Illyrian Wars
Encyclopedia
Illyrian Wars were a set of conflicts of 229 BC
, 219 BC
and 168 BC
when Rome
overran the Illyria
n settlements and suppressed the piracy
that had made the Adriatic unsafe for Italian commerce. There were three campaigns
, the first against Teuta, the second against Demetrius of Pharos
and the third against Gentius
. The initial campaign in 229 BC marks the first time that the Roman Navy
crossed the Adriatic Sea to launch an invasion.
In the First Illyrian War, which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC
, Rome's concern with the trade routes running across the Adriatic Sea increased after the First Punic War
, when many tribes of Illyria
became united under one queen, Teuta. The death of a Roman envoy named Coruncanius on the orders of Teuta and the attack on trading vessels owned by Italian merchants under Rome's protection, prompted the Roman senate to dispatch a Roman army under the command of the consul
s Lucius Postumius Albinus (consul 234 and 229 BC)
and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus.
The Romans
also set up Demetrius of Pharos
as a power in Illyria to counter-balance the power of Teuta.
to 219 BC. In 219 BC the Roman Republic
was at war with the Celts of Cisalpine Gaul
, and the Second Punic War
with Carthage was beginning. These distractions gave Demetrius the time he needed to build a new Illyrian war fleet. Leading this fleet of 90 ships, Demetrius sailed south of Lissus, violating his earlier treaty and starting the war.
Demetrius' fleet first attacked Pylos
where he captured 50 ships after several attempts. From Pylos the fleet sailed to the Cyclades
, quelling resistance they found on the way. Demetrius foolishly sent a fleet across the Adriatic, and, with the Illyrian forces divided, the fortified city of Dimale
was captured by the Roman fleet under Lucius Aemilius Paulus
. From Dimale
the navy went towards Pharos. The forces of Rome routed the Illyrians and Demetrius fled to Macedon
where he became a trusted councilor at the court of Philip V of Macedon
, and remained until his death at Messene
in 214 BC
.
the Illyrian king Gentius
allied himself with the Macedonians. First in 171 BC, he was allied with the Romans against the Macedonians
, but in 169 he changed sides and allied himself with Perseus of Macedon
. He arrested two Roman legati and destroyed the cities of Apollonia
and Dyrrhachium
, which were allied with Rome. In 168 he was defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under L. Anicius Gallus, and in 167 brought to Rome as a captive to participate in Gallus' triumph
, after which he was interned in Iguvium.
. After forty years of intermittent fighting Illyria became a province; it took another hundred years, however, before the coastal Illyrian and Dalmatia
n tribes were finally subjugated following the Great Illyrian Revolt
.
229 BC
Year 229 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Centumalus...
, 219 BC
219 BC
Year 219 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paullus and Salinator...
and 168 BC
168 BC
Year 168 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Macedonicus and Crassus...
when Rome
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
overran the Illyria
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
n settlements and suppressed the piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
that had made the Adriatic unsafe for Italian commerce. There were three campaigns
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
, the first against Teuta, the second against Demetrius of Pharos
Demetrius of Pharos
Demetrius of Pharos was a ruler of Pharos involved in the First Illyrian War, after which he ruled a portion of the Illyrian Adriatic coast on behalf of the Romans, as a Client king....
and the third against Gentius
Gentius
Gentius was the last Illyrian king of the Ardiaean State. The name appears to derive from PIE *g'en- "to beget", cognate to Latin gens, gentis "kin, clan, race". He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept relations with Rome very strong...
. The initial campaign in 229 BC marks the first time that the Roman Navy
Roman Navy
The Roman Navy comprised the naval forces of the Ancient Roman state. Although the navy was instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean basin, it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions...
crossed the Adriatic Sea to launch an invasion.
First Illyrian War
228 BC
Year 228 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ruga and Verrucosus...
, Rome's concern with the trade routes running across the Adriatic Sea increased after the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
, when many tribes of Illyria
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
became united under one queen, Teuta. The death of a Roman envoy named Coruncanius on the orders of Teuta and the attack on trading vessels owned by Italian merchants under Rome's protection, prompted the Roman senate to dispatch a Roman army under the command of the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s Lucius Postumius Albinus (consul 234 and 229 BC)
Lucius Postumius Albinus (consul 234 and 229 BC)
Lucius Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus was a Roman consul of the third century BC. Most of our knowledge about his career and his demise comes from Livy's Ab Urbe Condita. From his filiation, "A. f. A. n.", we know that he was probably the son of Aulus Postumius Albinus, consul in 242 BC.He was...
and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus.
The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
also set up Demetrius of Pharos
Demetrius of Pharos
Demetrius of Pharos was a ruler of Pharos involved in the First Illyrian War, after which he ruled a portion of the Illyrian Adriatic coast on behalf of the Romans, as a Client king....
as a power in Illyria to counter-balance the power of Teuta.
