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The Fourth Macedonian War (150–148 BC) was fought between
Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...
, led by the pretender
Andriscus Andriscus ( grc, Ἀνδρίσκος, ''Andrískos''; 154/153 BC – 146 BC), also often referenced as Pseudo-Philip, was a Greek pretender who became the last independent king of Macedon in 149 BC as Philip VI ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος, ''Phil ...
, and the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
. It was the last of the
Macedonian Wars The Macedonian Wars (214–148 BC) were a series of conflicts fought by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies in the eastern Mediterranean against several different major Greek kingdoms. They resulted in Roman control or influence over Greece ...
, and was the last war to seriously threaten Roman control of Greece until the
First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridates ...
sixty years later. The last Macedonian king of the Antigonid dynasty, Perseus, had been defeated and dethroned by the Romans in the
Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman ...
in 168 BC. In the aftermath of the war, Rome took indirect control of the region through a system of client states, and imposed harsh terms to prevent Macedon from becoming a powerful state again. This system was successful in maintaining Roman hegemony for nearly two decades, but broke down when Andriscus, a Greek who bore a resemblance to Perseus, claimed to be the former king's son and re-established the Macedonian Kingdom with Thracian troops. Andriscus was initially successful, defeating Roman clients and a Roman army sent to stop him, and conquering much of
Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...
. However, he was eventually defeated by another Roman army under Quintus Caecilius Metellus at the Second Battle of Pydna in 148 BC, severely weakening his position; he was subsequently pursued and eventually betrayed to the Romans. After settling a few subsequent minor rebellions, Rome took direct control of Macedon, making it a
Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
.


Background

Tensions between the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
and
Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...
had first begun in 215 BC, when
Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...
allied himself with Rome's rival,
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
, and declared war on Rome, sparking the First Macedonian War, an indecisive sideshow of the larger Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage. Soon after the end of the war with Carthage, a victorious Rome received multiple requests for assistance from a number of Greek polities and city-states which were afraid of Philip's ambition. Although war-weary from the recent Punic War, Rome agreed, and when Philip refused to accept their terms, they declared war on and defeated him in the
Second Macedonian War The Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. Philip was defeated and was forced to abandon all possessions in southern Greece, Thrace and Asia Min ...
of 200-197 BC, in which Philip was stripped of much territory and prestige, and forced to comply with Rome's demands. In the aftermath of this conflict, tensions developed between Rome and the Seleucid Empire, whose ambitious monarch,
Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the res ...
, aimed to attain hegemony over Greece. Encouraged by the
Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...
, Antiochus went to war with Rome in 192 BC, sparking the Roman-Seleucid War; it ended in a resounding Roman victory — Antiochus lost all his territory in Asia Minor and had to disband his fleet, pay a massive war indemnity and promise not to cross the
Taurus mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...
, effectively relegating the Seleucids to an Asiatic power and ending their influence in Greece. Macedon regained some territory and influence on account of their cooperation with the Romans in this conflict, but high-handed Roman actions and Macedonian
revanchism Revanchism (french: revanchisme, from ''revanche'', "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement. As a term, revanchism originated in 1870s Fr ...
continued to stoke resentment in Philip. Macedonian power continued to grow for the rest of Philip's reign, and this was continued by his talented son and successor, Perseus. Although Rome formally reaffirmed "friendship" with him, tensions continued to grow on account of reviving Macedonian power, Perseus' growing popularity with the Greeks and his successful diplomacy in the Greek world, in which he revived Macedonian influence and strengthened its position as a leading power once again. A tenuous peace continued until Eumenes II of Pergamon, a staunch Roman ally and Perseus' arch-rival, went to Rome in 172 BC and persuaded them that Perseus was a threat to Rome and the Greeks, and exhorted them to break his power. Finally, as Eumenes was returning to Pergamon, an assassination attempt on him, for which Perseus was blamed, resolved Rome in favour of war. The ensuing
Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman ...
of 171-168 BC was hard-fought, but ended in a complete Roman victory and Perseus' surrender and imprisonment, establishing Rome's position as the sole hegemonic power in the Greek world. The Greek world was harshly treated in the aftermath of the Roman victory; allies of Perseus were brutally repressed, while those suspected to have sympathized with Perseus became pariahs in the new Roman-dominated order. Rome took unprecedented measures to ensure that a revival of Macedonian power would be impossible — the ancient Macedonian monarchy was abolished and Perseus was exiled to an Italian city. Knowing that occupying Macedon would require military presence against barbarian tribes on Macedon's northern frontier, Rome decided against making it a province; instead, Macedon was broken up into four client republics, or ''merides'', that paid tribute to Rome, with trade regulations and restrictions on interaction between the republics, as well as being forbidden to work Macedon's rich mines freely, and limiting them to possessing only such military forces as were necessary to deal with barbarian tribes to the north. Most of the former ruling elite was deported to Rome. Macedon also suffered from impoverishment, due to the fiscal restrictions imposed on it and the looting of treasuries by victorious Roman troops at the end of the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC. This, along with the effective destruction of the old social order, created great resentment among many sections of the populace. However, Rome withdrew all its troops in 167 BC; thereafter, it left the Macedonian republics alone in their internal administration, not intervening even when appeals were made to it to resolve serious crises like a massacre of Macedonian officials in 163 BC. It has been suggested that Rome was seeking to satisfy the Macedonians with local autonomy, so that they would forget any sort of "national" identity; however, a general longing for monarchy persisted in Macedon, as the people had not yet adapted to democratic institutions, though a significant class of pro-Roman Macedonian republicans did develop, including those who had been persecuted by the old
Antigonid The Antigonid dynasty (; grc-gre, Ἀντιγονίδαι) was a Hellenistic dynasty of Dorian Greek provenance, descended from Alexander the Great's general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ("the One-Eyed") that ruled mainly in Macedonia. History ...
monarchy. Some regulations were relaxed; for instance, the Macedonians were allowed to use their mines again from 158 BC, but resentment continued, including over those restrictions that remained, as well as the division of Macedon, leaving the situation ripe for the rise of pretenders to the old Antigonid throne.


