The Romans were too busy with affairs concerning Carthage and the northern barbarians to once again worry about Illyrian pirates. However, once the war with the Gauls was over, Rome immediately turned its attention to settling accounts with the treacherous Demetrius. Believing that war between Rome and Carthage was inevitable by this time, the Senate decided that Rome’s position in eastern Europe had to be better secured, or else the Republic would be weakened on two fronts. The Romans sent a small fleet to deal with the pirates in 220 BC, hoping to smash them quickly so they could turn their full attention towards Hannibal. That same year, the Romans declared war on Carthage.26
While the Romans and Carthaginians fought in Spain, Demetrius consolidated his power. In every town and city that he controlled, he had the opposition executed and placed his supporters there in positions of power and authority. When he was informed about the approach of Roman warships, he bolstered his defences. The small Roman fleet did not accomplish much. The Senate was informed that Demetrius and his pirates were much stronger than they had supposed, and that a larger force was needed to deal with the pirates effectively.27
The following year in 219 BC, the Romans sent an army to attack the pirates, commanded by the Senatorial consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Marcus Livius Salinator. Demetrius was well-prepared for their arrival. Yet in spite of Demetrius’ preparations, the Romans captured the heavily-fortified city of Dimale (also spelled Dimallum) after a seven-day siege. After this impressive stronghold fell so quickly, the neighbouring settlements soon submitted with minimal or no resistance.28
However, the war wasn’t over yet. Demetrius had escaped to his home base on the island of Pharos and he still had many armed men under his command. After Dimale fell, Lucius Paullus sailed to Pharos to deal with Demetrius personally. After learning that Pharos was very well-defended, he decided to attack the city in a pincer movement and it worked. The Romans won the battle and seized control of the city, but Demetrius once again escaped. Believing that he had smashed the Illyrians sufficiently, Paullus and many of his troops returned to Italy. As for the crestfallen Demetrius, the Greek historian Polybius states that he found refuge in the court of the Macedonian king, but was killed in battle some time later during an ill-executed attack upon the Greek city of Messene. By contrast, Appianus claims that Demetrius was captured and executed by the Romans.29
In 217 BC, the young King Pinnes, who had nominally reigned over southern Illyria, died at the age of 15. Taking his place as the new leader in the region was one of Demetrius’ battle-captains named Scerdilaidas. Unlike the crafty and shifty Demetrius, his subordinate proved to be far more loyal to Roman interests as well as being more interested in ‘the big picture’ when it came to Illyria’s place in the scheme of world affairs. Scerdilaidas made sure that ties to Rome were maintained and, under his guidance, peace in the region was preserved and Illyria fared well under his rule.30
However, the kingdom of Macedon was still a player in this drama. It had signed an alliance agreement with Demetrius of Pharos against Macedon’s Greek opponents as well as against the expanding Roman Republic. Macedon had made no such deal with Illyria’s new vassal chief Scerdilaidas, and due to Scerdilaidas’ pro-Roman stance, Macedon had no intention of ever acknowledging this man as a friend. Therefore King Philip V of Macedon signed a new alliance agreement with Carthage and the Greek city-state of Syracuse in the hope that all three would conduct a jointly-coordinated war against Rome. This never happened, much to Philip’s frustration. All this alliance resulted in was Rome becoming more and more wary of Macedon, and had begun seriously contemplating destroying the ancient kingdom to prevent it from continuing as a threat to Roman power.31
Well, Macedon certainly couldn’t tackle the full might of the Roman Republic all by itself, so instead, Philip decided to launch an attack against a much softer target: Rome’s Illyrian ally Scerdilaidas. The campaign was initially successful for the Macedonians, because the Romans were too busy fighting a losing war against Hannibal. However, once the situation in Italy had been stabilized, Rome could once again turn its attention to the troublesome Balkans. A shaky cease-fire between Rome and Macedon was signed in 205 BC, but once Hannibal was defeated for good and the Second Punic War came to an end, the Romans now turned their full military attention upon King Philip. The Second Macedonian War had begun. In 197 BC at Thessalonika, the legions scored their final decisive victory and Macedon was defeated but not conquered.32
The Third Roman-Illyrian War, 169 BC
For the next few decades after King Philip V’s forces were driven out of Illyria, the western Balkans remained quiet. Rome’s Illyrian vassal Scerdilaidas had kept the peace, and so too had his successor Pleuratus. Then in 180 BC Pleuratus died, and under his successor Genthius, hostilities between Rome and Illyria renewed.33
