Taulantii

Taulantii (Greek: Ταυλάντιοι) was the name of a cluster^[1] of Illyrian tribes. According to Greek mythology Taulas (Tαύλας), one of the six sons of Illyrius, was the eponymous ancestor of the Taulanti.^[2] They lived on the Adriatic coast of Illyria (modern Albania), between to the vicinity^[3] of the city of Epidamnus (modern Durrës). This tribe played an important role in Illyrian history of the 4th-3rd centuries BC,when King Glaukias (335 BC- 302 BC) ruled over them. This tribe had become bilingual being under the effects of an early Hellenisation.

References

1. ^ The Cambridge ancient history,Tome 6 by John Boardman, ISBN 0521850738, 1994, page 423
2. ^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, III, 1.2
3. ^ Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, 1.24.1, "The city of Epidamnus stands on the right of the entrance of the Ionic gulf. Its vicinity is inhabited by the Taulantians, an Illyrian people. The place is a colony from Corcyra, founded by Phalius, son of Eratocleides, of the family of the Heraclids, who had according to ancient usage been summoned for the purpose from Corinth, the mother country..."