Pashalik of Shkodra

Pashalik of Shkodra (1757-1831) was a semi-independent entity under the Ottoman Empire, created by Albanian leaders of Northern Ottoman Albania, today's Northern Albania, Southeast Montenegro, most of Kosovo and West Macedonia.The weakening of Ottoman central authority and the timar system brought anarchy to the Albanian-populated lands. In the late 18th century, two Albanian centers of power emerged: Shkodër, under the Bushati family; and Janina, under Ali Pasha of Tepelenë. When it suited their goals, both places cooperated with the Sublime Porte, and when it was expedient to defy the central government, each acted independently.In 1757, Mehmed Bey Bushati proclaimed himself Pasha of Shkoder, eying at a degree of autonomy/independence Mehmed Ali Pasha had established for himself in Egypt. His son and successor Kara Mahmoud pursued a policy of military expansion; he established his control over northern Albania (up to the Shkumbi River) and over Kosovo. He launched two attacks on Montenegro (1785, 1796) and defeated resp. outlasted several Ottoman expeditions dispatched to subdue him. Kara Mahmoud's autonomous pashalik did receive the attention of the Austrian and Russian foreign office, both regarding him a potential ally against the Sublime Porte. In 1796, Kara Mahmoud was killed when he suffered defeat at the hands of the Montenegrins. He was succeeded by his brother Ibrahim Pasha, a less warlike personality loyal to the Ottoman Empire (-1810). The Bushati Dynasty continued to hold on to the Pashalik until an Ottoman army under Mehmet Reshid Pasha besieged Rozafat Castle at Shkoder in 1831 and forced Mustafa Bushati to surrender (1831). The pashalik was dissolved, the Vilayets of Shkoder and of Kosovo established. An uprising in Shkoder in 1833-1836 failed in reestablishing the autonomy enjoyed under the Bushati. The latter established the Bushati Library in the 1840es, which played an important role in the cultural awakening of northern Albania.

Pasha

* Mehmed Pasha Bushati (1768-1774)
* Mustafa Pasha Bushati (1774-1778)
* Kara Mahmud Bushati (1778-1796)
* Ibrahim Bushati (1796-1810)
* Mustafa Reshit Pasha (1810-1831)

Albanian Pashaliks

The Albanian Pashaliks (Albanian: Pashallëqet e Shqiptare) were three Ottoman pashaliks ruled by Albanian pashas from about 1760 to 1831 and covering roughly the territory of modern Albania, Kosovo, and Greek Epirus.

List of Albanian Pashaliks
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1) Pashalik of Shkodra Kara Mahmud Bushati 1757-1831
2) Pashalik of Janina Ali Pasha 1787-1822
3) Pashalik of Berat Ahmet Kurt Pasha 1774–1809


The Pashalik of Iskodra, or Pashalik of Shkodra (1757-1831) was a semi-independent entity under the Ottoman Empire, created by Albanian leaders of Northern Ottoman Albania, today's Northern Albania, Southeast Montenegro, most of Kosovo and West Macedonia. The weakening of Ottoman central authority and the timar system brought anarchy to the Albanian-populated lands. In the late 18th century, two Albanian centers of power emerged: Shkodër, under the Bushati family; and Janina, under Ali Pasha of Tepelenë. When it suited their goals, both places cooperated with the Sublime Porte, and when it was expedient to defy the central government, each acted independently.In 1757, Mehmed Bey Bushati proclaimed himself Pasha of Shkodër, eying at a degree of autonomy/independence Mehmed Ali Pasha had established for himself in Egypt. His son and successor Kara Mahmoud pursued a policy of military expansion; he established his control over northern Albania (up to the Shkumbi River) and over Kosovo. He launched two attacks on Montenegro (1785, 1796) and defeated resp. outlasted several Ottoman expeditions dispatched to subdue him. Kara Mahmoud's autonomous pashalik did receive the attention of the Austrian and Russian foreign office, both regarding him a potential ally against the Sublime Porte. In 1796, Kara Mahmoud was killed when he suffered defeat at the hands of the Montenegrins. He was succeeded by his brother Ibrahim Pasha, a less warlike personality loyal to the Ottoman Empire (-1810). The Bushati Dynasti continued to hold on to the Pashalik until an Ottoman army under Mehmet Reshid Pasha besieged Rozafat Castle at Shkodër in 1831 and forced Mustafa Bushati to surrender (1831). The pashalik was dissolved, the Vilayets of Shkodër and of Kosovo established. An uprising in Shkodër in 1833-1836 failed in reestablishing the autonomy enjoyed under the Bushati. The latter established the Bushati Library in the 1840es, which played an important role in the cultural awakening of northern Albania.


The Pashalik of Yanina, or Pashalik of Janina (1787-1822) was a semi-independent albanian entity under the Ottoman Empire, created by Ali Pasha, an Albanian leader of Southern Ottoman Albania, encompassing areas of modern northern Greece and southern Albania. In 1787 Ali Pasha was awarded the pashaluk of Trikala in reward for his support for the sultan's war against Austria. This was not enough to satisfy his ambitions; shortly afterwards, he seized control of Ioánnina, which remained his power base for the next 33 years. Like other semi-autonomous regional leaders that emerged in that time, such as Osman Pazvantoğlu, he took advantage of a weak Ottoman government to expand his territory still further until he gained de facto control of most of Albania, western Greece and the Peloponnese, either directly or through his sons. Ali's policy as ruler of Ioánnina was governed by little more than simple expediency; he operated as a semi-independent despot and allied himself with whoever offered the most advantage at the time. In order to gain a seaport on the Albanian coast Ali formed an alliance with Napoleon I of France who had established Francois Pouqueville as his general consul in Ioánnina. After the Treaty of Tilsitt where Napoleon granted the Czar his plan to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, Ali switched sides and allied with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1807. His machinations were permitted by the Ottoman government in Istanbul for a mixture of expediency - it was deemed better to have Ali as a semi-ally than as an enemy - and weakness, as the central government did not have enough strength to oust him at that time. The poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron visited Ali's court in Ioánnina in 1809 and recorded the encounter in his work Childe Harold.In a letter to his mother, however, Byron deplored Ali's cruelty: "His Highness is a remorseless tyrant, guilty of the most horrible cruelties, very brave, so good a general that they call him the Mahometan Buonaparte ... but as barbarous as he is successful, roasting rebels, etc, etc.."In 1820, Ali ordered the assassination of a political opponent in Constantinople. The reformist Sultan Mahmud II, who sought to restore the authority of the Sublime Porte, took this opportunity to move against Ali by ordering his deposition. Ali refused to resign his official posts and put up a formidable resistance to Ottoman troop movements, indirectly helping the Greek Independence as some 20,000 Turkish troops were fighting Ali's formidable army. In January 1822, however, Ottoman agents assassinated Ali Pasha and sent his head to the Sultan. After his death the pashalik ceased to exist.


The Pashalik of Berat was a pashalik created in modern day central Albania by Ahmet Kurt Pasha in 1774 and dissolved after Ahmet's ally, Ibrahim Pasha of Berat was defeated by Ali Pasha in 1809, thus incorporating the pashalik, with the Pashalik of Janina. This pashalik was one of the three pashaliks created by Albanians in the period of lbanian Pashaliks. The Pashalik of Berat was created after Ahmet Kurt Pasha managed to complot with the Sublime Porte against Mehmed Pasha Bushati in 1774. For his service, the sultan gave him territories in central Albania. He managed to grow his pashalik until his death in 1787, incorporating territories of all central Albania, bordering to the north with the Pashalik of Shkodra and to the south with the Pashalik of Janina. Ahmet Kurt Pasha was the grandfather of Ali Pasha, and father of Ali's mother, Hanka. After the death of Ahmet Kurt Pasha, the territory of the pashalik was ruled by a close ally of him, Ibrahim Pasha of Berat. As this territory belonged to the Middle Albania, Ibrahim Pasha was roused at this encroachment. This made, Ali Pasha to start a war with the Pashalik of Berat. After some fruitless negotiation, Ibrahim Pasha sent a body of troops under the command of his brother Sephir, bey of Avlona. Against these, Ali summoned the armatoles of Thessaly; and after villages had been burnt, peasants robbed and hanged, and flocks carried oif on both sides, peace was made. Ibrahim gave his daughter in marriage to Mookhtar, the eldest son of Ali, and the disputed territory as her dower. As Sephir bey had displayed qualities which might prove formidable hereafter, Ali contrived to have him poisoned by a physician ; and, after his usual fasliion, he hanged the agent of the crime, that no witness might remain of it. Ali Pasha has said that he should prevail over the pasha of Berat, become vizir of Epirus, fight with the Sultan, and go to Constantinople. In 1808, Ali Pasha defeated Ibrahim Pasha, incorporating its territory in the Pashalik of Janina.

Albanian language

Albanian (Gjuha shqipe) is an Indo-European language spoken by nearly 10 million people,primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia. Albanian is also spoken by native enclaves in Greece, along the eastern coast of southern Italy, and in Sicily. Additionally, speakers of Albanian can be found elsewhere throughout the latter two countries resulting from a modern diaspora, originating from the Balkans, that also includes Scandinavia, Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. To the south of Albania, in Greece, there are traditional settlements of Çamërian dialect speakers, in particular around Parga and Igoumenitsa in Epirus. Despite border changes and deportations to Albania, the Albanian population here may be as high as 100,000. In central Greece, the Albanian language, known in Albanian as Arbërisht and in Greek as Arvanitika, languishes in more than 320 villages, primarily those of Boeotia (especially around Levadhia), southern Euboea, Attica, Corinth and northern Andros. These speakers are the descendants of large-scale Albanian emigration to Greece during the late Middle Ages. No official statistics exist as to their numbers. This exceptionally archaic form of Albanian is dying out rapidly.

