Atintanians

The suffix -anes is quite typical in north-western Doric Greek and is found in several ethnonyms in Epirus (Arktanes, Athamanes, Talaianes etc.) but is also found in other Greek regions apart from Epirus.{{harvnb|Filos|2017|p=240}} A. J. Toynbee argues that the suffix -anes perhaps suggests that the name Atintanes may have been of Greek origin.{{harvnb|Toynbee|1969|p=113|ps=: "If the coins from the lower Strymon region that bear the name “ Tyntenoi ' 2 are authentic, they give us a second correspondence between an ethnikon in the lower Strymon basin and one in Epirus, where we find the Atintanes in between the Parauaioi and the Khaones If the Odomantoi-Athamanes and the Tyntenoi-Atintanes were, in truth, each a fracture Paeonian people whose original unity is attested, in either case, by the survival of an identical name, we can account for this by supposing that, in the course of the course of the post - Mycenaean Völkerwanderung, both these Paeonian peoples were split, by impacts from the rear, somewhere in the basin of the River Morava, with the result that their eastern splinters were driven down the Strymon valley, while their western splinters were pushed away to the Adriatic side of the continental divide (..) However, before accepting Kiechers' interpretation of the name 'Atintanes' in terms of Greek, we should have to satisfy ourselves that it was not an Illyrian name but was a Greek one (as its termination -anes perhaps suggests that it may have been)}} He also states that they gave the Greeks their name for the Titanes, a race of giants in mythology.{{sfn|Toynbee|1969|p=112|ps=: "The authentic Epirot rivers Acheron and Kokytos were translated to the Greek Hades; an authentic Epirot people, the Atintanes, gave the Greeks their name for a mythical race of giants, the Titanes (titans)"}} Toynbee has linked their name to the tribal ethnikon Tyntenoi attested in coinage and inscriptions, while N.G.L Hammond has argued that it is linked to the Illyrian Atintani as according to him Tyntenoi is an Ionic form of Atintani.{{sfn|Hammond|1989|p=12}} The ending -anes in Doric Greek (-enes in Ionic) is a typical feature in the name of various Doric tribes that participated in the migrations of the Greek Dark Ages (1100-800 B.C.) with many of them originating from Epirus.{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |year=1977 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-08691-2 |page=701 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1TmVvMwmo4C&pg=PA701 |language=en}}

According to Filos (2017), there is an overall consensus in scholarship that the Greek-speaking population of Epirus, including the Atintanes, spoke a Northwestern Doric variety similar to that spoken by several neighbouring peoples of central and western Greece. Papamichail (2020) states that a number of variation existed in the speech of those tribes nevertheless their language was based on Doric Greek.{{cite thesis |last1=Papamichail |first1=Pantelis |title=Η γεωγραφική ποικιλότητα στην εκπαίδευση: Στάσεις των φιλολόγων του νομού Άρτας αναφορικά με τη χρήση της τοπικής γλωσσικής ποικιλίας στο σχολικό περιβάλλον |date=2020 |url=https://apothesis.eap.gr/bitstream/repo/47029/1/504338_%CE%A0%CE%91%CE%A0%CE%91%CE%9C%CE%99%CE%A7%CE%91%CE%97%CE%9B%20%CE%A0%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%A4%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%97%CE%A3.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223045920/https://apothesis.eap.gr/bitstream/repo/47029/1/504338_%CE%A0%CE%91%CE%A0%CE%91%CE%9C%CE%99%CE%A7%CE%91%CE%97%CE%9B%20%CE%A0%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%A4%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%97%CE%A3.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 23, 2022 |access-date=23 December 2020 |quote=Η δωρική διάλεκτος θα μπορούσε να χαρακτηριστεί ως η «πρότυπη γλώσσα» της περιοχής εμφανίζοντας όμως γλωσσικές διαφοροποιήσεις οι οποίες ήταν απόρροια της διάσπασης των κατοίκων της Ηπείρου σε φύλα }} N. G. L. Hammond (1977), who proposed the existence of two distinct homonymous tribes – the Epirotic Atintanes and the Illyrian Atintani, stated that the Epirotic Atintanes spoke Greek at least from the time of the Dorian invasion as the rest of the Doric tribes that share the common suffix -anes in their name.{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |date=1977 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-08691-2 |pages=701–703 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1TmVvMwmo4C&pg=PA701 |language=en |quote=One feature which the Dorians and the western wing of the invasion shared is the ethnic termination -anes (-enes in the Ionian dialect). We noted that in the Achaean Catalogue the only tribes with this termination were the Enienes, later Aenianes, Cephallenes and Hellenes, and that they all had then or probably had had in the past connections with Epirus... In addition it was found in classical times in Epirus, where there were tribes called Athamanes, Atintanes, Arctanes and Taleanes, and the earliest names of district in Epirus - Adania and Cammania - are related to such ethnic forms. It therefore follows that the group of peoples from whom the invaders came was not drained completely, and that the tribes of classical times with the termination -anes were either of Greek blood or at least of Greek dialect at the time when the invasion was launched.}} Marjeta Šašel Kos (2005) has argued that the Atintanes spoke a language similar to other southern Illyrian tribes which acquired a certain degree of Hellenization through contact with their Greek neighbours,{{harvnb|Šašel Kos|2005|p=226|ps=: "The history of Illyricum is divided into several sharply differing phases, of which the first, lasting to the collapse of the Illyrian kingdom, may be explained in terms of (varying) alliances of tribes and peoples of common or similar ethnic background, speaking similar languages . No doubt various southern Illyrian peoples such as the Atintanes, Bylliones, Taulantii, Parthini, Bryges, and others acquired a certain degree of Hellenization, both on account of the common borde with Epirus and the nearness of Greek colonies along the coast.."}} she also argued (2002) that they were conceivably closely associated in terms of language with those tribes.

