tribal confederation · Balkans and Hungary

Scordisci

279 BCE – 15 CE (approx.) · capital Singidunum

Celtic people at the meeting of the Sava and Danube who founded Singidunum, modern Belgrade, and harried Roman Macedonia for two centuries.

Origins

After the Celtic invasion of Greece under Brennus failed in 279 BCE, survivors settled at the confluence of the Sava and Danube. There they merged with local Illyrian and Thracian peoples and formed the Scordisci, with strongholds at Singidunum (Belgrade) and Taurunum (Zemun).

Rule and society

A warrior aristocracy ruled over a mixed population, dominating the middle Danube from fortified oppida. They minted coins, traded along the river and raided south. In 114 BCE they destroyed a Roman army under Gaius Porcius Cato in Macedonia, and wars with Rome followed for decades. The Dacian king Burebista defeated them in the mid-1st century BCE.

Decline and legacy

Tiberius subdued the Scordisci during his Pannonian campaigns of 12–9 BCE, and they became allies of Rome. By the early 1st century CE they were absorbed into the provinces of Pannonia and Moesia, and the name Singidunum survived as a Roman legionary base.

Connections (1)

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