Illyrian Warfare: Ancient Tactics and Strategies of the Balkans

By Fouad Sabry

What is Illyrian Warfare

The history of Taulanti invasion of macedon of the Illyrians spans from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC up to the 1st century AD in the region of Illyria and in southern Italy where the Iapygian civilization flourished.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Illyrian warfare

Chapter 2: Illyria

Chapter 3: Dardani

Chapter 4: Illyro-Roman Wars

Chapter 5: Agron of Illyria

Chapter 6: Pinnes (Ardiaean)

Chapter 7: Demetrius of Pharos

Chapter 8: Lembus

Chapter 9: Liburnians

Chapter 10: Gentius

(II) Answering the public top questions about illyrian warfare.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Illyrian Warfare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: May 31, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Illyrian warfare

The history of Illyrian warfare extends from the beginning of the second millennium B.C. to the first century A.D. in Illyria and southern Italy, where the Iapygian civilization flourished.

It focuses on the violent wars between the Illyrian tribes and their kingdoms in the Balkans and Italy, as well as pirate activity in the Mediterranean. In addition to wars between Illyrians and neighboring states and tribes, there were several wars between Illyrian tribes.

Ancient accounts attest that the Illyrians were renowned fighters. In antiquity, they were renowned as talented artisans and shipbuilders, and their numerous warships allowed them to rule much of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Effective Illyrian weapons included the sica, a sword with a curved tip that originated in Illyria and was soon adopted throughout the Balkans and employed by the Romans.

In Greek mythology, Illyrians engaged in armed warfare, notably in the legend of Cadmus and Harmonia, in which Cadmus led the Illyrian Enchelii. If the mythology is accurate, this fight would have taken place around 2000 B.C., when Cadmus is said to have lived.

In times of war, Illyrian tribes were unwilling to aid one another and even fought amongst themselves, and they occasionally joined with the neighboring Romans. The Daorsi had been attacked by the Delmatae to the point where they asked Roman assistance.

In the eighth century B.C., the kingdom of Enchele was the earliest kingdom of Illyrian civilization to be documented. The Enchele ruled for two centuries before their power collapsed at the beginning of the sixth century B.C. The Taulantii, Pleraei, Endirudini, Sasaei, Grabaei, and Labeatae were their names. Later, they merged to form the Docleatae.

The Liburnians' navigational expertise and agility on their speedy ships, the Liburna, allowed them to be present, very early on, not just along the eastern Adriatic coast, but also the western Italic coast. This process began with large Pannonian-Adriatic migrations and movements near the end of the Bronze Age, between the 12th and 10th centuries BCE. For the aid of Corinth and Corcyra against the Liburni, they were already on the Italic coast during the Iron Age, establishing colonies in Apulia and especially Picenum, where specific Iron Age cultures emerged. The Greeks were successful.

In the sixth century B.C., Liburian influence over the Adriatic Sea shores began to wane. According to Pliny the Elder, the Liburnians lost dominance in the Western Adriatic due to the invasion of the Umbri and the Gauls, which was caused by the strengthening and expansion of the Etruscan union in the sixth century BCE. The Etruscans' rich material presence in the Po river basin weakened the Liburnian thalassocracy in the northwestern Adriatic. After 400 B.C., Celtic incursions into the Italian peninsula drastically altered the ethnic and political landscape there, directly endangering the residual Liburnian territories on the western coast.

In contrast to the western Adriatic coast, Celtic incursions into the limited Liburnian territory on the eastern Adriatic coast had little geographic significance. Despite recorded material interchange, Celtic archaeological forms are marginal and secondary in territories inhabited by Histri, Iapodes, and Dalmatae, and are particularly uncommon in Liburnian Iron Age legacy.

The Iapygian-Tarentine Wars were a series of disputes and wars fought between the Greek colony of Taras (Taranto) and the Messapians, Peucetii, and Daunians of Iapygia.

Immediately after the establishment of Tars in 706 B.C., conflicts erupted over dominance of the fertile lowlands bordering to southern Italy.

Due to the reluctance of the inhabitants of interior Apulia, Taranto's growth was restricted to the coast.

In 473 BC, Rhegion and Taranto have forged a pact, against the Messapii, Peuceti, and Lucanians, but the joint armies of the Tarentines and Rhegines were defeated near Kailìa (modern Ceglie), In what manner Herodotus lauds its government, The death of so many aristocrats allowed the democratic party to gain power, to abolish the monarchy, Establish a democracy, as well as expel the Pythagoreans.

Approximately 440 B.C., the Messapian city-state of Brindisi formed an alliance with the Thurii. Cleandridas, an exiled Spartan commander who had been expelled from the Peloponnese for taking an Athenian bribe as an advisor to Spartan king Pleistoanax, provided the Brindisi-Thurri army with a leadership edge. During the Peloponnesian War, Taranto supported the Peloponnesian side against Athens, refused harbor and water to Athens in 415 BC, and even sent ships to assist the Peloponnesians following the Athenian debacle in Sicily. In opposition, Athens supported the Messapians to counter Taranto's influence.

After 330 B.C., the Messapians allied with the Tarentines in opposition to an even stronger army, Rome. In 304 B.C., the partnerships with Taras and Cleonimus of Sparta constituted an anti-Roman campaign. Thus, by the end of the fourth century Rome had become a common enemy for both the Iapygians and the Tarentines, prompting them to form an alliance in order to terminate their protracted wars.

Bardyllis became king of the Illyrians and founder of a new dynasty in the fourth century B.C. after deposing Sirras, the previous Illyrian monarch, who had signed a peace pact over the possession of Lyncestis. Bardyllis was able to unite diverse tribes into a unified organization, resulting in a transformation in Macedonia's relations with the Balkan nation. In 393 B.C., the Illyrians defeated Amyntas III in a decisive battle, driving him from Macedonia and installing a puppet king. Amyntas III joined himself with the Thessalians and seized control of Macedonia from the Dardanians in 392 BCE. In 372