dzino, bellum batonianum

8/12/2019 DZINO, Bellum Batonianum

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DeNI;Er DZrruo

Arheol. rad. raspr. 16(2009), str- 29-45

THE BELLUM BATONIANUM IN

UDK 930.85(398):930.1Izvomi znanstveni radPrimlieno: 30. VL 2008.Prihvateno: 14. I. 2009.

CONTEMPORARY HISTORIOGRAPHICALNARRAIIVES

IN A SEARCH FOR THE POST-MODERNBATO THE DAESITIATE

Dr. sc. Danijel DiinoClassics, School of HumanitiesUniversity of AdelaideSA 5005 [email protected]

This work examines small but significant aspects of. the Bellum Batonianum.In par-

ticular it focuses on the PercePtion of the war in the more recent historiograPhy;

also, it analyses impositions of modem constructions and perspectives on the Past'

Furthermore, it diicusses the identity of Bato the Daesitiate in light of the most

recent studies of identity of non-Mediterranean elite members from his times in

the early principate. This study attempts to contribute to the better understandingof the early staies of the process of so-called "Romanization" in the hinterland of

Roman Dalmatia and southem Pannonia'

Key words:Bato the Daesitiate, the Pannonii, the Daesitiates, historiography, accul-

turatioru early principate, ancient identities (Kiutne rijeii: Baton Dezitiiatski, Pan-

onci, Dezitijati, iistoriigra1tia, akulturaciia, rani principat, antitki identiteti)

TheBellumBatonianum, AD 6-g,never achieved prominence in the classical scho-

larship as were some other, more famous uPrisings against Rome, such as that of

Boudicca, Arminius, the Batavians, etc. There are only a few modern(the term mo-

dern is used aS "contempor aty" , tathet than "modemistic") works in non-South-

Slavic languages in the 20ft and 2L't century, which focus solely on the uPlising'1

scholarship in the south slavic languages gives it a somewhat more prominent

t T1r"""-"at""- Hirchfeld 1890; Bauer 1894; Gardthausen 7904a,1I71-1193;1904b,772-789;Rattl925;

Kirstermarm lg53; Anamali 1987- should be added alsoM6csyL962,,506-510; wilkes1969'67-77 and

Gruen 1996, L76-178.Different asPects: Alfoldy 1962; Wilkes 1955b; Nagy 1970; sordi 2004;Dztno

;dl6 ;;;;;;t, Suf"f ror 19g6, i.B;-1311, (Cassiui Dio). The paper will focus only on the more recent

works.

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Arheol. rad. raspr. 16(2009), stt. 29-4sDaniiel DZino: The Beiium Eatonianum in Contemporary Historiographical Narratives.

place, but it is still lacking more substantial focus, especially in the last few decades.2This study will focus on one small, but important part of this significant event -on the perception of the uprising in modern historiography, searching for and go-ing beyond the existing constructions imposed by different modern narratives. Inaddition, this paper will try to examine the identity of Bato the Daesitiate outsideof the existing historiographical constructions and in the context of similar recenthistorical and archaeological assessments of Bato's contemporaries from the non-Mediterranean world.

Until the last generation or two, modem historiography attempted to reconstructthe "historical truth", to recognize the "right" narratives of the events, to see the"good" antd"evil" historical personalities and "explain" the past. The modern his-torian and archaeologist critically examined the narratives of the ancient writtensources and the archaeological evidence in order to construct his/her narrative ofthe events. These modern narratives tell us many things about the past, but theyalso reflect culturally, politically and/or ideologically and nationally pre-determineddiscourses of the authors, their life experiences and acquired knowledge. They dis-regard the complexity of the different narratives, which really existed in the pastand which are only partially and selectively presented in the existing written andmaterial evidence, the historian and archaeologist of the ancient world has at his/her disposal. Amongst many, good examples of the zeitgeist in historiography

is theso-called "defensive expansionism", of Maurice Holleaux, which imposes the Eu-ropean colonial framework of his times onto Roman Republican foreign policy, andEdward Luttwak's "Grand strategy" of the Roman Empire, which to a significantdegree imposes Cold War strategic thinking into the Roman imperial times. In ar-chaeology, the examples of superimposing modern, often nationalistic frameworksover the past are even more abundant.3

