Editing History of Albania (section)

=== Illyrians ===
{{Main|Origin of the Albanians|Illyria|Illyrians|Thraco-Illyrian|List of ancient tribes in Illyria}}
[[File:Face of King Gentius on Ancient Illyrian coin.jpg|thumb|122x122px|King [[Gentius]], the last ruler of the [[Ardiaean Kingdom|Ardiaean]] dynasty.|left]][[File:Qyteti Ilir I Bylisit 05.jpg|thumb|304x304px|Ruins of the city of [[Byllis]]]]
[[File:Queen Teuta orders the murder of Roman ambassadors.jpg|303x303px|thumb|Queen [[Teuta]] of the Ardieai orders the Roman ambassadors to be killed.]]
The [[Illyrians]] were a group of tribes who inhabited the western [[Balkans]] during the [[classical antiquity|classical times]]. The territory the tribes covered came to be known as [[Illyria]] to [[Greeks|Greek]] and [[Roman Republic|Roman]] authors, corresponding roughly to the area between the [[Adriatic Sea]] in the west, the [[Drava]] river in the north, the [[Great Morava|Morava]] river in the east and the mouth of [[Vjosë]] river in the south.<ref>The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes, 1996, {{ISBN|978-0-631-19807-9}}, page 92, "Appian's description of the Illyrian territories records a southern boundary with Chaonia and Thesprotia, where ancient Epirus began south of river Aoous (Vjose)"  [https://books.google.com/books?id=4Nv6SPRKqs8C&dq=illyrians%20wilkes&pg=PR20 also map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226083134/https://books.google.com/books?id=4Nv6SPRKqs8C&lpg=PP1&dq=illyrians%20wilkes&pg=PR20 |date=26 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>Cambridge University Press. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0qAoqP4g1fEC&q=epirus&pg=PA266 ''The Cambridge ancient history''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226083133/https://books.google.com/books?id=0qAoqP4g1fEC&pg=PA266&dq=campridge+ancient+history+epirus&hl=el#v=onepage&q=epirus&f=false |date=26 December 2022 }}. 2000. {{ISBN|0-521-23447-6}}, page 261,"...down to the mouth of Aous"</ref> The first account of the [[Illyrian peoples]] comes from the Coastal Passage contained in a [[periplus]], an ancient Greek text of the middle of the 4th century BC.<ref>The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes, 1996, page 94</ref>

Several Illyrian tribes that resided in the region of Albania were the [[Ardiaean Kingdom|Ardiaei]], [[Taulantii]] and [[Albanoi]]<ref>(Ptolemy. Geogr. Ill 12,20)</ref> in central Albania,<ref>Appian, ''The Foreign Wars, III, 1.2''</ref> the [[Partheni|Parthini]], the [[List of ancient tribes in Illyria#Abri/Arbi|Abri]] and the [[Cavii]]i in the north, the [[Enchelei]] in the east,<ref>Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, {{ISBN|0-631-19807-5}}, Page 96,"...&nbsp;25 Enchelei</ref> the [[Bylliones]] in the south and [[List of ancient tribes in Illyria|several others]]. In the westernmost parts of the territory of Albania, along with the Illyrian tribes, lived the [[Bryges]],<ref name="The Illyrians 1996, page 111">The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes,1996, {{ISBN|9780631198079}}, page 111.</ref> a [[Phrygians|Phrygian]] people, and in the south<ref>Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond, Guy Thompson Griffith. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PnEJAQAAIAAJ&q=amyron ''A History of Macedonia: Historical geography and prehistory'']. Clarendon Press, 1972, p. 92.</ref><ref name="LewisBoardman1994">{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=D. M.|last2=Boardman|first2=John|title=The Cambridge ancient history: The fourth century B.C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vx251bK988gC&pg=PA423|access-date=26 October 2010|year=1994|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-23348-4|page=423}}</ref> lived the Greek tribe of the [[Chaonians]].<ref name="The Illyrians 1996, page 111" /><ref>Boardman, John; Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1982), The Cambridge Ancient History: The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Six Centuries B.C, Cambridge, p. 261</ref><ref>Wilkes, John J. (1995), The Illyrians, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, {{ISBN|0-631-19807-5}}, p. 92</ref>

