1
00:00:06,799 --> 00:00:12,240
History of the human race has thousands of
different conquests across ages, regions,

2
00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:17,350
and cultures, but it is difficult to find
one that played such a decisive role in the

3
00:00:17,350 --> 00:00:23,349
future events as the conquest of Greece by
the Roman Republic, as its effects echoed

4
00:00:23,349 --> 00:00:25,349
through the millennia.

5
00:00:25,349 --> 00:00:30,629
Welcome to our video that will cover the first
Roman involvement in the Greek affairs, four

6
00:00:30,629 --> 00:00:36,000
Macedonian Wars, Seleucid War, Aetolian War
and Achaean War.

7
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,960
These long videos take forever to make, so
please kindly consider sharing it in your

8
00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:41,300
social media.

9
00:00:42,228 --> 00:00:49,408
The year is 231BC and the Mediterranean world
is a land of continuous warfare and political

10
00:00:49,408 --> 00:00:50,408
upheaval.

11
00:00:50,408 --> 00:00:56,208
Just ten years before, the burgeoning power
of the Roman Republic had defeated Carthage

12
00:00:56,209 --> 00:01:01,169
in the First Punic War, establishing naval
dominance on the sea.

13
00:01:01,168 --> 00:01:07,128
In the east, the Hellenistic kingdoms - Macedon,
Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Empire vie

14
00:01:07,129 --> 00:01:09,929
for dominance over their border territories.

15
00:01:09,929 --> 00:01:15,409
Sandwiched between these greater polities
are a number of smaller states, such as Pergamon

16
00:01:15,409 --> 00:01:18,859
and the nominally independent Greek city-states.

17
00:01:18,858 --> 00:01:24,578
This is the world of the late 3rd century
BC, but soon a series of conflicts between

18
00:01:24,578 --> 00:01:30,638
two rising powers - Rome and Macedon, will
change the fate of the region forever.

19
00:01:30,638 --> 00:01:38,953
The which was Illyria - currently modern Albania
and Dalmatia, was regarded in the mid to late

20
00:01:38,953 --> 00:01:44,379
third century as a thoroughly barbarian region,
only half civilised by contact with its Greek

21
00:01:44,379 --> 00:01:45,698
and Macedonian neighbors.

22
00:01:45,698 --> 00:01:50,438
Though contact with the Greek world had led
to a degree of urbanisation in the south and

23
00:01:50,438 --> 00:01:55,667
along the coast, the region in a political
sense was still made up of many small tribal

24
00:01:55,668 --> 00:01:57,199
chieftains.

25
00:01:57,198 --> 00:02:02,248
The population of Illyria had been regarded
since their initial encounters as turbulent

26
00:02:02,248 --> 00:02:04,188
and warlike by the more traditionally civilised
peoples who came to know them.

27
00:02:04,188 --> 00:02:08,929
From time to time, one of the many Illyrian
tribes would gain a temporary hegemony over

28
00:02:08,929 --> 00:02:15,039
most of the others, and in the 230s this was
the Ardiaei.

29
00:02:15,038 --> 00:02:20,649
Ruled by their energetic king - Agron, they
had forged a union of not just their own Illyrian

30
00:02:20,649 --> 00:02:27,109
peoples, but also prominent figures, such
as Demetrius - the Greek lord of Pharos.

31
00:02:27,109 --> 00:02:34,269
Coinciding with the rise of this new Illyrian
power was the collapse of Epirus, whose once

32
00:02:34,269 --> 00:02:38,668
formidable strength had waned and whose monarchy
fell.

33
00:02:38,668 --> 00:02:44,139
Taking advantage of this weakness, the Illyrians
invaded and eventually managed to seize Epirote

34
00:02:44,139 --> 00:02:50,329
territory far south of the traditional border,
climaxing with the seizure of Phoenice, the

35
00:02:50,329 --> 00:02:55,028
wealthiest city of the kingdom.

36
00:02:55,028 --> 00:03:00,378
Despite these successes however, Agron perished
soon after and was succeeded nominally by

37
00:03:00,378 --> 00:03:01,858
his son.

38
00:03:01,858 --> 00:03:07,429
In reality, it was his wife Teuta who wielded
true power, quickly being appointed regent

39
00:03:07,429 --> 00:03:08,987
for her stepson.

40
00:03:08,987 --> 00:03:14,788
Her ascension did not stop Illyrian belligerence,
and in her reign piracy increasingly became

41
00:03:14,788 --> 00:03:17,987
a major problem in the Mediterranean.

42
00:03:17,987 --> 00:03:22,418
Seizures of more southerly territories in
Epirus had allowed the establishment of more

43
00:03:22,418 --> 00:03:25,048
staging points from which brigands could sail.

44
00:03:25,048 --> 00:03:31,149
This had been occurring for a long time already,
but the increasing scale of the problem, the

45
00:03:31,149 --> 00:03:36,679
increasingly loud complaints of Roman merchants
and the economic impact of piracy on the Republic

46
00:03:36,679 --> 00:03:41,308
prompted the senate to act.

47
00:03:41,308 --> 00:03:47,638
Uncharacteristically peacefully for the notoriously
bellicose Romans, the initial senatorial reaction

48
00:03:47,638 --> 00:03:55,199
in 230BC was not to send in the legions, but
instead to send a diplomatic embassy of two

49
00:03:55,199 --> 00:03:58,309
brothers to investigate the situation.

50
00:03:58,308 --> 00:04:03,868
In the typically harsh style of Roman diplomacy,
the Coruncanius brothers protested to Teuta

51
00:04:03,868 --> 00:04:08,868
about the increasing piracy and demanded that
it cease immediately.

52
00:04:08,868 --> 00:04:14,508
The demand was not negotiable and the Illyrians
would have a chance to comply peacefully - otherwise

53
00:04:14,508 --> 00:04:16,848
it would be war.

54
00:04:16,848 --> 00:04:23,459
Teuta refused this demand, either because
of her inability to control the actions of

55
00:04:23,459 --> 00:04:29,848
her decentralised tribal allies or because
she simply did not wish to bend to Roman demands.

56
00:04:29,848 --> 00:04:35,078
Whatever the case, this did not please the
Romans, a situation made even worse by the

57
00:04:35,077 --> 00:04:40,458
murder of a Roman envoy, possibly by Teuta
herself in the midst of the anger of the meeting

58
00:04:40,459 --> 00:04:46,369
or on the journey home by those very pirates
that the embassy had been dispatched to stop.

59
00:04:46,369 --> 00:04:50,939
While the death of the Roman envoy was the
immediate trigger for war, the expansion of

60
00:04:50,939 --> 00:04:56,288
the Ardaei tribe’s power over the region
was a deeper geopolitical cause - Rome did

61
00:04:56,288 --> 00:05:02,567
not want any powerful rival in the Adriatic.

62
00:05:02,567 --> 00:05:10,728
Late in the campaigning season of 229BC, a
massive Roman force of 22,000 and 200 ships

63
00:05:10,728 --> 00:05:12,487
bore down on the Illyrians.

64
00:05:12,487 --> 00:05:18,158
Though details of the short campaign are unknown,
it is known that the Roman expedition was

65
00:05:18,158 --> 00:05:21,158
a complete success from north to south.

66
00:05:21,158 --> 00:05:25,998
Teuta’s appointed governor of the recently
conquered island of Corcyra - Demetrius of

67
00:05:25,999 --> 00:05:31,249
Pharos, went over to the Roman side almost
immediately, while the queen regent’s forces

68
00:05:31,249 --> 00:05:33,518
were defeated in the field.

69
00:05:33,517 --> 00:05:39,198
By spring of 228 Teuta had been forced into
a peace treaty with the Romans, breaking her

70
00:05:39,199 --> 00:05:44,468
kingdom into weaker segments and forbidding
ventures of piracy into the southern Adriatic

71
00:05:44,468 --> 00:05:47,858
Sea.

72
00:05:47,858 --> 00:05:52,088
The Romans withdrew their troops and left
behind only their amicitia, or ‘friendship’

73
00:05:52,088 --> 00:05:58,709
- a benign sounding term which would soon
apparently become anything but that.

74
00:05:58,709 --> 00:06:04,487
In essence, being a ‘friend’ of Rome included
the de facto conditions of becoming an informal

75
00:06:04,487 --> 00:06:08,418
client state.

76
00:06:08,418 --> 00:06:14,328
A primary beneficiary of the peace of 228
was the defector Demetrius of Pharos, who

77
00:06:14,327 --> 00:06:19,537
was granted a small independent principality
of his own, sandwiched between the remnant

78
00:06:19,538 --> 00:06:23,567
of the Ardiaean kingdom and the Greek cities.

79
00:06:23,567 --> 00:06:28,358
Despite these gains under Roman auspices,
it seems that the ambitious Demetrius was

80
00:06:28,358 --> 00:06:33,509
not content to remain in his small kingdom,
and shortly after the peace was finalised,

81
00:06:33,509 --> 00:06:38,129
he married Triteuta - the Ardiaean king’s
biological mother.

82
00:06:38,129 --> 00:06:43,278
By becoming the young boy’s formal regent
in this act, Demetrius of Pharos effectively

83
00:06:43,278 --> 00:06:51,518
recreated the powerful Illyrian kingdom abolished
by Rome in the First Illyrian War.

84
00:06:51,517 --> 00:06:57,597
Even more boldly, he began to launch pillaging
raids into the territory of Roman allied tribes.

85
00:06:57,598 --> 00:07:02,487
It could be that Demetrius was ‘testing
the water’ and, due to the lack of any Roman

86
00:07:02,487 --> 00:07:07,459
response, he believed they either could not
or did not wish to intervene.

87
00:07:07,459 --> 00:07:13,098
This was an illusion, as the Romans were instead
occupied by the Roman-Gallic War of 226-222BC,

88
00:07:13,098 --> 00:07:22,169
and it would prove to be a fatal illusion
for Demetrius.

89
00:07:22,168 --> 00:07:28,218
Further trying his luck, Demetrius set out
with 90 light galleys in the summer of 220BC

90
00:07:28,218 --> 00:07:34,367
on a grand piracy expedition, ravaging cities
around the Adriatic Sea in blatant violation

91
00:07:34,367 --> 00:07:36,927
of the treaty eight years before.

92
00:07:36,927 --> 00:07:42,187
He had finally gone too far, and Rome now
decided that their former ally Demetrius now

93
00:07:42,187 --> 00:07:48,418
posed the same threat to Roman interests that
Teuta had, and moreover wished to punish their

94
00:07:48,418 --> 00:07:55,228
friend for betraying them and not acting like
a friend should.

95
00:07:55,228 --> 00:08:00,867
The disproportionately massive Roman action
which began in 219 was probably motivated

96
00:08:00,867 --> 00:08:06,468
by the Republic’s desire to swiftly and
decisively conclude the Illyrian situation

97
00:08:06,468 --> 00:08:11,819
before a new war with Carthage began, as it
seemed like it might.

98
00:08:11,819 --> 00:08:17,869
Demetrius’ strategy was to hold the fortresses
of Dimallum and Pharos itself, but the Romans

99
00:08:17,869 --> 00:08:24,249
took the former in only seven days, while
a rash sortie by Demetrius lost him Pharos.

100
00:08:24,249 --> 00:08:29,259
The man himself evaded capture because he
had placed a squadron of hidden galleys in

101
00:08:29,259 --> 00:08:33,408
a secret cove, fleeing to them when the battle
was lost.

102
00:08:33,408 --> 00:08:38,708
On these ships he fled to the south, abandoning
his family to Roman imprisonment and his men

103
00:08:38,708 --> 00:08:43,458
to death at Roman hands.

104
00:08:43,458 --> 00:08:48,687
Not long after, Demetrius reached the Adriatic
port town of Actium, where the fleet of a

105
00:08:48,687 --> 00:08:53,617
great Hellenistic king - Philip V of Macedon,
was anchored.

106
00:08:53,618 --> 00:08:59,559
When he arrived, the king welcome Demetrius
heartily and he quickly became a key advisor.

107
00:08:59,558 --> 00:09:04,247
Meanwhile, the Romans once again withdrew
all of their soldiers from the region, leaving

108
00:09:04,248 --> 00:09:05,729
no military presence.

109
00:09:05,729 --> 00:09:10,889
They once again left only their friendship
behind, but had demonstrated to the great

110
00:09:10,889 --> 00:09:18,937
Macedonian kingdom to the south that they
had the will to intervene in the east.

111
00:09:18,937 --> 00:09:23,338
Before continuing, we need to reverse time
for a moment and briefly examine the history

112
00:09:23,339 --> 00:09:28,899
of Macedon after its would-be conqueror - Pyrrhus
of Epirus, died in Argos.

113
00:09:28,899 --> 00:09:36,889
The victor in that battle - Antigonus II Gonatas,
was firmly in control of Macedon by 272 and

114
00:09:36,889 --> 00:09:40,899
had also established hegemony over the Greek
city-states.

115
00:09:40,899 --> 00:09:46,509
Having gained the loyalty of his turbulent
homeland, Antigonus II did his best to maintain

116
00:09:46,509 --> 00:09:47,509
it.

117
00:09:47,509 --> 00:09:52,709
He raised a great sacred mound to honour the
graves of the Argead house, reorganised the

118
00:09:52,708 --> 00:09:58,318
provincial system to increase its efficiency
and was vigilant in keeping Macedonian coinage

119
00:09:58,318 --> 00:10:03,558
a high quality currency.

120
00:10:03,558 --> 00:10:09,168
Making good use of Macedon’s depleted resources
and funds, Antigonus focused on access and

121
00:10:09,168 --> 00:10:15,769
mobility, extensively utilising the Antigonid
fleet and the great naval fortresses of Demetrias,

122
00:10:15,769 --> 00:10:20,058
Chalcis and Corinth to ferry troops to strategic
locations.

123
00:10:20,058 --> 00:10:25,899
An Athenian-led, Ptolemaic-supported attempt
at shaking off Macedonian domination failed

124
00:10:25,899 --> 00:10:30,269
in the Cheromidian War from 268 to 281.

125
00:10:30,269 --> 00:10:36,428
Though Antigonus managed to quell this revolt,
crucial fortresses such as the Acrocorinth

126
00:10:36,428 --> 00:10:42,427
were lost during his reign, which finally
ended in 239BC with his death.

127
00:10:42,427 --> 00:10:48,828
His successor - Demetrius II, ruled for a
relatively uneventful decade during which

128
00:10:48,828 --> 00:10:56,107
Macedon’s situation weakened ever further,
and he died in 229.

129
00:10:56,107 --> 00:11:01,307
The late king’s own son - Philip V, was
only a child at the time of his father’s

130
00:11:01,307 --> 00:11:06,218
death, and Macedon could not afford a child
ruler in such a perilous time.

131
00:11:06,219 --> 00:11:11,889
A regent was clearly required for the time
being, and a distant Antigonid relation was

132
00:11:11,889 --> 00:11:15,599
chosen for the task - Antigonus Doson.

133
00:11:15,599 --> 00:11:20,140
As one of the lesser known but more highly
competent Macedonian kings during the 3rd

134
00:11:20,139 --> 00:11:26,139
century BC, Antigonus Doson began to raise
the young Philip as his own son, and at the

135
00:11:26,139 --> 00:11:33,057
same time energetically set to campaigning
in order to beat back Macedon’s enemies.

136
00:11:33,057 --> 00:11:39,748
He first marched north and expelled the Illyrians
from the kingdom, and then struck south and

137
00:11:39,748 --> 00:11:42,238
crushed the Aetolian League.

138
00:11:42,238 --> 00:11:47,959
After securing his borders, Antigonus proceeded
to renounce all Macedonian claims south of

139
00:11:47,958 --> 00:11:54,638
the Thermopylae pass, wisely hoping to consolidate
and stabilise the situation in Macedon itself.

140
00:11:54,639 --> 00:12:00,038
The response of the army was to demand that
Antigonus accept the title of king.

141
00:12:00,038 --> 00:12:04,899
While he did this, Philip V’s rights to
the throne were not usurped or taken away,

142
00:12:04,899 --> 00:12:11,028
and Antigonus swiftly appointed him the official
heir.

143
00:12:11,028 --> 00:12:16,349
After another series of victories which including
the first ever seizure of Sparta by a foreign

144
00:12:16,349 --> 00:12:23,709
army, Antigonus III Doson perished in 221,
leaving behind a resurgent, stable and increasingly

145
00:12:23,708 --> 00:12:28,818
powerful Macedon to Philip V, who now ascended
to the throne.

146
00:12:28,818 --> 00:12:34,247
Soon after taking the throne, Philip V and
the Macedonian hegemony was once again challenged

147
00:12:34,248 --> 00:12:41,538
by the Aetolian League and its allies during
the Social War of 220-217 - who believed Philip

148
00:12:41,538 --> 00:12:44,358
was too young to be an effective ruler.

149
00:12:44,357 --> 00:12:51,958
It was during this war that Demetrius of Pharos
arrived at the royal court.

150
00:12:51,958 --> 00:12:57,018
Cataclysmic events in the west now began to
attract wider attention in the Mediterranean

151
00:12:57,019 --> 00:12:58,399
world.

152
00:12:58,399 --> 00:13:04,988
The Second Punic War had broken out in 218
and the Carthaginian general Hannibal successfully

153
00:13:04,988 --> 00:13:07,199
crossed the Alps to invade Italy.

154
00:13:07,198 --> 00:13:12,708
There, he had already defeated one Roman field
army at the Trebia River and, in the June

155
00:13:12,708 --> 00:13:18,278
of 217 he crushed another at Lake Trasimene
in Etruria.

156
00:13:18,278 --> 00:13:23,687
Hearing of these massive Roman defeats, Philip
V now began to consider expansion in the west

157
00:13:23,687 --> 00:13:27,838
at the expense of an apparently dying Roman
Republic.

158
00:13:27,839 --> 00:13:33,308
This new direction was encouraged by Demetrius
of Pharos who, after being expelled from his

159
00:13:33,307 --> 00:13:39,528
Adriatic dominion by Rome, now argued that
Philip should end the Social War, gain control

160
00:13:39,528 --> 00:13:45,889
of the Illyrian coast and attack Italy himself.

161
00:13:45,889 --> 00:13:51,028
Accepting the military status quo and ending
the war in Greece at Naupactus, Philip then

162
00:13:51,028 --> 00:13:57,487
drove the Illyrians from Macedon once again
and in the winter of 217 had a fleet of 100

163
00:13:57,488 --> 00:13:59,779
light warships constructed.

164
00:13:59,778 --> 00:14:06,139
In summer of 216 the king made his first attempt
at secured Illyria’s coastal region, but

165
00:14:06,139 --> 00:14:12,408
fled home upon hearing news of an approaching
Roman fleet.

166
00:14:12,408 --> 00:14:17,857
The decisive Roman defeat at Cannae was another
crucial moment, as it prompted Philip to send

167
00:14:17,857 --> 00:14:23,798
envoys to Hannibal asking for a formal alliance
- he no doubt wanted to join the ‘winning’

168
00:14:23,798 --> 00:14:27,248
side and make gains at Roman expense.

169
00:14:27,248 --> 00:14:32,089
The story goes that the envoy - Xenophanes,
was captured by a Roman praetor on his way

170
00:14:32,089 --> 00:14:36,998
to speak with Hannibal, but managed to talk
his way to freedom by stating that he was

171
00:14:36,998 --> 00:14:39,307
instead there to make peace with Rome.

172
00:14:39,307 --> 00:14:44,649
However, the unfortunate Xenophanes was captured
again on his way back to Macedon with the

173
00:14:44,649 --> 00:14:47,318
formal treaty with Hannibal in his possession.

174
00:14:47,318 --> 00:14:55,418
It was in this manner that the Romans learned
of that new threat that faced them.

175
00:14:55,418 --> 00:15:00,158
Following the conclusion of the Punic-Macedonian
treaty, Philip aggressed further with new

176
00:15:00,158 --> 00:15:05,427
attacks against coastal Illyria, attacking
Corcyra in 215.

177
00:15:05,427 --> 00:15:11,798
This intensified in 214 when a major offensive
began - Philip’s land army marched north

178
00:15:11,798 --> 00:15:19,248
into Illyria through Epirus while 120 Macedonian
galleys sailed up the Straits of Otranto.

179
00:15:19,248 --> 00:15:24,820
In this campaign Philip swiftly seized Oricum
and besieged Apollonia, who called to Rome

180
00:15:24,820 --> 00:15:28,479
for help.

181
00:15:28,479 --> 00:15:33,238
With a strengthened Adriatic fleet, the Roman
commander Laevinus now crossed the sea with

182
00:15:33,238 --> 00:15:39,069
55 heavy Roman warships, lifted the siege
of Apollonia and drove the Macedonians away

183
00:15:39,068 --> 00:15:44,477
from Oricum - two crucial ports which could
have been used as a staging point for an attack

184
00:15:44,477 --> 00:15:46,328
on Italy.

185
00:15:46,328 --> 00:15:50,798
After these victorious, Laevinus wintered
his fleet in Oricum, while Philip burned his

186
00:15:50,798 --> 00:15:56,869
ships and retreated overland to Macedon.

187
00:15:56,869 --> 00:16:02,798
Having been blocked at sea, the Macedonian
king attacked instead over the Pindus mountains,

188
00:16:02,798 --> 00:16:06,858
making significant gains in 213 and 212.

189
00:16:06,859 --> 00:16:12,099
The inland Dassaretis, Parthini and Atintani
tribal settlements fell to him, without a

190
00:16:12,099 --> 00:16:14,749
significant Roman response.

191
00:16:14,749 --> 00:16:19,129
The Republic did not have the land troops
to spare for a side-venture into the eastern

192
00:16:19,129 --> 00:16:22,408
Adriatic, as they were still fighting against
Hannibal.

193
00:16:22,408 --> 00:16:28,698
This situation changed during the later part
of 212 when Philip was once again able to

194
00:16:28,698 --> 00:16:30,858
reach the Adriatic.

195
00:16:30,859 --> 00:16:35,519
Having battered his way through land to the
coast, he managed to seize the coastal fortress

196
00:16:35,519 --> 00:16:38,989
of Lissus, another possible staging point.

197
00:16:38,989 --> 00:16:47,158
It became clear to the Romans that this eastern
threat could no longer be ignored.

