The name Illyri, on the one hand, refers to a vast complex of populations similar in customs, culture and language, but on the other hand, it designates a very specific group, located between Montenegro and northern Albania.
Unfortunately, no artifact in the Illyrian language has ever been found, making it difficult to carry out any study that intends to define its connection with other languages ​​of the Balkan area.
Geographically, Illyria was understood to be the coastal region of the eastern Adriatic between Istria and Epirus, Dalmatia in the ancient Roman period (3rd century AD). This name was given to it in antiquity precisely because of the strong unitary Illyrian kingdom which in the 3rd century BC had Scutari as its capital.

Among the Illyrian populations of the northern Dalmatian coast, the Liburnians stood out, bordering the Iapyds to the north and the Dalmatians to the south. The latter also belonged to the Illyrian lineage and were destined to give their name to the region.
The Illyrians were populations divided into tribes and lineages, residing in fortified villages located on the hills, mostly dedicated to pastoralism and agriculture.
At sea, the Liburnians and the southern Illyrians of Scutari and Cattaro developed notable naval skills as early as the 2nd century BC, dedicating themselves above all to piracy, using small, agile ships that were well suited to manoeuvring between islands and rugged coasts.
These vessels were called “liburnic” and due to their characteristics they were soon imitated by Roman vessels.
In the Adriatic towards the end of the 1rd century BC the Etruscans (XNUMX) were in the lead, having founded important colonies in Adria and Spinea (southern Veneto).
The Etruscans were dedicated to trade and competed with the Greeks who had begun, albeit sporadically, to push from Corfu to the northern shores of Istria.
For a long time the most stable Greek colony in the Lower Adriatic was Epidamnos-Durrës founded in 626 BC.
The reasons for the lack of a strong Greek expansion in Dalmatia are not clear, perhaps the excessive danger of piracy or perhaps the lack of interest that Dalmatian goods attracted in the Greek markets induced the Greek cities not to dare more.
The oldest Greek objects found so far on the Dalmatian coast are the Corinthian vases from Curzola, Lesina and Salona.
In 385 BC the Greek presence in the region was strengthened by Dionysius the Elder, lord of Syracuse who was periodically engaged in battles against the Carthaginians, who, in outlining an incisive strategic plan to secure the Ionian Sea, felt the need to have safe ports in the Adriatic to balance the Etruscan influence.
The Syracusan tyrant consequently established a colony at Issa (Lissa) and, collaborating with the Parian population, successfully promoted the colonization of Pharos (Lesina).
The two colonies quickly achieved a certain political strength, minted coins and in turn, as in the case of the Isseans, founded new colonies on the coast: Tragurion (Traù) and Epetium (a place near Split).
Syracusan power in the Adriatic declined rapidly after the death of Dionysius, the weak legacy left by the Greeks was quickly removed by Rome which entered Adriatic history in the year 290 BC, when the Roman Senate occupied the vast region from the mouth of the Pescara up to Pesaro, also conquering the Doric-Syracusan Ancona.
In 282 BC the Romans waged war on Taranto, which called upon Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, to aid it.
Pyrrhus landed in Italy with a powerful army of Greeks and Illyrians.
This army, supported by a column of elephants, defeated the Romans several times, despite suffering heavy losses.
Forced to return to his homeland, attacked by a strong Macedonian army led by Antigonus Gonatas, Pyrrhus died in combat at Argos in 272 BC.
Since 235 BC the Illyrian kingdom, with its capital Scutari, had gradually and laboriously consolidated a certain power in the region and under King Agron a strong fleet was armed with which the Illyrians conquered the Greek colonies of Corcyra, Epidamnos and Pharos.
Agron died in the midst of his war activity but his action was continued by his widow, Queen Teuta, who was able to consolidate the Illyrian power, reaching the point of controlling the mouth of the river Neretva and vast territories of northern Epirus.
The Illyrian power soon began to damage the interests of the Italic merchants, who were able to find the ready support of the Romans who were increasingly interested in the Adriatic area; in fact, during the Tarantine war they thought of founding the colony of Ariminum-Rimini and in 243 the colony of Brundisium-Brindisi, mortgaging the Roman advent in the whole western Adriatic coast.
Rome collected the requests for protection of the Italian merchants and ordered Queen Teuta to stop the piracy but without obtaining any effect; thus began a war that lasted about two years, from 229 to 228 BC. Teuta was defeated and the Romans founded military garrisons on the islands of Lesina and Curzola.
Roman influence in the area was soon after countered by Philip V of Macedon, but the unexpected alliance between the Romans and the Illyrian king Pleuratus, defeated the Greco-Macedonian ambitions.

(1) Etruscans
Ancient population of central Italy between the Arno and Tiber rivers.
Between the 8th and 6th centuries BC the Etruscans managed to compete with the Greeks and Carthaginians for control of the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic navigation routes and to found new centres in the Po Valley such as Bologna, Mantua and Adria.
Etruscan power, which managed to extend trade in the Adriatic for a long period, began to decline from 395 BC after the destruction of Veii by the Romans, who in less than a decade occupied Etruria putting an end to the Etruscan kingdom.