Albana Meta

This research project focuses on the study of the relations between ancient Greeks and non-Greek people living at the border or in contact with the Greeks in the optics of their use of the coinage. It aims to study, in a comparative approach, the similarities and particularities in the adoption and usage of the coinage by the Illyrians, Thracians and Celts, as clear evidence of their Hellenization and identification with the Greek model. 

Working on the Illyrian coinages as well as on those of the Greek colonies of the Adriatic coast in south Illyria (Dyrrhachium and Apollonia) has permitted to distinguish some original aspects of this region’s Hellenization. The Illyrians have many peculiarities and differences from the Greeks, clearly seen by their material culture; they also have a different language from their Greek neighbors and differently from them, they did not write their language of which we have no written traces so far. However, their early contacts with the Greeks, since prehistory, have put them in close contact with the latter culture and civilization. While the Illyrians have maintained many particular, original, local characteristics, they have meantime borrowed many aspects of the Greek civilization.

Because of the political past, nationalism has strongly affected the history and the especially the way of writing the history in the entire Balkan region. In Albania, for instance, still, nowadays there are no studies that examine to what extent the Illyrians were influenced by the Greek civilization and particularly in what aspects of life these influences are most evident. In this regard, it is particularly interesting to bring a new contribution to the history of the Illyrians, through the study of the adoption and usage of the coinage in the region. The coinage was invented by the Greeks in the 7th century BC and widely used in the Greek world. Greek coins were used in Illyria since the late 6th century BC, but local coinages appeared only by the 4th century. They are certainly a sign of Hellenization as the coinage is clearly a Greek invention. Studies on the Thracians have also shown that they adopt the coinage according to their specific needs, not systematically. The Celts, which constitute the third non-Greek population that lived in Europe, also adopted the coinage. Through the study of the local civic coinages, the coinages in the name of local kings and the coinages of the Greek colonies in the respective regions, this study will show case by case the similarities and differences in the process of coin adoption and usage by these societies and by that, it will highlight the characteristics of their Hellenization. The period considered extends from the 5th to the 1st century BC.