The Atintanes are mentioned in classical antiquity by Thucydides (2.80.6), Pseudo-Skylax (26), Pseudo-Aristotle (Mir. 833a 9), Lycophron (Alexandra 1042–1046), Polybius (2.5; 11.11; 7.9.13), Strabo (7.7.8 Baladié), Livy (27.30.13; 29.12.13; 45.30.7), Appian (Illyrike 7–8), Polyaenus (4.11.4), Stephanus of Byzantium (s.v. Ἀτιντάνία) and on a 4th-century B.C. inscription from Dodona (SGDI 1336). They are reported on the above ancient sources in the historical context of the Peloponnesian War, the Roman-Illyrian Wars, the first Roman-Macedonian War, and the 167 BC Roman settlement of Macedonia.{{sfn|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=45}}[http://epigraphy.packhum.org/inscriptions/oi?ikey=304735&bookid=748®ion=4&subregion=10 Lamelles Oraculaires 161]

Thucydides (5th century BC), describing the Acarnanian campaign of 429 B.C., lists the Epirote forces; among them the Atintantes, as well as the Chaones, Thesprotians, Molossians, Paravaii, and Orestae, as "barbarians" living north-west from the Greek lands.{{sfn|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=43}}{{harvnb|Cabanes|1988|pp=27–28}}. They are listed along with the Molossians under the same commander, one Sabylinthos.{{harvnb|Jaupaj|2019|p=83}} Thucydides depicts a clear distinction between the Hellenic contingents and the barbarian forces, while Macedonian troops are mentioned immediately after the list of the barbarian forces.{{harvnb|Hall|2001|p=160|ps=: "Thucydides (2.99.3) appears to accept the Hellenic descent of the Macedonian rulers but not of their subjects. In describing the Acarnanian campaign of 429 B.C. he draws a clear distinction between the Hellenic contingents from Ambracia, Leucas, Anactorium, and the Peloponnese and the barbarian forces of the Chaones, Thesproti, Molossi, Atintanes, Paravaii, and Orestae; Perdiccas’s Macedonian forces are mentioned immediately after the enumeration of the barbarian troops (2.80.5 6)."}} It has been suggested that the Atintanes are mentioned as "barbarians" not in the sense that their culture, customs or behavior were in diametrical opposition to Greek norms but rather because of their seemingly more primitive way of life marked them as "failed Greeks".{{harvnb|Hall|2001|p=172|ps=: "When we add to this evidence Thucydides ' description of the Aetolians “ settled in scattered, unfortified villages ” (3 . 94 . 4) or his pseudo-ethnographic portrayal of the Aetolian Eurytanes, who "are apparently incomprehensible in their speech and eaters of raw meat" it soon becomes apparent that in his description of the Acarnanian campaign (see above) the Chaones, Thesproti, Atintanes, Paravaaii, and Orestae are "barbarian" not in the sense that their culture, customs, or behavior are in direct, diametrical opposition to Greek norms but rather in the sense that their seemingly more primitive way of life makes them Hellenes manqués."}} The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax (4th century BC) locates the Atintanes inland in contact with the Amantes and the Chaonians to their west and the area of Idonia (by some authors interpreted as Dodonia) to their south.{{cite book |last1=Shipley |first1=Graham |title=Pseudo-Skylax's Periplous: The Circumnavigation of the Inhabited World: Text, Translation and Commentary |date=14 December 2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-78962-091-7 |pages=62, 114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4trBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA249 |language=en}}{{harvnb|Jaupaj|2019|p=85|ps=:Un témoignage important, car bien documenté et fiable, est celui du Pseudo–Skylax qui situe aussi les Atintanes à l’intérieur des terres, en contact avec les Amantes et les Chaones à l’ouest, et jusqu’à Dodone de l’autre côté}} The poem Alexandra by Lycophron (3rd century BC) locates the land of the Atintanes near the city of Amantia,{{harvnb|Castiglioni|2003|p=876|ps=: "Di lui, probabilmente rifecendosi a una variante della leggenda diffusa nella nativa Calcide, racconta Licofrone, nella sua Alessandra, ai versi 1034-1046. Con linguaggio piuttosto oscuro, egli narra della fuga di Elefenore dall’isola di Otrono, isoletta a nord di Corcira, dove, insieme agli Abanti si era rifugiato dopo il conflitto troiano, e del suo stanziarsi presso il paese degli Atintani, verso la città di Amantia lungo le rive del fiume Polianto, l’attuale Shushica."}} which corresponds to the hinterland of Apollonia.{{harvnb|Jaupaj|2019|pp=84–85|ps=: "Dans tous les cas, on voit que l’Atintanie est traditionnellement située entre la Chaonie au sud, les Dassarètes à l’est et au nord-est et le territoire d’Apollonia à l’ouest. L’indication d’un peuple limitrophe avec les Apolloniates tout au long du IVe siècle av. J.-C. est renforcée par les témoignages du Pseudo Aristote et de Lycrophron à propos de l’arrière-pays d’Apollonia :"}} Strabo (1st century BC – 1st century AD) based on Hecateus' account (6th century BC) listed them among the fourteen Epirote tribes,{{harvnb|Cabanes|1988|p=230}}. drawing a border between them and the Illyrians to the north.{{cite journal |last=Parzinger |first=Hermann |title= Archäologisches zur Frage der Illyrer|journal=Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission |year=1992 |publisher=Philipp Von Zabern |page=241 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oPdnAAAAMAAJ |language=de |quote=Die erste Nennung der Atintaner fallt ebenfalls in das 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr.: Als Bundesgenossen der epirotischen Molosser erscheinen sie in deren Zug gegen Akarnanien (429 v. Chr.). Spatere Quellen wesen sie als nordliche Nachbarn der Molosser aus; sie bewohnen die Atintania, einen Gau im Nordwestern von Epirus... allerdings im Hinterland der Küste (Abb . 14) 103 . Strabon rechnet sie nicht mehr zu den Illyriern, sondern führt sie unter den epirotischen Stämmen an. ...gelten als nordliche Nachbarn der epirotischen Chaoner, Molosser und Atintaner (Abb 16) "}}