Today it is evident that the sources for the Bellum Batonianum are concerned withand display only the Roman narrative of power, and do not inform us much about

other narratives besides if as in fact all the other historical sources from this periodare doing.a In other words, Velleius Paterculus and Cassius Dio, our chief narrativesources for these events, are concerned only with military matters, focusing exclu-sively on the narrative elements related to Roman power: political power, fighting,conquest, control and domination. The sources of secondary importance such asstrabo or Suetonius also exist in their genres - strabo in ancient "ethnography,,,Suetonius - biography. In essence, the sources tell us more about the authors and

2

3

vulii 1911, 200-247;7926,55-72;Pa{ali(7956; Imamovii 1978;sui(1991,192;Mesihovii 2007.

Post-modern historiography: Marincola 2007a. Holleaux: Linderski 198{ Luttwak: lsaac 7994,372-418. Archaeology: Kohl/Faccetl1995;Diaz-Andreu/Champion7996; Dyson 2006.Damon 2006.

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Arheol. rad. raspr. 16(2009), str. 29-45Daniiel DZino: The Bellum Batonianum in Contemoorarv Historiosraphical Narratives...

their perceptions of the events; not the actual events. The most significant problemis that preserved primary sources were all wdttenby members of the Mediterranean

elite. They were written for a specific audience in order to fulfil their expectationsand to fit in certain literary genres of their period. Thus, we can say that the primarysources reflect views, stereotypes, cultural discourses and the morality of their au-thors and their audience. Historical "truth" and "lie" are the categories that implyour contemporary understanding, rather than the original message of these authors,or the understanding of their audience.s

In an attempt to see how historiographical constructions of the Bellum Batonia-numwere developed in more recent times, I shall limit this discussion to just a few ofthe most prominent key narrative portrayals of the uprising in both south-Slavic andnon south-Slavic language scholarship.6 Nikola Vulii, a Serbian scholar born in Sco-dra - modern day Albania, gave the first important narrative account on the war inthe south Slavic languages.T His account is in essence anti-colonial, drawing inspira-tion from his personal positive identification with the Pannonii, whom he perceivesas the underdogs, and strong condemnation of the Romans as the enemies.s He doessee the rebellion as a " jnst" liberation movement against the "unjust" occupation bythe colonial power, and the Pannonian defeai as their ultimate "victimhood" - ta-king at face value Dio's dramatic depictions of their resistance to the Roman army.e

We can see Vulii's narrative directly stemming from existing historical anti-colonialnarratives of his times, in particular the Serbian uprisings against the Ottomant andSerbian collective experiences in World War I.10

More recent scholarship of Imamovii, Bojanovski and Stipievii reflect thecommunist and Yugoslav federal discourse arising after 1945, which was appliedto ancient history, superimposing the framework of "Illyrianness" over the Yugo-slav frontiers, especially before the 1970s.11 Drawing heavily on the same sourcesof Vulii's anti-colonial sentiment, but living in a significantly different ideologicalzeitgeist, they all saw the Pannonii as freedom-loving resistance-fighters, who foughtthe "occupiers" trying to achieve freedom. The construction of the contexts suchas heroic resistance, in-born heroics, desperate fighting, treachery of Bato the Breucian,

5 Marincola 7997 ; 2007 a; Shuttleworth-C r aus 1999 - inter alii.0 Only Mesihovii 2007, 31.6-318 very recently develops a more consistent criticism of earlier

historiographic constructions oI the bellum Batonianum.7

8

9

l0

Vulit 191 1, 200-247 ; 1926, 55-7 2.

Vulii uses frequently the word du{manin - a much stronger word for the "enemy" rJ:.an neprijatelj .

E. g. Vulii 191,L, 207 -270; 1926, 65-68.

This narrative had a long life span, see Wilkes 1992, 21. for the cornparation of Montenegrin-Turkishbattles with Pannonian rebels. See also Babii 2001 for the general perceptions of the classical past inSerbia.

