Illyro-Roman Wars

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Illyrian Wars
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The Illyro-Roman Wars were a series of wars fought between the

Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra, Pharos and established a protectorate over these Greek towns. The Romans also set up[5] Demetrius of Pharos as a power in Illyria to counterbalance the power of Teuta.[6]

The Second Illyrian War lasted from 220 BC to 219 BC. In 219 BC, the

Macedon, where he became a trusted councillor at the court of Philip V of Macedon, and remained there until his death at Messene in 214 BC.[13]

In 171 BC, the Illyrian king

Iguvium
.

Prelude

Expansion under Agron

In the second half of the third century BC, the Ardiaei kingdom was transformed into a formidable power under the leadership of

Adriatic and Ionian were probably a familiar threat to the north-western Greeks. What was new was the use of a land army to follow up and profit from the victories gained by the navy.[16] The Greek cities (poleis) on the coast of Illyria were systematically attacked and perhaps already conquered by Agron's forces.[17] Rome answered an appeal from the island of Issa, threatened by Agron, by sending envoys. They never got there. They were attacked en route by Illyrian vessels, and one of them was killed, together with an Issaean ambassador.[18]

That time a number of political events marked the adjacent Greek states. In 234 BC, the royal succession in Epirus came to an end, and a federal republic was instituted. In the south, the western part of

Demetrius II of Macedonia, who for the most of his reign had been at war with the Aetolian and Achaean
Leagues. In response, the king requested assistance from Agron to relieve the siege.

The Illyrian attack under Agron was mounted in either 232 or 231 BC. One hundred lembi, with 5000 men on board, sailed up to land at Medion. They then formed up in the order that was usual in their own country, and advanced in their several companies against the

hoplites and cavalry in front of their own lines on the level ground and, with a portion of their cavalry and their light infantry, they hastened to occupy some rising ground in front of their camp, which nature had made easily defensible. 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. The Medionians joined the action by sallying out of the town and charging the Aetolians, thus, after killing a great number, and taking a still greater number prisoners, and becoming masters also of their arms and baggage, the Illyrians, having carried out the orders of Agron, conveyed their baggage and the rest of their booty to their boats and immediately set sail for their own country.[19] This defeat of the Aetolians, who were famed for their victory over the invading Gauls a generation before, caused a sensation in Greece.[20]

Raid against Phoenice

Illyrian success continued when command passed to Agron's widow Teuta, who granted individual ships a license to universal plunder. In 231 BC, the fleet and army attacked Elis and Messenia in the Peloponnese. On the way home, Teuta sent her general Scerdilaidas to capture the city of Phoenice in Epirus. The city was captured and the ensuing battle was won. A truce was agreed and Phoenice was returned for a price, along with the release of prisoners. The continued Illyrian success was another shock for the Greeks.[21] The Epirotes signified their acceptance of the Illyrian victory by sending envoys to Teuta promising cooperation with them and hostility towards the Leagues of Greece. Phoenice was the most prosperous city in Epirus, and the centre for the growing commerce with Italy. It was Illyrian interference with that commerce that brought Roman forces across the Adriatic for the first time. Nevertheless, the Illyrians had to withdraw from Phoenice in order to deal with an internal rebellion.[22]

First Illyrian War

Queen Teuta orders her guards to murder the Roman envoys – Augustyn Mirys

Even before the war with

Brundisium to keep a watch on the Ionian gulf.[23] During their occupation of Phoenice, a number of Illyrian ships had engaged in privateering against Italian merchants. So many were robbed, murdered or captured that the Roman Senate, after ignoring earlier complaints, realized that something had to be done. Polybius (2.8) furnishes a suspiciously vivid account of a Roman embassy to Teuta, a version of events that was intended to justify the Roman invasion of Illyria. It was led by the brothers L. and C. Coruncanius.[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. One of the ambassadors lost his temper; in response, the queen arranged for the insolent envoy to be murdered on his homeward voyage. 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'.[25]

Corcyra and Paxos (229 BC)

