The siege of Issa took place from 230 BC to 229 BC between the forces of the

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 ...

colony of Issa, aided by the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

, and the

Ardiaean The Ardiaei were an Illyrian people who resided in the territory of present-day Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its right ...

Kingdom of Illyria The Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1816 to 1849, the successor state of the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces, which were reconquered by Austria in the War of the Sixth Coalition. It was established according to th ...

Prelude

Earlier in 230 BC, Illyrian forces under

Queen Teuta Teuta ( Illyrian: *''Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; grc, Τεύτα; lat, Teuta) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC. Following the death of her spouse Agr ...

and

Scerdilaidas Scerdilaidas or Skerdilaid ( grc, Σκερδιλαΐδας; ruled 218206 BC) was an Illyrian ruler of the Illyrian kingdom under the Labeatan dynasty. Before taking the throne, Scerdilaidas was commander of the Illyrian armies and played a majo ...

had invaded Epirus through both land and by sea, capturing Phoenice and much of Epirus, passing Antigoneia and nearing Helicranum (modern

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

). Despite an Illyrian victory at the

Battle of Phoenice The Battle of Phoenice was a battle that took place in 230 BC between the forces of the Epirote League and the Ardiaean Kingdom of Illyria. Illyrian Invasion of Epirus and Battle Phoenice had been previously taken by Illyrians acting under Que ...

, a pro-Dardanian rebellion in the north-east of the Kingdom forced Teuta to call back Illyrian forces from Epirus. Teuta quickly crushed the rebellion, and now turned towards Issa, situated off the coastline of Illyria.

Siege

Shortly after defeating the rebels, Illyrians under Teuta and

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...

, commander of neighbouring Pharos island, begun to siege Issa. Soon after the siege begun, Rome sent ambassadors to meet Teuta at Issa. Teuta ordered the killing of one of the ambassadors who had offended her. Following this, Rome declared war, starting the

First 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 ...

in 230 BC, and invaded Illyrian occupied Corcyra. The commander of the Illyrian garrison in Corcyra was Demetrius, who surrendered his forces, along with control of Corcyra and Pharos, to the Romans and betrayed Teuta. The Romans then landed at southern Illyria with the guidance of Demetrius, and after much success, they sailed north to relieve the siege of Issa in 229 BC. The Romans defeated the Illyrian besiegers and relieved the Issaeans, with the island coming under Roman protection. The Illyrian besiegers acting under Demetrius were spared by the Romans, whilst those under Teuta retreated to

Arbo Arbo may refer to: Places * Arbo, Pontevedra, a municipality in Galicia, Spain * Arbo, Mardin (Turkish: ''Taşköy''), a Syriac village in Turkey * Arbo, Georgia, a village in Georgia People * Aribo of Austria (c. 850 – 909), or Arbo, margr ...

Cause of the war

Polybius says that the Romans had sent ambassadors to Illyria due to the killings of Romans and numerous attacks on Roman vessels by the Illyrians. Appian, on the other hand, says that Romans intervened after Issa requested Roman support. A later historian, Gruen, states that Appian (who reported the siege almost four centuries after Polybius) and later historians misinterpreted Roman intervention, saying it was just a coincidence that the Illyrians were besieging Issa, and that Roman intervention just to liberate Issa was an inadequate excuse for war (though it is possible that Issa did indeed request Roman assistance). As well as this, after the Romans begun the First Illyrian War in 230 BC, they first captured many other territories, leaving Issa to be besieged for over a year, before finally liberating the island towards the end of the campaign.

Notes

References

{{Illyrians 230 BC 229 BC Issa History of the Adriatic Sea Issa 230 Issa Issa