According to Livy (1st century BC – 1st century AD) Atintania formed part of Upper Macedonia in terms of Roman administration. Upper Macedonia was located next to Illyria and Epirus, however part of Atinania was certainly found inside Epirus.{{cite book |last1=Fox |first1=Robin J. |last2=Fox |first2=Robin Lane |title=Brill's Companion to Ancient Macedon: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC - 300 AD |date=22 June 2011 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-20650-2 |page=95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kjLPBsB2dIkC |language=en |quote=Referring to Roman administration of Macedonia... bounded by Illyria and Epirus. Certinaly part of Atintania and the area regrded as Dassaretis belonged to Epirus.}} Appian (2nd century AD) is the only ancient author that specifically refers to the tribe of the Atintani (not Atintanes) using the ethnonym "Illyrian".{{sfn|Šašel Kos|2005|p=276|ps= "The Atintanes: Appian is also the only one to mention the Illyrian Atintani (sic, not Atintanes) who, ...}} Hatzopoulos states that this appears in reference to their political situation due to their annexation by Illyrian rulers as already explained by P. Cabanes (1986).{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2020|page=46|ps= "Appian's (III. 7-8) use of the ethnic "Illyrian" for the Atintanes has been explained away as referring to their political situation after their annexation by Illyrian rulers (Cabanes 1986), 82"}} Šašel Kos (2005) has argued that Appian may be in agreement with Pseudo-Scylax, who included the Atintanes among the Illyrian peoples, barbarians, located to the north of Chaonia.{{harvnb|Šašel Kos|2005|p=276|ps=: "Appian specifically referred to the Atintani as an Illyrian people, which may be in accordance with the data in Pseudo-Scylax (...). The author of the Periplus distinguished between the Illyrian peoples, barbarians, to the north of Chaonia, i.e. the Bulini, ..., Atintanes, and Amantini, while others, i.e. the Chaones, ..., and Molossi, whom he did not identify in terms of their ethnicity, inhabited the regions to the south of Chaonia, were living in villages, while Greece began at the Greek polis of Ambracia (c . 33) . In the Periplous, the Atintanes were located in the regions extending above Oricum and reaching towards Dodona (c .26).}} In the lexicon "Ethnika" of Stephanus of Byzantium (6th century AD), Atintania appears as a region of Macedonia, named after Atintan, a son of Makednos in the version of Lycaon.{{harvnb|Mallios|2011|p=134}}. The tradition of an eponymous Atintan, as the son of Makednos, was probably created during the reign of Philip V of Macedon (238–179 BC) in order to tighten the connection between the Macedonian authorities and Atintanians.{{harvnb|Mallios|2011|p=134}}

There is no consensus in current scholarship on the origin and precise location of the Atintanes.{{sfn|Mesihović|Šačić|2015|p=44|ps=: "Kao najjužniji ilirski narod Pseudo – Skilaks spominje Atintane. Porijeklo ovog naroda još uvijek u nauci nije riješeno jer ih Tukidid povezuje sa Mološanima odnosno Epiranima."}}{{verify source|date=December 2020}}{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=45|ps=: "In spite of the relatively numerous citations, there has been no consensus on the location of Atintania."}} Modern scholarship mentions the Atintanes either as one of the various Epirote tribes or in connection with the Illyrians.{{harvnb|Mallios|2011|p=133|ps= "Άλλοι τους κατατάσσουν στα ποικιλώνυμα ηπειρωτικά φύλα, άλλοι τους συνδέουν με τους Ιλλυριούς"}}. They also appear sometimes as Epirotes and other times as Macedonians, based on which neighbouring state gained control of their area.

In the early 20th century, M. Holleaux sketched Atintania on the middle valley of the Aoos.{{sfn|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=46}} P. Lévêque located the Atintanes on the middle valley of the Aoos similarly to Holleaux, but he also included the valley of the Drino.{{sfn|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=46}} A. J. Toynbee located the Atintanes in Epirus, between the Chaonians and the Parauaioi;{{harvnb|Toynbee|1969|p=101|ps=: "If the coins from the lower Strymon region that bear the name "Tyntenoi" are authentic, they give us a second correspondence between an ethnikon in the lower Strymon basin and one in Epirus, where we find the Atintanes in between the Parauaioi and the Khaones.}} according to him they were an authentic Epirote people.{{sfn|Toynbee|1969|p=112|ps=: "The authentic Epirot rivers Acheron and Kokytos were translated to the Greek Hades; an authentic Epirot people, the Atintanes, gave the Greeks their name for a mythical race of giants, the Titanes (titans)"}} H. Kreissig (1984) stressed that they were among the Epirote tribes in contrast to the Illyrian Parthini.{{cite book |last1=Kreissig |first1=Heinz |title=Geschichte des Hellenismus |year=1984 |publisher=Akademie-Verlag |isbn=978-3-88436-140-5 |page=118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HULAAAAIAAJ |language=de|quote=Das Gebiet der Parthinen, eines sudillyrischen Stammes (im heutigen Albanien), und das der Atintanen, enies mit den Epiroten verwandern Stammes}} Martin Nilsson (1986) considers them as an Epirote tribe of [ancient] north-western Greece.{{Cite book|last=Nilsson|first=Martin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g7UwDwAAQBAJ|title=Mycenaean Origin of Greek Mythology|date=1983-09-16|publisher=Univ of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-05073-0|pages=98|language=en}}

F. Papazoglou and Pierre Cabanes stated that there was only one tribe with the name Atintanians and that the area they inhabited was located in the mountain ranges between the Aous (Vjosë) and the Apsus (Osum) rivers.{{harvnb|Cabanes|1988|pp=62|ps=: “En commençant par le Sud, les premières populations qui voisinent avec les Épirotes sont les Atintanes, et ce ne sont pas les plus simples à situer sur le terrain; il suffit de voir les problèmes qu’ils ont suscités à N. G. L. Hammond qui en arrive à multiplier les Atintanes en distinguant une Atintania épirote d’une Atintanis, qu’il place, d’abord, au Nord d’Elbasan dans la région appelée Çermenikë […]. J’ai repris l’ensemble des témoignages existant sur les Atintanes, et je ne reprendrai pas ici la démonstration, me limitant à en donner les conclusions et en me réjouissant que, dans une recherche parallèle, F. Papazoglou soit arrivée à des résultats identiques. L’Atintanie est située dans la zone de collines qui s’étend sur la rive droite de l’Aoos dans la Mallakastra, au Nord de Tepelen et peut-être jusque dans la région de Skrapar.”}}{{harvnb|Wilkes|1995|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4Nv6SPRKqs8C&dq=Atintanes&pg=PA96 97]|ps=: "Another view locates Atintanes among the hills on the right bank of the Aous in the Mallakastra north of Tepelen and perhaps as far as the area of Skrapar.}} Cabanes (1988) located Atintania in a region between Byllis and Dassaretis, without the Drino valley, and considered them the southernmost Illyrian people, on the border with Epirus.{{sfn|Castiglioni|2003|p=876|ps=: "P. Cabanes (...) ritiene che essi siano la prima popolazione illirica partendo da sud, ai confini con l’Epiro. L’Atintania sarebbe situata nella zona collinare che si estende sulla riva destra dell’Aoos nella Mallakastra, a nord di Tepelenë e forse fino alla regione di Skrapar. Il testo di Licofrone sembrerebbe del resto far riferimento a quest’area."}}{{sfn|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=46}}