This conflict had its roots in the Third Macedonian War, which began in 171 BC. Rome had declared war on Macedon when it appeared that this kingdom was once again becoming a threat to Rome’s eastern interests. Although the war went well for Macedon at first, the Romans quickly gained the upper hand. Desperate for help, in 169 BC King Perseus of Macedon appealed to the neighbouring Illyrian tribes under Genthius for help. When the Romans found out about King Perseus’ alliance proposal with Genthius, they sent envoys to Genthius to get him to maintain his pro-Roman stance but to their surprise, he had them imprisoned. The Republic responded accordingly.34
Unlike previous conflicts with the Illyrians, the Romans were not going to start off with halfway measures this time. The Senate sent Lucius Ancius (also spelled Anicius) Gallus with a huge army of 30,000 men with orders to crush Genthius as soon as possible. In the opening engagement, the Romans smashed the Illyrian fleet. Soon afterwards in the second battle, the Romans defeated the Illyrian forces on land. In a short time, Genthius’ forces had almost been entirely destroyed, so he fled to the heavily-fortified mountaintop city of Scodra (modern-day Shkodër, Albania) where the last of his followers had garrisoned themselves. The Romans pursued and demanded that he and his men surrender.35
After this, the several historical records concerning this war vary wildly and can get a bit confusing with each other, so I’ll take the liberty of combining the accounts to make a cohesive storyline (take note that what I’m stating in the following lines is only my hypothesis and should not be taken as literal fact). Genthius was forced to retreat to Scodra. General Lucius Gallus knew that his legions could never break into such a heavily-fortified place, so he called upon Genthius and his men to give themselves up. Genthius knew what Romans were like, and believed that they would surely have attacked him immediately if they were as powerful as they boasted. If they wished him to surrender, it must mean that they were afraid of attacking him, which meant that the Romans were far weaker than they claimed. In a flush of poor judgement, Genthius believed that he could destroy the Romans in an open battle. Therefore he stupidly ordered his men out from behind the protective fortifications and took up a position in front of the city walls. Now that the Illyrian pirates were no longer protected inside their city, General Gallus sent his legions forward and obliterated Genthius’ forces. Genthius himself managed to escape back into the protection of the city and prevented the Romans from breaking in. Once again, General Gallus called upon Genthius to surrender. Genthius replied that he would need three days to consider it. In the end, Genthius agreed to give himself up and he begged for mercy. Genthius, his family and followers were imprisoned and were brought to Rome. Afterwards, they were taken to Gubbium. The Third Roman-Illyrian War had lasted for just twenty days and, in the end, the Romans gained control of that whole area.36 Lucius Gallus gathered the Illyrian chiefs at Scodra and announced that all of the tribes and settlements that had remained loyal to Rome during the war were exempt from paying any more taxes. Specifically, he was referring to the Taulanti, Pirusti and Daorsi tribes as well as the towns of Rhizon and Olcinum, and possibly Lissos.37
Figure 9: Rozafa Castle, locat
ed near the town of Shkodër, Albania. In ancient times, this fortified settlement located atop this hill was called Scodra, and the modern town located near this ancient site has taken on a version of that name. It was here that Genthius conducted his last stand against the Romans. Like almost all Illyrian settlements, it was strategically located. The hill was steep and rocky, making it difficult for attackers to storm the town. The hill commanded the valley and, most importantly, it is located on the spot where the Buna and Drin rivers converge. The ancient fortifications were demolished sometime during either ancient or medieval times. The castle that sits upon the hill today, Rozafa Castle, was built by the Venetians. (Photo by Josef Székely, late August 1863. Public domain image. Wikimedia Commons)
For Rome, the Third Roman-Illyrian War (which was actually a small sideshow conflict of the Third Macedonian War) was an easy victory. Although this campaign was short and presumably the loss of life was rather minimal compared with other bloodier Roman campaigns, the Republic gained a lot out of this conflict. The western Balkan territory, stretching from the northern tip of the Adriatic Sea to the Greek border, was now firmly under Roman control, although not yet directly incorporated into the Republic. Rome was now the undisputed master of the Adriatic Sea. In 167 BC, two years after the war ended, southern Illyria became a Roman protectorate, and it would remain as such until 59 BC when it was incorporated into the Roman Republic as the province of ‘Illyricum’ with its capital in Salona (modern-day Solin, Croatia).38 A ‘protectorate’ is an independent territory that is protected diplomatically and militarily by another country. In exchange for this protection (hence the name), it must agree to certain terms imposed upon it by the protecting country. However, the protected state itself is still considered an independent country and not under any legislative or submissive obligations. This is what makes a protectorate different from a ‘vassal state’, in which a territory is semi-independent, having its own laws and leaders but having to acknowledge another country or foreign ruler as its overlord. A modern example of a protectorate would be Monaco, a small independent country ruled by its own monarch but also under the military protection of France.
