Illyrian invasion of Epirus

Last updated
Illyrian campaign against the Balkans
Date385 BC
Location
Result

Illyrian victory

  • Illyrians occupied Epirus
  • Illyrians continued their campaign and occupied a large part of Mainland Greece including Macedonia,Thrace and small parts of Dacia
  • Alcetas restoration as King of Molossians [1]
  • Illyrian forces withdrew after Spartan intervention but Northern Epirus,Upper Macedonia,parts of Thrace and Dacia stayed in Illyrian control [2]
Belligerents
Illyrians Molossians
Supported by:
Syracusans
Supported by:
Thessalians
Macedonians
Spartans
Thracians
Dacia
Commanders and leaders
Illyrian king (most likely Bardylis)
Dionysius I
Alcetas I
Pro-Spartan Molossian dynast
Agesilaus II
Hebryzelmis
Strength
7,000 Illyrians
2,000 Syracuse soldiers
5,000 Spartans
20,000 Epirotes
7,000 Macedonians
3,000 Thessalians
c. 5,000 Thracians
c. 5,000 Dacians
Casualties and losses
Less than 3000

50,000 in total

15,000 Molossians, more than 30,000 Macedonians, Thessalians, Spartans, Thracians and Dacians

The Illyrian invasion against the Balkans in Epirus,Macedonia,Thessaly,Thrace and Dacia occurred in 385 BC. Illyrians, led most likely by king Bardylis, were supported by Dionysius I of Syracuse who was aiming to expand his influence in the eastern Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, and by Alcetas I of Epirus who was expelled from his land by the Molossian pro-Spartan party and exiled in Syracuse. [3]

Contents

History

In 385 BC, Alcetas of Epirus was a refugee in Syracuse for unknown reasons. The tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius, wanted a friendly monarch in Epirus, so he sent 2,000 Greek hoplites and 500 suits of Greek armour to help the Illyrians, who at that time were led by king Bardyllis, for their battles with the Molossians in Epirus. Attackers killed about 15,000 Molossian warriors. Alcetas was restored to the throne, but the Illyrians didn't stop there. They continued pillaging throughout Epirus and parts of Greece. Dionysius joined them in an attempt to plunder the temple of Delphi. Then, Sparta, supported by Thessaly and Macedonians, intervened under Agesilaus, and expelled the Illyrians and the Syracusan warriors. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amyntas III of Macedon</span> King of Macedonia from 393/2 to 370 BC

Amyntas III was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 393/2 to 388/7 BC and again from 387/6 to 370 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty through his father Arrhidaeus, a son of Amyntas, one of the sons of Alexander I. His most famous son is Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.

This article concerns the period 369 BC – 360 BC

This article concerns the period 359 BC – 350 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip II of Macedon</span> King of Macedon from 359 to 336 BC

Philip II of Macedon was the king (basileus) of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ancient kingdom, and the father of Alexander the Great.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dionysius I of Syracuse</span> Greek tyrant of Syracuse (c. 432 – 367 BC)

Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Greek colonies. He was regarded by the ancients as an example of the worst kind of despot: cruel, suspicious, and vindictive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander I of Macedon</span> King of Macedon from c. 498/497 to 454 BC

Alexander I, also known as Alexander the Philhellene, was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 498/497 BC until his death in 454 BC. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Perdiccas II.

Bardylis was an Illyrian king, and the founder of the first attested Illyrian dynasty. During his reign, Bardylis aimed to make Illyria a regional power interfering with Macedon. He united many southern Illyrian tribes under his realm and defeated the Macedonians and Molossians several times, expanding his dominion over Upper Macedonia, including Lynkestis, and ruling over Macedon through a puppet king. Before the Rise of Macedon Illyrians were the dominant power in the region. Bardylis also led raids against Epirus, but his soldiers were eventually expelled from the region.

Cleopatra of Macedonia, or Cleopatra of Epirus was an ancient Macedonian princess and later queen regent of Epirus. The daughter of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias of Epirus, she was the only full sibling of Alexander the Great. Her other siblings include half sisters Thessalonike and Cynane, and half-brother Philip III of Macedon.

