The Adriatic-Ionian coastal zone of the Balkan Peninsula. Studies on contact and exchange between Greco-Illyrian East and Italic West in the Hellenistic period

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Frank Daubner
• Subject Area: Ancient History
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 454621246

The project focuses on the political, economic and social effects of the interdependence of the Adriatic and Ionian coasts in Hellenistic times. With the crossing of the Adriatic Sea by the Epirote king Pyrrhos and his army in the spring of 280 BC, a new era of antiquity began: the globalised Graeco-Roman antiquity. As a result of this failed enterprise, the Romans conquered the western Adriatic coast and developed into a naval power. Colonies were founded and ports expanded. Roman and Italian merchants became the main players in the integration of the Greek and Roman worlds. Illyrian tribes benefited in their own way from increasing traffic by turning to piracy. The project examines, on the one hand, the structural conditions of interdependence at the time of Pyrrhos, and, on the other hand, their impact on the economic development of westward orientated Greek and Illyrian tribes and cities, as well as on the social and family structure, in particular the position of women, in societies in which men sought their livelihood on the sea.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants