The City of Pelion and the Illyrian War of Alexander, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies

Abstract

In the spring of 335 BC, Alexander the Great launched a campaign that led him deep into the interior of the Balkans, up to and beyond the banks of Danube. According to Arrian, our main source for these events, the primary reason for the expedition was the safety of Macedonian borders in the context of the planned Asian campaign. However, once this was achieved, new threat arose: three Illyrian tribes went to war against Macedonian king. The brief but bloody Illyrian war that followed is often neglected and/or misunderstood in modern historical literature. This paper offers a reexamination of the available source material and a possible reconstruction of the details of the campaign.