Illyrian Warfare - Illyrian Expansion

Illyrian Expansion

In the 4th century BC Bardyllis became king of the Dardanians and creator of a new dynasty after down-throwing Sirras the previous Illyrian king who had entered in a peace treaty over the control of Lyncestia. Bardyllis succeeded in bringing various tribes in a single organisation and soon became a formidable power in the Balkans resulting in a change of relations with Macedonia. Using new war tactics in 393 BC the Illyrians won a decisive battle against Amyntas III expelling him and ruling Macedonia through a puppet king. in 392 BC Amyntas III allied himself with the Thessalians and took Macedonia under his rule from the Dardanians. After continuous invasions Bardyllis forced the Macedon's to pay him an annual tribute in 372 BC.

In 385 BC Bardyllis extended his rule over the state of Epirus after defeating the Molossians. This time the Illyrian were allied with and aided by Dionysius of Syracuse to place Alcetas that was a refugee in his court to the throne. Dionysius planned to control all the Ionian Sea. Sparta had intervened as soon as the events became known and expelled the Illyrians who were led by Bardyllis. Despite being aided by 2000 Greek hoplites and five hundred suits of Greek armour, the Illyrians were defeated by the Spartans led by Agesilaus but not before ravaging the region and killing 15,000 Molossians. Their short rule over Epirus was over. In 360 BC, another Illyrian attack forced the Molossian king Arymbas to evacuate his non-combatant population to Aetolia and let the Illyrians loot freely. The stratagem worked and the Molossians fell upon the Illyrians who were encumbered with booty and defeated them. In the same year Arymbas of the Mollosians defeats the Illyrians after they raided and looted Epirus.

In 360 BC the southern Paeonian tribes launch raids against Macedonia in support of an Illyrian invasion. In 359 BC Bardyllis won a decisive battle against the Macedonian king Perdiccas III in which the king himself was killed along with 4,000 of his soldiers and the Illyrians occupied the cities of upper Macedonia. The Macedonians king to reconquer upper Macedonia had failed.

Following the disastrous defeat of Macedonians by Bardyllis, when king Philip took control of Macedonian throne in 358 BC, he reaffirmed the treaty with the Illyrians marrying the Illyrian princess Audata, probably the daughter or the niece of Bardyllis. This gave Philip valuable time to gather his forces and to defeat the Illyrians still under Bardyllis in the decisive Erigon Valley battle by killing about 7,000 and eliminating the Illyrian menace for some time. In this battle Bardyllis himself was killed at the age of 90 after Philip II refused a peace treaty offered by the Illyrians. In 335 BC the southern Illyrian states were all subjected by Alexander the Great and only at the end of the 4th century BC won their independence.

In 358 BC Phillip of Macedon defeated Bardyllis, Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC) writes this of the event;

And at first for a long while the battle was evenly poised because of the exceeding gallantry displayed on both sides, and as many were slain and still more wounded, the fortune of battle vacillated first one way then the other, being constantly swayed by the valorous deeds of the combatants; but later as the horsemen pressed on from the flank and rear and Philip with the flower of his troops fought with true heroism, the mass of the Illyrians was compelled to take hastily to flight. When the pursuit had been kept up for a considerable distance and many had been slain in their flight, Philip recalled the Macedonians with the trumpet and erecting a trophy of victory buried his own dead, while the Illyrians, having sent ambassadors and withdrawn from all the Macedonian cities, obtained peace. But more than seven thousand Illyrians were slain in this battle.