According to M.B. Hatzopoulos, the Atintanes, together with the Chaonians constitute the northernmost Epirote community. Hatzopoulos considers that to their north, and between them and the Parthini, Taulantians and the (Illyrian) Dassaretii, existed a mixed zone; though part of Illyria, according to him it was a cultural extension of Greek speaking Epirus.{{harvnb|Wilkes|1995|p=217|ps=: "Unable to accept Hammond's duality, Hatzopoulos presumes an error on the part of Polyaenus (based on Hieronymus of Cardia) who would have been ignorant of local geography. Along with the Chaones, the Atintanes will have been the most northerly of the Epirote communities. On the north, between them and the Parthini, Taulantians and the real Illyrian Dassareatii, existed a mixed zone as a part of Illyria but culturally an extension of Greek - speaking Epirus ."}} C. Habicht (1995) considered Atintania an Illyrian region.{{harvnb|Habicht|1997|pp=198–199|ps=: "Deserted by its Aetolian allies, Rome had been forced to make major concessions in the treaty, such as ceding to Philip the Illyrian region of Atintania. The Romans saw this not as compromise, but as humiliation." p. 198: "Atintania (Illyria), 198".}} S. Thiry (2001) listed the Atintanes among the Epirotes.{{harvnb|Thiry|2001|p=73|ps=: "des Epirotes (Chaones, Thesprotes, Molosses, et Atintanes)"}} T. J. Winnifrith (2002) associated the diverse positions of Atintanes reported in ancient accounts with peaceful transhumans activity, but he also stated that two tribes with a similar name may have existed. He also classifies the Atitanians among the Epirote tribes.{{harvnb|Winnifrith|2002|pp=46, 213|ps=: "Peaceful transhumance rather than warlike raids may have caused some tribes to move. We have referred to the problem of the Atintanes and the Parauaei. The Atintanes marching with the Molossians would seem to live in Greek Epirus, but we also find Atintani in the Albanian coastal plain. Vlach shepherds before the First World War used to journey from one district to the other, but there may be two tribes with similar names ... Atintanes, Epirote tribe"}} Sasel Kos (2002) included the Atintanians among the most outstanding Illyrian peoples who conceivably were closely related with each other in terms of culture, institutions and language.{{harvnb|Šašel Kos|2002|p=117|ps=: "The Illyrian peoples, mentioned in the sources in which the events concerning the Illyrian kingdom are narrated – to name the most outstanding – are the Taulantii, Atintani, Parthini, Enchelei, Penestae, Dassaretii, Ardiaei, Labeates, and the Daorsi. All of these peoples were conceivably more or less closely related in terms of culture, institutions and language. Many of them may have had their own kings, some of whom attained great power and actively took part in the struggle for power in the Hellenistic world. The name “Illyrian” must have carried enough prestige at the time of the rise of the Ardiaean dynasty within the Illyrian kingdom that it was imposed at a later date, when the Romans conquered Illyria and the rest of the Balkans, as the official name of the future provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia."}} She placed them somewhere in the hinterland of Epidamnus and south of it though she argued that the location of the Atintanians is not certain.

{{harvnb|Šašel Kos|2002|p=107|ps=: "...and their capital must have been located somewhere in south - western Illyria, perhaps they were the Taulantii, but possibly also the Atintanes somewhere in the hinterland of Epidamnus and south of it or the Parthini in the Shkumbi valley, depending on the more or less advanced stage of hostilities between the two kingdoms. ... However, the location of the Atintani is not certain and there are two main hypotheses concerning their identification as one people or two different peoples, one the Atintani and the other the Atintanes : Cabanes, L ' Épire (n . 4), 78 - 81 and passim, argues for the first hypothesis (seemingly more probable), while the second has been advocated by N . G . L . Hammond, » The Illyrian Atintani, the Epirotic Atintanes and the Roman Protectorate «, JRS 79, 1989, 11 - 25 .}} M.P. Castiglioni (2003) considered that the area suggested by Cabanes would seem in accordance with the data from Lycophron, and for a more in-depth analysis on the location she referred the reader to Hatzopoulos (1993).{{harvnb|Castiglioni|2003|p=876|ps=: "P. Cabanes (...) ritiene che essi siano la prima popolazione illirica partendo da sud, ai confini con l’Epiro. L’Atintania sarebbe situata nella zona collinare che si estende sulla riva destra dell’Aoos nella Mallakastra, a nord di Tepelenë e forse fino alla regione di Skrapar. Il testo di Licofrone sembrerebbe del resto far riferimento a quest’area. Per un’analisi più approfondita sulla questione, cfr. M. Hatzopoulos, ...1993..."}} The collective work Index du bulletin épigraphique, 1987 - 2001 (2005) published by the Association des études grecques and Universite de Paris IV, Sorbonne classifies Atintantes as an Epirote tribe though their precise location is a matter of dispute.{{cite book |last1=Aneziri |first1=Sophia |last2=Giannakopoulos |first2=N. |last3=Paschidis |first3=Paschalis |title=Index du bulletin épigraphique, 1987 - 2001: II. Les mots grecs |date=2005 |pages=81, 460 |publisher=Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, National Hellenic Research Foundation |isbn=9789607905246 |url=http://helios-eie.ekt.gr/EIE/handle/10442/99 |access-date=26 January 2021 |quote=Atintanes, ethnos épirote; Atintanie dans l'lllyrie ou Epire?}} Kirgin (2006) located Atintania on the area to the east of Apollonia and he mentioned the Atintanes as an Illyrian tribe.{{sfn|Kirigin|2006|p=142|ps=: After the battle at Medion, Atintania, the section to the east of Apollonia, became a part of Agron' s state, while Epirus and Acarnania left the Aetolian league and joined Agron." p. 144: "It appears that Polybius did not give a full review of events after the war operations, as Appian noted (Ill. 7-8) that the minor Pinnes (not mentioned at all by Polybius) was allowed to retain his kingdom, excluding Corcyra, Pharos, Issa, and Epidamnus, and the Illyrian tribe of the Atintanes, and that if he adhered to the agreement, the Senate "will consider him their friend", while Demetrius ..."}} M. Dieterle (2007) considered that Atintania was part of Epirus, and together with Chaonia and Parauaea comprised the northern Epirote tribal region.{{cite book |last1=Dieterle |first1=Martina |title=Dodona: religionsgeschichtliche und historische Untersuchungen zur Entstehung und Entwicklung des Zeus-Heiligtums |year=2007 |publisher=G.Olms |isbn=978-3-487-13510-6 |pages=8–9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiwbAAAAYAAJ&q=%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B1 |language=de |quote=Epirus gliedert sich in drei Regionen : Nord -, Zentral - und Südepirus . Die Stammesgebiete von Nordepirus (Chaonia, Atintania un Parauaia) liegen in heutigen Albanien, wahrend sich Zentral- und Sudepirus in die Stammesgebiete Molossis (um den See von Ioannina), Thesprotia (an der Kuste sudlich des Thyamis und um den Acheron) und Kassopeia (sudwestlicher Teil von Epirus) austeilen lassen.}} Stocker (2009) notes that

