The Cavii were an Illyrian tribe. They lived close to

Lake Shkodër Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

. Their main settlement was

Epicaria Epicaria (Ancient Greek: Ἐπικάρια) or Durnium was a settlement in ancient Illyria, of the Illyrian tribe called the Cavii.The classical gazetteer: a dictionary of ancient geography, sacred and profane by William Hazlitt, 1851, "Epicaria ...

, which is thought to be probably located around modern-day

Pukë Pukë ( sq-definite, Puka) is a town and municipality in northern Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gjegjan, Pukë, Qelëz, Qerret and Rrapë, that became municipal units. The ...

. They are occasionally mentioned by ancient writers.

Gentius Gentius ( grc, Γένθιος, "Génthios"; 181168 BC) was an Illyrian king who belonged to the Labeatan dynasty. He ruled in 181–168 BC, being the last attested Illyrian king. He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept positive relati ...

the Illyrian king during the

third Illyrian war The Illyro-Roman Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ardiaei kingdom. In the ''First Illyrian War'', which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adriatic Sea increased after the ...

sent his half-brother

Caravantius Caravantius, an Illyrian, was half brother to Gentius, the last Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsu ...

, detaching 1,000 infantry and 50 horsemen, attacked the

Cavii This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria ( grc-gre, Ἰλλυρία; la, Illyria). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greek ...

, failing to capture one of their cities while ravaging the fields of the city of Caravandis.

References

{{Reflist Illyrian tribes