Eurydice was an Ancient Macedonian queen and wife of king Amyntas III of Macedon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molossians</span> Αncient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Epirus

The Molossians were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On their northern frontier, they neighbored the Chaonians and on their southern frontier neighbored the kingdom of the Thesprotians. They formed their own state around 370 BC and were part of the League of Epirus. The most famous Molossian ruler was Pyrrhus of Epirus, considered one of the greatest generals of antiquity. The Molossians sided against Rome in the Third Macedonian War and were defeated. Following the war, the region witnessed devastation while a considerable number of Molossians and other Epirotes were enslaved and transported to the Roman Republic, overwhelmingly in the Italian Peninsula itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynkestis</span> Historical region in Upper Macedonia

Lynkestis, Lyncestis, Lyngistis, Lynkos or Lyncus was a region and principality traditionally located in Upper Macedonia. It was the northernmost mountainous region of Upper Macedonia, located east of the Prespa Lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakka Souliou</span> Municipal unit in Greece

Lakka Souliou is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Dodoni, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 158.578 km2. Its population was 1,897 according to the census of 2021. Lakka Souliou is a historical site in the wider area of Souli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orestis (region)</span>

Orestis was a region of Upper Macedonia, corresponding roughly to the modern Kastoria regional unit located in West Macedonia, Greece. Its inhabitants were the Orestae, an ancient Greek tribe that was part of the Molossian tribal state or koinon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Macedonia</span> Part of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia

Upper Macedonia is a geographical and tribal term to describe the upper/western of the two parts in which, together with Lower Macedonia, the ancient kingdom of Macedon was roughly divided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illyrian kingdom</span> Ancient western Balkan kingdom

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glaucias of Taulantii</span> Illyrian Taulantian king from c.335 to c.295 BC

Glaucias was a ruler of the Taulantian kingdom which dominated southern Illyrian affairs in the second half of the 4th century BC. Glaucias is first mentioned as bringing a considerable force to the assistance of Bardylis' son Cleitus, an Illyrian prince who revolted against Alexander the Great, in the battle of Pelium 335 BC. They were, however, both defeated, and Cleitus was forced to take refuge within the Taulantian territories, whither Alexander did not pursue him, his attention being called elsewhere by the news of the revolt of Thebes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epirus (ancient state)</span> Former state in Ancient Greece

Epirus was an ancient Greek kingdom, and later republic, located in the geographical region of Epirus, in parts of north-western Greece and southern Albania. Home to the ancient Epirotes, the state was bordered by the Aetolian League to the south, Ancient Thessaly and Ancient Macedonia to the east, and Illyrian tribes to the north. The Greek king Pyrrhus is known to have made Epirus a powerful state in the Greek realm that was comparable to the likes of Ancient Macedonia and Ancient Rome. Pyrrhus' armies also attempted an assault against the state of Ancient Rome during their unsuccessful campaign in what is now modern-day Italy.

Pelion, also Pellion or Pelium was an ancient fortified settlement traditionally located in Illyria, near the Tsangon Pass, on the border with Macedonia. Pelion is generally placed in eastern Dassaretis very close to the historical border with Macedonia, however its precise location is uncertain and various theories have been proposed for the site of the settlement.

Sirras or Sirrhas was the son-in-law of the king of Lynkestis, Arrhabaeus, having married his daughter Irra. He participated in an Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition's defeat of the attempted invasion of Lynkestis by the Macedonian king Archelaus. He may have been a Lynkestian prince-regent or an Illyrian chieftain, part of the Illyrian force in a previous and also successful Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition against Sparta and Macedon during the Peloponnesian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argead dynasty</span> First dynasty of the Macedonian Kingdom

The Argead dynasty, also known as the Temenid dynasty was an ancient Macedonian royal house of Dorian Greek provenance. They were the founders and the ruling dynasty of the kingdom of Macedon from about 700 to 310 BC.

References

  1. Malkin 1998, p. 247; Howe 2017, p. 103
  2. Malkin 1998, p. 247
  3. Malkin 1998 , p. 247; Castiglioni 2007 , p. 174; Lane Fox 2011 , p. 225; King 2017 , p. 57 Howe 2017 , p. 103.
  4. Diodorus, Siculus. "Fifteenth book".

Bibliography