In southern Italy, there is a small but well-established Albanian-speaking minority, the so-called Arbëresh, or Italo-Albanians. These are the descendants of refugees who fled Albania after the death of Scanderbeg in 1468.Most of them live in the mountain villages of Cosenza in Calabria and in the vicinity of Palermo in Sicily. The Arbëresh speak an archaic dialect of Albanian, which differs substantially from the Albanian now spoken in the Balkans, to the extent that communication is difficult if Arbëresh speakers are not familiar with standard literary Albanian.

Traditional Albanian settlements can be encountered sporadically elsewhere in the Balkans: in Arbanasi, a suburb of Zadar on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia; in some villages in the Sandjak in Serbia and in the Bulgarian-Greek-Turkish border region, notably in the Bulgarian village of Mandrica. A few Albanian speakers are also to be found in the Ukraine, notably in villages in the regions of Melitopol’ and Odessa.

Little remains of the once extensive colonies of Albanians scattered throughout the Ottoman Empire. The Albanian minority in Egypt has now dissipated, though Albanian communities still exist in large numbers in Turkey (Istanbul, Bursa and elsewhere) and to an extent in Syria, notably in Damascus.


Classification
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Traditionally scholars have seen the Albanian as the descendant of Illyrian while some dispute this claiming that it derives from Dacian or Thracian. (Illyrian, Dacian, and Thracian, however, may have formed a subgroup or a sprachbund).
Albanian is a language of the extensive Indo-European family and is thus related to a certain degree to almost all other languages of Europe. The Indo-European character of the language was first recognized in 1854 by the German linguist Franz Bopp (1791-1867). At the same time, Albanian shows no particularly close historical affinity to any other language or language group within the Indo-European family, i.e. it forms a language group of its own.

Despite Albania’s geographical proximity to Greece, linguistic contacts with ancient Greek seem to have been sporadic. Roman trading settlements on the Illyrian coast and Albania’s absorption into the Roman Empire, however, left noticeable traces in the language. Borrowings from Latin, which took place over a period of several centuries, were so massive as to threaten the very structure of the language. Cultural contacts with the Slavs (Bulgarians and Serbs), Turks and Italians have also left substantial strata of vocabulary in Albanian.Establishing longer relations, Albanian is often compared to Balto-Slavic and Germanic , both of which share a number of isoglosses with Albanian. Moreover, Albanian has undergone a vowel shift in which stressed, long o has fallen to a, much like in the former and opposite the latter. Likewise, Albanian has taken the old relative jos and innovatively used it exclusively to qualify adjectives, much in the way Balto-Slavic has used this word to provide the definite ending of adjectives. Other linguists link Albanian with Greek and Armenian, while placing Germanic and Balto-Slavic in another branch of Indo-European. Nakhleh, Ringe, and Warnow found that Albanian can be placed at a variety of points within the Indo-European tree with equally good fit; determining its correct placement is hampered by the loss of much of its former diagnostic inflectional morphology and vocabulary.


Dialects
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The Albanian language is divided into two basic dialect groups: Gheg in the north of the country and Tosk in the south. The Shkumbin River in central Albania, flowing past Elbasan into the Adriatic, forms the approximate boundary between the two dialect regions. Here, in a zone ten to twenty kilometers wide, intermediate dialects are also found.

The Gheg dialect group, characterized by the presence of nasal vowels, by the retention of the older n for Tosk r (e.g., venë “wine” for Tosk verë; Shqypnia “Albania” for Tosk Shqipëria) and by several distinct morphological features, can be further classified into a northwestern (Shkodra and surrounding region), a northeastern (northeastern Albania and Kosova), a central (between the Ishëm and Mat Rivers and eastwards into Macedonia, including Dibra and Tetova) and a southern (Durrës, Tirana) Gheg dialect.

The Tosk dialect group is in general more homogenous, though it can be subdivided into a northern (from Fier to Vlora on the coast and all of inland southern Albania north of the Vjosa River), a Labërian or Lab (south of the Vjosa to Saranda), and a Çamërian or Çam (the southern tip of Albania and into Greece) dialect.

The modern literary language (gjuha letrare), agreed upon at the Orthography Congress of 20 to 25 November 1972, is a combination of the two dialect groups, though based about eighty percent on Tosk. It is now a widely accepted standard both in Albania and elsewhere, though there have been increasing tendencies in recent years to revive literary Gheg.


Historical presence and location
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While it is considered established that the Albanians originated in the Balkans, the exact location from which they spread out is hard to pinpoint. Traditionally scholars have seen the Albanians as descended from Illyrians, however, from time to time this view has been challenged, very frequently for modern nationalistic reasons[27]

The theory that Albanians were related to the Illyrians was proposed for the first time by a German historian in 1774.[28] The scholars who advocate an Illyrian origin are numerous. There are two variants of the theory: one is that the Albanian language represents a survival of an indigenous Illyrian language spoken in what is now Albania.[32] The other is that the Albanian language is the descendant of an Illyrian language that was spoken north of the Jireček Line and probably north or northeast of Albania.

The arguments for the Illyrian-Albanian connection have been as follows:

* The national name Albania is derived from Albanoi, an Illyrian tribe mentioned by Ptolemy about 150 A.D.

* From what we know from the old Balkan populations territories (Greeks, Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians), Albanian language is spoken in the same region where Illyrian was spoken in ancient times.

* There is no evidence of any major migration into Albanian territory since the records of Illyrian occupation.

* Many of what remain as attested words to Illyrian have an Albanian explanation and also a number of Illyrian lexical items (toponyms, hydronyms, oronyms, anthroponyms, etc.) have been linked to Albanian.

* Borrowed words (eg Gk (NW) "device, instrument" mākhaná > *mokër "millstone" Gk (NW) drápanon > *drapër "sickle" etc) from Greek language date back before the Christian era[39] and are mostly of Doric dialect of Greek language, which means that the ancestors of the Albanians were in Northwestern part of Ancient Greek civilization and probably borrowed them from Greek cities (Dyrrachium, Apollonia, etc) in the Illyrian territory, colonies which belonged to the Doric division of Greek, or from the contacts in Epirus area.

* Borrowed words from Latin (eg Latin aurum > ar "gold", gaudium > gaz "gas" etc)date back before the Christian era, while Illyrians in the today's Albanian territory were the first from the old Balkan populations to be conquered by Romans in 229 - 167 B.C., Thracians were conquered in 45 A.D. and Dacians in 106 A.D.

* The ancient Illyrian place-names of the region have achieved their current form following Albanian phonetic rules e.g. Durrachion > Durrës (with the Albanian initial accent) Aulona > Vlonë~Vlorë (with rhotacism) Scodra > Shkodra etc.

* The characteristics of the Albanian dialects Tosk and Geg in the treatment of the native and loanwords from other languages, have lead to the conclusion that the dialectal split preceded the Slavic migration to the Balkans which means that in that period (5th to 6th century AD) Albanians were occupying pretty much the same area around Shkumbin river which straddled the Jirecek line.

However, archaeology has more convincingly pointed to the early Byzantine province of Praevitana (modern northern Albania) which shows an area where a primarily shepherding, transhumance population of Illyrians retained their culture. This area was based in the Mat district and the region of high mountains in Northern Albania, as well as in Dukagjin, Mirditë, and the mountains of Drin, from where the population would descend in the summer to the lowlands of western Albania, the Black Drin (Drin i zi) river valley, and into parts of Old Serbia. Indeed, the region's complete lack of Latin place names seems to imply little latinization of any kind and a more likely spot for the early medieval heart of Albanian territory, following the collapse of the Illyrian province.

Cognates with Illyrian

* brisa, "husk of grapes"; cf. Alb bërsí "lees, dregs; mash" (< PA *brutiā)
* loúgeon, "pool"; cf. Alb lag "to wet, soak, bathe, wash" (< PA *lauga), lëgatë
"pool" (< PA *leugatâ), lakshte "dew" (< PA *laugista)
* mandos, "small horse"; cf. Alb mëz, mâz "poney"
* mantía "bramblebush"; Old and dial. Alb mandë, mod. Alb mën, man "berry, mulberry"
* rhinos, "fog, mist"; cf. OAlb ren, mod. Alb re, rê "cloud" (< PA *rina)
* sibina, "spear"; cf. Alb thupër "bar, stick"
* sica, "dagger"; cf. Alb thika "knife"


Historical considerations
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Indeed, the center of the Albanians remained the river Mat. In 1079 AD they are recorded in the territory of the Shkumbin river.

Furthermore, the major Tosk-Gheg dialect division is based on the course of the Shkumbin River, a seasonal stream that lay near the old Via Egnatia. Since rhotacism postdates the dialect division, it is reasonable that the major dialect division occurred after the Christianization of the Roman Empire (4th c. AD) and before the eclipse of the East-West land-based trade route by Venetian seapower (10th c. AD).
The oldest surviving documents written in Albanian are the "Teodor Shkodrani Script 1210", "Formula e Pagëzimit" (Baptismal formula), "Un'te paghesont' pr'emenit t'Atit e t'Birit e t'Spirit Senit." (I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit) recorded by Pal Engjelli, Bishop of Durrës in 1462 in the Gheg dialect, and some New Testament verses from that period.

The oldest known Albanian printed book, Meshari or missal, was written by Gjon Buzuku, a Roman Catholic cleric, in 1555. The first Albanian school is believed to have been opened by Franciscans in 1638 in Pdhanë. In 1635, Frang Bardhi wrote the first Latin-Albanian dictionary.

Notable Illyrians

The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited the Western Balkans during classical antiquity.The first known Illyrian king was Hyllus (The Star) whose death was recorded in 1225 B.C.The first great king was Bardhylus (White Star), who united Illyria and Molossia (Epirus) and, who along with his son Kleitos, successfully fought against Macedonian expansion and annexed large portions of western Macedonia.


