tribal confederation · Balkans and Hungary

Bastarnae

200 BCE – 280 CE (approx.)

Probably Germanic people of the lower Danube and Carpathians who fought for Macedon against Rome and later joined the Goths.

Origins

The Bastarnae appeared north of the lower Danube around 200 BCE, the first Germanic-speaking people known to Greek and Roman writers, though some ancient authors thought them Celts. One branch, the Peucini, lived on the island of Peuce in the Danube delta.

Rule and society

They were a warlike confederation of tribes, valued as mercenaries. Philip V and Perseus of Macedon recruited them against Rome, and the Zarubintsy and Poienești-Lukashevka archaeological cultures are often linked to them. In 62 BCE they defeated Gaius Antonius Hybrida near Histria. In 29 BCE Marcus Licinius Crassus defeated them and killed their king Deldo in single combat.

Decline and legacy

Under the empire they remained a frontier people, joining the Goths and Carpi in 3rd-century raids. Around 280 the emperor Probus settled a large number of Bastarnae in Thrace, after which they disappear as a distinct people.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bastarnae. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bastarnae
MLA
“Bastarnae.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bastarnae. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bastarnae.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bastarnae.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bastarnae’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bastarnae (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