Dzino, forthcoming.1

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Arheol. rad. raspr.Daniiel DZino: The Bellum Batonianum in

16(2009), stt. 29-45Contemporary Historiographical Narratives.

mise that the Daesitiates were by their spiritual constitution against any poxzer and pay-ing of taxes and more used to rapid military movements - for their nomadic (?) back-

ground.17 The post-Yugoslav perspectives also appear in the most recent dissertationof Mesihovii. In an otherwise fresh insight into the matter, it is significant to note hismelancholic notion of the lack of unity amongst the Pannonian communities, theirilnmnation of disunity.ls

In the non-South Slavic scholarship, the studies most obviously influenced by thezeitgeist and author's personal experiences are the accounts of Ernest Kostermannand Skender Anamali. Kostermann's experience as an officer of the German Wer-macht during the World War II fighting against the Yugoslav partisans, influencedhim to see the Pannonian uprising essentially as guerrilla fighting, and success ofthe rebels as due to the impassable terrain of Dalmatian hinterland. He was stronglycriticized by Pa5alii for that view, though from a different ideological discourse.leThere is also a more recent narrative by Anamali, which reflects Albanian "Illyrian"discourse, which perceives Albanians as the "rightful Illyrian successors". He wastightly criticized by Benac for his view that the communities in southeastern Illyri-cum, which corresponds with modern Albania, joined the rebellion.2o There is alsoa fuscinating absence and underestimation of the conflict in Hungarian scholarshipuntil recently, especially underplaying the importance of the events occurring south

of the Parrnonian plains, as Mesihovii rightly warns.21The other modern narratives are more balanced and less ideologically biased,

attempting to construct an "objective" narrative of the events, deriving material forthe narrative from ihe colonial perspective of written sources: Velleius Paterculusand Cassius Dio. The narrative of John Wilkes, for example, is the narrative of mili-tary events, army movements and battles. The words deriving from the narrativeof power, such as the words lforce-forces-forcing-reinforcementsf or lstrongpoints--strongholds/ dominate his Romanocentric narrative inhis Dalmatia.22 For Wilkes, theBellum Batonianum is the last stage in the establishment of Roman control over thearea- He sees it in the context of the Augustan "grand strategy" and "geopolitics",

that the Romans had the same perception of the space we have today with

Sl.ft.194u92,56. The archaeology of the Daesitiate communities, although still very poorly explored,shorvs around 120 known hilltop settlements (gradine), a significant portion of which was used forpermanent settlements cI. (ovi( 1987 , 487-482,506-510; Mesihovi6 2002 779-782, 977 ff .

Mesihovid 2002 320.

Kosterrrann 1953,346-347, see n. 15 above. Kostermann'perception was still alive in Wilkes 1992,27.

Anamali7987 esp. n. 2; Benac 1991.

Mesihovii 2007,376-377 n. 5. More prominence the Bellum Batonanum achives in M6csy 7962,544-;r8-l\'ilkes 1965b; "1969, 67-77.

l8l9I}

"1

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Arheol. rad. raspr. 16(2009), srt. 29-45I DZino: The Bellum Batonianum in Contemporary Histori al Narratives...

satellite Pictures and Precise geographical maps.23 Wilkes also falls under the spellof the modernistic Yugoslav discursive ideological constructions of "Brotherhood--and-unity", and the second world war parallels

between theyugoslav

partisansand the Pannonii in his later work The lllyrians.2a The account of Erich Gruen inthe Cambridge Ancient History reimposes "Illyrian" colonial stereotype over the indi-genous population rebelling against Rome at AD 6. For Gruen, national pride was oneof thereasonsfortheuprising of thefiercespiritof anewgenerationof IllyrianTaarriors,assuming colonial stereotypes of the "Balkan" population as warlike, rebellious, na-tionalistic, not to mention the implications of his use of the cognitive pseudo-ethnicstereotype of "Illyrians".25Another example of the colonial approach is the study ofMarta sordi, which also emphasises the Romanocentric notion of ,,pacifying,, |lyri-cum in AD 6-9.26

