Illyrian Mercenaries and Nobility
Illyrians acted as mercenaries on several occasions whether on the side of the Greeks or the Romans. Perdiccas II of Macedon had hired Illyrian mercenaries in 5th century BC but they betrayed him, allying with his enemy, Arrhabaeus of Lyncus. In another incident, Lysimachus killed all of his 5,000 Illyrian mercenaries (of the Autariatae tribe) to the last man, because he was convinced that they would join the enemy. Previously in 302 BC 2,000 of his Illyrian mercenaries had defected to Antigonus. Illyrians were not considered as reliable mercenaries, in the ancient world but were at the same time acknowledged as a skilled fighting force
The nobility had access to breastplates and greaves whilst the bulk of the army did not. The kings did not resemble the rest of the army and were the only ones with full body protection which was a rarity. Illyrian kings and rulers wore bronze torques around their necks and were heavily armored in antithesis to the bulk of their armies. A number of weapons and armaments were imported from Greece including helmets. Armaments were mostly made of bronze. Another form of body armor was a bronze pectoral (that may have protected part of the back as well). It was more like a disc "breastplate" of 10 cm in diameter. Local greaves made of bronze were strapped on the legs. Metal riveted belts were used as well.
Read more about this topic: Illyrian Warfare
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