Pinnes (; also Pinnius; c. 230 – 217 BC) was the son of Agron, king of the

Ardiaei 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 ...

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 ...

, and Agron's first wife

Triteuta Triteuta (; 230–219 BC) was an Illyrian queen and the first wife of the Illyrian king Agron of the Ardiaei (r. 250–231 BC), with whom she had a son named Pinnes. Sometime before his death (231/230 BC), Agron divorced Triteuta and married ...

. He officially succeeded his father as king in 230 BC, but 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 ...

was ruled by Agron's second wife,

Queen 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 ...

Biography

Pinnes was only a young boy when his father died in 230 BC, and his stepmother Teuta assumed ''de facto'' control. Local chiefs demanded greater power and autonomy for their regions and Teuta, who feared losing her status, appeased the aggressors. This act was seen as a sign of weakness and no ship in the

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 Ionian sea was safe from Illyrian pirates who raided regardless of a ship's country or the damage it would do to Illyria's foreign relations.

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

was the most affected by this new danger as their economy depended on the seas.

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, wanting to protect trade routes between

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

and Greece, sent delegates to mediate the situation, but war broke out due to a disagreement between Teuta and Rome's ambassadors. She ordered the assassinations of the delegates and sparked the

First Illyrian War The Illyrian Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Illyrian kingdom under the Ardiaei and Labeatae. In the ''First Illyrian War'', which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adria ...

in 229 BC. Teuta surrendered and accepted Rome's peace terms which included her abdication and the reinstatement of Pinnes. Pinnes once again lost his throne when

Demetrius of Pharos Demetrius of Pharos (also Pharus; ) was a ruler of Pharos involved in the First Illyrian War, after which he ruled a portion of the Illyrian Adriatic coast on behalf of the Romans, as a client king. Demetrius was a regent ruler to Pinnes, ...

(Pharos is today the island of

Hvar Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For''; ; ; ) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis (island), Vis and Korčula. Approximately long, with a high east–west ridge of M ...

) married

and declared himself king. Demetrius ignored the treaty with Rome and allied Illyria with Rome's long term enemy

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

. The Second Roman-Illyrian War began in 219 BC when a Roman army was sent to Illyria. Demetrius fled to

and Pinnes finally became king, though his sudden death in 217 BC at the age of about 15 meant that he never actually ruled. Pinnes is notÉpire, Illyrie, Macédoine: mélanges offerts au professeur Pierre Cabanes by Danièle Berranger, Pierre Cabanes, Danièle Berranger-Auserve, page 133 even mentioned by

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

, though

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...

and

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

refer to him as the legitimate heir. Appian writes that Pinnes asked for the aid of the Romans but nothing seems to have come of it.

References

{{Illyrians 230s BC births 217 BC deaths Illyrian kings 3rd-century BC monarchs in Europe

Biography

See also

References