198
00:16:47,158 --> 00:16:52,028
Neutralising Philip at this point was beyond
Roman military power alone due to the Carthaginian

199
00:16:52,028 --> 00:16:57,688
War, so the senate began to use diplomacy
as a weapon and started enticing other Greek

200
00:16:57,688 --> 00:17:00,769
states to do the neutralising for them.

201
00:17:00,769 --> 00:17:06,669
A treaty was made between the traditionally
anti-Macedon Aetolian League and Rome, the

202
00:17:06,669 --> 00:17:10,869
former being convinced of the alliance because
of Roman victories in the Punic War during

203
00:17:10,868 --> 00:17:14,858
the summer of 211 at Capua and Tarentum.

204
00:17:14,858 --> 00:17:19,749
Terms were generous for the Aetolians - they
would get any captured town or city, but the

205
00:17:19,749 --> 00:17:24,538
booty would go to the Romans unless the town
was jointly taken.

206
00:17:24,538 --> 00:17:29,719
Another term allowed for the inclusion of
other Aetolian allies, such as Sparta, Elis,

207
00:17:29,719 --> 00:17:35,068
Messenia, the Illyrians and even Pergamum.

208
00:17:35,068 --> 00:17:40,298
The war itself was a disruptive, indecisive
slogging match, with the Romans taking several

209
00:17:40,298 --> 00:17:47,538
important centres such as Anticyra, but Philip
V making gains against the rest of the coalition.

210
00:17:47,538 --> 00:17:54,038
Attempts at peace talks by non-combatant states
failed in 207 due to Rome’s deliberate derailing

211
00:17:54,038 --> 00:17:59,759
actions, but during 206 and 205 they were
gradually forced into peace.

212
00:17:59,759 --> 00:18:05,239
Though the final treaty ending the war at
Phoenice concluded hostilities for now, it

213
00:18:05,239 --> 00:18:10,078
was clear that Rome’s desire to punish Philip
for his attempt at kicking them while they

214
00:18:10,078 --> 00:18:12,858
were down was not yet sated.

215
00:18:12,858 --> 00:18:18,788
One thing was certain, however, Rome was ever
so slowly winning the Second Punic War and

216
00:18:18,788 --> 00:18:23,519
would soon be able to harness all of its might
against Macedon.

217
00:18:23,519 --> 00:18:32,439
When Philip V received reports of the final
Roman victory at Zama in 202BC, he did not

218
00:18:32,439 --> 00:18:34,829
stop his belligerent behavior.

219
00:18:34,828 --> 00:18:41,499
Instead, he began to take advantage of a weakening
Egypt, alarming many of his smaller neighbors.

220
00:18:41,499 --> 00:18:46,608
Since 207, Egypt had been caught in a downward
spiral.

221
00:18:46,608 --> 00:18:49,318
Since the the final division of the Successor
Kingdoms at Ipsus, the eastern Mediterranean

222
00:18:49,318 --> 00:18:54,818
had been kept stable by a balance of power
between the three major Hellenistic monarchies

223
00:18:54,818 --> 00:19:00,288
- Antigonid Macedon, Ptolemaic Egypt and the
Seleucid Empire.

224
00:19:00,288 --> 00:19:03,568
If one of the three was becoming too powerful,
the other two functioned as a counter, preventing

225
00:19:03,568 --> 00:19:06,449
any one power from becoming hegemon and therefore
protecting the smaller states of the Hellenistic

226
00:19:06,449 --> 00:19:08,379
world.

227
00:19:08,378 --> 00:19:14,928
This system began to break down in 205, when
priests of the Egyptian god Amon took advantage

228
00:19:14,929 --> 00:19:20,679
of native discontent with Ptolemaic rule and
proclaimed a new pharaoh.

229
00:19:20,679 --> 00:19:26,548
This ignited a devastating revolt which detached
all of upper Egypt from the regime in Alexandria,

230
00:19:26,548 --> 00:19:27,548
and the increasing ineffectual government
allowed lawlessness to increase unchecked.

231
00:19:27,548 --> 00:19:28,548
This was not the end of it.

232
00:19:28,548 --> 00:19:35,368
Matters deteriorated even further in 204 when
king Ptolemy IV died prematurely and was succeeded

233
00:19:35,368 --> 00:19:41,038
by his six year old son - Ptolemy V. Conflicts
over the regency of this child king paralysed

234
00:19:41,038 --> 00:19:43,699
the Alexandrian regime even further and rendered
it vulnerable.

235
00:19:43,699 --> 00:19:47,089
Unfortunately for them, this was the worst
time to be weak in such a dog-eat-dog political

236
00:19:47,088 --> 00:19:48,088
world.

237
00:19:48,088 --> 00:19:51,489
The First Macedonian War between the Romans
and Philip had just ended in the last years

238
00:19:51,489 --> 00:19:56,629
of the third century, and Seleucid king Antiochus
III had returned from his great eastern campaigns.

239
00:19:56,628 --> 00:20:02,388
Both of these great kings now hungrily eyed
the almost defenceless overseas Ptolemaic

240
00:20:02,388 --> 00:20:09,478
possessions, and Antiochus launched the Fifth
Syrian War in 202 in order to seize traditionally

241
00:20:09,479 --> 00:20:16,298
disputed territories in Cyprus and Coele-Syria.

242
00:20:16,298 --> 00:20:21,269
The predatory Philip V of Macedon swiftly
gained several of the Cyclades Islands and

243
00:20:21,269 --> 00:20:25,618
established good relations with the many Greek
cities on the western coast of Asia Minor.

244
00:20:25,618 --> 00:20:28,138
Bulldozing his way through the Aegean would
not go without consequence, as he quickly

245
00:20:28,138 --> 00:20:31,988
earned the ire of both Rhodes and Pergamon,
smaller states who wished to curb Macedonian

246
00:20:31,989 --> 00:20:34,769
expansion and declared war in 201.

247
00:20:34,769 --> 00:20:40,558
Soon after, Philip defeated a joint Rhodian-Pergamene
relief attempt at the Siege of Chios with

248
00:20:40,558 --> 00:20:43,888
heavy losses, and then attacked Pergamon itself.

249
00:20:43,888 --> 00:20:49,398
Though Philip decisively defeated the land
army of his enemy outside the walls, he nevertheless

250
00:20:49,398 --> 00:20:52,138
failed to take the city.

251
00:20:52,138 --> 00:20:56,858
Realising that attempts to do so would only
drain his forces, Philip instead annexed most

252
00:20:56,858 --> 00:21:05,888
of Caria and the Rhodian Peraia directly into
what was becoming a New Macedonian Empire.

253
00:21:05,888 --> 00:21:10,898
In the Autumn, Philip’s fleet was attacked
at Lade by the Rhodian navy, but managed to

254
00:21:10,898 --> 00:21:12,688
win anyway.

255
00:21:12,689 --> 00:21:18,819
During winter of 201, a Rhodian fleet blockaded
Philip in the Gulf of Bargylia on Carian coast,

256
00:21:18,818 --> 00:21:23,288
where the king apparently struggled to feed
himself and his army.

257
00:21:23,288 --> 00:21:27,578
They knew that the king would break out at
some point, and also knew they were losing

258
00:21:27,578 --> 00:21:31,408
the war against Macedon, so the went west
for help.

259
00:21:31,409 --> 00:21:33,999
Ambassadors from the various anti-Macedon
states such as Pergamon, Rhodes and Egypt

260
00:21:33,999 --> 00:21:38,929
travelled to Rome, informing the senate of
a secret pact that Philip had signed with

261
00:21:38,929 --> 00:21:44,189
Antiochus III which would divide Ptolemaic
possessions between them.

262
00:21:44,189 --> 00:21:49,229
It was these smaller, weaker Hellenistic polities
which opened the gates for Roman intervention

263
00:21:49,229 --> 00:21:53,749
into the Greek world, as they saw the main
threat to their independence as coming from

264
00:21:53,749 --> 00:21:59,818
Antiochus and Philip, and not from Rome as
is commonly believed.

265
00:21:59,818 --> 00:22:04,678
As predicted, Philip managed to trick his
enemies into letting him escape during spring

266
00:22:04,679 --> 00:22:09,489
of 200BC, eventually returning to Macedon.

267
00:22:09,489 --> 00:22:14,519
The northern Aegean campaign continued on
land upon his return and the king swept through

268
00:22:14,519 --> 00:22:19,759
the region until he reached Abydos, which
he put under siege.

269
00:22:19,759 --> 00:22:24,699
Observing this blatant Macedonian aggression,
dangerous cooperation between the two Hellenistic

270
00:22:24,699 --> 00:22:28,089
monarchies and a seemingly resurgent Macedon,
the Roman senate asked the people to vote

271
00:22:28,088 --> 00:22:29,678
them a mandate for war.

272
00:22:29,679 --> 00:22:34,319
However, the people’s assembly rejected
this demand for yet another war due to war

273
00:22:34,318 --> 00:22:39,648
weariness and the fact that Southern Italy
had been devastated in the Second Punic War.

274
00:22:39,648 --> 00:22:41,818
Not at all demoralised by their initial failure,
the senate granted Consul Publius Sulpicius

275
00:22:41,818 --> 00:22:44,219
Galba the job of winning over the public assembly.

276
00:22:44,219 --> 00:22:50,399
By comparing the emerging Macedonian threat
to the great invaders of Italy - Pyrrhus and

277
00:22:50,398 --> 00:22:56,248
Hannibal, Galba was successful in persuading
the assembly to declare war on Philip V.

278
00:22:56,249 --> 00:23:01,439
While the Roman military prepared its lines
of supply across the Adriatic and Philip continued

279
00:23:01,439 --> 00:23:07,489
his siege at Abydos, three prominent senatorial
emissaries went on a great diplomatic mission

280
00:23:07,489 --> 00:23:08,919
in the east.

281
00:23:08,919 --> 00:23:14,619
Their message was clear to all: If Philip
refrained from making war on Greeks and compensated

282
00:23:14,618 --> 00:23:19,497
Pergamon for their losses, there would be
peace.

283
00:23:19,498 --> 00:23:27,189
The Macedonian king brashly rebuffed the Roman
envoys and committed to war.

284
00:23:27,189 --> 00:23:33,359
The Second Macedonian War had begun, and it
started with the fall of Abydos, whose citizens

285
00:23:33,358 --> 00:23:38,259
committed mass suicide due to their reluctance
to live under Philip’s rule.

286
00:23:38,259 --> 00:23:45,269
In late November of 200BC the king returned
to Macedonia and learned that 20,000 Romans

287
00:23:45,269 --> 00:23:50,548
had already landed in Apollonia under Galba,
while 50 warships were docked on the island

288
00:23:50,548 --> 00:23:54,679
of Corcyra.

289
00:23:54,679 --> 00:24:00,259
Deciding to focus initially on the peripheral
threats, Philip campaigned in the Peloponnese.

290
00:24:00,259 --> 00:24:05,618
At the same time, Consul Galba conducted raids
into the Illyrian countryside to prepare for

291
00:24:05,618 --> 00:24:12,028
the campaign - notoriously sacking Antipatrea
so thoroughly that it only recovered in the

292
00:24:12,028 --> 00:24:13,778
fifth century CE.

293
00:24:13,778 --> 00:24:19,189
After subsequently failing to invade Macedon
through the mountains, a weak and sickly Galba

294
00:24:19,189 --> 00:24:25,209
was replaced by Publius Villius Tappalus.

295
00:24:25,209 --> 00:24:29,808
Things went even worse for Villius, as he
was immediately faced with a mutiny among

296
00:24:29,808 --> 00:24:32,148
the legions upon taking command.

297
00:24:32,148 --> 00:24:37,698
2,000 veterans of the Second Punic War felt
they had been away from their farms and families

298
00:24:37,699 --> 00:24:41,209
for too long, and refused to obey orders.

299
00:24:41,209 --> 00:24:46,439
The Roman forces were paralysed for a while,
but to his credit, Villius listened to their

300
00:24:46,439 --> 00:24:49,048
complaints and promised to raise them with
the senate.

301
00:24:49,048 --> 00:24:51,249
As the situation cooled somewhat due to his
mitigation attempts, Villius marched and encamped

302
00:24:51,249 --> 00:24:54,058
near a gorge on the Aous river.

303
00:24:54,058 --> 00:24:59,428
Philip V had also arrived here not long before,
setting up on own army in a strong defensive

304
00:24:59,429 --> 00:25:05,079
position on the main route from Apollonia
to Macedon.

305
00:25:05,078 --> 00:25:10,438
Villius’ command had run its course and
immediately after establishing his camp at

306
00:25:10,439 --> 00:25:17,069
the Aous he was replaced by a vibrant member
of the patrician Quinctia family - Titus Quinctius

307
00:25:17,068 --> 00:25:18,848
Flamininus.

308
00:25:18,848 --> 00:25:24,259
This passionate, hot tempered and generous
philhellene had previously served with success

309
00:25:24,259 --> 00:25:30,169
as the governor of Tarentum, and in 198 was
elected to the consulship despite being too

310
00:25:30,169 --> 00:25:31,899
young to legally to do so.

311
00:25:31,898 --> 00:25:33,078
Nevertheless, Flamininus almost immediately
set out for the Greek east with 3,000 veteran

312
00:25:33,078 --> 00:25:36,459
troops accompanying him, ignoring the standard
period of honours and administrative duties

313
00:25:36,459 --> 00:25:45,209
a new Consul would undertake in Rome.

314
00:25:45,209 --> 00:25:50,048
After reaching the Roman camp at the Aous,
Flamininus relieved Villius of command and

315
00:25:50,048 --> 00:25:55,918
sent an envoy to demand negotiations with
Philip, negotiations which would be traditionally

316
00:25:55,919 --> 00:25:56,919
Roman.

317
00:25:56,919 --> 00:26:01,439
King and Consul faced off on opposite sides
of the swift-flowing Aous, each with their

318
00:26:01,439 --> 00:26:05,979
respective entourages of advisors and generals
behind them.

319
00:26:05,979 --> 00:26:10,679
Philip attempted to bring Flamininus to a
compromise, arguing that the treatment of

320
00:26:10,679 --> 00:26:16,209
each annexed city would need to be different,
proposing a decision by independent tribunal.

321
00:26:16,209 --> 00:26:22,339
However, Flamininus was not going to accept
any compromise, and instead proclaimed that

322
00:26:22,338 --> 00:26:26,009
his mission was to liberate all Greeks from
Macedonian domination.

323
00:26:26,009 --> 00:26:31,028
To this end, he demanded that Philip first
relinquish Thessaly - a possession which had

324
00:26:31,028 --> 00:26:35,009
been part of Macedon for 120 years.

325
00:26:35,009 --> 00:26:40,749
This intentionally irrational demand worked,
provoking Philip into breaking off negotiations

326
00:26:40,749 --> 00:26:46,598
and returning to his excellent defensive position.

327
00:26:46,598 --> 00:26:51,858
The Roman general wasted no time, and ordered
his missile troops and light infantry to skirmish

328
00:26:51,858 --> 00:26:55,858
with Philip’s forces, engaging in projectile
duels.

329
00:26:55,858 --> 00:27:01,808
This distracted the Macedonians and their
commander while 4,300 handpicked legionaries,

330
00:27:01,808 --> 00:27:07,709
guided by an Epirote noble named Charops,
moved around a back route up and over the

331
00:27:07,709 --> 00:27:08,929
mountains.

332
00:27:08,929 --> 00:27:14,729
Once this flanking force was in place, Flamininus
advanced, and the Macedonians fled to avoid

333
00:27:14,729 --> 00:27:17,949
being trapped in the Roman pincer.

334
00:27:17,949 --> 00:27:22,979
The loss of Philip’s crucial baggage train
was a massive blow, but even worse was the

335
00:27:22,979 --> 00:27:27,959
loss of confidence that this defeat brought
to the Greek allies of Macedon.

336
00:27:27,959 --> 00:27:32,929
As the king returned with his bloodied army
to Macedon, many wavering powers now either

337
00:27:32,929 --> 00:27:38,259
declared for the Romans or remained neutral,
including the Achaean League - Macedon’s

338
00:27:38,259 --> 00:27:42,588
most powerful Greek ally.

339
00:27:42,588 --> 00:27:48,239
The subsequent campaign was indecisive for
Flamininus, who became bogged down in a siege

340
00:27:48,239 --> 00:27:51,729
at Atrax and then retired for the winter.

341
00:27:51,729 --> 00:27:57,119
At the same time, Philip began preparing for
a decisive clash in the following year, recruiting

342
00:27:57,118 --> 00:28:00,528
even youths and old men for war.

343
00:28:00,528 --> 00:28:05,469
Peace talks failed when the glory-hunting
Flamininus’ command was extended, leading

344
00:28:05,469 --> 00:28:10,479
him to break off negotiations.

345
00:28:10,479 --> 00:28:16,389
When spring came in 197 Philip marched south
and stopped at a town called Pharae, where

346
00:28:16,388 --> 00:28:21,168
his army began to forage for supplies and
even spotted some Roman scouts.

347
00:28:21,169 --> 00:28:27,229
Learning of the Macedonian presence, Flamininus
and his army marched north from Boeotia, hoping

348
00:28:27,229 --> 00:28:30,519
to intercept Philip before he could withdraw.

349
00:28:30,519 --> 00:28:35,759
On a bleak, foggy morning, the two armies
finally came into proximity of one another

350
00:28:35,759 --> 00:28:39,528
near a sloping ridge called Cynoscephalae.

351
00:28:39,528 --> 00:28:45,578
Before the battle begins, let us take a moment
to examine the composition of the opposing

352
00:28:45,578 --> 00:28:49,298
armies which came into contact on the hills
of Thessaly…

353
00:28:49,298 --> 00:28:55,138
Flamininus’ field army consisted of two
Roman and two allied legions, totalling around

354
00:28:55,138 --> 00:29:01,608
20,000 lethal legionary infantry, with many
grizzled veterans of the Punic War among them.

355
00:29:01,608 --> 00:29:09,638
2,000 velites screened this core of the Roman
army while 2,500 equite cavalry and even 20

356
00:29:09,638 --> 00:29:14,458
war elephants protected its flanks.

357
00:29:14,459 --> 00:29:19,469
Along with these Italian forces, the Roman
army also included a substantial contingent

358
00:29:19,469 --> 00:29:21,328
of Greek allies.

359
00:29:21,328 --> 00:29:28,509
1,200 light infantry joined the army from
Epirus, 800 archers from Crete and 6,000 infantry

360
00:29:28,509 --> 00:29:32,249
as well as 400 cavalry from the Aetolian League.

361
00:29:32,249 --> 00:29:38,929
All in all, Flamininus had around 32,000 troops.

362
00:29:38,929 --> 00:29:44,559
On the other side of the ridge, Philip’s
core of 16,000 Sarissa wielding phalangists

363
00:29:44,558 --> 00:29:52,759
were accompanied by 2,000 elite agema peltasts,
4,000 Illyrian and Thracian mercenaries, 1,500

364
00:29:52,759 --> 00:30:00,778
Greek hoplite mercenaries and 2,000 Thessalian
and Macedonian cavalry.

365
00:30:00,778 --> 00:30:06,028
Each commander knew that their counterpart
was close, but the reduced vision of the fog

366
00:30:06,028 --> 00:30:09,259
caused disorientation in the two armies.

367
00:30:09,259 --> 00:30:13,740
Philip set off marching in the morning, sending
a group of fast-moving skirmishers to the

368
00:30:13,740 --> 00:30:16,979
ridge’s summit in order to get a better
view.

369
00:30:16,979 --> 00:30:22,588
As they reached the top, ten Roman cavalry
squadrons and 1,000 velites emerged from the

370
00:30:22,588 --> 00:30:24,098
murk and attacked.

371
00:30:24,098 --> 00:30:29,798
Both scouting contingents suffered some casualties,
but both also managed to get word to their

372
00:30:29,798 --> 00:30:34,408
commanders of what was happening on the Cynoscephalae
ridge.

373
00:30:34,409 --> 00:30:42,028
Flamininus reacted swiftly, sending 2,000
Aetolian infantry and 500 cavalry to the ridge

374
00:30:42,028 --> 00:30:44,078
as reinforcements.

375
00:30:44,078 --> 00:30:48,499
Their arrival swung the balance in favour
of the Romans and the Antigonid skirmishing

376
00:30:48,499 --> 00:30:54,798
force slowly withdrew to the top of the ridge,
sending frantic messengers to Philip for help.

377
00:30:54,798 --> 00:30:59,338
Even though the king did not wish to join
battle in such unfavourable terrain, he was

378
00:30:59,338 --> 00:31:05,358
not going to abandon his scouting party, and
sent 3,500 cavalry and mercenary infantry

379
00:31:05,358 --> 00:31:07,288
to reinforce it.

380
00:31:07,288 --> 00:31:12,818
This tipped the scales and the new reinforcements
now pushed the Romans back down the slope.

381
00:31:12,818 --> 00:31:18,078
Polybius tells us that they almost routed
completely, but this was prevented by skillful

382
00:31:18,078 --> 00:31:23,938
skirmishing and harassment by the Aetolian
allies.

383
00:31:23,939 --> 00:31:28,430
At this moment in the morning the sun began
to burn away the fog and, with the battle

384
00:31:28,430 --> 00:31:33,219
visible on the slope visible to the Romans,
Flamininus and his entire army could see their

385
00:31:33,219 --> 00:31:34,699
forces losing.

386
00:31:34,699 --> 00:31:40,089
Witnessing the apparent defeat of the Roman
skirmishing force demoralised the main Roman

387
00:31:40,088 --> 00:31:44,479
army, but their commander handled the situation
appropriately.

388
00:31:44,479 --> 00:31:49,298
After ordering his entire army to form up
in battle order, Flamininus addressed his

389
00:31:49,298 --> 00:31:51,158
troops at the base of the slope.

390
00:31:51,159 --> 00:31:56,299
He used all of the oratory skills that a prominent
politician would have, professing to them

391
00:31:56,298 --> 00:32:03,298
that “You’ve fought these men before,
and you’ve beaten them before!”.

392
00:32:03,298 --> 00:32:08,288
As this happened, the triumphant Antigonid
skirmishers sent jubilant messages back to

393
00:32:08,288 --> 00:32:12,429
Philip, urging the king to attack while momentum
was on their side.

