The Battle of Pydna was a battle fought in 148 BC between

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and the forces of the Macedonian leader

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 ...

. The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

force was led by Quintus Caecilius Metellus, and was victorious. The battle played an important role in deciding the outcome of the

Fourth Macedonian War The Fourth Macedonian War (150–148 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by the pretender Andriscus, and the Roman Republic. It was the last of the Macedonian Wars, and was the last war to seriously threaten Roman control of Greece until the Fi ...

, and saw the annihilation of the last military-political force of Macedon. The war had begun when the pretender Andriscus defeated Rome's clients in Macedon and crowned himself king, defeating a Roman force sent to stop him and invading parts of

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 ...

. The senate then sent Metellus with another, larger army to stop the pretender; the Roman commander chose to undertake both a land and sea offensive, forcing Andriscus to take a defensive position near

Pydna Pydna (in Greek: Πύδνα, older transliteration: Pýdna) was a Greek city in ancient Macedon, the most important in Pieria. Modern Pydna is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Pieria regional unit, Greece. Sin ...

, where Metellus engaged and soundly defeated him. The battle decided the outcome of the war; Andriscus was forced to flee Macedon, and was pursued and captured by the Romans before he could raise a strong army. Rome now 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

Andriscus, a fuller from

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 ...

, claimed the Macedonian throne by claiming to be the son of

Perseus of Macedon Perseus ( grc-gre, Περσεύς; 212 – 166 BC) was the last king (''Basileus'') of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great. He was the last Antigonid to rule Macedon, aft ...

. Initially unsuccessful, he invaded Macedon with a

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

army and met with unprecedented success, defeating Rome's Macedonian clients near the Strymon river, crowning himself King of Macedon and overrunning

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 ...

, and annihilating a Roman legion sent to stop him, killing the commanding

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, in the battle. However, he could not advance into Greece, being halted by forces of 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 ...

and remnant Roman units stationed there. He had also allied himself with

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 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 ...

. Alarmed, the Roman senate sent a second army of two legions under Quintus Caecilius Metellus to Macedon. Metellus chose not to take the usual Epirote route used by previous Roman commanders into Macedon; he advanced along the Thessalian coast with the assistance of the fleet of

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) ...

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 ...

; Andriscus, wary of letting Metellus overrunning the coastal districts, engaged him at

Opposing forces

Roman

The Romans probably fought in their usual

triplex acies Roman infantry tactics refers to the theoretical and historical deployment, formation, and manoeuvres of the Roman infantry from the start of the Roman Republic to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The focus below is primarily on Roman tactic ...

formation, with ''

hastati ''Hastati'' (singular: ''hastatus'') were a class of infantry employed in the armies of the early Roman Republic, who originally fought as spearmen and later as swordsmen. These soldiers were the staple unit after Rome threw off Etruscan rule. ...

'' in the front, ''

principes ''Principes'' (Singular: ''princeps'') were spearmen, and later swordsmen, in the armies of the early Roman Republic. They were men in the prime of their lives who were fairly wealthy, and could afford decent equipment. They were the heavier in ...

'' in a second rank and ''

triarii ''Triarii'' (singular: ''Triarius'') were one of the elements of the early Roman military manipular legions of the early Roman Republic (509 BC – 107 BC). They were the oldest and among the wealthiest men in the army and could afford high qua ...

'' in the rear, with ''

velites ''Velites'' (singular: ) were a class of infantry in the Roman army of the mid-Republic from 211 to 107 BC. ''Velites'' were light infantry and skirmishers armed with javelins ( la, hastae velitares), each with a 75cm (30 inch) wooden shaft the ...

'' as light skirmishing troops, and Roman and allied cavalry on the flanks. Metellus' army consisted of a full consular army of two legions and allies — around 20,000 men. Despite the difficulties associated with raising and equipping such a force, the Senate did not wish to take any chances after Thalna's crushing defeat.

Macedonian

The details of the Macedonian army at the second encounter at Pydna are more scarce. It is known that Andriscus started his campaign with Thracian troops. These were usually light troops; the troops that composed the main body of his army are unknown; it is not known if they even fought in the traditional

Macedonian phalanx The Macedonian phalanx ( gr, Μακεδονική φάλαγξ) was an infantry formation developed by Philip II from the classical Greek phalanx, of which the main innovation was the use of the sarissa, a 6 meter pike. It was famously commanded ...

or a looser formation. He also had a sizeable number of cavalry. The total strength of Andriscus' army is unknown, but it was significant enough for him to be confident about detaching a portion of it just before the battle.

Battle

The first encounter between the two forces was a cavalry skirmish; Andriscus' cavalry had the upper hand. This gave him sufficient confidence to detach a portion of his forces for action elsewhere, either due to supply issues or to threaten the Roman rear. Metellus seized this opportunity to counterattack in full strength, engaging the Macedonian army. After a short fight, the Macedonians were decisively routed, and Andriscus and the survivors were forced to flee. It is possible that some of Andriscus' troops defected during the battle. If true, this defection was probably spurred by Telestes, the general appointed by Andriscus to command his cavalry. The Macedonian aristocratic cavalry joined Telestes, as the richer classes supported the Romans more than they did Andriscus, and this may have decided the battle.

Aftermath

The battle was a disaster for Andriscus, who had lost his main force and had to flee Macedon. Andriscus gathered a new, hastily levied army in Thrace, but was swiftly pursued by Metellus, who routed these new forces before they were fully prepared. He sought refuge with the Thracian chieftain Byzes, but was betrayed by him to Metellus, who had him arrested and then subdued a few more minor revolts in Macedon, ending the last embers of the war. Metellus now reorganized Macedonia as a province and was appointed as its first governor. After being called on to assist in a war in Greece - 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 ...

- he returned to Rome, where he celebrated a triumph in which Andriscus was paraded and later executed.Livy, ''Periochae'' 52.7

References

Sources

Primary sources

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
' *

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
* Diodorus Siculus, '' Bibliotheca Historica''
Book 32

Secondary sources

* *Iain Spence, Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest. Scarecrow Press, 2002 *Peter Green, ''Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age''. A Centennial Book. Hellenistic culture and society (Volume 1). University of California Press, 1993. 447 * Sekunda, Nicholas Viktor (1995), "Seleucid and Ptolemaic Reformed Armies 168-145 BC (2) The Ptolemaic Army" * *

Attribution

*{{EB1911, wstitle=Andriscus, volume=1, page=975 168 BC Pydna (148 BC) Pydna -148 Pydna -148 Ancient Pieria