Different treatment of the problems begins with.Dyson's article published in theHistoria Wiesbaden. He argues that the frustration with sudden social change ap-proaching with the Roman conquest is the reason for the other indigeno.t" ,rptisings against Rome. Dyson's studies show the significance of exploring narrativesdifferent from the Roman narrative of power, although it is worthy to note that hisaccounts are to a certain degree influenced by his experience of living through thestruggle of ex-colonial African and Asian countries against European colonialismin the 1950s and 7960s.27 Mesihovii and Dzino recently attempted to infuse the dis-course of globalisation into the view on the Bellum Batonianum. However, they areboth in danger of losing a balanced perspective with their obvious emphasis on glo-balisation and the frustrations of the indigenous population - both identifying tileirviews too much with the most recent experiences of eastern European countries inthe transition after 1989.28

Therefore, we can see that the modern narratives of the uprising exist on theirown as their own construction of the events, frequently imposing their orm per-spective on the past. Sometimes they are narratives deriving from the colonial per-

26

27

Wilkes 1969, 46 ff.;1,965a. F_or the Roman distorted perception of space see Moynihan 1985; Riggsby2006, 24-45; Nicolet 1991, 57 -7 4 etc.

Iilf":Pg? 25 superimposing Illyricum over the map of former Yugoslavia. Cf. criticism of periba2002,155-756.

Gruen 1996, 176-778, the quote frorn776. He does discuss "The Balkans" imposing another colonial,western stereotype created in the 19ft century Todorova 1997. Mesihovit20O7,36i-362, cf. 333 is alsonot immune from this colonial stereotype, visible in his attribution of the "Dinaric mentality,, toBato.

Sordi 2004.

Dyson1977,260-263-complementarytothisstudyisDysonlgT5,whichdoesnotdiscuss thebellumBatonianum. Anti-colonial struggle: Dyson 1975, 138-139.Dzrno 2006,147-148; Mesihovii 2002, 319 ff.

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Arheol. rad. raspr. 16(2009), str. 29-45Daniiel D2ino: TF,e Bellum Batonianum in Contemporary Historiographical Narratives...

spective of the sources, but some accounts also derive from the perspective of thecolonized, both of them focusing only on a part of the narrative, mostly determined

bv the Roman colonial narrative of power, which is reflected in available sources.The earlier assessments of these events are thus to a significant degree affected bythe historical, geographical, ideological discourses in which modern authors weremaking their research. The reasons for the Batonian war still wait for more insightfulapproaches in future scholarship.

BO (6

The perception of the role and identity of Bato the Daesitiate is strongly affectedbv modern historiographical narratives and construction discussed earlier. Bato iseither presented as a resistance hero, or the "noble savage" , fighting the invasion ofcolonial power to recover imaginary primordial innocence and the freedom of hispeople.2e As Mesihovii rightly notices, specific historical circumstances in the regionprevented the establishment of a coherent romantic nationalistic discourse whichrvould appropriate Bato as a "national heto", to the same degree as the personali-des of Arminius, Vercingetorix or Boudicca have been used in the past.3O We do notknow much about him from the sources, apart from his direct role in the narrative of

the events as leader of the Daesitiates, and one of the key leaders of the Pannonii inthe uprising. After the final defeat, Bato's life was spared and he was exiled to Italy inRavenna by Tiberius.3l Modern scholarship without exception observed his identityonly in the indigenous context, regardless whether he was seen from the coloniseror colonised perspective. However, I would like here to explore the other narrativesof his identity, which were overlooked by earlier scholarship, in particular the notionof Bato's Romanness, through his social status, military experience and comparativehistorical context. The issue of the early stages of the process of so-called "Roma-nization" in southern Pannonia is gaining visible attention in some recent archaeo-

logical works, and this short discussion might help shed more light on this issue,

exploring the issues beyond the interpretation of material evidence.32

The recent approaches enables us to treat the terms "Roman" and "indigenous"not as separate and exclusive categories in which one can beiong either/or, but rather

29 "Noble savage" was a compiex and changing construction that has significant impact ln the westernthought for a few centuries, Ellingson 2001.