394
00:32:12,429 --> 00:32:16,429
So, the order was given for the army to deploy
in battle order.

395
00:32:16,429 --> 00:32:22,009
Due to the unprepared nature of the encounter
battle, half of Philip’s troops were still

396
00:32:22,009 --> 00:32:27,068
foraging, and he could only form up half of
his forces, ordering his general Nicanor to

397
00:32:27,068 --> 00:32:30,348
follow up when the others had returned.

398
00:32:30,348 --> 00:32:34,739
Having formed the right side of his line,
the king marched at the head of his phalanx

399
00:32:34,739 --> 00:32:39,629
up the slope, hoping to rush and rout the
Romans with the weight of his phalanx, which

400
00:32:39,628 --> 00:32:45,558
was screened by the agema peltasts and flanked
on the right wing by cavalry.

401
00:32:45,558 --> 00:32:50,588
On the other side of the ridge, Flamininus
advanced only with the left side of his line

402
00:32:50,588 --> 00:32:56,028
to reinforce the battle which was still going
on between the two scouting parties.

403
00:32:56,028 --> 00:33:00,719
The heavy infantry’s presence in the fight
now caused the Macedonians to retreat back

404
00:33:00,719 --> 00:33:06,429
up the slope - many were killed while others
fled back towards their king.

405
00:33:06,429 --> 00:33:13,199
Two half-armies were now marching up each
side of the slope directly towards one another,

406
00:33:13,199 --> 00:33:17,969
but were still completely unaware that the
other was present, due to the fact that a

407
00:33:17,969 --> 00:33:21,798
slight fog still obscured sound and sight.

408
00:33:21,798 --> 00:33:26,429
It was because of this that the Roman left
may not have seen Philip’s 8,000 strong

409
00:33:26,429 --> 00:33:31,498
contingent cresting the hill in front of them
as they climbed, but now both armies now came

410
00:33:31,498 --> 00:33:33,649
into view of one another.

411
00:33:33,648 --> 00:33:39,548
The phalangists quickly organised into a double-depth
formation, lowered their sarissas and charged

412
00:33:39,548 --> 00:33:44,939
down the slope at the unprepared Romans.

413
00:33:44,939 --> 00:33:49,689
The remnants of Flamininus’ scouting force
barely managed to form up before the phalangists

414
00:33:49,689 --> 00:33:51,009
hit them.

415
00:33:51,009 --> 00:33:55,858
Metal pike heads clashed against the heavy
Roman shields, but the crushing momentum of

416
00:33:55,858 --> 00:34:01,648
the downhill charging and double-depth phalanx
quickly began to force the legionaries back.

417
00:34:01,648 --> 00:34:06,468
The Antigonid and Roman cavalry clashed on
the wing and the light infantry skirmished

418
00:34:06,469 --> 00:34:09,869
with one another, but the main clash was in
the centre.

419
00:34:09,869 --> 00:34:15,499
Though the Roman left fought bravely and stubbornly
did not rout under the pressure, it was slowly

420
00:34:15,498 --> 00:34:19,009
but surely being chewed up by the bristling
pike wall.

421
00:34:19,009 --> 00:34:24,009
The encounter battle had started well for
Philip, it seemed like it was only going to

422
00:34:24,009 --> 00:34:29,139
get better when Nicanor’s larger contingent
began to crest the ridge on the king’s left

423
00:34:29,139 --> 00:34:34,699
flank, in a rushed marching formation.

424
00:34:34,699 --> 00:34:38,528
Despite his best attempts at rallying the
beleaguered troops on his left from behind

425
00:34:38,528 --> 00:34:44,438
the line, Flamininus was being pushed back
ever closer to the Roman camp.

426
00:34:44,438 --> 00:34:48,219
Realising his left would soon collapse under
the weight of the phalanx, the philhellene

427
00:34:48,219 --> 00:34:53,579
commander wheeled his horse and galloped over
to the unengaged Roman right, which was now

428
00:34:53,579 --> 00:34:55,649
screened by the war elephants.

429
00:34:55,648 --> 00:35:01,528
Upon arriving, Flamininus ordered his forces
on this side of the battlefield to charge

430
00:35:01,528 --> 00:35:07,268
at the disorganised men under Nicanors command,
most of whom were either arriving or still

431
00:35:07,268 --> 00:35:09,368
had no formed up.

432
00:35:09,369 --> 00:35:14,479
phalangists - the core of Philip’s army,
were almost useless when not deployed rigidly,

433
00:35:14,478 --> 00:35:17,678
and the Romans now crushed them.

434
00:35:17,679 --> 00:35:23,239
Many Macedonian soldiers were killed outright,
but many more ran away and were chased by

435
00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:24,749
the legionaries.

436
00:35:24,748 --> 00:35:29,938
It appeared though the battle was in balance
- Philip had triumphed on the Roman left,

437
00:35:29,938 --> 00:35:33,688
but Flamininus had crushed Nicanor.

438
00:35:33,688 --> 00:35:40,768
However, an unnamed Roman tribune, who must
have possessed immense respect among the troops,

439
00:35:40,768 --> 00:35:47,588
now managed to halt 20 maniples, or around
2,500 of the troops on the right wing, probably

440
00:35:47,588 --> 00:35:50,578
mostly made up of veteran Triarii.

441
00:35:50,579 --> 00:35:54,869
Realising that things were not going well
on the Roman left wing, the unnamed military

442
00:35:54,869 --> 00:36:00,179
tribune marched his contingent of disciplined
troops across the ridge and then struck the

443
00:36:00,179 --> 00:36:03,568
victorious phalanx of Philip from the rear.

444
00:36:03,568 --> 00:36:09,288
At the same time, the inspired and angry legionaries
who had suffered for hours under the Macedonian

445
00:36:09,289 --> 00:36:13,839
attack renewed their assault.

446
00:36:13,838 --> 00:36:19,518
This intuitive maneuver caused the inflexible
phalanx to fragment and many of its phalangists

447
00:36:19,518 --> 00:36:20,988
were killed.

448
00:36:20,989 --> 00:36:25,489
Philip rode up and down the line in a vain
attempt to rally his soldiers, but quickly

449
00:36:25,489 --> 00:36:29,829
realised it was hopeless and galloped off
the battlefield.

450
00:36:29,829 --> 00:36:35,209
As the Romans were busy butchering the remaining
enemy troops, a particularly terrible slaughter

451
00:36:35,208 --> 00:36:36,469
occurred.

452
00:36:36,469 --> 00:36:41,479
A group of Macedonian phalangists performed
the traditional gesture of surrender - raising

453
00:36:41,478 --> 00:36:44,068
their pikes directly to the sky.

454
00:36:44,068 --> 00:36:49,148
However, the furious legionaries charged in
and killed them all anyway.

455
00:36:49,148 --> 00:36:54,328
The battle was over and the legion had triumphed
over Alexander’s phalanx.

456
00:36:54,329 --> 00:36:59,669
The Romans only lost around 700 dead, mostly
on their left which had bravely stood their

457
00:36:59,668 --> 00:37:02,219
ground under the attack.

458
00:37:02,219 --> 00:37:10,239
Antigonid casualties were catastrophic, with
8,000 dead and another 5,000 captured.

459
00:37:10,239 --> 00:37:16,809
Humiliating peace terms were imposed on Philip
at the subsequent Conference at Tempe - he

460
00:37:16,809 --> 00:37:22,649
had to evacuate all of Greece including Thessaly,
and give up conquests he had gained in Asia

461
00:37:22,648 --> 00:37:24,239
Minor and Thrace.

462
00:37:24,239 --> 00:37:30,329
A large war indemnity was demanded, his navy
was destroyed and his son Demetrius was sent

463
00:37:30,329 --> 00:37:32,809
to Rome as a hostage.

464
00:37:32,809 --> 00:37:38,079
Finally and most chafing, proud Philip would
become a client king of Rome, essentially

465
00:37:38,079 --> 00:37:39,548
a puppet.

466
00:37:39,548 --> 00:37:48,119
This war broke any viable attempts at Macedonian
revival, but it would not stop them trying.

467
00:37:48,119 --> 00:37:53,548
After the peace conference at Tempe had been
finalised, Titus Quinctius Flamininus decided

468
00:37:53,548 --> 00:37:58,809
to prove definitively that it was Rome who
would be the true savior of Greece.

469
00:37:58,809 --> 00:38:04,239
During the Isthmian games of spring 196, Flamininus
took to the speaker’s platform, declaring

470
00:38:04,239 --> 00:38:07,068
that senate, general and consul would leave
the Greeks free, ungarrisoned, untaxed and

471
00:38:07,068 --> 00:38:10,278
autonomous after over a century of Macedonian
rule.

472
00:38:10,278 --> 00:38:12,378
Erupting with jubilation at their apparent
‘liberation’, Flamininus was mobbed at

473
00:38:12,378 --> 00:38:16,409
the festivities and was showered with honours
from the grateful city-states.

474
00:38:16,409 --> 00:38:23,159
In Rome, the senate decreed five days of thanksgiving
for the Cynoscephalae victory, his dignitas

475
00:38:23,159 --> 00:38:24,939
had never been higher.

476
00:38:24,938 --> 00:38:30,338
Also, at the games, Flamininus was met by
a party of envoys who had come at the behest

477
00:38:30,338 --> 00:38:37,808
of king Antiochus III, in order to congratulate
the consul on his victory and to assure the

478
00:38:37,809 --> 00:38:40,319
Romans of their liege’s peaceful intentions.

479
00:38:40,318 --> 00:38:43,278
Whatever reply they were hoping to receive,
they instead were met with cold sternness

480
00:38:43,278 --> 00:38:49,498
and demands . Antiochus was to keep away from
the Greek cities, withdrew his garrisons from

481
00:38:49,498 --> 00:38:55,408
those he had already seized and was ordered
not to attempt a crossing into Greece.

482
00:38:55,409 --> 00:39:01,679
Now, we need to follow the admonished envoys
back east, where they informed their sovereign,

483
00:39:01,679 --> 00:39:04,718
Antiochus III, of the Roman demands.

484
00:39:04,717 --> 00:39:10,888
While Rome and Macedon were fighting at Cynoscephalae,
Antiochus, who was also known as ‘the Great’

485
00:39:10,889 --> 00:39:15,778
was concluding the Fifth Syrian War against
his traditional rival – the Ptolemies of

486
00:39:15,778 --> 00:39:16,978
Egypt.

487
00:39:16,978 --> 00:39:22,218
By the last year of the conflict the realm
that was created by the Diadochi of Alexander,

488
00:39:22,219 --> 00:39:29,217
Seleucus, became the biggest empire of its
time, taking over Caria, Lycia, Cilicia, Coele-Syria,

489
00:39:29,217 --> 00:39:31,868
and other Asiatic holdings of the Ptolemies.

490
00:39:31,869 --> 00:39:36,879
So, it is not a surprise that Antiochus, who
was considered one of the best commanders

491
00:39:36,878 --> 00:39:43,958
of the era, was angry at the Roman intrusion
into Greek affairs and the rebuke of his diplomats,

492
00:39:43,958 --> 00:39:48,348
and was confident in his strength.

493
00:39:48,349 --> 00:39:53,778
In this period, Antiochus started creating
a fleet off the coast of southern Asia Minor,

494
00:39:53,778 --> 00:39:56,898
probably planning to invade Ephesus Egypt.

495
00:39:56,898 --> 00:40:02,358
However, his fleet's movement to the west
prompted a reaction from Rhodes.

496
00:40:02,358 --> 00:40:06,818
The small island wasn’t strong enough to
compete with the Seleucids on the land but

497
00:40:06,818 --> 00:40:12,619
had a dominant navy, so Antiochus promised
to leave Halicarnassus to the Rhodians and

498
00:40:12,619 --> 00:40:21,789
not create a base on Samos in exchange for
free passage of his navy through Rhodian waters.

499
00:40:21,789 --> 00:40:28,689
With a war avoided, in 196 BC Antiochus took
over the remainder of the Ptolemaic holdings

500
00:40:28,688 --> 00:40:32,598
in Asia Minor, including the crucial Ephesus.

501
00:40:32,599 --> 00:40:38,269
He then decided to conquer the territory of
the weakened Macedon and took Abydos and Ilium,

502
00:40:38,268 --> 00:40:43,118
which meant that he now had a perfect location
to cross the Hellespont.

503
00:40:43,119 --> 00:40:48,199
The citizens of the nearby Lampsacus were
worried that they were the next and, in a

504
00:40:48,199 --> 00:40:53,838
sign of how things had changed in the last
decade, sent envoys to the Romans asking for

505
00:40:53,838 --> 00:40:57,619
protection.

506
00:40:57,619 --> 00:41:03,119
At that point in time the cities in the area
were under Thracian control, and Antiochus

507
00:41:03,119 --> 00:41:08,528
obviously knew that restoring Hellenic rule
would be seen favorably by the Greeks.

508
00:41:08,528 --> 00:41:15,188
So, he traversed the Hellespont, first taking
Chersonesos and then besieging Madytos.

509
00:41:15,188 --> 00:41:20,378
The fall of the latter forced other cities
to submit, and Antiochus increased his influence

510
00:41:20,378 --> 00:41:29,098
by rebuilding the city of Lysimacheia, which
effectively bottled up the Gallipoli Peninsula.

511
00:41:29,099 --> 00:41:34,080
This might have impressed some of the Greeks,
but the Romans weren’t amused, deciding

512
00:41:34,079 --> 00:41:39,778
that Antiochus’ takeover of Gallipoli was
a breach of the ultimatum.

513
00:41:39,778 --> 00:41:46,659
Roman politics was dominated by two men – the
victor of Cynoscephalae, Titus Quinctius Flamininus,

514
00:41:46,659 --> 00:41:52,039
and the hero of the war against Carthage,
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.

515
00:41:52,039 --> 00:41:57,919
The latter wanted to move troops into Greece
immediately, but the peace party led by Flamininus

516
00:41:57,918 --> 00:42:03,608
prevailed, so the Republic sent a diplomatic
mission to Lysimachia, demanding that Antiochus

517
00:42:03,608 --> 00:42:09,458
leave Europe and return the Ptolemies their
lost territories in Asia Minor.

518
00:42:09,458 --> 00:42:16,219
However, by the time it arrived, Antiochus
had already agreed on peace with Egypt by

519
00:42:16,219 --> 00:42:22,079
marrying his daughter and the 10-year-old
Ptolemy V. He claimed that as Ptolemy was

520
00:42:22,079 --> 00:42:26,109
his son-in-law, he was not going to fight
him anymore.

521
00:42:26,108 --> 00:42:32,048
As negotiations continued, news arrived that
the Ptolemaic king was dead.

522
00:42:32,048 --> 00:42:37,429
Antiochus immediately broke off talks and
rushed to Ephesus and from there to Antioch,

523
00:42:37,429 --> 00:42:42,168
confirming the Roman suspicions that the Seleucids
wanted even more territory.

524
00:42:42,168 --> 00:42:46,818
We don’t have all the details, but it is
known that the king attempted to launch an

525
00:42:46,818 --> 00:42:54,349
invasion of Cyprus, but the expedition ended
in failure, either due to a storm or a mutiny.

526
00:42:54,349 --> 00:42:59,588
Returning to the shore, Antiochus decided
to attack Egypt directly, but received news

527
00:42:59,588 --> 00:43:02,058
that Ptolemy wasn’t dead.

528
00:43:02,059 --> 00:43:07,769
The campaign was over before it began; Antiochus
signed a peace treaty with his son-in-law

529
00:43:07,768 --> 00:43:12,788
and then returned to Ephesus.

530
00:43:12,789 --> 00:43:18,459
During this period the Seleucid ruler continued
using diplomacy to improve his international

531
00:43:18,458 --> 00:43:19,748
situation.

532
00:43:19,748 --> 00:43:25,878
Pergamon, ruled by the Attalid dynasty, was
the traditional rival of the Seleucids, and

533
00:43:25,878 --> 00:43:31,358
eager to change that, he attempted to marry
his daughter Antiochis to its king Eumenes

534
00:43:31,358 --> 00:43:32,598
II.

535
00:43:32,599 --> 00:43:37,519
The latter came to the conclusion that an
alliance with the Romans was preferable and

536
00:43:37,518 --> 00:43:43,039
rejected the offer, but Antiochus was unfazed
and entered a marriage alliance with the king

537
00:43:43,039 --> 00:43:46,639
of Cappadocia Ariarathes instead.

538
00:43:46,639 --> 00:43:52,249
At the same time, his diplomats brought rich
gifts to the Galatians, as Antiochus wanted

539
00:43:52,248 --> 00:43:58,158
to have the backing of the famed Celtic warriors.

540
00:43:58,159 --> 00:44:04,349
An event that happened 194 BC proves to the
modern audience how interconnected the ancient

541
00:44:04,349 --> 00:44:10,249
world was, however for the ancients itself
it made the diplomatic situation even more

542
00:44:10,248 --> 00:44:12,108
complicated.

543
00:44:12,108 --> 00:44:17,558
Famous Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca
was exiled from his homeland and arrived at

544
00:44:17,559 --> 00:44:23,778
the Seleucid court at Ephesus in the hopes
that he could become a mercenary commander.

545
00:44:23,778 --> 00:44:28,789
Antiochus received him politely but, probably
worried that Hannibal might outshine him,

546
00:44:28,789 --> 00:44:31,028
kept him at arm’s length.

547
00:44:31,028 --> 00:44:35,989
The Romans, worried about Hannibal’s arrival,
sent their own envoys.

548
00:44:35,989 --> 00:44:41,028
Trying to sow discord between the king and
the exile, the diplomats deliberately paid

549
00:44:41,028 --> 00:44:44,139
more attention to the latter.

550
00:44:44,139 --> 00:44:48,588
Understanding that this put him in danger
Hannibal told Antiochus the story of how his

551
00:44:48,588 --> 00:44:54,619
father Hamilcar compelled him to swear an
oath of eternal enmity against the Romans.

552
00:44:54,619 --> 00:45:01,088
This immediately improved the Carthaginian’s
standing in the court.

553
00:45:01,088 --> 00:45:08,608
Between 193 and 192 BC the Romans and Seleucids
continued engaging in diplomacy, mostly discussing

554
00:45:08,608 --> 00:45:13,639
the Seleucid presence in Europe, but the talks
were going nowhere.

555
00:45:13,639 --> 00:45:17,878
Another regional power looking for allies
was the Aetolian League.

556
00:45:17,878 --> 00:45:22,759
Fearing that the Roman alliance with their
rival Achaean League was a danger, they sent

557
00:45:22,759 --> 00:45:24,949
envoys to Antiochus.

558
00:45:24,949 --> 00:45:31,608
In 192 BC, the Seleucid ruler agreed to enter
an alliance and sent his representative to

559
00:45:31,608 --> 00:45:33,418
the Aetolian assembly.

560
00:45:33,418 --> 00:45:39,199
Unexpectedly, the latter passed a resolution
inviting Antiochus to liberate Greece and

561
00:45:39,199 --> 00:45:42,989
settle affairs between the Aetolians and Romans.

562
00:45:42,989 --> 00:45:47,599
Although Antiochus knew that it was a move
that might ignite the war with the Romans,

563
00:45:47,599 --> 00:45:52,949
this was an offer the king couldn’t refuse
without losing prestige, so when the Aetolians

564
00:45:52,949 --> 00:45:58,858
promised that they would support him with
their troops, he agreed to cross into Greece.

565
00:45:58,858 --> 00:46:04,498
The Roman historians claim that it was Hannibal
who talked Antiochus into going to war, but

566
00:46:04,498 --> 00:46:09,978
the former was at that point in Syria.

567
00:46:09,978 --> 00:46:15,198
The first move of the war was made by the
Aetolians: Their troops killed the unpopular

568
00:46:15,199 --> 00:46:21,528
Spartan king Nabis, hoping to take over the
city and put pressure on the Achaean league,

569
00:46:21,528 --> 00:46:26,239
but the locals rebelled and the invaders had
to retreat.

570
00:46:26,239 --> 00:46:30,909
Unfortunately for the Spartans they were left
defenseless, and soon soldiers of the Achaean

571
00:46:30,909 --> 00:46:36,229
League entered the city and forced it to become
a member of the League, ending Spartan independence

572
00:46:36,228 --> 00:46:38,489
forever in the process.

573
00:46:38,489 --> 00:46:42,978
The Aetolians weren’t discouraged though,
and in order to give Antiochus a good place

574
00:46:42,978 --> 00:46:48,568
to land his army, they took control of the
city called Demetrias, which had an excellent

575
00:46:48,568 --> 00:46:49,568
harbour.

576
00:46:49,568 --> 00:46:54,967
The king had a small navy that wasn’t able
to transport all of his troops, so after offering

577
00:46:54,967 --> 00:47:00,428
a sacrifice to the goddess Athena at Ilium,
he started crossing the Aegean Sea in the

578
00:47:00,429 --> 00:47:03,719
autumn of 192 BC.

579
00:47:03,719 --> 00:47:09,628
It seems that the land route from Thrace through
Macedon was rejected, to not push Philip V

580
00:47:09,628 --> 00:47:12,608
into the anti-Seleucid camp.

581
00:47:12,608 --> 00:47:17,998
Antiochus disembarked at Demetrias and moved
south to Lamia, where the Aetolians held their

582
00:47:17,998 --> 00:47:18,998
assembly.

583
00:47:18,998 --> 00:47:25,528
Here he was received as a liberating hero
and elected the leader of the league.

584
00:47:25,528 --> 00:47:32,409
Still, the king found himself in an awkward
position: The Romans had no troops in the

585
00:47:32,409 --> 00:47:37,919
region and the liberator of Greece couldn’t
attack the Greeks, and thus the Seleucids

586
00:47:37,918 --> 00:47:40,808
lacked a clear military target.

587
00:47:40,809 --> 00:47:45,159
In an absence of one, Antiochus once again
was looking for allies.

588
00:47:45,159 --> 00:47:51,208
First, he approached the crucial city of Chalcis,
which had been garrisoned by Attalid and Achaean

589
00:47:51,208 --> 00:47:55,298
troops ever since the end of the 2nd Macedonian
War.

590
00:47:55,298 --> 00:48:00,028
The King attempted to convince the city to
join him, but was rebuked, and although he

591
00:48:00,028 --> 00:48:05,708
had enough troops to take it by force, he
decided not to shed the blood of fellow Greeks

592
00:48:05,708 --> 00:48:10,259
and returned to Demetrias.