However, this arrangement would not put an end to the hostilities in the western Balkans.
The Fourth Roman-Illyrian War, 156 BC
Following Rome’s victory over Macedon’s Illyrian allies during the Third Macedonian War, southern Illyria was designated as a Roman protectorate. Although technically an independent country, this did not stop Roman colonists from entering the territory and establishing new settlements there. Understandably, this caused a great deal of animosity. This land was not supposed to be open to foreign settlement, and the continuous influx of Roman immigrants made some Illyrians believe that the Roman Republic would not be satisfied with having southern Illyria merely as a territory under Roman military protection; they wanted to turn it into a fully-fledged province, with the people subject to Roman laws and Roman taxation. Something had to be done about it.
The Dalmatians attacked the former Greek colonies as well as the Daorsi tribe, who had pledged loyalty to Rome. After receiving numerous complaints from the colonists and the Daorsi tribesmen about the Dalmatian raids, the Roman Senate decided to send an emissary named Gaius Fannius. He arrived at the town of Delminium, the Dalmatian tribe’s capital, in 158 BC, but the chief refused to grant him an audience. Later, the Roman emissary and his escorts were attacked and a few of them were killed.39 Amazingly, there does not seem to have been any retaliation by Rome for this action.
Two years later in 156 BC, the Dalmatians attacked Roman settlements in Illyria. When the Romans sent messengers demanding that the Illyrians offer amends for what they had done, they were ignored. Cassius Dio reports that the Dalmatians even imprisoned and killed envoys sent to them from other countries. Now the Romans decided to do something, and they sent an army against the Dalmatians. The army was commanded by the Senatorial consul Gaius Marcius Figulus, with his fellow consul Scipio Nasica acting as his second-in-command. The two men would lead two different forces: Figulus would transport his men by ship and land on the Illyrian coast, while Nasica would march his troops overland. Figulus’ amphibious force landed at a place called Narona, located near the Neretva River, known in ancient times as the Naro River. The modern town of Vid, which is often stated to be the modern site for this ancient town, is actually located two miles away from the Neretva River, and is instead situated on a strategic bend of a small creek that hooks around the eastern side of the village. The expedition went off to a bad start right on the first day. The landing itself was unopposed, but while the disembarked Roman troops were in the process of laying out their camp, the Dalmatians launched an all-out massive attack against the legionnaires stuck on the coastline. The attack was apparently so sudden, so unexpected and so overwhelming that the entire Roman force, or what was left of it, was forced to flee for their lives. Not exactly an auspicious beginning for the war.40 Meanwhile, Nasica’s men fared no better. Setting out from the northern Adriatic port-city of Aquileia, he and his troops pushed eastwards as far as the town of Segestica. However, upon reaching his destination, he and his men were defeated and were forced to turn back. Many Illyrian tribes, notably the Japodes, used this opportunity to attack along the frontier, especially Rome’s recently-acquired possessions in Istria, which lay right on the Japodes’ front doorstep.41
Examination of both history and geography can give us a good idea about the progression of the war’s opening stages. The Neretva River, which measures five hundred feet wide, is one of the major rivers in the region. The Roman force likely took ship up this wide river. No word of any battles takes place before the conflict at Narona. So this must mean that either the Roman fleet sailed up the Neretva River, bypassing all settlements until they made landfall near the town of Narona, or that the Roman fleet landed on the coastline at the mouth of the Neretva River and the army advanced inland but didn’t encounter any resistance. I believe that the second option is more likely. Why penetrate far inland in the opening stages of the war, bypassing other settlements that could potentially serve as enemy bases?