Main article: Battle of Paxos

The Roman invasion of Illyria in 229 BC appears to have caught Teuta completely off guard. 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. Some landed at Epidamnos, entered the city, with weapons concealed, to procure food and water, almost capturing it; but were thrown out after a fight.

quinquereme, while the rest of the Greeks managed to escape. Corcyra was surrendered and was occupied by a garrison under the command of Demetrius of Pharos. The main Illyrian force sailed north for another attack on Epidamnos. The Illyrians were now on the point of controlling all of the coastline north of the Gulf of Corinth, including all of the sea routes to Sicily and Italy via Corcyra.[27]

Roman offensive

The Roman consul

Gulf of Kotor. The Romans decided enough had been achieved and hostilities ceased. The consuls handed over the kingdom to Demetrius and withdrew the fleet and army to Italy under Fulvius. Having assembled 40 ships and some troops from allies in the area, the other consul remained in Illyria to keep watch on the Ardiaei and the peoples under Roman protection.[30]

Peace treaty (228 BC)

Before the end of winter, Teuta's envoys appeared in Rome and a treaty was concluded. 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. The terms of the settlement were conveyed to the Leagues in Greece, where they were well received.[31] The Illyrians had been forced to give up all their recent conquests south of the Drin. The Romans had gained control of the strategic ports of Epidamnos, Apollonia and Corcyra. 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.[32][33][34]

Second Illyrian War

Revival of power

The Mediterranean in 218 BC

The decade after 229 BC witnessed a revival of Illyrian power under Demetrius, who succeeded Teuta. Following the war, Demetrius married

Pinnes, in or around 222 BC, which consolidated his position. His marriage to Triteuta meant that Demetrius formally took over the regency of the Ardiaean Kingdom. 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. The king began to renew traditional Illyrian ties with Macedonia.[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.[36] After Sellasia, Demetrius began attempting to extend his control over Illyria at the expense of Rome.[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. In addition, he sailed south of Lissus, Lezhë in present-day Albania, and engaged in piracy in contravention of the settlement in 228 BC. In 221 BC, Demetrius also created an alliance with the Illyrian Histri at the head of the Adriatic, which tribe was interfering with Roman supply ships. A Roman fleet soon attacked the Histri.[38] Early in the summer of 221 BC, when tension was rising in Greece as Macedonia made an alliance with the Achaean League against the Aetolian League, the Illyrians attacked in their traditional manner.

In 220 BC, Demetrius and the Illyrian commander,

Cenchreae, the Aegean port of Corinth. At the same time, the Macedonian commander in Corinth, Taurion, learned of the invasion by Scerdilaidas and the Aetolians. Taking his cue from the Aetolians, Taurion agreed to drag Demetrius' ships across the Isthmus to bring them into play in the Gulf of Corinth, in return for Demetrius' assistance against the Aetolians. Although Demetrius conducted a few raids on the Aetolian coast, he was too late to hinder the Aetolians' return from 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.

Second Illyrian War
.

Surrender of Dimallum (219 BC)

Unlike Teuta in 229 BC, Demetrius was well prepared for the Roman invasion. He first placed a garrison in

Dimallum, an Illyrian city-fortress from Apollonia. He eliminated his opponents in other places, those Illyrians who opposed his rule, and stationed 6,000 of his best forces on his home island of Pharos. As before, both consuls of the year accompanied the Roman expedition, but the leading role was played by Aemilius Paullus, who was to be killed in the great Roman disaster at Cannae three years later. The Adriatic took on particular importance in Rome's preparations for the Second Punic War from 218 to 201 BC. Anticipating a long and difficult war far away from Rome, the Roman Senate decided first to set matters right in Illyria.[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.[46] As a result, all the Illyrian towns and cities of the area submitted to Roman protection, each receiving the appropriate terms and conditions. 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. To avoid a long siege, Aemilius decided to risk another frontal attack. The Roman army moved from the mainland to a wooded area of the island.[47] Meanwhile, the next day, a small force of ships was sent out to tempt Demetrius from behind his fortifications. Demetrius marched down to the harbor to oppose the Roman landing. The strategy worked, and when the main Roman army appeared from another direction on the island, the Illyrian army was forced to give battle, as they were cut off from their city. Attacked on two sides, and cut off from the protection of the city walls, the battle was lost. 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.[48][49]

Aftermath

The Romans destroyed the fortifications of Pharos and before the summer was over Aemilius was back in Rome receiving congratulations for a job well done. Any threat to Roman holdings in Illyria had been eliminated, all the gains of the First Illyrian War had been secured, and the old restrictions on movement imposed on Illyrian kings.