593
00:48:10,259 --> 00:48:15,409
Then he sent envoys to Athens, the Achaeans,
Macedon, and the Athamanians.

594
00:48:15,409 --> 00:48:20,548
The latter were either a Greek or Hellenized
tribe who rose to prominence in the turmoil

595
00:48:20,548 --> 00:48:26,809
of the Diadochi Wars and agreed to help, while
Philip V, still reeling from his defeat at

596
00:48:26,809 --> 00:48:32,379
Cynoscephalae, was biding his time, and the
Achaeans decided to retain their alliance

597
00:48:32,378 --> 00:48:33,458
with Rome.

598
00:48:33,458 --> 00:48:39,808
Things were much more dramatic on the Athenian
front: the oligarchic party wanted to support

599
00:48:39,809 --> 00:48:43,669
the Romans, the democratic party Antiochus.

600
00:48:43,668 --> 00:48:49,239
The former invited the forces of the Achaean
League, which led to violent street battles,

601
00:48:49,239 --> 00:48:54,739
during which the Seleucid supporters were
defeated.

602
00:48:54,739 --> 00:49:00,759
Rome knew of the Seleucid activity and the
praetor Marcus Baebius was sent to Apollonia

603
00:49:00,759 --> 00:49:04,668
with more than 20,000 Romans and Italics.

604
00:49:04,668 --> 00:49:10,098
Despite the fact that they outnumbered Antiochus,
the Romans had no intention to look like an

605
00:49:10,099 --> 00:49:16,318
aggressor, so they didn’t declare war, but
Baebius’ presence was enough to keep Macedon

606
00:49:16,318 --> 00:49:17,748
in check.

607
00:49:17,748 --> 00:49:21,858
Unfortunately for the Romans, they had to
support their allies, and when the garrison

608
00:49:21,858 --> 00:49:27,558
of Chalcis asked for reinforcements, Baebius
sent 500 legionaries their way.

609
00:49:27,559 --> 00:49:34,149
We can assume that this was the last straw
for Antiochus, as he ordered his admiral Polyxenidas

610
00:49:34,148 --> 00:49:40,159
to block the narrow Euripus strait between
Chalcis and mainland Greece, and marched south

611
00:49:40,159 --> 00:49:42,829
with the remainder of his army.

612
00:49:42,829 --> 00:49:48,259
By the time the Roman contingent reached the
crossing, it was blocked by the Seleucid navy,

613
00:49:48,259 --> 00:49:51,759
so it continued south to wait for transports
at Delium.

614
00:49:51,759 --> 00:49:57,418
Shortly after this unit was surrounded and
destroyed by the Seleucids, beginning the

615
00:49:57,418 --> 00:50:04,509
war that would be later called the Seleucid
War, the Syrian War, and the War of Antiochus.

616
00:50:04,509 --> 00:50:09,679
Some sources claim that the Romans had already
declared war at that point, but the message

617
00:50:09,679 --> 00:50:15,898
reached Antiochus after the skirmish at Delium.

618
00:50:15,898 --> 00:50:21,138
Still hopeful to get the Achaeans and the
Pergamene to enter into an alliance with him,

619
00:50:21,139 --> 00:50:25,479
Antiochus allowed the garrison of Chalcis
to leave under a truce.

620
00:50:25,478 --> 00:50:28,818
Soon the rest of Euboea capitulated to the
king.

621
00:50:28,818 --> 00:50:34,588
His next targets were the cities of the Boeotian
League, which surrendered quickly, and the

622
00:50:34,588 --> 00:50:39,648
Thessalian League, created by the Romans after
the 2nd Macedonian War.

623
00:50:39,648 --> 00:50:43,898
Antiochus still attempted to negotiate, however
he noticed that the members of the league

624
00:50:43,898 --> 00:50:51,159
started to mobilize under the cover of these
talks, so in early 191 BC, he moved swiftly

625
00:50:51,159 --> 00:50:56,128
and captured the league's main city, Pherai,
massacring its defenders.

626
00:50:56,128 --> 00:51:01,128
He then moved into the League’s territory,
and in a short and decisive campaign took

627
00:51:01,128 --> 00:51:06,958
over most of the cities in the region, save
for the stronghold of Larissa, which was besieged

628
00:51:06,958 --> 00:51:10,998
by the Seleucids.

629
00:51:10,998 --> 00:51:17,568
While the siege was ongoing, Antiochus sent
2000 men south to the field of Cynoscephalae.

630
00:51:17,568 --> 00:51:23,458
In a symbolic gesture, his soldiers buried
the Greek dead, whose bones remained on the

631
00:51:23,458 --> 00:51:24,489
battlefield.

632
00:51:24,489 --> 00:51:30,128
By doing that the Seleucid ruler was trying
to show how full of piety he was in comparison

633
00:51:30,128 --> 00:51:36,338
to the barbarous Romans, and how much more
he cared for the fellow Hellenes than Philip.

634
00:51:36,338 --> 00:51:42,699
The latter considered this gesture a direct
insult and declared his allegiance to Rome.

635
00:51:42,699 --> 00:51:47,849
Baebius immediately entered negotiations with
the Macedonian king, gaining the right of

636
00:51:47,849 --> 00:51:49,568
military access.

637
00:51:49,568 --> 00:51:56,458
A 2000-strong legionary detachment under Appius
Claudius was sent south, probably as a reconnaissance

638
00:51:56,458 --> 00:51:57,458
force.

639
00:51:57,458 --> 00:52:03,478
The details are unclear, but apparently the
Roman commander arrived at Tempe and built

640
00:52:03,478 --> 00:52:08,658
a larger camp full of extra campfires to exaggerate
his numbers.

641
00:52:08,659 --> 00:52:14,079
Although sources assume that Antiochus was
tricked into thinking that the Roman-Macedonian

642
00:52:14,079 --> 00:52:19,889
attack was imminent, and raised the siege,
it was probably due to the weather and supply

643
00:52:19,889 --> 00:52:20,889
situation.

644
00:52:20,889 --> 00:52:25,599
In any case, he soon started his retreat to
Chalcis.

645
00:52:25,599 --> 00:52:29,609
Both sides were now waiting for spring.

646
00:52:29,608 --> 00:52:36,759
In Chalcis, Antiochus decided that another
dynastic marriage was in order, but this time

647
00:52:36,759 --> 00:52:42,429
he tied a knot himself with a daughter of
a local noble, perhaps to prove to the minor

648
00:52:42,429 --> 00:52:48,709
Greek nobles, who ruled in the majority of
city-states, that he was on their side.

649
00:52:48,708 --> 00:52:54,478
Such royal marriages were common in the east
but backfired with the locals, who considered

650
00:52:54,478 --> 00:52:57,358
sexual activity detrimental to war-making.

651
00:52:57,358 --> 00:53:03,239
Additionally, during the celebrations, the
Greeks were once again shocked by the practice

652
00:53:03,239 --> 00:53:09,519
of their Macedonian brethren of drinking undiluted
wine, and the king’s participation in this

653
00:53:09,518 --> 00:53:13,208
activity further diminished his standing.

654
00:53:13,208 --> 00:53:18,648
During his stay on the island, Antiochus continued
to look for allies but gained none.

655
00:53:18,648 --> 00:53:25,518
He also sent messengers to Asia, ordering
reinforcements.

656
00:53:25,518 --> 00:53:27,108
The Romans were not idle.

657
00:53:27,108 --> 00:53:33,398
The alliance with the Achaean League, Pergamon,
and Rhodes was confirmed, and the consul of

658
00:53:33,398 --> 00:53:39,929
the year, a supporter of Scipio - Manius Acilius
Glabrio, was to lead a new 15 thousand man

659
00:53:39,929 --> 00:53:41,798
army to Greece.

660
00:53:41,798 --> 00:53:47,869
In a show of how crucial this war was for
the Romans, two ex-consuls – Marcus Porcius

661
00:53:47,869 --> 00:53:52,519
Cato and Valerius Flaccus - were chosen by
him as the legates.

662
00:53:52,518 --> 00:53:58,028
It is also remarkable that both legates belonged
to the Flamininus’ party, which meant that

663
00:53:58,028 --> 00:54:05,478
the rival parties put their differences aside
to defeat Antiochus.

664
00:54:05,478 --> 00:54:10,638
While the main army was crossing the Adriatic,
Cato landed in the Peloponnese and went on

665
00:54:10,639 --> 00:54:17,128
a diplomatic tour of Achaea and Athens, sarcastically
claiming that “Antiochus wages war through

666
00:54:17,128 --> 00:54:20,608
letters and fights with pen and ink”.

667
00:54:20,608 --> 00:54:26,128
Before Glabrio reached Illyria in March, Baebius
and Philip V started their campaign against

668
00:54:26,128 --> 00:54:28,898
the Seleucid garrisons in Thessaly.

669
00:54:28,898 --> 00:54:34,148
The only major anti-Roman force in the region
were the Athamanians and they were defeated

670
00:54:34,148 --> 00:54:39,798
quickly, followed by the Seleucid garrisons,
which negated all the gains Antiochus made

671
00:54:39,798 --> 00:54:43,498
in his campaign in Thessaly.

672
00:54:43,498 --> 00:54:50,348
Antiochus, meanwhile, consolidated his forces
in Boeotia and then moved west towards Acarnania

673
00:54:50,349 --> 00:54:55,548
to take control of it and put pressure on
the Epirotes, in order to add their troops

674
00:54:55,548 --> 00:54:57,059
to his.

675
00:54:57,059 --> 00:55:03,249
Acarnania was also important in terms of gaining
a port in the Ionian Sea and to cut the direct

676
00:55:03,248 --> 00:55:06,318
line between Italy and the Achaean League.

677
00:55:06,318 --> 00:55:12,139
The city of Medeon joined the Seleucid cause
via diplomatic pressure, however, the Romans

678
00:55:12,139 --> 00:55:18,079
now had more than 35 thousand troops in the
area and were supported by a 5 thousand strong

679
00:55:18,079 --> 00:55:25,109
army from Philip, so the Acarnanians and Epirotes
declared their support for them.

680
00:55:25,108 --> 00:55:31,998
Antiochus’ army, even with the additions
of the Aetolians, numbered less than 20 thousand.

681
00:55:31,998 --> 00:55:38,467
There were no allies to find in Greece and
no reinforcements from Asia were coming soon,

682
00:55:38,467 --> 00:55:43,438
possibly due to the allied Rhodian and Attalid
activity in the Aegean Sea.

683
00:55:43,438 --> 00:55:49,108
Outnumbered 2-to-1, he couldn’t stay in
Aetolia, as the Roman march south was now

684
00:55:49,108 --> 00:55:52,739
threatening his supply and retreat lines.

685
00:55:52,739 --> 00:55:56,628
At the same time, he didn’t want to abandon
the Aetolians.

686
00:55:56,628 --> 00:56:02,038
Initially, the allies decided to defend at
Lamia, but that would have given the Romans

687
00:56:02,039 --> 00:56:11,019
an opportunity to outflank them, so in a true
Hellenic fashion, Antiochus moved for Thermopylae.

688
00:56:11,018 --> 00:56:17,798
This famous location had seen numerous last
stands before and after April 191 BC, as it

689
00:56:17,798 --> 00:56:23,889
was a natural choke point, defended by Mount
Callidromus and Mount Tichius from the southwest

690
00:56:23,889 --> 00:56:27,559
and the waters of the Malian Gulf from the
northeast.

691
00:56:27,559 --> 00:56:34,389
Still, as Leonidas and Xerxes discovered 300
years before, this seemingly ideal defensive

692
00:56:34,389 --> 00:56:40,769
position had a fatal flaw: A small army could
have bottlenecked a much larger force in the

693
00:56:40,768 --> 00:56:47,238
passage, but the mountains had numerous paths
making it possible to outflank the defenders.

694
00:56:47,239 --> 00:56:52,579
Both armies were culturally steeped in Greek
history and mythos and so obviously knew of

695
00:56:52,579 --> 00:56:55,889
this.

696
00:56:55,889 --> 00:57:01,208
With a few thousand Aetolians left to guard
the crucial town of Heraclea, Antiochus had

697
00:57:01,208 --> 00:57:05,568
around 12 thousand footmen and only 500 horsemen.

698
00:57:05,568 --> 00:57:11,438
As the Roman cavalry outnumbered their counterparts
4-to-1, the Seleucids had to fight at the

699
00:57:11,438 --> 00:57:14,818
narrow passage to avoid being outflanked.

700
00:57:14,818 --> 00:57:21,038
The king sent 2 groups of Aetolians 1 thousand
hoplites apiece to block off the most prominent

701
00:57:21,039 --> 00:57:22,799
mountain paths.

702
00:57:22,798 --> 00:57:28,059
He then built a wall covering the gate, placing
a few catapults and ballistae on top.

703
00:57:28,059 --> 00:57:32,999
His skirmishers were positioned on the high
ground to the left of the passage in order

704
00:57:32,998 --> 00:57:37,988
to send their missiles against the advancing
Romans, while his phalangites formed up in

705
00:57:37,989 --> 00:57:42,188
front of the walls with the peltasts in ahead
of them.

706
00:57:42,188 --> 00:57:49,098
Similarly, the Romans had 2/3 of their troops
present, with the rest defending Thessaly

707
00:57:49,099 --> 00:57:51,479
and blockading Heraclea.

708
00:57:51,478 --> 00:57:56,518
Glabrio knew that he couldn't capture the
passage against a phalanx, but still had to

709
00:57:56,518 --> 00:58:00,768
attack at the narrow chokepoint and tie-up
the Seleucid forces.

710
00:58:00,768 --> 00:58:06,568
Two groups under Cato and Flaccus, each 2
thousand legionaries strong, were sent to

711
00:58:06,568 --> 00:58:09,329
take the mountain passes.

712
00:58:09,329 --> 00:58:14,119
According to some sources, the Roman camp
was raided by the nearby Aetolians before

713
00:58:14,119 --> 00:58:19,479
the battle, so Glabrio was forced to leave
his cavalry and a group of infantry to defend

714
00:58:19,478 --> 00:58:22,908
it.

715
00:58:22,909 --> 00:58:26,009
Sources depicting the battle are somewhat
conflicted.

716
00:58:26,009 --> 00:58:30,539
We know that Flaccus was ordered to take the
pass at Mount Tichius during the night.

717
00:58:30,539 --> 00:58:36,629
There are authors who suggest that this unit
lost its way during the march, while others

718
00:58:36,628 --> 00:58:41,989
claims that the Romans met Aetolians, but
the hoplites were steadfast and the legionaries

719
00:58:41,989 --> 00:58:46,528
weren’t able to break through, losing dozens
of troops and falling back.

720
00:58:46,528 --> 00:58:51,858
Cato’s onslaught against the Aetolians at
the Mount Callidromus was more successful.

721
00:58:51,858 --> 00:58:56,978
Apparently, the Romans caught some of the
Aetolians asleep and their first strike killed

722
00:58:56,978 --> 00:59:03,378
many, but soon the hoplites managed to form
a line across the pass and neither side had

723
00:59:03,378 --> 00:59:06,188
an advantage.

724
00:59:06,188 --> 00:59:10,368
Simultaneously, the main Roman force attacked
head-on.

725
00:59:10,369 --> 00:59:15,519
The volleys of the skirmishers and peltasts
did a certain amount of damage, but the disciplined

726
00:59:15,518 --> 00:59:21,148
Romans locked their shields and continued
moving forward, even despite the losses caused

727
00:59:21,148 --> 00:59:22,868
by the field artillery.

728
00:59:22,869 --> 00:59:28,789
Seeing that the Romans were getting close,
Antiochus ordered his peltasts to fall back,

729
00:59:28,789 --> 00:59:32,299
while his pikemen moved forward forming a
phalanx.

730
00:59:32,298 --> 00:59:36,697
That is where the Romans suffered most of
their casualties, as the legionaries weren’t

731
00:59:36,697 --> 00:59:41,848
able to reach the phalangites and it was impossible
for them to outflank the foe.

732
00:59:41,849 --> 00:59:46,769
Slowly, but surely the phalanx pushed the
legion back.

733
00:59:46,768 --> 00:59:54,188
However, by the early morning, the forces
of Cato started to gain upper hand near Calidromus,

734
00:59:54,188 --> 01:00:00,239
as he outnumbered the Aetolians 4-to-1 and
was able to rotate fresh troops into the fray.

735
01:00:00,239 --> 01:00:05,369
Eventually, the Romans broke the hoplite line
and sent it fleeing in terror.

736
01:00:05,369 --> 01:00:11,259
Shortly, both groups were on the plain, with
the legionaries killing their foes in pursuit.

737
01:00:11,259 --> 01:00:16,269
The phalanx learned that it’s rear was now
in danger and even though the king made brave

738
01:00:16,268 --> 01:00:20,798
attempts to stop them, fled to the camp in
order to form another formation.

739
01:00:20,798 --> 01:00:26,197
Still, Cato’s detachment entered the camp
before the Seleucids and the main body of

740
01:00:26,197 --> 01:00:31,348
the Romans shortly after, so the phalangites
failed to get into formation.

741
01:00:31,349 --> 01:00:34,379
It was now every man for himself.

742
01:00:34,378 --> 01:00:39,818
Antiochus abandoned his forces with his cavalry
and more than 10 thousand Seleucids and Aetolians

743
01:00:39,818 --> 01:00:42,489
were either killed or taken captive.

744
01:00:42,489 --> 01:00:51,798
Livy claims that the Romans lost 200 men,
but this number is probably understated.

745
01:00:51,798 --> 01:00:56,838
After finishing off the survivors, the Romans
took a day to rest and then turned their attention

746
01:00:56,838 --> 01:01:03,108
against Heraclea, a formidable fortress with
its south protected by the River Asopos, and

747
01:01:03,108 --> 01:01:07,378
its west by Mount Oeta, and a citadel on low
hills.

748
01:01:07,378 --> 01:01:13,139
The fortress was relatively modest in size,
so a small Aetolian garrison was able to man

749
01:01:13,139 --> 01:01:14,948
the whole wall.

750
01:01:14,947 --> 01:01:19,878
At the same time, the walls were short which
meant that the Romans weren’t able to use

751
01:01:19,878 --> 01:01:25,208
their decisive numerical superiority.

752
01:01:25,208 --> 01:01:30,878
Glabrio sent a message to the leader of the
garrison, Damocritus, demanding they surrender,

753
01:01:30,878 --> 01:01:36,389
but this was refused, so the Romans prepared
for a siege and started constructing battering

754
01:01:36,389 --> 01:01:37,389
rams.

755
01:01:37,389 --> 01:01:42,818
When the siege began, the legionaries assaulted
the walls with rams and ladders, but the narrowness

756
01:01:42,818 --> 01:01:47,829
of the front didn’t allow them to overwhelm
the Aetolians, and the latter sallied out,

757
01:01:47,829 --> 01:01:52,229
burning some of the rams, and shoving the
enemy back with their spears.

758
01:01:52,228 --> 01:01:54,918
The first assault failed.

759
01:01:54,918 --> 01:02:01,918
However, the Romans had more troops, so fresh
troops were sent forth and the walls were

760
01:02:01,918 --> 01:02:03,947
attacked on the next day.

761
01:02:03,947 --> 01:02:09,217
The garrison didn’t have this luxury, which
meant that each subsequent assault tired them

762
01:02:09,217 --> 01:02:10,217
even more.

763
01:02:10,217 --> 01:02:16,418
This continued for 23 days, but eventually,
Glabrio devised a plan.

764
01:02:16,418 --> 01:02:21,239
His soldiers were ordered to return to the
camp, making it look like there would be no

765
01:02:21,239 --> 01:02:22,239
attack.

766
01:02:22,239 --> 01:02:28,249
This made the exhausted Aetolians complacent
and they vacated the walls to sleep in the

767
01:02:28,248 --> 01:02:29,248
houses.

768
01:02:29,248 --> 01:02:33,528
Late at night, a group of legionaries was
ordered to attack a portion of the walls and

769
01:02:33,528 --> 01:02:35,978
make as much noise as possible.

770
01:02:35,978 --> 01:02:41,437
Glabrio also commanded his legate Tiberius
Sempronius to move his contingent to another

771
01:02:41,438 --> 01:02:42,438
sector of the fortifications.

772
01:02:42,438 --> 01:02:49,048
The noise woke up the Aetolians and they started
running, reaching the walls in time to rebuke

773
01:02:49,048 --> 01:02:54,099
the Romans, but the other group was already
scaling the ramparts using the ladders.

774
01:02:54,099 --> 01:03:02,059
Seeing that, the Aetolians vacated their positions
and retreated to the citadel.

775
01:03:02,059 --> 01:03:07,139
The Roman commander allowed his soldiers to
loot the city, but after it was done began

776
01:03:07,139 --> 01:03:10,239
devising plans to take the citadel.

777
01:03:10,239 --> 01:03:15,978
His engineers started building siege engines
on the nearby hill to bombard the defenders,

778
01:03:15,978 --> 01:03:18,989
while the rest of the troops formed up surrounding
them.

779
01:03:18,989 --> 01:03:25,358
The Aetolians had almost no food left, but,
most importantly, no way to counter the catapults,

780
01:03:25,358 --> 01:03:26,869
so Damocritus capitulated.

781
01:03:26,869 --> 01:03:33,179
We don’t have the numbers, but it is possible
that the Romans lost more troops taking Heraclea

782
01:03:33,179 --> 01:03:38,088
than during the battle of Thermopylae.

783
01:03:38,088 --> 01:03:42,009
After the defeat at Thermopylae the king retreated
to Chalcis.

784
01:03:42,009 --> 01:03:48,329
There was a possibility he could defend the
island of Euboea and keep it as a foothold,

785
01:03:48,329 --> 01:03:53,859
but it was scrapped when Glabrio moved south,
forcing the Boeotian league to submit, and

786
01:03:53,858 --> 01:03:59,369
the Roman navy commanded by Aulus Atilius
destroyed the Seleucid supply convoy around

787
01:03:59,369 --> 01:04:00,369
Andros.

788
01:04:00,369 --> 01:04:06,289
So, the king started his journey back to Asia
in May of 191 BC.

