The name Illyria is a very ancient one, going back to centuries B.C., when the lands bordering the Adriatic on the eastern side were thus known. The boundaries of this state are uncertain and indeterminate, and varied greatly from time to time. Strabo, the ancient historian, mentions the country, saying that the coast-line was fertile and well supplied with harbours but that the people were barbarous and warlike. They are also described as tattooing their bodies and offering human sacrifices to their deities, but in a year given at various dates B.C. Illyria was made a Roman province and even became one of the four chief divisions of the Empire. The fine qualities of the men made the country a good recruiting-ground for the Roman army, and many of the Illyrians rose to the purple, Claudius, Aurelian, Probus, Diocletian, and Maximian all being among the number. With the fall of the Empire the province lost its hold and was ravaged by the Goths. Then the Slavs and Huns began to occupy the northern land and push further and further south, and as the small Slavonic states became consolidated, they fell off from the central authority. [Illustration: CLISSA: A STUDY IN GREY ROCK] Shakespeare, who had a taste for placing his scenes in this part of the world, lays here the action in _Twelfth Night_. In 1809 Buonaparte revived the ancient name, and included in it many of the more northern states such as Carinthia, Carniola, Istria, and Croatia. As a matter of fact this was a statesmanlike plan, as most of these peoples were Slav, and the fact of being united under the ancient name roused enthusiasm among them. There was a newspaper established called _The Illyrian Telegraph_. The poet Vodnik wrote an ode called “Risen Illyria,” part of which is given in the translation of Louis Leger’s _History of Austria-Hungary_: Napoleon has said: “Awake! Arise Illyria!” She wakes, she sighs. “Who calls me to the light? Oh great hero, is it thou who wakest me? Thou reachest to me thy mighty hand, thou liftest me up. “Our race shall be glorified, I dare to hope. A miracle shall take place, I dare to prophesy.” “Napoleon penetrates into the land of the Slovenes, a whole generation springs from the earth. “Resting one hand on Gaul, I give the other to Greece that I may save her. At the head of Greece is Corinth; in the centre of Europe is Illyria. Corinth is called the eye of Greece; Illyria shall be the jewel of the whole world.” Even when in 1816 these provinces were restored to Austria she retained the name of Illyria for some time, but it was dropped in 1849.