Pseudo-Scylax recorded the Atintanes as a tribe dwelling in the hinterland and to the south of Apollonia, inland from the coast, and that he mentioned no tribe in the immediate proximity of the apoikia. According to her there is no evidence about Cabanes' view that Atintanes controlled the Myzeqe plain and Apollonia.{{harvnb|Stocker|2009|p=212|ps=: "He mentioned no tribe in the immediate vicinity of the apoikia, information that he did record for Epidamnus, which he specifically placed in the land of the Taulantii. Pseudo-Scylax did, however, record that the Atintanes lived inland from the coast, in the hinterland and to the south of Apollonia. [...] Cabanes 1976 argues that Apollonia itself and the Myzeqe plain were controlled by the Atintania, but there is no evidence for this."}} Stocker also questions the claim about their inclusion in a southern Illyrian koinon; commenting on the suggestion concerning a koinon that included three proposed Illyrian tribes (the Atintanes, the Bylliones and the Amantes), Stocker argues that the proposed Illyrian koinon was more likely limited in size to the southern, non-Greek speaking area of Illyria that did not include Epirus, since the latter was Greek speaking.{{harvnb|Stocker|2009|pp=213–214|ps=: "A late 3rd century B.C. inscription at Dodona mentions a "Koinon of the Bylliones."759 This information led Ceka to propose the existence of an Illyrian federated state known as the "Koinon of the Bylliones." He contends that the confederation was composed of three Illyrian tribes: the Bylliones, the Amantes, and the Atintani.760 According to Ceka, the federation was founded before the arrival of the Greeks, and the territory controlled by its member tribes included all of southern Illyria, which extended beyond the modern day Albanian/Greek border into Epirus.761 ... Additionally, it is unlikely that the Illyrian koinon ever encompassed as large a territory as Ceka proposes. It more probably was restricted in extent to the southern, non-Greek speaking portion of Illyria, which does not include Epirus. 764 Epirus was Greek speaking.}}

According to Burton (2011) the Atintani were located in the Illyrian interior.{{sfn|Burton|2011|p=236|ps=: "However, the same cannot be said of the sequel: when Philip attacked Rome's surrendered amici the Parthini. Atintani, and Dimallum in the Illyrian interior during 213 and 212, the Romans did not respond."}} Heinz Warnecke (2014) considers the Atintanians as a tribe residing inland in northwestern Epirus.{{cite journal |last1=Warnecke |first1=Heinz |title=Lykophron und die westgriechischeInsel Melite |journal=Theologia |date=2014 |volume=85 |url=http://www.ecclesia.gr/greek/press/theologia/material/2014_3_17_WARNECKE.pdf |access-date=4 December 2020 |language=de |quote=Der Ort Amantia gilt als Hauptsitz des epirotischen Volkes der Amanten}} V. Parker (2014) considered Atintania as an inland region of Illyria.{{harvnb|Parker|2014|p=393|ps=: "All the same, in 213 and 212 Philip V returned to the attack in Illyria, though this time he confined himself to the inland regions (e.g., Atintania) where he made good progress..."}} R. Waterfield (2014) considered Atintania as a district on the border between Illyria and Epirus, and he located the Atintani around Antigonea and Byllis.{{sfn|Waterfield|2014|p=9|ps=: "In return, they ceded Atintanis, the district around the critical pass at Antigonea (see Fig. 1.2), on the border between Illyris and Epirus." p. 23: "The most important elements were the Greek cities of Epidamnus, Apollonia, and Oricum; the islands (Corcyra, Pharos, Issa); and two tribes, the Parthini (in the Genusus valley) and the Atintani (around Antigonea and Byllis). Large parts of Illyris were now free to govern themselves in their own ways, as they had before, but now under the oversight of Demetrius of Pharos and the promise of protection by Rome."}} E. Shehi (2015) locates the Atintanes in southern Illyria, and he accepted the possibility of the inclusion of three main koina among the Atintanes: the Bylliones, the Amantes, and the Atintanes proper.{{sfn|Shehi|2015|p=28|ps=: "La Première Guerre fut perdue par les Illyriens, lesquelles ont dû renoncer à une grande partie de l’Illyrie méridionale (Pol., ii 11, 18). Les villes de Dyrrhachium et d’Apollonia, ainsi que les territoires des Parthines et des Atintanes, entrèrent sous la protection des Romains." p. 45: "Vraisemblablement sous le nom des Atintanes, mentionné par les auteurs anciens, étaient réunis trois koinons principaux : Bylliones, Amantes et les Atintanes proprement dits."}} Timothy Edward Schaefer (2015) considers Atinania as a part of Epirus.{{cite thesis |last1=Schaefer |first1=Timothy Edward |title=The Second Punic War: The Turning Point of an Empire |date=2015 |page=35 |url=https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1064&context=uhp_theses |access-date=23 December 2020 |publisher=University of Dayton}}