30 Mesihovii 2007, 316-378. For the perceptions of Arminius see Benarius 2004; Vercingetorix - Simon1996;

Civilis andthe Batavians Hessing 2001; Boudicca

-Hlngley/Unwin 2006, 123 ff. (a11 with

extensive bibliographies on the subjects).3l Suet. Tib.20.32 E. g. Majnarii-PandLic1996;Dizdar et a|.2003; Dizdar/Radman-Livaja 2004.

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Arheol. rad. raspr. 16(2009), str.I Dzino: The Bellum Batonianum in

29-45I Narratives-.-

as inclusive and overlapping categories which can be recombined in different waysin personal identity as both/and. The scholarship successfully broke the notions of"Roman" or "Greek" as homogenous blocks of cultural

and ethnic identity in dif_ferent period of antiquity into a patchwork of different identities.33 In the same way,we can see the categories of "Roman" and "indigenous,, as overlapping and inter_acting notions of identity in the western provinces of the Roman empire, going farbeyond oversimplified divisions of the Romans and ,,natives,,, which dominatedearlier scholarship.3a

The lack of written sources for the events of AD 6-9 leftus with patchy evidenceof Bato's personality. Even his literary identity constructed in the sources is not plen-tiful, apart from his brief "speech" in the narrative of Cassius Dio.35 There is only

a single fact we can deduct with certainty from the written sources: Bato was theleader of the Daesitiate auxiliaries summoned for the approaching conflict with Ma-roboduus in AD 6, the group which started the conflict. From this, we can conclude,without need for further evidence, that he was a member of the indigenous elite andthat he already had Roman military training and earlier experience in the Romanmilitary.36 \Atrhether Bato had Roman citizenship or not, is impossible to know fromthe sources, which note only his indigenous name. The sources mention Arminius(Irmin) by the Latinized version of his indigenous name, although he held Romancitizenship, and even equestrian rank.37

Bato's social status and military experience brings him into the position of havingclose links with the Romans, and exposes him to lhe prevalent Roman ideotogicaidiscourses of his era- As a member of the indigenous hereditary elite, Bato and hispeers were more inclined to use Roman elite imperial ideology to justify and rede_fine power-holding and status in their own community in new circumstances arisingwith its inclusion in the Roman world.38 The Daesiiiates were not living isolateJfrom the global processes in the ancient world. Archaeology shows the inhabitantsof the area ascribed by written sources as being the ,,Daesitiates,, negotiating theirown identity between the influences of the La Tdne and the Mediterranean

world,There is a flood of books on the topic, so this is a very selective and perhaps subjectively chosenbibliography. Romans: Dench 2005; Farney 2007;Greeks: Han7997;whitmarsh 2001, 1-3g etc.Woolf 1997; Webster 2001 etc. in ancient literature.Marincola 20'07b on speeches in ancient literature; Adler 2008 on speeches in Dio and Tacitus. Dlo,sB^oudicca

.oration s,eems trapped between a condemnation of Roman society tied to ,o-onlici"ing a ,,primitiae,,Celti.c culture,and a denigration of non-Romans, aaler dOo& 194 on c6mparable but lorrg?. Dlo,s -sp"-ech" of Boudicca.

Vell. Pat.2. 1 1 0.4 ; Dio, 55.29.2-3; Wilkes 1.969, 69.Vell. Pat.2.118.2

Hingley 2005, 50-57, 68-70. See the good study of the Batavians in this context in Roym ans 2004,227-250.

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Arheol. rad. raspr.Daniiel DZino: The Bellum Batonianum in

16(2009), srr. 29-45Contemporary Historiographical Narratives...

as in fact did all the other indigenous communities in the Dalmatian hinterland.3eTtp Daesitiates came into the sphere of Roman power in the context of the last Del-

nataean war of 34-33 BC, most certainly without actually fighting Octavian.a0 It wastlrc custom that numerous members of the indigenous elite were sent to Rome as

lmtages, where through education they were exposed to Roman imperial discourse,which affected the construction of their personal identities in-between Roman andindigerrous. It is reasonable to assume that whole generations of elite youth from the

rygio& were brought up in Rome as hostages, some after the end of Octavian's warsin 33 BC, some after the Bellum Pannonicum 12-9 BC, which was probably Bato's owngerrration.al

