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Chaonians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chaonians (Χάονες, Χαόνων, in Greek), were an ancient tribe of Chaonia, which covered the northwestern portion of Epirus. It is not known for certain whether they were Greek, Illyrian or members of the Old European Pelasgians. The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax does not include the Chaonians among the Illyrian tribes, but it does not specify whether or not they were a Greek people. On their central frontier lay another Epirote kingdom, that of the Molossians, to their southwest stood the kingdom of the Thesprotians, and to their north the lived the Illyrian tribes.
According to Strabo, the Chaonians, along with the Thesprotians and the Molossians, were the most famous among the fourteen tribes of Epirus, because they once ruled over the whole of Epirus. Plutarch [1] tells us that the Chaonians were one of the three principal clusters of Greek-speaking tribes that had emerged in Epirus, the other two being the Thesprotians and the Molossians, who were the most powerful among all other tribes in the region.
They were regarded as "uncivilized" by their neighbors and there are some clues that they knew little about cultivation and ate uncooked foods.[citation needed] They developed a governing system relying on an annually chosen leader. By the 5th century BC they were eventually conquered and had combined to a large degree with Thesprotians, Molossians and Illyrian peoples. The Chaonians were part of the League of Epirus until 170 BC when they were annexed into the Roman Empire.