Illyrian Wars

[15] The new force disposed of 'the most powerful which could carry 50 soldiers in addition to the rowersforce, both by land and sea, of any of the kings who had reigned in Illyria before him', according to Polybius (2.2).

A single charge, however, by the Illyrians, whose numbers and close order gave them irresistible weight, served to dislodge the light-armed troops, and forced the cavalry who were on the ground with them to retire to the hoplites.

[20] Illyrian success continued when command passed to Agron's widow Teuta, who granted individual ships a license to universal plunder.

[24] On arrival, they found Teuta celebrating the end of a rebellion in Illyria and engaged in laying siege to the Greek island of Issa, 'the last town which held out'.

When the ambassadors complained of injuries to Romans, Teuta promised that no royal forces would harm them, but said that she was unable to put an end to the tradition of private enterprise.

News of this caused the Romans to prepare for war: legions were raised and a fleet assembled, and there was general indignation at 'the queen's violation of the law of nations'.

As soon as the weather permitted, Teuta had ordered south a naval expedition even larger than those of previous years, with most of the ships heading to attack Corcyra.

Ten Achaean ships were engaged by the Illyrian fleet, reinforced by seven warships of the Acarnanians, off the island Paxos south of Corcyra.

Meanwhile, the consul Lucius Postumius Albinus brought an army of 20,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry across from Brundisium to Apollonia, which now joined the Roman alliance.

According to its terms, the queen would pay tribute (or perhaps an indemnity) to Rome, abandon Illyria, except for a few places, and promise not to sail south of Lissus at the mouth of the Drin with more than two ships, and even those had to be unarmed.

In the hinterland, several of the Illyrian tribes now had the status of Rome clients, as was certainly the case with the Parthini in the Gensus (Shkumbin) valley and the Atintani further south.

Moreover, not only were the Ardiaei prevented from moving at will by land and sea into Epirus and western Greece, but they were now cut off from the inland route to Macedonia, their patron and ally against the Greek Leagues.

Demetrius' own influence was thereby greatly extended, and the fundamental weakness of the Ardiaean Kingdom after 229 BC, that there was no competent regent for Pinnes, was relieved.

[35] In 222 BC, an Illyrian corps of 1,600 men fought with distinction under the command of Demetrius at Sellasia, where the Macedonians won a conclusive victory over the Spartans.

[37] Before then, when Rome was preoccupied with a war against the Celtic peoples of the Po Valley in northern Italy from 225 to 222 BC, Demetrius detached the Illyrian Atintani from their Roman alliance.

On putting in at Naupactus with forty ships, Scerdilaidas was encouraged by his brother-in-law Amynas, king of the Athamanes, to join the Aetolians in their planned invasion of Achaea.

[41] After returning to the Ardiaean Kingdom, Demetrius continued operations during the following winter, attacking and seizing Roman allied cities and communities in southern Illyria.

[42] The Romans, who had hitherto ignored the activities of their former ally, decided that the harbors on the Ardiaean Kingdom's coast now had to be made secure, in view of the threat of another war with Carthage.

[44][45] In 219 BC, having decided that Dimallum was crucial to Demetrius' power in the region, the consul prepared to besiege the city, but was able to take it by direct assault within seven days.

Next, the Romans moved against Demetrius on the island of Pharos, who awaited the attack with good troops, ample provisions and war materials behind strong fortifications, that of the modern port city of Stari Grad.

In 218 BC, the Illyrian forces soon surrendered, while Demetrius deserted the island and fled to Macedonia, making his way to the court of Philip V of Macedon, who was now the Macedonian king following the death of Antigonus.

[50] Demetrius may have returned to the Ardiaeian State and have been attacked by another Roman force, although the regime of Pinnes, now confirmed as king, was left intact.

The weak Ardiaeian state soon fell prey to Macedonia, while the partial destruction brought onto the scene the urban koina of the Parthini, Byllines, Amantini and others.

Among the islands, the Greek city of Issa had retained some form of independence under Roman protection but Pharos remained an Illyrian possession.

In 180 BC, a Roman praetor responsible for coastal protection arrived in Brundisium with some of Gentius's ships that were said to have been caught in the act of piracy.

First, he concentrated the finances by establishing a single tax over all the subjects and by taking royal control of the monetary workshops, or mints, of Lissus and Scodra, the two cities where he resided.

He therefore moved his army out of their winter quarters at Nymphaeum, added to it troops from Byllis, Epidamnus, and Appolonia, as he marched north, and encamped by the river Genesus.

Next, the Illyrian forces were defeated on land, allowing the Romans to advance to the heart of the state, where they won over the cities by humane and clement methods.

The Roman army marched north of Scutari Lake where, at Meteon, they captured Gentius' queen Etuta, his brother Caravantius, his sons Scerdilaides and Pleuratus along with leading Illyrians.

While the southern Illyrian lands had been subjected once and for all, the Roman legions continued for about another hundred years with attempts to conquer the northern and eastern territories.