The Illyrians, Illyrioi; Latin : Illyrii) were a conglomeration of Indo-European peoples and tribes in the Balkan Peninsula, Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Illyrian language and practiced a multitude of common religious and cultural practices. Many of Illyrian groups formed a distinct tribal mode of social organisation, which survived much later in the form of the Albanian tribal system. [1] [2]
In late Iron Age and early classical antiquity, the first polities of the area would be created by tribal groupings, including the Taulantii and Dardani. The most powerful Illyrian states of the area, the Ardiaean kingdom, emerged in the 3rd century BC during the rule of Agron and Teuta. The Illyrians came into conflict with Roman Republic and were defeated in the Illyrian Wars, which were followed by many revolts. The largest and last of them was the Great Illyrian Revolt (6-9 BC). The beginning of the integration of the region of Illyria in the Roman world followed the revolt and saw many Illyrians rise through the ranks of the Roman society and the Roman army in particular which produced several emperors of Illyrian origin.
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Agron | Ruler | Ruled from c. 250 BC to 230 BC | In 231 BC, Agron possessed the most powerful land army and navy, of any of the kings who had reigned before him. He extended the kingdoms' borders in the north and south. [3] |
Anastasius I | Emperor | Lived from c. 431 AD to 518 AD | Anastasius I was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 491 to 518. |
Artas | Ruler | Ruled from c. 430 BC to 413 BC | Artas was a ruler of Messapia. He supplied the Athenians with one hundred and fifty javelin-throwers in 413 BC for the war against the Syracuse. [4] |
Astius | Bishop | Died in c. 98 AD | Astius was a bishop in the city of Dyrrachium. |
Audata | Queen | Ruled from c. 359 BC to 336 BC | Audata was related to Bardylis and wife of Philip II of Macedon. |
Aurelian | Emperor | Lived from c. 214 AD to 275 AD | Aurelian was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 270 to 275. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Ballaios | Ruler | Ruled from c. 260 BC to 230 BC | Ballaios ruled over the eastern Adriatic with capital at Rhizon. He is attested only from silver and bronze coinage, found abundantly along both coasts of the Adriatic. He is considered as the predecessor of Agron. [5] [6] |
Bardylis | Ruler | Lived from c. 448 BC to 358 BC | Bardylis was the founder of the first attested Illyrian dynasty. [7] Macedonian campaigns proved successful in 393, 372 and 359 BC and invaded Epirus in alliance with Dionysius of Syracuse. [8] |
Bardylis II | Ruler | Ruled from c. 295 BC to 290 BC | Bardyllis II was the son of Cleitus (r. 295–290 BC). He managed to re-create the state of his grandfather in the region of Dassaretis to the west of the Lynkestian lake. [9] |
Bato the Breuci | Ruler | Born between c. 35 BC to 30 BC | Bato surrendered to Tiberius in 8 AD on the bank of the Bosna river. [10] |
Bato the Daesitiate | Ruler | Born between c. 35 BC to 30 BC | Bato was defeated by the Romans in 9 AD during the Great Illyrian Revolt; end of final Illyrian resistance to Roman occupation. [11] |
Bato the Dardanian | Ruler | Ruled from c. 206 BC to 176 BC | Bato clashed with Ancient Macedonia in 199 BC, in order to liberate Paeonia. [12] |
Bircenna | Queen | Ruled from c. 292 BC to 272 BC | Bircenna was the daughter of Bardylis II and a wife of Pyrrhus of Epirus. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Caeria | Queen | Died in 344 BC or 343 BC | Caeria was an Illyrian queen, who reigned in the 4th century BC. |
Caius | Pope | Served from 17 December 283 to 22 April 296 | In accordance with Christian tradition, Caius is a native from Dalmatia and a relative of Diocletian. |
Constantine the Great | Emperor | Lived from 25 July 306 to 22 May 337 | Flavius Valerius Constantinus was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 306 to 337. |
