Monunius II of Dardania
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Monunius (
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
Μονούνιος; ruled ''c.'' 176 – 167 BC) was an Illyrian king of the
Dardani The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
an State who lived in the late 3rd century BC and early 2nd century BC. Monunius attested first in 176 BC was the son of Longarus, a Dardanian king who caused much trouble to Macedonia from 230 BC onwards. He succeeded his brother Bato to the Dardanian throne. Monunius was known for his victory he inflicted on the
Bastarnae The Bastarnae ( Latin variants: ''Bastarni'', or ''Basternae''; grc, Βαστάρναι or Βαστέρναι) and Peucini ( grc, Πευκῖνοι) were two ancient peoples who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited areas north of the Roman front ...
during the Bastarnae Invasion of Dardania.
Etuta Etuta (ruled 169 – 168 BC) was an Illyrian queen of the Ardiaean Kingdom, married to Gentius. Etuta was a Dardanian princess, the daughter of Monunius II of Dardania. Biography Etuta was earlier engaged to Gentius' brother, Plator, whom ...
the daughter of Monunius married the Ardiaean King
Gentius Gentius ( grc, Γένθιος, "Génthios"; 181168 BC) was an Illyrian king who belonged to the Labeatan dynasty. He ruled in 181–168 BC, being the last attested Illyrian king. He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept positive relati ...
in 169 BC. Since the dynastic marriage relations seem not to have brought an alliance between the two Illyrian States, in 168 BC Gentius allied with Perseus, the enemy of his father-in-law.The Illyrians to the Albanians Neritan Ceka 2005 Many Dardanian kings of the same time were named Monunius and there seems to be some confusionThe Illyrians by J. J. Wilkes, 1992, , page 146, "Nor is it certain if this was the same ruler who gained power over the Taulantii"..."It is not certain if he is the same Monunius who offered helped against the Celts" as to whom certain actions and events pertain.


Background


Macedonian alliances against Dardania

Since it was difficult to defeat the Dardanians militarily, Philip V drew up a plan to get the large Germanic/ Celtic tribe of the Bastarnae against them. While on campaign in
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
in 184 BC Philip sent agents to stir up the barbarians along the river
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
, that they might invade
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Two years later Philip was pleased to learn that the Bastarnae had accepted his alliance and were offering a princess in marriage for one of his sons, Perseus as it turned out. This formidable people, dwelt beyond the lower Danube but were often willing to join in expeditions far from their homelands. The following year Philip mass deportations from Paeonia where he filled the towns with
Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
and other barbarians, as being likely to remain more securely loyal to him in the coming hour of danger, that is war with
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. In fact Philip's purpose for the Bastarnae was more specific to the security of Macedonia: They were to invade and eject the Dardanians under Monunius and take over their country, and later continue on their way through Illyria, finally reaching Italy. Livy (XL, 574-9) writes that Philip's purpose was to wipe out the Dardanians and settle the Bastarnae in their lands (in the
Polog Polog ( mk, Полог, Polog; sq, Pollog), also known as the Polog Valley ( mk, links=no, Полошка Котлина, Pološka Kotlina; sq, links=no, Lugina e Pollogut), is located in the north-western part of the Republic of North Macedo ...
valley), and send them to Italy and lay it waste, leaving their women and children in Dardania. It was a typically ruthless yet realistic scheme, and was later imitated in the Danube lands on more than one occasion by the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. The Bastarnae were accompanied by the kindred
Scordisci The Scordisci ( el, Σκορδίσκοι) were a Celtic Iron Age cultural group centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morava) and Danube rivers. They were historically n ...
whose lands their route lay. To get the Bastarnae to Monunius' State, Philip had gone to great trouble and expense to arrange safe passage through the Thracians. They left home after a great deal of hesitation but had gone as far as
Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. It was an important ancient Gr ...
when, in summer of 179 BC, news arrived that Philip V was dead. Soon there was trouble with the Thracians and the Bastarnae retreated to Donica (perhaps Rila), a high mountain in western Thrace. After Philp's death, his son Perseus tried to follow through his fathers plans. After further skirmishes some decided to return home and set off for Appolonia and Mesembria on the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
coast of Thrace, but the rest, under the leadership of Clondicus, pressed on towards Monunius and set about to eject the population in accordance with their arrangement with the late king.