List of rulers of Illyria and Notable Illyrians
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Mythological
Illyrius and his kin

* Cadmus & Harmonia give birth to their youngest son Illyrius
* Illyrius,(Ancient Greek, "Ιλλυριός")
* Polyphemus & Galatea give birth to Illyrius and his brothers
* Celtus founder of the Celts
* Galas founder of the Gauls
* Illyrius




Illyrian Kings and Queens

* Bardyllisof the Dardani from 385 BC -358 BC
* Grabos perhaps Bardyllis's son 358 BC -
* Bardyllis II Bardyllis's son
* Cleitus the Illyrian son of Bardyllis II
* Pleuratus I 4th century BC
* Pleurias of the Autariatae 337 BC
* Glaukias of the Taulanti 335-302 BC
* Monunius of the Dardani first Illyrian to mint coins 3rd century BC
* Mytilus succesor to Monunius 3rd century BC
* Agron of the Ardiaei ? - 230 BC
* Triteuta mother of Pinnes
* Queen Teuta regent to Pinnes 231 BC - 228 BC
* Pinnes , never really ruled 230 BC -
* Skerdilaidas 218 BC
* Pleuratus II son of Skerdilaidas
* Gentius of the Ardiaei 2nd century BC
* Ballaios ruled after Teuta 2nd century BC
* Epulon of the Histri 2nd century BC
* Longarus of the Dardani father of Bato
* Bato of Dardania of the Dardani son of Longarus
* Pinnes of Pannnonia rebelled against the Romans at 6 AD see Great
* Bato/BatonWarlord of the Daesiates rebelled against the Romans at 6 AD
* Bato II Warlord of the Breuci rebelled against the Romans at 6 AD



Illyriciani

These Roman emperors are called Illyriciani due to being born in the province of Illyricum.Some were called Barracks emperors and the emperors of the Tetrarchy.In the second and third centuries, Illyricum was famous for its soldiers: being less Romanized than other regions of the Empire, it was one of the main purveyors of troops for the Roman army. One of the largest concentration of troops (twelve legions at its peak in the mid-third century) was on the Danube. It was the policy of some of the "Barracks emperors", especially Gallienus(260-268)[8], to promote able soldiers to high-ranking military posts. This means that, instead of commanders with an aristocratic background (members of the Roman Senate or the equestrian order), many soldiers of more humble origins, even mere peasants, began to be made generals— which meant that they could become emperors by being raised to power by their legions.High grade cavalry was also called Equites Illyriciani


* Decius - ruled AD 249-251
* Hostilianus - ruled AD 251
* Claudius II "Gothicus" - ruled AD 268-270
* Quintillus - ruled AD 270
* Aurelian - ruled AD 270-275
* Probus - ruled AD 276-282
* Diocletian - ruled AD 284-305
* Maximianus "Herculius" - ruled AD 286-305
* Constantine I - ruled AD 306-337
* Maximinus Daia - ruled AD 308-313
* Jovian - ruled AD 363-364
* Valentinianus I - ruled AD 364-375
* Valens - ruled AD 364-378
* Gratian - ruled AD 375-383
* Valentinianus II - ruled AD 375-392
* Marcianus - ruled AD 450-457 (either Illyricum or Moesia, Thrace)
* Anastasius I - ruled AD 491-518
* Justin I - ruled AD 518-527
* Justinian I - ruled AD 527-565


Others

* Audata - Illyrian woman, once wife of Philip II of Macedon 4th century BC
* Cynane - daughter of Audata and Philip II, half-sister of Alexander the Great
* Bircenna- daughter of Bardylis 4th century BC
* Pleuratus a number of princes 2nd century BC
* Etuta daughter of Monunius 3rd century BC
* Caravantius - brother of King Gentius 2nd century BC
* Plator - brother of King Gentius 2nd century BC
* Teuticus & Bellus, ambassador Illyrian nobles, who were sent to Rome as
ambassadors by King Gentius 2nd century BC
* Baraliris - an imaginary character Tertullian wrote about after seeing about
him in a dream. 2nd century AD
* Taurus Volusianus consul and prefect 3rd century AD
* Flavianus - prefect of Egypt 364 AD - 366 AD
* Jerome - the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. 4th
century AD - 5th century AD
* Priest Petrus - Builder of the church of Rome: Santa Sabina all'Aventino. 5th
century AD
* Marcellinus Comes - an obscure chronicler 6th century AD
* Petrus Patricius - Byzantine historian 6th century AD
* Celer - Magister officiorum (Master of Offices) 6th century AD

The Illyrian Wars According to Appian VI

Augustus surrounded the town, and two hills which were still held by the enemy, with a wall 7¼ kilometers in length. When Testimus, another Dalmatian general, brought an army to the relief of the place Augustus met him and drove him back to the mountains, and while Testimus was still looking on he took Promona before the line of circumvallation was finished. For when the citizens made a sally and were sharply repulsed, the Romans pursued them and entered the town with them, where they killed a third part of them.

The remainder took refuge in the citadel, at the gates of which a Roman cohort was placed to keep watch. On the fourth night the barbarians assaulted them, and they fled terror-stricken from the gates. Augustus repulsed the enemy's assault, and the following day received their surrender. The cohort that had abandoned its position was obliged to cast lots, and every tenth man suffered death.[1] The lot fell upon two centurions among others. It was ordered, as a further punishment, that the surviving members of the cohort should subsist on barley instead of wheat for that summer.

Promona being thus taken, Testimus, who was still looking on, disbanded his army, telling them to scatter in all directions. For this reason the Romans were not able to pursue them long, as they feared to divide themselves into small bands, being ignorant of the roads, and the foot-prints of the fugitives being much confused.

They took the town of Sunodium at the edge of the forest in which the army of [Aulus] Gabinius had been entrapped by the Dalmatians in a long and deep gorge between two mountains. There also they laid an ambuscade for Augustus, but after he had burned Sunodium he sent soldiers around by the summits of the mountains to keep even pace with him on either side while he passed through the gorge. He cut down trees and captured and burned all the towns he found on his way.

While he was besieging the city of Setovia a force of barbarians came to its assistance, which he met and prevented from entering the place. In this conflict he was struck by a stone on the knee and was confined for several days. [33] When he recovered, he returned to Rome to perform the duties of the consulship with [Lucius] Volcatius Tullus, his colleague, leaving [Titus] Statilius Taurus to finish the war.

Entering upon his new consulship on the first of January [33 BCE], and delivering the government to [Lucius] Autronius Paetus the same day, he started back to Dalmatia at once, the triumvirate still existing; for two years remained of the second five-year period which the triumvirs themselves had ordained and the people confirmed.

And now the Dalmatians, oppressed by hunger and cut off from foreign supplies, met him on the road and delivered themselves up with supplications, giving 700 of their children as hostages, as Augustus demanded, and also the Roman standards taken from Gabinius. They also promised to pay the tribute that had been in arrears since the time of Gaius [Julius]Caesar and to be obedient henceforth.


Augustus deposited the standards in the portico called the Octavia.
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After the Dalmatians were prostrated Augustus advanced against the Derbani, who likewise begged pardon with supplications, gave hostages, and promised to pay the past due tribute. In like manner other tribes at his approach gave hostages for observing the treaties that he made with them. Some, however, he was prevented by sickness from reaching. These gave no hostages and made no treaties. It appears, however, that they were subjugated later. Thus Augustus subdued the whole Illyrian country, not only the parts that had revolted from the Romans, but those that had never before been under their rule. Wherefore the Senate awarded him an Illyrian triumph, which he enjoyed later, together with one for his victory over [Marc] Antony.


The remaining peoples, who are considered by the Romans to be parts of Illyria, are the Rhaetians and the Noricans, on this side of Pannonia, and the Mysians on the other side as far as the Euxine Sea. I think that the Rhaetians and Noricans were subdued by Gaius [Julius] Caesar during the Gallic war or by Augustus during the Pannonian war, as they lie between the two. I have found no mention of any war against them separately, whence I infer that they were conquered along with other neighboring tribes.

Marcus [Licinius] Lucullus, brother of that Licinius Lucullus who conducted the war against Mithridates[king of Pontus], advanced against the Mysians and arrived at the river where six Greek cities lie adjacent to the Mysian territory, namely, Istrus, Dionysopolis, Odessus, Mesembria, Catalis, and Apollonia; from which he brought to Rome the great statue of Apollo which was afterward set up on the Palatine Hill.

I have found nothing further done by the Roman republic as to the Mysians. They were not subjected to tribute by Augustus, but by Tiberius, who succeeded him as Roman emperor.


All the things done by command of the people before the taking of Egypt have been written by me for each country separately. Those countries that the emperors themselves pacified after Egypt was taken, or annexed as their own work, will be mentioned after the affairs of the commonwealth. There I shall tell more about the Mysians. For the present, since the Romans consider the Mysians a part of Illyria and this is my Illyrian history, in order that it may be complete it seems proper to premise that Lucullus invaded Mysia as a general of the republic and that Tiberius took it in the time of the empire.

The Illyrian Wars According to Appian V

The next day the [Iapides from the city of Metulus] sent messengers to Augustus offering to give fifty hostages whom he might select, and promising to receive a garrison and to assign to them the highest hill while they themselves would occupy the other.

When the garrison entered and he ordered them to lay down their arms they were very angry. They shut their wives and children up in their council chamber and stationed guards there with orders to set fire to the building in case things went wrong with them, and then they attacked the Romans with desperation. Since, however, they made the attack from a lower position upon those occupying higher ground, they were completely overpowered. Since, however, they made the attack from a lower position upon those occupying higher ground, they were completely overpowered.


