Concept

Illyrian kingdom

Summary
The Illyrian Kingdom is the name of a country that existed on the Western part of the Balkan Peninsula in ancient times and represented an alliance of Illyrian tribes. Illyria and Kingdom of Dardania In southern Illyria organized realms were formed earlier than in other areas of this region. One of the oldest known Illyrian dynasty is that of the Enchelei, which seems to have reached its height from the 8th–7th centuries BC, but the dynasty fell from dominant power around the 6th century BC. It seems that the weakening of the dynasty of Enchelae resulted in their assimilation and inclusion into a newly established Illyrian realm at the latest in the 5th century BC, marking the arising of the Dassaretii, who appear to have replaced the Enchelei in the Lakeland area of Lychnidus. The weakening of the Enchelean realm was also caused by the strengthening of another Illyrian dynasty established in its vicinity—that of the Taulantii—which existed for some time along with that of the Enchelei. The Taulantii—another people among the more anciently known groups of Illyrian tribes—lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria (modern Albania), dominating at various times much of the plain between the Drin and the Aous, comprising the area around Epidamnus/Dyrrhachium. When describing the Illyrian invasion of Macedonia ruled by Argaeus I, somewhere between 678–640 BC, the historian Polyaenus ( 2nd-century AD) recorded the supposed oldest known king in Illyria, Galaurus or Galabrus, a ruler of the Taulantii who reigned in the latter part of the 7th century BC. Some scholars consider the authenticity of Polyaenus' passage as disputable. Whether or not this account is historically reliable, and despite Polyaenus' interest in the anecdote, it implies the widespread thought throughout antiquity about a significant animosity between the Macedonians and the Illyrians as early as the 7th century BC, if the consensus in modern scholarship in dating the reigning period of Argaeus I is correct.
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