789
01:04:06,289 --> 01:04:11,849
There were many reasons Antiochus was defeated
in Greece, but it boils down to these key

790
01:04:11,849 --> 01:04:17,959
factors: Roman diplomacy and logistics were
superior, while the majority of Greeks didn’t

791
01:04:17,958 --> 01:04:23,338
buy into the notion that the Seleucid king
was liberating them from the Romans, and even

792
01:04:23,338 --> 01:04:29,438
his Aetolian allies didn’t commit all of
their forces.

793
01:04:29,438 --> 01:04:34,178
Glabrio did not have a force big enough to
follow the king across the sea and he had

794
01:04:34,179 --> 01:04:36,659
to concentrate against the Aetolians.

795
01:04:36,659 --> 01:04:42,039
He moved north again and took Lamia, putting
even more pressure on the League.

796
01:04:42,039 --> 01:04:48,059
The latter sent messengers to Antiochus in
June, asking for him to return or send money,

797
01:04:48,059 --> 01:04:50,559
so they could continue fighting.

798
01:04:50,559 --> 01:04:56,599
Money wasn’t a problem for the wealthy king,
and so the envoys returned to Greece with

799
01:04:56,599 --> 01:04:58,559
funds.

800
01:04:58,559 --> 01:05:03,229
Despite the fact that the money helped the
Aetolians regain their resolve, the Seleucid

801
01:05:03,228 --> 01:05:05,678
cause in Greece was getting weaker.

802
01:05:05,679 --> 01:05:11,369
The small garrisons of Demetrias and Elis
were forced to evacuate, with Elis and Messenia

803
01:05:11,369 --> 01:05:17,849
falling into Achaean control, while Glabrio
besieged Naupaktos, deep inside Aetolian territory

804
01:05:17,849 --> 01:05:19,298
in July.

805
01:05:19,298 --> 01:05:24,679
The siege continued for two months, but then
Flamininus arrived and yet again negotiated

806
01:05:24,679 --> 01:05:25,989
a ceasefire.

807
01:05:25,989 --> 01:05:31,878
Aetolian messengers and Flamininus then traveled
to Rome in the hopes of signing a peace treaty,

808
01:05:31,878 --> 01:05:36,188
while Glabrio’s army went to its winter
quarters.

809
01:05:36,188 --> 01:05:41,448
Meanwhile, events were transpiring on the
sea.

810
01:05:41,447 --> 01:05:47,197
Seleucid admiral Polyxenidas had around 40
warships and 60 smaller vessels, and he was

811
01:05:47,197 --> 01:05:53,118
ordered by Antiochus to watch out for a possible
naval invasion, while the king himself moved

812
01:05:53,119 --> 01:05:58,119
with 30 thousand troops to Lysimachia to defend
his gains in Thrace.

813
01:05:58,119 --> 01:06:05,818
The details are scarce, but by August, Polyxenidas
had around 200 ships, 70 of them bigger warships,

814
01:06:05,818 --> 01:06:07,608
probably quadriremes.

815
01:06:07,608 --> 01:06:12,929
The new Roman admiral in the area was the
praetor Gaius Livius Salinator.

816
01:06:12,929 --> 01:06:18,208
He took command of the navy which had been
in the docks ever since the Second Punic Wars

817
01:06:18,208 --> 01:06:22,208
and started sailing to unite with Atilius’
navy.

818
01:06:22,208 --> 01:06:27,188
As this was before the ceasefire was agreed
upon, Livius raided the Aetolian controlled

819
01:06:27,188 --> 01:06:32,849
Kefalonia and Zakynthos along the way, putting
even more pressure on the league.

820
01:06:32,849 --> 01:06:38,669
In August he reached Attica, and his fleet
now had more than 100 vessels, 80 of them

821
01:06:38,668 --> 01:06:42,668
large warships.

822
01:06:42,668 --> 01:06:48,668
Both sides knew what they had to do: The Romans
needed to unite with their Pergamene and Rhodian

823
01:06:48,668 --> 01:06:54,368
allies to have equal numbers, while Polyxenidas’
best hope to win was to prevent that from

824
01:06:54,369 --> 01:06:58,399
happening and take on each of the enemies
separately.

825
01:06:58,398 --> 01:07:03,538
In September the Seleucid navarch learned
that the Attalids had repositioned their navy

826
01:07:03,539 --> 01:07:09,568
to Elaea, and that Livius was to the north
of Delos, and he decided to move himself to

827
01:07:09,568 --> 01:07:10,568
Phokaia.

828
01:07:10,568 --> 01:07:16,638
However, at some point he lost the Roman fleet
and assumed that it turned south to join the

829
01:07:16,637 --> 01:07:19,217
Rhodians, so he went for Samos.

830
01:07:19,217 --> 01:07:25,047
This was a mistake, as a week or so later
the Romans coalesced with the Pergamene navy

831
01:07:25,047 --> 01:07:33,337
commanded by king Eumenes II, bringing their
total to 160 ships.

832
01:07:33,338 --> 01:07:38,229
The allies started chasing Polyxenidas and
caught him off the coast of Chios at a place

833
01:07:38,228 --> 01:07:39,957
called Cissus.

834
01:07:39,958 --> 01:07:46,298
In a short battle, the Seleucid fleet lost
23 ships and was forced to retreat.

835
01:07:46,297 --> 01:07:52,328
Even defeated, Polyxenidas was undeterred
and sailed fast towards Samos, where he managed

836
01:07:52,329 --> 01:07:56,708
to surprise the Rhodian fleet and destroy
2 dozen vessels.

837
01:07:56,708 --> 01:08:02,367
However, the effects of this victory were
small – the allied fleet was on its way

838
01:08:02,367 --> 01:08:08,518
and another navy from Rhodes under Eudorus
was converging on Polyxendias from the south,

839
01:08:08,518 --> 01:08:14,687
so he took the only remaining safe route to
Ephesus.

840
01:08:14,688 --> 01:08:20,177
Attacking a navy in a dock protected by land
artillery is always folly, so the Romans just

841
01:08:20,177 --> 01:08:22,889
blockaded Polyxenidas for now.

842
01:08:22,889 --> 01:08:29,688
At the same time, the Republic was planning
to invade Asia Minor in 190 BC, so the Attalid

843
01:08:29,688 --> 01:08:32,177
king was asked to secure the Hellespont.

844
01:08:32,177 --> 01:08:38,318
Eumenes’ approach to the Hellespont put
Antiochus into another awkward position.

845
01:08:38,318 --> 01:08:43,868
He wanted to keep Gallipoli in order to continue
putting pressure on Philip V, but with his

846
01:08:43,868 --> 01:08:49,408
navy blockaded in Ephesus and with no way
to counter the Attalid fleet, there was a

847
01:08:49,408 --> 01:08:54,649
danger that Antiochus wouldn’t be able to
return to Asia Minor, especially since the

848
01:08:54,649 --> 01:09:01,328
kingdom of Bithynia and the city of Byzantion
were, despite not joining the war, pro-Roman,

849
01:09:01,328 --> 01:09:05,068
and could have prevented King’s army from
crossing the Bosporos.

850
01:09:05,068 --> 01:09:11,038
So, the king moved back to Asia Minor and
then started his march towards Ephesus, as

851
01:09:11,038 --> 01:09:18,577
he needed to defend the city, in case of Polyxenidas’
total defeat.

852
01:09:18,578 --> 01:09:24,019
Antiochus detached his heir Seleucus to attack
Pergamon, while a group of Galatians was sent

853
01:09:24,019 --> 01:09:25,818
to attack Elaea.

854
01:09:25,818 --> 01:09:31,649
By that time, another Roman praetor - Lucius
Aemilius Regillus took over the fleet and

855
01:09:31,649 --> 01:09:36,528
he was forced to send a portion of his navy
to defend Elaea, which was crucial for the

856
01:09:36,528 --> 01:09:40,219
Attalid war effort, while Eumenes rushed to
his capital.

857
01:09:40,219 --> 01:09:45,948
Again, we don’t know all the details, but
it seems that both Seleucid forces were largely

858
01:09:45,948 --> 01:09:51,177
successful in their raiding, but not strong
enough to take either city.

859
01:09:51,177 --> 01:09:57,189
The campaign ended when a small Achaean contingent
landed near Elaea and defeated the Galatians

860
01:09:57,189 --> 01:09:58,939
besieging it.

861
01:09:58,939 --> 01:10:04,789
Seleucus returned to his father, but overall,
this short campaign alleviated the pressure

862
01:10:04,788 --> 01:10:10,637
on Polyxenidas enough for when Antiochus sent
envoys to Aemilius to negotiate a peace treaty,

863
01:10:10,637 --> 01:10:18,738
the Romans really considered the offer and
only declined after being influenced by Eumenes.

864
01:10:18,738 --> 01:10:24,618
The Seleucid leader needed his fleet to break
out, so a message was sent to Seleucia Pieria

865
01:10:24,618 --> 01:10:27,847
ordering Hannibal to move his navy towards
the blockade.

866
01:10:27,847 --> 01:10:33,217
We don’t know what the king was thinking
when he appointed a brilliant general, who

867
01:10:33,217 --> 01:10:40,168
never led a navy, to command one, but apparently,
the Carthaginian used his knowledge of Phoenician

868
01:10:40,168 --> 01:10:46,979
and phenomenal organizational skills to form
a strong 50 vessel navy in less than 2 years.

869
01:10:46,979 --> 01:10:52,307
His movement west was noticed by the allies
and a portion of the Rhodian fleet was sent

870
01:10:52,307 --> 01:10:56,028
to intercept him before Hannibal reached their
home island.

871
01:10:56,028 --> 01:11:01,757
The two navies met to the southeast of modern
Antalya, at a place called Eurymedon.

872
01:11:01,757 --> 01:11:07,788
We don’t have the specifics, but Hannibal’s
fleet was defeated and he retired to Syria.

873
01:11:07,788 --> 01:11:13,068
Ironically, this naval battle would be the
last ever fought by the great Carthaginian

874
01:11:13,068 --> 01:11:16,467
general.

875
01:11:16,467 --> 01:11:21,177
With half of the allied navy on different
missions, the fleets near Ephesus were now

876
01:11:21,177 --> 01:11:22,878
equal in size.

877
01:11:22,878 --> 01:11:28,108
It is not clear if Aemilius broke it off due
to the lack of resources or in order to lure

878
01:11:28,109 --> 01:11:34,329
Polyxenidas out, but when the Romans left
to raid nearby Teos, the Seleucid navarch

879
01:11:34,328 --> 01:11:38,087
also sailed out, in hopes of surprising the
enemy.

880
01:11:38,087 --> 01:11:44,257
However, at the battle of Myonessus, the heavier
Roman ships and their boarding tactics proved

881
01:11:44,257 --> 01:11:46,467
to be superior yet again.

882
01:11:46,467 --> 01:11:52,128
Polyexinadas was forced to disengage after
losing a third of his navy and returned to

883
01:11:52,128 --> 01:11:53,738
Ephesus.

884
01:11:53,738 --> 01:11:59,399
After this battle, the Seleucids were outnumbered
4-to-1 in the sea, which meant that the Romans

885
01:11:59,399 --> 01:12:03,269
could cross into Asia Minor without resistance.

886
01:12:03,269 --> 01:12:11,539
Antiochus was aware of this fact and started
concentrating his forces around Ephesus.

887
01:12:11,538 --> 01:12:16,837
In the aftermath of the battle of Thermopylae,
the political parties of the Eternal city

888
01:12:16,837 --> 01:12:19,347
returned to their bickering.

889
01:12:19,347 --> 01:12:25,309
During the elections of 190 BC, Scipio’s
party strengthened its position and two of

890
01:12:25,309 --> 01:12:30,967
its members became consuls, one of them the
brother of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

891
01:12:30,967 --> 01:12:35,788
– another veteran of the 2nd Punic War,
Lucius Cornelius.

892
01:12:35,788 --> 01:12:41,469
On top of that, Africanus managed to get his
brother the command in Greece and Asia Minor,

893
01:12:41,469 --> 01:12:43,809
with himself as a legate.

894
01:12:43,809 --> 01:12:49,458
Being a war party, the Scipios also rebuked
the attempts of the Aetolians and Flamininus

895
01:12:49,458 --> 01:12:53,738
to achieve peace.

896
01:12:53,738 --> 01:12:59,307
While the Scipios were preparing their forces
to cross to Epirus, the Aetolians and Glabrio

897
01:12:59,307 --> 01:13:05,439
were informed that the ceasefire was over,
and both sides immediately resumed hostilities.

898
01:13:05,439 --> 01:13:11,557
Learning that the League’s forces were defending
the mountain passages and an attack on Naupaktos

899
01:13:11,557 --> 01:13:18,087
would prove difficult, Glabrio turned against
Lamia, taking it with a surprise attack.

900
01:13:18,087 --> 01:13:21,308
The propraetor’s next target was Amphissa.

901
01:13:21,309 --> 01:13:27,918
The city was besieged, managing to resist
until the Scipios arrived in August of 190.

902
01:13:27,918 --> 01:13:33,498
The Romans now had more than 50 thousand troops
in the region, but the campaigning season

903
01:13:33,498 --> 01:13:39,087
was about to be over and the Romans didn’t
want to spend time fighting the Aetolians,

904
01:13:39,087 --> 01:13:44,808
so when the latter asked for another ceasefire,
the Scipios agreed to a truce for an indemnity

905
01:13:44,809 --> 01:13:48,248
of 1000 talents.

906
01:13:48,248 --> 01:13:55,328
Afterwards, the Romans turned towards Macedon
and started negotiations with its king.

907
01:13:55,328 --> 01:14:01,117
In exchange for forgiveness of the war indemnity,
the release of his son Demetrius, and minor

908
01:14:01,118 --> 01:14:06,638
territorial gains, Philip not only supplied
the Romans and allowed them to pass through

909
01:14:06,637 --> 01:14:11,038
his kingdom, but 2 thousand of his warriors
joined the Scipios.

910
01:14:11,038 --> 01:14:18,737
In November of 190 BC the Scipios finally
reached the abandoned Lysimacheia.

911
01:14:18,738 --> 01:14:24,389
Antiochus is often accused of making a mistake
when he left Thrace undefended, as a few garrisons

912
01:14:24,389 --> 01:14:30,238
in the area could have slowed down the Romans,
but the king was probably trying to get all

913
01:14:30,238 --> 01:14:33,958
available forces together for a general battle.

914
01:14:33,958 --> 01:14:39,248
That can be seen from the fact that the Roman
navy took Phokaia and the king didn’t do

915
01:14:39,248 --> 01:14:40,978
anything to retake it.

916
01:14:40,979 --> 01:14:46,278
Shortly the Gallipoli peninsula was controlled
by the legionaries.

917
01:14:46,278 --> 01:14:53,929
At this point in time, Antiochus attempted
to drag the king of Bithynia, Prusias I, to

918
01:14:53,929 --> 01:15:00,087
his side, but his diplomatic overtures failed
and Bithynia declared for the Romans, who

919
01:15:00,087 --> 01:15:02,998
crossed the Hellespont in late November.

920
01:15:02,998 --> 01:15:09,568
In Asia, the Scipios were greeted by an envoy
from Antiochus and were offered a peace treaty:

921
01:15:09,568 --> 01:15:15,137
the king was ready to pay half of the expenses
the Romans incurred during the war and leave

922
01:15:15,137 --> 01:15:17,878
the cities in Thrace and Troada.

923
01:15:17,878 --> 01:15:24,108
His offer was rejected and the counteroffer
to pay the expenses in full and leave all

924
01:15:24,109 --> 01:15:29,269
the lands to the north and west of the Taurus
mountains was unacceptable.

925
01:15:29,269 --> 01:15:34,918
Some sources claim that Africanus’ son Publius
was captured by the Seleucids during a minor

926
01:15:34,918 --> 01:15:39,828
skirmish and Antiochus offered to return him
in exchange for peace.

927
01:15:39,828 --> 01:15:45,378
The victor of Zama didn’t budge and replied
that in return for his son, he would give

928
01:15:45,378 --> 01:15:51,677
Antiochus III a bit of useful advice: the
King would be wise to agree to Roman terms

929
01:15:51,677 --> 01:15:56,628
to avoid battle with the Romans.

930
01:15:56,628 --> 01:16:02,139
With the negotiations failing the legions
supported by the Attalid forces marched south

931
01:16:02,139 --> 01:16:03,498
in December.

932
01:16:03,498 --> 01:16:09,889
Scipios were worried that Lucius’ command
might be taken away by the next year’s consuls,

933
01:16:09,889 --> 01:16:13,587
so they were eager to fight the battle before
long.

934
01:16:13,587 --> 01:16:19,067
Antiochus was at Thyatira where he received
reinforcements from Galatia and Cappadocia.

935
01:16:19,068 --> 01:16:24,668
He then relocated to the north of Magnesia
planning to defend at the Hermos river, as

936
01:16:24,668 --> 01:16:29,828
this was the best place to stop the Romans
before they reached the crucial Ephesus.

937
01:16:29,828 --> 01:16:36,777
A few days later the army of the Roman Republic
was in the area.

938
01:16:36,778 --> 01:16:41,609
The Seleucid army constructed a walled camp
in the valley between river Hermos and its

939
01:16:41,609 --> 01:16:47,198
tributary Phrygius, with some of the infantry
defending the crossing and a unit of Galatian

940
01:16:47,198 --> 01:16:50,439
cavalry to the west of Phrygius.

941
01:16:50,439 --> 01:16:54,677
On the 15th, the first legionary units arrived
at the scene.

942
01:16:54,677 --> 01:16:59,867
Initially, the Romans lacked numbers, and
their attempts at fording were frustrated

943
01:16:59,868 --> 01:17:05,488
by the enemy missile units, but more of them
were arriving and pushing the defenders back.

944
01:17:05,488 --> 01:17:11,008
At this point, the order was given to the
Galatians to attack the Roman right, leading

945
01:17:11,007 --> 01:17:13,208
to heavy casualties.

946
01:17:13,208 --> 01:17:17,617
Another group of Scipio’s troops entered
the battle and their numbers overwhelmed the

947
01:17:17,618 --> 01:17:21,129
Galatians, who retreated with losses.

948
01:17:21,128 --> 01:17:27,128
The clashes continued for a day, as Antiochus
also bolstered his contingents, but the sheer

949
01:17:27,128 --> 01:17:32,057
numbers of the Romans made the defense of
the crossing untenable since they started

950
01:17:32,057 --> 01:17:40,217
forcing the river in other places, too, so
the king ordered his soldiers back.

951
01:17:40,217 --> 01:17:46,547
After moving across, Scipios started erecting
a camp at the confluence of Hermos and Phrygius,

952
01:17:46,547 --> 01:17:48,648
but were attacked yet again.

953
01:17:48,649 --> 01:17:53,008
The building of the camp was stopped a few
times until the legionaries were forced to

954
01:17:53,007 --> 01:17:57,328
get into a battle line and push the king’s
troops back.

955
01:17:57,328 --> 01:18:03,288
After hours of skirmish, the camp was finally
built.

956
01:18:03,288 --> 01:18:08,657
The Seleucids had much more cavalry than their
foes, so the Romans wanted to fight near their

957
01:18:08,658 --> 01:18:14,229
camp in the narrowest part of the valley,
while Antiochus wasn’t keen on giving up

958
01:18:14,229 --> 01:18:19,689
his advantage in the number of horsemen and
preferred a wider section, so both armies

959
01:18:19,689 --> 01:18:22,878
formed up in front of their fortifications.

960
01:18:22,878 --> 01:18:28,139
This continued for 4 days, with neither side
moving forward.

961
01:18:28,139 --> 01:18:32,748
But January was coming, so it was the Romans
who advanced.

962
01:18:32,748 --> 01:18:38,288
However, Antiochus still didn’t think that
it was enough and on the 6th day, the Romans

963
01:18:38,288 --> 01:18:41,478
repositioned even closer to the enemy camp.

964
01:18:41,479 --> 01:18:50,289
The king considered the battlefield satisfactory
and accepted the battle on the 22nd of December.

965
01:18:50,288 --> 01:18:56,047
The always controversial topic of the sizes
of the armies is no different for this battle.

966
01:18:56,047 --> 01:19:02,367
Our main sources for the battle are Roman
historian Livy and the Achaean historian Polybius

967
01:19:02,368 --> 01:19:05,718
and neither was kind to Antiochus.

968
01:19:05,717 --> 01:19:10,137
According to them, the Seleucids outnumbered
the Romans 2-to-1.

969
01:19:10,137 --> 01:19:16,257
It seems that both think that 25 thousand
or so legionaries remained in Greece, but

970
01:19:16,257 --> 01:19:22,429
further events that we will talk about disproves
this and modern historians think that armies

971
01:19:22,429 --> 01:19:28,038
were equal in size, each around 70 thousand.

972
01:19:28,037 --> 01:19:35,077
Scipio commanded an army made up of 20 thousand
Romans, 40 thousand Italian allies, and more

973
01:19:35,078 --> 01:19:41,859
than 10 thousand Achaeans, Macedonians, Thracians,
and Pergamene, among them 20 thousand hastati,

974
01:19:41,859 --> 01:19:47,519
20 thousand principes, 8 thousand triarii,
and a few thousand velites.

975
01:19:47,519 --> 01:19:53,849
They were supported by 4000 cavalry, majority
among them the Roman and Italic Equites and

976
01:19:53,849 --> 01:20:00,587
1000 Attalid heavy cavalry, 3000 Pergamene
and Achaean peltasts, 2000 Macedonian phalangites,

977
01:20:00,587 --> 01:20:02,637
and others.

978
01:20:02,637 --> 01:20:08,568
The Romans had 16 North African elephants,
but Scipio decided not to use them against

979
01:20:08,568 --> 01:20:15,217
the bigger and more ferocious Seleucid Indian
elephants.

980
01:20:15,217 --> 01:20:21,668
Opposing them were 34 thousand heavy footmen,
including 16,000 phalangites, 10 thousand

981
01:20:21,668 --> 01:20:27,759
silver shield hypaspists, 3 thousand Galatian
and 2 thousand Cappadocian swordsmen, and

982
01:20:27,759 --> 01:20:34,628
23 thousand light and missile infantry, among
them peltasts, Cretan archers, and Illyrian

983
01:20:34,628 --> 01:20:35,717
skirmishers.

