Dardania (; ; ) was a Roman province in the Central Balkans, initially an unofficial region in Moesia (87–284), and then a province administratively part of the Diocese of Moesia (293–337). It was named after the tribe of the Dardani who inhabited the region in classical antiquity prior to the Roman conquest. Background Dardania is named after the Dardani, a tribe that lived in the region and formed the Kingdom of Dardania in the 4th century BC. The eastern parts of the region were at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone. In archaeological research, Illyrian names are predominant in western Dardania (present-day Kosovo), while Thracian names are mostly found in eastern Dardania (present-day south-eastern Serbia). Thracian names are absent in western Dardania; some Illyrian names appear in the eastern parts. The correspondence of Illyrian names - including those of the ruling elite - in Dardania with those of the southern Illyrians suggests a "thracianization" of parts of Dardania. Celts were present in Dardania in 279 BC. In 179 BC, the Bastarnae conquered the Dardani, who later in 174 pushed them out, in a war which proved catastrophic, with a few years later, in 170 BC, the Macedonians defeating the Dardani. Macedonia and Illyria became Roman protectorates in 168 BC. The Scordisci, a tribe of Celtic origin, most likely subdued the Dardani in the mid-2nd century BC, after which there is for a long time no mention of the Dardani. In 97 BC the Dardani are mentioned again, defeated by the Macedonian Roman army. Dardanian slaves or freedmen at the time of the Roman conquest were clearly of Paleo-Balkan origin, according to their personal names, noted as being mostly of the "Central-Dalmatian type". Dardania was Romanized early on. Administration After the Roman conquest, the pre-Roman Dardania eventually was organized into the Moesia province. During the reign of Domitian (81–96), in 86, Moesia was subdivided into Upper and Lower Moesia (Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior). The old name of Dardania was used for a new province part of Moesia Superior. Ptolemy (100–170) calls Dardania a special district of Moesia Superior. The Diocese of Moesia was a diocese established by Emperor Diocletian (r. 284–305). During his reign, the diocese included 11 provinces, one of which was Dardania. Dardania and Moesia Prima were established by dividing them from Moesia Superior, probably under Diocletian. During or likely after emperor Constantine I (r. 306–337), Dacia Mediterranea was created