Roma vs Cartagena si Macedonia !

 1-Acest articol este copiat !

2-Istoria ramane pasiunea mea nr-1!

“The Peace of Phoenice.”

In 214 BC, Philip looked to resume his Illyrian invasion by sea, with 120 ships capturing several settlements. Hearing of his expansion, the Roman fleet crossed the Adriatic under the command of Laevinus, retaking the town of Oricum with little fighting. Next heading to the besieged Apollonia, the legion entered the town undetected at night, and the following night ambushed and routed the Macedonian army. Philip retreated east over the mountains, burning his fleet rather than allowing the Romans to commandeer it. He continued to make further land advances into Illyria, and finally gained access to the Adriatic after capturing the seemingly impregnable town of Lissus. Though without a fleet, he’d now need the Carthaginians to bring him to Italy.

Unable to commit its own troops to Greece, the Romans instead began to seek allies there against Macedon. By 212 BC Laevinus was in discussion with the Aetolians, who were already itching to resume the fight with their traditional enemy Macedon only five years after their peace agreement. By 211 BC Rome was turning the tide of the war against Carthage, as while still avoiding conflict with Hannibal, the defecting cities of Syracuse and Capua had been brought to heel. A treaty was thus agreed with the Aetolians, with the Romans attacking at sea and keeping the booty and slaves, and the Greeks attacking at land and keeping the territorial gains. The treaty also allowed other Greek powers to join the league against Macedon, including the likes of Sparta, Elis, Messenia, and some Illyrian tribes.

While Laevinus moved inland and captured numerous towns, Philip looked to secure his northern border, placing garrisons and attacking the Thracians. The Aetolians looked to attack his allies to the south, but were soon held up by stubborn resistance. Despite fear about Roman methods, the coalition swelled as more Greek states flocked to join the struggle against Macedon. When Laevinus returned to Rome to stand for Consul, he was able to report that the single legion deployed in Illyria could be withdrawn, such was his confidence in the Aetolians to continue the fight on land.

Many of these allies turned out to be fairly passive, and thus while the Roman fleet, now under Sulpicius, continued to advance and capture coastal settlements, Phillip continued to spread his borders by land. Marching south to the Peloponnese, Philip won two battles at Lamia against the Aetolian League and Roman auxiliaries. Neutral states including Athens, Chios, Egypt and Rhodes attempted to broke a peace betwixt Philip and the Aetolians, for the war was hugely damaging to their lucrative trade routes. When the Aetolian delegation heard their leader Attalus had landed nan expeditionary force near Macedon, they were emboldened to demand unreasonable terms from Philip who thus stormed out of the meeting, indignant.

Philip’s cavalry managed to drive the legions back to their ships after Sulpicius landed near Corinth, though they then reinforced the Aetolian base of Elis to stop it from falling to Philip. Sulpicius then sailed around the Peloponnese to join Attalus, plundering the Macedonian countryside while Philip was occupied with an Illyrian incursion. When Sulpicius left Attalus to comb the countryside for spoils, he was almost captured by Philip after the king was alerted by signal fire. Now surrounded by enemies, Philip was forced to adopt a defensive strategy.

Despite the retreat of Attalus seeming a defeat for Philip, it proved the turning point in his favour. Attalus was forced to sail across the Aegean to defend Pergamum, now under attack by Bithynia, while Sulpicius sailed back to the Adriatic, leaving Philip free from the Roman-Aetolian fleet now able to continue his attacks. Peace talks in 207 BC failed, but after another season of campaigning and losses to Philip, to Aetolians were forced to concede to Macedon in 206 BC, without Rome’s consent. The following Spring saw Rome send 35 ships and two legions to Illyria, though Philip’s army arrived to lift their first siege. Failing to find further allies in Greece or force the Aetolians to resume the fight, though having secured Illyria and prevented Philip from joining Hannibal, Rome agreed “The Peace of Phoenice”, ending the First Macedonian War.

The Second Punic War was also drawing towards a close. 207 BC saw Rome destroy an army of reinforcements to Italy led by Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, at the Battle of Metaurus, while 206 BC saw Young Scipio, son of the Consul who led legions to the Trebia, victorious at the Battle of Ilipa, essentially ending Carthaginian dominion in Hispania. Now Scipio moved to abandon the Fabian Strategy, assembling the shamed survivors of Cannae as an expeditionary force, which he would launch from Sicily to invade Africa. Though the defeat of Carthage would allow Rome to turn its gaze to Macedon once more, with Greek instability offering the opportunity to reassert the strength of the legions across the Adriatic.