Definition of Macedonian Wars

One of the many legacies left by Alexander the Great at his death was a strong Macedonia, whose sphere of influence went far beyond that of mainland Greece, which had been its main theater operations and center of influence thanks to the work carried out by Alexander's father, Philip II.

Therefore, and with another empire in the making like the Roman one, it was not surprising that both powers met both diplomatically and on the battlefield, clashes that have come down to us, like most of those of ancient times, narrated by the final victors, in this case the Romans, with the name of Wars Macedonian.

Macedonian Wars is the Roman name for a series of armed confrontations between the Roman Republic and the kingdom of Macedonia, which occurred between 214 BC. C and 148 a. C.

The first of these confrontations took place in the framework of the Second Punic War. Philip V of Macedon so aspired to put back the wayward Greeks who had shaken off the yoke of Macedonian rule that Alexander's father had already

tax, as to expand their territories west to coast from Rome.

In this context, Philip V saw Hannibal as a possible ally, while the Carthaginian general was interested in opening of a second front in which Rome had to entertain troops who, in this way, would not face the army Punic.

Macedonia opened hostilities by attacking Illyria, a feudal kingdom of Rome located on the Adriatic coast, west of Macedonia. Possession of these lands would allow Philip to take his army to the Italian Peninsula, which would put the Roman troops in serious trouble.

To stop the first Macedonian raids, Rome sent some reinforcement troops, who were able to contain the attack and inflicting, above all, a naval defeat on Philip that deprived him of his fleet, which would be transcendental for the Development of conflict, since it would prevent the Macedonian from going to Italy.

Rome also signed an agreement with the Aetolian League and the Kingdom of Pergamum, placing dangerous enemies to the south and east of Macedonia, who did their job well; The remainder of the conflict consisted of a series of border skirmishes that would lead to the balance now to one side, now to the other.

In 205 the Peace of Fénice, by which Rome recognized the possession of Illyria by Macedonia, while Philip desisted of any alliance with Carthage, thus closing definitely the possibility of an invasion from the east to the Italian Peninsula, and allowing the Romans to concentrate on their offensive against the Punics.

However, Rome does not forget ...

In 200 a. C, and taking advantage of the request for help from Rhodes and Pergamum, who were waging a new war against the aggressive expansionist policy of our old friend, Philip V, Rome again engaged against the Macedonian.

The casus belli used by Rome was the Macedonian attack on the region of Greek Attica, and although the Eternal City sent some emissaries with offers of peace to Philip, at the same time it was preparing the troops for a desired war that would allow him to get rid of an uncomfortable rival with whom, if they let him do so, he would end up bidding for control of the Mediterranean as with Carthage.

In addition, the affront of the Peace of Fénice was pending; Rome did not tolerate anyone taking advantage of an agreement with the city, but the Romans should always be the beneficiaries.

The Romans landed troops in Illyria, but with some shortage of troops (the years spent in the Second Punic War were still being felt), they could not make any progress, and neither could Philip, so the front stagnated.

Meanwhile, cops Greeks fought each other, divided into supporters of Rome against supporters of Macedonia, but in parallel wars that only had this relationship with the one that the Romans fought against Macedonians.

Rome, which presented itself as the liberator of Greece, would end up being the one that would abolish the freedoms of the Greeks and assimilate them to the Empire, although for the moment it was up to him to play this game to convince his supporters of the Hellas.

After some successes, the Roman troops of the consul Titus Quincio Flaminio defeated the forces of Philip V at the Battle of Cynoscephalos, forcing the Macedonian monarch to enter into negotiations of peace.

The result of these is that Philip V was forced to withdraw from his Greek possessions to stay in Macedonia, just as he also lost his possessions in Thrace and Asia Minor. Finally, Macedonia should pay war indemnities, both to the Greek cities and to Rome.

If before I have said that, despite presenting itself as liberating the Greeks, Rome would actually seek to assimilate them to the Empire, this policy was to blame for the outbreak of the Third Macedonian War.

Perseus, son of Philip V, worked the diplomatic route more than the military one, becoming friend of the Greek states. In these, discontent towards the Roman occupier (who exercised his power indirectly, controlling the leaders of the city-states, who were theoretically free) grew, so The new Macedonian monarch promised the Greeks that he would restore the past splendor of his homeland, at the same time that he made agreements with the enemies of Rome's allies in the zone.

In 171 a. C. the fight broke out, and the following year the Macedonians led by Perseus defeated the Romans commanded by Publius, the son of the triumvir Marco Licinius Crassus, in Illyria.

However, Perseus preferred to wait for the Roman troops in Macedonia, to be able to destroy them as they attempted an invasion and thus force peace negotiations with the city eternal.

The Romans, for their part, were unable to give a final blow to the Macedonian forces, until the arrival of a new commander, the consul Lucio Emilio Paulo.

Paulo decisively attacked Macedonia, i in June 168 BC. C. dealt a final blow to the troops of Perseus in the famous Battle of Pydna; the Macedonian generals could not read correctly neither the terrain nor the movements of their enemies, and the Roman legions knew how to take advantage of the technical problems of the training of phalanx used by the Macedonians, which meant the decline of this and the use of the long spears (called Sarisas) that characterized them, probably until the Spanish pikemen did not reintroduced.

Perseus took refuge in Pella, the Macedonian capital, but ended up being deposed and taken to Rome as a prisoner.

If the Third Macedonian War served any purpose, it was to strip Rome of subtleties regarding Greece; Macedonia was divided and disappeared as an independent kingdom, but the Romans also razed the cops that they had allied with Perseus and, for that matter, even his allies.

Another consequence of the conflict is that with the end of Perseus, the Antigonid dynasty, the which directly went back to one of the main companions and generals of the great Alexander the Great, Antigonus.

The Fourth Macedonian War practically does not live up to its name, as it was a brief uprising carried out by an alleged heir of Perseus.

Andrisco, which was the name of the character, only achieved a few successes at the beginning of the contest, but in 148 BC. C. Pella was destroyed by the Roman troops.

Photo: Fotolia - ASuruwataRi

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