Bircenna (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: Βιρκέννα; ruled ''c.'' 292 – 272 BC) was an

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

n princess and later an Epirote queen. Bircenna was the daughter of Bardylis II, and granddaughter of Cleitus. Bircenna was the fourth out of the five wives of

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he becam ...

; she married him around 292 BC. Pyrrhus married Bircenna for diplomatic reasons and to increase his power in southern

as he was an ally of Bircenna's father. Bircenna had a son named Helenus, who at an early age accompanied his father in his ambitious campaigns conducted in the Italian peninsula. Lanassa, one of the wives of Pyrrhus, left him because she claimed that he took better care of his 'barbarian' wives.Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca historica'' 22.8.2

References

Illyrian royalty Illyrian women Ancient Epirote queens consort Pyrrhus of Epirus {{europe-royal-stub

See also

References