984
01:20:35,717 --> 01:20:41,519
As we mentioned before, Antiochus’ army
had more cavalry than their foe: 8 thousand

985
01:20:41,519 --> 01:20:48,278
heavy cavalry made up of Armenian and Iranian
cataphracts, Median agema, hetairoi from the

986
01:20:48,278 --> 01:20:54,467
Macedonian elite, and 4000 light horsemen
from Galatia, Dacia, Dahae, Arabia, and Greek

987
01:20:54,467 --> 01:20:57,887
Asia Minor fighting as Tarentines.

988
01:20:57,887 --> 01:21:04,778
The king also had 54 elephants and an unknown
number of scythed chariots.

989
01:21:04,778 --> 01:21:11,769
The Roman center and left wing, which was
defended by the Phrygius, consisted of the

990
01:21:11,769 --> 01:21:17,847
legionaries in 3 lines – a traditional triplex
acies in checkerboard pattern, with the left

991
01:21:17,847 --> 01:21:24,158
reinforced by 1000 Roman horsemen and the
elephants in reserve behind the center.

992
01:21:24,158 --> 01:21:30,269
The right anchored by the Hermos had Achaean
and Pergamene peltasts in the first rank and

993
01:21:30,269 --> 01:21:32,738
3 thousand cavalrymen in the second.

994
01:21:32,738 --> 01:21:38,807
Various units of skirmishers and velites formed
the vanguard, while the Macedonian and Thracian

995
01:21:38,807 --> 01:21:45,948
allies remained to defend the camp, commanded
by the military tribune Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.

996
01:21:45,948 --> 01:21:51,909
The consul Lucius Scipio commanded the center,
king Eumenes the right, and the former consul

997
01:21:51,908 --> 01:21:55,248
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus the left.

998
01:21:55,248 --> 01:22:00,387
Scipio Africanus had suffered from sickness
for weeks, so it seems that it was his brother

999
01:22:00,387 --> 01:22:05,818
Lucius who was the overall commander.

1000
01:22:05,818 --> 01:22:10,988
On the other side of the plain, the Seleucid
center commanded by general Zeuxis was built

1001
01:22:10,988 --> 01:22:17,798
around all the phalangites and Galatian infantry,
divided into units of 1500 footmen with 2

1002
01:22:17,797 --> 01:22:22,768
elephants between each battalion, for a total
of 22 beasts.

1003
01:22:22,769 --> 01:22:28,238
Antiochus himself commanded the right wing
with 4000 heavy cavalry in the first line,

1004
01:22:28,238 --> 01:22:34,849
16 elephants and light Dahae cavalry behind
them, with the Silver Shields behind them.

1005
01:22:34,849 --> 01:22:40,307
The Kings heir’s Seleucus was leading the
left-wing of the army, guarded by 4000 heavy

1006
01:22:40,307 --> 01:22:41,899
horsemen.

1007
01:22:41,899 --> 01:22:47,128
In front of his force was a unit of scythed
chariots, while the elephants and the light

1008
01:22:47,128 --> 01:22:53,837
cavalry formed the 2nd line, with the peltasts
and Cappadocians positioned in the third line.

1009
01:22:53,837 --> 01:22:59,498
The primary sources fail to place the missile
infantry for Antiochus, but modern historians

1010
01:22:59,498 --> 01:23:06,288
conclude that the skirmishers and the Arab
camel archers were in the vanguard.

1011
01:23:06,288 --> 01:23:11,467
Again, our understanding of the early stage
of the battle is uneven.

1012
01:23:11,467 --> 01:23:16,188
It was customary for the skirmishers to open
a battle and it seems that it was the case

1013
01:23:16,189 --> 01:23:18,318
in this engagement too.

1014
01:23:18,318 --> 01:23:23,547
In this case, it is possible to deduce that
the Romans gained an upper hand.

1015
01:23:23,547 --> 01:23:28,737
Livy mentions that it rained prior to the
battle and that the Seleucid missile units,

1016
01:23:28,738 --> 01:23:32,788
who relied on bowstrings, were at a disadvantage.

1017
01:23:32,787 --> 01:23:38,108
After suffering casualties, Antiochus’ archers
started retreating behind the main line and

1018
01:23:38,109 --> 01:23:43,347
as the Roman skirmishers moved forward, it
became dangerous to keep the elephants close

1019
01:23:43,347 --> 01:23:47,467
to the front, as they tended to become frenzied
under fire.

1020
01:23:47,467 --> 01:23:53,257
The Seleucid center then closed its ranks.

1021
01:23:53,257 --> 01:23:58,237
With no light footmen to defend the line,
the Seleucid heir ordered his chariots to

1022
01:23:58,238 --> 01:23:59,408
counterattack.

1023
01:23:59,408 --> 01:24:04,999
A scythed chariot was a fearsome weapon against
tight groups, but the Roman skirmishers were

1024
01:24:04,998 --> 01:24:10,458
in a loose formation, so when the chariots
charged, they were able to disperse and allow

1025
01:24:10,458 --> 01:24:12,797
the enemy through.

1026
01:24:12,797 --> 01:24:17,648
Skirmishers then turned and started sending
volleys into the charioteers, while Eumenes

1027
01:24:17,649 --> 01:24:21,048
then sent his light cavalry to attack them.

1028
01:24:21,047 --> 01:24:26,507
Many horses and riders were killed and the
rest panicked and turned back to find refuge

1029
01:24:26,507 --> 01:24:28,487
behind their lines.

1030
01:24:28,488 --> 01:24:33,847
At this point, the Arab camel archers were
sent forward to assist the charioteers, as

1031
01:24:33,847 --> 01:24:39,349
the Seleucid officers knew that the camel’s
scent might scare the Roman horses and save

1032
01:24:39,349 --> 01:24:43,278
the chariot corps.

1033
01:24:43,278 --> 01:24:48,729
This backfired spectacularly, as the chariot
riders were not able to control their horses

1034
01:24:48,729 --> 01:24:52,958
anymore and basically smashed into their own
camel riders.

1035
01:24:52,958 --> 01:24:58,947
The details are scarce, but the Seleucid left
lost all cohesion and soon was attacked by

1036
01:24:58,948 --> 01:25:01,658
the full force of the king of Pergamon.

1037
01:25:01,658 --> 01:25:06,749
The light cavalry and the infantry weren’t
able to withstand this charge, and even though

1038
01:25:06,748 --> 01:25:11,797
the hetairoi and cataphracts were much more
disciplined, they were more used to fighting

1039
01:25:11,797 --> 01:25:13,618
as an attacking force.

1040
01:25:13,618 --> 01:25:20,787
Slowly but surely, they were first pushed
back, and then broken.

1041
01:25:20,787 --> 01:25:25,638
Things were completely different on the Seleucid
right, owing to the fact that the width of

1042
01:25:25,639 --> 01:25:32,837
the battlefield was 5 kilometers, which prohibited
information from reaching the flanks in time.

1043
01:25:32,837 --> 01:25:38,087
Seeing his missile infantry on the backfoot,
the Seleucid king allowed them to pass and

1044
01:25:38,087 --> 01:25:42,009
then counterattacked with his heavy and light
cavalry.

1045
01:25:42,009 --> 01:25:45,378
This charge quickly scattered the enemy in
front of them.

1046
01:25:45,378 --> 01:25:50,547
The cavalry then got into a single line on
the go, and that seemingly shocked the Roman

1047
01:25:50,547 --> 01:25:56,378
left, who were marching forward behind their
velites and now were in a wider place on the

1048
01:25:56,378 --> 01:25:57,439
battlefield.

1049
01:25:57,439 --> 01:26:03,137
Ahenobarbus attempted to widen his front by
sending his small cavalry contingent to defend

1050
01:26:03,137 --> 01:26:04,418
the flank.

1051
01:26:04,418 --> 01:26:09,948
This wasn’t enough: the Roman horsemen were
crushed and the side of the legionary formation

1052
01:26:09,948 --> 01:26:13,557
was now open to further attacks.

1053
01:26:13,557 --> 01:26:19,967
Apparently, the Seleucids destroyed the enemy
formation here and started chasing them towards

1054
01:26:19,967 --> 01:26:20,967
the camp.

1055
01:26:20,967 --> 01:26:25,568
Hundreds died in this chase, but eventually
they reached the camp.

1056
01:26:25,568 --> 01:26:30,368
Here Lepidus attempted to form a line, but
the panic was too strong and his troops were

1057
01:26:30,368 --> 01:26:33,488
ordered to kill the retreating legionaries.

1058
01:26:33,488 --> 01:26:37,189
The harsh treatment finally stopped those
attempting to run.

1059
01:26:37,189 --> 01:26:42,538
Buoyed by the Macedonian pikes the Roman line
was able to put some distance between them

1060
01:26:42,537 --> 01:26:44,237
and Antiochus.

1061
01:26:44,238 --> 01:26:49,079
The king’s light cavalry was supposed to
attack from behind, but got too distracted

1062
01:26:49,078 --> 01:26:54,157
by the riches of the camp, which gave the
Romans enough leeway to put their back against

1063
01:26:54,158 --> 01:26:55,878
the walls of the camp.

1064
01:26:55,878 --> 01:27:01,108
Antiochus hadn’t received any news from
his army for some time and wasn’t eager

1065
01:27:01,109 --> 01:27:06,778
to attack the pikes, so he ordered his warriors
to break off and return.

1066
01:27:06,778 --> 01:27:13,759
Meanwhile, the Roman center pushed forward,
and the remainder of the Seleucid right, seeing

1067
01:27:13,759 --> 01:27:18,878
that their center would be surrounded, attempted
to join them in defense.

1068
01:27:18,878 --> 01:27:22,488
Indeed, soon the center of the Antiochus’
force was encircled.

1069
01:27:22,488 --> 01:27:27,899
For some time, the Romans tried to use their
missiles to weaken the phalanx, but it wasn’t

1070
01:27:27,899 --> 01:27:29,019
too effective.

1071
01:27:29,019 --> 01:27:34,328
Eumenes and Scipio knew that the Seleucid
leader would eventually return, so they ordered

1072
01:27:34,328 --> 01:27:39,649
a unit of cavalry to block him and commanded
their heavy infantry to close in.

1073
01:27:39,649 --> 01:27:45,218
The phalangites formed a pike wall and attempted
to retreat towards their own camp, but it

1074
01:27:45,217 --> 01:27:49,507
was difficult while they were attacked from
all sides.

1075
01:27:49,507 --> 01:27:56,519
Antiochus’s cavalry easily broke the unit
sent to block them, but by the time they arrived,

1076
01:27:56,519 --> 01:28:02,298
the phalanx was finally broken and its desperate
members were chased and killed by the Roman

1077
01:28:02,297 --> 01:28:03,577
cavalry.

1078
01:28:03,578 --> 01:28:09,020
Some units were able to retreat from the battlefield,
but it seems that the majority of the Seleucid

1079
01:28:09,020 --> 01:28:11,298
army was either killed or captured.

1080
01:28:11,297 --> 01:28:16,387
We don’t have a good source for the Roman
casualties, however, it can be concluded that

1081
01:28:16,387 --> 01:28:18,729
they were in the thousands.

1082
01:28:18,729 --> 01:28:24,238
Antiochus’ decision to place himself on
the right, which was the place of honor, was

1083
01:28:24,238 --> 01:28:29,967
the biggest mistake he made, as it precluded
him from personally stabilizing the situation

1084
01:28:29,967 --> 01:28:33,769
on his left.

1085
01:28:33,769 --> 01:28:39,427
In the aftermath of the battle, Antiochus
started retreating towards Apamea, while the

1086
01:28:39,427 --> 01:28:41,128
Romans took Sardis.

1087
01:28:41,128 --> 01:28:47,519
The king wanted to continue fighting, as his
empire was vast and rich enough to field another

1088
01:28:47,519 --> 01:28:52,609
army, but even the mightiest kings should
consider the opinion of their subjects after

1089
01:28:52,609 --> 01:29:00,059
two decisive defeats, and both the courtiers
and commoners wanted peace, so in early 189

1090
01:29:00,059 --> 01:29:04,519
BC Antiochus sent envoys to discuss the terms.

1091
01:29:04,519 --> 01:29:10,807
The Roman demands were steep, but the Seleucids
agreed without much discussion: The defeated

1092
01:29:10,807 --> 01:29:16,547
empire had to withdraw from lands to the west
and north to the Taurus mountains and pay

1093
01:29:16,547 --> 01:29:19,237
15,000 talents as war indemnity.

1094
01:29:19,238 --> 01:29:20,269
Antiochus had to give up Hannibal and a number
of other enemies of Rome, and promised not

1095
01:29:20,269 --> 01:29:21,269
to participate in any wars in Europe.

1096
01:29:21,269 --> 01:29:25,677
The king also gave away all of his elephants
with a promise not to procure more in the

1097
01:29:25,677 --> 01:29:26,837
future.

1098
01:29:26,837 --> 01:29:33,858
The Seleucids were only allowed to keep a
navy of 10 ships and not to sail beyond Calycadnus.

1099
01:29:33,859 --> 01:29:42,218
The Romans took 20 hostages, including the
son of the king – another Antiochus.

1100
01:29:42,217 --> 01:29:47,297
The peace would not be signed until the next
year, as it had to be ratified by the Roman

1101
01:29:47,297 --> 01:29:53,597
senate, but in the end, the Seleucid lands
in Europe were given to the Thracian kingdom,

1102
01:29:53,597 --> 01:29:58,868
while the territories in Asia were divided
between Rhodes and Pergamon.

1103
01:29:58,868 --> 01:30:01,787
This weakened the Seleucid empire.

1104
01:30:01,787 --> 01:30:08,617
Antiochus was killed by a mob in Babylon in
187, while Armenia, Atropatene, and Parthia,

1105
01:30:08,618 --> 01:30:14,169
who were already somewhat autonomous, rebelled
and became independent.

1106
01:30:14,168 --> 01:30:21,309
The Seleucid dynasty would rule for another
120 years, but their realm would continuously

1107
01:30:21,309 --> 01:30:24,618
shrink.

1108
01:30:24,618 --> 01:30:31,788
In 189, Rome sent two new consuls to Greece
and Asia Minor to finish the wars.

1109
01:30:31,787 --> 01:30:37,367
The first - Gnaeus Manlius Vulso not only
made sure that the Seleucids fulfilled the

1110
01:30:37,368 --> 01:30:41,758
terms of the treaty, but also went to war
with Galatia.

1111
01:30:41,757 --> 01:30:48,118
The Galatian War, that the Romans won handily,
is beyond the scope of this video, but it

1112
01:30:48,118 --> 01:30:54,117
was remarkable for two reasons: it showed
that Rome could now easily invade Asia Minor,

1113
01:30:54,118 --> 01:31:00,968
and was the first time a Roman general declared
war without the approval of the Senate, and

1114
01:31:00,967 --> 01:31:08,479
this set a precedent that would lead to the
downfall of the Republic.

1115
01:31:08,479 --> 01:31:13,918
While all that was happening in the east,
the ceasefire between Rome and Aetolia ended

1116
01:31:13,918 --> 01:31:20,099
in early 189 and using the absence of the
Roman armies, the Aetolians attacked Philip

1117
01:31:20,099 --> 01:31:24,248
of Macedon and easily pushed him out of Thessaly.

1118
01:31:24,248 --> 01:31:29,987
However, soon the second consul Marcus Fulvius
Nobilior arrived.

1119
01:31:29,988 --> 01:31:35,828
Supported by the Epirotes, he besieged Ambracia
and that forced the Aetolian army to retreat

1120
01:31:35,828 --> 01:31:40,298
from Macedon, as they were worried about being
outflanked.

1121
01:31:40,297 --> 01:31:45,208
Although Ambracia managed to resist for months,
it was clear to the League that it won’t

1122
01:31:45,208 --> 01:31:51,328
be able to fight on without the Seleucids,
so using Athenian mediation they started peace

1123
01:31:51,328 --> 01:31:53,467
negotiations with Rome.

1124
01:31:53,467 --> 01:32:00,318
Again, the demands were heavy, but the Aetolians
had no other choice but to accept: The league

1125
01:32:00,318 --> 01:32:05,748
lost half of its members and territory, and
also was prohibited from having a foreign

1126
01:32:05,748 --> 01:32:08,797
policy without Rome’s approval.

1127
01:32:08,797 --> 01:32:15,059
Although technically independent, the League
stopped being a major player after this treaty.

1128
01:32:15,059 --> 01:32:20,318
In 184 the second son of Philip V - Demetrius,
went on a return visit to Rome.

1129
01:32:20,318 --> 01:32:24,568
After Cynoscephalae Demetrius was the boy
taken as a hostage by the Romans and he had

1130
01:32:24,568 --> 01:32:27,498
emerged from that experience a committed Romanophile.

1131
01:32:27,498 --> 01:32:30,528
This only intensified when the senate decided
to give the sympathetic Demetrius their official

1132
01:32:30,528 --> 01:32:33,628
support, and he returned to Macedon in 184
with a very different attitude to his father.

1133
01:32:33,628 --> 01:32:34,628
Macedonian court politics during this period
were especially fierce.

1134
01:32:34,628 --> 01:32:37,347
While the Seleucid conflict was raging, the
royal court in Pella had become bitterly divided

1135
01:32:37,347 --> 01:32:39,368
over the Roman issue, and it was almost as
if two courts existed at once.

1136
01:32:39,368 --> 01:32:44,381
One of these circles consisted of those advisors
and highborn men who favoured peace and accomodation

1137
01:32:44,381 --> 01:32:45,519
with Rome, and was gathered around Demetrius.

1138
01:32:45,519 --> 01:32:51,338
On the other hand, another group formed around
the duo of Philip V and his eldest son Perseus,

1139
01:32:51,337 --> 01:32:58,748
and was packed with firebrands who advocated
resistance against the invaders from the west.

1140
01:32:58,748 --> 01:33:02,837
Both factions began an underhand war of propaganda
against one another, using rumour and intrigue

1141
01:33:02,837 --> 01:33:03,837
as weapons.

1142
01:33:03,837 --> 01:33:06,277
Perseus’ mother was routinely slandered
as being of low birth and a one-time concubine.

1143
01:33:06,278 --> 01:33:11,658
Therefore, it was implied that Perseus was
less legitimate than Demetrius, who was the

1144
01:33:11,658 --> 01:33:12,658
younger sibling.

1145
01:33:12,658 --> 01:33:13,658
Demetrius realised that, despite his friendliness
with Rome, Perseus had influence with his

1146
01:33:13,658 --> 01:33:14,658
father and became certain that his days were
numbered.

1147
01:33:14,658 --> 01:33:15,658
He made a mistake at this point, confiding
his fears to one of his father’s courtiers

1148
01:33:15,658 --> 01:33:18,928
named Didas, telling him he planned to flee
to Rome.

1149
01:33:18,927 --> 01:33:24,269
This man promptly told Philip, who also discovered
a letter speaking of Demetrius’ ‘lust

1150
01:33:24,269 --> 01:33:26,048
for the throne’.

1151
01:33:26,047 --> 01:33:32,208
Despite it probably being a forgery, Didas
poisoned Demetrius in the winter of 181 on

1152
01:33:32,208 --> 01:33:33,238
the order of Philip.

1153
01:33:33,238 --> 01:33:35,359
This was the only dynastic murder of the entire
Antigonid dynasty, and its outcome was a surge

1154
01:33:35,359 --> 01:33:40,899
in hostility between Rome and Macedon.

1155
01:33:40,899 --> 01:33:48,338
The situation destabilised even further in
179, when after over four decades of rule,

1156
01:33:48,337 --> 01:33:54,498
Philip V passed away in Amphipolis while preparing
for a campaign against the Thracians.

1157
01:33:54,498 --> 01:33:59,697
With his rival Demetrius also dead, Perseus
became the king of Macedon.

1158
01:33:59,698 --> 01:34:05,908
He did what new Antigonid kings always had
to, immediately reaffirming old friendships

1159
01:34:05,908 --> 01:34:08,518
and building new ones.

1160
01:34:08,518 --> 01:34:14,408
Rivals to the throne were eliminated and,
in this new Rome-dominated world, it was necessary

1161
01:34:14,408 --> 01:34:20,169
to send emissaries to the senate hoping for
their official recognition of Perseus’ accession

1162
01:34:20,168 --> 01:34:21,389
to the throne.

1163
01:34:21,389 --> 01:34:26,637
Reluctantly, this was granted.

1164
01:34:26,637 --> 01:34:32,177
On the diplomatic front, Perseus also entered
into many alliances and diplomatic arrangements

1165
01:34:32,177 --> 01:34:34,648
with the various Greek city-states, making
no secret of Macedon’s continuing interest

1166
01:34:34,649 --> 01:34:35,649
in Greece.

1167
01:34:35,649 --> 01:34:37,988
Naturally, this was to the great annoyance
of the Romans.

1168
01:34:37,988 --> 01:34:44,689
Furthermore, to the east, Perseus astutely
married his sister to Prusias II of Bithynia

1169
01:34:44,689 --> 01:34:49,318
and the king himself married the daughter
of Seleucid monarch Seleucus IV.

1170
01:34:49,318 --> 01:34:56,109
So in addition to playing nice with the Greeks,
Perseus was also swiftly gaining a network

1171
01:34:56,109 --> 01:35:02,368
of useful allies in Asia Minor, much to the
increasing anger of Pergamon, which was excluded

1172
01:35:02,368 --> 01:35:06,758
from these affairs.

1173
01:35:06,757 --> 01:35:12,088
Its king - Eumenes II, played his kingdom’s
usual part as a sycophantic informant to their

1174
01:35:12,088 --> 01:35:13,818
Roman lords in the west.

1175
01:35:13,818 --> 01:35:18,838
Initial insistences and warnings by Eumenes
to the Roman senate fell on receptive ears,

1176
01:35:18,837 --> 01:35:21,938
primarily because they wished to keep their
hegemony over Greece.

1177
01:35:21,939 --> 01:35:27,818
In 175 and 174, repeated Roman warnings to
Perseus refused to cow the young king.

1178
01:35:27,818 --> 01:35:33,967
Moreover, he performed a grand spectacle of
marching his entire army on a peaceful parade

1179
01:35:33,967 --> 01:35:37,708
through Delphi - the sacred centre of the
Greek world.

