Ballaios

Ballaios (Ancient Greek: Βαλλαῖος; ruled c. 260 – c. 230 BC) was an Illyrian king of the Ardiaei tribe. Attested only in coinage, Ballaios is considered as the predecessor of Agron. He is considered to have been a powerful and influential king as testified by the abundance of his silver and bronze coinage found along both coasts of the Adriatic. A hoard found in 2010 is one of the biggest hoards of ancient coins known, not only from Illyria. The capital of Ballaios' kingdom was Rhizon.

His silver issues are rare, but bronze coins, without the royal title, occur on Hvar, both in single finds and in hoards, and at Rhizon in a different series bearing the royal title. In the city of Ulcinj there is still a fully functioning water source bearing his name: "Kroni i Ballos". The coins of Ballaios were widely imitated in the region, sometimes so crudely that they are unintelligible.