Illyrian Wars
The Illyrian Wars were a series of conflicts in the late 3rd century BCE between the Roman Republic and the Illyrian tribes along the eastern Adriatic coast. Initially, the Illyrian tribes operated independently, but under the leadership of Agron and later his wife Teuta, they united and expanded their influence, posing a significant threat to Roman trade and security in the region. Teuta's aggressive actions, including the capture of key ports, prompted complaints from Roman merchants and ultimately led to a Roman military response. In 229 BCE, Rome launched a significant naval and land offensive against the Illyrians, resulting in swift victories and the establishment of alliances with local cities and tribes.
The aftermath of the wars saw a division of Illyrian territory between local leaders supported by Rome, namely Demetrius of Pharos and Scerdilaides of the Ardiaei. The conflicts represented not only Rome's tactical military strategies but also its growing ambition in the eastern Mediterranean. Roman historians later framed these wars as foundational steps towards broader imperial expansion, reflecting the complex interplay of power dynamics in the region during this period.
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Subject Terms
Illyrian Wars
At issue: Roman control of the ports and shipping lanes in the southern portion of the Adriatic Sea
Date: 229-228 b.c.e.; 219 b.c.e.
Location: Illyricum (later Yugoslavia and Albania)
Combatants: Romans vs. Illyrians
Principal commanders:Roman, Lucius Aemilius Paulus (d. 216 b.c.e.); Illyrian, Ardiaean queen Teuta, Demetrius of Pharos (d. 214 b.c.e.)
Principal battles: Epidamnus, Issa
Result: Rome achieved hegemony over the free cities and peoples of the Illyrian coast and came into conflict with Macedonia
Background
During the third century b.c.e., Rome steadily increased its influence throughout the Italian peninsula. In 244 b.c.e., Rome signaled its domination of southern Italy by founding a colony at Brundisium on the southern coast. This established Rome’s interest in the sea-going activity between southern Italy and the Greek mainland across the Straits of Otranto, the southern opening to the Adriatic Sea.
Until about 250 b.c.e., the Illyrian tribes, who occupied the eastern Adriatic seaboard, had operated independently of one another, preying on Adriatic shipping. Illyrian power shifted with the dissolution of the monarchy of Epirus and the unification of the southern tribes under the leadership of Agron, king of the Illyrian Ardiaei. By 230 b.c.e., the confederation of the Ardiaei had cooperated with Demetrius II of Macedonia to guarantee peace and security along the southern Adriatic coast and Macedonia’s volatile northwestern frontier.
Action
Agron was succeeded by his wife, Teuta, who transformed the Illyrians into a legitimate imperialistic threat. In 230 b.c.e., Teuta captured Phoenice, the main seaport of the Aetolian League, and established alliances with Epirus and the Acarnanians. Her action posed a direct threat in Greece to both the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues and prompted a new series of complaints to Rome by merchants doing business in the southern Adriatic. Rome responded by sending a fact-finding mission to meet with Teuta, who was besieging the Island of Issa.
Unfortunately one of the Roman ambassadors was killed during the trip home. Polybius, the historian of the Roman conquest of Greece, found in this a convenient excuse for the Roman invasion. However, Rome waited until 229 b.c.e., after the Illyrian defeat of Corcyra and the subsequent siege of Epidamnus, when there was no Greek state that could effectively oppose the Illyrians. Rome attacked with an overwhelming force of 200 ships, 20,000 infantry, and 2,000 cavalry. The Illyrian forces on Issa and at Epidamnus dissolved before the Roman army. The Romans withdrew their entire force by the middle of 228 b.c.e., after establishing alliances with a number of cites and tribes in the area and banning armed Illyrian ships from the southern Adriatic. Macedonia took no part in the war.
For the next nine years, Illyria was divided between Demetrius of Pharos, who had benefited from his alliance with Rome, and Scerdilaides of the Ardiaei. Both leaders participated in the wars and political maneuvers between Macedonia and the Greek leagues, and in 220 b.c.e., they cooperated in an ineffectual attack upon Pylos in southern Greece. Before returning to Illyria, Demetrius led his fleet on a raid on Greek cities among the Aegean Islands. However, the Roman response came only after Demetrius detached the Illyrian Atintanes from their alliance with Rome. Overwhelming force crushed Demetrius’s army and sent him fleeing to Macedonia. Attacking in the spring of 219 b.c.e., the Roman consuls, including Lucius Aemilius Paulus, were back in Rome before the end of the summer, and all Roman forces again left Illyria.
Aftermath
Roman historians interpreted the Illyrian Wars as the first steps in the grand design to conquer the eastern Mediterranean. In reality, they were rather typical Roman actions to reduce the dangerous consolidations of power in areas of expanding Roman interest. After 219 b.c.e., Roman and Macedonian sensitivity to the area drew the two powers into direct confrontation.
Bibliography
Badian, E. Foreign Clientelae (264-70 b.c.). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958.
Green, Peter. Alexander to Actium. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.
Gruen, Erich S. The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
Harris, W. V. War and Imperialism in Republican Rome, 327-70 b.c. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.