Epirus (;
Northwest Greek: ,
Ápeiros;
Attic: ,
Ḗpeiros) was an
ancient Greek state, located in the geographical region of
Epirus in the western
Balkans. The homeland of the ancient Epirotes was bordered by the
Aetolian League to the south,
Thessaly and
Macedonia to the east, and
Illyrian tribes to the north. For a brief period (280–275 BC), the Epirote leader
Pyrrhus managed to make Epirus the most powerful state in the Greek world, and his armies marched against
Rome during an unsuccessful campaign in
Italy.