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Macedonian Wars
Third Macedonian War
Third Macedonian War
The Third Macedonian war is one of the most “dramatic” and fervent wars that ever happened during the BC eras. The war is a concrete example of a failed attempt in taking revenge.
After Philip V died in Macedon in 179 BC, his son, Perseus of Macedon put up attempts of restoring Macedon’s international influence. He made aggressive movements towards his neighboring Greek kingdoms and city-states. When Perseus got involved in an assassination plot against a Greek city which was an ally of Rome, the Roman Senate formally declared the Third Macedonian war.
During the earlier stages of the war, Rome didn’t fare well. Perseus won the first struggle, the Battle of Callicinus. After the battle, he offered a peace treaty to the Romans, which was refused. Surprisingly enough, right before the war formally ended, the Roman legions was able to defeat the Macedonian phalanx at the Battle of Pydna. Following this defeat, Perseus was captured and Macedon, once an influential and powerful kingdom, was divided into four puppet republics controlled by Rome. Also, lots of Macedonian cities and villages were destroyed and land was given to Roman settlers (ex-legionnaires) and Thracian allies. Around 300,000 Macedonian citizen were taken to Rome and sold to slavery.