Second Macedonian War
The
Second Macedonian War (
200–
196 BC) was fought between
Macedon, led by
Philip V of Macedon and
Rome, allied with
Pergamon and
Rhodes.
Philip had long been interested in the
Greek city states but as long as these states were allied with Rome he did not dare attack them. Instead, he began to take control over parts of
Illyria. Rome responded by threatening war, and Philip withdrew his forces.
Macedon now started expanding on territory claimed by the Greek city states. These states called for help to their ally Rome, and Rome responded by giving Philip an
ultimatum: he had to accept Roman rule over Macedon, in essence making Macedon a Roman province. Philip refused, and the Second Macedonian War began.
The decisive battle was at
Cynoscephalae in
Thessaly in
197 BC, when the
legions of
Titus Flamininus defeated Philip's Macedonian
phalanx. Macedonian control of Greece was shattered, and at the
Isthmian Games in
Corinth in
196 BC, Flamininus proclaimed the freedom of Greece, although in fact Greece had now become a Roman
protectorate in all but name.
Asides from the control over Greece, another reason for the war was that Rome saw Philip as a traitor: Philip had supported
Hannibal of
Carthage, which had led to the
First Macedonian War.
*
Military history of Greece*
First Macedonian War*
Third Macedonian War*
Fourth Macedonian War
