Ardiaei

The Ardiaei or Ouardiaei (Ancient Greek: Ἀρδιαῖοι or Οὐαρδαῖοι; Latin: Vardiaei), were an Illyrian tribe, residing inland, that eventually settled on the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula. Polybius (203 BC–120 BC) writes that they were subdued by the Romans at events that occurred at 229 BC. Appian (95–165) writes that they were destroyed by the Autariatae and that in contrast to the Autariatae had maritime power. In the Epitome of Livy they are said to have been subdued by the consul Fulvius Flaccus.

They were located in present-day Montenegro, most likely around the gulf of Rhizon, although Strabo places them in the right bank of the Neretva. Their initial inland residence was located along the Naro River up to the Konjic region, in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The name of the town Čapljina is another feature suggesting that the original homeland of Ardiaei might indeed have been the Neretva valley region. Specifically, there is a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina situated in the wider Neretva valley region (the original homeland of ancient Illyrian people of Ardiaei), called Čapljina, and its name derives from čaplja, which in modern Bosnian language means 'heron'. The Latin word for heron is ardea, a word that bears striking similarity with the name of Ardiaei, and should not be excluded altogether as its potential cognate.