Constantius II | Emperor | Lived from 7 August 317 to 3 November 361 | Flavius Julius Constantius was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 337 to 361. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Diocletian | Emperor | Lived from 22 December 242/245 to 3 December 311/312 | Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus was born in Dalmatia and served as the emperor of the Roman Empire from 284 to 305. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Etuta | Queen | Ruled from c. 169 BC to 168 BC | Etuta was the wife of Gentius. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Irenaeus | Bishop | Died in 304 AD | Irenaeus was a bishop in Sirmium, Pannonia. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Jerome | Priest | Lived from c. 342 or 347 to 420 | |
Jovian | Emperor | Lived from 331 to 364 | Flavius Jovianus was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 363 to 364. |
Justin I | Emperor | Lived from 2 February 450 to 1 August 527 | Flavius Iustinus was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 518 to 527. |
Justinian the Great | Emperor | Lived from 11 May 482 to 14 November 565 | Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Kratill Mahata | Gymnasiarch | fl. 3rd century BC | A gymnasiarch from the ancient illyrian city of Nikaia who lived in the 3rd century BC. [13] |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Mark Lugari | Schoolteacher | fl. late 3rd century and early 2nd century BC | A schoolteacher from the ancient city of Apollonia (Illyria) who lived in the late 3rd century and early 2nd century BC. [14] [15] |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Sabinianus Magnus | military leader | fl. 5th century CE | General of the Eastern Roman Empire( magister militum per Illyricum ), who fought in the rebellion of Theodoric Strabo against Emperor Zeno. [16] |
Sabinianus | military and political leader | fl. 505-508 | Son of Sabinianus Magnus. Consul and magister militum per Illyricum. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Teuta | Ruler | Ruled from c. 231 BC to 228/227 BC | Teuta was the spouse of Agron and the ruler of the Ardiaei tribe upon Agron's death. |
Name | Title | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Valens | Emperor | Lived from 328 to 378 | Flavius Valens was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 364 to 378. He was born into an Illyrian family in Cibalae, Pannonia Secunda. [17] [18] |
Valentinian I | Emperor | Lived from 3 July 321 to 17 November 375 | Flavius Valentinianus was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 364 to 375. He was born into an Illyrian family in Cibalae, Pannonia Secunda. [17] [18] |
Valentinian II | Emperor | Lived from 371 to 392 | Flavius Valentinianus II was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 375 to 392. |
The Illyro-Roman Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Illyrian kingdom under the Ardiaei and Labeatae. In the First Illyrian War, which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adriatic Sea increased after the First Punic War at a time when Ardiaei power increased under queen Teuta. Attacks on trading vessels of Rome's Italic allies by Illyrian pirates and the death of a Roman envoy named Coruncanius on Teuta's orders, prompted the Roman senate to dispatch a Roman army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus. Rome expelled Illyrian garrisons from a number of Greek cities including Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra, Pharos and established a protectorate over these Greek towns. The Romans also set up Demetrius of Pharos as a power in Illyria to counterbalance the power of Teuta.
Agron was an Illyrian king of the Ardiaean Kingdom in the 3rd century BC, ruling c. 250–231 BC. The son of Pleuratus II, Agron succeeded in reconquering southern Illyria, which had been under the control of Epirus since the time of Pyrrhus, and in extending Illyrian rule over many cities in the Adriatic region, including Corcyra, Epidamnos, and Pharos.
Pinnes 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.
Taulantii or Taulantians were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria. They dominated at various times much of the plain between the rivers Drin (Drilon) and Vjosa (Aoös). Their central area was the hinterland of Epidamnos-Dyrrhachion, corresponding to present-day Tirana and the region between the valleys of Mat and Shkumbin (Genusus). The Taulantii are among the oldest attested Illyrian peoples, who established a powerful kingdom in southern Illyria. They are among the peoples who most marked Illyrian history, and thus found their place in the numerous works of historians in classical antiquity.
