Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 44
Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D., Ed.

30. By now spring was beginning¹ and the new commanders arrived in the field, the consul Aemilius in Macedonia, Octavius with the fleet at Oreüs, and in the region of Illyria, Anicius, whose task was the campaign against Gentius.² [2] This king, the son of Pleuratus, king of the Illyrians, and Eurydice, had two brothers, Plator, a full brother, and Caravantius, born of the same mother. [3] The latter Gentius suspected less because of the obscurity of his father, but the king killed Plator and two friends of his, Ettritus and Epicadus, energetic men, for the greater security of his reign. [4] The rumour was that he envied his brother his betrothal to Etuta, daughter of Monunius the chieftain of the Dardani, since by this marriage Plator would secure the support of the Dardani; and Gentius made this really very probable by marrying the girl after the murder of Plator. [5] Once the fear of his brother was removed, Gentius began to be oppressive to his people, and the violence innate in his character was inflamed by overuse of wine. [6] However, when he had been stirred up to fight the Romans, as has been related above, he collected all his forces at Lissus. These were fifteen thousand men. [7] From there he sent his brother with [p. 189]a thousand infantry and fifty cavalry to subdue the³ tribe of the Cavii either by force or threats, while he himself advanced from Lissus five miles to the city of Bassania. [8] The inhabitants were allied to the Romans; and so when overtures were made by messengers sent ahead of Gentius, they preferred to stand siege rather than to surrender. [9] As Caravantius arrived among the Cavii, the town of Durnium received him hospitably; Caravandis, another city, shut him out; and while he was ravaging their territory far and wide, a few scattered soldiers were killed by the rallying farmers. [10] By now Appius Claudius too had added auxiliaries of the Bullini and the citizens of Apollonia and Dyrrachium to the army he had with him, and had set out from winter quarters to a camp by the Genusus River, since he had heard of the treaty between Perseus and Gentius and was incensed by the mistreatment of the molested envoys, so that he was bent on campaigning against Gentius. [11] About this time Anicius the praetor heard at Apollonia of affairs in the region of Illyria, and sending ahead orders to Appius to wait for him at the Genusus, he himself arrived in camp in three days. [12] He added to the auxiliaries he had two thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry of the young men of the Parthini —Epicadus commanded the infantry, Algalsus the cavalry —and made ready to march into the region of Illyria, especially in order to relieve the siege of Bassania. His urgency was restrained by a rumour of scout-ships ravaging the coast. [13] There were eighty of these ships, sent by Gentius at the suggestion of Pantauchus to plunder [p. 191]the territory of Dyrrachium and Apollonia. [14] Then a⁴ fleet at . . .⁵ . . . they surrendered.

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