Epulon (''Epulo'', ''Epulone'', ''Aepulo''; ruled 181 – 177 BC) was a king or tribal leader of the

Histri The Histri or Istri () were an ancient people inhabiting the Istrian Peninsula, to which they gave the name ''Histria''. Their territory stretched to the neighbouring Gulf of Trieste and bordered the Iapodes in the hinterland of '' Tarsatica'' ...

in northern

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

.. Epulon conducted a series of wars against commanders sent by 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 ...

during the

Roman expansion From its origin as a city-state on the peninsula of Italy in the 8th century BC, to its rise as an empire covering much of Southern Europe, Western Europe, the Near East, and North Africa to its fall in the 5th century AD, the political history ...

of the first half of the 2nd century BC, until his death in 177 BC.

Military activities

Rome had already consolidated its conquest of various peoples of northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and established good relations with the

Adriatic Veneti The Veneti (sometimes also referred to as Venetici, Ancient Veneti or Paleoveneti to distinguish them from the modern-day inhabitants of the Veneto region, called ''Veneti'' in Italian language, Italian) were an Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-Europea ...

. From there, Rome launched campaigns against the southern Illyrians of the

Ardiaean Kingdom The Ardiaei were an Illyrian people who resided in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Croatia between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its right ...

, and the northern Illyrians of the northern

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

and eastern

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. Threatened by imminent loss of independence, Histria launched a first, indecisive attack against the Romans, in 221 BC. Another attack, in 181 BC at the new-founded colony of

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

, was beaten off by the Roman praetor Q. Fabius Buteo, who established a peace treaty with the Histrians. Later that year, Epulon became king of the Histrians; he was warlike, uncompromising and persistent, and immediately prepared for battle against the Aquilean colony. Rome sent an army in its defense in 178 BC, under the consul A. Manlius Vulso. The Histrians made a successful attack on a Roman camp and drove the legions in panic who quickly fled. Epulon's forces took a great booty of valuables, equipment, food and wine. After initial successes in defeating his enemies at Aquilea, Epulon was defeated in northern

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

and forced to withdraw his forces to the Histrian capital of Nesactium. Before attacking Nesactium the Romans captured other important Histrian centers in Istria. It is said that the Romans were at first unable to take Nesactium and did not made any success in their lengthy siege of the city. In 177 BC, under the consul C. Claudius Pulcher who had brought two new

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Aviazione Legionaria, Italian air force during the Spanish Civil War * A legion is the regional unit of the Italian carabinieri * Spanish Legion, ...

s, the success of their assault changed only when the Romans in a few days, diverted a river which protected Nesactium and provided them with water. The Histrians chose to fight rather than to surrender the city. The Histrians killed their women and children and threw them from the city walls while at the same time fought the Romans. When Epulon realised that the Romans had won, he committed suicide by stabbing himself with a sword to avoid Roman captivity. The survivors were killed or captured. After the fall of Nesactium other Istrian cities also suffered the same fate. Soon all of Istria was conquered as well as the independence of the Histrians. According to Livy, 5,632 Histrians were sold into slavery.Livy 41.11

References

Bibliography

* {{Illyrians 2nd-century BC monarchs in Europe Ancient history of Slovenia Illyrian Croatia Kings in Europe

Military activities

See also

References

Bibliography