The Epirote League (

Epirote Epirus () is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë and the Acroceraunian Mountains in ...

: , ''Koinòn Āpeirōtân'';

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

: , ''Koinòn Ēpeirōtôn'') was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

coalition, or ''

koinon ''Koinon'' (, pl. Κοινά, ''Koina''), meaning "common thing", in the sense of "public", had many applications, some societal, some governmental. An abstract noun formed from the neuter of the adjective, koinos, "common", the koinon could mean ...

'', of

tribes.

History

The coalition was established between 370 and 320 BC (firstly as the

Molossian The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On th ...

League in 370 BC), which helped unify the three main Greek tribes of

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

(i.e.,

Molossians The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On t ...

Thesprotians The Thesprotians () were an ancient Greek tribe, akin to the Molossians, inhabiting the kingdom of Thesprotis in Epirus. Together with the Molossians and the Chaonians, they formed the main tribes of the northwestern Greek group. On their north ...

, and

Chaonians The Chaonians () were an Ancient Greeks, ancient Greek people that inhabited the historical Epirus, region of Epirus which today is part of northwestern Greece and southern Albania.; ; ; ; ; Together with the Molossians and the Thesprotians, the ...

). The oracle of

Dodona Dodona (; , Ionic Greek, Ionic and , ) in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Ancient Greece, Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the 2nd millennium BCE according to Herodotus. The earliest accounts in Homer describe Dodona as an oracle ...

was the religious, political and cultural centre of the Molossian League and later of the Epirote League. In 297 BC,

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

became leader of the League. When King

Agathocles of Syracuse Agathocles (, ''Agathoklḗs''; 361–289 BC) was a tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse from 317 BC and king of much of Sicily from 304 BC until his death. Agathocles began his career as a military officer, and raised his profile as a supp ...

conquered Corcyra, he offered the island as dowry to his daughter Lanassa on her marriage to

in 295 BC. The island then became a member of the Epirote League. It was then perhaps that the settlement of Cassope was founded to serve as a base for the king of Epirus' expeditions. The island remained in the Epirote League until 255 BC when it became independent after the death of

Alexander II of Epirus Alexander II (Greek: Άλέξανδρος) was a king of Epirus, and the son of Pyrrhus and Lanassa, the daughter of the Sicilian tyrant Agathocles. Reign He succeeded his father as king in 272 BC, and continued the war which his father had be ...

. The league was defeated by the

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

during the Battle of Phoenice, which forced it to enter into an alliance with

Teuta Teuta ( Illyrian: ''*Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; ; ) 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 Agron in 231 BC, she assumed ...

to prevent further attacks. This alliance made the Epirotes hostile to the Achaeans and Aetolians, but it presumably ended following the Illyrian defeat in the First Illyrian War. Although the Epirote League remained neutral in the first two

Macedonian Wars The Macedonian Wars (214–148 BC) were a series of conflicts fought by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies in the eastern Mediterranean against several different major Greek kingdoms. They resulted in Roman control or influence over Ancient ...

, it was ultimately dismantled in the

Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman fe ...

(171–168 BC), with the Molossians siding with the Macedonians and the Chaonians and Thesprotians supporting the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

Decrees of the League

Copies of the decrees (

proxeny Proxeny or () in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. The citizen was called (; plural: or , "instead of a foreign ...

and citizenship decrees,

manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that the most wi ...

records) of the Molossian and Epirote League were set up in

. All members had common citizenship. Regarding the dialect of the Epirote League, it was not Corinthian Doric and even the alphabet was not Corinthian; it was probably Northwest Doric, as some recorded inquiries at

appear to indicate. The first epigraphical evidence of the Molossian League goes back to 370 BC under the king (or ''

basileus ''Basileus'' () is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs throughout history. In the English language, English-speaking world, it is perhaps most widely understood to mean , referring to either a or an . The title ...

'')

Neoptolemus In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus (; ), originally called Pyrrhus at birth (; ), was the son of the mythical warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossian ...

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{Ancient Greece topics League Leagues in Greek Antiquity Ancient Corcyra States and territories established in the 4th century BC 370 BC Late Classical Greece 370s BC establishments Greek city-state federations

History

Decrees of the League

See also

References

Citations

Sources