The
Chaonians (
Greek: ,
Chaones) were an ancient
Greek tribe that inhabited the
region of Epirus located in the north-west of modern
Greece and southern
Albania. On their southern frontier lay another Epirote kingdom, that of the
Molossians, to their southwest stood the kingdom of the
Thesprotians, and to their north lived the
Illyrian tribes. According to
Virgil,
Chaon was the
eponymous ancestor of the Chaonians. By the 5th century BC, they had conquered and combined to a large degree with the neighboring Thesprotians and Molossians. The Chaonians were part of the
Epirote League until 170 BC when their territory was annexed by the
Roman Republic.