The Illyrians were a collection of tribal peoples inhabiting what is now the western Balkans and both sides of the Adriatic coast. Long exposure to Greek culture meant the armies of the Illyrian Kingdoms closest to Greece and Macedonia were not the usual untrained tribal forces, but constituted warriors with experience of fighting as mercenaries in the armies of the Greek world. The thureos shield is believed to have originated with the Illyrians with several scholars suggesting that the Illyrian warriors of the southern kingdoms may have been the inspiration for the thureophoroi that were widely adopted in Hellenistic armies. Rules and stats for these warriors can be found on page 43 of the Hail Caesar Army List: Biblical to Early Medieval supplement and the Southern Illyrian Kingdoms army list in The Pyrrhic Wars supplement.