1180
01:35:37,708 --> 01:35:46,238
The message was clear: HE was the protector
of the Greeks, not the Romans.

1181
01:35:46,238 --> 01:35:51,349
Increasingly urgent embassies from Pergamon
began to beseech the Roman senate for help,

1182
01:35:51,349 --> 01:35:57,597
and in early 172 Eumenes himself came to plead
his case.

1183
01:35:57,597 --> 01:35:58,597
He not only repeated previous claims that
Perseus had simply inherited his father’s

1184
01:35:58,597 --> 01:35:59,597
preparations and resolution for war against
Rome, but also claimed that the peace since

1185
01:35:59,597 --> 01:36:02,179
189 had allowed Macedon to fully recover its
strength.

1186
01:36:02,179 --> 01:36:07,467
Finally, the Pergamene king played his trump
card, stating to the Romans that “I felt

1187
01:36:07,467 --> 01:36:12,679
it would be utterly disgraceful if I failed
to reach Italy to warn you, before he arrived

1188
01:36:12,679 --> 01:36:14,918
here with his army.”.

1189
01:36:14,918 --> 01:36:19,028
Cynically playing on the tradition post-Hannibalic
fear of invasions in their homeland, Eumenes

1190
01:36:19,028 --> 01:36:22,899
got his way.

1191
01:36:22,899 --> 01:36:28,678
The subsequent diplomatic pressure and investigations
into Perseus’ conduct would turn into a

1192
01:36:28,677 --> 01:36:33,717
self-fulfilling prophecy, as the king could
see the senate was intent on destroying him.

1193
01:36:33,717 --> 01:36:35,398
Therefore, he was required to take steps to
be ready for them, it was his only choice.

1194
01:36:35,399 --> 01:36:40,169
Philip V may have been the aggressor in the
previous war, but now the Romans were hungry

1195
01:36:40,168 --> 01:36:42,769
for conflict with Perseus.

1196
01:36:42,769 --> 01:36:48,238
Roman envoys sent to negotiate a truce with
the Macedonian king then boasted of deceiving

1197
01:36:48,238 --> 01:36:50,927
him into thinking there was even a chance
of peace.

1198
01:36:50,927 --> 01:36:56,328
In fact, the truce was purely a measure in
order to gain more time for the Romans to

1199
01:36:56,328 --> 01:37:02,208
prepare for war, as they refitted a fleet
of old ships and embarked a powerful army

1200
01:37:02,208 --> 01:37:05,498
from Brundisium to Apollonia.

1201
01:37:05,498 --> 01:37:12,577
This Roman ‘new cunning’ of deception
and underhanded tactics was not met with approval

1202
01:37:12,578 --> 01:37:14,468
from all quarters.

1203
01:37:14,467 --> 01:37:18,757
More traditionalist senators remembered a
time when the Romans treated their enemies

1204
01:37:18,757 --> 01:37:20,688
as honoured and honourable men.

1205
01:37:20,689 --> 01:37:25,838
It turned out that such methods were no way
to run an empire.

1206
01:37:25,837 --> 01:37:30,817
Whatever the case, the Roman senate had decided
that the only way to maintain their position

1207
01:37:30,818 --> 01:37:33,748
in Greece was to have no equals at all.

1208
01:37:33,748 --> 01:37:42,587
The Antigonid monarchy had to disappear, and
the Third Macedonian War began.

1209
01:37:42,587 --> 01:37:49,327
Roman consul Publius Licinius Crassus crossed
the Adriatic in the late summer of 171BC in

1210
01:37:49,328 --> 01:37:52,619
order to take control of the legions there.

1211
01:37:52,618 --> 01:37:58,478
At the same time, Eumenes of Pergamon arrived
at Chalcis with his fleet, disembarking with

1212
01:37:58,479 --> 01:38:01,789
6,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry of his own.

1213
01:38:01,788 --> 01:38:07,559
At sea the Romans had unquestioned mastery
of the Aegean sea, so they dismissed the allied

1214
01:38:07,559 --> 01:38:09,778
vessels, only retaining Eumenes’ assistance.

1215
01:38:09,778 --> 01:38:12,198
They only wanted the help of those allies
who they knew were most loyal, and were hesitant

1216
01:38:12,198 --> 01:38:14,488
to be indebted to friends such as the Rhodians
who would probably want peacetime gains for

1217
01:38:14,488 --> 01:38:15,488
their wartime performance.

1218
01:38:15,488 --> 01:38:19,458
Meanwhile, Perseus advanced south into Thessaly
- ravaging lands on the way, and encamped

1219
01:38:19,458 --> 01:38:24,559
just to the south of Mount Ossa, having taken
command of the army his father had begun to

1220
01:38:24,559 --> 01:38:26,208
rebuild.

1221
01:38:26,208 --> 01:38:31,748
At the same time, Licinius secured the Greek
west coast and advanced into Thessaly via

1222
01:38:31,748 --> 01:38:33,297
Athamania.

1223
01:38:33,297 --> 01:38:38,537
When the consul arrived at the Greek city
of Larissa, he encamped just outside the town

1224
01:38:38,537 --> 01:38:46,168
by a hill called Callinicus, where he was
reinforced by Eumenes’ Pergamene forces.

1225
01:38:46,168 --> 01:38:51,887
As the Macedonians had grown bolder due to
their opposed ravaging of the Thessalian countryside,

1226
01:38:51,887 --> 01:38:57,519
Perseus decided to match them toward the Roman
camp, erecting their own around five miles

1227
01:38:57,519 --> 01:38:58,988
away.

1228
01:38:58,988 --> 01:39:04,118
After resting his army for the night, Perseus
drew up his line into formation and marched

1229
01:39:04,118 --> 01:39:07,658
his cavalry, as well as the light infantry
forwards.

1230
01:39:07,658 --> 01:39:10,088
The phalangists stayed behind in reserve.

1231
01:39:10,087 --> 01:39:16,347
Odrysian king Cotys IV commanded the Thracian
cavalry and interspersed light infantry on

1232
01:39:16,347 --> 01:39:21,507
the left flank, while Macedonian horsemen
and Cretan skirmishers on the right were led

1233
01:39:21,507 --> 01:39:23,847
by Midon of Beroea.

1234
01:39:23,847 --> 01:39:29,387
Both wings were flanked by the King’s Cavalry
and auxiliary infantry from various foreign

1235
01:39:29,387 --> 01:39:35,788
nations, while the centre was made up of Perseus’
elite agema, the sacred cavalry and 400 slingers

1236
01:39:35,788 --> 01:39:37,998
in front.

1237
01:39:37,998 --> 01:39:44,987
Opposite the Macedonians, Licinius’ field
army formed up its heavy infantry safely behind

1238
01:39:44,988 --> 01:39:50,958
their camp’s ramparts, sending their own
cavalry and skirmishers out to meet the enemy.

1239
01:39:50,958 --> 01:39:57,407
The Roman right wing, commanded by Caius Licinius
Crassus consisted of the Italian equites with

1240
01:39:57,408 --> 01:40:02,479
velites scattered between them, while the
left under Valerius Laevinus commanded the

1241
01:40:02,479 --> 01:40:06,137
Greek allied cavalry and infantry on the left.

1242
01:40:06,137 --> 01:40:10,649
In the centre, Quintus Mucius led a force
of Gauls, Thessalians and other volunteer

1243
01:40:10,649 --> 01:40:14,599
cavalry.

1244
01:40:14,599 --> 01:40:19,378
Missile fire from javelins and sling stones
opened the battle, causing light casualties

1245
01:40:19,378 --> 01:40:23,217
on both sides before Cotys’ Thracian horsemen
charged.

1246
01:40:23,217 --> 01:40:28,378
They fought like wild beasts, according to
Livy, and swiftly smashed through the Roman

1247
01:40:28,378 --> 01:40:30,287
right wing cavalry.

1248
01:40:30,287 --> 01:40:35,418
At the same time, Perseus and his elite agema
troops broke the Roman centre.

1249
01:40:35,418 --> 01:40:40,358
Believing he could turn the battle into a
decisive engagement, Perseus was about to

1250
01:40:40,359 --> 01:40:46,078
order his phalanx into the battle, but was
persuaded not to take such a risk by Euander

1251
01:40:46,078 --> 01:40:47,138
the Cretan.

1252
01:40:47,137 --> 01:40:52,748
Thanking Euander for his wise counsel and
taking the victory where he could, Perseus

1253
01:40:52,748 --> 01:40:54,617
withdrew back to his camp.

1254
01:40:54,618 --> 01:41:03,599
200 Roman cavalry and 2000 infantry had died,
and only 60 of Perseus’ men had died.

1255
01:41:03,599 --> 01:41:11,248
Further skirmishes followed this battle, but
the campaigning season of 171 was essentially

1256
01:41:11,248 --> 01:41:12,248
over.

1257
01:41:12,248 --> 01:41:15,418
The Romans proceeded to occupy themselves
by brutally razing the anti-Roman cities in

1258
01:41:15,418 --> 01:41:16,448
Boeotia.

1259
01:41:16,448 --> 01:41:23,899
Haliartus was completely annihilated after
a short siege, 2,500 men were sold into slavery

1260
01:41:23,899 --> 01:41:28,209
and the town remained desolate for decades
afterwards.

1261
01:41:28,208 --> 01:41:33,878
This type of increasingly notorious Roman
savagery in Greece, along with Perseus’

1262
01:41:33,878 --> 01:41:39,028
victory at Callinicus, made the Macedonian
king appear to be a Champion of the Greeks.

1263
01:41:39,028 --> 01:41:45,498
Most who believed this were still too frightened
of Rome to take action, but the Molossians

1264
01:41:45,498 --> 01:41:49,478
of Epirus did defect.

1265
01:41:49,479 --> 01:41:54,347
One setback after another appeared to be striking
the Romans in this conflict, and this was

1266
01:41:54,347 --> 01:42:00,349
only compounded when Perseus launched a successful
raid on the Roman fleet at Oreus, destroying

1267
01:42:00,349 --> 01:42:02,578
ships and spoiling grain supplies.

1268
01:42:02,578 --> 01:42:05,220
Despite these republican failures and Macedonian
successes, Perseus knew that he could not

1269
01:42:05,220 --> 01:42:12,208
grind Rome to victory, he needed a decisive
victory in battle.

1270
01:42:12,208 --> 01:42:18,479
By the end of 169, Rome’s position in Greece
appeared precarious, and only the arrival

1271
01:42:18,479 --> 01:42:25,948
of the new consul - Lucius Aemilius Paullus
in 168 BC breathed fresh life into the floundering

1272
01:42:25,948 --> 01:42:26,948
Roman cause in Greece.

1273
01:42:26,948 --> 01:42:27,948
The first century Greek biographer Plutarch
informs us that this scion of the prominent

1274
01:42:27,948 --> 01:42:28,948
Aemilii patrician family did not even want
to be consul at this point, as he had already

1275
01:42:28,948 --> 01:42:29,948
failed during his run for a second term.

1276
01:42:29,948 --> 01:42:30,948
However, his previous victories against the
Lusitani and Inguani tribes had not been forgotten.

1277
01:42:30,948 --> 01:42:31,948
The senate believed him to be the best candidate
on their list to bring order to Greece once

1278
01:42:31,948 --> 01:42:32,948
again.

1279
01:42:32,948 --> 01:42:33,948
Eventually, overwhelmed by the constant requests
for him to stand for office, Aemilius was

1280
01:42:33,948 --> 01:42:34,948
elected and immediately given the Macedonian
command.

1281
01:42:34,948 --> 01:42:35,948
Plutarch also tells us that after his election
as consul for 168, Aemilius went home to find

1282
01:42:35,948 --> 01:42:36,948
his daughter in distress.

1283
01:42:36,948 --> 01:42:37,948
Naturally, the father asked what was the matter.

1284
01:42:37,948 --> 01:42:38,948
His daughter, embracing Aemilius with sad
tears in her eyes, told the consul that their

1285
01:42:38,948 --> 01:42:39,948
little dog was dead.

1286
01:42:39,948 --> 01:42:40,948
That dog’s name, so the story goes, was
Perseus.

1287
01:42:40,948 --> 01:42:41,948
Possibly apocryphal stories aside, the force
which Aemilius took command of was large:

1288
01:42:41,948 --> 01:42:42,948
two especially strengthened Roman and allied
legions totalling around 22,000 legionary

1289
01:42:42,948 --> 01:42:43,948
heavy infantry.

1290
01:42:43,948 --> 01:42:44,948
The allied legions now comprised various peoples
who, until recently, had been long standing

1291
01:42:44,948 --> 01:42:45,948
enemies of Rome, such as the Etruscans and
Samnites.

1292
01:42:45,948 --> 01:42:49,189
Supporting the heavy troops were thousands
more light infantry, including velites, Pergamene

1293
01:42:49,189 --> 01:42:52,298
troops and Greek allies.

1294
01:42:52,297 --> 01:42:57,617
4,000 cavalry also mounted up in the Roman
army, including a thousand of the infamous

1295
01:42:57,618 --> 01:43:01,559
Numidian cavalry under their prince Misagenes.

1296
01:43:01,559 --> 01:43:07,498
With the North African troops also came 22
imposing war elephants.

1297
01:43:07,498 --> 01:43:15,037
Perseus meanwhile had around 44,000 foot and
4,000 horse on his side of the field.

1298
01:43:15,037 --> 01:43:20,887
21,000 of the infantry comprised the fearsome
phalangists with their Sarissa pikes and phalanx

1299
01:43:20,887 --> 01:43:24,628
formation, which reached a mile in length.

1300
01:43:24,628 --> 01:43:29,698
Supporting this moving wall of pikes were
light troops, auxiliaries such as the Thracian

1301
01:43:29,698 --> 01:43:33,078
javelinmen and Illyrian archers.

1302
01:43:33,078 --> 01:43:39,238
After advancing into Thessaly in the summer
of 168, Aemilius marched south, meeting Perseus

1303
01:43:39,238 --> 01:43:47,768
at the foot of mount Olympus, where he had
drawn up his army in a highly defensible position.

1304
01:43:47,768 --> 01:43:53,467
The Antigonids were dug in on the west bank
of the Elpeus river, just east of the mountain

1305
01:43:53,467 --> 01:43:57,729
and had easy access to the nearby town of
Dium.

1306
01:43:57,729 --> 01:44:03,208
With typical Roman grit, it seems like the
fact that Perseus had such a position did

1307
01:44:03,208 --> 01:44:09,657
not bother the legionaries and, eager to redeem
their honour after Callinicus, urged Aemilius

1308
01:44:09,658 --> 01:44:16,738
to attack immediately As a retort, Aemilius
told his men to mind their place and underlined

1309
01:44:16,738 --> 01:44:23,368
the fact that they would fight when and how
he told them to.

1310
01:44:23,368 --> 01:44:28,629
In order to dislodge Perseus from his defensive
position, Aemilius assigned a subordinate

1311
01:44:28,628 --> 01:44:35,677
- Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, to launch
a feint towards the sea with 3,500 allied

1312
01:44:35,677 --> 01:44:39,007
infantry and 5,000 legionaries.

1313
01:44:39,007 --> 01:44:43,998
Under the cover of darkness, he would march
through an unguarded pass in order to surprise

1314
01:44:43,998 --> 01:44:45,587
Perseus.

1315
01:44:45,587 --> 01:44:50,307
This might have gotten the jump on Macedon’s
king, but a Cretan auxiliary in the Roman

1316
01:44:50,307 --> 01:44:57,467
army defected and informed his fellow Greeks
of the Roman plan.

1317
01:44:57,467 --> 01:45:03,297
Reacting immediately to this alarming news,
Perseus sent a general named Milo with 2,000

1318
01:45:03,297 --> 01:45:08,368
Macedonians and 10,000 Thracian mercenaries
to oppose the Roman passage.

1319
01:45:08,368 --> 01:45:14,387
Though Nasica hadn’t expected this resistance,
upon his arrival in the pass he ordered a

1320
01:45:14,387 --> 01:45:15,387
charge.

1321
01:45:15,387 --> 01:45:20,867
The mountain fighting in the narrow defiles
and passages was bloody and brutal, and Nasica

1322
01:45:20,868 --> 01:45:27,249
himself supposedly came toe to toe with a
fearsome Thracian soldier, slaying him with

1323
01:45:27,248 --> 01:45:28,577
the pilum javelin.

1324
01:45:28,578 --> 01:45:33,269
Rome’s legionaries doggedly stabbed and
slashed their way through the mountain pass,

1325
01:45:33,269 --> 01:45:39,109
routing the Macedonians, who then fled back
to the main army and informed Perseus of the

1326
01:45:39,109 --> 01:45:40,419
defeat.

1327
01:45:40,418 --> 01:45:44,939
Realising that the loss of this mountain pass
would render his position vulnerable, the

1328
01:45:44,939 --> 01:45:49,128
king immediately decamped and marched away
from the mountain.

1329
01:45:49,128 --> 01:45:53,729
While Aemilius moved through the mountain
pass and emerged onto the foothills around

1330
01:45:53,729 --> 01:45:59,318
Mount Olocrus, Perseus drew up his army behind
a river on the plain below, near the town

1331
01:45:59,318 --> 01:46:02,998
of Pydna.

1332
01:46:02,998 --> 01:46:09,237
The handpicked field of battle was fantastic
for the Macedonian phalanx, and Perseus’

1333
01:46:09,238 --> 01:46:14,328
position atop a small ridge and behind the
river gave him a distinct advantage.

1334
01:46:14,328 --> 01:46:21,048
Aemilius knew this and so did not advance
just yet, remaining in his camp on the hills.

1335
01:46:21,047 --> 01:46:26,597
The general’s officers, especially Nasica,
quickly became restless and wanted to attack

1336
01:46:26,597 --> 01:46:27,597
immediately.

1337
01:46:27,597 --> 01:46:34,359
Stoically, Aemilius smiled and advised Nasica
not to be so hasty, informing him of the folly

1338
01:46:34,359 --> 01:46:39,649
of attacking a phalanx on such ground.

1339
01:46:39,649 --> 01:46:45,278
The Romans did not waste their time, and constructed
a marching camp for that night.

1340
01:46:45,278 --> 01:46:49,618
When darkness had fallen and the soldiers
were resting around the various campfires

1341
01:46:49,618 --> 01:46:55,218
and sleeping in their tents, the moon suddenly
grew dark, its white colour shifting to a

1342
01:46:55,217 --> 01:46:56,858
dull red.

1343
01:46:56,859 --> 01:47:02,388
The superstitious men in the Macedonian camp
were deeply affected and surprised by what

1344
01:47:02,387 --> 01:47:04,658
was apparently a bad omen.

1345
01:47:04,658 --> 01:47:10,238
A moon which seemed to bleed red, had Zeus
abandoned them?

1346
01:47:10,238 --> 01:47:15,908
At the same time, the equally pious Romans
did not react as badly, why was this?

1347
01:47:15,908 --> 01:47:22,118
A military tribune of the Roman army - Caius
Sulpicius Gallus, was a learned Astronomer.

1348
01:47:22,118 --> 01:47:27,307
The day before, he approached his general
and gained his permission to assembly the

1349
01:47:27,307 --> 01:47:33,109
soldiers, informing them that such an event
- that we know as a solar eclipse, would occur

1350
01:47:33,109 --> 01:47:34,928
on the following night.

1351
01:47:34,927 --> 01:47:40,349
He urged the soldiers not to see such a thing
as an ill omen, as it was a regular, predictable

1352
01:47:40,349 --> 01:47:42,159
and natural thing.

1353
01:47:42,158 --> 01:47:47,217
Therefore, when the eclipse did occur, the
Roman soldiers simply followed their commander

1354
01:47:47,217 --> 01:47:53,307
in offering sacrifices to the Greek gods,
promising to hold games in Heracles’ honour.

1355
01:47:53,307 --> 01:48:00,557
The gestures worked and the Roman soldier’s
morale was unaffected.

1356
01:48:00,557 --> 01:48:05,399
With both leaders engaging one another in
a dangerous staring contest, it would take

1357
01:48:05,399 --> 01:48:08,488
a spark for the flames to ignite.

1358
01:48:08,488 --> 01:48:12,149
Said spark came in the form of a misbehaving
mule.

1359
01:48:12,149 --> 01:48:17,618
In order to fill up jugs of water for the
thirsty Roman soldiers, who wore heavy armour,

1360
01:48:17,618 --> 01:48:23,689
a small train of mules was led down to a stream
below the foothills by lighter troops.

1361
01:48:23,689 --> 01:48:28,427
Like the stubborn creatures they are, one
of the parched pack animals supposedly scented

1362
01:48:28,427 --> 01:48:31,757
the water and bolted away from its handlers.

1363
01:48:31,757 --> 01:48:36,807
The water-gatherers ran after it, and discovered
that a group of Perseus’ Thracian troops

1364
01:48:36,807 --> 01:48:38,439
were doing the same.

1365
01:48:38,439 --> 01:48:42,789
Moreover, the enemy was attempting to steal
their mule.

1366
01:48:42,788 --> 01:48:48,728
The irritated, frustrated and scorching Roman
soldiers were not going to give up that mule,

1367
01:48:48,729 --> 01:48:51,217
and a brawl broke out over the animal.

1368
01:48:51,217 --> 01:48:56,858
Runners on both sides went to get help, while
the mule probably just ran off.

1369
01:48:56,859 --> 01:49:04,548
Perseus saw an opportunity to draw the Romans
down from the uneven foothills of Mount Olocrus,

1370
01:49:04,547 --> 01:49:10,387
and marched his entire army out of the camp
and straight towards the brawl at the stream.

1371
01:49:10,387 --> 01:49:15,378
The Romans could see what was going on from
their camp, and they were furious, demanding

1372
01:49:15,378 --> 01:49:18,818
angrily to be allowed to march out and fight.

1373
01:49:18,818 --> 01:49:24,869
Aemilius risked mutiny if he refused and so,
gave the signal to form up.

1374
01:49:24,868 --> 01:49:29,817
After only allowing his legions a brief amount
of time to form up, he swiftly commanded the

1375
01:49:29,818 --> 01:49:34,908
advance, aiming to save the men at the stream.

1376
01:49:34,908 --> 01:49:40,948
At that moment, the marching phalangists were
given the order to lower their pikes.