In the same context we can note the statement of Velleius Paterculus. He men-tiorrs lrrowledge of the Latin language amongst the Pannonii, which was the Ro-rurn corlmon term for the indigenous communities of future southern Pannoniaand northern Dalmatia, implying that they became accustomed to Roman ways, inparticular the Roman military knowledge. The sentence should be read in context as

Woodman implies, showing intellectual attainment specifi c cultural characteristicsand some knowledge of Roman language and military craflt, especially and mostlyamongst the indigenous elites, in what will become southern Pannonia and northernDialmatia.e Knowledge of the Latin language and culture did not come only throughthe army, it may have also been the result of something resembling the program ofeducation of the indigenous elites in the Roman west.43 Strabo calls Bato flyeplov of*re Daesitiate+ which in Strabo's terms sounds culturally positive, as he does notuse words such as, tfpovvog, orqrctotlog or gil,crp1o6, these are reserved for thosel,eaders whom he perceives as more "barbarian" and therefore culturally negative.aa

Bato reveals his Romanness through his military strategy. As shown above, theearlier scholarship frequently imposed guerrilla fighting discourse on the bellum Ba-

tonianum, indicating that the Pannonii used guerrilla strategy against the Romans.

Flowever, the sources show a different picture. They represent the army of the Pan-nonii using the conventional military strategy of the times, similar, if not identical to*re Romans. The finds of weaponry from central Bosnia are not available, however,

Paikvalin 2002;Peri(.2002. Cf. the comparable study for the Iapodes between the Mediterranean andLa TErre in Olujii 2007,177-194. Daesitiates is the name that the Romans gave to the petegrine ciuitasin modem-day central Bosnia. Its relationship with pre-Roman indigenous institutions and theirpolitical structures remain unknown and insufficiently explored in scholarship.

App.n.17. Sa5el Kos 2005, 458-459.

See Saiet Kos 2005, 455-458 on hostage taking in Illyricum, and recently Allen 2006 on hostages ingeneral.Vell. Pat. 2.170.4. Woodman 1983, 158-159; M6csy 1983.

Roman education of indigenous elites Woolf 1998, 72-73; Hingley 2005, 68 n. 274.

Van der Miet 2002, 264-265.

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Arheol. rad. raspr. .t 6(2009), str.29-45DZino: The Bellum Batonianum in ary Hi al Narratives...

the Roman and La Tdne weapons and their recombination (some kind of bastard oflate Republic, Early Principate and La Tdne) show the degree of exposure of southernPannonia to the most

developed military equipment of the time.ai Bato is capable ofbesieging a large settlement such as Salona.a6 He and his namesake Bato of the Breuciwere not afraid to fight regular pitched battles against Messalinus, the commanderof legio XX, and Aulus Caecina and Silvanus Plautius in the Volcaean marshes.aT Batomanages to maintain significant numbers of soldiers in one place, up to 2o000 men atonce, which was impossible without knowledge of logistics.as The fighting in the firstyear occurred in the Pannonian plains, where it was difficult for the tuU"t, to wageguerrilla war. Guerrilla fighting occurs only in Dalmatia, in the last phases of the wJr,after the Pannonians (i. e. the rebels from the fufure pannonia) surrendered.ae

Bato can also be placed in the historical context with some other indigenous lea-ders of his times we know more about. Some very recent studies emphasized the Ro-manness of Bato's contemporary, the "German', leader Arminius, for whom we havemuch more evidence, seeing him as a client prince, who belonged to both worrdsat the same time: indigenous and Roman.50 Arminius is indeed ,r"ry .oryo".rient forcomparison with Bato, not only because of the time they both lived in, and theirnon-Mediterranean cultural background, but also in the ways they recombined theiridentities and used knowledge of Roman war-craft to fighl the Romans. There is awhole pattern of indigenous

military leaders such as Arminius or Civilis in Batavia,who were serving as auxiliaries and used Roman military experience to fight theRomans. sl Iulius Civilis, for example, was a member of the Batavian elite; he waslabelled "German" by the Romans, he was a Roman army officer and a Roman citi_zen' His identity was situational, shifting depending on the circumstances he foundhimself ir; as a Batavian, "German,, or Roman.s2

There are other indications of Bato's links with the Romans, which might be ad_ded to the things previously stated. Bato's exile in Italy and spared life after hisdefeat does remind one in many ways of the destiny of Maroboduus, who had nu_

DizdarlRadman-Livaia 2004. I disagree with the authors that styles of weapons determined the"Celtness" or "Romanness,, of those-who used them.Dio,55.29.4.