Second Illyrian War
The Second Illyrian War lasted from 220 BC220 BC
Year 220 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laevinus/Catulus and Scaevola/Philo...
to 219 BC. In 219 BC the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
was at war with the Celts of Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul, in Latin: Gallia Cisalpina or Citerior, also called Gallia Togata, was a Roman province until 41 BC when it was merged into Roman Italy.It bore the name Gallia, because the great body of its inhabitants, after the expulsion of the Etruscans, consisted of Gauls or Celts...
, and the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
with Carthage was beginning. These distractions gave Demetrius the time he needed to build a new Illyrian war fleet. Leading this fleet of 90 ships, Demetrius sailed south of Lissus, violating his earlier treaty and starting the war.
Demetrius' fleet first attacked Pylos
Pylos
Pylos , historically known under its Italian name Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former...
where he captured 50 ships after several attempts. From Pylos the fleet sailed to the Cyclades
Cyclades
The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...
, quelling resistance they found on the way. Demetrius foolishly sent a fleet across the Adriatic, and, with the Illyrian forces divided, the fortified city of Dimale
Dimale
Dimale was an ancient town in Illyria, possibly situated in the territory of the Illyrian Parthini, northeast of the ancient Greek colony of Apollonia near modern Krotinë, Berat District, Albania. The city was of uncertain foundation, Greek or Illyrian.- History :According to N.G.L...
was captured by the Roman fleet under Lucius Aemilius Paulus
Lucius Aemilius Paullus (General)
Lucius Aemilius Paullus was a Roman consul twice, in 219 and 216 BC.He served his first consulship with Marcus Livius Salinator. During this year, he defeated Demetrius of Pharos, in the Second Illyrian War and forced him to flee to the court of Philip V of Macedon. Upon his return to Rome, he was...
. From Dimale
Dimale
Dimale was an ancient town in Illyria, possibly situated in the territory of the Illyrian Parthini, northeast of the ancient Greek colony of Apollonia near modern Krotinë, Berat District, Albania. The city was of uncertain foundation, Greek or Illyrian.- History :According to N.G.L...
the navy went towards Pharos. The forces of Rome routed the Illyrians and Demetrius fled to Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
where he became a trusted councilor at the court of Philip V of Macedon
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...
, and remained until his death at Messene
Messene
Messene , officially Ancient Messene, is a Local Community of the Municipal Unit , Ithomi, of the municipality of Messini within the Regional Unit of Messenia in the Region of Peloponnēsos, one of 7 Regions into which the Hellenic Republic has been divided by the Kallikratis...
in 214 BC
214 BC
Year 214 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verrucosus and Marcellus...
.
Third Illyrian War
In 168 BC168 BC
Year 168 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Macedonicus and Crassus...
the Illyrian king Gentius
Gentius
Gentius was the last Illyrian king of the Ardiaean State. The name appears to derive from PIE *g'en- "to beget", cognate to Latin gens, gentis "kin, clan, race". He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept relations with Rome very strong...
allied himself with the Macedonians. First in 171 BC, he was allied with the Romans against the Macedonians
Ancient Macedonians
The Macedonians originated from inhabitants of the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, in the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios...
, but in 169 he changed sides and allied himself with Perseus of Macedon
Perseus of Macedon
Perseus was the last king of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great...
. He arrested two Roman legati and destroyed the cities of Apollonia
Apollonia, Illyria
Apollonia was an ancient Greek city in Illyria, located on the right bank of the Aous river . Its ruins are situated in the Fier region, near the village of Pojani, in modern-day Albania...
and Dyrrhachium
Durrës
Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...
, which were allied with Rome. In 168 he was defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under L. Anicius Gallus, and in 167 brought to Rome as a captive to participate in Gallus' triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
, after which he was interned in Iguvium.
Aftermath
Illyria was finally conquered in 168 BC168 BC
Year 168 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Macedonicus and Crassus...
. After forty years of intermittent fighting Illyria became a province; it took another hundred years, however, before the coastal Illyrian and Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n tribes were finally subjugated following the Great Illyrian Revolt
Great Illyrian revolt
The Great Illyrian Revolt, was a major conflict between an alliance of indigenous communities from Illyricum and Roman forces that lasted for four years beginning in AD 6 and ending in AD 9.-The war:...
.
See also
- ScerdilaidasScerdilaidasScerdilaidas was an Illyrian king of the Ardiaean Kingdom. Before taking the throne Scerdilaidas was commander of the Illyrian armies and played a major role in the Illyrian Wars against the Romans....
- PinnesPinnesPinnes was the son of Agron, king of the Ardiaei in Illyria, and Agron's first wife Triteuta. He officially succeeded his father as king in 230 BC, but the Ardiaean kingdom was ruled by Agron's second wife, Queen Teuta.Pinnes was only a young boy when his father died in 230 BC, and his stepmother...
- Illyrian warfareIllyrian warfareThe history of Illyrian warfare spans from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC up to the 1st century AD in the region of Illyria and in southern Italy where the Iapygian civilization flourished....