Then the guards set fire to the council chamber and many of the women killed their children and themselves. Others, holding in their arms their children still alive, leaped into the flames. Thus all the Metulian youth perished in battle and the greater part of the non-combatants by fire. Their city was entirely consumed, and, large as it was, not a trace of it now remains.

After the destruction of Metulus the remainder of the Iapydes, being terror-stricken, surrendered to Augustus. The transalpine Iapydes were then for the first time brought in subjection to the Romans. After Augustus departed the Poseni rebelled and Marcus Helvius was sent against them. He conquered them and after punishing the leaders of the revolt with death sold the rest as slaves.

At an earlier time the Romans twice attacked the country of the Segestani, but obtained no hostages nor anything else, for which reason the Segestani became very arrogant.Augustus advanced against them through the Pannonian territory, which was not yet under subjection to the Romans.

(Pannonia is a wooded country extending from the Iapydes to the Dardani. The inhabitants do not live in cities, but scattered through the country or in villages according to relationship. They have no common council and no rulers over the whole nation. They number 100,000 fighting men, but they do not assemble in one body, because they have no common government.)

When Augustus advanced against them they took to the woods, from which they darted out and slew the stragglers of the army. As long as Augustus hoped that they would surrender voluntarily he spared their fields and villages. As none of them came in he devastated the country with fire and sword for eight days, until he came to the Segestani.

Theirs is also Pannonian territory, on the river Save, on which is situated a city strongly fortified by the river and by a very large ditch encircling it. For this reason Augustus greatly desired to possess it as a magazine convenient for a war against the Dacians and the Bastarnae on the other side of the Ister, which is there called the Danube, but a little lower down is called the Ister. The Save flows into it, and Augustus caused ships to be built in the latter stream to bring provisions to the Danube for him.

For these reasons he desired to obtain possession of Segesta. As he was approaching, the Segestani sent to inquire what he wanted. He replied that he desired to station a garrison there and to have them give him a hundred hostages in order that he might use the town safely as a base of operations in his war against the Dacians. He also asked for as much food as they were able to supply.

The chief men of the town acquiesced, but the common people were furious, yet consented to the giving of the hostages, perhaps because they were not their children, but those of the notables. When the garrison came up, however, they could not bear the sight of them, but shut the gates in a mad fury and stationed themselves on the walls.

Thereupon Augustus bridged the river and surrounded the place with ditch and palisade, and, having blockaded them, raised two mounds. Upon these the Segestani made frequent assaults and, being unable to capture them, endeavored to destroy them with torches and fire thrown from above. When aid was sent to them by the other Pannonians Augustus met and ambuscaded this reinforcement, destroyed a part of their force, and put the rest to flight. After this they got no more help from the Pannonians.

Thus the Segestani, after enduring all the evils of a siege, were taken by force on the thirtieth day, and then for the first time they began to beg. Augustus, admiring them for their bravery and yielding to their prayers, neither killed nor banished them, but contented himself with a fine.

He caused a part of the city to be separated from the rest by a wall, and in this he placed a garrison of twenty-five cohorts. Having accomplished this he went back to Rome, intending to return to Illyria in the spring.

But a rumor becoming current that the Segestani had massacred the garrison, he set forth hastily in the winter. However, he found that the rumor was false, yet not without cause. They had been in danger from a sudden uprising of the Segestani and had lost many men by reason of its unexpectedness, but on the next day they rallied and put down the insurgents. Augustus turned his forces to Dalmatia, another Illyrian country bordering on Taulantia.

The Dalmatians, after the slaughter of the five cohorts under [Aulus] Gabinius and the taking of their standards, elated by their success, had not laid down their arms for ten years. When Augustus advanced against them they made an alliance with each other for mutual aid in war. They had upwards of 12,000 fighting men under a general named Versus. He occupied Promona, the city of the Liburni, and fortified it, although it was very strong by nature. It is a mountain stronghold surrounded on all sides by sharp-pointed hills like saw-teeth.

The greater part of his forces were stationed in the town, but he placed guards on the hills and all of them looked down upon the Romans from elevated positions. Augustus in plain sight began to draw a wall around the whole, but secretly he sent his bravest men to seek a path to the highest of the hills. These, concealing themselves in the woods, fell upon the guards by night while they were asleep, slew them, and signaled to Augustus in the twilight. He led the bulk of the army to make an attempt upon the city, and sent another force to hold the height that had been taken, while the captors of it should get possession of the lower hills. Terror and confusion fell upon the barbarians everywhere, for they believed themselves to be attacked on all sides. Especially were those on the hills alarmed lest they should be cut off from their supply of water, for which reason they all fled to Promona.

The Illyrian Wars According to Appian IV

When Augustus had made himself master of everything, he informed the Senate, by way of contrast with Antony's slothfulness, that he had freed Italy from the savage tribes that had so often raided it. He overcame the Oxyaei, the Perthoneatae, the Bathiatae, the Taulantii, the Cambaei, the Cinambri, the Meromenni, and the Pyrissaei in one campaign. By more prolonged effort he also overcame the Docleatae, the Carui, the Interphrurini, the Naresii, the Glintidiones, and the Taurisci. From these tribes he exacted the tributes they had been failing to pay. When these were conquered, the Hippasini and the Bessi, neighboring tribes, were overcome by fear and surrendered themselves to him. Others which had revolted, the Meliteni and the Corcyreans, who inhabited islands and practiced piracy, he destroyed utterly, putting the young men to death and selling the rest as slaves. He deprived the Liburnians of their ships because they also practiced piracy. The Moentini and the Avendeatae, two tribes of the Iapydes, dwelling within the Alps, surrendered themselves to him at his approach. The Arrepini, who are the most numerous and warlike of the Iapydes, betook themselves from their villages to their city, but when he arrived there they fled to the woods. Augustus took the city, but did not burn it, hoping that they would deliver themselves up, and when they did so he allowed them to occupy it.

Those who gave him the most trouble were the Salassi, the transalpine Iapydes, the Segestani, the Dalmatians, the Daesitiatae, and the Pannonians, far distant from the Salassi, who occupy the higher Alpine mountains, difficult of access, the paths being narrow and hard to climb. For this reason they had not only preserved their independence, but had levied tolls on those who passed through their country.

[Gaius Antistius] Vetus assaulted them unexpectedly, seized the passes by stratagem, and besieged them for two years. They were driven to surrender for want of salt, which they use largely, and they received a Roman garrison; but when Vetus went away they expelled the garrison forthwith, and, possessing themselves of the mountain passes, they mocked at the forces that Augustus sent against them, as unable to accomplish anything of importance.

Thereupon Augustus, anticipating a war with [Marc] Antony, acknowledged their independence and allowed them to go unpunished for their offenses against Vetus. But as they were suspicious of what might happen, they laid in large supplies of salt and made incursions into the Roman territory until [Marcus Valerius] Messala Corvinus [1] was sent against them and reduced them by hunger. In this way were the Salassi subjugated.

The transalpine Iapydes, a strong and savage tribe, drove back the Romans twice within the space of about twenty years, overran Aquileia, and plundered the Roman colony of Tergestus.When Augustus advanced against them by a steep and rugged road, they made it still harder for him by felling trees. As he advanced farther they took refuge in another forest, where they lay in ambush for the approaching foe. Augustus, who was always suspecting something of this kind, sent forces to occupy certain ridges which flanked both sides of his advance through the flat country and the fallen timber. The Iapydes darted out from their ambush and wounded many of the soldiers, but the greater part of their own forces were killed by the Romans who fell upon them from the heights above. The remainder again took refuge in the thickets, abandoning their town, the name of which was Terponus. Augustus took this town, but did not burn it, hoping that they also would give themselves up, and they did so.

Thence he advanced to another place called Metulus, which is the chief town of the Iapydes. It is situated on a heavily timbered mountain, on two ridges with a narrow valley between them. Here were about 3,000 warlike and well-armed youth, who easily beat off the Romans who surrounded their walls.

The latter raised a mound. The Metulians interrupted the work by assaults by day and by night, and harassed the soldiers from the walls with engines which they had obtained from the war which Decimus [Junius] Brutus had waged there with [Marc] Antony and Augustus. When their wall began to crumble they built another inside, abandoned the ruined one, and took shelter behind the other.

The Romans captured the abandoned one and burned it. Against the new fortification they raised two mounds and from these threw four bridges to the top of the wall. Then, in order to distract their attention, Augustus sent a part of his force around to the rear of the town and ordered the others to dash across the bridges to the walls. He ascended to the top of a high tower to see the result.

Some of the barbarians ran from the parapet to meet the Romans who were crossing, while others, unseen, sought to undermine the bridges with their long spears. They were much encouraged at seeing one bridge fall and a second one follow on top of it. When a third one went down a regular panic overtook the Romans, so that no one ventured on the fourth bridge until Augustus leaped down from the tower and reproached them. As they were not roused to their duty by his words, he seized a shield and sprang upon the bridge himself.

[Marcus Vipsanius] Agrippa and Hiero, two of the generals, and one of his bodyguard, Lucius, and Volas ran with him, only these four with a few armor-bearers. He had almost crossed the bridge when the soldiers, overcome by shame, rushed after him in crowds. Then this bridge, being overweighted, fell also, and the men on it went down in a heap. Some were killed and others were carried away with broken bones. Augustus was injured in the right leg and in both arms.

Nevertheless, he ascended the tower with his signals forthwith and showed himself safe and sound, lest dismay should arise from a report of his death. In order that the enemy might not fancy that he was going to give in and retire he began to construct new bridges; by which means he struck terror into the Metulians, who thought that they were contending against an unconquerable will.

