Illyrian lands, ca. 550 BC.
Illyrian culture is believed to have evolved from the Stone Age and to have manifested itself in the territory of Albania toward the beginning of the Bronze Age, about 2000 BC. The Illyrians were not a uniform body of people but a conglomeration of many tribes that inhabited the western part of the Balkans, from what is now Slovenia in the northwest to and including the region of Epirus, which extends about halfway down the mainland of modern Greece. At various times, groups of Illyrians migrated over land and sea into Italy.
In general, Illyrians in the highlands of Albania were more isolated than those in the lowlands, and their culture evolved more slowly–a distinction that persisted throughout Albania’s history. The name Albania is derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Arben, or Arbneshë, and later Albani, that lived near Durrës. The Illyrians carried on commerce and warfare with their neighbors. The ancient Macedonians probably had some Illyrian roots, but their ruling class adopted Greek cultural characteristics. The Illyrians also mingled with the Thracians, another ancient people with adjoining lands on the east. In the south and along the Adriatic Sea coast, the Illyrians were heavily influenced by the Greeks, who founded trading colonies there. The present-day city of Durrës evolved from a Greek colony known as Epidamnos, which was founded at the end of the seventh century B.C. Another famous Greek colony, Apollonia, arose between Durrës and the port city of Vlorë.
The Illyrians produced and traded cattle, horses, agricultural goods, and wares fashioned from locally mined copper and iron. Feuds and warfare were constant facts of life for the Illyrian tribes, and Illyrian pirates plagued shipping on the Adriatic Sea. Councils of elders chose the chieftains who headed each of the numerous Illyrian tribes. From time to time, local chieftains extended their rule over other tribes and formed short-lived kingdoms. During the fifth century B.C., a well-developed Illyrian population center existed as far north as the upper Sava River valley in what is now Slovenia. Illyrian friezes discovered near the present-day Slovenian city of Ljubljana depict ritual sacrifices, feasts, battles, sporting events, and other activities.
The Illyrian kingdom of Bardhyllus became a formidable local power in the fourth century B.C. In 358 B.C., however, Macedonia’s Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, defeated the Illyrians and assumed control of their territory as far as Lake Ohrid. Alexander himself routed the forces of the Illyrian chieftain Clitus in 335 B.C., and Illyrian tribal leaders and soldiers accompanied Alexander on his conquest of Persia. After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., independent Illyrian kingdoms again arose. In 312 B.C., King Glaucius expelled the Greeks from Durrës. By the end of the third century, an Illyrian kingdom based near what is now the Albanian city of Shkodër controlled parts of northern Albania, Montenegro, and Hercegovina. Under Queen Teuta, Illyrians attacked Roman merchant vessels plying the Adriatic Sea and gave Rome an excuse to invade the Balkans.
In the Illyrian Wars of 229 and 219 B.C., Rome overran the Illyrian settlements in the Neretva River valley. The Romans made new gains in 168 B.C., and Roman forces captured Illyria’s King Gentius at Shkodër, which they called Scodra, and brought him to Rome in 165 B.C. A century later, Julius Caesar and his rival Pompey fought their decisive battle near Durrës (Dyrrachium). Rome finally subjugated recalcitrant Illyrian tribes in the western Balkans dwing the region of Emperor Tiberius in A.D. 9. The Romans divided the lands that make up present-day Albania among the provinces of Macedonia, Dalmatia, and Epirus.
For about four centuries, Roman rule brought the Illyrian-populated lands economic and cultural advancement and ended most of the enervating clashes among local tribes. The Illyrian mountain clansmen retained local authority but pledged allegiance to the emperor and acknowledged the authority of his envoys. During a yearly holiday honoring the Caesars, the Illyrian mountaineers swore loyalty to the emperor and reaffirmed their political rights. A form of this tradition, known as the kuvend, has survived to the present day in northern Albania.