In the 4th century BC, the Illyrian king [[Bardylis]] united several Illyrian tribes and engaged in conflicts with [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]] to the south-east, but was defeated. Bardyllis was succeeded by [[Grabos II]],<ref>Harding, p. 93. Grabos became the most powerful Illyrian king after the death of Bardylis in 358.</ref> then by [[Bardylis II]],<ref name="Hellenic Studies 1973, p. 79">"The Journal of Hellenic Studies by Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies", 1973, p. 79. Cleitus was evidently the son of Bardylis II the grandson of the very old Bardylis who had fallen in battle against Phillip II in 385 BC.</ref> and then by [[Cleitus the Illyrian]],<ref name="Hellenic Studies 1973, p. 79" /> who was defeated by [[Alexander the Great]].

Around 230 BC, the Ardiaei briefly attained military might under the reign of king Agron. Agron extended his rule over other neighbouring tribes as well.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Studies concerning Epirus and Macedonia before Alexander|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TWwiAQAAIAAJ|publisher = Hakkert|date = 1993-01-01|first = Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière|last = Hammond|isbn = 9789025610500}}</ref> He raided parts of [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirus]], [[Epidamnos|Epidamnus]], and the islands of Corcyra and Pharos. His state stretched from Narona in Dalmatia south to the river Aoos and Corcyra. During his reign, the Ardiaean Kingdom reached the height of its power. The army and fleet made it a major regional power in the Balkans and the southern Adriatic. The king regained control of the Adriatic with his warships (''lembi''), a domination once enjoyed by the [[Liburnians]]. None of his neighbours were nearly as powerful. Agron divorced his (first) wife.

Agron suddenly died, {{Circa|231 BC}}, after his triumph over the [[Aetolian league|Aetolians]]. Agron's (second) wife was Queen [[Teuta]], who acted as regent after Agron's death. According to [[Polybius]], she ruled "by women's reasoning".<ref>{{Cite book|title = Moral Vision in the Histories of Polybius|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ky57ps7jjMEC|publisher = University of California Press|date = 1995-02-01|isbn = 978-0-520-91469-8|first = Arthur M.|last = Eckstein}}</ref> Teuta started to address the neighbouring states malevolently, supporting the piratical raids of her subjects.  After capturing [[Dyrrhachium]] and Phoenice, Teuta's forces extended their operations further southward into the [[Ionian Sea]], defeating the combined [[Achaean League|Achaean]] and Aetolian fleet in the [[Battle of Paxos]] and capturing the island of [[Corcyra]].{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} Later on, in 229 BC, she clashed with the Romans and initiated the [[Illyrian Wars]]. These wars, which were spread out over 60 years, eventually resulted in defeat for the Illyrians by 168 BC and the end of Illyrian independence when King [[Gentius]] was defeated by a Roman army after heavy clashes with Rome and Roman allied cities such as [[Apollonia (Illyria)|Apollonia]] and [[Durrës|Dyrrhachium]] under [[Anicius Gallus]].{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} After his defeat, the Romans split the region into three administrative divisions,<ref>{{Cite book|title = Épire, Illyrie, Macédoine: mélanges offerts au professeur Pierre Cabanes|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=I_kFU6h77ssC|publisher = Presses Univ Blaise Pascal|date = 2007-01-01|isbn = 9782845163515|language = fr|first = Danièle|last = Berranger|page = 127}}</ref> called ''meris''.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Épire, Illyrie, Macédoine: mélanges offerts au professeur Pierre Cabanes|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=I_kFU6h77ssC|publisher = Presses Univ Blaise Pascal|date = 2007-01-01|isbn = 9782845163515|language = fr|first = Danièle|last = Berranger|page = 137}}</ref>