1377
01:49:40,948 --> 01:49:46,499
In unison, the first five ranks held their
sarissae horizontally, and the ranks behind

1378
01:49:46,498 --> 01:49:49,487
kept them at a 45 degree angle.

1379
01:49:49,488 --> 01:49:51,967
Then, they advanced.

1380
01:49:51,967 --> 01:49:57,677
Against the barely armoured Roman light troops,
whose main job was to skirmish at a distance,

1381
01:49:57,677 --> 01:50:04,479
the phalangists met almost no serious resistance,
and simply tore through the enemy ranks.

1382
01:50:04,479 --> 01:50:10,118
Valiantly trying to buy the Romans more time,
an auxiliary tribal leader named Salvius obtained

1383
01:50:10,118 --> 01:50:13,828
his unit’s standard and threw it into the
phalanx.

1384
01:50:13,828 --> 01:50:19,399
This galvanised the pressured soldiers, and
they furiously tried to get it back.

1385
01:50:19,399 --> 01:50:24,158
This resulted in massive casualties, but slowed
the advance of the phalanx and allowed some

1386
01:50:24,158 --> 01:50:27,778
men to escape.

1387
01:50:27,778 --> 01:50:33,568
Aemilius’ main force was now closing in,
and the swarm of velites and other skirmishers

1388
01:50:33,568 --> 01:50:37,788
threw their missiles at the phalanx, mostly
to no effect.

1389
01:50:37,787 --> 01:50:42,188
The legionary heavy infantry, having witnessed
the slaughter of their more lightly armoured

1390
01:50:42,189 --> 01:50:45,979
comrades, became frightened and began to slow
down.

1391
01:50:45,979 --> 01:50:51,057
They saw the sheer size of the steamroller
that approached them and their morale started

1392
01:50:51,057 --> 01:50:52,149
to wane.

1393
01:50:52,149 --> 01:50:57,698
Aemilius had to act right now, otherwise his
shortsword armed men were going to be slaughtered

1394
01:50:57,698 --> 01:50:59,008
on the flat ground.

1395
01:50:59,007 --> 01:51:05,007
So, the general ordered an immediate withdrawal
and ceded the plains to Perseus, moving for

1396
01:51:05,007 --> 01:51:06,837
the foothills once again.

1397
01:51:06,837 --> 01:51:12,577
Owing to the phenomenal discipline of the
Roman legions, the retreat was carried out

1398
01:51:12,578 --> 01:51:16,729
successfully, and Aemilius now had some breathing
room to attack.

1399
01:51:16,729 --> 01:51:21,668
Wheeling his horse to the right flank, he
ordered the wing of 34 elephants to charge

1400
01:51:21,668 --> 01:51:27,068
forward, with a mass of cavalry behind them.

1401
01:51:27,068 --> 01:51:32,618
The Thracian and mercenary skirmishers immediately
in the path of this charge were ideal troops

1402
01:51:32,618 --> 01:51:37,578
for dealing with elephants, but they were
exhausted and failed to concentrate enough

1403
01:51:37,578 --> 01:51:38,998
missiles.

1404
01:51:38,997 --> 01:51:44,467
The elephant vanguard caught them on a bad
day, and they carved a bloody hole into Perseus’

1405
01:51:44,467 --> 01:51:45,927
left wing.

1406
01:51:45,927 --> 01:51:50,847
The cavalry then streamed around the elephants
and mopped up those that were left, leaving

1407
01:51:50,847 --> 01:51:57,658
the agema on the leftmost edge of the phalanx
completely exposed.

1408
01:51:57,658 --> 01:52:02,778
The victorious Roman right wing chased the
retreating skirmishers, and then slowly began

1409
01:52:02,778 --> 01:52:06,807
to reform slightly behind Perseus’ line.

1410
01:52:06,807 --> 01:52:11,748
Throughout this battle on the edge of the
field, the phalanx had been pursuing the withdrawing

1411
01:52:11,748 --> 01:52:15,637
legions into the foothills and onto rough
ground.

1412
01:52:15,637 --> 01:52:21,068
With the infantry screen already gone, the
rightmost legionary unit swung inward and

1413
01:52:21,068 --> 01:52:24,387
drove into the phalanx’s vulnerable left.

1414
01:52:24,387 --> 01:52:29,297
At the same time, gaps gradually began to
open in the phalanx due to the increasing

1415
01:52:29,297 --> 01:52:30,757
uneven terrain.

1416
01:52:30,757 --> 01:52:35,837
Aemilius took full advantage of this, riding
up and down the line, shouting at his men

1417
01:52:35,837 --> 01:52:37,547
to attack.

1418
01:52:37,547 --> 01:52:42,568
Whether or not he was heard, the Roman centurions
knew what they were doing, and led their men

1419
01:52:42,568 --> 01:52:48,859
into the now-exposed arteries of the Macedonian
phalanx.

1420
01:52:48,859 --> 01:52:51,738
The pressure now began to mount.

1421
01:52:51,738 --> 01:52:57,137
Fighting in unfavourable close quarters combat
and hit on the flank, the phalanx began to

1422
01:52:57,137 --> 01:52:58,318
slowly fragment.

1423
01:52:58,318 --> 01:53:04,028
Aemilius, who had retreated to a position
of command on the heights, saw small streams

1424
01:53:04,028 --> 01:53:08,329
of Antigonid troops fleeing from the rear
of the infantry block.

1425
01:53:08,328 --> 01:53:12,927
The coup de grâce was delivered by the now-regrouped
Roman right flank.

1426
01:53:12,927 --> 01:53:18,617
The elephants and cavalry now charged at the
disintegrating army of Perseus’ and utterly

1427
01:53:18,618 --> 01:53:20,218
routed it.

1428
01:53:20,217 --> 01:53:24,297
Last to fall were the 3,000 elite agema of
Perseus.

1429
01:53:24,297 --> 01:53:29,568
Not a single one of these valiant men fled
and they fought to the last men, while their

1430
01:53:29,568 --> 01:53:31,967
king fled on his horse.

1431
01:53:31,967 --> 01:53:37,097
One of the greatest phalanxes ever had been
crushed, and Alexander the Great’s military

1432
01:53:37,097 --> 01:53:45,118
legacy was finally buried, the legion would
rule the field of battle from this point on.

1433
01:53:45,118 --> 01:53:50,919
20,000 of Perseus’ troops were killed and
11,000 more were captured, including Perseus

1434
01:53:50,918 --> 01:53:51,918
himself.

1435
01:53:51,918 --> 01:53:53,097
This man, who was to be the final Antigonid
king, was captured after hiding his crown,

1436
01:53:53,097 --> 01:53:54,097
removing his royal robes and taking refuge
in a temple on Samothrace.

1437
01:53:54,097 --> 01:53:55,097
When brought before Aemilius, Perseus wept
pitifully, much to the Roman general’s disgust.

1438
01:53:55,097 --> 01:54:00,347
Given the ‘title’ of Macedonicus by the
senate, the victorious general was voted a

1439
01:54:00,347 --> 01:54:03,827
triumph and rode through Rome on his chariot.

1440
01:54:03,828 --> 01:54:08,018
The treasures of Macedon and his victorious
troops marched behind him.

1441
01:54:08,018 --> 01:54:10,448
Finally, Perseus followed them in chains,
still sobbing.

1442
01:54:10,448 --> 01:54:15,528
Macedon proved to be too dangerous for Rome
to allow it to remain independent, so in the

1443
01:54:15,528 --> 01:54:22,849
aftermath of the war, the Antigonid monarchy
was dissolved into four semi-states, or merides,

1444
01:54:22,849 --> 01:54:29,408
each with a capital, and elected officials,
but subject to the laws imposed by the Romans.

1445
01:54:29,408 --> 01:54:34,859
The regions were allowed to keep small garrisons
along the borders with outside tribes, but

1446
01:54:34,859 --> 01:54:40,359
not allowed to have an independent foreign
policy, or engage in trade between them and

1447
01:54:40,359 --> 01:54:41,798
intermarry.

1448
01:54:41,797 --> 01:54:47,737
Their economy was further weakened by an excessive
tribute paid to Rome, as well as a ban on

1449
01:54:47,738 --> 01:54:51,467
gold and silver mining, logging, and shipbuilding.

1450
01:54:51,467 --> 01:54:56,568
On top of that, the Romans enacted revenge
on the Molossians who supported Perseus.

1451
01:54:56,568 --> 01:55:03,547
70 of their cities were destroyed and 150
thousand Epirotes were enslaved.

1452
01:55:03,547 --> 01:55:09,967
All this caused resentment and impoverishment,
which made the populace anti-Roman.

1453
01:55:09,967 --> 01:55:15,818
Soon those who would use this appeared on
the horizon.

1454
01:55:15,818 --> 01:55:21,967
A youth called Andriskos, born in Adramyttium
in Asia Minor, had an uncanny resemblance

1455
01:55:21,967 --> 01:55:28,827
to the late Macedonian king Perseus, and in
150 BC he started telling everyone who would

1456
01:55:28,828 --> 01:55:34,939
listen that he was the king’s son Philip
and that he was planning to restore Antigonid

1457
01:55:34,939 --> 01:55:37,359
rule over Macedon.

1458
01:55:37,359 --> 01:55:43,618
Andriskos traveled to Macedon but failed to
garner any support, as the local nobles were

1459
01:55:43,618 --> 01:55:46,129
happy with Roman rule.

1460
01:55:46,128 --> 01:55:51,439
He then attempted to get the assistance of
the Seleucid ruler Demetrius I, but the latter

1461
01:55:51,439 --> 01:55:56,979
had his internal problems and didn’t want
to anger the Romans, so the pretender was

1462
01:55:56,979 --> 01:55:59,528
sent into Roman custody.

1463
01:55:59,528 --> 01:56:04,597
The Senate didn’t consider Andriskos to
be dangerous, so he was sent to Magna Graecia

1464
01:56:04,597 --> 01:56:09,859
to live in custody, but managed to run away
and ended up in Miletus.

1465
01:56:09,859 --> 01:56:19,138
He once again started looking for supporters
and gained them among the anti-Roman locals.

1466
01:56:19,137 --> 01:56:24,439
Andriskos then traveled to Thrace, where the
local chiefs, worried about the strengthening

1467
01:56:24,439 --> 01:56:28,209
Roman influence, supported him, giving him
a small army.

1468
01:56:28,208 --> 01:56:36,217
We don’t know all the details but in early
149 BC, the pretender entered Macedon.

1469
01:56:36,217 --> 01:56:41,427
The nobles attempted to gather a force to
stop him, but their armies were defeated somewhere

1470
01:56:41,427 --> 01:56:42,717
in Odomantice.

1471
01:56:42,717 --> 01:56:50,077
Thus, Andriskos became the king as Philip
VI and restored the Macedonian monarchy.

1472
01:56:50,078 --> 01:56:56,738
Pro-roman nobles lost their standing, while
the general population celebrated their independence.

1473
01:56:56,738 --> 01:57:02,649
The Fourth Macedonian War had begun.

1474
01:57:02,649 --> 01:57:06,908
In the same year, he invaded the Roman-allied
Thessalian league.

1475
01:57:06,908 --> 01:57:12,999
The timing was perfect, as the best generals
of the Republic were busy besieging Carthage

1476
01:57:12,998 --> 01:57:18,788
during the Third Punic War and fighting in
the Lusitanian War in Spain.

1477
01:57:18,788 --> 01:57:25,559
The Roman commander in the area, Publius Cornelius
Scipio Nasica, marched for Thessaly and started

1478
01:57:25,559 --> 01:57:30,229
negotiating with Andriskos, hoping to buy
time for his Achaean allies and the nearby

1479
01:57:30,229 --> 01:57:32,548
Pergamene garrisons to join him.

1480
01:57:32,547 --> 01:57:38,878
Indeed, the general was reinforced by these
allies and even one legion from Italy.

1481
01:57:38,878 --> 01:57:44,587
This was a signal to Andriskos that his enemies
were getting stronger, so he attacked and

1482
01:57:44,587 --> 01:57:48,317
crushed the allies, taking over most of Thessaly.

1483
01:57:48,318 --> 01:57:57,257
Inspired, Andriskos sent envoys to Carthage
offering the revival of the old alliance.

1484
01:57:57,257 --> 01:58:03,327
The winter stopped the hostilities, but the
Romans were, as usual, full of energy.

1485
01:58:03,328 --> 01:58:09,818
A veteran of the Third Macedonian War, praetor
Quintus Caecilius Metellus, was ordered to

1486
01:58:09,818 --> 01:58:15,918
form another army, and in early 148 his legions
embarked on Pergamene transports.

1487
01:58:15,918 --> 01:58:22,318
In the past, the Roman armies landed in Epirus
and then moved into the Greek heartland from

1488
01:58:22,318 --> 01:58:29,009
there, but Metellus decided to outsmart his
opponent and made landfall in Macedon, making

1489
01:58:29,009 --> 01:58:30,818
his way south.

1490
01:58:30,818 --> 01:58:38,408
This threatened Andriskos’ kingdom and forced
him to double time towards the enemy.

1491
01:58:38,408 --> 01:58:44,198
The two sides met at the same place the fate
of the Third Macedonian War was sealed 20

1492
01:58:44,198 --> 01:58:45,298
years ago - Pydna.

1493
01:58:45,297 --> 01:58:51,097
Unfortunately, we don’t know much about
the battle and even the number of combatants

1494
01:58:51,097 --> 01:58:52,628
is a mystery.

1495
01:58:52,628 --> 01:58:58,439
The battle started when the cavalry vanguards
of the two armies met each other, and the

1496
01:58:58,439 --> 01:59:02,939
Macedonian horsemen had the upper hand, sending
their counterparts fleeing.

1497
01:59:02,939 --> 01:59:08,609
Emboldened by that Andriskos sent some of
his troops back to Thessaly in order to continue

1498
01:59:08,609 --> 01:59:10,698
the conquest.

1499
01:59:10,698 --> 01:59:16,268
Soon the main bodies of the armies were close
and the infantry clashed in the center.

1500
01:59:16,268 --> 01:59:21,557
Once again, the details are lost to time and
it is unknown if the Macedonians fought in

1501
01:59:21,557 --> 01:59:27,378
their traditional phalanx, but initially the
two groups of footmen fought to a standstill

1502
01:59:27,378 --> 01:59:32,047
and it seemed that the battle would come down
to the battle between horsemen.

1503
01:59:32,047 --> 01:59:37,268
That is when Andriskos was betrayed by the
commander of the cavalry, a nobleman named

1504
01:59:37,269 --> 01:59:38,668
Telestos.

1505
01:59:38,668 --> 01:59:47,347
The Macedonian center was attacked from all
sides and was almost completely crushed.

1506
01:59:47,347 --> 01:59:52,467
After the battle, Andriskos attempted to flee
to Thrace, but his allies didn’t want to

1507
01:59:52,467 --> 01:59:55,568
draw the ire of the victors even more.

1508
01:59:55,568 --> 02:00:01,948
Andriskos was captured and given to the Romans,
who sent him to Italy, where he was executed.

1509
02:00:01,948 --> 02:00:05,738
This was the end of the Fourth Macedonian
War.

1510
02:00:05,738 --> 02:00:10,668
This time Macedon didn’t even get a semblance
of independence.

1511
02:00:10,668 --> 02:00:16,979
Commanded by the Senate, Metellus turned Macedon,
Epirus, Southern Illyria, and Ionian islands

1512
02:00:16,979 --> 02:00:23,347
into the province of Macedonia and became
its first governor.

1513
02:00:23,347 --> 02:00:28,618
However, the situation was getting volatile
elsewhere in Greece.

1514
02:00:28,618 --> 02:00:33,988
Sparta, now led by Menalcidas, had been trying
to break away from the Achaean League for

1515
02:00:33,988 --> 02:00:35,588
some time.

1516
02:00:35,587 --> 02:00:42,498
In 147 BC, their delegation went to Rome to
ask the Senate for assistance, but before

1517
02:00:42,498 --> 02:00:48,987
the Romans were able to respond, Spartan territory
was invaded by the strategos of the League,

1518
02:00:48,988 --> 02:00:49,988
Damocritus.

1519
02:00:49,988 --> 02:00:55,258
Menalcidas was defeated, but the Achaeans
failed to take the city itself.

1520
02:00:55,257 --> 02:01:03,467
For that Damocritus was deposed and replaced
by the even more extreme Diaeus.

1521
02:01:03,467 --> 02:01:07,898
That is when a Roman embassy arrived to meet
with the Achaean assembly.

1522
02:01:07,899 --> 02:01:13,278
Unexpectedly for the Achaeans, the embassy
not only supported Sparta’s independence

1523
02:01:13,278 --> 02:01:19,269
but also demanded Argos, Corinth, and Orchomenus,
possibly to spark a conflict.

1524
02:01:19,269 --> 02:01:24,788
The Achaeans obviously refused and sent their
own embassy to Rome demanding the resolution

1525
02:01:24,787 --> 02:01:26,027
to be rescinded.

1526
02:01:26,028 --> 02:01:27,988
The Senate said no.

1527
02:01:27,988 --> 02:01:33,068
It was clear that the Achaean league and other
Greeks were angry at the Roman takeover of

1528
02:01:33,068 --> 02:01:40,668
Macedon and Epirus, so, joined by the Boeotians
and Euboeans, in 146 BC they declared war

1529
02:01:40,668 --> 02:01:46,988
on the Roman Republic, starting the Achaean
War.

1530
02:01:46,988 --> 02:01:53,168
Another anti-Roman strategos - Critolaos - was
elected and his army, supported by the Thebans,

1531
02:01:53,168 --> 02:01:54,587
marched for Thessaly.

1532
02:01:54,587 --> 02:02:00,197
However, before they were able to reach Thermopylae,
the Roman army under Metellus caught them

1533
02:02:00,198 --> 02:02:02,209
at a place called Scarpheia in Locris.

1534
02:02:02,208 --> 02:02:08,867
The Greeks didn’t expect a battle; their
army was crushed and the general killed.

1535
02:02:08,868 --> 02:02:12,758
Afterwards, the Roman governor continued south.

1536
02:02:12,757 --> 02:02:17,849
The Argives attempted to stop his advance
in Chaeronea, but were crushed.

1537
02:02:17,849 --> 02:02:25,488
Diaeus took over command in Achaea and in
a short time managed to create a 16,000 strong

1538
02:02:25,488 --> 02:02:29,807
army, hoping to defend at the isthmus of Corinth.

1539
02:02:29,807 --> 02:02:34,787
Unfortunately for him, the Roman army was
reinforced by the consul Lucius Mummius, as

1540
02:02:34,787 --> 02:02:40,047
well as a Pergamene detachment, bringing its
numbers to 27 thousand.

1541
02:02:40,047 --> 02:02:46,108
The two sides met at a place called Leukapetra.

1542
02:02:46,109 --> 02:02:49,307
Once again, we don’t have much in terms
of details.

1543
02:02:49,307 --> 02:02:55,068
Apparently, the Romans didn’t want to charge
across the narrow isthmus, even despite outnumbering

1544
02:02:55,068 --> 02:02:56,458
the enemy 2-to-1.

1545
02:02:56,458 --> 02:03:02,717
For some time, the Roman army remained in
the camp and it seems that they got complacent,

1546
02:03:02,717 --> 02:03:10,938
as Diaeus was able to use his light infantry
to attack the camp and inflict heavy casualties.

1547
02:03:10,939 --> 02:03:16,128
The next day, the Romans marched directly
towards the enemy and as they were supported

1548
02:03:16,128 --> 02:03:20,967
by the Pergamene navy, Diaeus was forced to
accept the battle.

1549
02:03:20,967 --> 02:03:26,617
The two infantry bodies clashed in the center
and the Achaeans managed to stop the legionaries.

1550
02:03:26,618 --> 02:03:34,068
However, Diaeus had very few horsemen and
the Romans used that - on both flanks Mummius’

1551
02:03:34,068 --> 02:03:39,248
cavalry destroyed their counterparts and then
attacked the Greek infantry from all sides.

1552
02:03:39,247 --> 02:03:46,708
The battle was effectively over and the whole
Achaean army was crushed.

1553
02:03:46,708 --> 02:03:52,778
In the aftermath, the Romans razed Corinth,
similar to Carthage months prior - all men

1554
02:03:52,778 --> 02:03:59,448
were killed, all women and children enslaved,
and the city was burned to the ground.

1555
02:03:59,448 --> 02:04:04,658
This left Rome without trading rivals in the
Mediterranean and as no military power could

1556
02:04:04,658 --> 02:04:10,579
oppose the Republic, the Achaean League, Aetolian
League, and others were disbanded and the

1557
02:04:10,578 --> 02:04:14,867
entire region was added to the Province of
Macedonia.

1558
02:04:14,868 --> 02:04:21,238
Greece would remain under Roman control for
centuries, despite 2 more rebellions in Macedon

1559
02:04:21,238 --> 02:04:28,008
and an attempt by Greek cities to support
Pontus during the First Mithridatic War.

1560
02:04:28,007 --> 02:04:35,768
The Roman takeover of Greece was a prime example
of the imperial Divide et Impera principle:

1561
02:04:35,768 --> 02:04:41,337
the Republic managed to ally with one faction
against the other and keep all of the cities,

1562
02:04:41,337 --> 02:04:46,518
states, and leagues constantly divided, until
it was time to conquer everything.

1563
02:04:46,519 --> 02:04:53,289
Still, Greek culture flourished and over the
next 2000 years became a crucial part of the

1564
02:04:53,288 --> 02:04:59,837
Pax Romana, Christianity, the Muslim Golden
Age, and then the Renaissance and the Age

1565
02:04:59,837 --> 02:05:01,197
of Enlightenment.

1566
02:05:01,198 --> 02:05:05,998
We will talk about Greek and Roman history
more in our future videos.

1567
02:05:05,997 --> 02:05:09,708
Please, consider liking, commenting, and sharing
- it helps immensely.

1568
02:05:09,708 --> 02:05:14,668
Our videos would be impossible without our
kind patrons and youtube channel members,

1569
02:05:14,668 --> 02:05:18,939
whose ranks you can join via the links in
the description to know our schedule, get

1570
02:05:18,939 --> 02:05:23,307
early access to our videos, access our discord,
and much more.

1571
02:05:23,307 --> 02:05:27,778
This is the Kings and Generals channel, and
we will catch you on the next one.