The Battle of Phoenice was a battle that took place in 230 BC between the forces of the Epirote League and the Ardiaean

Kingdom of Illyria The Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1816 to 1849, the successor state of the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces, which were reconquered by Austria in the War of the Sixth Coalition. It was established according to th ...

Illyrian Invasion of Epirus and Battle

Phoenice Phoenice or Phoenike ( el, Φοινίκη) was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians.: "To the north the Chaonians had expelled the Corcyraeans from their holdings on the mainland and built fortifications at Buthrotum, K ...

had been previously taken by

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...

acting under

Queen Teuta Teuta ( Illyrian: *''Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; grc, Τεύτα; lat, Teuta) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC. Following the death of her spouse Agr ...

, in 230 BC, after a

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

garrison of 800 men surrendered to the larger Illyrian force. In reaction, the Epirote League sent in an army to retake Phoenice. They took up positions at a river outside of Phoenice. Meanwhile, 5,000 Illyrians under

Scerdilaidas Scerdilaidas or Skerdilaid ( grc, Σκερδιλαΐδας; ruled 218206 BC) was an Illyrian ruler of the Illyrian kingdom under the Labeatan dynasty. Before taking the throne, Scerdilaidas was commander of the Illyrian armies and played a majo ...

had advanced inland into

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

from Southern Illyria and reached a pass just outside Antigoneia. The Epirotes reacted by dividing their army, sending a small detachment to protect Antigoneia whilst keeping their main body outside of Phoenice. The Illyrians at Phoenice, seeing the Epirote army was divided, advanced towards their camp and crossed the river. The next day, the forces engaged each other in battle. The Epirote forces were routed and badly defeated, with many being killed or captured, and the remnants of the army fled to Atinania.

Further advances, preparation for a second battle, and truce

Following the battle, the Epirote league had failed to take control of Phoenice, the most powerful city of Epirus. Scerdilaidas forces had also occupied all areas of northern Epirus up until Antigoneia. The Epirotes requested assistance from the

Aetolian Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia ...

and

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

s, with the former having been

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previously by Illyrians under Agron at

Medion Medion AG is a German consumer electronics company, and a subsidiary of Chinese multinational technology company Lenovo. The company operates in Europe, Turkey, Asia-Pacific, United States and Australia regions. The company's main products are ...

in 232 BC. Both leagues sent a combined relief army to the Epirotes which arrived at Helicranum, nearby modern

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

, in 230 BC. The Illyrians at Phoenice and those outside Antigoneia under

joined forces in Epirus and advanced towards Helicranum at the heart of Epirus, preparing to engage the Hellenic force in battle. Illyrians would have probably won again but the course of events in the north made them to be called back to Illyria by Teuta before the battle begun, following an Illyrian revolt in support of the other Illyrian Kingdom of Dardania... The Dardanian ruler,

Longarus Longarus (ruled c. 231 – 206 BC) was an Illyrian king of the Dardanian Kingdom. Longarus was at war with various Macedonian kings and managed to conquer at different times part of Macedonia. Longarus was an ally of the Paeonian State and ...

, had invaded the Ardeai Kingdom of Illyria, sparking an insurrection. Thus, after briefly plundering the Epirote coast, the Illyrians made a truce with the Epirotes and retreated. They also gave up the freemen they had captured at the battle along with the city of Phoenice for a ransom. Afterwards, taking slaves and booty the Illyrians returned to Illyria by sea, whilst the 5,000 under Scerdilaidas retreated northwards to the pass of Antigoneia.

Aftermath

Following the battle and eventual withdrawal of Illyrian forces, the Epirotes saw that the Greek leagues could not protect them. The Epirote League and Acarnania sent ambassadors to Teuta and entered into an alliance with Illyria against the Achaean and Aetolian leagues.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Illyrians 230 BC 230s BC conflicts