Before the year 229 the Illyrian tribe of Dassaretii had been under the rule of the Illyrian kingdom of the Ardiaei, and they controlled the mountain passes eastwards over the Pindus on the border with Macedon. The retreat to the north and in later times the destruction of the Illyrian kingdom highlighted numerous communities in southern Illyria - including the Dassaretii - that were organized in koina, as evidenced by historical sources, coins and epigraphic material.