Teuta
Teuta | |
---|---|
Queen regent[A] of the Ardiaean | |
Regency | 231–228/227 BC |
Predecessor | Agron of Illyria |
Successor | Demetrius of Pharos |
Monarch | Pinnes |
Spouse | Agron |
House | Ardiaei |
Dynasty | Ardiaean |
Teuta (
Following the death of her spouse
Biographical details on the life of Teuta are biased by the fact that surviving ancient sources, which were written by Greek and Roman authors, are generally hostile to Illyrians and their queen alike for political and/or misogynistic reasons.[6][7][3]
Name
Her name is known in
Biography
Background
After the death of her husband
Early reign (231–230 BC)
In 231 BC, Teuta's armies attacked the regions of
On their arrival, the Roman ambassadors found Queen Teuta celebrating the end of an internal Illyrian rebellion as her armies were about to lay siege to the Greek island city of Issa.[6] She promised that no royal force would hurt them, but that piracy was a traditional Illyrian custom she was unable to put an end to.[6] Teuta also implied that "it was contrary to the custom of the Illyrian kings to hinder their subjects from winning booty from the sea".[17] One of the envoys reportedly lost his temper and replied that Rome would make it her business to "improve relations between sovereign and subject in lllyria",[18] since "[they had] an admirable custom, which is to punish publicly the doers of private wrongs and publicly come to the help of the wronged."[19]
The ambassador expressed himself to the queen so disrespectfully that her attendants were ordered to seize their ship as it embarked back for Rome, and the insolent envoy was murdered on his homeward voyage, allegedly on Teuta's order.
War with Rome (229–228 BC)
In 229 BC, Rome declared war on
The Roman attack seems to have caught up Teuta by surprise, since she had ordered a large naval expedition involving most of her ships against the Greek colony of
According to Polybius, she made a treaty in the early spring of 228 BC by which she consented to pay an annual tribute, to reign over a restricted and narrow region north of Lissus (modern Lezhë), and not to sail beyond Lissus with more than two unarmed ships.[2][3] He also reports that they required her to acknowledge the final authority of Rome.[5][2] According to Cassius Dio, she abdicated later in 227 BC.[25][2][3]
Later life
Appian mentions that, after the defeat, Teuta sent an embassy to Rome to deliver captives and to apologize for the events that had occurred during her spouse Agron's reign, but not under hers.[3]
Ancient depictions
Reliability of accounts
The most detailed account of Teuta's short reign is that of Polybius (c. 200–118 BC), supplemented by Appian (2nd c. AD) and Cassius Dio (c. 155–235 AD).[3] According to scholar Marjeta Šašel Kos, the most objective portrait of Teuta is that of Appian.[3] Historian Peter Derow also argues that Appian's version, especially the story of the murder of the ambassadors, is more plausible than that of Polybius.[26]
Polybius' narrative, written almost one century after the events and generally hostile to Illyrians and their queen alike, was probably inherited from an earlier account written by the Roman historian Quintus Fabius Pictor (fl. 200 BC), a contemporary of Teuta who was strongly biased towards his own nation.[27][7] But if Polybius was ready to accept the negative picture of the existing tradition, as it confirmed his own negative views on women, he was also aware of Fabius' own prejudices and opposed them on some occasions.[7]
Misogyny
In his Histories, Polybius opens the story of the reign of Teuta in those terms: "[Agron] was succeeded on the throne by his wife Teuta, who left the details of administration to friends on whom she relied. As, with a woman's natural shortness of view, she could see nothing but the recent success and had no eyes for what was going on elsewhere..."[28]
The misogyny of Cassius Dio is also evident in his portrait of Teuta. He describes the Illyrian queen as follows: "...woman-like, in addition to her innate recklessness, she was puffed up with vanity because of the power that she possessed ... In a very short time, however, she demonstrated the weakness of the female sex, which quickly flies into a passion through lack of judgment, and quickly becomes terrified through cowardice."[29]
Modern legend
According to a legend with its roots in the town of Risan, Teuta ended her life in grief by throwing herself from Orjen mountains at Lipci.[30]
Legacy
Teuta is a common given name among modern Albanian women.[31] The Albanian sporting club Teuta Durrës was named after her in 1930.[32]
See also
- List of rulers of Illyria
- Illyrian warfare
References
- ^ Polybius 2010: 2:4:6: "King Agron (...) was succeeded on the throne by his wife Teuta..."; Wilkes 1992, pp. 80, 129, 167.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Elsie 2015, p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Šašel Kos 2012.
- ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 158.
- ^ a b Derow 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wilkes 1992, p. 159.
- ^ a b c d Eckstein 1995, p. 154.
- ^ Boardman & Sollberger 1982, pp. 869–870; Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 288; Wilkes 1992, p. 72; West 2007, p. 137; De Simone 2017, p. 1869
- ^ Boardman & Sollberger 1982, pp. 869–870; Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 288; West 2007, p. 137
- ^ Boardman & Sollberger 1982, pp. 869–870.
- ^ West 2007, p. 137.
- ^ Gashi, Skender (2014). Kërkime onomastikë II. Emrat e shqiptarëve në shek. VIII-XV në dritën e burimeve kishtare serbe. 73. Shtëpia botuese TENDA Prishtinë.
- ^ Hammond 1993, p. 105.
- ^ Wilkes 1992, p. 167.
- ^ a b Berranger, Cabanes & Berranger-Auserve 2007, p. 136.
- ^ Wilkes 1992, pp. 158–159.
- ^ Polybius 2010, 2:8:9.
- ^ a b c d Wilkes 1992, p. 160.
- ^ Polybius 2010, 2:8:11.
- ^ Cassius Dio 1914, 12, Zonaras 8, 19.
- ^ Derow 1973, p. 119.
- ^ Appian 2019, 9:2:18–19.
- ^ Wilkes 1992, pp. 159–160.
- ^ a b c d e Ceka 2013, p. 180.
- ^ Cassius Dio 1914, 12 fr. 49.7.
- ^ Derow 1973, p. 128.
- ^ Derow 1973, pp. 123, 129.
- ^ Polybius 2010, 2:4:6–2:4:8.
- ^ Cassius Dio 1914, 12, Zonaras 8, 18.
- ^ Dyczek 2009, p. 189.
- ^ Elsie 2010, p. 439.
- ISBN 978-3-7679-1132-1.
Footnotes
- Pinnes.[1]
Primary sources
- ISBN 978-0-674-99648-9.
- ISBN 978-0-674-99041-8.
- ISBN 978-0-674-99637-3.
Bibliography
- Berranger, Danièle; Cabanes, Pierre; Berranger-Auserve, Danièle (2007). Épire, Illyrie, Macédoine: Mélanges offerts au Professeur Pierre Cabanes. Presses Universitaire Blaise Pascal. ISBN 978-2845163515.
- Boardman, John; Sollberger, E. (1982). J. Boardman; I. E. S. Edwards; N. G. L. Hammond; E. Sollberger (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History: The Prehistory of the Balkans; and the Middle East and the Aegean world, tenth to eighth centuries B.C. Vol. III (part 1) (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521224969.
- Ceka, Neritan (2013). The Illyrians to the Albanians. Migjeni.
- JSTOR 1087485.
- ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5.
- De Simone, Carlo (2017). "Illyrian". In Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz, Matthias (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. Vol. 3. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-054243-1.
- Dyczek, Piotr (2009). "Rock Art from Lipci, Montenegro". Dacia. 52. Académie de la Republique Populaire Roumaine. Institutul de Archéologie: 189–197.
- Eckstein, Arthur M. (1995). Moral Vision in the Histories of Polybius. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-91469-8.
- ISBN 978-1-5141-5726-8.
- Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical Dictionary of Albania. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-6188-6.
- ISBN 9789025610500.
- ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5. (EIEC).
- Šašel Kos, Marjeta (2012), "Teuta, Illyrian queen", The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 978-1-4443-3838-6
- ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9.
- Wilkes, John (1992). The Illyrians. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0631198075.
Further reading
- Jackson-Laufer, Guida Myrl (1999). Women Rulers throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide. New York: ABC-CLIO, Inc. ISBN 1576070913.
- Jones, David E. (2000). Women Warriors: A History. Brassey's. ISBN 9781574882063.
- ISBN 0806132884.
- Meijer, Fik (1986). A History of Seafaring in the Classical World. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312000758.
- ISBN 0192713531.
- Walbank, Frank William (1984). The Cambridge Ancient History: The Hellenistic World (Volume 7, Part 1). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Berranger, Cabanes & Berranger-Auserve 2007, p. 133
- ^ Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 288