Third Macedonian-Roman War

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The Third Macedonian-Roman War was one of 171–168 BC. Continuous conflict between Perseus of Macedonia and the Roman Empire , from which the latter emerged victorious.

The history

The outcome of the Second Macedonian War also meant the temporary end of Macedonian hegemony in Greece . Philip V had to pay compensation to Rome and lost a large part of his navy. A major Roman adversary in the Eastern Mediterranean seemed to have been eliminated.

Philip's last years of reign and the takeover of Perseus

After the peace with Rome in 197 BC An increasingly anti-Macedonian patriotism of the Hellenes prevailed . Since Macedonia lost strength and had to struggle with domestic political problems, many Macedonian-occupied lands believed that they could rebel against their former masters and demand freedom. The Athamans and some Perrhaebic and Thessalian cities complained against Philip V in Rome. This mainly concerned contracts that the Macedonians had not kept or cattle theft. Philip was now forced to submit to a Roman court of arbitration, which usually decided against him. Philip's youngest son Demetrios, a popular friend of Rome, who lived in the winter of 183/4 BC. BC as the defender of the king could not prevent the arbitration awards against Macedonia. So the king had to 189 BC. To withdraw from the Thracian coast and also to give up the occupation of the complaining cities.

Philip V did not want to let these supposed humiliations rest. He planned a war of revenge against Rome and began to prepare his empire for a new campaign. He increased the state revenue by introducing agricultural taxes. Nevertheless, his financial policy at the end of his reign was considered to be much more liberal than it was at the beginning. He raised port tariffs and also pushed for the mining of precious metals. Its primary goal, however, was to increase the population rate. To this end, he called on his people on the one hand to multiply more, on the other hand he had Thracians settled in Macedonia. Nothing is known about a reorganization of his army, which had failed against Rome. From the army's tactics and the use of forces in the coming war, however, it can be concluded that Philip refrained from fundamental reform in the military area.

Although Macedonia was officially an amicus of Rome, attempts were made to increasingly weaken the position of the Macedonians. With the help of the Attalids, arch enemies of Philip, a strong, Rome-friendly empire was to be established as an antipole to Macedonia on its border. At the same time, the Roman Senate, under the leadership of Titus Quinctius Flamininus, tried to introduce a Roman party in Macedonia, which was supposed to paralyze any anti-Rome ambitions of the king. Rome was because Demetrios should become the future ruler of the Macedonians. Therefore Philip was made to understand how much he valued the demeanor and decisions of his youngest son and that Philip would be forgiven for his son's sake. This fact exacerbated the rivalry between the brothers Perseus and Demetrios. A letter from Flaminius sent to the king reached Perseus. He was afraid of his succession to the throne and suggested to the Macedonian king that Demetrios was making a pact with Rome and would soon flee. Thereupon Philip issued 180 BC The order to have his youngest son executed. The king realized the intrigue too late and wanted to stop Perseus, but he died too early to punish his eldest son appropriately.

Shortly after Philip's death in the summer of 179 BC Perseus became king of Macedonia. He inherited an empire that was politically disrupted as a result of this intrigue. Nevertheless, the Macedonian national feeling was unbroken. Although the real favorite was assassinated, Rome did not seem to offer any resistance to the new ruler.

Erich Gruen assumes that Rome viewed the events in Macedonia without concern and passively. This was not the case, however, because on the one hand Rome had a lively interest in helping to shape the political situation in Macedonia, on the other hand the Roman Senate actively - if perhaps unintentionally - contributed to Demetrios being murdered and thus preventing the reign that Rome wanted fulfilled.

Perseus' tenure

In a first official act, Perseus renewed the amicitia with Rome from 179 BC. Chr. An act that met with recognition and respect in the Roman and Hellenic world. Their own compatriots in particular, but also many Hellenes, saw in him the right-wing general who was able to wage a coming "war of liberation" against Rome.

However, Perseus wanted primarily to continue the restoration of his father and to further improve Macedonia's domestic and foreign political situation. He expanded the state treasure and had the state granaries and arsenals filled. The military was upgraded to around 30,000 men and kept in practice by border wars against Thracian barbarians.