The Illyrian Wars According to Appian III

Figulus' Dalmatian campaign
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The Dalmatians, another Illyrian tribe, made an attack on the Illyrian subjects of Rome, and when ambassadors were sent to them to remonstrate they were not received. The Romans accordingly sent an army against them, with [Gaius] Marcius Figulus as consul and commander.

While Figulus was laying out his camp, the Dalmatians overpowered the guard, defeated him, and drove him out of the camp in headlong flight to the plain as far as the river Naro. As the Dalmatians were returning home (for winter was now approaching), Figulus hoped to fall upon them unawares, but he found them reassembled from their towns at the news of his approach. Nevertheless, he drove them into the city of Delminium, from which place they first got the name of Delmatenses, which was afterward changed to Dalmatians.

As he was not able to attack this strongly defended town from the road, nor to use the engines that he had, on account of the height of the place, he attacked and captured some other towns that were partially deserted on account of the concentration of forces at Delminium. Then, returning to Delminium, he hurled sticks of wood, two cubits long, covered with flax and smeared with pitch and sulfur, from catapults into the town. These caught fire from friction and, flying in the air like torches, wherever they fell caused a conflagration, so that the greater part of the town was burned. This was the end of the war waged by Figulus against the Dalmatians.

At a later period, in the consulship of [Lucius] CaeciliusMetellus [Delmaticus], war was declared against the Dalmatians, although they had been guilty of no offense, because he desired a triumph. They received him as a friend and he wintered among them at the town of Salona, after which he returned to Rome and was awarded a triumph.


At the time when [Gaius Julius] Caesar held the command in Gaul these same Dalmatians and other Illyrians, who were then in a very prosperous condition, took the city of Promona from the Liburni, another Illyrian tribe. The latter put themselves in the hands of the Romans and appealed to Caesar, who was nearby.

Caesar sent word to those who were holding Promona that they should give it up to the Liburni, and when they refused, he sent against them a strong detachment of his army who were totally destroyed by the Illyrians. Nor did Caesar renew the attempt, for he had no leisure then, on account of the civil strife with Pompey.

When the civil strife burst forth in war Caesar crossed the Adriatic from Brundusium in the winter, with what forces he had, and opened his campaign against Pompey in Macedonia. [Marc] Antony brought another army to Caesar's aid in Macedonia, he also crossing the Adriatic in mid-winter. [Aulus] Gabinius led fifteen cohorts of foot and 3,000 horse for him by way of Illyria, passing around the Adriatic. The Illyrians, fearing punishment for what they had done to Caesar not long before, and thinking that his victory would be their destruction, attacked and slew the whole army under Gabinius, except Gabinius himself and a few who escaped. Among the spoils captured was a large amount of money and war material.


Caesar was preoccupied by the necessity of coming to a conclusion with Pompey, and, after Pompey's death, with the numerous parts of his faction still remaining. When he had settled everything he returned to Rome and made preparations for war with the Getae and the Parthians.

The Illyrians began to fear lest he should attack them, as they were on his intended line of march. So they sent ambassadors to Rome to crave pardon for what they had done and to offer their friendship and alliance, vaunting themselves as a very brave race. Caesar was hastening his preparations against the Parthians; nevertheless, he gave them the dignified answer that he could not make friends of those who had done what they had, but that he would grant them pardon if they would subject themselves to tribute and give him hostages. They promised to do both, and accordingly he sent [Publius] Vatinius thither with three legions and a large cavalry force to impose a light tribute on them and receive the hostages.

When Caesar was slain, the Dalmatians, thinking that the Roman power resided in him and had perished with him, would not listen to Vatinius on the subject of the tribute or anything else. When he attempted to use force they attacked and destroyed five of his cohorts, including their commanding officer, Baebius, a man of senatorial rank. Vatinius took refuge with the remainder of his force in Epidamnus.

The Roman Senate transferred this army, together with the province of Macedonia and Roman Illyria, to [Marcus Junius] Brutus Caepio, one of Caesar's murderers, and at the same time assigned Syria to Cassius, another of the assassins. But they also, being involved in war with Antony and the second Caesar, surnamed Augustus, had no time to attend to the Illyrians.

The Paeones are a great nation on the Danube, extending from the Iapydes to the Dardani. They are called Paeones by the Greeks, but Pannonians by the Romans. They are counted by the Romans as a part of Illyria, as I have previously said, for which reason it seems proper that I should include them in my Illyrian history. They have been renowned from the Macedonian period through the Agrianes, who rendered very important aid to Philip and Alexander and are Paeones of Lower Pannonia bordering on Illyria.

When the expedition of Cornelius against the Pannonians resulted disastrously, so great a fear of those people came over all the Italians that for a long time afterwards none of the consuls ventured to march against them. Concerning the early history of the Illyrians and Pannonians, I have not been able to discover anything further, nor have I found in the Commentaries of Augustus anything earlier in the chapters treating of the Pannonians.

I think that other Illyrian tribes besides those mentioned had previously come under Roman rule, but how, I do not know. Augustus did not describe the transactions of others so much as his own, telling how he brought back those who had revolted and compelled them again to pay tribute, how he subjugated others that had been independent from the beginning, and how he mastered all the tribes that inhabit the summits of the Alps, barbarous and warlike peoples, who often plundered the neighboring parts of Italy.

It is a wonder to me that so many great Roman armies traversing the Alps to conquer the Gauls and Spaniards, should have overlooked these tribes, and that even Gaius [Julius] Caesar, that most successful man of war, did not dispatch them during the ten years that he was fighting the Gauls and wintering in that very country. But the Romans seem to have been intent only upon getting through the Alpine region on the business they were bestirring themselves about, and Caesar seems to have delayed putting an end to the Illyrian troubles on account of the Gallic war and the strife with Pompey, which closely followed it. It appears that he was chosen commander of Illyria as well as of Gaul - not the whole of it, but as much as was then under Roman rule.

The Illyrian Wars According to Appian II

These peoples, and also the Pannonians, the Rhaetians, the Noricans, the Mysians of Europe, and the other neighboring tribes who inhabited the right bank of the Danube, the Romans distinguished from one another just as the various Greek peoples are distinguished from each other, and they call each by its own name, but they consider the whole of Illyria as embraced under a common designation.

Whence this idea took its start I have not been able to find out, but it continues to this day, for they farm the tax of all the nations from the source of the Danube to the Euxine Sea under one head, and call it the Illyrian tax. Why the Romans subjugated them, and what were the real causes or pretexts of the wars, I acknowledged, when writing of Crete, that I had not discovered, and I exhorted those who were able to tell more, to do so. I shall write down only what I know.

First Illyrian War
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Agron was king of that part of Illyria which borders the Adriatic Sea, over which sea Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, and his successors held sway. Agron captured a part of Epirus and also Corcyra, Epidamnus, and Pharus in succession, where he established garrisons. When he threatened the rest of the Adriatic with his fleet, the isle of Issa implored the aid of the Romans.

[Autumn 230] The latter sent ambassadors to accompany the Issii and to ascertain what offenses Agron imputed to them. 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.Thereupon the Romans invaded Illyria by land and sea.

Agron, in the meantime, had died, leaving an infant son named Pinnes, having given the guardianship and regency to his wife [Teuta], although she was not the child's mother.

Demetrius, who was Agron's governor of Pharus and who held Corcyra also, surrendered both places to the invading Romans by treachery. The latter then entered into an alliance with Epidamnus and went to the assistance of the Issii and of the Epidamnians, who were besieged by the Illyrians. The latter raised the siege and fled, and one of their tribes, called the Atintani, went over to the Romans.

[Spring 228] After these events the widow of Agron sent ambassadors to Rome to surrender the prisoners and deserters into their hands. She begged pardon also for what had been done, not by herself, but by Agron. They received for answer that Corcyra, Pharus, Issa, Epidamnus, and the Illyrian Atintani were already Roman subjects, that Pinnes might have the remainder of Agron's kingdom and be a friend of the Roman people if he would keep hands off the aforesaid territory, and agree not to sail beyond Lissus nor to keep more than two Illyrian pinnaces, both to be unarmed. The woman accepted all these conditions.

This was the first conflict and treaty between the Romans and the Illyrians. Thereupon the Romans made Corcyra and Apollonia free. To Demetrius they gave certain castles as a reward for his treason to his own people, adding the express condition that they gave them only conditionally, for they suspected the man's bad faith; and before long he began to show it.


Second Illyrian War
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[225-222] While the Romans were engaged in a three years' war with the Gauls on the river Po, Demetrius, thinking that they had their hands full, set forth on a piratical expedition, brought the Istrians, another Illyrian tribe, into the enterprise, and detached the Atintani from Rome. The Romans, when they had settled their business with the Gauls, immediately sent a naval force and overpowered the pirates.

The following year they marched against Demetrius and his Illyrian fellow culprits.Demetrius fled to Philip[V], king of Macedonia, but when he returned and resumed his piratical career in the Adriatic they slew him and utterly demolished his native town of Pharus, which was associated with him in crime. They spared the Illyrians on account of Pinnes, who again besought them to do so. And such was the second conflict and treaty between them and the Illyrians.

The following events I have written as I have found them, not in due order according to their times of occurrence, but rather taking each Illyrian nation separately.


Third Macedonian War
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When the Romans were at war with the Macedonians during the reign of [king] Perseus, the successor of Philip, Genthius, an Illyrian chief, made an alliance with Perseus for money and attacked Roman Illyria. When the Romans sent ambassadors to him on this subject he put them in chains, charging that they had not come as ambassadors, but as spies.

The Roman general, [praetor Lucius] Anicius, in a naval expedition, captured some of Genthius' pinnaces and then engaged him in battle on land, defeated him, and shut him up in a castle. When he begged a parley, Anicius ordered him to surrender himself to the Romans. He asked and obtained three days for consideration, at the end of which time, his subjects having meanwhile gone over to Anicius, he asked for an interview with the latter, and, falling on his knees, begged pardon in the most abject manner.

