Bardyllis - Macedonian Campaigns

Macedonian Campaigns

It seems that Bardyllis opposed the deal with Amyntas II and Sirras and invaded Macedonia in 393 BC. Bardyllis used new warfare tactics never before used by any of the Illyrians. He won a decisive battle against Amyntas III, expelled him, and ruled Macedonia through a puppet king. In 392 BC, Amyntas III allied himself with the Thessalians and took Macedonia under his rule from the Dardanians. However, the Illyrians were constantly raiding and ruling over the northern frontiers of Macedonia. After continuous invasions, Bardyllis forced the Macedon's to pay him an annual tribute in 372 BC.

In 370 BC, the worthy Amyntas died full of years, having restored the fortunes of his kingdom after the Illyrian disasters. His marriage to Eurydice of the Illyrian Sirras produced three sons and a daughter. His eldest son was Alexander II. In 369 BC, Bardyllis prevented Alexander II from eliminating the Dardanians from Macedonia. After the battle, Bardyllis was said to have briefly held Philip II, the youngest brother of Alexander II, as a hostage. In 365 BC, Alexander II was succeeded by his brother Periccas III.

The Paeonians began a series of raids against the Macedonians in support of a Dardanian invasion from the north. Perdiccas III, king of Macedonia, humiliated by the indignity of having to pay tribute to the Dardanians, marched north in the spring of 358 BC at the Macedonian army to resolve the issue by battle. This was not the first occasion in which he had fought against Bardyllis, but the Macedonians lost the battle. The king himself was among the 4,000 Macedonian dead. The remainder, panic-stricken after having become exceedingly afraid of the Illyrian army, lost heart for continuing the war. This was the worst loss suffered by the Macedonians in the range of their efforts to free themselves from the Illyrians. The Dardanians followed up their victory by expanding their control southward to Lake Lychnitis (Lake Ohrid) and westward into upper Macedonia. By the actions of Bardyllis, the Dardanians had brought Macedonia close to collapse.

When Philip II, the youngest of the three brothers assumed the throne, he was determined to subdue the Illyians under Bardyllis once and for all, destroying the Illyrian menace.