Sivaram N.

The Second Macedonian War

After Philip V gained much territory during his first war with Rome he still wanted to gain more. He began to expand his influence towards the Roman protectorate. After numerous warnings from Rome which didn’t prevent the war he began to expand to the South towards the Greek cities generally considered to be under Roman protection. King Philip also entered a secret alliance with King Antiochus III of  Syria. Their goal was to divide up the territory of the unstable Egyptian monarchy. Antiochus moved against many parts of the Middle East, and Philip moved against Thracia. After Philip began his offensive he ended up at war with the powerful fleet of the island nation of Rhodes, and King Attalus of Permagum a former ally of Rome. When King Philip was having trouble with those nations the Greek cities that had come under his control appealed to Rome for help. Diplomatic missions from Permagum, Athens, and Rhodes arrived in Rome in the same year. At first the Senate refused to help, but they soon realized they had to deal with Philip or he might reach Rome itself. Roman entreaties were refused out of hand, And Philip sent an army to conquer Attica an Athenian territory, and he commanded a force against Thracian coastal towns. This prompted Rome’s declaration of war, to  insure the independence of the Greek cities and to expand Roman influence in the East. Galba took two legions and raided various cities, and the Roman fleet was sent to help with sieges. The Aetolians allied themselves with Rome again. The early part of the war was uneventful, and there was a stalemate of two whole years. The man who ended the stalemate was T Quictius Flaminius. He took command of the Roman forces and set about taking the war to Philip. He wanted the Greek cities to be free and because of his demands to Macedonia for the complete withdrawal from Greek territory, the Greek Achaean League joined the war as his allies. Flaminius opened the route into Thessaly by winning a minor engagement at the River Aous. The Romans moved into Macedonian territory and laid siege to several towns until Winter stopped him at Phocis. Flaminus could have negotiated for peace in the Senate, but he wanted the chance to win on the battlefield. Flaminius ensured the failure of the peace talks and prepared himself for the next campaign. Flaminius took two legions into Thessaly and was met by Philip’s strong army of 25,000. They met at Cynoscephalae. This was the first encounter between the classic phalanx and the Roman legion. The legionary flexibility was enough to defeat Philip at Cynocephalae. This defeat was crushing to Philip, and he had to accept Flaminius’s unfavorable terms. All the Greek city-states and territories would have to be protectorates of Rome, but Philip was still in charge of Macedonia. The Romans were worried about Antiochus of Syria. They were no longer able to garrison the Greek city states, so they pulled out. The Greeks were very happy at their total independence, and they were very grateful to Rome. In this way Rome was able to gain influence in the East, and not have to garrison any cities. The Second Macedonian War was very important because Rome gained the loyalty of the Greek city-states.

King Philip V

Image courtesy of Illustrated History of the Roman Empire