Rome's refusal of help

In 176 BC Monunius sent envoys to Rome with news of an invasion by the Bastarnae. The Dardanian envoys declared that they were warriors massive in size and numbers and alleged that they were in league with Perseus and the Gauls. Representatives from
Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...
appeared also in order to confirm the story and back up Monunius. The patres would make their customary response, they would send an embassy to investigate. On the return of that embassy, Livy records that the Romans reported only that a Dardanian war was underway, and
Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...
adds that they had observed a major military build-up in Macedonia. Perseus in the meantime, dispatched his own envoys to Rome with denials that he had any part in the activity of the Bastarnae. The senate would neither censure nor absolve Perseus, but simply directed that he take care to giving the appearance of observing his treaty with Rome and therefore the senate did nothing to support Monunius.


Bastarnae invasion

In 175 BC, the Bastarnae supported by the Thracians and the Scordisci, began the invasion and stormed into Dardania. To face the incoming danger, Monunius mobilized all his forces and concentrated them in the city (name of which is not known) closest to the camp of the Bastarnae. Monunius waited for the beginning of winter to launch the decisive strike, when the allies of the Bastarnae would return to their countries. As soon as the Dardanians had learned of their withdrawal, which left on the forces of the Bastarnae, numbering 30,000, on the field, Monunius separated his forces into two armies. The first was to march head on to the enemy and attack them directly, while the other unit was to march along hidden roads and attack from the rear. But the battle began before the second army back to the enemy's back; the defeated Dardanians withdrew to the city, which was just twelve miles from the camp of the Bastarnae. The victors immediately surrounded the city, believing either that the Dardanians would soon surrender from fear or that they immediately take the city by force. Meanwhile, the second of Monunius' army, having made its way unaware of the loss of the first, found the camp of the Bastarnae undefended, and easily took it without any effort.Livy (XLI, 19.4-11) Having lost their entire baggage and supplies, the Bastarnae were obliged to withdraw from Dardania and to return home. Most perished as they crossed the frozen Danube on foot, only for the ice to give way. Among the survivors was Clondicus who had led the people into Dardania four years earlier. Despite the failure of Philip's Bastarnae strategy, the suspicion aroused by these events in the Roman Senate, which had been warned by the Dardani of the Bastarnae invasion, ensured the demise of Macedonia as an independent state. Thus Monunius managed to protect the borders of the Dardanian State which would have perished otherwise.


Neutrality

Monunius engaged his daughter,
Etuta Etuta (ruled 169 – 168 BC) was an Illyrian queen of the Ardiaean Kingdom, married to Gentius. Etuta was a Dardanian princess, the daughter of Monunius II of Dardania. Biography Etuta was earlier engaged to Gentius' brother, Plator, whom ...
to the Ardiaean King
Gentius Gentius ( grc, Γένθιος, "Génthios"; 181168 BC) was an Illyrian king who belonged to the Labeatan dynasty. He ruled in 181–168 BC, being the last attested Illyrian king. He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept positive relati ...
in 169 BC. However, the marriage does not seem to have secured an Illyrian-Dardanian alliance. Perseus conquered a broad swath of territory in the south of the Dardanian State, also taking the region of Penesta (Polog valley) with its cities
Uscana Uscana or Hyscana was a settlement of the Illyrian tribe of the Penestae in southern Illyria, modern Albania. See also * List of settlements in Illyria This is a list of settlements in Illyria founded by Illyrians (southern Illyrians, Darda ...
, Oene and Draudachus. In order to stop the Dardanian raids into Macedonia, Perseus burned and destroyed the regions to the north and west of Mount Scardus ( Sar Mountains), an area known thereafter as 'Deserted Illyria'. Through these campaigns, Perseus annihilated the military bases that the Romans had built in the north-west of his kingdom, cut off for good the routes the Dardanians had used for their forays into Macedonia, and inserted himself like a wedge between Monunius and Gentius. Since the dynastic marriage relations seem not to have brought an alliance between the two Illyrian States, in 168 BC Gentius allied with Perseus, the enemy of his father-in-law. Nonetheless, Monunius preserved Dardanians neutrality, both in the war between Gentius and Perseus on the one hand and the war with the Romans on the other. After the destruction of Macedonia in 167 BC, the Dardanians ask the consul Paullus Aemilius for control of Paeonia, but he refused, giving them only the right to trade in salt there. Many Dardanian kings of the same time were named Monunius and there seems to be some confusion as to whom certain actions and events pertain.


See also

*
Illyrian warfare The history of Illyrian warfare 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. It concerns the armed conflict ...
*
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 ...
*
List of rulers of Illyria The Illyrians, ; la, Illyrii}) were a conglomeration of Indo-European peoples and tribes in the Balkan Peninsula, Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Illyrian language and practiced a multitude of common religious and cultural practices. Many o ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monunius of Dardania Dardanians Illyrian royalty 2nd-century BC rulers in Europe bs:Monunius pl:Monunios I