Anicius encouraged the trembling wretch, lifted him up, and invited him to supper, but as he was going away from the feast he ordered the lictors to cast him into prison. Anicius afterward led both him and his sons in triumph at Rome. The whole war with Genthius was finished within twenty days.

When [Lucius] Aemilius Paullus, the conqueror of Perseus, returned to Rome, he received secret orders from the Senate to go back on particular business relating to the seventy towns that had belonged to Genthius. They were much alarmed, but he promised to pardon them for what they had done if they would deliver to him all the gold and silver they had. When they agreed to do so he sent a detachment of his army into each town appointing the same day for all the commanding officers to act, and ordering them to make proclamation at daybreak in each that the inhabitants should bring their money into the market place within three hours, and when they had done so to plunder what remained. Thus Paullus despoiled seventy towns in one hour.


Later conflicts
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The Ardei and the Palarii, two other Illyrian tribes, made a raid on Roman Illyria, and the Romans, being otherwise occupied,[sent ambassadors to scare them. When they refused to be obedient, the Romans collected an army of 10,000 foot and 600 horse to be dispatched against them. When the Illyrians learned this, as they were not yet prepared for fighting, they sent ambassadors to crave pardon. The Senate ordered them to make reparation to those whom they had wronged. As they were slow in obeying, [consul Servius] Fulvius Flaccus marched against them. This war resulted in an excursion only, for I cannot find any definite end to it.

[Consul Gaius] Sempronius Tuditanus and Tiberius Pandusa waged war with the Iapydes, who live among the Alps, and seem to have subjugated them, as [consuls] Lucius [Aurelius] Cotta and [Lucius Caecilius] Metellus [Delmaticus] seem to have subjugated the Segestani; but both tribes revolted not long afterward.

The Illyrian Wars According to Appian I

Appian of Alexandria (c.95-c.165) is the author of a Roman History.Although only his books on the Roman Civil Wars survive in their entirety, large parts of other books have also come down to us. The Illyrian wars, which were part of the book on the Macedonian wars, belong to these better preserved parts. They are a valuable source for the history of the western Balkan peninsula.


Size of Illyria
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The Greeks call those people Illyrians who occupy the region beyond Macedonia and Thrace from Chaonia and Thesprotia to the river Danube. This is the length of the country. Its breadth is from Macedonia and the mountains of Thrace to Pannonia and the Adriatic and the foothills of the Alps. Its breadth is five days' journey and its length thirty - so the Greek writers say. The Romans measured the country and found its length to be upward of 1,000 kilometers and its width about 220.

They say that the country received its name from Illyrius, the son of Polyphemus; for the cyclops Polyphemus and his wife, Galatea, had three sons, Celtus, Illyrius, and Galas, all of whom migrated from Sicily; and the nations called Celts, Illyrians, and Galatians took their origin from them. Among the many myths prevailing among many peoples this seems to me the most plausible.

Illyrius had six sons, Encheleus, Autarieus, Dardanus, Maedus, Taulas, and Perrhaebus, also daughters, Partho, Daortho, Dassaro, and others, from whom sprang the Taulantii, the Perrhaebi, the Enchelees, the Autarienses, the Dardani, the Partheni, the Dassaretii, and the Darsii. Autarieus had a son Pannonius, or Paeon, and the latter had sons, Scordiscus and Triballus, from whom nations bearing similar names were derived. But I will leave these matters to antiquarians.

The Illyrian tribes are many, as is natural in so extensive a country; and celebrated even now are the names of the Scordisci and the Triballi, who inhabited a wide region and destroyed each other by wars to such a degree that the remnant of the Triballi took refuge with the Getae on the other side of the Danube, and, though flourishing until the time of [the Macedonian kings] Philip and Alexander, is now extinct and its name scarcely known in the regions once inhabited by it.

The Scordisci, having been reduced to extreme weakness in the same way, and having suffered much at a later period in war with the Romans, took refuge in the islands of the same river. In the course of time some of them returned and settled on the confines of Pannonia, and thus it happens that a tribe of the Scordisci still remains in Pannonia. In like manner the Ardiaei, who were distinguished for their maritime power, were finally destroyed by the Autarienses, whose land forces were stronger, but whom they had often defeated.

The Liburni, another Illyrian tribe, were next to the Ardiaei as a nautical people. These committed piracy in the Adriatic Sea and islands with their light, fast-sailing pinnaces, from which circumstance the Romans to this day call their own light, swift biremes liburnicas.

[278 BCE] The Autarienses were overtaken with destruction by the vengeance of Apollo. Having joined Molostimus and the Celtic people called Cimbri in an expedition against the temple of Delphi, the greater part of them were destroyed by storm, hurricane, and lightning just before the sacrilege was committed.

Upon those who returned home there came a countless number of frogs, which filled the streams and polluted the water. The noxious vapors rising from the ground caused a plague among the Illyrians which was especially fatal to the Autarienses. At last they fled from their homes, and as the plague still clung to them (and for fear of it nobody would receive them), they came, after a journey of twenty-three days, to a marshy and uninhabited district of the Getae, where they settled near the Bastarnae.

The god visited the Celts with an earthquake and overthrew their cities, and did not abate the calamity until these also fled from their abodes and made an incursion into Illyria among their fellow culprits, who had been weakened by the plague. While robbing the Illyrians they caught the plague and again took to flight and plundered their way to the Pyrenees.

When they were returning to the east the Romans, mindful of their former encounters with the Celts, and fearful lest they should cross the Alps and invade Italy, sent against them both consuls, who were annihilated with the whole army.[2] [104] This calamity to the Romans brought great dread of the Celts upon all Italy until Gaius Marius, who had lately triumphed over the Numidians and Mauritanians, was chosen commander and [101] defeated the Cimbri repeatedly with great slaughter, as I have related in my Gallic history. Being reduced to extreme weakness, and for that reason excluded from every land, they returned home, inflicting and suffering many injuries on the way.

[§5] Such was the punishment which the god visited upon the Illyrians and the Celts for their impiety. [114] But they did not desist from temple robbing, for again, in conjunction with the Celts, certain Illyrian tribes, especially the Scordisci, the Maedi, and the Dardani again invaded Macedonia and Greece together, and plundered many temples, including that of Delphi, but losing many men this time also.

[82] The Romans, thirty-two years after their first encounter with the Celts, having fought with them at intervals since that time, now, under the leadership of Lucius [Cornelius] Scipio, made war against the Illyrians, on account of this temple robbery, as the Romans now held sway over the Greeks and the Macedonians.

It is said that the neighboring tribes, remembering the calamity that befell all the Illyrians on account of the crime of the Autarienses, would not give aid to the temple robbers, but abandoned them to Scipio, who destroyed the greater part of the Scordisci, the remainder fleeing to the Danube and settling in the islands of that river.

He made peace with the Maedi and Dardani, accepting from them part of the gold belonging to the temple. One of the Roman writers says that this was the chief cause of the numerous civil wars of the Romans after Lucius Scipio's time till the establishment of the empire. So much by way of preface concerning the peoples whom the Greeks called Illyrians.

Illyrian Tribes

In the beginning,the territory of Illyria comprised the actual territory of Epirus, Albania, Kosovo, Croatia,Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a large part of modern Serbia, Dalmatia and Montenegro. At its peak, it extended all along the eastern part of the Adriatic Sea. It's capital was Scutari. The Illyrians had a tumultuous history and their direct descendants are Albanians.The name Albania comes from the name of the Illyrian tribe called the Arber, or Arbereshë, and later Albanoi, that lived near Durrës.There were many tribes that comprised the Illyrians. The tribes that inhabited the borderlands of Illyria seemed to have intergrated or assimilated with the peoples they were in contact with, e.g., Italic, Celtic, Thracic, and Hellenic. Therefore, the tribes mentioned in this section are grouped as follows:

Illyrian-Italic tribes
Illyrian-Celtic tribes
Illyrian-Thraco tribes
Illyrian-Hellenic tribes
Illyrian-Proper tribes


Illyrian-Italic tribes
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There were a number of peoples, of Illyrian origins, that settled the eastern Italian coasts prior to the Iron Age. Strong similarities of proper names and artifacts supports an Illyrian presence on the Italian coast, although, their languages appear to have been distinct from those of Illyria Proper.

Messapi - They once occupied the area of present day Apulia or the southern heel of Italy. Based on ancient inscriptions and artifacts, an Illyrian sub-culture appears evident.

Iapyges or Japyges - There is a strong resemblance between the name 'Iapyges' and the 'Iapodes or Japodes,' an Illyri-Celtic tribe, of the western Balkans. A Japodic migration by land or, more probable, by sea could have taken place.

Picenti - Archaeology has exposed a strong Illyrian presence among them in central Italy. Many tumuli or burials show a strong liking to those of the Liburni who were seafarers and known to have exploited both coasts of the Adriatic.


Histri or Istri - The name, Istra penninsula - off the Gulf of Venice - comes from them. Notorious for piracy in the third century BC, they warred against Rome led by their chieftain, Aepulo.



Illyrian-Celtic tribes
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The Celts began to settle the area between the Drave and Save Rivers that stretch from eastern Croatia to western Serbia in the fourth century BC. This region was once known as Pannonia and it was believed that Pannonia was named after an Illyrian tribe of the same name, the Pannonians.

However, Pannonia was probably a name applied by the ancient writers for geographical purposes and not necessarily for a tribe known to have inhabited the region. The name could have sprung from the Paeonians, an Illyri-Thraco tribe, who once occupied modern northern Macedonia. The ancient Roman historian, Appian, described those who occupied Pannonia as lacking central authority. This could be explained by the several tribes that inhabited Pannonia like the Breuci and the Scordisci. The lack of central authority implies that these tribes were independent of each other and not bound to a dominant tribe, which would leave Pannonia as only a place name. Nonetheless, those who did occupy this region were called Pannonians.