Through an amnesty from Macedonian debtors and political prisoners, he achieved both a gain in popularity among his people and the return of many fled citizens. In addition, he declared all Macedonians free from their debts to the treasury. The country flourished increasingly and Perseus gained a good reputation in Greece. However, the problem of Macedonia's political isolation remained. After the defeat in the Second Macedonian War, many former allies turned away and became clients of the Romans. Perseus had to enter into covenants in order to exist permanently. To this end, he tried to knit a network of coalitions, which should consist mainly of "oppressed states" by Rome. In 177 BC Therefore he married Laodike, the daughter of Seleucus IV., In order to enter into an alliance with the Seleucids. At the same time Perseus married his sister Apama to Prusias II of Bithynia. This marriage policy was quite common, but did not give the Macedonian king the success he had hoped for. Therefore he entered into negotiations with Carthage and Rhodes. The Rhodians in particular, originally close allies of Eumenes, were initially ready to approach Perseus. Gradually, however, the relationship with Macedonia was put into perspective, as they did not want to give Rome the impression that they were secretly trying to forge anti-Roman coalitions. However, Perseus succeeded in obtaining firm statements of support from parts of the Boeotic tribes and Genthios of Illyria. The loyalty of Kotys, ruler of Eastern Thrace, never wavered. He remained the main ally of the Macedonians. A protective alliance could also be concluded with Byzantion and Lampsakos on the Hellespont, but it was primarily defensive in character. In essence, however, Perseus failed to establish decisive and strong alliances in the Hellenic world. Many tribes and peoples had come to terms with Rome beforehand and did not attribute much strength to Perseus.

However, it looked different with the propaganda measures of the Macedonian king. Already at the Council of Amphictyonic in 178 BC. BC he ordered the erection of two monuments that should bear his image. Four years later he marched peacefully with his army to the Oracle of Delphi to show himself to the Hellenes and to demonstrate the power of his army. This action aroused the suspicion of the Romans, who until then had pursued Perseus' foreign policy more passively. In addition, he began to use the economic turmoil of Greece for his propaganda purposes by calling on "[...] all Greeks who had fled the country because of political or other crimes or their debts [...]" to come to Macedonia. Here they should be reassigned to their previous offices and lost goods should be refunded. The response was enormous and Perseus managed to flare up a national uprising that propagated the end of Roman domination. The Macedonian king was thus able to use the growing Hellenic nationalism for his own purposes.

The pursuit of an end to political isolation, like the propaganda mobilization of the Hellenes, can be interpreted as part of a war plan against Rome. It must be pointed out here, however, that in the course of the renewal of his country, Perseus inevitably had to gain strength and stability in foreign policy in order not to be worn out sooner or later between power wrangles among the Hellenic states. What is certain, however, is that Rome did not react for a long time and then responded all the more violently to the rapidly changing situation on the Greek peninsula.

The third Macedonian war

The outbreak of war

After the march on Delphi at the latest, the Roman Senate understood that they had hesitated far too long and underestimated Perseus' ambition. Rome believed that the Macedonian alliances and the ever-simmering conflict between the Macedonians and various Thracian tribes violated the peace of 197 BC. Depicted. For this reason, in 173 BC. Sent to the Achaean Diet, who proclaimed to the Hellenes that an alliance with Perseus was equivalent to turning away from Rome. A year later, the Attalid king Eumenes II traveled to Italy to describe the supposed seriousness of the situation to the Roman Senate and to bring a number of complaints against Perseus. Eumenes was very keen to exacerbate the tensions between Rome and Macedonia, because he hoped that a possible war would eliminate a potential enemy and thereby enlarge his own territory.

In a secret meeting, the Senate decided to declare war and made the first arrangements for the mobilization of the troops and the exploration of the landing sites for the army on the Greek mainland. However, at first they wanted to keep the formalities of such an act and sent 172 BC. BC sent to Macedonia to give Perseus the opportunity to justify himself. The latter offered Rome a new treaty and expressed his wish for a Roman-Macedonian alliance. The contract from the year 197 BC And its renewal from 179 BC He saw however as canceled. He also instructed the ambassadors to leave the Macedonian Empire within three days. This was in fact equivalent to a declaration of war. Rome immediately asked all Macedonians to leave the Italian mainland within thirty days.

From the Roman invasion to the change of initiative

At the time of the outbreak of war, Perseus had an army of 43,000 men with whom he had already worked in the autumn of 172 BC. BC would have been able to bring Greece under his control and to smash the Roman division located on the mainland. However, he decided to wait and see and persuade Rome to negotiate. So the winter of 172 BC passed. BC without one of the two warring parties taking action. In the meantime, however, the various alliances began to change. The Boeotian tribes failed to promise support to Perseus. The Archaeans, Aetolians and Thessalians, who had previously wavered in their attitude towards Macedonia, never tire of expressing their support.