Pinnes, now confirmed as king, was left intact. Rome supported a small Ardiaeian State ruled by Pinnes and his successors. The Roman Republic called for the extradition[51] of Demetrius, but Phillip refused. Pinnes was ordered to pay the arrears of tribute, reparations imposed after the war. 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.[52]

Third Illyrian War

Relations with Rome

By 181 BC, the loyal

Daorsi
were at one time subjects, but the former defected soon after the accession of Gentius. Illyrian strength lay in its navy and it was their interference with Adriatic shipping that once more aroused Roman interest in the area.

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. An embassy to Illyria failed to locate the king; but the praetor discovered that Romans were being held for ransom at Corcyra Nigra. No outcome of the affair is reported and it may well be that the Senate accepted a claim by Gentius' envoys that the charges were false. Ten years later, when Rome was gripped with war fever against Perseus of Macedon, Issa accused Gentius of plotting war with the king and so the Illyrian envoys were denied a hearing before the Senate. Instead, the Romans seized 54 Illyrian lembi at anchor in the harbor of Epidamnus. On the eve of war, a Roman senator was sent to Illyria to remind Gentius of his formal friendship with the Roman Republic.

Alliance with Dardania and Macedonia

In 169 BC, Gentius arranged the murder of his brother,

Monunius II of Dardania
, would have made him too powerful. Gentius then married Plator's fiancée for himself, securing the alliance of the powerful Dardanian State.

Perseus of Macedon, having recaptured several Roman outposts in Roman occupied Illyria, controlled the route leading west to the Ardiaean State. At this point, Perseus sent his first embassy to Gentius, consisting of the Illyrian exile Pleuratus, for his command of the Illyrian language, and the Macedonians Adaeus and Beroea. They found Gentius at Lissus and informed him of Perseus' successes against the Romans and Dardanians and his recent victory against the Penestae. Gentius replied that he lacked not the will to fight the Romans, but only the money. No promises were made on this point either by this embassy or another sent from

Dium on the Thermaic Gulf
. A formal parade of the Macedonian cavalry was held, which may have impressed the Illyrians; the cavalry may have represented the Macedonians in the ratification of the treaty.

The 300 talents were counted out of the royal treasure at Pella and the Illyrians were permitted to mark it with their own stamp. An advance of this money was forwarded to Gentius; and when this was passed over by Pantauchus, the king was urged to commence hostilities against the Romans. When Gentius imprisoned two Roman envoys sent by Appius Claudius at Lychnidus, Perseus recalled the rest of the subsidy in the belief that Gentius was now his ally, come what may.[53]

Anti-Roman policy

King Gentius of Illyria

Gentius accompanied the new anti-Roman orientation in Illyrian foreign policy with a series of measures to strengthen the Ardiaean State. 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. At this time, Gentius was issuing bronze coins. In the Selcë hoard, there are two coins of Gentius with Macedonian emblems. The other coins of Gentius have what is probably his head with a cap not unlike the petasos, and a torc around his head, and on the reverse in one case a thunderbolt and in the other a lembus, the typical Illyrian warship. Thus, according to an inventory made by the Romans, the state treasury had 27 pounds of gold, 19 of silver, 120,000 Illyrian drachmas and 13,000 Roman denarii on the eve of the war with Rome.

