Historic site
Apollonia
A Corinthian colony that became a Roman university town — Octavian was studying here when Caesar was killed.
In plain language
Three groups shaped ancient Albania: the Illyrians who lived here, the Greeks who built cities on the coast, and the Romans who took over and built the road east.
Simple explanation
Three groups shaped ancient Albania: the Illyrians who lived here, the Greeks who built cities on the coast, and the Romans who took over and built the road east.
The Illyrians
Groups of Indo-European-speaking peoples across the western Balkans from around 1100 BC. They had kingdoms, hill cities like Byllis and Amantia, and a maritime reputation that Rome described as piracy. Rome defeated King Gentius at Shkodra in 168 BC.
Whether modern Albanians descend from the Illyrians is a genuinely open scholarly question, widely asserted and not fully settled.
The Greek colonies
Corinth and Corcyra founded Epidamnos, now Durrës, in 627 BC, and Apollonia in 588 BC. These were substantial trading cities with theatres, temples and their own coinage. Butrint and Orikum were also Greek foundations.
Rome
After 168 BC the region became Roman Illyricum. Rome's decisive contribution was the Via Egnatia, the road that began at Durrës and Apollonia and ran east to Byzantium, making this coast the gateway between Italy and the eastern empire for a thousand years.
The amphitheatre at Durrës, the largest in the Balkans, dates from this period.
Where to see it
Butrint, Apollonia, Byllis, Antigonea, Amantia and the Durrës amphitheatre — all covered in detail on their own pages in this Atlas.
Connected subjects
These are real relationships in the Atlas — places that are near this one, and subjects it genuinely belongs with. Nothing here is a generic recommendation.
Related subjects
Historic site
Butrint
A Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman city layered on one wooded peninsula — Albania's first UNESCO site.
Historical period
The Illyrians
The Indo-European tribes of the western Balkans, and the ancestors most Albanians claim.
Historical period
Roman Illyricum
The Via Egnatia crossed here, making the coast Rome's gateway to Greece and the East.
Historical period
The Greek Colonies
Corinthian and Corcyraean foundations at Epidamnos, Apollonia and Orikum along the coast.
Guide
Archaeological Albania
Butrint, Apollonia, Byllis, Antigonea and Amantia — five sites that cover 2,500 years between them.
Sources
This page draws on the curated inventory only; no external source has been attached to it yet.
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