The Romans established numerous military camps and colonies and latinized the coastal cities. They also oversaw the construction of aqueducts and roads, including the Via Egnatia, a famous military highway and trade route that led from Durrës through the Shkumbin River valley to Macedonia and Byzantium (later Constantinople). Copper, asphalt, and silver were extracted from the mountains. The main exports were wine, cheese, oil, and fish from Lake Scutari (Shkodra) and Lake Ohrid. Imports included tools, metalware, luxury goods, and other manufactured articles. Apollonia became a cultural center, and Julius Caesar himself sent his nephew, later the Emperor Augustus, to study there.
Illyrians distinguished themselves as warriors in the Roman legions and made up a significant portion of the Praetorian Guard. Several of the Roman emperors were of Illyrian origin, including Diocletian (284-305), who saved the empire from disintegration by introducing institutional reforms, and Constantine the Great (324-37)–who accepted Christianity and transferred the empire’s capital from Rome to Byzantium, which he called Constantinople. Emperor Justinian (527-65)–who codified Roman law, built the most famous Byzantine church, the Hagia Sofia, and reextended the empire’s control over lost territories- -was probably also an Illyrian.
Christianity came to the Illyrian-populated lands in the first century A.D. Saint Paul wrote that he preached in the Roman province of Illyricum, and legend holds that he visited Durrës. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in A.D. 395, the lands that now make up Albania were administered by the Eastern Empire but were ecclesiastically dependent on Rome. In A.D. 732, however, a Byzantine emperor, Leo the Isaurian, subordinated the area to the patriarchate of Constantinople. For centuries thereafter, the Albanian lands became an arena for the ecclesiastical struggle between Rome and Constantinople. Most Albanians living in the mountainous north became Roman Catholic, while in the southern and central regions, the majority became Orthodox.
Teuta
In 231 BC Teuta’s husband, King Agron, died from heavy alcohol consumption after feasting as a result of a victorious battle. After the death of Agron (250 BC?-231 BC) who established a kingdom of Illyria, extending from Dalmatia on the north to the Aous (Vjosa river) River on the south with Shkodër as its capital, his widow, Teuta, acted as regent for her young stepson Pinnes. Teuta’s first decision was to drive the Greek colonies off the Albanian coast. Attempting this, she found Durrës too well fortified but Finiq farther south surrendered. While her Illyrian ships were off the coast of Sarandë they intercepted and plundered some merchant vessels of Rome. Encouraged by this success, Teuta’s pirates extended their operations southward in the Ionian Sea, westward along the coast of Italy, and were soon feared as the terror of the Adriatic.
The Roman Senate sent two ambassadors to the pirate lair at Shkodër to require reparations and demand an end to the piratical expeditions. Apparently she told the ambassadors that according to the law of the Illyrians, piracy was a lawful trade and that her government had no right to interfere with this as a private enterprise. One of the envoys is repored to have replied that in that case Rome would make it her business to introduce better law among the Illyrians. At any rate, one of the ambassadors addressed the queen so disrespectfully that her attendants killed him as he embarked for Rome.
This was too much for Rome to endure. In 229 BC, Rome declared war on Illyria and for the first time armies crossed the Adriatic to Illyria (the Balkan Peninsula in modern usage). The Roman fleet of 200 ships went first to Corcyra. Teuta’s governor, Demetrius had little alternative but to surrender, and the Romans awarded him a considerable part of Teuta’s holdings (228 BC). The Roman army then landed farther north at Apollonia. The combined army and navy proceeded northward together, subduing one town after another and besieging Shkodra, the capital. Teuta finally surrendered in 227 BC, having to accept an ignominious peace. The Romans allowed her to continue her reign but restricted her to a narrow region around Shkodra, deprived her of all her other holdings, and forbade her to sail an armed ship below Lissus (Lezhë) just south of the capital. They also required her to pay an annual tribute and to acknowledge the final authority of Rome. Thus the damage was done. Thanks to Queen Teuta the expanding empire of Rome had learned the military route to the Balkan peninsula.