Andriscus claims the throne

Around 154/153 BC, a Greek named Andriscus, who bore a resemblance to the Antigonids, began claiming that he was Philip, a now-obscure son of Perseus, and had been reared in secrecy by a foster family. The origins of this youth are unclear; ancient sources generally agree that he was a man of low origins, and that he hailed from
Adramyttium Adramyttium ( el, Άδραμύττιον ''Adramyttion'', Άδραμύττειον ''Adramytteion'', or Άτραμύττιον ''Atramyttion'') was an ancient city and bishopric in Aeolis, in modern-day Turkey. It was originally located at the he ...
in
Aeolis Aeolis (; grc, Αἰολίς, Aiolís), or Aeolia (; grc, Αἰολία, Aiolía, link=no), was an area that comprised the west and northwestern region of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), mostly along the coast, and also several offshore islan ...
in northwestern Asia Minor. He entered Macedonia in force to claim "his" throne, but was repulsed, presumably by the combined forces of three of the four client republics (the third republic had been forbidden from raising troops by the settlement of 167 BC). At some point after this failure, he travelled to Syria and enlisted as a mercenary of the
Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
monarch, Demetrius I Soter, and now began making his claims there. News of his claims spread, and after gaining enough notability, he appealed to the Seleucid monarch, Demetrius I Soter, to help him regain his throne. Despite riotous support for him from the population of the Seleucid capital,
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
, Demetrius refused to help him, and instead arrested him and had him shipped to Rome. The senate, however, remained complacent; although he was brought before the senate, he was simply exiled to an Italian city. He soon managed to escape from Italy and fled back to the Greek world, but the Romans remained unpreturbed; they did not take him seriously. He travelled to Miletus, where he tried to advance his claims further, attracting significant attention. Diodorus writes that when the leaders of Miletus learned about this, they arrested him and sought advice from visiting Roman envoys on what to do with him; the envoys were contemptuous of the pretender and told the Milesians that he was safe to release. After his release, he continued to try and achieve his aim of becoming king of Macedon. He travelled to
Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...
to meet with Callippa, a former concubine of Perseus, who gave him money and royal regalia. From there he went on to Byzantium, where he was received favourably and obtaining a significant following and a number of sympathizers. Helliesen proposes that the following that Andriscus built up in this period derived from Macedonians who had fled to
Attalid The Kingdom of Pergamon or Attalid kingdom was a Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; grc-x-koine, Δυναστ� ...
territory after the Third Macedonian War and had been settled in garrisons in western Lydia. Andriscus then travelled to
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
, where he found allies and sympathy, especially from the
Odrysian The Odrysian Kingdom (; Ancient Greek: ) was a state grouping many Thracian tribes united by the Odrysae, which arose in the early 5th century BC and existed at least until the late 1st century BC. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria and ...
king Teres III, who was related to the Antigonids by marriage. Teres held a coronation ceremony for Andriscus, crowning him with a
diadem A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. Overview The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', " ...
, gave him a hundred troops, and introduced him to other Thracian leaders, including one Barsabas, who agreed to accompany him on his campaign to reclaim the Macedonian throne. He was also aided by some forces of Macedonian origin that Rubinsohn refers to as "émigré rabble".