Dio, 55'30'2 (Bato wins an open conflict, but Messalinus defeats fum in an ambuscade), cf. Vell. pat.2'712'2;Dio55'33'3-4; Vell. Pat.2.112.4-6 (Volcaean marshes); cf. urro 1".,."rtuinly dated) the evidenceof Frontinus, strat.2.J..1s that the pannonii are capable of fighting open battle #ith rib".irrr.Vell. Pat. 2.712.2.

Dio 55.34.6 (the withdrawal into Dalmatia).Wells 1999, 230-232.

Wells 1999.

Slofstra 2002,29.

46

47

48

49

50

51

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o"",i.r or,"", ,n" u"rlfXf i,ii",jiill.'l3(ffi",'jl"',io13,,.*,"0n,."r *",,,,",,'",...

rrr"rorrs links with the Roman world, and who spent the remainder of his life at the

snrre place as Bato did - at Ravenna.s3

&) C'5

This article attempts to analyse earlier approaches to the bellum Bstonianum ofAD G9, and discusses the identity of Bato, the leader of the Daesitiates, and one

offihe key figures in the war. The earlier assessments of the war, and consequently,

frrc personality of Bato, were constructed through different ideological discourses,

€specialty in scholarship written in south-Slavic languages. Roman narratives offfire curflict reflect the Roman perception of events and thus over-exaggerate Bato's

irdig€nousness, as he is a leader of the oppositionto the Romans. Bato and the

fudigerrous elites of the Dalmatian hinterland and southern Pannonia of the early

p'rincipate in general could not be observed exclusively through their indigenousness/

so ihis discussion is concerned with turning the attention to their links with the

Rman world, and the elements of their Romanness. Our sources are scant, sorely

srrrrt but the narrative of Bato's Romanness does not contradict them' His position

asan indigenous elite-member and officer of the Roman auxiliary troops place himin a highly comparable position to the other indigenous leaders of the Roman West

in this perio4 such as Civilis, Arminiut and Maroboduus; all of them lived in both

wudds - indigenous and RomarL shifting their identities according to the situationsinwtridr they were.

1ftre Betlum Batonianum is underrated and still insufficiently explored by the

most recerrt scholarship, whether general studies of Roman history, or regional

historical studies. This is mostly due to the primary sources, which reflect the

Rsnran narrative of power and do not leave much space for modern scholars to

interpet other narratives. Modern scholarship is either caught in the zeitgeist, otcolonial or anti-colonial narratives. Examining Bato of the Daesitiates

frrmr a different perspective and in comparison with other indigenous leadertshorvs us that this uprising was not a simple modernistically perceived rebellion oftlre indigenous population against the "foreign aggressor", in order to regain their

4aestral "freedom", or an uprising of "natives" in Roman Illyricum against Rome.

It *rows us Roman Illyricum as a region in transition, a region of interaction, and a

rqiur of overlapped narratives and complex identities'

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Arheol. rad. raspr. 16(2009), stt. 29_45Bellum Batonianum in Contemporary Histori al Narratives...

Saietak

Bellum Batonianum u suvremenim historiografskim raspravama - .opottazi zapostmodernim Batonom Dezidij atskim

Batonov tat 6.-9- po Kr. nikada nije postigao veiu vaZnost u historiografiji niti unacionalnim/nacionalistidkim romantidarskim diskursima, poput nekih drugih po_buna protiv Rima kao bto su Budikina, Arminijeva, Civilisova itd. vrlo;" ,tlo.r,u.,broj znanstvenih radova 20. i21. stoljeia koji se fokusiraju na taj dogaday. ovai radbavi se malim, ali znakovitim aspektima tog sukoba, kao dto su percepcija Batonovarata u modernoj historiografiji, odnosno diskusija o aspektima trobnogu identitetaBatona Dezidijatskog, jednog od panonskih vojsiovoda.

