The
Third Macedonian War (
171 BC -
168 BC) was a war fought between
Rome and King
Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC King
Philip V of
Macedon died and his talented and ambitious son, Perseus, took his throne. Perseus married Laodike, daughter of King Seleucus IV Keraunos of Asia, and increased the size of his army. He also made alliance treaties with Epirus and several tribes of
Illyria and
Thrace, as well as enemies of Thracian tribes allied to Rome, such as the
Sapaei under
Abrupolis. He renewed former connections with some Greek city-states (
poleis). The king announced that he could carry out reforms in Greece and restore its previous strength and prosperity.
The Roman leadership began to worry that Perseus would destroy Roman political control in Greece and restore former Macedonian sovereignty over Greek states. King Eumenes II of Pergamon, who hated Macedonia, accused Perseus of trying to violate laws of other states and conditions of peace between Macedonia and Rome. The Romans were afraid for the balance of power in Greece and declared a new war with Macedonia. Perseus won the first struggle the Battle of Callicinus, where he faced the army of Publius Licinius Crassus. The king offered a peace treaty to the Romans, which was refused. The Romans had problems with discipline in their army, and Roman commanders could not find a way to successfully invade the territory of Macedonia.
There was a stalemate near Phalanna involving Perseus and Crassus. In 169 BC, consul Quintus Marcius Phillipus crossed the Olympus Range and entered Macedonia. However, his army ran out of provisions and retired on a narrow strip of coast near Tempe. Perseus tried to win Eumenes of Pergamon and King Antiochus IV of the Seleucid Empire over to his side but failed. He did, however, succeed in buying the support of the Illyrian king Genthius in the autumn of 169 BC.
Perseus was defeated by the legions of the Roman consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus at the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC. This defeat was largely due to the inflexibility of Macedonian phalanx tactics compared to the maniple-based tactics of the Roman legions.