Course of the war


Andriscus' conquest of Macedon

With this force, Andriscus invaded Macedonia in the spring of 149 BC. Initially, he failed to inspire much popular support for himself among the Macedonian populace, emboldening the Roman client republics in Macedon, and making the Roman Senate complacent about the risk posed by the pretender. There are indications that his first attempts to conquer Macedon were failures; he rallied his resources and tried again, meeting the forces of one of the republics in a battle on the banks of the Strymon river, defeating them soundly and conquering all of Macedonia east of the Strymon, including the old royal capital of
Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...
where took up residence, around the summer of 149 BC. At this point, he assumed the regnal name Philip. The Macedonian republics to the west continued to resist him, but were defeated in another battle on the west bank of the Strymon, after which the Macedonians seem to have accepted him as king. His victories gained him the loyalty of the Macedonians; the people longed for monarchy and were willing to accept a ruler, and were eager to get rid of the artificial divisions and factional strife of the client republics. On the other hand, the neighbouring Greeks, including the historian Polybius, were taken by surprise; Polybius writes in astonishment of how the pretender who had "dropped from the skies" and, in his view, was a tyrant, could be accepted, let alone enthusiastically, by the Macedonians. Eckstein puts this view down to the fact that Polybius and the Greeks were part of a deep-rooted republican society, and could not comprehend the Macedonian longing for a hallowed monarchical past. Andriscus now attacked
Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...
; the
Thessalian League The Thessalian League (Thessalian Aeolic: , ''Koinòn toûn Petthaloûn''; Attic: , ''Koinòn tôn Thettalôn''; Ionic and Koine Greek: , ''Koinòn tôn Thessalôn'') was a ''koinon'' or loose confederacy of feudal-like ''poleis'' and tribes in a ...
appealed to the
Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...
for aid, knowing that any Roman involvement would be slow to come. They and the remnants of the pro-Roman Macedonian forces resisted him for some time, until Rome finally decided to send a legate, Scipio Nasica Corculum, to assess the situation.


Roman involvement

Scipio was sent with the purpose of negotiating a peaceful settlement; Gruen remarks that the fact that Rome believed in the possibility of a peaceful settlement at this stage shows that they were either out of touch with the situation or were not really committed to the settlement they had drawn up in the aftermath of the Third Macedonian War. It has been suggested that there is a possibility that he was sent before news of Andriscus' campaigns became widely known, and that he was simply sent to dissuade any Greek sympathy for Carthage, which Rome was planning to attack. Whatever the case, Scipio's attempts at diplomacy failed, probably because the Romans were unwilling to accept Andriscus' demand to be recognized as king of a unified Macedon. Instead, Scipio resorted to military action, and began to rally the forces of Thessalians and Achaeans that had already been fighting. With them, he managed to temporarily halt Andriscus' advance. Still, the Roman commander informed the Senate that direct military intervention would be needed to stop the pretender, as the situation was getting dire, with Andriscus already having conquered significant parts of Thessaly.


Thalna's defeat

In response to Scipio's report, the Senate appointed a
praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...
, Publius Juventius Thalna, to command a legion and settle the situation with military force. Thalna was probably reinforced by Greek contingents, and spent two or three months stabilizing the situation. However he seems to have underestimated Andriscus, not understanding that Andriscus' army had swelled dramatically since his enthronement, including contingents of both Macedonians and Thracians. Thalna's attempt to invade Macedonia via Thessaly was intercepted by Andriscus at an unspecified location near the borders of Macedon in late 149 or early 148 BC; details of the engagement are scarce, but Thalna was killed and his army almost annihilated, with the survivors escaping under the cover of night. It was the worst defeat Rome had suffered so far in their campaigns against Hellenistic powers, and had massive psychological impact in both Greece and Rome. Domestically, Andriscus' popularity was greatly increased, and he launched another invasion of Thessaly, successfully devastating and conquering most of it. Foreign interest in him increased;
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
, which was now at war with Rome in the
Third Punic War The Third Punic War (149–146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between Carthage and Rome. The war was fought entirely within Carthaginian territory, in modern northern Tunisia. When the Second Punic War ended in 201  ...
, agreed to an alliance with him and promised him money and ships. On the other hand,
Attalus II Philadelphus Attalus II Philadelphus (Greek: Ἄτταλος Β΄ ὁ Φιλάδελφος, ''Attalos II Philadelphos'', which means "Attalus the brother-loving"; 220–138 BC) was a Greek King of Pergamon and the founder of the city of Attalia (Antalya) ...
of Pergamon remained a staunch Roman ally; he had no intention of seeing a strong and revived Macedonia as a neighbour. The battle also underlined the fact that the Macedonians were committed to their newly-revived monarchy, however weak their king's claim. At the same time, the Macedonian victory also meant the end of any hopes of negotiated peace with Rome. The Romans could not take such a defeat lying down, and resolved to crush Macedonia as a power once and for all. Fears of Roman reprisal prompted defections in Macedon; Andriscus began to take harsh and cruel measures against any pro-Roman elements, conducting acts of terrorism and repression against them.