No information is given about the progress of the war immediately after this event. Therefore, we can only assume that both sides had entered some kind of stalemate. Presumably the Romans had relocated to a more defendable location, but they were unable to launch attacks, unwilling to risk leaving their position. Likewise, the Dalmatians were not strong enough to assault the Romans where they were, but if they should be foolish enough to advance beyond their lines, the Illyrians could have easily slaughtered them. So the two sides stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first mistake. Meanwhile, I imagine that the Romans were being constantly supplied by ship, preparing for a renewed offensive.
With winter now approaching, the Dalmatians were returning to their homes. Gaius Figulus wanted revenge for the embarrassing defeat that he had suffered on the first day of the war. He could never live down the insult of being defeated by ‘barbarians’, nor could he stand the almost assured investigation of events that was bound to follow, so he planned to ambush the Dalmatians as they made their way back in the hope of saving his reputation.42 Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. The Dalmatians found out about the Romans’ approach and chose to stand and fight instead of retreating. Regardless of the fact that the Dalmatians had been tipped off, the Romans managed to defeat them anyway and drove the warriors back to their capital of Delminium.43
Gaius Figulus didn’t have the power to attack such a strongly-defended position since he would have to advance his men out in the open in plain view of enemy archers and other various missile troops, and he couldn’t use his catapults because they couldn’t hit such a high target. However, there was something that he could do. The Dalmatians had pulled all of their warriors out of the nearby villages to defend Delminium, and this meant that the surrounding villages were undefended. So, rather than attacking the town, the Romans rampaged
across the countryside attacking the smaller softer targets. Presumably, he did this with the hope of drawing the Dalmatians out from behind their walls, but it didn’t work; the Dalmatians sternly remained within their fortifications. I assume they recognized a trap when they saw one and, despite the damage and destruction that they could plainly see, they would not take the bait. Frustrated, the Romans now were forced to resort to more direct measures. Using their catapults, they shot torches over the walls and into the town (note that this is in complete contradiction to Strabo’s earlier statement that the catapults couldn’t hit the walls, let alone shoot over them!) in the hope of burning the defenders out. It worked and a large portion of the town was burned. Satisfied with the destruction he had caused, Gaius Figulus left, but the Dalmatians were still more or less intact and they would return to raid and pillage again. Gaius Figulus turned over control of the war to his second-in-command, Scipio Nasica, and under his direction the war was prosecuted with full intensity. Nasica completely subjugated the Dalmatians, capturing several of their towns and obtaining a large number of prisoners, which were later sold off as slaves.44 Strabo says that before the Romans attacked, Delminium was a large city, but ‘Nasica reduced it to a small city and made the plain a mere sheep-pasture.’45 Nasica was awarded a triumph for his victory.46
Hostilities Continue
In 135 BC, while the Romans were busy fighting a war in Spain against the Numantines and another war against a slave rebellion in Sicily, two Illyrian tribes called the Ardiaei and the Palarians (also called Pleraei) raided Roman possessions in Illyria. Since the Romans could not afford to spare any troops at that time, they decided to send some messengers to scare the tribes into stopping their attacks. However, the Ardiaei and Palarians were not intimidated by the Romans’ threats and continued their attacks on Roman settlements in the area. Realizing now that they had no choice but to send men, the Senate sent two legions and two cavalry detachments (10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry) under the command of the consul Servius Fulvius Flaccus to attack the two aggressive tribes. Raiding local villages and towns was one thing, but now the Illyrians would have to face the professional Roman army, which was a different matter entirely. When the Ardiaeans and Palarians heard about this, they were not prepared to defend themselves against such a large military force and begged for mercy. The Roman Senate ordered the two tribes to make things right with those to whom they had done harm. I assume this means to hand over the perpetrators and to pay tribute. However, when the Illyrians were too slow in obeying the Senate’s command, a second army was sent out. The record of events stops here, because Appianus states that he was unable to find any record of what happened afterwards.47 This goes to show that even in ancient times, records of historical events could be lost. Appianus was writing more than 250 years after the events in question happened.
The Great Illyrian Revolt Page 11