Cartography by L. Martinez-Sève shows a large area between Illyria, Epirus and Macedonia, consisting of Atintania, Parauaea and Tymphaea, which according to M. P. Dausse (2015) can be considered a border or "intermediate area", as also stated by P. Cabanes. Dausse argued that the border between Illyrians and Epirotes depends on the location of the Atintanes, however it seems very difficult to set clear limits in those regions, especially because little is known about some peoples to precisely locate them.{{harvnb|Dausse|2015|p=27|ps=: "La cartographie récente de Lauriane Martinez-Sève41 fait apparaître une vaste zone entre Illyrie, Épire et Macédoine, constituée du nord au sud de l’Atintanie, de la Paravée et de la Tymphée. On peut considérer qu'il s'agit d'une zone frontalière, une « zone intermédiaire » pour reprendre les termes de Pierre Cabanes. Dans ces régions, il semble très difficile de fixer des limites claires, d'autant que certains peuples sont trop mal connus pour être localisés précisément. Nous ne rouvrirons pas ici le dossier sur les Atintanes, qui a suscité de nombreux débats chez les historiens et des propositions de localisation très diverses. De celle-ci dépend la frontière entre Illyriens et Épirotes."}} L. Martinez-Sève (2017) depicted Atintania on the lower valley of the Aoos, between Apollonia and Orikos.{{sfn|Martinez-Sève|2017|pp=71, 78, 85}} C. J. King (2017) considered the Atintani as an Illyrian tribe, and located Atintania alternatively in Illyria, Epirus or in Upper Macedonia (Macedon's westernmost meris around Lake Lycnhidos).{{sfn|King|2017|p=243|ps=: "In this First Illyrian War (229–228) the Romans freed Corcyra, Pharos, Apollonia, and Epidamnus from Agron’s widow Teuta, as well as the island Issa; and when they marched inland they brought the Illyrian tribe Atintani into alliance with Rome." p. 249: "The treaty, the text of which Polybius has preserved, indicates that Philip expected to keep Rome from gaining control of Illyria—that a peace agreement concluded upon the Carthaginian victory in the war should stipulate that: “the Romans shall no longer be masters of Corcyra, Apollonia, Epidamnus, Pharos, Dimale [Dimalion], Parthini, or Atintania; and that they shall return to Demetrius of Pharos all his friends who are in the dominions of Rome.”" p. 251: "The Peace of Phoenice in 205, which included the allies on both sides, granted to the Romans a number of small Illyrian towns on the Adriatic and to Philip Atintania in Epirus.", p. 262: "The westernmost meris comprised 'upper Macedonia, including... and Atintania around Lake Lycnhidos"}} P. Filos (2017) listed the Atintanes among the Greek-speaking minor tribes of Epirus. A. V. Vasilyev (2018) locates Atintania in Illyria.{{harvnb|Vasilyev|2018|p=238|ps=: "For the prompt signing of peace treaty they even ceded to the king Atintania from the sphere of Roman interests in Illyria" (...)."}} Jaupaj (2019) lists the Atintanes among the southern Illyrian tribes that inhabited a large territory reached as far as the area of Dodona at some point. According to him the Atintanes probably formed a larger koinon which may have included both Illyrian and Epirotic tribes and was reduced in territory over time as its communities formed their own polities.{{harvnb|Jaupaj|2019|p=17|ps=: "Plus difficile à situer géographiquement est la tribu illyrienne des Atintanes." p. 85: "Pour conclure, il ne fait aucun doute que les Atintanes couvrent un large territoire qui arrive jusqu’à Dodone et qui confine à celui d’Apollonia, de Byllis et d’Orikos. Il est probable qu’ils formaient un Koinon regroupant plusieurs tribus différentes, aussi bien illyriennes qu’épirotes, et que ce Koinon a pu se réduire selon les époques et la défection d’une partie de ses membres. Quant au problème de leur frontière méridionale visible depuis Dyrrhachion, il ne peut pas être résolu définitivement." p. 90: "Les Chaones (Χάονες), s’étendent sur la côte Ionienne, entre les monts Acrocerauniens au nord et le fleuve Thyamis au sud. Les frontières septentrionales et orientales sont assez difficiles à les définir et ont dû fluctuer selon les époques et leurs rapports avec les Atintanes qui étaient leurs grands voisins illyriens, avec sans doute le Koinon des Amantes comme frontière."}} Hatzopoulos (2020) described the location proposed by M. Holleaux and P. Lévêque as "obvious and after all roughly correct solution", however he stated that in his proposal "Lévêque added the valley of the Drynos for no good reason".{{sfn|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=45}}

Winnifrith (2021) concludes that the location of the Atintanes or Atintani is not clear and states that it is odd to locate the Illyrian Atintanes too far south in Epirote territory, as their presumed domicile in southern Albania or the Pindus range would give a quite weird shape to the Roman protectorate that included them. Also the Atintanian particular form of treachery, being unreliable components of the Roman protectorate, is not suitable for a southern location, since the Atintanes were detached from the Roman protectorate both by the Illyrian kingdom of the Ardiaei and by the kingdom of Macedon.{{sfn|Winnifrith|2021|p=52}}

Due to controversial and contradicting information provided by ancient authors N. G. L. Hammond proposed two distinct homonymous tribes: the Epirote "Atintanes", located by him somewhere around the upper valley of the Drino; and the Illyrian "Atintani", located by him in the Çermenikë area in Central Albania. According to Hammond, the Epirote "Atintanes" are the tribe who appears in the accounts of western Greek campaigns of the Spartan admiral Knemos in 429, as reported by Thycydides, and who are also named by Pseudo-Scylax, Lycophron and Strabo, while the Illyrian "Atintani" are the tribe who appears in the accounts of Cassander's operations against Epidamnus in 314 BC, as reported by Polyaenus, and of the later Roman-Illyrian and Roman-Macedonian wars, as reported by Polybius, Appian and Livy.{{cite book |last1=Cancik |first1=Hubert |last2=Schneider |first2=Helmuth |last3=Salazar |first3=Christine F. |last4=Orton |first4=David E. |title=Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity |year=2002 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-12265-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qzAOAQAAMAAJ |language=en |quote=The localization is controversial because of contradictory details supplied by ancient authors according to App. III, an Illyrianm according to Str. 7.71, Scyl. 26, an Epirotic tribe. [1] (Hammond) therefore identifies two tribes the Atintani east of Epidamnus (Polyaenus, Strat. 4.11), in 229 BC in alliance with Rome (Pol. 7,9), after 205 belonging to Macedonia (Liv. 27,301 45, 30 Steph. Byz., the Atintanes, by contrast, north-west of the Epirotic Molossi (Thuc. 2,80).}}{{sfn|Wilkes|1995|p=217|ps=: "A major problem of historical topography is considered by M.B. Hatzopoulos, that is the question of the Atintanes and their situation, in the aftermath of the radical solution of N.G.L. Hammond (JRS 79 [1989] 11-25) which distinguishes two groups of that name,- Illyrian Atintani in the Cermenike region of Central Albania and the Epirote Atintanes somewhere around the upper Drino. It is, according to Hammond, the former who figure of Cassander's operations against Epidamnus in 314 BC (Polyaenus 4.11.4) and subsequently in the Illyrian and Macedonian wars of Rome reported by Polybius (2.11.10-11; 7.9.13), Appian (///. 7-8) and Livy (27.30.13; 29.12.13; 45.30.7). The latter figure in the western Greek campaigns of the Spartan admiral Knemos in 429 BC (Thuc. 2.80.6) and also named by Pseudo- Scylax (c. 26), Lycophron (Alex. 1042-6) and Strabo (7.7.8)."}} Hammond placed the boundary between the Epirote Atintanes and the Molossians at the upper Kalamas river as far as Kalpaki.{{cite journal |last1=Douzougli |first1=Angelika |last2=Papadopoulos |first2=John |title=Liatovouni: a Molossian cemetery and settlement in Epirus |journal=Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts |date=2010 |volume=125 |url=https://www.academia.edu/24011794|page=5}}