Metellus' campaign

Rome soon began preparing a full consular army of two legions to fight in Macedon; despite the difficulties associated with raising such a force when they already had many legions serving in other theatres of war, the Senate did not wish to take any risks in the aftermath of Thalna's crushing defeat, and strongly desired to avoid any possibility of military collaboration between Macedon and Carthage. Both Roman consuls for the year were already engaged in other theatres of war; therefore, the Senate entrusted the campaign one of the year's
praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...
s, Quintus Caecilius Metellus, granting him
proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...
ar powers. Arriving in Greece in the summer of 148 BC, Metellus received the assistance of the fleet of Attalus II, and made an advance along the Thessalian coast, while the Pergamene fleet threatened the coastal districts of northern Macedonia;
Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. It was an important ancient Gr ...
seems to have passed out of Andriscus' control by this stage. To protect himself from both offensives, and to prevent the loss of Macedon's seaboard, the king took up a defensive position at Pydna, where the Roman commander engaged him in battle.


Second Battle of Pydna

Not many details survive about the battle, or the exact numbers of troops involved. The first clash was a cavalry skirmish, in which Andriscus' forces had the upper hand, defeating units of Roman cavalry. Before or around the time of this skirmish, a Macedonian cavalry commander named Telestes defected with a significant portion of the Macedonian cavalry. After this, Andriscus sent away some of his forces to continue his campaign in Thessaly, possibly due to supply issues or to threaten the Roman rear, or due to overconfidence. Metellus seized this opportunity to attack in full strength, possibly with the assistance of traitors in Andriscus' force; his forces soon routed both forces of Macedonians; Andriscus fled the battle.


End of the war

The battle shattered Andriscus' army and broke the Macedonian war effort. He fled to Thrace and began raising another army there, but Metellus pursued him swiftly, forcing Andriscus into a new battle before his raw levies were fully prepared. This engagement was an easy victory for the Romans; as soon as the Macedonian front ranks were broken, the rest of the army fled in panic. Andriscus himself fled to the Thracian princeling Byzes, but Metellus managed to persuade the latter to become a Roman ally and hand Andriscus over, concluding the campaign. However, Macedon was not fully pacified yet. Another uprising, probably with Thracian support, arose under the leadership of a certain Alexander, who now declared himself to be a son of Perseus and occupied the basin of the Nestus River. However, he was quickly defeated by Metellus and forced to flee into
Dardani The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
a. By the end of 147 BC, Metellus had largely pacified the country and restored order. This was not the end of Macedonian rebellions against Rome; another pretender would later cause a serious crisis in 143/142 BC, raising an army of 16,000 men before being defeated and killed by the quaestor Lucius Tremellius; apart from this, border crises with the Thracians, which had been an issue for previous Macedonian governments as well, continued. Metellus imposed penalties on the Macedonians, as well as on the Byzantines, who had earlier been sympathetic to Andriscus. He took significant booty, including some of the spoils taken by
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
at the
Battle of the Granicus The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the Gr ...
, and many valuable works of art. After settling subsequent affairs in Greece and Macedon, the victorious praetor later returned to Rome in 146 BC, where he was given the agnomen ''Macedonicus'' and granted a
triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
. Andriscus was paraded in this triumph, and subsequently executed.


