Bardyllis Bardylis or Bardyllis ( ; ; c . 448 – 358 BC ) was a king of the Dardanian Kingdom and probably its founder . Bardyllis created one of the most powerful Illyrian states , that of the Dardanians . His state reigned over Macedonia , Epirus and the lakeland ( Lyncestia ) . Bardyllis lived over 90 years according to ancient sources , implying that he died around 358 BC . Although his name appears in sources from much later , in the events of 359 BC , it seems that he headed the Dardanian State long before the Illyrians . According to these sources , Bardyllis lived a long time and was at an advanced age when he faced Philip II of Macedon . His background was in coal mining . He took land from the kingdom of Macedon , killing their king Perdiccas III . In 385 BC , the Illyrians attacked the Molossians . Dionysius of Syracuse aided the Illyrian attack in order to place Alcetas , a refugee in his court , on the throne . Dionysius planned to control all the Ionian Sea . Sparta intervened on behalf of the Molossians despite having been aided by 2000 Greek hoplites and five hundred suits of Greek armour . The Illyrians were defeated by the Spartans led by Agesilaus but not before ravaging the region and killing 15 , 000 Molossians . Grabos became the most powerful Illyrian king after the death of Bardyllis in 358 BC . Bardyllis had a son named Cleitus the Illyrian , a daughter named Bircenna , and a grandson named Bardyllis II . Bardyllis was killed in battle against Phillip II of Macedon after Philip rejected his offer of peace based on retaining conquered lands . Early life . Bardyllis was born around the year 448 BC . Bardyllis became king despite his humble roots . An early charcoal - burner and coal miner , he gained power by force and enjoyed the sympathy of the Dardanian warriors because he divided the spoils of war fairly and impartially . Bardyllis was not the heir of Sirras , but of the previous Illyrian king who had entered in a peace treaty with Amyntas II over the control of Lyncestia . Bardyllis succeeded in bringing various tribes into a single organisation and soon made Dardania into a formidable power in the Balkans , resulting in a change of relations with Macedonia . Only acknowledgement of this fact can explain the change that occurred in relations with the Illyrians and Macedonians in 393 BC . Nothing stands on the record to locate the center of his power , save for the fact that Philip ' s victory in 358 BC gained control of Lyncestia . Therefore , Bardyllis ' capital may be located in this very region . However , a more reasonable seat of power might by located in the heart of the Dardanian State , corresponding to today ' s Kosovo . Bardyllis , unlike previous Illyrian kings , combined military and economic developments . His subjects , the Damastini , began to issue a fine silver coinage from c . 395 BC in the Illyrian city of Damastion . These coins adopted a version of the standard and some emblems of the then powerful Chalcidian League . They also exported silver in ingot form . Another coinage began c . 365 in Daparria , a mining city in Kosovo which used the same standard and types as the coinage of the Damastini . The distribution of the coinages shows that Bardyllis built up a wide region of trade within the central Balkans and northwards to the Danube , which was far from the region dominated by Greek trade . Dionysius of Syracuse tried to tap Bardyllis ' region of trade when he planted colonies in the Adriatic . It is probable that Bardyllis , unlike previous Illyrian kings , built a few fortified cities , for Lychnidus and Pelion in the lakeland were walled sites probably before the accession of Philip . Baraliris was an imagined Illyrian ruler , who ( according to Tertullian ) after seeing a sign in a dream , embarked on a series of military victories which allowed him to extend Illyrian rule over the Molossians and other tribes , as far as the frontiers of Macedon . This king was probably the same as Bardyllis since the events of his life conform to this pattern as well . Macedonian campaigns . It seems that Bardyllis opposed the deal with Amyntas II and Sirras and invaded Macedonia in 393 BC . Bardyllis used new warfare tactics never before used by any of the Illyrians . He won a decisive battle against Amyntas III , expelled him , and ruled Macedonia through a puppet king . In 392 BC , Amyntas III allied himself with the Thessalians and took Macedonia under his rule from the Dardanians . However , the Illyrians were constantly raiding and ruling over the northern frontiers of Macedonia . After continuous invasions , Bardyllis forced the Macedon ' s to pay him an annual tribute in 372 BC . In 370 BC , the worthy Amyntas died full of years , having restored the fortunes of his kingdom after the Illyrian disasters . His marriage to Eurydice of the Illyrian Sirras produced three sons and a daughter . His eldest son was Alexander II . In 369 BC , Bardyllis prevented Alexander II from eliminating the Dardanians from Macedonia . After the battle , Bardyllis was said to have briefly held Philip II , the youngest brother of Alexander II , as a hostage . In 365 BC , Alexander II was succeeded by his brother Periccas III . The Paeonians began a series of raids against the Macedonians in support of a Dardanian invasion from the north . Perdiccas III , king of Macedonia , humiliated by the indignity of having to pay tribute to the Dardanians , marched north in the spring of 358 BC at the Macedonian army to resolve the issue by battle . This was not the first occasion in which he had fought against Bardyllis , but the Macedonians lost the battle . The king himself was among the 4 , 000 Macedonian dead . The remainder , panic - stricken after having become exceedingly afraid of the Illyrian army , lost heart for continuing the war . This was the worst loss suffered by the Macedonians in the range of their efforts to free themselves from the Illyrians . The Dardanians followed up their victory by expanding their control southward to Lake Lychnitis ( Lake Ohrid ) and westward into upper Macedonia . By the actions of Bardyllis , the Dardanians had brought Macedonia close to collapse . When Philip II , the youngest of the three brothers assumed the throne , he was determined to subdue the Illyians under Bardyllis once and for all , destroying the Illyrian menace . Subjection of Epirus . In 385 BC , the Illyrians formed an alliance with the powerful tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse . The purpose of the agreement was the restoration of the throne to the Molossian