Ballaios
| Ballaios | |
|---|---|
| King Balaios | |
Bronze coin of Ballaios.
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| Reign | 167 BC–135 BC |
| Predecessor | Gentius (probable) |
| Ancient Greek | Βαλλαῖος |
Ballaios (Ancient Greek: Βαλλαῖος; ruled c.167–c.135 BC) or (c.195–c.175 BC) was an Illyrian king of the Ardiaei. Ballaios was not mentioned by any ancient writers. Ballaios was a powerful and influential king testified by the abundance of his silver and bronze coinage found along both coasts of the Adriatic.
His silver issues are rare, but bronze coins (without the royal title) occur on Hvar, both in single finds and in hoards, and at Rhizon in a different series bearing the royal title. The coins of Ballaios were widely imitated in the region, sometimes so crudely that they are unintelligible.
Ballaios reigned from his capital at Rhizon. a strong and well fortified city. The dating of his reign has been much disputed but he seems to have ruled after the defeat of Gentius in 168 BC, by the Romans. Ballaios is also known as Ballaeus.
Ballaios was not mentioned by any ancient writers, of his time or those of later eras. Balaois was a king attested on coins found on both coasts of the Adriatic. Hence had he been documented y Polybius or Livy, he would have no doubt been called an 'Illyrian king'. He is currently interpreted as an Illyrian ruler documented solely of his coins. Whilst the abundance of his coinage in the region would suggest that he was a very influential figure there is no literary or historical evidence of his existence. The coins of the well-known Illyrian king Gentius are scarce in comparison to the coins of Ballaios. Ballaios appears to have ruled at Queen Teuta's old stronghold, Rhizon (now Risan). At the time the region was part of the Roman republic and the Ardiaean State had been dissolved since the time of Gentius.
Accoriding to the opinion of the majority of modern scholars, he inherited the Ardiaean State of Gentius after 168 BC. Ballaios might have been related to the Roman campaign against the Delmatae in 156 BC, and even taken part in the wars. Ballaios seems to have had a conflict with Pharos or an Illyrian dynast after 168 BC. Such assumptions seemed to some scholars to fing confirmation in Livy's narrative concerning the Third Illyrian War. Livy mentions that after his defeat Gentius sent two envoys from among the prominent tribal leaders as ambassadors to Rom to negotiate with the Roman L. Anicius. The names of these ambassadors were Teuticus and Bellus, and the historian Hasan Ceka hypothesized that the name of Bellus might have been an incorrect transcription for Bllaios. Ceka's proposal was accepted by many historians. Although from the linguistic point of view this identification is very problematic. The argument would not carry much weight even if the envoy were called Ballaios. The Romans annihilated the Ardiaean State and founded three administrative regions in which there was no place for a king so an envoy could not have inherited the throne.
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