Roman reorganization of Macedon

The Senate realized that the settlement of 168 BC could no longer sustain itself; the extent of support that Andriscus' uprising had won among the Macedonians demonstrated both the fragility of indirect control and the need for a thorough reorganization of Macedonia. It is likely that a senatorial legation was sent to Macedon, probably soon after Metellus' victory, and, together with Metellus, made administrative changes to governance in Macedon, transferring significant functions to a Roman praetor. From this point onwards, a legion and a praetor were permanently stationed in Macedon; this was the first time Roman troops were permanently based east of the
Adriatic sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
. Macedon was unified into a single administrative unit as the Provincia Macedonia; the new province included not only Macedon, but also parts of southern Illyria, as well as
Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...
and Thessaly. This received mixed reactions; on one hand, the people welcomed the reunification of Macedon; on the other hand, they resented their loss of freedom and the harsher rule of the Romans. Many praetors would engage in corruption and extortion; besides, they were not as effective as previous administrations in protecting the region from barbarian raids. The exact nature and chronology of the provincialization is a matter of debate. It is known that a new provincial era, the "Macedonian Era", was proclaimed in 148 BC, but it is disputed as to whether this was to signify the formation of the province or Metellus' victory. Doubts have been expressed as to whether Metellus could have had the time to organize Macedonia into a province, and it has instead been suggested that it was one of the consuls of 146 BC,
Lucius Mummius Lucius Mummius (2nd century BC), was a Roman statesman and general. He was consul in the year 146 BC along with Scipio Aemilianus. Mummius was the first of his family to rise to the rank of consul thereby making him a novus homo. He received the ...
, who reorganized Macedon with the help of a decemviral commission while settling the affairs of Greece. Gruen and Eckstein doubt whether Macedon ever formally became a province, pointing out that the Macedonian ''merides'' continued to exist well into the early
principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...
. In their view, what changed after the Fourth Macedonian war was the fact that from then on, a Roman praetor and his legion were permanently stationed in Macedonia; naturally, they gradually took on more administrative and bureaucratic roles, leading to an informal provincialization. Still, the presence of Roman officials after 148 BC was a sudden and clear change, and signified the loss of Macedonian and Illyrian freedom.


Aftermath

Soon afterwards, the
Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...
in 146 BC mobilized for a new war against the Roman Republic. This is known as the
Achaean War The Achaean War of 146 BC was fought between the Roman Republic and the Greek Achaean League, an alliance of Achaean and other Peloponnesian states in ancient Greece. It was the final stage of Rome's conquest of mainland Greece, taking place jus ...
, and was noted for its short duration and its timing right after the fall of Macedonia. Until this time, Rome had only campaigned in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
in order to fight Macedonian forces, allies or clients. The Achaean leaders almost certainly knew that this declaration of war against Rome was hopeless, as Rome had triumphed against far stronger and larger opponents, the Roman legion having proved its supremacy over the Macedonian phalanx. Polybius blames the demagogues of the cities of the league for inspiring the population into a suicidal war. Panhellenic rhetoric and the idea of triumphing against superior odds motivated the league into this rash decision. The Achaean League was swiftly defeated, and, as an object lesson, Rome utterly destroyed the city of
Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...
in 146 BC, the same year that
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
was destroyed. After nearly a century of constant crisis management in the Greek world, which always led back to internal instability and war when Rome pulled out, the Senate decided to establish the
Roman province of Macedonia Macedonia ( grc-gre, Μακεδονία) was a province of the Roman Empire, encompassing the territory of the former Antigonid Kingdom of Macedonia, which had been conquered by Rome in 168 BC at the conclusion of the Third Macedonian War. The pr ...
, covering all of mainland Greece and establishing a permanent Roman presence in the region, though a few territories like
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and
Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
retained self-government and partial autonomy. More than a century later,
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
would establish Achaea as a separate province.Pausanias, 7.16-7.17


See also

*
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) The kingdom of Macedonia was an ancient state in what is now the Macedonian region of northern Greece, founded in the mid-7th century BC during the period of Archaic Greece and lasting until the mid-2nd century BC. Led first by the Argead dyn ...


References


Notes


Citations


Sources


Primary sources

* Diodorus Siculus, '' Bibliotheca Historica''
Book 32
* Polybius, '' The Histories''
Book 37
*
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, ''
Ab Urbe Condita Libri The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The wor ...
''
Book XLV
an
Periochae 46-50
*
Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...
, ''Roman history''
Book I
*
Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, ''Roman History'',
Book 21
' * Florus, ''Epitome''
Book 1


Secondary sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Attribution

*


Further reading

*Gabrielsen, Vincent, and John Lund, eds. 2007. ''The Black Sea in Antiquity: Regional and interregional economic exchanges.'' Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press. * * * * *Sherwin-White, Adrian N. 1984. ''Roman foreign policy in the East 168 B.C. to A.D. 1.'' London: Duckworth. {{Authority control 150 BC 149 BC 148 BC 150s BC conflicts 140s BC conflicts 2nd century BC in Greece 2nd century BC in the Roman Republic Rebellions against the Roman Republic 4
War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
Macedonian 4 Macedonian 4 Roman–Greek wars