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.
Gentius was an Illyrian king who belonged to the Labeatan dynasty. He ruled in 181–168 BC, being the last attested Illyrian king. He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept positive relations with Rome. The capital city of the Illyrian kingdom under Gentius was Scodra.
Scerdilaidas or Skerdilaid was an Illyrian ruler of the Illyrian kingdom under the Labeatan dynasty. Before taking the throne, Scerdilaidas was commander of the Illyrian armies and played a major role in the Illyrian Wars against the Romans.
The Ardiaei were an Illyrian people who resided in the territory of present-day Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its right bank on the west, and extending to Lake Shkodra to the southeast. From the 3rd century BC to 168 BC the capital cities of the Ardiaean State were Rhizon and Scodra.
The Kingdom of Dardania was a polity in the central Balkans in the region of Dardania during classical antiquity. It is named after the Dardani, a Paleo-Balkan tribe that formed the core of the Dardanian polity. Dardania was centered around present-day Kosovo, but also included parts of North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania. The eastern parts of Dardania were at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone. Marcus Licinius Crassus, grandson of the triumvir Marcus Crassus, officially annexed the kingdom in 28 BC while on campaign against the Dacians and Bastarnae. The region was subsequently incorporated into the province of Moesia in 15 BC, and later in 293 AD, as the province of Dardania.
Longarus was an Illyrian king of the Dardanian Kingdom. Longarus was at war with various Macedonian kings and managed to conquer at different times part of Macedonia. Longarus was an ally of the Paeonian State and liberated the Paeonians in order to open the routes towards Macedonia. Longarus' influence grew and many other Illyrians from the Ardiaean Kingdom joined him.
Bato was an Illyrian king of the Dardanian State. Bato was the son of Longarus whom he succeeded and the brother of Monunius II who ruled after him. Bato fought alongside the Romans against Macedon during the Second Macedonian War. Bato is known for using advanced war tactics against Athenagoras. Bato became a major threat to the Macedonians but after the war was over Dardanian and Roman relations soon diminished.
Cleitus was an Illyrian ruler, the son of the King Bardylis and the father of Bardylis II.
Plator the Illyrian was brother to King Gentius, the last Illyrian king of the Ardiaean State.
Etuta was an Illyrian queen of the Ardiaean Kingdom, married to Gentius. Etuta was a Dardanian princess, the daughter of Monunius II of Dardania.
The Illyrian Kingdom was an Illyrian political entity that existed on the western part of the Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. Regardless of the number of the alternately ruling dynasties, of their tribal affiliation, and of the actual extension of their kingdom, it represented an alliance of Illyrian tribes that united under the rulership of a single leader, expressly referred to as "King of the Illyrians" in ancient historical records.
The history of the Illyrians 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.
Pleuratus III was a ruler of the Illyrian kingdom under the Labeatan dynasty. He was the son of Scerdilaidas. Pleuratus continued his father's pro-Roman policy even more decidedly, so much that his loyalty to Rome was well known, even to other dynasts. He managed to extend the boundaries of the Illyrian State in the south when he was rewarded land annexed by Philip V of Macedon. He became one of the most prominent Illyrian kings of the time all because of his loyalty to the Romans. Pleuratus was succeeded by his son Gentius, who was the last Illyrian king.
The Battle of Phoenice took place in 230 BC between the forces of the Epirote League and the Ardiaean Kingdom of Illyria.
This is a list of Illyrian rulers from the Ardiean-Labeatan dynasty:
Undoubtedly the word Illyrian had a distinct political (hence to some extent also ethnic) meaning, when applied to the Illyrian kingdom of Sirrhas or Bardylis I, at thend of the 5th or the beginning of the 4th century BC to the fall of Genthius in 168 BC, regardless of the unsolvable problem of how many dynasties alternately occupied the throne and what was the origin and the actual expanse of the kingdom of each of them