mostly
indirect, at least until the Macedonian expansion.
The period covered ranges from the earliest literary reference to a central
Balkan tribe (the Mysians of Iliad 13.5, identified with the Moesians) down to
the incorporation of the area into the Roman Empire. The written sources,
literary and epigraphic, are most usefully gathered in a seventy-four-page
appendix. The information they contain is totally disjointed and random, so
that it is not possible to write a full, conventional history of this region. Much of
the length of this book is taken up with a minute and detailed questioning of
this source material, with closely argued criticism of earlier interpretation.
Perhaps some of this might have been treated more suitably in articles, rather
than a synoptic book, but for most it will be extremely useful to have such full
discussion in English.
Even so, it is a fault of the book that the discussion is often repetitive, and
the presentation unnecessarily relaxed. With editing the length might have been
substantially reduced. For example, anthropological comparisons given on pages
494 to 500, for a custom of the Triballi, the killing of aged parents, drawn from
the North American Indians and the Hottentots, are excessively lengthy, quite
apart from the long supporting quotations supplied in the footnotes.
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THE CLASSICAL REVIEW 275
Professor
ProfessorPapazoglu
Papazoglu writes
writesas an
asAncient
an AncientHistorian.
Historian.
She is fully
She is aware
fullyofawth
importance
importanceofof archaeological
archaeological information,
information, but for but that
forshethat
depends
she depends
on the
archaeologists.
archaeologists. Conversely,
Conversely, when when
she reports
she reportson theon recent
the recent
archaeological
archaeolo
dis
coveries
coverieswhich which formform thethe
basisbasis
for for
mostmost
of her ofadditional
her additional
notes, she
notes,
pointssheout
poi
that
that 'it'itisispossible
possible thatthatmymy work work
has not
has been
not without
been withoutinfluenceinfluence
in the archae
in t
logists'
logists'interpretations'.
interpretations'. TheThecentral
central
BalkanBalkan
tribestribes
are, at are,
best,atonbest,
the fringes
on the
of
of the
thepre-Roman
pre-Roman historical
historical world.
world.
ThoughThough
modern modern
archaeological
archaeological
theoriststh a
tending
tendingtotostress stress the the
independence
independence of their
of their
discipline
discipline
from history,
from history,
in areas s
as
as this
thisarchaeology
archaeology makesmakes an essential
an essential
contribution
contributionto the towriting
the writing
of their of
history,
history,and andit it
is is
particularly
particularly important
important
that we that
should
we should
have a complete
have a compinte-
gration
grationof ofthethearchaeological
archaeological and and
historical
historical
approach.
approach.
This weThisdo notwehave
do not
in
this
this book.
book.ThereThere are,are,indeed,
indeed,crucial
crucial
problems
problems
for which
for which
an archaeological
an archaeolosolu
tion
tion isisnecessary,
necessary, as asProfessor
Professor Papazoglu
Papazoglu
pointspoints
out. The out.Dardanians
The Dardanians
emerge a
aa coherent
coherentpeople people with withapparently
apparently stable
stable
political
political
organization,
organization,
rather likerathth
Macedonians
Macedonians but
but remoter
remoter from from
Greek Greek
influence.
influence.
Here archaeological
Here archaeological
evidence e
for
for Greek
Greekinfluence
influence is increasing,
is increasing, but even
but even
so, theso,finds
the at finds
Novi at
Pazar
Novireceive
Paza
only
only thethebriefest
briefest attention.
attention. The The
Triballi,
Triballi,
well known
well knownto Classical
to Classical
Athens as Atha
source
sourceof ofslaves,
slaves, appear
appear to be
to extremely
be extremely primitive,
primitive,
with no with
fixed nosettlements
fixed set
Again,
Again,a amore more thorough
thorough archaeological
archaeological
appreciation
appreciation
is essential.
is essential.
Thus,
Thus,this thisisishardly
hardly thethedefinitive
definitive
study study
of these
of these
peoplespeoples
and their andpart
their
of
the
the Balkan
Balkanpeninsula.
peninsula. TheThe
book book
is well
is well
printedprinted
and virtually
and virtually
free from freemis-
fro
prints.
prints.Illustrations
Illustrations (mostly
(mostly maps maps
or drawings,
or drawings,but withbuta with
few photographs
a few photogr
printed
printedon onordinary
ordinary paper)
paper)are are
veryvery
limitedlimited
in number
in number
and do not
and contribute
do not co
an
an adequate
adequatevisualvisual commentary
commentary on the
on text.
the text.
Even in Even
theseindays
theseof days
inflated
of in
costs,
costs,the theprice
price quoted
quoted forfor
thisthis
bookbook
seemsseems
excessively
excessively
high. high.
University of Birmingbam R. A. TOMLINSON
CRASSUS
ALLEN MASON WARD: Marcus Crassus and the Late Roman
Republic. Pp. xi + 323; 1 map. London and Columbia: University
Missouri Press, 1977. $15.50.
Historians have deserved ill of Crassus. Partly because he committed the un-
forgivable crime of losing at Carrhae, more seriously because he violated the
aristocratic code of antiquity by amassing his vast fortune not through agri-
culture or conquest but by personally conducted business transactions, Crassus
has, apparently, been treated with scorn and neglect. No adequate full-length
biography has been written; no single portrait bust has survived.
In his attempt to remedy the situation Allen Ward has written a detailed
study of Crassus the politician. His career is examined in the context of the
political history of the time, and great attention is paid to the frequent shifts
in the relationships between Crassus and the other leading politicians.
Critical to an understanding of the driving forces behind Crassus is the situa-
tion in 87 when his father and second brother died in the Marian recapture of
Rome. In 89 his elder brother had died and Crassus had married his widow
Tertulla; in 85, leaving Tertulla and two young sons behind, he fled to Spain
escape persecution by the Cinnans. Now the only surviving adult member of
family, with his fortune reduced to 300 talents, he was spurred on by his fam
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