The Daorsi, Daorson, Municipium Diluntum, and the Question of (Dis)continuity

New methodological principles must be observed regarding the Daorsi, Daorson (the settlement in Ošanići), and the Municipium Diluntum. The paper analyses the term “Daorsi” in the context of Greco-Roman authors, epigraphic monuments, and published results of archaeological research. The analysis of source materials shows the role the Dalmatae and Romans played in the establishment of the identity of the Daorsi during the Late Republic. This paper provides a critical overview on identifying the term “Daorsi” from the period of the Illyrian Kingdom with the term civitas peregrina of the Daversi in Pliny’s list of communities of the Narona conventus. Literature shows that the name of the settlement in Ošanići, Daorson, was a construct of contemporary authors. The settlement near Ošanići, which likely became the center of the Municipium Diluntum under the Flavian dynasty, did not inherit the role of the ethnic center that is frequently noted in the literature. However, the example of the population of this municipium can be used to trace the existence of different identities within one microregion. The identities of the local elites and others socialstrata, including auxiliary and immigrants, are clearly pronounced.