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Bardylis
Bardylis (also Bardyllis ; grc, Βάρδυλις; 448 – c. 358 BC) was an Illyrian king, and the founder of the first attested Illyrian dynasty. During his reign, Bardylis aimed to made Illyria a regional power interfering with Macedon. He united many southern Illyrian tribes under his realm and defeated the Macedonians and Molossians several times, expanding his dominion over Upper Macedonia and Lynkestis, and ruling over Macedon through a puppet king. Before the Rise of Macedon Illyrians were the dominant power in the region. Bardylis also led raids against Epirus, but his soldiers were eventually expelled from the region. Most scholars hold that the Illyrian kingdom that was established by Bardylis was centered along Lake Ohrid and east to the Prespa Lakes, which was called Dassaretis later in Roman times, located on the border between Macedon and Epirus.; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; . Illyrians, in particular under Bardylis' leadership, held a remarkable role in the developm ...
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Dassareti
The Dassaretii (Ancient Greek: ''Δασσαρῆται, Δασσαρήτιοι'', Latin: ''Dassaretae'', ''Dassaretii'') were an Illyrian people that lived in the inlands of southern Illyria, between present-day south-eastern Albania and south-western North Macedonia. Their territory included the entire region between the rivers Asamus and Eordaicus (whose union forms the Apsus), the plateau of Korça locked by the fortress of Pelion and, towards the north it extended to Lake Lychnidus up to the Black Drin. They were directly in contact with the regions of Orestis and Lynkestis of Upper Macedonia. Their chief city was Lychnidos, located on the edge of the lake of the same name. One of the most important settlements in their territory was established at Selcë e Poshtme near the western shore of Lake Lychnidus, where the Illyrian Royal Tombs were built. The Dassaretii were one of the most prominent peoples of southern Illyria, forming an ethnic state. They made up the an ...
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Cleitus (son Of Bardylis)
Cleitus (Ancient Greek: Κλεῖτος; ruled 356335 BC) was an Illyrian ruler, the son of the King Bardylis and the father of Bardylis II. Cleitus was the mastermind behind the well structured Illyrian Revolt of 335 BC. Cleitus entered into an agreement with the Taulantii State under Glaucias and the Autariatae State under Pleurias. Cleitus had captured and garrisoned the city of Pelion and waited for Glaucias' troops to arrive. However, Alexander arrived on the scene first and blockaded Cleitus within the city walls. Glaucias came to Cleitus' aid, and the Macedonians were forced to retreat. Alexander came back with more equipment and supplies and skillfully drove Glaucias' army from the surrounding heights, preventing Cleitus from engaging with Glaucias. After a three-day truce, Alexander found the Taulantii camp unguarded and defeated the Illyrians under the cover of night. Cletius managed to escape and likely kept his throne ruling in , probably as a vassal under the M ...
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Rise Of Macedon
Under the reign of Philip II (359–336 BC), the kingdom of Macedonia, initially at the periphery of classical Greek affairs, came to dominate Ancient Greece in the span of just 25 years, largely thanks to the personality and policies of its king. In addition to utilising effective diplomacy and marriage alliances to achieve his political aims, Philip II was responsible for reforming the ancient Macedonian army into an effective fighting force. The Macedonian phalanx became the hallmark of the Macedonian army during his reign and the subsequent Hellenistic period. His army and engineers also made extensive use of siege engines. Macedonia during the reign of Philip II was at first preoccupied by wars with marauding Illyrians and Thracians. Chief among Philip's Thracian enemies was the ruler Kersebleptes, who may have coordinated a temporary alliance with Athens. In a series of campaigns stretching from 356 to 340 BC, Philip II managed to ultimately subjugate Kersebleptes as a ...
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Lynkestis
Lynkestis, Lyncestis, Lyngistis, Lynkos or Lyncus ( grc, Λυγκηστίς or Λύγκος la, Lyncestis or ''Lyncus'') was a region and principality traditionally located in Upper Macedonia. It was the northernmost mountainous region of Upper Macedonia, located east of the Prespa Lakes. In its earlier history, Lynkestis was an independent polity ruled by a local dynasty which claimed descent from Bacchiadae, a Greek aristocratic family from ancient Corinth. They were ruled by a basileus, as the rest of the tribes in Lower and Upper Macedonia. The few existing primary sources show that it maintained connections with the Illyrians and was frequently in hostilities with the Argeads. The inhabitants of Lynkestis were known as Lyncestae or Lynkestai (Λυγκῆσται). Hecataeus (6th century BC) included them among the Molossians. Thucydides (5th century BC) considered them Macedonians. Later ancient sources considered them Illyrians. Modern scholars regard them as Macedon ...
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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, along with the Thracians and Greeks. The territory the Illyrians inhabited came to be known as Illyria to later Greek and Roman authors, who identified a territory that corresponds to most of Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, much of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, western and central Serbia and some parts of Slovenia between the Adriatic Sea in the west, the Drava river in the north, the Morava river in the east and in the south the Aous (modern Vjosa) river or possibly the Ceraunian Mountains. The first account of Illyrian peoples dates back to the 6th century BC, in the works of the ancient Greek writer Hecataeus of Miletus. The name "Illyrians", as applied by the ancient Greeks to their northern neighbors, may have referred to a br ...