Gentius and Perseus sent a joined embassy to invite

Adriatic. An army of 15,000 men completed the military machine of the Ardiaean State. Gentius was now prepared to go to war with Rome.[54]

Destruction of the Illyrian kingdom (168 BC)

Main article: Illyrian kingdom

Having mustered his force of 15,000 men and his fleet of lembi at

Appolonia. Meanwhile, the Romans under Appius Claudius had heard of the alliance that Gentius had made with Perseus of Macedon and the arrest of the Roman envoys. 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. There, he met with the new Roman commander, Lucius Anicius Gallus, a praetor. Anicius had crossed over from Italy to Apollonia with two legions totalling 600 cavalry and 10,400 infantry and of Italian allies, 800 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. His fleet, the size of which is not known, was strengthened by a draft of 5,000 sailors. To this imposing force, he added 200 cavalry and 2,000 infantry of the Parthini
, an Illyrian kingdom allied to the Romans. These combined forces outnumbered those of Gentius's by two to one.

As a folio of Livy's text is missing, little is known of this campaign. It seems that Anicius's fleets engaged Gentius' lembi and captured a number of them. 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. Gentius concentrated his forces in his capital

Meteon, they captured Gentius' queen Etuta
, his brother Caravantius, his sons Scerdilaides and Pleuratus along with leading Illyrians.

The fall of the Ardiaean State is transmitted by Livy in a ceremonial manner of the triumph of Anicius in Rome:

In a few days, both on land and sea did he defeat the brave Illyrian tribe, who had relied on their knowledge of their own territory and fortifications

This part of the campaign had only lasted 30 days. There were certainly further operations in the northern part of the Ardiaean State, for Anicius placed garrisons in some towns, citadels and fortresses. These include the cities of

Pirustae. Some came over to Rome on their own accord, while other places, such as Pharos, were reduced by force and their property looted.[56]

Aftermath

Rome's triumph included the capture of many royal flags, other booty, the furniture of the king himself and the treasure mentioned above. Millions of sestercii were gained from the sale of the booty, in addition to the gold and silver that went to the state treasury.

By decision of the Senate, Gentius and his family were sent to Spoletum, to be kept under observation. The other captives were imprisoned in Rome. But the inhabitants of Spoletum refused to keep the royal family under watch, so they were transferred to

Corcyra, Appolonia and Epidamnus. The year of Gentius' death is not known, but there are ruins of what is perhaps his tomb.[57]

The Roman punishment of Illyria spared only those kingdoms that had backed Rome openly in the war. For those who had been enemies, their cities, buildings and public institutions were burned and thoroughly looted. Those spared retained their previous manner of administration, with officials elected every year, and paid Rome only half the taxes that they had previously paid to Gentius. The federation-based kingdoms were dissolved and each unit was recognized as a separate kingdom, enjoying local autonomy and often the right to mint its own coins.

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.

