Illyrian territories were organized during the Roman administration into the provinces of
Illyricum,
Macedonia, and
Moesia Superior. The Roman province of
Illyricum roughly encompassed the territories of the last
Illyrian kingdom. It stretched from the
Drilon river in modern
Albania to
Istria (
Croatia) in the west and to the
Sava river (
Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the north.
Salona (near modern
Split in Croatia) functioned as its capital. After subduing a troublesome
revolt of
Pannonians and
Daesitiates, Roman administrators dissolved the province of Illyricum and divided its lands between the new provinces of
Pannonia in the north and
Dalmatia in the south. Although this division occurred in 10 AD, the term
Illyria remained in use in
Late Latin and throughout the
medieval period. After the
division of the Roman Empire, the
bishops of Thessalonica appointed papal vicars for Illyricum. The first of these vicars is said to have been Bishop
Acholius or Ascholius (died 383 or 384), the friend of
St. Basil. In the 5th century, the bishops of Illyria withdrew from communion with Rome, without attaching themselves to
Constantinople, and remained for a time independent, but in 515, forty Illyrian bishops renewed their loyalty to Rome by declaring allegiance to
Pope Hormisdas. The patriarchs of Constantinople succeeded in bringing Illyria under their jurisdiction in the 8th century.
Jewish presence in Illyricum is attested during and after its incorporation into the Roman Empire. As Roman military and trade networks expanded into the region following the defeat of
King Gentius, Jewish merchants, artisans, and possibly freed slaves settled in Dalmatian and Pannonian cities such as Salona, Narona, and Sirmium. These communities, often Greek-speaking and aligned with
Jerusalem-based traditions, operated within Roman legal frameworks and sometimes held status as collegia. Although no literary corpus survives from Illyrian Jews, archaeological evidence, including menorahs and inscriptions, supports their presence. Some scholars suggest that these Jews formed part of broader
Hellenistic Judaism diaspora patterns reaching as far as Tanais in the Crimea and Stobi in Macedonia. ==In culture==