Alcetas who had remained as a refugee on his throne . Both sides were interested , this alliance would secure Illyrian power and weaken the impact of the Spartans and Macedonians consequently in Epirus . This would also give Dionysius an opportunity to strengthen trade positions on the shores of the Adriatic and Ionian . Dionysius sent a military aid of 2 , 000 men and 5 , 000 weapons to the Illyrians who were prepared to go to war . With these new supplies , Bardyllis and his army burst into Epirus and slaughtered 15 , 000 Molossians . At this point Bardyllis had extended the borders of the Dardanian State as far south as the Ionian . This military aid was soon wasted after Sparta intervened and expelled the Illyrians who were led by Bardyllis . Despite being aided by 2000 Greek hoplites and five hundred suits of Greek armour , the Illyrians were defeated by the Spartans led by Agesilaus , but not before ravaging the region and killing 15 , 000 Molossians . Bardyllis ' short rule over Epirus of northern Greece was over . In 360 BC , another Illyrian attack forced the Molossian king Arymbas to evacuate his non - combatant population to Aetolia and let the Illyrians loot freely . The stratagem worked and the Molossians fell upon the Illyrians who were encumbered with booty and defeated them . In the same year Arymbas of the Molossians defeated the Illyrians after they raided and looted Epirus . This policy explains the events that followed with Bardyllis ' s western neighbors . Apparently , the alliance with Dionysius had been a healthy support in the fight against Epirus and creating external allies . Battle of Erigon Valley . In 359 BC , Macedonia could come back to the field of battle against the Illyrians , after it had overcome the internal state of political chaos and removed the risk of attack from other opponents . When Philip II assumed the Macedonian throne , substantial areas of upper Macedonia remained in control of Bardyllis . In order to concentrate on the internal struggle necessary to secure his crown , Philip reaffirmed the treaty the Dardanians had imposed on Macedonia by force of arms and sealed the alliance by his marriage of Audata , probably a niece or daughter of Bardyllis . This action undoubtedly deterred a full - scale Dardanian invasion of Macedonia at a time when the country was most vulnerable . By the spring of 358 BC , Philip had at last secured his throne and was now able to address the occupation of northwest Macedonia by Bardyllis . When word of the mobilization of the Macedonian army came to Bardyllis ' attention , he proposed to Philip that they sign a treaty to maintain the status quo , provided that both parties maintain the cities that were already in their possession at the time . This was , of course , unacceptable to Philip because he was not prepared to accept any terms other than a full Dardanian withdrawal from northwest Macedonia . Bardyllis , however , was not inclined to give up his winnings without a fight . Philip mobilized every able - bodied soldier in Macedonia for the battle . Bardyllis , as before , was not likely to take any prisoners , so any Macedonian defeat would result in crippling casualties . Although the two armies were almost equal in numbers - Bardyllis ' 500 cavalry and 10 , 000 infantry against Philp ' s force of 600 cavalry and 10 , 000 infantry , the Macedonians were far better trained and equipped . The armies met in battle on a plain in the Erigon Valley near Bitola , just south of the Drdanian State . Bardyllis initially deployed in a linear formation with his strongest troops in the center , similar to the phalanx formation . Philip concentrated his best troops , the hypaspists , on his right flank . As Philip advanced to engage Bardyllis , his cavalry turned one or two of Bardyllis ' flanks , forcing him to redeploy into a defensive square formation . The Illyrians for quite some time withstood the assaults of the enemy . At first victory was not swayed by either one or the other party , and so the battle continued for a long time . Eventually Philip ' s hypaspists succeeded in penetrating the right corner of the Dradanian , which the companions were able to widen . This threw Bardyllis ' entire formation into disorder , after which it was quickly broken by the phalanx and routed from the battlefield . In 358 BC , Phillip of Macedon defeated Bardyllis , Diodorus Siculus ( 1st century BC ) writes this of the event : " And at first for a long while the battle was evenly poised because of the exceeding gallantry displayed on both sides , and as many were slain and still more wounded , the fortune of battle vacillated first one way then the other , being constantly swayed by the valorous deeds of the combatants ; but later as the horsemen pressed on from the flank and rear and Philip with the flower of his troops fought with true heroism , the mass of the Illyrians was compelled to take hastily to flight . When the pursuit had been kept up for a considerable distance and many had been slain in their flight , Philip recalled the Macedonians with the trumpet and erecting a trophy of victory buried his own dead , while the Illyrians , having sent ambassadors and withdrawn from all the Macedonian cities , obtained peace . But more than seven thousand Illyrians were slain in this battle . " The battle had cost the Dardanians 7 , 000 casualties , almost three quarters of their initial army . Bardyllis himself was probably killed in this battle as he rode on horseback at the advanced age of 90 . Although the Macedonians finally won the battle , Philip II saw that he was not able to follow the enemy and chase them . The Illyrians later sent representatives and settled terms for peace , releasing all the cities they had conquered from Macedonia . In this battle , the troubling issue of Lynkestia was solved , changing the situation in the western borders in favor of Macedonia . Philip secured Macedonians northwest frontier by annexing Dardanian territory as far as Lake Lynkcesta ( Lake Ohrid ) . This would form a defensive buffer against any future Illyrian raids attempted through the Drilon Valley . The borders between the Illyrian and the Macedonians remained around Lake Ohrid for a long time . Etymology . Some of 20th - century linguists have connected the name Bardyllis with Albanian " i bardhë " " white " , There is another opinion that connects the name Bardyllis with both Alb . " i bardhë " " white " and Alb . yll " star " , but according to Stuart Edward Mann , this last version is a folk etymology , which is based on the traditional equation .