In the spring of 171 BC The first contingents of the Roman expeditionary army landed on the west coast of Greece near Apollonia. For the transport of the Roman troops, Carthage, Genthios of Illyria, the Rhodians and Byzantines offered ships and thus first demonstrated which side they wanted to be on in the upcoming war. The Roman army was led by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus. He began to move from Illyria to Thessaly with most of his troops. Perseus attacked Perrhaebien and expected the Romans in May 171 BC. BC with strong cavalry divisions near Kallinikos not far from the river Ossa. In a brief cavalry battle, the Macedonians succeeded in defeating the surprised Romans. The message of Perseus' unexpected victory quickly spread among the Hellenes and helped to further strengthen the rising Hellenism. Rhodes now resumed political relations with Perseus. The Macedonian king immediately offered peace negotiations to the Romans and was ready to accept an agreement that had similar features to the peace treaty of 197 BC. However, Rome refused this offer.

The defeated Roman army then marched through the Thessalian lands without any clear intention and tried to avoid any direct confrontation. Perseus therefore had Thessaly evacuated and set up defense on the borders of his empire. He succeeded in repelling Eumenes' troops, which had previously invaded Macedonia, and the Illyrians. Since then, nothing has happened on the theater of war for a long time. 170 BC The Roman consul Aulus Hostilius Mancinus took over the supreme command of the army on the Greek mainland. The Roman army at that time was in a desperate state. Discipline suffered from supply bottlenecks and outstanding wages, but high hopes were placed in the new generals. The war year 170 BC BC passed without the opponents being able to gain any advantage. Macedonia was like a besieged fortress that could defend itself successfully. Meanwhile Perseus managed to make a separate peace with Genthios of Illyria. After the first break with Perseus at the beginning of the war, he was aware that the Romans would no longer see him as an equal ally and decided to switch to the side of the supposed future victor.

Even under Hostilius, the Romans did not succeed in engaging the Macedonians in major battles, let alone overcoming their system of fortifications. For this reason Rome sent in 169 BC. A new commander in chief: Consul Quintus Marcius Philippus . This decided on a large-scale offensive against Perseus. He managed to lead his army through the Lapathus Pass and cross the Olympos Mountains. Perseus, unwilling to believe that the Romans were on the verge of breaching his lines, decided to evade and regroup and re-entrench his army near Pydna. The Roman consul had the Macedonians persecuted, but had to turn back after four days because his food supplies were exhausted. Even Phillippus could not bring about a decisive change and so the Roman Senate decided in 168 BC. To send a fourth general to Macedonia. Lucius Aemilius Paullus was a great military leader who had proven himself in various battles. When he arrived at the Roman camp near Herakleion, he immediately set his troops on the march. He employed the Macedonians in isolated outpost skirmishes in the river bed of Elpios, while he bypassed the enemy with his main power and threatened to encircle him. Perseus recognized the danger in time and fled with his army to Pydna.

The nature of the Macedonian warfare shows that Perseus wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with the Roman troops. His attitude, especially the quick peace offer after the cavalry victory of Kallinikos, were at that time atypical for a general with a huge armed force. Instead of taking offensive action against the invading enemy, the Macedonians established themselves in well-developed systems for defense. Was that the "war of liberation" against Rome that was hoped for in Greece from Perseus and that the Roman Senate had feared so much? Rather, Macedonia could have intended not to endanger its own existence with daring undertakings and instead to do everything possible to protect its own territory.

The Battle of Pydna in 168 BC Chr.

→ see main article Battle of Pydna .

On June 22nd, 168 BC The fleeing army of Perseus was brought near Pydna by the Romans. Without long tactics, the opponents decided prematurely to battle. The Macedonians with their mighty phalanx led the first thrust into the ranks of the Romans. As a result, large parts of the Roman vanguard were smashed and one had to avoid the Macedonian enemy. The Roman legions withdrew to the level of their own army camp , which was on a slight hill . The Macedonians tried to hurry to follow. However, due to the hilly terrain and the rapid resetting, the limbs of the phalanx began to tear apart and form gaps. Paullus recognized this, regrouped his army and let the Romans attack the resulting gaps. The Macedonians came under increasing pressure and could not maintain their united front, the main advantage of the phalanx. The Macedonian cavalry stood ready to intervene in support of such a case. Perseus, however, completely misjudged the situation, decided to flee. The Romans succeeded in defeating the enemy within an hour. On that day around 20,000 Macedonians were killed and 11,000 captured. The war was over. Perseus fled to Amphipolis , near Samothrace , with much of his gold . He tried to escape to Kotys in Eastern Thrace, but was captured by the Romans and transferred to Italy. On the one hand, the Battle of Pydna is considered to be evidence of the flexibility of Roman legions compared to the rigid phalanx. On the other hand, the battle represented the actual end of this Macedonian tactic, because after that no army was able to achieve a victory with the help of the phalanx. Nevertheless, the outcome of this battle was primarily due to the inability of Perseus, because the dissolution of the Macedonian line of attack should not have happened and could have been prevented by his intervention.

