Lucius Anicius Gallus was elected praetor in 168 BC,[1][2] replacing the propraetor Appius Claudius Caecus as the military leader of the Roman conquest of Illyria.
[3] He took control of the region in twenty or thirty days following the defeat of Perseus of Macedon, the ally of the Illyrian king Gentius.
[1] Anicius Gallus brought back the latter and his children to Rome as prisoners,[4] and was designated propraetor of Illyria the same year.
[5] At the end of 167, he celebrated his victory at the festival of Quirinalia in a ridiculous manner according to Polybius, due to his lack of understanding for Greek art,[1] having constructed an enormous stage in the circus where he invited the most celebrated scenic artists from Greece to play.
[4][6] In the same year, he kept his function as a praetor and subdued the rebellious cities in the Greek state of Epirus.