The Bastarnae or Basternae () were an ancient Germanic tribe, who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited the region between the eastern Carpathian mountains and the Dnieper river ( corresponding to the modern Republic of Moldova and western part of southern Ukraine ).

Although possibly Celtic-speaking in 179 BC, the Bastarnae probably were Germanic in language and culture during the 1st century AD, but appear to have become assimilated by their neighbouring Sarmatians by the 3rd century.

In the mid 3rd century, the Bastarnae were part of a Gothic-led grand coalition of lower Danube tribes which inflicted immense damage on the Balkan provinces of the Roman empire in a series of massive invasions.

Large numbers of Bastarnae were resettled within the empire in the late 3rd century.

AD 10, may imply that the Bastarnae were of Celtic origin.

It is possible that the Bastarnae were originally a mixed Celto-Germanic group.

In any case, other Greco-Roman writers of the 1st century AD are unanimous that the Bastarnae were, in their own time, Germanic in language and culture.

The consensus among modern scholars is that the Bastarnae were, in the 2nd century, divided into two main groups.

It is uncertain whether the Bastarnae were sedentary or nomadic ( or semi-nomadic ).

Although he was aware that the Bastarnae were hardly likely to achieve the same success as Hannibal some 40 years earlier, and would most likely end up cut to pieces by the Romans, Philip hoped that the Romans would be distracted long enough to allow him to reoccupy his former possessions in Greece.

The Bastarnae host was still en route through Thrace, where it became embroiled in hostilities with the locals, who were unable ( or unwilling ) to provide them with sufficient food at affordable prices as they marched through.

A large force of Bastarnae chased them up the mountain, but were driven back and scattered by a massive hailstorm.

Having lost their entire baggage and supplies, the Bastarnae were obliged to withdraw from Dardania and to return home.

The Bastarnae provided the casus belli by crossing the Haemus and attacking the Dentheletae, a Thracian tribe who were Roman allies.

The Bastarnae tried to retreat into the forest but were hampered by the wagon-train carrying their women and children, as these could not move through the trees.

Trapped into fighting to save their families, the Bastarnae were routed.

The Bastarnae were perhaps involved in the Dacian Wars of Domitian ( 86-88 ) and Trajan ( 101-102 and 105-106 ), since these took place in the lower Danube region and it is known that both sides were supported by neighbouring indigenous tribes.

Thus, in 250-1, the Bastarnae were probably involved in the Gothic and Sarmatian invasions which culminated in the Roman defeat at the Battle of Abrittus and the slaying of the emperor Decius ( 251 ).

" One such were the Bastarnae, according to the Gallic nobleman Sidonius Apollinaris.

Over time, some peripheral areas of the Geto-Dacians ' territories were affected by the presence of other people, such as the Celts in the west, the Illyrians in the south-west, the Greeks and Scythians in the east and the Bastarnae in the north-east.

The Scirii and Bastarnae settled in the vicinity and were followed ca.

Meanwhile the Dardanian envoys came with reports as to the number of the Bastarnae, the size of their men, and their courage in the field. They gave information also of the treacherous practices of Perseus and the Gauls, and said that they were more afraid of him than of the Bastarnae, and therefore begged the help of the Romans.

The partly Celtic Bastarnae are also attested in this region in literature and the archaeological record during the 1st century BC ; they probably remained in the 1st century AD, according to Batty.

The unoccupied sections of Decebal's kingdom are likely to have been inhabited predominantly by ethnic Dacians, although according to Ptolemy, the northernmost part of the kingdom ( northern Carpathians / Bukovina ) was shared by non-Dacian tribes: the Anartes and the Taurisci, who were probably Celtic, and the Germanic Bastarnae are also attested in this region.

The Peucini branch of the Bastarnae first came into conflict with the Romans in the 1st century BC, when they resisted, ultimately unsuccessfully, Roman expansion into Moesia, the region on the southern bank of the Danube.

The Bastarnae first appear in the historical record in 179 BC, when they crossed the Danube in massive force ( probably ca.

As expected, the Bastarnae attacked the vanguard in force, only to find themselves entangled in the full-scale pitched battle with the Romans that they had tried to avoid.

The Peucini Bastarnae would have been critical to this venture since, as coastal and delta dwellers, they would have had seafaring experience that the nomadic Sarmatians and Goths lacked.

If the Bastarnae remained an identifiable group, it is highly likely that they participated in the vast Gothic-led migration, driven by Hunnic pressure, that was admitted into Moesia by emperor Valens in 376 and eventually defeated and killed Valens at Adrianople in 378.

Bastarnae crossed the Danube in huge numbers and although they didn't met the Macedonians, they continued the campaign.

Some 30, 000 Bastarnae under the command of Clondicus, seems to have defeated the Dardanians but eventually they returned home and the plan of Philip V failed.

After a peace treaty with the Roman Empire they are recorded as living east of the Bastarnae, near the Black Sea.

One possible derivation is from the proto-Germanic word * bastjan ( from Proto-Indo-European root word * b < sup > h </ sup > as ) means " binding " or " tie ".< ref > Köbler * b < sup > h </ sup > as </ ref > In this case, Bastarnae may have had the original meaning of an alliance or bund of tribes.

It is possible that the miscegenation mentioned by Tacitus had, by the 3rd century, resulted in the Bastarnae becoming assimilated by the Sarmatians, perhaps adopting their tongue ( which belonged to the Iranic group of Indo-European languages ) and / or Sarmatian customs.

Counting on the Bastarnae, with whom he had forged friendly relations in earlier times, he plotted a strategy to deal with the Dardani and then to regain his lost territories in Greece and his political independence.

After the latter had been crushed, Philip planned to settle Bastarnae families in Dardania ( southern Kosovo / Skopje region ), to ensure that the region was permanently subdued.

Despite the failure of Philip's Bastarnae strategy, the suspicion aroused by these events in the Roman Senate, which had been warned by the Dardani of the Bastarnae invasion, ensured the demise of Macedonia as an independent state.

In addition, he had established his hegemony over neighbouring Sarmatian and Bastarnae tribes.

A Bastarnae host, which had crossed the Danube to assist the Histrians, promptly attacked, surrounded and massacred the Roman infantry, capturing several of their vexilla ( military standards ).

It is quite possible that other people of Germanic and Sarmatian origin ( like Bastarnae, Taifals and Hasdingian Vandals ), perhaps Roman deserters as well, had joined the invaders.

A portion of the powerful Bastarnae tribe ( probably of mixed Germanic-Celtic blood ) settled on the island, apparently in the 2nd century BC, and adopted from their abode an alternative tribal name, " Peucini ", used by some classical authors to cover sections of the Bastarnae tribe which had never set foot on the island.