Illyrian Warfare

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Illyrian Warfare is the history of the wars and battles of the Illyrian tribes in Illyria, the Balkans ,ancient Italy and its piracy in the Mediterranean Sea and and the Adriatic sea fought against each other and other peoples.

Warfare

The Illyrian king Bardyllis(ruled from 385 to 358 BC) turned Illyria into a formidable local power in the 4th century BC.After Bardyllis Grabos came to power .King Glaukias came after him (317 BC to 303 BC) but was defeated by the Greeks. Queen Teuta(who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228 BC.) fought against Greeks and the Romans and practiced piracy.

Infantry

Illyrians used javelins and oval shields but no armor or greaves except for the elite.They used Negau helmets ,Pot helmets with a rim,wicker helmets with metal plates also called disc and stud helmets and adopted the Ancient Greek "Illyrian" type helmet.They functioned as a variant of peltasts.Short Spears,Singlehanded axes that could be hurled and swords were not uncommon and were used after missile weapons.They used only open faced helmets and they resembled Celtic equipment of the Hallstatt culture to a great degree.

They were known as war-like tribes who were never really united, and fought without any real coordination. Their fighting technique seemed to rely heavily on individual accomplishment rather than a coordinating unit. In 359 BC, King Perdiccas III of Macedon was killed by attacking Illyrians. In 358 BC, however, Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, utterly crushed the Illyrians and assumed control of their territory as far as Lake Ohrid.

They fought against many ancient peoples but fell to the Romans in the Illyrian Wars and tried to breakaway from the Roman empire in the events of the Great Illyrian Revolt but failed. During the existence of the Illyrian civilization, they were conquered by the Romans and Romanised.

Naval Warfare

The Illyrians practiced piracy under Queen Teuta ,a Greek called Demetrius of Pharos and Scerdilaidas though the practice of piracy was not new to the Illyrians who were notorious for it centuries ago.Demetrius of Pharos also commanded 1600 Illyrians at the Battle of Sellasia in 222 BC.

A lembus was an ancient Illyrian galley, with a single bank of oars and no sails. It was small and light, with a low freeboard. It was a fast and maneuverable warship, capable of carrying 50 men in addition to the rowers. It was the galley used by Illyrian pirates, and by Philip V of Macedon during the First Macedonian War.They had also killed ambassadors of the Romans and the Issaeans.The Illyrians were limited by the Romans to venture past Lissus with more then two unarmed Lembus.It was the practice of piracy that led the Romans to invade and conquer Illyria.

Variations and Evolution

In 385 BC, the Molossians were attacked by Illyrians instigated and aided by Dionysius. of Syracuse to place Alcetas that was a refugee in his court to the throne. Dionysius planned to control all the Ionian Sea. Sparta had intervened as soon as the events became known and expelled the Illyrians who were led by Bardyllis. Despite being aided by 2000 Greek hoplites and five hundred suits of Greek armour the Illyrians were defeated by the Spartans led by Agesilaus but not before ravaging the region and killing 15,000 Molossians.

In 360 BC, in another Illyrian attack the Molossian king Arymbas evacuated his non-combatant population to Aetolia and let the illyrians loot freely.The stratagem worked and the Molossians fell upon the Illyrians now encumbered with booty and defeated them.

Illyrians were reluctant to help each other in times of war and they sometimes allied themselves with the Romans and the Greeks.The Autariatae fought against Ardiaei for salt mines.They killed their wounded to avoid getting caught.The Ardiaei were notorious before being defeated by the Romans. Apollodorus mentions a war between the Enchelaeae led by Cadmus and Harmonia and the Illyrians. Pausanias mentions a number of raids against Epirotes.Illyrians were also attacked by the Gauls of Brennus led under Belgius or Bolgious.The Illyrians also attacked the Aetolians when they were about to change strategus and raided the city of Medion(ancient city) taking booty and slaves.

Illyrian Warfare

Warfare

Infantry

Naval Warfare

Variations and Evolution

References

See also