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The Pannonians (Latin: Pannonii) was a common name for group of culturaly similar tribes cognate to Illyrians, who inhabited southern part of what was later known as Roman province of Pannonia, south of river Drava (Dravus), and northern part of future Roman province of Dalmatia.

In the 2nd century BC, the Segestani, one of the Pannonian tribes inhabiting area around Segesta (modern Sisak in Croatia), were attacked without lasting success by Roman consuls L. Aurelius Cotta and unidentified Cornelius. In 35 BC, the Segestani were attacked by Augustus, who conquered and occupied Siscia (Sisak). The rest of the Pannonians were not, however, definitely subdued until 9 BC, when their lands were incorporated into province of Illyricum after the bellum Pannonicum, conducted by future emperor Tiberius.

In AD 6, the Pannonians, together with the Dalmatians and other Illyrian tribes, revolted, and were overcome by Tiberius and Germanicus, after a hard-fought campaign which lasted for three years. Leaders of the rebellion were Baton (of the Breuci tribe) and Pines from Pannonia and another Baton (of the Daesidiates) from Dalmatia. After the rebellion was crushed in 9 AD, the province of Illyricum was dissolved, and its lands were divided between the new provinces of Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south. The date of the division is unknown, most certainly after AD 20 but before AD 50.

The Pannonian tribes inhabited area between river Drava and Dalmatian coast. Archaeology and onomastics shows that they were culturally different from southern Illyrians, Iapodes, and La Tene peoples commonly known as the Celts. However, there are some cultural similarities between the Pannonians and Dalmatians. Many of the Pannonians lived in the areas with rich iron ore deposits, so that iron mining and production was an important part of their economy before and after the Roman conquest. The Pannonians did not have settlements of importance in pre-Roman times, apart from Segestica (Siscia).

Ancient sources (Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Appian of Alexadria) mention few of the Pannonian tribes by name, and historians and archaeologists located some of them. The most significant were:

• Breuci (area between the rivers Sava and Drava)
• Daesidiates (central Bosnia)
• Pirustae (northern Montenegro)
• Segestani (around river Kolpa)
• Maezaei (northwest Bosnia roughly modern Bosanska Krajina without Bihać)
• Ditiones (western Bosnia)

1. Z. Marić, ‘Problemes des limites septentrionales du territoire illyrien’ in: A. Benac, Symposium sur la delimitation Territoriale et chronologique des Illyriens a l’epoque Prehistorique, Sarajevo 1964, 177-213 (material culture).
2. I. Bojanovski, Bosnie et Herzegovine a l’epoque antique (in Serbo-Croatian of the time), Sarajevo, 1988 (overview).
3. M. Šašel-Kos, Appian and Illyricum, Ljubljana, 2005, 375 ff. (with most up to date bibliography).

• Pannonia
• Illyrians
• Illyria

• Map of ancient Balkans