The Liburnians or Liburni () were an ancient tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers Arsia (Raša) and Titius (Krka) in what is now Croatia. According to Strabo's Geographica they populated Kerkyra until shortly after the Corinthians settled the island, c. 730 BC. Origins and relation to Illyrians Liburni's archaeological culture can be traced to the Late Bronze Age and "were settled since at least the tenth century BC in northern Dalmatia". Some Greek and Roman historians considered them to be of Asia Minor origin. According some scholars there existed some common characteristics between them and Etruscans, but others refute them and Asia Minor theory isn't generally accepted. Appian considered them as "one of the Illyrian peoples", an "Illyrian tribe", while Florus as the first enemies of Romans during Illyro-Roman Wars. However, although sometimes designated as Illyrian in historical sources and historiography they didn't belong to Illyrii proprie dicti, or to the Illyrian groups of Dalmatia and Pannonia, and for example Livy considered them "different people from the Illyrians". As foreign sources probably mixed various data on ethnic and non-ethnic Illyrians, it is considered today on the basis of material and linguistic evidence that the Liburni belonged to broader term of "so-called Illyrian peoples", but weren't ethnic Illyrians. However, modern historiography questions the same scholarship's methodological identification of ethnicity with material culture, linguistic traces, deities and else which ignores anthropological exchange, and notes that prior 4th century BCE the name of Liburni and Illyrians could have been synonyms and the former was only later distinctively used in narrow sense for people of North Adriatic territory. The Liburnian people, especially when were stationed in foreign land, identified themselves as "Liburnus" or "natione Liburnus", but the identity was also related to same-named administrative unit in Roman province of Illyricum, making the shared sense of ethnic and political identity prior to 1st century BCE a matter of debate among modern scholars. The surnames Liburnus, Liburna and personal names Liburnius and Liburnia aren't necessarily related to ethnic identity but rather Liburna, a type of ship, and name for carriers of chair, and server on royal court. History Classic age The first account of the Liburni comes from Hecataeus of Miletus (6th century BCE) and Strabo ("referring to the eighth century BCE"). They reportedly were expelled from Korkyra by the Greeks, where Liburni previously expelled another