See also

Notes

References

  1. ISBN 0-631-19807-5
    , Page 160, "The Roman invasion of Illyria in 229 bc appears to have caught Teuta and the Illyrians completely off guard. As soon as the weather permitted, the queen had ordered south a naval expedition..."
  2. ISBN 0-631-19807-5., Page 177, "... who appears to have ruled after 168 BC at Queen Teuta's old stronghold Rhizon (Risan
    ). His silver issues are rare, but bronze coins, without the royal title, occur on Hvar, both ..."
  3. ^ https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=App.+Ill.+2.7, Appian, The Foreign Wars (ed. Horace White) THE ILLYRIAN WARS, The Illyrian vessels attacked the ambassadors on their voyage and slew Cleemporus, the envoy of Issa, and the Roman Coruncanius; the remainder escaped by flight.
  4. ^ Zock, 99.
  5. ISBN 0-631-19807-5
    , page 161, "... Gulf of Kotor. The Romans decided that enough had been achieved and hostilities ceased. The consuls handed over Illyria to Demetrius and withdrew the fleet and army to Epidamnus, ..."
  6. ^ Eckstein, 46–59.
  7. ISBN 0-306-80654-1
    , 1995, Page 164, "... Hannibal was anxious to make his descent on Italy before the Romans had got through with the Gallic and Illyrian wars. He had made many preparations to this end, not only in men and material, but in reconnoitring..."
  8. ^ Polybius: The Rise of the Roman Empire, Book 6.16, "Demetrius of Pharos [...] had broken his treaty with the Republic by sailing beyond Lissus with fifty boats..."
  9. ISBN 0-631-19807-5
    ., Page 163, "Unlike Teuta in 229 BC, Demetrius was prepared for the Roman invasion. He placed a garrison in Dimale (Dimallum), a fortress inland ..."
  10. ISBN 0-87169-176-0
  11. ^ Polybius: The Rise of the Roman Empire, Book 6.16, "...the Romans dispatched Lucius Aemilius with an army [to face Demetrius]
  12. ^ Polybius: The Rise of the Roman Empire, Book 6.18, "having accepted [Dimale's] submission [...] the consul then sailed to Pharos to attack Demetrius himself..."
  13. ^ Polybius: The Rise of the Roman Empire, Book 6.19, "Demetrius [...] arrived unexpectedly at the court of King Philip of Macedon, where he remained for the rest of his life"
  14. ISBN 1-85367-389-7
    , 2000, page 47
  15. ^ a b Appian Illyrike 7
  16. ^ Hammond 1968 (kingdom of Agron)
  17. ISBN 0-631-19807-5
    .
  18. ^ The Hellenistic world and the coming of Rome, Volume 1 by Erich S. Gruen
  19. ^ Polybius 2.3
  20. ^ Hammond 1967b, 591 & 595 f.
  21. ^ Polybius 2.6
  22. ^ Dell 1967b (Illyrian motives in 230 BC)
  23. ^ Polybius 2.8,1
  24. ^ Rickard, J (2008), First Illyrian War, 230-228 BC
  25. ^ Hammond 1968, 5-6
  26. ^ Polyius 2.9, 6
  27. ^ Polybius 2.9,10
  28. ^ Cassius Dio 12 frg.49
  29. ^ N. Ceka 1970 (Parthini)
  30. ^ Appian Illyrike 8
  31. ^ Polybius 2.11-12
  32. ^ Hmmond 1968 (geography of Roman settlement).
  33. ^ Dell 1967a, 1970b
  34. ^ Levi 1973
  35. ^ Wilkes, p. 162; Errington, p. 91.
  36. ^ Polybius, 2.65.
  37. ^ Polybius, 3.16.
  38. ^ Appian, Illyrike 8
  39. ^ Polybius, 3.16, 4.16, 4.19.
  40. ^ For the Rhodians, who made their living as maritime traders, piracy was a serious problem; with Macedon and Egypt having abandoned their control in the Aegean, it fell to Rhodes to police these waters. See: Walbank (1970), p. 109 and Strabo, 14.2.5.
  41. ^ Polybius, 4.19.
  42. ^ Hammond 1968
  43. ^ Dell 1967b
  44. ^ Polybius, 3.16.1.
  45. ^ Rome and the Mediterranean to 133 B.C. By A. E. Astin, F. W. Walbank, M. W. Frederiksen
  46. ^ Wilkes, p. 163.
  47. ^ Appian, (Illyrike 8)
  48. ^ Polybius, 3.18–19.
  49. ^ Polybius (3.18-19)
  50. ^ Cassiu Dio. 12 frg.53
  51. ^ Épire, Illyrie, Macédoine: mélanges offerts au professeur Pierre Cabanes by Danièle Berranger, Pierre Cabanes, Danièle Berranger-Auserve, page 134
  52. ^ The Illyrians to the Albanians by Neritan Ceka pg~122-123
  53. ^ The Illyrians by John Wilkes
  54. ^ Illyrians to the Albanians, Neritan Ceka 2005
  55. ^ Épire, Illyrie, Macédoine: mélanges offerts au professeur Pierre Cabanes
  56. ^ A History of Macedonia: Volume III: 336-167 B.C. by N. G. L. Hammond, F. W. Walbank
  57. ^ "LacusCurtius • Iguvium (Gubbio) — the Roman Mausoleum".


Sources

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