Gentius

Gentius
Coin of Gentius
Reign	181 – 168 BC
Predecessor	Pleuratus III
Successor	Ballaios (probable)
Died	after 167 BC Italy
Consort	Etuta
Dynasty	Labeatai[1]
Father	Pleuratus

Gentius (Ancient Greek: Γένθιος, "Génthios"; Albanian: Genti; fl. 181 – 168 BC) was an Illyrian king who belonged to the Labeatan dynasty.^[1] He ruled in 181–168 BC,^[1][2] being the last attested Illyrian king.^[3] He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept positive relations with Rome. The capital city of the Illyrian kingdom under Gentius was Scodra (now Shkodër, Albania).^[4]

In 180 BC, during his early reign, the Dalmatae and Daorsi declared themselves independent from his rule and the city of Rhizon abandoned him prior to his defeat, receiving immunity from the Romans.^[5] He married Etuta, the daughter of the Dardanian king Monunius II.^[6]

In 171 BC, Gentius was allied with the Romans against the Macedonians, but in 169 BC he changed sides and allied himself with Perseus of Macedon. The southernmost city of the Illyrian kingdom was Lissus (now Lezhë, Albania), a situation established since the First Illyrian War.^[7] He arrested two Roman legati, accusing them of not coming as emissaries but as spies. Gentius destroyed the cities of Apollonia and Epidamnos (Roman Dyrrachium, now Durrës, Albania), which were allied with Rome. In 168 BC, he was defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under L. Anicius Gallus, in only twenty or thirty days,^[3] and in 167 brought to Rome as a captive to participate in Gallus's triumph, after which he was interned in Iguvium. The date of his death is unknown. After his defeat, the Romans split the region into three administrative divisions,^[8] called meris.^[5] The extent of the first meris is not known, while the second was Labeates, and the third was Acruvium, Rhizon, Olcinium and their environs.^[9]