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The Ardiaei were an Illyrians people who resided in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Croatia Croatian Encyclopedia, "...retreating before the Celts after 300 BC, they occupied the coastal belt from today's Makarska littoral to Pelješac..." between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its right bank on the west, and extending to Lake Shkodra to the southeast. From the 3rd century BC to 168 BC the capital cities of the Ardiaean State were Rhizon and Scodra.
The Ardiaean kingdom was transformed into a formidable power—both on land and sea—under the leadership of Agron of Illyria. During this time, Agron invaded parts of Epirus, Corcyra, Epidamnos, and Hvar in succession, establishing garrisons there. The Ardiaean realm became one of Roman Republic's major enemies, and the primary threat to it in the Adriatic Sea. A Illyrian Wars were fought between the Roman Republic and the Illyrian (Ardiaean-Labeatae) kingdom in the 3rd–2nd centuries BC. Polybius (203 BC–120 BC) wrote that they were subdued Plb. 2.11, "The Romans, taking the Epidamnians under their protection, advanced into the interior of Illyricum, subduing the Ardiaei as they went." by the Romans in 229 BC. The Epitome of Livy reports the Roman consul Fulvius Flaccus put down an uprising in 135 BC undertaken by Ardiaei and Pleraei in Roman Illyria. vardaei-geo
In earlier times, the Ardiaei were enemies of the Autariatae for a long period over salt sources. Appian (95–165) wrote that the Ardiaei were destroyed by the Autariatae and that in contrast to the Autariatae they had maritime power. App. Ill. 1, "In like manner the Ardiæi, who were distinguished for their maritime power, were finally destroyed by the Autarienses, whose land forces were stronger, but whom they had often defeated."
The arrival of the Ardiaei on the coast must have occurred at some time after the mid-4th century BC, as the Periplus of Pseudo-Skylax dating back to that time does not mention this Illyrian tribe at all. At that time the lower course of the Neretva was inhabited by the Manioi, while the middle course was likely inhabited by the Ardiaei. The territory of the Ardiaei and Autariatae must have met somewhere along the upper Naro valley near the 'Great Lake', which was attested in the Periplus and has been identified with Hutovo Blato. The Autariatae most likely inhabited the other side of the lake. During the 2nd century BC the Manioi disappeared from historical sources, being replaced in some of their former regions by the Ardiaei and Daorsi, while some of the earlier Autariatan territories were inhabited by the Narensii. Their tribal name indicates that Narensii certainly inhabited some of the areas along the Naron river, and that they probably appeared in historical sources after the disintegration of the coalition that was dominated by the Autariatae.
In the 3rd century BC, the Ardiaei attained political importance and conquered territories from the Autariatae until they acquired control of the entire Adriatic coast, from the region of the Daorsi at the mouth of the Naro river down to Labeatae around Lake Skadar. It is possible that at that time their capital was in Rhizon in present-day Montenegro. In Roman times the Ardiaei were attested in the area of southern Illyria that was centered around the Bay of Kotor, with Rhizon as a capital city, expanding from the Neretva in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, along the Adriatic coast southwards to Scodra (another capital of the Illyrian kingdom) in present-day Albania, as well as to the broad region of Lissus.
In earlier times the Ardiaei fueded with the Autariatae over a salt source near a shared border.
The Ardiaei briefly attained military might in 230 B.C. under the reign of king Agron (an Ardiaean by tribal origin). His widow, Queen Teuta, attempted to gain a foothold in the Adriatic but failed due to Roman intervention. Historic accounts hold that King Agron was hired The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 7, Part 1, by Frank William Walbank, 1984, , page 452 by King Demetrius II to repel the invasion of Macedonia by the invading Aetolians. The Ardiaei had 20 decuriae.
The ancient geographer Strabo listed the Ardiaei as one of the three strongest Illyrian peoples – the other two being the Autariatae and the Dardani. Strabo writes; Strab. 7.5
King Agron, son of Pleuratus who belonged to the ruling house of the Ardiaei, disposed of the most powerful forces, both by land and sea, of any of the kings who had reigned in Illyria before him.
Theopompus in the second book of his Philippics (History of Philip II of Macedon) write that Ardiaei had 300,000 slaves, who were called Prospelatae, and they were like the Helots. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), pelatae Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, 6.101
The branch of Scerdilaidas, and his successors Pleuratus III and Gentius, is generally considered a Labeatae dynasty, that emerged after the fall of Agron and Teuta in the First Roman–Illyrian War. Indeed, the Illyrian king Gentius is also attested as reigning among the Labeatae.; ; ; . It is possible that the decline of the Ardiaean dynasty after Queen Teuta's defeat in the First Illyrian War against Roman Republic caused the emergence of the Labeatan dynasty on the political scene.
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