Illyro-Roman Wars

The Illyro-Roman Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Illyrian kingdom under the Ardiaei and Labeatae. In the First Illyrian War, which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC,[1] Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adriatic Sea increased after the First Punic War at a time when Ardiaei power increased under queen Teuta.[2] Attacks on trading vessels of Rome's Italic allies by Illyrian pirates and the death of a Roman envoy named Coruncanius[3] on Teuta's orders,[4] prompted the Roman senate to dispatch a Roman army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus. Rome expelled Illyrian garrisons from a number of Greek cities including 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 Roman Republic was at war with the Celts of Cisalpine Gaul, and the Second Punic War with Carthage[7] was beginning. These distractions gave Demetrius the time he needed to build a new Illyrian war fleet. Leading this fleet of 90 ships, Demetrius sailed south of Lissus, violating his earlier treaty and starting the war.[8] Demetrius' fleet first attacked Pylos, where he captured 50 ships after several attempts. From Pylos, the fleet sailed to the Cyclades, quelling any resistance that they found on the way. Demetrius foolishly sent a fleet across the Adriatic, and, with the Illyrian forces divided, the fortified[9] city of Dimale[10] was captured by the Roman fleet under Lucius Aemilius Paulus.[11] From Dimale the navy went towards Pharos.[12] The forces of Rome routed the Illyrians and Demetrius fled to 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 Gentius of the Labeatae was allied with the Romans against the Macedonians. But in 169 BC he changed sides and allied himself with Perseus of Macedon. During the Third Illyrian War, in 168 BC, he arrested two Roman legati and destroyed the cities of Apollonia and Dyrrhachium, which were allied to Rome. He was defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under L. Anicius Gallus,[14] and in 167 BC he was brought to Rome as a captive to participate in Gallus' triumph, after which he was interned at Iguvium.

  1. ^ Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, p. 120, 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. ^ Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, p. 120, 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. ^ Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, p. 120, 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. ^ Hannibal: A History of the Art of War Among the Carthaginians and Romans Down to the Battle of Pydna, 168 B.C. by Theodore Ayrault Dodge, 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. ^ Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, p. 120, 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. ^ Public Organization in Ancient Greece: A Documentary Study — by Nicholas F. Jones — 1987, 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. ^ Battles of the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Chronological Compendium of 667 Battles to 31Bc, from the Historians of the Ancient World (Greenhill Historic Series) by John Drogo Montagu, ISBN 1-85367-389-7, 2000, page 47