Sivaram N.

The First Macedonian War

King Philip V allied himself with Hannibal During the Second Punic War. He was motivated solely by greed. He wished to expand his sphere of influence. The Romans only wanted to stop him from aiding Hannibal. They knew that if they had to fight both Philip V and Hannibal they would stand no chance. Philip V sent a fleet to Illyria to get an idea of whether or not he would be able to conquer it. The Romans had sent a fleet under Praetor Laevinus to watch Philip, and when Laevinus saw what Philip was doing he rushed in to protect Roman interests. Philip burned his small fleet to prevent its capture, but Philip wasn’t done. He knew that he would have no trouble traveling the land route to Illyria. He sent his armies on that route, and they captured several cities with the Romans only being able to interfere with the Macedonian supplies being sent to Hannibal. The Romans sought out some land allies to help keep Philip from reaching Hannibal. The Romans allied themselves with the Aetolian League of Western Greece and also King Attalus of Permagum. Initially the Aetolians succeeded in holding Philip of, but the Romans weren’t able to help because at that time they were still fighting the Second Punic War. All the Romans wanted to do was maintain Status Quo. Philip defeated the Aetolians and forced them to accept his terms despite the commander of the Roman Adriatic Fleet, Sulpicius Galba, telling them not to accept. Soon after this the Second Punic War ended and the Romans assembled an army, however, they didn’t want to fight again so soon after the incredibly costly Second Punic War. King Philip was also ready for peace under favorable conditions. Scipio Africanus arranged a treat with Philip that allowed him to keep all that he had taken. One of the important issues of the treaty was that the Greek cities on the western Greek peninsula must remain free of Macedonian authority. The Romans didn’t do much during the war and their only goal was to keep Philip from Reaching Hannibal with aid.

Greek Phalanx on a vase

Image Courtesy of  History for Kids