After defeating Carthage in the First Carthaginian War in 241 BC, the Roman Republic became a dominant naval power in the Mediterranean.
However, Rome's control of the seas was not absolute. In the east of Italy, another power was rising. This was the Ardian kingdom, led by an Illyrian tribe that began to threaten Rome's trade routes, which ran through the Adriatic, reports Syri. At the head of this kingdom was the very ladylike Queen, Teuta.
Teuta was the wife of Agron, a king in the Ardian kingdom. It was under Agron's leadership that the kingdom of the Ardians became a force to be reckoned with.
According to the Roman writer Appian of Alexandria, Agron had expanded his kingdom to include part of Epirus, as well as Corfu, Epidamni, and Phar. Beyond that, Agron's fleet was greatly feared in the Adriatic Sea.
In 231 BC, Agron died suddenly, after a victory over the Aetolians. According to the Greek historian Polybius, "King Agron, when the flotilla returned and his officers gave him an account of the battle, was so happy at the thought that they had defeated the Aetolians, who at that time were the proudest people, that he entered into the feasts and other excesses, from which he fell into a pleurisy. His life ended in a few days."
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As Agron's heir, Pini was a mere child when the king died, so the Ardian kingdom was led by Teuta, who acted as queen until the new king came of age. Although Teuta continued her late husband's expansionist policies, her actions are portrayed in a negative light by Polybius. Although, this may have been a biased view, given his focus on Roman historiography.
According to Polib, Teuta had a "short-sightedness of a woman" and that she "could not see anything other than the current success, and did not even look at what was happening elsewhere". Polybius also mentions that Teuta supported the Illyrian practice of piracy, and plundered her neighbors indiscriminately, as the commanders were instructed to treat all as enemies.
It was these piracy attacks that would later lead Rome to declare war on Teuta. The Roman Senate had initially ignored complaints against the Illyrians by merchants sailing the Adriatic. However, as the number of complaints increased, the Senate was forced to intervene. The Romans first used diplomacy, and sent men to Teuta's court. Ancient sources record that Teuta was not at all pleased with the Roman envoys, and was not reasonable in negotiations with them. Worse, the diplomatic immunity of these envoys was also violated. Polybius writes that one of them was killed as he prepared to leave for Rome, while Cassius Dio mentions that some envoys were killed and others imprisoned.
When news of this reached Rome, the Romans were enraged, and declared war on Teuta. A fleet of 200 ships was prepared for the invasion, along with a land army. The first target of the Roman fleet was the island of Corfu, held by Demetrius, who was also governor of Phare. In the accounts of both Appian and Polybius, Demetrius is said to have betrayed the Illyrians by surrendering Corfu and Phar to the Romans. However, according to Cassius Dios, it was Teuta herself who had sent Demetrius to surrender Corfu to the Romans, in exchange for a truce.
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But immediately after the truce, Teuta attacked Epidamnus and Apollonia, forcing the Romans to intervene again. Demetrius would then transfer his allegiance to the Romans as a result of the Queen's whims. Realizing that he could not withstand the Romans, Teuta surrendered in 227 BC.
According to Polybius, Teuta "agreed to pay a tribute which they set, to give up all Illyria except a few places, and also promised not to sail beyond Lezha with more than two unarmed ships". Similarly, Appian mentions that Corfu, Fari, Isa, Epidamni and Atintani Illyrian came under the control of the Romans. The remainder of Agron's empire was in the hands of Pinus, whose new mentor was Demetrius. Although Teuta lived for another two decades, there is an interesting story that states that Teuta was thrown off a cliff rather than surrender to the Romans in the Bay of Kotor, where Montenegro is today. Since Risani is the only coastal town in Montenegro without a maritime tradition, it is said that this happened because of the Illyrian queen's curse on the city, before she committed suicide.