According to Dause Hammond's view about the existence of two different Atintanes/Atintani tribes and their location seems to be abandoned. Hatzopoulos states that although the specific view is "understandable" it is "unacceptable and unnecessary".{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=46|ps=: "In a 1993 papaer I tried to show a)that Hammond's theory of two homonymous countries and ethne in the same region, although understandable, was both unacceptable and unnecessary"}}{{sfn|Dausse|2015|p=27|ps=:Nicolas Hammond avait même envisagé deux Atintanies : une à proximité immédiate des Chaones et une autre beaucoup plus au nord. Cette hypothèse semble devoir être abandonnée.}} S. Kos considered Cabanes' proposal seemingly more likely than Hammond's one. M.B. Hatzopoulos (1993) did not accept Hammond's proposal of two distinct tribes, and he located the Atintanes on the upper and middle valley of the Aoos, stretching up to the confluence of this river with the Drino.{{harvnb|Mallios|2011|pp=134–135|ps=: "Σε σχετικό του άρθρο ο Χατζόπουλος συμφώνησε με τον Hammondως προς την αποσύνδεση των Ατιντανών από τους Ιλλυριούς, ωστόσο,μετά από μια λεπτομερή εξέταση των γραπτών πηγών, απέρριψε το ενδεχόμενο να υπάρχουν δύο έθνη (ένα ηπειρωτικό και ένα μακεδονικό) με το ίδιο όνομα. Για τον Έλληνα ιστορικό υπάρχει μόνο μία Ατιντανία, αυτή που εκτείνεται από την λεκάνη του Άνω και Μέσου Αώου ως την συμβολή του ποταμού αυτού με τον Δρίνο, έχοντας στα ανατολικά την Χαονία και στα βόρεια την Μολοσσία"}} George Mallios (2011) agrees with Hammond that the Atintanians were Epirotes and not connected to the Illyrians.{{sfn|Mallios|2011|p=134-135|ps=:Ο Hammond πειστικά επιχειρηματολόγησε για την ένταξή τους στα ηπειρωτικά φύλα και υποστήριξε την αποσύνδεση τους από τους Ιλλυριούς}} P. J. Burton (2011) considered the Atintani as an Illyrian people,{{sfn|Burton|2011|p=383|ps=: "Atintani (Illyrian people)"}} specifying that for the identification of the tribe involved with Rome as the Illyrian Atintani, as opposed to the Epirote Atintanes, he referred the reader to Hammond (1989).{{sfn|Burton|2011|p=136|ps=: "For the identification of this tribe as the Illyrian Atintani (cf. App. Ill. 7), as opposed to the Epirote Atintanes (cf. Strabo 7.7.8 [326 C]), see Hammond 1989."}}

In the context of post-Myceanaean era migration N.G.L. Hammond stated that the Atintanes were among those Doric tribes that did not followed the Dorian invaders in southern Greece but stayed in Epirus. A. J. Toynbee suggested the possibility that the Atintanes were connected with the Paeonian Tyntenoi that were pushed from the region of northern Macedonia towards the coastline.{{harvnb|Toynbee|1969|p=113|ps=: "If the Odomantoi-Athamanes and the Tyntenoi-Atintanes were, in truth, each a fracture Paeonian people whose original unity is attested, in either case, by the survival of an identical name, we can account for this by supposing that, in the course of the course of the post - Mycenaean Völkerwanderung, both these Paeonian peoples were split, by impacts from the rear, somewhere in the basin of the River Morava, with the result that their eastern splinters were driven down the Strymon valley, while their western splinters were pushed away to the Adriatic side of the continental divide (..) However, before accepting Kiechers' interpretation of the name 'Atintanes' in terms of Greek, we should have to satisfy ourselves that it was not an Illyrian name but was a Greek one (as its termination -anes perhaps suggests that it may have been)}}

At the beginning of the Peloponnesian War (429 B.C.), Atintanes and Molossians appear under the leadership of Sabylinthus, regent of king Tharrhypas, as allies of Sparta against Acarnania.{{harvnb|Cabanes|1988|pp=47, 73}}. At that time they were subordinate to the Molossians, while they were more loosely connected with the Parauoi and the Orestai.{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=44|ps=: Taking into consideration that in the passage from Thucydides the Parauaioi are directly coupled with the Orestai and connected more loosely with the Molossoi and the Atintanes...}} They were among the Epirote tribes that had kings.{{cite book |last1=Funke |first1=Peter |title=Polisgenese und Urbanisierung in Aitolien im 5. und 4. Jh. v. Chr. |date=1997 |publisher=Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Historisk-filosofiske Meddelelser 75 |doi=10.11588/propylaeumdok.00000222 |url=http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/222/ |access-date=6 December 2020}}

At 344 B.C. during the reign of Philip II of Macedon their region passed from Epirote to Macedonian control.{{harvnb|Pliakou|2007|pp=290}}.{{cite book |last1=Pilar |first1=FERNÁNDEZ URIEL |title=Historia Antigua Universal II. El Mundo Griego |date=17 January 2014 |publisher=Editorial UNED |isbn=978-84-362-6837-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBqcAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT860 |language=es |quote=Dio nuevas fronteras... Acarnania}} In 330 B.C. the Atintanes formed the core of the Epirote state, together with the Molossians, Thesprotians, and the Cassopaeans.{{harvnb|Hammond|1994a|p=442}}. In epigraphy, Kleomachos the Atintanian was given ateleia in Epirus by the symmachoi (allies) of Epirotes, when king was Neoptolemus son of Alexander and Derkas, prostatas (archon) of the Molossians (c. 300 BC)[http://epigraphy.packhum.org/inscriptions/oi?ikey=308134&bookid=778®ion=4&subregion=10 Cabanes, L'Épire 545,12] indicating that by the end of the 4th century the Atintanes were not part of the Epirote confederacy.{{sfn|Šašel Kos|2005|p=277|ps=:On the other hand, at the end of the fourth century BC, during the reign of Neoptolemus (313 – 295 BC), an inscription from Dodona indicates that the Atintanes did not belong to Epirus; in it, the Epirote confederacy granted ateleia, an exemption from duties, to an Atintanian, a member of a nearby tribe who obviously did not belong to the Epirote state at the time (SGDI 1336)}} At 295 B.C. Pyrrhus of Epirus detached Atintanis and made it a part of the Epirote Kingdom again.{{harvnb|Cabanes|1988|pp=111, 143, 145, 147}}.

