Illyria: Did you mean...?

The pirates of the ancient Mediterranean were not, for the most part, the outsiders who knew no country's allegiance and were the enemies of civilization as they are frequently depicted in novels and other media. They were often employed...

Between the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, Celtic tribes moved en masse into southern Europe, intent on seizing land and wealth to feed their swelling numbers. As these tribes began crossing the Alps, they came into conflict with the Romans and...

Pyrrhus (also Pyrrhos or Phyrrhus, c. 319 - 272 BCE ) was the king of Epirus in northern Greece between 306 and 302 BCE and again between 297 and 272 BCE. Winning great victories against the armies of Macedon and Rome, he is considered one...

Propaganda played an important role in Octavian (l. 63 BCE - 14 CE) and Mark Antony's (l. 83 – 30 BCE) civil war, and once victorious at the Battle of Actium (31 BCE), Octavian returned home to become the first Roman emperor. The decade preceding...

A map of the Mediterranean around 550 BC, showing the major cultures: Greece and its colonies Phoenicia and its colonies Lydia Egypt Persia Thrace Illyria

Justinian I reigned as emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565 CE. Born around 482 CE in Tauresium, a village in Illyria, his uncle Emperor Justin I was an imperial bodyguard who reached the throne on the death of Anastasius in 518...

The Second Punic War (The Hannibalic War) was fought between Carthage and Rome between 218 and 201 BCE. The war involved confrontations in Spain, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa. Hannibal led the Carthaginians, one of the most gifted...

Although he is often only remembered for being the father of Alexander the Great, Philip II of Macedon (reigned 359 BCE - 336 BCE) was an accomplished king and military commander in his own right, setting the stage for his son's victory over...

Cynane (l. c. 357- 323 BCE, pronounced `Keenahnay') was the daughter of the Illyrian Princess Audata and King Philip II of Macedon, making her the half-sister of Alexander the Great (l.356-323 BCE). Following the Illyrian tradition of women...

Flavius Belisarius (l. 505-565 CE) was born in Illyria (the western part of the Balkan Peninsula) to poor parents and rose to become one of the greatest generals, if not the greatest, of the Byzantine Empire. Belisarius is listed among the...