4522) "Teuta, Queen Regent for her minor son Pinnes" ruled Illyria from 231 to 227 BC, Bosnia & Herzegovina: Stamp issued by HP MOSTAR: "Myths and Flora Stamp Series: A postage Stamp of 4.80 BAM celebrates her legend: Date/Year of Stamp issue: 20.05.2026:
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About Myths and Flora:
Teuta (Illyrian: *Teutana, “mistress of the people, queen”:
After the death of the Illyrian King Agron, power was assumed by his wife Teuta, (after the passing away of her husband) and she ruled Illyria as Queen Regent from 231 to 227 BC in place of her minor stepson, Pinnes.
She continued Agron's policy of expansion in the Adriatic Sea, in the context of an ongoing conflict with the Roman Republic regarding the effects of Illyrian piracy on regional trade.
In 229 BC, she entered into a war with the Romans due to Illyrian piracy in the Adriatic.
There are many legends about Teuta and her courts.
Among other things, it is mentioned that she stayed on Šolta and Hvar, in Ploče, and in Jezero near Jajce.
In the Široki Brijeg area, it is said that King Agron had built her a summer residence in Borak near the source of the Lištica River, where the remains of a fortress can still be found today.
Also, one of the legends says that after her defeat, the queen retreated to the fortress of Rhizon (Risan in the Bay of Kotor).
The conflict with the Romans:
The death of one of the Roman ambassadors at the hands of Illyrian pirates gave Rome the occasion to declare war against her in 229 BC.
In 229 BC, Rome declared war on Illyria and, for the first time, the Roman armies crossed the Adriatic Sea to set foot in the western Balkans.
An army consisting of approximately 20,000 troops, 200 cavalry units and an entire Roman fleet of 200 ships, led by Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus and Lucius Postumius Albinus, was sent to conquer Illyria.
The Roman attack seems to have caught Teuta by surprise, since she had ordered a large naval expedition involving most of her ships against the Greek colony of Corcyra in the winter of 229.
When the 200 Roman ships arrived at Corcyra, Teuta's governor Demetrius betrayed her and surrendered the city to the Romans, before turning into their advisor for the remaining time of the war.
At the end of the conflict in 228 BC, the Romans awarded him the position of governor of Pharos and the adjacent coasts.
In the meantime, the remainder of the Roman army landed further north at Apollonia.
The combined army and navy proceeded northward together. After subduing one town after another, they eventually besieged the capital, Scodra.
Teuta herself had retreated with a few followers to the fortified and strategically well-placed city of Rhizon, the principal base of the Illyrian fleet.
Biographical details on the life of Teuta are biased by the fact that the surviving ancient sources, which were written by Greek and Roman authors, were generally hostile to Illyrians and their queen.
There are two versions of what happened next:
According to Polybius, she made a treaty in the early spring of 228 BC by which she consented to pay an annual tribute, to reign over a restricted and narrow region north of Lissus (modern Lezhë), and not to sail beyond Lissus with more than two unarmed ships.
She surrendered after losing the First Illyrian War in 228.
Teuta had to relinquish the southern parts of her territory and pay a tribute to Rome but was eventually allowed to keep a realm confined to an area north of Lissus, modern day Lezhë, Albania.
A second version mentions that:
Surrounded by Roman forces and unwilling to fall into their hands, she chose death by jumping from a cliff above Risan.
Sopot - a spring flower which bears her name:
From the cave that bears her name flows Sopot, a spring that appears only twice a year, which according to legend was created from Teuta's tears shed while watching the Romans conquer her kingdom.
Groves of wild oleander, called "Queen Teuta's flowers", grow in Risan. Legend says that they were brought to this region by Teuta's warriors who protected the fortress.
They coated the tips of their arrows with the poisonous juice of the oleander (called “zlojesina”), which caused coma and death.
The Stamp:
Technical details:
Issue Date: 20.05.2026
Designer: Vlado Kraljević
Printer:AKD d.o.o. Zagreb
Size: 29,82 x 35,50 mm
Values: 4,80 BAM
