The Battle of Paxos was a naval battle between a coalition of Illyrian federation with their

Acarnania Acarnania ( el, Ἀκαρνανία) is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today i ...

n allies, against the allies of

Corcyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

(modern

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

), the

Achaean League The Achaean League (Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern Pel ...

and

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...

. The battle took place in the spring of 229 BC and was a direct consequence to the siege of Corcyra by the forces of queen

Teuta Teuta (Illyrian languages, 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 ...

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

describes a cunning maritime stratagem mastered by the Illyrian fleet. The Illyrians took four

triremes A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizat ...

and sank a

quinquereme From the 4th century BC on, new types of oared warships appeared in the Mediterranean Sea, superseding the trireme and transforming naval warfare. Ships became increasingly large and heavy, including some of the largest wooden ships hitherto con ...

, while the rest of the Greeks managed to escape. This resulted in the Illyrian forces establishing a garrison in Corcyra, under one of the queen's commanders.Scholten, 2000: p. 149

Illyrian offensive

In 231 BC, an Illyrian army, returning north from a raid in the Peloponnese, captured the

Epirote Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των � ...

city of

Phoenice Phoenice or Phoenike ( el, Φοινίκη) was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians.: "To the north the Chaonians had expelled the Corcyraeans from their holdings on the mainland and built fortifications at Buthrotum, K ...

in a surprise attack. After a further defeat in battle, the leaders of the

Epirote League The Epirote League (Epirote: , ''Koinòn Āpeirōtân''; Attic: , ''Koinòn Ēpeirōtôn'') was an ancient Greek coalition, or ''koinon'', of Epirote tribes. History The coalition was established between 370 and 320 BC (firstly as the Molossian ...

lost heart and, although the Illyrian forces were soon recalled to deal with a rebellion in the north following the death of their

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, the Epirotes resolved to come to terms with the Barbarians and accept the

Ardiaean Kingdom 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 ba ...

as their new ally against their former protectors from Achaea and Aetolia...

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the Illyrian kingdom became Teuta, the king's widow, who pursued a plan to raid more of the independent Greek colonies on the Adriatic coast; but while she besieged Issa in 230 BC, she made a fatal error when she killed an ambassador of 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 ...

. This action led to the

Illyro-Roman Wars 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 ...

Siege of Corcyra

In the spring of 229 BC, queen Teuta fitted out a larger fleet of ships than her previous expeditions and dispatched them to the Greek coasts. Some of them sailed to Corcyra, while another party anchored in the harbour of

Epidamnos The ancient Greek city of Epidamnos or Epidamnus ( grc-gre, Ἐπίδαμνος), ( sq, Epidamni) later the Roman Dyrrachium (Δυρράχιον) ( sq, Dyrrahu) (modern Durrës, Albania), was founded in 627 BC in Illyria by a group of colonists ...

, professedly to seek water and provision, but really with the design of surprising and seizing the city. After a failed attempt on the city, the Illyrian commanders hastened to get under way and, catching up with the rest of the flotilla, bore down on Corcyra. The Illyrian army landed on the island and laid siege to the city. Upon this the Corcyreans, in the utmost distress and despondency, sent, together with the peoples of Apollonia and Epidamnos, envoys to the Achaeans and Aetolians, imploring them to hasten to their relief and not allow them to be driven from their home by the Illyrians. The two Leagues, after listening to the envoys, consented to their request, and both joined in manning the 10 decked ships belonging to the Achaeans. In a few days they were ready and sailed for Corcyra in a hope of raising the siege.

Naval battle

The Illyrians, now reinforced by seven decked ships sent by the Acarnanians in compliance with the terms of their treaty, encountered the Achaean fleet off the island of

Paxos Paxos ( gr, Παξός) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, lying just south of Corfu. As a group with the nearby island of Antipaxos and adjoining islets, it is also called by the plural form Paxi or Paxoi ( gr, Παξοί, pronounced in Engl ...

. The Acarnanians and those Achaean ships which were told off to engage them fought with no advantage on either side, remaining undamaged in their encounter except for wounds inflicted on some of the crew. The Illyrians lashed their ships in batches of four and thus engaged the enemy. They sacrificed their own ships, presenting them broadside to their adversaries in a position favouring their charge, but when the enemy's ships had charged and struck them and getting fixed in them found themselves in difficulty. In each case the four ships lashed together were hanging on their beaks, while the Illyrians leapt on the decks of the Achaean ships and overtook them by their numbers. In this way they captured four quadriremes and sunk with all hands a quinquereme, on board of which was Margos of Keryneia.

Capitulation of Corcyra

Highly elated by their success, the Illyrians continued the siege of Corcyra with more security and confidence. The Corcyreans, whose hopes were crushed by the repulse of their allies and after enduring the siege for a short time longer, came to terms with the Illyrians. As a result, Corcyra received a garrison under the command of

Demetrius of Pharos Demetrius of Pharos (also Pharus) ( grc, Δημήτριος ἐκ Φάρου and Δημήτριος ὁ Φάριος) was a ruler of Pharos involved in the First Illyrian War, after which he ruled a portion of the Illyrian Adriatic coast on beha ...

. After this the Illyrian commanders sailed off immediately and coming to anchor at Epidamnos, set yet another siege to city.

Aftermath

After these developments the alliance between the Achaeans and the Aetolians collapsed. Some historians claim that this was due to the battle of Paxos, but others believe that it was a result of events that occurred in the Peloponnesus. Holding Corcyra, the Illyrians were now in a key position that allowed to intercept the entire trade on the sea routes between

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, which made a reaction by the major powers inevitable. The Romans were already preparing their first intervention on the opposite coast of the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

, and soon after the previous events their fleet was able to take possession of Corcyra. Decisive help to this purpose was not only offered by the Corcyreans themselves, but also by the Illyrian governor Demetrius, who betrayed his own garrison into the hands of the Romans. The armies of the consuls then went on to conquer Apollonia and relieve Epidamnos (soon renamed Dyrrhachium), thus establishing the first Roman foothold on the Illyrian mainland.Polybius (II, 11)

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Illyrians 229 BC 220s BC conflicts Ancient Corcyra