Raniji znanstveni radovi o tom sukobu konstruirani su kroz razli(iteideoloikediskurse, posebice radovi pisani na juZnoslavenskim jezicima. Moderni narativikonflikta pokazuju se kao autorske konstrukcije dogadaja koje name6u vlastite per-spektive autorA na zbivanja u proSlosti. U nejuZnoslaver-,skoihistoriografiji neki odnarativa stvaraju se kao odraz kolonijalne perspektive rimskih pisanih vrela (Wilkes,Gruen), nacionalnim diskursima projiciranimana problost (Anamali), odnosno vlas_titim povijesnim iskustvima znanstvenika (Kostermann;. U juZnoslavenskoj histo-riografiji primjetna je identifikacija s perspektivom kolonizirano ga, q.spanoncima,i narativi su uglavnom antikolonijalni (vulii). politidki korektno preklapanje jugo_slavenskoga i ilirskoga prostora te ideoloSki okvir federalne jugoslavenske drZavenakon 1945. utjede na gledanje tih dogadaja iz,'pan1lirske,, p".ipettive (stipieviiImamovii, neito manje Bojanovski), odnosno kroz regionalnl i ijeotoste proletccile(PaSalii)' Noviji radovi snaZno su proZeti iskustvina postkolonijalnog svijeta (Dyson)i podinju reflektirati fragmentaciju jugoslavenskog prostora lsuii;, odnosno nameiuprojekciju vlastitih iskustava suvremenih gtoralJiikih procesa (Mesihovii Diino).

Rimski narativi konflikta odralavajurimsku p"r."p"i;., zbivanjai shodno tomepreuvelidavaju perspektivu Batona kao "drugog a",kiiije voda opozicije Rimu. No,Baton i indigena elita dalmatinskoga ,aleda, odnorrrolrrzr-r"

panonije ranogaprin_cipata, u cijelosti ne moZe se gledati iskljudivo kroz indigeni okvir, tako da se dis_

kusija bavi aspektima Batonova rimstva, koje se moZe samo nazrijeti kroz saduvanaopskurna vrela. Njegova poziclia kao pripadnika indigene elite i dasnika rimskihaugzilijamih trupa u isto ga vrijeme postavlja u poziciju"usporedivu Civilisu, Armi_niju i Marobodtq koji su svi pripadali obama svjetovima, indigenom i rimskom,manipulirajuii svoje identitete shodno situacijama u kojima su se nalazili, bilo krozindigeno podrijetlo bilo kroz rimski identitet. Batonov rat jo5 je uvijek potcijenjeni nedovoljno istraZen aspekt ranoga principata i s grediita opiiir studiju ri-rk" po_v_ijesti i s glediSta regionalne povijesti

rimskih provincqa Dalmacije i panonije. Ra_zlog tomu ponajvi5e je taj 5to pisana vrela odraZavaju rimski narativ politidke moii

40



Arheol. rad. raspr. 16(2009), slt. 29-45Daniiel DTino: The Bellum Batonianum in Contemporary Historiographical Narratives...

i ne ostavljaju mnogo mjesta danabnjim znanstvenicima za interpretiranje drugihnarativa. Promatrajuii dezidijatskog vodu Batona u usporedbi s ostalim indigenim

rodama njegova vremena, vidimo da ovaj sukob nije samo modernistiiki "ustanak"indigenog pudanstva protiv "stranog agresora" za vra(anje svojih "vjekovnih slo-boda". Taj sukob nije niti "pobuna urodenika" iz rimskog Ilirika koje je Rim trebaopacificirati. Novi pogledi otvaraju nove perspektive koje rimski Ilirik ranog princi-para pokazuju kao regiju koja prolazi kroz ubrzani i temeljni drubtveni preobrai,aj,regiiu snaZnog medudjelovanja razliditih kultura, regiju isprepletenih narativa islotenih identiteta.

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