Meanings
- An Illyrian nation that occupied the territory of present-day Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia from the 3rd century BC to 168 BC.
The Ardiaei were certainly also settled in the hinterland, along the Naro River at least as far as the Konjic region, where they bordered on the Autariatae, against whom they had fought over some inmportant salt-springs, as is known from Strabo
2005, Marjeta Šašel Kos, Appian and Illyricum, page 3202 more examples
Rome sent forces across the Adriatic in 229 and 219 to suppress intense piracy centered on the Illyrian tribe of the Ardiaei — and the political consequences were minimal. The Ardiaean monarchy, whose warships had caused serious trouble in the Straits of Otranto, was punished and greatly reduced in power; Rome also gained as informal 'friends' several Greek cities on the Illyrian coast and a couple of tribes a bit farther inland, all of which had been threatened by the Ardiaei.
2011, Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington, A Companion to Ancient Macedonia, page 228Athenaeus of Naucratis, in his work "The Dinner Sophists" […] mentions that Illyrian nation Ardiaei possessed 300,000 prospelatae, bondmen, “who are like Helots", dependent agricultural population of the Lacedaemonian state. According to Athenaeus, these prospects allow men Ardiaei to get drunk every day and have parties, and to be too uncontrollable in their penchant for eating and drinking.
2023, Salmedin Mesihović, Illyrian stories, page 3
Origin
From Ancient Greek Ἀρδιαῖοι (Ardiaîoi).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Ardiaei. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ardiaei
“Ardiaei.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ardiaei. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ardiaei,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ardiaei.
Source: Ardiaei on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.