Scerdilaidas - Relations With Macedon

Relations With Macedon

After the Second Illyrian War Pinnes was again proclaimed the king. Pinnes was not favored among the Illyrians and in 218 BC Scerdilaidas took over his nephew's role and became king.Rome, due to problems it had with Carthage at the time, did not intervene. In 220 BC Scerdialias entered into an alliance with Philip V of Macedon in that year. Scerdilaidas had aided Philip during the Social War against the Spartans but this produced little profit for him. Scerdilaidas' support for Macedon against the Aetolians was curtailed by 'plots and conflicts' caused by rulers of various cities.

In 217 BC, Scerdilaidas ceased his support of Philip V, maintaining that a promised subsidy was unpaid and long overdue. He dispatched 15 ships, ostensibly to collect and escort the payment, but at the island of Leucas south of Corcyra his forces killed two of Philip's Corinthian friends and seized their four ships. Scerdilaidas' fleet then sialed south and began to plunder shipping around Cape Malea in the southern Peloponnese. In response Philip prepared a strong naval force of twelve deched-ships, eight open vessels and thirty hemioliae, which headed south at full speed to deal with Scerdiliadas. This counterattck by Philip was two slow and missed its targets. Scerdilaidas went on to march into Dassaratia, takings several cities and invading parts of western Macedonia. He looted Pissaeum in Pelagonia and overran some frontier districts of Philip.Before the winter Philip had occupied the area of Lyncesta, cutting of direct route from Illyria, and extended his power to Dassaretia. Philip was planning an invasion of Illyria, however there he would face not only the lembi of Scerdilaidas but also the heavier warships of the Roman navy.