Pleurias (

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 pe ...

Πλευρίας; ruled c. 337 – 335 BC) was an Illyrian king. According to some scholars Pleurias was probably king of the

Autariatae The Autariatae or Autariatai (alternatively, Autariates; grc, Αὐταριᾶται, ''Autariatai''; la, Autariatae) were an Illyrian people that lived between the valleys of the Lim and the Tara, beyond the Accursed Mountains, and the v ...

. An Illyrian king called Pleurias is mentioned only in

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

(16.93.6). The name is elsewhere unattested in ancient sources, hence some scholars have identified him with Pleuratos, which is on the contrary a very common name among Illyrians. According to Diodorus' historical account, in 337 BC Pleurias almost succeeded in killing

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

when he was on his Balkan campaigns.The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 6: The Fourth Century BC by D. M. Lewis, , 1994, page 785

Military activities

In 337 BC, Philip's aim was to subdue the Autariatae State under Pleurias, during his

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

campaigns. While Pleurias was engaged in a battle with Philip, he almost succeeded in killing Philip if not for his bodyguard Pausanias receiving Pleurias' sword. After receiving on his body all the blows directed at Philip, the Pausanias died. In 335 BC, Pleurias entered into an alliance with Gluacias of the Taulantii State and Cleitus of the Dardanian State for the Illyrian Revolt. Cleitus had persuaded Pleurias to attack Alexander on his march south to meet him. On the meanwhile, Glaucias and Cleitus would join forces and meet Alexander at the city of

Pelion Pelion or Pelium (Modern el, Πήλιο, ''Pílio''; Ancient Greek/ Katharevousa: Πήλιον, ''Pēlion'') is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in northern Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the ...

in the south. Langarus, an ally of Alexander promised him that he would deal with the Autariatae State while Alexander would advance towards Cleitus. Langarus invaded their territory and defeated Pleurias, and thus brought a setback to Illyrian Revolt from the start. In the 5th century BC the Autariatae State reached its peak of political and economic development. At the time of Pleurias' rule, the Autariatae State was in a decline due to the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

migrations.Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, p. 75, , "Alföldy suggests that this Celtic component may derive from the impact of the migrating Celts on the Illyrian Autariatae, but it now seems that they dwelt not there but further south between the 'real Illyrians' around the Lake of..." Pleurias's successors faced great hardship and the gradual decline of the Autariatae State which ended in 310 BC with their sudden disappearance.

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* Illyrian royalty 4th-century BC rulers Illyrian Albania {{europe-royal-stub

Military activities

See also

References

Bibliography