Breuci - This tribe rebelled against the Roman occupation of Pannonia in 14 BC and again in 6 AD under a leader named Bato. The Romans with the help of the Scordisci defeated them.

Scordisci - They may have migrated from the Scordus mountain range bordering Albania and Macedonia as the name suggests. They are refered to as a blood thirsty people engaging in human sacrifice and drinking out of human skulls.

Iapodes or Japodes - The ancient geographer, Strabo, described their armor as Celtic, but that they were tattooed like the other Illyrians. This 'war-crazy' tribe as Strabo describes them, were defeated by Augustus, in 35 BC.


Illyrian-Thraco tribes
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Although it is probable that the Illyrians in general had a kinship with the Thracians, the Agrianes, Triballi, and Paeones tribes were considered to be both Illyrian and Thracian. The ancient writer, Herodotus, even compared the Illyrians to the Thracians as a rude and barbaric people.

Triballi - They warred with Macedon during the reign of Philip the Great in 339 BC and even succeeded in taking the booty gained by Philip on his Thracian raids. They declined after the Roman conquests.

Agrianes - They became allies to Macedon and their chieftain, Langarus, even assisted Alexander the Great's advances into Illyria, in, 335 BC by engaging the Autariatae who were planning to attack Alexander.

Paeones or Paeonians - The Paeonians allied themselves with southern Illyrians on many occassions to regained territory conquered by Macedon. Through the course of these conflicts, however, the Paeonians were weakened and incorporated into the Macedonian Kingdom.


Illyrian-Hellenic tribes
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The Greeks were known to have Hellenized many peoples in and around the region of Greece like the Macedonians, who some believe, have Thracian or even Illyrian roots. In the extreme south of Illyria (Epirus) laid several mxed Illyrian-Greek tribes such as the Chaoni and Molossi.

Chaoni or Chaones - The Roman historian, Appian, mentions Chaonia, land of the Chaones, as the southern border in his description and geography of Illyria. They were regarded as a people who knew little about cultivation and ate uncooked foods.

Molossi - They were the most powerful of the Epirote tribes. The Molossians were a dynastic tribe very much in control of Epirus and, at times, controlled southern Illyria as far north as the city of Epidamnus in central Albania.


Thesprotians-Were an ancient illyrian tribe of Epirus, akin to the Molossians.According to Strabo, the Thesprotians (along with the Chaonians and the Molossians) were the most famous tribes of Epirus, as they once ruled over the whole region. The Chaonians ruled Epirus first while the Thesprotians and Molossians ruled afterwards.


Illyrian-Proper tribes
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These are the tribes of Illyria proper that had the largest impact on the ancient writers in their day and the best known, not to mention, truly regarded as Illyrian.


Albani or Albanoi (Greek: Ἀλβανοί) was an Illyrian tribe whose first historical account, in a work of Ptolemy,[5] places them in modern north-central Albania), in 150 AD in ancient Roman Macedon specifically in Epirus Nova. This places them almost 300 years after the Roman conquest of the region, in the Roman province of Macedon. Albanopolis of the Albani is a place located on the map of Ptolemy and also named on an ancient family epitaph at Scupi (near modern Skopje), which has been identified with the Zgardhesh hill-fort near Kruja in northern Albania. Arbanon is likely to be the name of a district — the plain of the Mat has been suggested — rather than a particular place.


Ardiaei - They were once an inland tribe, but forced to move by oncoming Celts eventually settling on the Adriatic (Montenegrin coast). The ancient geographer, Strabo, lists the Ardiaei as one of the three strongest tribes - the other two being the Autariatae and the Dardani. They rose to power in the third century BC and came into conflict with Rome because of piracy and alliances with Macedon and were conquered in 168 BC. They were pressed back inland by the Romans and disappeared from history.

Autariatae - The ancient historian Arrian mentions the Autariatae planning an attack on Alexander the Great's army on his march into Illyria. Strabo expresses the Autariatae as the most powerful of the Illyrians. The Ardiaei warred with this tribe over salt mines and were defeated soundly by them.


Dassareti(Greek Δασσαρῆται) was an Illyrian tribe.They were located between the Dardani and the Ardiaei.Appian of Alexandria wrote in his "Illyrian wars" that according to the Ancient Greeks, Illyrius, the ancestor of the Illyrians, had a daughter, Dassaro, from whom sprang the Dassaretae.

Dardani or Dardanians - Strabo writes of them as "so utterly wild that they dig caves beneath their dung hills and live there" mentioning as well their love for music and dance. The Dardanians fell into many conflicts with Macedon from the fourth to second centuries BC. They would eventually be subdued by the Ardiaei and then later by the Romans. It has been suggested that these Dardanians even shared a kinship with the ancient Trojans (see Origins).

Delmatae or Dalmatians - This tribe came on the historical scene during the Roman conquests when they declared independence from Gentius, the Illyrian king. The Delmatae continued to rebel against the Romans and were one of the last Illyrian tribes to be conquered by them and not until 9 AD.

Encheleae - They controlled most of southern Illyria and were at the height of their power in the eighth and seventh centuries BC. They were the first to have an organized Illyrian tribal-state (around Lake Ohrid in Albania). The ancient historian Herodotus seems to implicate this group as attacking the temple of Apollo at Delphi (Greece).

Liburni - These seafarers were described as the masters of the Adriatic Sea and once occupied the northern Croatian coast and surrounding islands. Their swift sailing craft would later be adopted by the Romans and named after them.
Strabo recorded the oldest known conflict between the Greeks and Illyrians when Chersicrates, the Corinthian, succeeded in driving the Liburni from the island of Corcyca - today's Corfu. The Greek mariner, Scylax, wrote of the Liburni as being dominated by women who were sexually free to engage with whomever they pleased. The Roman writer, Varro, extends this sexual freedom to the unmarried women of the Liburni as well suggesting a matriarchal society.

Taulanti - The Taulanti were known to have dominated the area of central Albania for many centuries and were one of the notable tribes in the recorded histories of the Greeks and Romans. The Taulanti, noted enemies of Macedon, struggled to keep Dyrrachium out of Macedon's hands in the late fourth century BC. During the Roman-Illyrian wars the Taulanti sided with Rome as they did in earlier times with Corcyra and Athens (see Dynasties) setting politics and economics above everything else.



Complete List of Illyrian Tribes
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Abri
Albanoi
Amantini
Andizetes
Arbanitai (Arbanios)
Ardiaei
Ardiani
Arrianes
Atitani (Atintanes)
Autariatae (Autariates)
Azali
Breuci
Briges
Bylliones
Carni
Catari
Celegeri
Chaones
Chelidones
Colapiani (Colapani)
Cornacates
Daesitiates
Dalmatae (Delmatae)
Daorsoi
Dardani
Dassaretae (Dassarstae,Dassarenses,Dasaretae)
Daversi
Deraemestae
Deuri
Dindari
Ditiones
Docleatae
Enchelaeae (Enchelleae)
Eravisci
Glintidiones
Grabaei
Histri
Iapydes (Iapodes)
Iasi (Jasi)
Illyrioi
Labeatae (Labeates)
Liburni
Lopsi
Maezaei
Meslcumani
Messapii
Molosoi
Naransii
Oseriates (Osseriates)
Pannoni
Parthini
Penestae (Perestae)
Pirustae (Pipustae)
Plearaei
Sardeaties
Scirtari
Seleiitan
Soirtones
Taulanti (Taulani)
Thesprotii
Vardaei

Illyrians

The Illyrians (Ancient Greek: Ἰλλυριοί; Latin: Illyrii or Illyri) were a group of tribes who inhabited the Western Balkans during classical antiquity. The territory the tribes covered came to be known as Illyria to Greek and Roman authors, corresponding roughly to the area of the former Yugoslavia,Albania and Epirus, between the Adriatic sea in the west, the Drava river in the north, the Morava river in the east and the mouth of Vjosë river in the south.The first account of Illyrian peoples comes from Periplus or Coastal passage an ancient Greek text of the middle of the 4th century BC.

These tribes, or at least a number of tribes considered "Illyrians proper", are assumed to have been united by a common Illyrian language, of which only small fragments are attested enough to classify it as a branch of Indo-European.
Illyrians were last mentioned in 7th century. All the remaining tribes were slavicised in the course of the Middle Ages,except the Albanians who represent an instance of southern Illyrian continuity.

Mythological foundation
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In Greek mythology, Illyrius was the son of Cadmus and Harmonia who eventually ruled Illyria and became the eponymous ancestor of the whole Illyrian people.Also Illyrius had six sons Encheleus, Autarieus, Dardanus, Maedus, Taulas and Perrhabeus also daughters Partho, Daortho, Dassaro and others. From these sprang Taulantii, Parthini, Dardani, Enchelaeae, Autariates, Dassaretae and the Daors. Autareius had a son Pannonius or Paeon and these had sons Scordiscus and Triballus.A later version of it is having as parents Polyphemus and Galatea that give birth to Celtus,Galas and Illyrius.The second myth could stem perhaps from the similarities to Celts and Gauls.

Origins and ethnogenesis
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Ancient Illyria comprised the area of the western Balkans (Slovenia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia,Kosovo,Albania and the region of Epirus in the northwest of Greece). The Illyrians (of Indo-European stock) migrated to this region in approximately 1300 BC along with their Dorian cousins who pushed farther to overwhelm the Mycenean culture in Greece. (Although some historians argue that the Illyrians have roots as early as 2000 BC in the region).