In 231 B.C. the Chaonian capital of Phoenice was raided by the Illyrians of Teuta. Those inhabitants of the city who survived the attack and slavery managed to flee to the territory of the Atintanes to seek for available reinforcements.{{harvnb|Hammond|1994|p=252|ps=: "A clue to the position of the Atintanes is provided in Polybius' account of the seizure of Phoenice by Illyrian pirates in 230 B.C. (2. 5). When an Epirote force was encamped outside Phoenice, the Illyrians made a sortie by night from Phoenice and next day defeated the Epirotes. The survivors of the Epirotes fled 'in the direction of the Atintanes. ... eastwards towards Mt Murgana and the headwaters of the Drin, where reinforcements might be available."}} Atintania was possibly ceded to Teuta by the League of the Epirotes at 230 B.C. probably as part of an agreement with her.{{harvnb|Hammond|1967|p=598|ps=: ""that Atintania had been ceded by the Epirote League to Teuta in 230"}}{{harvnb|Leveque|1997|p=80|ps=: "The koinon of the Epirotes abandoned the alliance with the Aitolians and sided with Teuta, which probably cost them the loss of Atintania."}} When in 229 BC the First Illyrian War broke out between Rome and Illyrian queen Teuta, as well as Parthinians, the Atintanians took advantage of this situation and put themselves under Roman protection.{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=46|ps=: "The political history of Atintania was complicated. An independent principality allied to the Molossoi, it was brieflly annexed by the Illyrians (230), but the Atintanes took advantage of the Roman intervention of the following year in order to put themselves under Roman protection."}} After this conflict, in 229-228 BC Rome set a protectorate on the conquered Illyrian lands, the Greek cities of Apollonia and Epidamnus, Corfu, as well as Atintanis.{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Jacob Nathan |title=Shifting Landscapes, Policies, And Morals: A Topographically Driven Analysis Of The Roman Wars In Greece From 200 Bc To 168 Bc |date=2017 |publisher=Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations |page=15 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/219377905.pdf |access-date=28 November 2020 |quote=In 229 BC Rome first established in the region a group of cities and peoples under their direct protection: Corcyra, Apollonia, Dyrrachium, the Ardiaei, the Parthini, the Atintanes, and Issa}}{{harvnb|Cabanes|1988|pp=277, 288}}.{{harvnb|Wilkes|1992|p=162}}{{harvnb|Winnifrith|2002|p=63|ps=: "Rome was busy, especially after the Battle of Cannae in which L. Aemilius Paullus, the victor of the second Illyrian war, had been defeated and killed in 217. In 216 Philip sailed past Corcyra to Apollonia, but beat a hasty retreat on the arrival of a Roman fleet. In 215 he made a formal treaty with Hannibal and in 214 again attacked Apollonia unsuccessfully by sea. He detached the Parthini and the Atintanes from the Roman alliance, but the main body of Illyrians north of the Shkum-bin remained loyal under Scerdilaidas."}} The following years they supported the campaign of Demetrius of Pharos but after his defeat Atintania returned to Roman control. The region became a disputed zone between Romans and Macedon.{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2020|pp=46–47|quote=A few years later they sided with Demetrios of Pharos, but after the latter's defeat Atintania was recovered by the Romans. In the following years Atintania was disputed between the Romans and the Macedonians, and was finally awarded to Macedonia by the peace of Phoinike. It must have remained Macedonian thereafter, since it was included into the Fourth Macedonian Meris.}} In the Treaty of Phoenice, 205 BC, Atintania was assigned to the Macedonian Kingdom.{{harvnb|Dausse|2015|p=27|ps=: "Ils peuvent apparaître comme Épirotes à certains moments et Macédoniens à d'autres. C'est le cas des Atintanes, cédés à Pyrrhos en 295 mais qui reviennent aux Macédoniens lors de la paix de Phoinicé en 205."}} As such it appears that it remained part of the 4th Macedonian meris the following years.{{harvnb|Hatzopoulos|2020|p=47}} The Atintanes received sacred Greek envoys as part of the Epirote League in c. 220-189 B.C.Stocker, p. 213: "The Atintanes are listed as part of the Epirote League in the second Delphic list of theorodokoi dated ca. 220-189 B.C."

In 167 B.C. after the Romans defeated the Macedonians at Pydna, they captured a total of seventy settlements of the Molossians and the Atintanians and sold 150,000 men into slavery.{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=23|ps=: "after the Macedonian defeat by the Romans at Pydna, the later captured a total of seventy settlements of the Molossians and the Atintanians and sold 150,000 men into slavery."}} As part of the invasion of Epirus by the Romans the later continued with the destruction of Atintania, Molossis as well as east Chaonia even after 157 B.C.{{cite book |last1=Isager |first1=Jacob |title=Foundation and Destruction, Nikopolis and Northwestern Greece: The Archaeological Evidence for the City Destructions, the Foundation of Nikopolis and the Synoecism |date=2001 |publisher=Danish Institute at Athens |isbn=978-87-7288-734-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y1BoAAAAMAAJ |language=en |quote=... nach der Auflösung des Epirotischen Koinon im Jahre 170 v.Chr., oder genauer nach dem Jahr 157, auf welcher Zeit die fruheste Inschrift dieser Gruppe daitert wird. Dies war die Zeit, in der die Römer Epirus underwarfen, indem sie Molosien und Atintanien zerstörten, also die ganzen Gegenden im Osten Chaoniens.}}

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{{refend}}

{{Ancient Greece topics|state=collapsed}}

{{Illyrians}}

{{Ancient Greek Wars}}

Category:Chaonia

Category:Ancient Greeks

Category:Illyrian tribes

Category:Ancient tribes in Epirus

Category:Ancient tribes in Albania

Category:Greek tribes

Category:Illyrian Albania