The Illyrian 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, 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. Attacks on trading vessels of Rome's Italic allies by Illyrian pirates and the death of a Roman envoy named Coruncanius on Teuta's orders, 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 Demetrius of Pharos as a power in Illyria to counterbalance the power of Teuta.
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 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. 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 city of Dimale was captured by the Roman fleet under Lucius Aemilius Paulus. From Dimale the navy went towards Pharos. 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.
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, and in 167 BC he was brought to Rome as a captive to participate in Gallus' triumph, after which he was interned at 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 Agron. During this time, Agron invaded part of Corcyra, Epidamnos and Pharos in succession, establishing garrisons in them. An invasion towards Epirus was repulsed. The new force disposed of 'the most powerful which could carry 50 soldiers in addition to the rowersforce, both by land and sea, of any of the kings who had reigned in Illyria before him', according to Polybius (2.2). The Illyrians used the lembus, a small and fast warship with a single bank of oars. Raids by sea from the 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. The Greek cities (poleis) on the coast of Illyria were systematically attacked and perhaps already conquered by Agron's forces. 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.
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 Acarnania seceded from this arrangement. Their independence was soon threatened by the Aetolians, who began to occupy territory around the Gulf of Ambracia, including Pyrrhus' old capital, Ambracia, which forced the Epirotes to establish a new center at Phoenice. Besieged at Medion, the Acarnanians sought assistance from 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 Aetolian lines. The Aetolians drew up the greater part of their 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. This defeat of the Aetolians, who were famed for their victory over the invading Gauls a generation before, caused a sensation in Greece.
Raid against Phoenice
After Agron's death, when leadership passed to his widow, Teuta, Illyrian expansion continued successfully. Under her authority, Illyrian ships were given considerable freedom to conduct maritime raids. In 231 BC, Illyrian land and naval forces launched an expedition into the Peloponnese, attacking Elis and Messenia. On their 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. 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.
First Illyrian War
Even before the war with Carthage (264–241 BC), the Romans had been aware of the danger to the Adriatic coast of Italy from seaborne attack. In 246 BC, a colony of Roman citizens was settled at Brundisium to keep a watch on the Ionian gulf. 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. 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'.
Corcyra and Paxos (229 BC)
In 229 BC, the Roman intervention in Illyria appears to have taken Queen Teuta and the Illyrians by surprise.
As soon as the sailing conditions were met, Teuta dispatched a substantial naval force, which was larger than those sent in previous campaigns, towards Corcyra. Some ships landed at Epidamnos, where troops entered the city, with concealed weapons, under the pretext to procure food and water. These troops almost captured the city, but were pushed back after a fight. After this setback, the detachment rejoined the main Illyrian fleet, which had already begun its attack on Corcyra.
The Corcyraeans, along with Apollonia and Epidamnos, sought assistance from the Leagues of Greece. In response, an allied force of ten Achaean warships, united with the Aetolian navy, confronted the Illyrian fleet, which was supported by seven Acarnanian ships, near the island of Paxos, south of Corcyra.
During the battle, the Illyrians employed more effective tactics, capturing four Greek triremes and sinking a quinquereme. The remaining Greeks escaped the battle. Following this victory, Corcyra capitulated and an Illyrian garrison, commanded by Demetrius of Pharos, was installed on the island.
The main Illyrian force sailed back north for another attack on Epidamnos. The Illyrians were now on the point of consolidating their control on all of the coastline north of the Gulf of Corinth, including all of the sea routes to Sicily and Italy via Corcyra.
Roman offensive
The Roman consul Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus sailed his 200 ships to Corcyra to raise the siege, despite having learned that the island had already surrendered. He was in secret negotiations with Demetrius, who had fallen out of favour with Teuta, so Corcyra welcomed the Romans and, with the aid of Demetrius, surrendered its garrison. The city became a 'friend of Rome' and would henceforward rely on Roman protection from the Illyrians. Demetrius now served as an adviser to the Roman commanders for the rest of the war. Meanwhile, the consul Lucius Postumius Albinus brought an army of 20,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry across from Brundisium to Apollonia, which now joined the Roman alliance. The fleet under Fulvius reached Apollonia and the two forces advanced toward Epidamnos, causing the Illyrians to abandon the siege and disperse. The city was received into Roman protection and the army now moved inland among the Illyrian peoples of the hinterland. Here, the Romans received delegations from many peoples, including the Atintani and Parthini, from whom a formal surrender was accepted. At sea, the blockade of Issa was raised and the city also received Roman protection. As the Romans approached the Illyrian heartlands, opposition stiffened. The fleet moved northwards and attacked coastal towns, one of which being the unidentified Noutria. Roman losses included a magistrate of the Republic and some military tribunes, although 20 ships laden with plunder were intercepted. The besiegers of Issa fled to Arbo and Teuta retreated to her capital, Rhizon in the 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.
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. 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.
Second Illyrian War
Revival of power
The decade after 229 BC witnessed a revival of Illyrian power under Demetrius, who succeeded Teuta. Following the war, Demetrius married Triteuta, Agron's first wife and mother of 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. 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. After Sellasia, Demetrius began attempting to extend his control over Illyria at the expense of Rome.
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. 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.