The results of the war

Historiography of the outbreak of war

There are various theories in historiography about the motives and causes of this war. Èduard Will assumes that Perseus signed the treaty of 197 BC. Did not break because the making of covenants was not prohibited therein. He is of the opinion that Rome was specifically looking for an occasion to declare war. For William Harris, too, the reasons given by the Senate seem rather dubious. He suspects that Rome recognized the danger of a militarily highly armed Macedonia and therefore pleaded for a preventive war. At the same time he points out that it could not necessarily have been in Perseus' interest to wage war against Rome. After all, he did not even have ships that could bring his troops to the Italian mainland. Erich Gruen points out that due to the fact that Perseus became the main actor of Hellenism, Rome overreacted and wanted to rashly demonstrate its own power.

The end of the Macedonian Empire

A Roman Senate commission deliberated in Amphipolis in 167 BC. About the treatment of the defeated opponents. These were decisions that did not affect Macedonia alone. Finally, a number of "allies" fought alongside Perseus against Rome. First of all, all Macedonians were declared free. Macedonia was dissolved and subdivided into four republican-federal municipal leagues. The first part covered the area between the Strymonas and Nestos rivers . The second region should lie west of the Strymonas and extend to the Axius River . The third area was between the Axius and Peneus rivers . The fourth area bordered on the one hand Illyria and on the other hand the Epirus region . These independent states were forbidden to reunite through intermarriage. The four countries had to elect civil servants annually to take over the administration instead of the royal functionaries.

All royal officials were forced to leave the country with their adult sons and emigrate to the Italian peninsula. The royal regalia and domains were revoked from the four states. However, the land law was retained, as was the previous constitution. The property tax that had been paid to the king until then was no longer applicable. It was up to the leagues to tax themselves. The Macedonians, however, had to pay Rome an annual sum of 100 talents.

Macedonia was demilitarized and the huge fortress Demetrias razed . A chain of posts against attacks by the barbarians was only granted to the northern areas. With these measures, the Macedonian kingdom had de facto ceased to exist. However, Rome refrained from integrating the country into its own territory after this victory. This shows that the Roman expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean was not yet the character of an offensive advance or elimination of political opponents. The victory over Macedonia was, however, another great step on the way to becoming the leading power in the ancient world.

Treatment of the Macedonian and Roman allies

The end of the Third Macedonian War led to a profound reorganization of the Hellenistic world.

The victory over Perseus gave the Roman Senate not only the opportunity to finally eliminate the Antigonid Empire as a power factor, but also to neutralize disloyal or disliked powers in the Mediterranean region. Illyria, which had charged itself with the wrath of the Romans through frequent changes of alliance, was cut into three parts and declared a "protectorate" of Rome. In future, the country had to pay half of the property tax to Rome. Nevertheless, the Illyrians were also declared free. Kotys of Eastern Thrace was forgiven, among other things because, due to the geographical location, one could hardly reach his lands in order to bring him to account.

The realm of the Attalids was hard hit: Pergamon . When the Romans were in the army camp at Herakleion, accusations were raised that Eumenes was secretly in negotiations with Perseus. Therefore Eumenes 'brother Attalus , commander of the Pergamene auxiliaries in Greece, was offered to become Pergamons' new king. This refused. The Romans saw all of this as a sign of ingratitude and lack of reliability. Therefore, after the victory, Pergamon received no territories from the “Macedonian booty” and lost its status as the preferred partner of Rome. The era of “powerless subservience” began here as well; a few years later the last Attalid gave his empire to the Romans in his will.

The Rhodians were accused of negotiating with Perseus during the fighting. The wealthy island escaped a Roman punitive campaign by a hair's breadth and its territorial possessions on the Asian mainland, such as Caria and Lycia, were withdrawn from it . Some parts of the former Attic League, z. B. Lemnos and Delos, the former naval port of Perseus, were assigned to Athens. Delos also received the status of a free port, which quickly replaced Rhodes as the main transshipment point for goods of all kinds (including slaves) in the eastern Mediterranean and was hit economically sensitive.

In the Achaean League , Rome was used by Kallikrates to eliminate his opponents. More than a thousand of his domestic political opponents were deported to Italy as hostages, including the historian Polybius , on charges of being friends of the Macedonians . Some of his enemies were even executed. The simultaneous preference for Athens, but above all the artificially established supremacy of the League over the Peloponnese, which led to constant conflicts with Sparta, formed the basis for the later uprising of the Achaeans.

literature

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swell

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