- Series of conflicts between the Roman and Macedonian empires in 211–168 BC
First Macedonian War
- 214–205 BC
- During the Second Punic War, Philip V of Macedon allied himself with Hannibal
- Romans dispatched some forces across the Adriatic sea to seize some Macedonian territory
- Ended with the treaty of Phoenice
Second Macedonian War
- In 204 BC, Ptolemaic king dies, leaving his throne to his six-year-old son
- Macedon and the Seleucid Empire decide to exploit this opportunity
- In 201 BC, Philip V launches a campaign into Asia Minor
- After successfuly blockading Philip’s fleet (but still fearing Macedon), Rhodes and Pergamon send an appeal to Rome
- The Roman senate passes a supportive decree and Marcus Valerius Laevinus is sent to investigate
- Rhodian ambassadors also persuaded Athens to declare war on Macedon
- After successfuly blockading Philip’s fleet (but still fearing Macedon), Rhodes and Pergamon send an appeal to Rome
- Initially, Rome didn’t intend to fight a war against Macedon, but rather to intervene on behalf of its new allies diplomatically
- Rome gave Philip an ultimatum that he must cease in his campaigns
- Philip, doubting Rome’s strength, ignored this
- Believing their honor and reputation was on the line, Romans launched a campaign to Macedon under Titus Quinctius Flaminius
- Flaminius tried to persuade many Greek city-states to join an alliance with Rome against Macedonia
- Rome gave Philip an ultimatum that he must cease in his campaigns
Battle of Cynoscephalae
- 197 BC
- About 26,000 troops on each side
- Decisive Roman victory
- Resulted in the Treaty of Tempea
- Allied greek states have been freed from Macedonian control
- Rome withdrew all its forces afterwards
Seleucid War
- 192–188 BC
- Rome thought they had left behind a stable peace in Greece, but, in fact, they removed the last check on Seleucid expansion
- Now not only Greek states, but Philip’s Macedon sought Rome for help against Seleucids
- Hannibal also became the chief military advisor to the Seleucid empire and that posed a major threat to Rome itself
- A big Roman-Greek army was mobilized under Sicpio Africanus (important character in the Second Punic War) and a campaign launched against Seleucids
Battle of Magnesia
- Roman-Greek army against slightly bigger Seleucid army
- Decisive Roman victory
- Antiochus (Seleucid king) was forced to cease all military campaigns in Greece
- This was pretty much the beginning of the end of the Seleucid empire
- Antiochus (Seleucid king) was forced to cease all military campaigns in Greece
- This battle marked the end of the Macedonian phalanx’s dominance in warfare
Third Macedonian War
- 172–168 BC
- Perseus, Philip’s son, attempted to restore Macedonian influence
- Perseus was implicated in an asssassination plot against an ally of Rome
- Thus Rome was re-injected into the war
- Initially, Rome didn’t do as well as in the Seleucid war
Battle of Pydna
- 168 BC
- Romans under Aemilius Paulus against the Macedonians under Perseus
- Decisive Roman victory
- Very high casualties in the Macedonian phalanx
Aftermath
- The kingdom of Macedonia was divided into four client republics
- Rome established a permanent presence in Greece