Illyria was populated by a multitude of "barbarous" tribes (barbarous to the Greek and Roman historians who provide the only historical record), living along the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and inland in adjoining mountains. Among the noted tribes were the Japyges (who migrated to Apulia and Calabria in Italy in the 8th Century BC), Veneti (who migrated to northern Italy in the 7th Century BC), Dalmati, Pannonians, Enkalayes, Taulantes,Albani,Dardani,Epirotes (a.k.a. Pelasgians), Ardriaii etc.

Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos (Pirro 319-272 BC) was an Epirot(Cham Albanian) general of the Antiquity.He was king of the epirotic(chamerian) tribe of Molossians, and later he became King of Epirus (306-302, 297-272 BC) and Macedon (288-284, 273-272 BC). He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome. Some of his battles, though successful, cost him heavy losses, from which the term "Pyrrhic victory" was coined.Pyrrhus was only two years old when his father was dethroned, in 317 BC, his family taking refuge with Glaukias, king of the Taulantians, one of the largest Illyrian tribes.Pyrrhus was raisedby Beroea,Glaukias's wife, one of the Mollosian Aeacide.Glaukias restored Pyrrhus to the throne in 306 BC until the latter was banished again, four years later, by his enemy, Cassander. Thus, he went on to serve as an officer, in the wars of the Diadochi, under his brother-in-law Demetrius Poliorcetes. In 298 BC, Pyrrhus was taken hostage to Alexandria, under the terms of a peace treaty made between Demetrius and Ptolemy I. There, he married Ptolemy I's stepdaughter Antigone (daughter of Berenice, Ptolemy's mistress, and a Macedonian noble) and, in 297 BC, with Ptolemy I's financial and military aid, restored his kingdom in Epirus and had Neoptolemus II, puppet of the now-deceased Seleucus and Pyrrhus' co-ruler for a short while, murdered.

In 295 BC Pyrrhus transferred the capital of his kingdom to Ambrakia (modern Arta). Next, he went to war against his former ally and brother-in-law Demetrius and by 286 BC he had taken control over the kingdom of Macedon. Pyrrhus was driven out of Macedon by Lysimachus in 284 BC.

The Epirotes-Cham Albanians called him Shqiponjë-Eagle.
According to an albanian tradition the word Shqipetarët-Sons of Eagle originates from a saying of Pyrrhus. When someone praised the effectivity and the movements of his troops, he responded with pride that such a thing was normal, as his soldiers were "Sons of Eagle".According to another version,somewhat different,when his troops praised his quick attacks against enemy and called him Eagle;he responded that they were his wings that made him fly so quick.It is commonly believed by albanians that this led to the adoption of this name, which the Albanian people use even to this day(Shqipetarë).









Struggle with Rome
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In 281 BC, the Greek city of Tarentum, in southern Italy, fell out with Rome and was faced with a Roman attack and certain defeat. Rome had already made itself into a major power, and was poised to subdue all the Greek cities in Magna Graecia. The Tarentines asked Pyrrhus to lead their war against the Romans.[4]

Pyrrhus was encouraged to aid the Tarentines by the oracle of Delphi. His goals were not, however, selfless. He recognized the possibility of carving out an empire for himself in Italy. He made an alliance with Ptolemy Ceraunus, King of Macedon and his most powerful neighbor, and arrived in Italy in 280 BC.

He entered Italy with an army consisting of 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, 20,000 infantry and 20 war elephants in a bid to subdue the Romans.[4] The elephants had been loaned to him by Ptolemy II, who had also promised 9,000 soldiers and a further 50 elephants to defend Epirus while Pyrrhus and his army were away.

Due to his superior cavalry and his elephants, he defeated the Romans, led by Consul Publius Valerius Laevinus, in the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC. There are conflicting sources about casualties. Hieronymus of Cardia reports the Romans lost about 7,000 while Pyrrhus lost 3,000 soldiers, including many of his best. Dionysius gives a bloodier view of 15,000 Roman dead and 13,000 Greek. Several tribes including the Lucani, Bruttii, Messapians, and the Greek cities of Croton and Locri joined Pyrrhus. He then offered the Romans a peace treaty which was eventually rejected. Pyrrhus spent winter in Campania.

When Pyrrhus invaded Apulia (279 BC), the two armies met in the Battle of Asculum where Pyrrhus won a very costly victory. The consul Publius Decius Mus was the Roman commander, and his able force, though defeated, broke the back of Pyrrhus' Hellenistic army, and guaranteed the security of the city itself. The battle foreshadowed later Roman victories over more numerous and well armed successor state military forces and inspired the term "Pyrrhic victory", meaning a victory which comes at a crippling cost. At the end, the Romans had lost 6,000 men and Pyrrhus 3,500 but, while battered, his army was still a force to be reckoned with.


Ruler of Sicily
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In 278 BC, Pyrrhus received two offers simultaneously. The Greek cities in Sicily asked him to come and drive out Carthage, which along with Rome was one of the two great powers of the Western Mediterranean. At the same time, the Macedonians, whose King Ceraunus had been killed by invading Gauls, asked Pyrrhus to ascend the throne of Macedon. Pyrrhus decided that Sicily offered him a greater opportunity, and transferred his army there.

Pyrrhus was proclaimed king of Sicily. He was already making plans for his son Helenus to inherit the kingdom of Sicily and his other son Alexander to be given Italy. In 277 Pyrrhus captured Eryx, the strongest Carthaginian fortress in Sicily. This prompted the rest of the Carthaginian-controlled cities to defect to Pyrrhus.

In 276 BC, Pyrrhus negotiated with the Carthaginians. Although they were inclined to come to terms with Pyrrhus, supply him money and send him ships once friendly relations were established, he demanded that Carthage abandon all of Sicily and make the Libyan Sea a boundary between themselves and the Greeks. The Greek cities of Sicily opposed making peace with Carthage because the Carthaginians still controlled the powerful fortress of Lilybaeum, on the Western end of the island. Pyrrhus eventually gave in to their proposals and broke off the peace negotiations. Pyrrhus' army then began besieging Lilybaeum. For two months he launched unsuccessful assaults on the city, until finally he realised he could not mount an effective siege without blockading it from the sea as well. Pyrrhus then requested manpower and money from the Sicilians in order to construct a powerful fleet. When the Sicilians became unhappy about these contributions he had to resort to compulsary contributions and force to keep them in line. These measures culminated in him proclaiming a military dictatorship of Sicily and installing military garrisons in Sicilian cities.

These actions were deeply unpopular and soon Sicilian opinion became inflamed against him. Pyrrhus had so alienated the Sicilian Greeks that they were willing to make common cause with the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians took heart from this and sent another army against him. This army was promptly defeated. In spite of this victory Sicily continued to grow increasingly hostile to Pyrrhus, who began to consider abandoning Sicily. At this point Samnite and Tarentine envoys reached Pyrrhus and informed him that of all the Greek cities in Italy only Tarentum had not been conquered by Rome. Pyrrhus made his decision and departed from Sicily. As his ship left the island, he turned and said to his companions: "What a wrestling ground we are leaving, my friends, for the Carthaginians and the Romans."


Retreat from Italy
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While Pyrrhus had been campaigning against the Carthaginians, the Romans rebuilt their army by calling up thousands of fresh recruits. When Pyrrhus returned from Sicily, he found himself vastly outnumbered against a superior Roman army. After the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum in 275 BC Pyrrhus decided to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus which resulted in the loss of all his Italian holdings. Before leaving Italy Pyrrhus sent requests for military and financial assistance to Greece and Macedon, as well as to the Hellenic empires of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties. These appeals were all in vain.


Last wars and death
A coin from Epirus. On left is the head of Pyrrhus' mother, Phthia. On the right is Athena Promachos, shield and spear in hands with a battle stance. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΥΡΡΟΥ ([coin] of King Pyrrhus). The coins minted under Pyrrhus also frequently featured Zeus Dodonaeus and Dione, two of the main Molossian gods, as well as Achilles, alluding to the Aeacid ancestry from the hero himself, and Heracles who offered a connection to the Macedonian throne and the panhellenic claims of the campaigns in Sicily

Though his western campaign had taken a heavy toll on his army as well as his treasury, Pyrrhus went to war yet again. Attacking King Antigonus II Gonatas, he won an easy victory and seized the Macedonian throne.

In 272 BC, Cleonymus, a Spartan of royal blood who was hated among fellow Spartans, asked Pyrrhus to attack Sparta and place him in power. Pyrrhus agreed to the plan intending to win control of the Peloponnese for himself but unexpected strong resistance thwarted his assault on Sparta. He was immediately offered an opportunity to intervene in a civic dispute in Argos. Entering the city with his army by stealth, he found himself caught in a confused battle in the narrow city streets. During the confusion an old Argead woman watching from a rooftop threw a roofing tile which stunned him, allowing an Argive soldier to kill him.

The same year, upon hearing the news of Pyrrhus' death, the Tarentinians surrendered to Rome.

Legacy
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While he was a mercurial and often restless leader, and not always a wise king, he was considered one of the greatest military commanders of his time. Plutarch records that Hannibal ranked Pyrrhus as the greatest commander the world had ever seen,though Appian gives a different version of the story, in which Hannibal placed him second after Alexander the Great.

Pyrrhus was also known to be very benevolent. As a general, Pyrrhus' greatest political weaknesses were his failures to maintain focus and to maintain a strong treasury at home (many of his soldiers were costly mercenaries).

His name is famous for the term "Pyrrhic victory" which refers to an exchange at the Battle of Asculum. In response to congratulations for winning a costly victory over the Romans, he is reported to have said: "One more such victory will undo me!"

Pyrrhus wrote Memoirs and several books on the art of war. These have since been lost, although, according to Plutarch, Hannibal was influenced by them, and they received praise from Cicero.