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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 society was very complex. The Dardani were the most stable and conservative ethnic element among the peoples of the central Balkans, retaining for several centuries an enduring presence in the region. Most ancient sources classify Dardanians as Illyrians. Strabo and Appian explicitly referred to them as Illyrians. Strabo, in particular – also mentioning Galabri and Thunatae as Dardanian tribes – describes the Dardani as one of the three strongest Illyrian peoples, the other two being the Ardiaei and Autariatae. There were Thracian names in the eastern strip of Dardania but Illyrian names dominated the rest The Kingdom of Dardania was attested since the 4th century BC in ancient sources reporting the wars the Dardanians waged ag ...
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Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal Argead dynasty, which was followed by the Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient Macedonians, the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula,. and bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the great city-states of Athens, Sparta and Thebes, and briefly subordinate to Achaemenid Persia. During the reign of the Argead king PhilipII (359–336 BC), Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom through conquest and diplomacy. With a reformed army containing phalanxes wielding the '' sarissa'' ...
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Glaukias
Glaucias ( grc, Γλαυκίας; ruled c. 335 – c. 295 BC) was a ruler of the Taulantian kingdom which dominated southern Illyrian affairs in the second half of the 4th century BC. Glaucias is first mentioned as bringing a considerable force to the assistance of Bardylis' son Cleitus, an Illyrian prince who revolted against Alexander the Great, in the battle of Pelium 335 BC. They were, however, both defeated, and Cleitus was forced to take refuge within the Taulantian territories, whither Alexander did not pursue him, his attention being called elsewhere by the news of the revolt of Thebes. We next hear of Glaucias, nearly 20 years later, as affording an asylum to the infant Pyrrhus, when his father Aeacides was driven out of Epirus; Glaucias' wife Beroea belonged to the Molossian Aeacidae. By this measure he gave offence to Cassander, who sought to gain possession of Epirus for himself, and who in vain offered Glaucias 200 talents to give up the child. Not long afte ...
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Taulanti
Taulantii or Taulantians ('swallow-men'; Ancient Greek: , or , ; la, Taulantii) were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria (modern Albania). They dominated at various times much of the plain between the rivers Drin (''Drilon'') and Vjosa (''Aoös''). Their central area was the hinterland of Epidamnos-Dyrrhachion, corresponding to present-day Tirana and the region between the valleys of Mat and Shkumbin (''Genusus''). The Taulantii are among the oldest attested Illyrian peoples, who established a powerful kingdom in southern Illyria. They are among the peoples who most marked Illyrian history, and thus found their place in the numerous works of historians in classical antiquity. Name The Taulantii, along with the Eneti, are the oldest attested peoples expressly considered Illyrian in early Greek historiography. The Taulantii were firstly recorded by ancient Greek writer Hecataeus of Miletus in the 6th century BC. The ''Taulantii'' are ...
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Messapic Language
Messapic (; also known as Messapian; or as Iapygian) is an extinct Indo-European language of the southeastern Italian Peninsula, once spoken in Apulia by the Iapygian peoples of the region: the ''Calabri'' and ''Salentini'' (known collectively as the Messapii), the Peucetians and the Daunians. Messapic was the pre-Roman, non- Italic language of Apulia. It has been preserved in about 600 inscriptions written in an alphabet derived from a Western Greek model and dating from the mid-6th to at least the 2nd century BC, when it went extinct following the Roman conquest of the region. Name The term 'Messapic' or 'Messapian' is traditionally used to refer to a group of languages spoken by the Iapygians, a "relatively homogeneous linguistic community" of non- Italic-speaking tribes ( Messapians, Peucetians and Daunians) dwelling in the region of Apulia before the Roman conquest. However, some scholars have argued that the term 'Iapygian languages' should be preferred for referri ...
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Ancient Macedonian Army
The army of the Kingdom of Macedon was among the greatest military forces of the ancient world. It was created and made formidable by King Philip II of Macedon; previously the army of Macedon had been of little account in the politics of the Greek world, and Macedonia had been regarded as a second-rate power. The latest innovations in weapons and tactics were adopted and refined by Philip II, and he created a uniquely flexible and effective army. By introducing military service as a full-time occupation, Philip was able to drill his men regularly, ensuring unity and cohesion in his ranks. In a remarkably short time, this led to the creation of one of the finest military machines of the ancient world. Tactical improvements included the latest developments in the deployment of the traditional Greek phalanx made by men such as Epaminondas of Thebes and Iphicrates of Athens. Philip II improved on these military innovators by using both Epaminondas' deeper phalanx and Iphicrates' com ...
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Siege Of Pelium
The siege of Pelium was undertaken by Alexander the Great against the Illyrian tribes of what is modern-day Albania. It was critical for Alexander to take this pass as it provided easy access to Illyria and Macedonia, which was urgently needed in order to quell the unrest in Greece at this time in Athens and Thebes. This was an important point of demarcation in Alexander's early reign, as it established him among the Danubian tribes to the north as a serious monarch to be reckoned with, just as he would later establish this precedent for the Greek city states under his hegemony. Taking this place allowed Alexander to march his army to southern Greece quickly, which would eventually result in the total destruction of Thebes. Background News of the Illyrian revolt under the chieftain Cleitus and Glaukias of the Taulantii first reached the ears of Alexander while he was campaigning on the Danube against some of the northern tribes that his father, Philip II of Macedon had previo ...
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