Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece (Ancient Warfare and Civilization)

"Is there anyone on earth who is so narrow-minded or uninquisitive that he could fail to want to know how and thanks to what kind of political system almost the entire known world was conquered and brought under a single empire in less than fifty-three years?" --Polybius, Histories. The 53-year period Polybius had in mind stretched from the start of the Second Punic War in 219 BCE until 167, when Rome overthrew the Macedonian monarchy and divided the country into four independent republics. This was the crucial half-century of Rome's spectacular rise to imperial status, but Roman interest in its eastern neighbors began a little earlier, with the First Illyrian War of 229, and climaxed later with the infamous destruction of Corinth in 146. Taken at the Flood chronicles this momentous move by Rome into the Greek east. Until now, this period of history has been overshadowed by the threat of Carthage in the west, but events in the east were no less important in themselves, and Robin Waterfield's account reveals the peculiar nature of Rome's eastern policy. For over seventy years, the Romans avoided annexation so that they could commit their military and financial resources to the fight against Carthage and elsewhere. Though ultimately a failure, this policy of indirect rule, punctuated by periodic brutal military interventions and intense diplomacy, worked well for several decades, until the Senate finally settled on more direct forms of control. Waterfield's fast-paced narrative focuses mainly on military and diplomatic maneuvers, but throughout he interweaves other topics and themes, such as the influence of Greek culture on Rome, the Roman aristocratic ethos, and the clash between the two best fighting machines the ancient world ever produced: the Macedonian phalanx and Roman legion. The result is an absorbing account of a critical chapter in Rome's mastery of the Mediterranean. - Publisher. In an absorbing account of a critical chapter in Rome's mastery of the Mediterranean, Robin Waterfield reveals the peculiar nature of Rome's eastern policy. For over seventy years, the Romans avoided annexation so that they could commit their military and financial resources to the fight against Carthage and elsewhere. Though ultimately a failure, this policy of indirect rule, punctuated by periodic brutal military interventions and intense diplomacy, worked well for several decades, until the Senate finally settled on more direct forms of control. Waterfield's fast-paced narrative focuses mainly on military and diplomatic maneuvers, but throughout he interweaves other topics and themes, such as the influence of Greek culture on Rome, the Roman aristocratic ethos, and the clash between the two best fighting machines the ancient world ever produced: the Macedonian phalanx and Roman legion. Read more... Abstract: The story of the Roman conquest of Greece - not only a thrilling tale of military conquest, but a pivotal event in the history of Rome, her empire, and the whole subsequent history of Europe. Read more... Cover 1 TAKEN AT THE FLOOD: The Roman Conquest of Greece 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 16 List of Illustrations 18 Maps 20 PRELUDE: CLOUDS IN THE WEST 26 1: ROME TURNS EAST 29 THE ILLYRIAN BID FOR LEGITIMACY 30 THE COMING OF ROME 35 THE ROMAN OLIGARCHY 39 THE SWORD OR THE SHADOWS 40 MEDITERRANEAN ANARCHY 43 2: THE ILLYRIAN WARS 46 THE FIRST ILLYRIAN WAR 46 ROMAN INTENTIONS 48 A SNUB TO MACEDON 50 WARFARE IN GREECE 51 REBEL DEMETRIUS 53 ROME REACTS 55 THE SECOND ILLYRIAN WAR 57 TRIUMPH 59 MOUNTING TENSION 62 3: BARBARIANS, GO HOME! 66 THE SECOND PUNIC WAR 67 A NEAR MISS 69 ENTER HANNIBAL 70 THE SUPERPOWERS COLLIDE 72 ALLIANCE WITH THE AETOLIANS 74 LURCHING TOWARD THE NEGOTIATING TABLE 76 TWO PEACE TREATIES 80 GREEK REACTIONS TO ROME 84 4: KING PHILIP OF MACEDON 87 THE REVIVAL OF THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE 87 A SECRET PACT 90 THE TIPPING POINT 91 THE GRAND TOUR 93 THE SACK OF ANTIPATREA 98 PLUNDER 100 GALBA’S LAST GASP 103 5: THE FREEDOM OF THE GREEKS 105 THE AOUS CONFERENCE 106 THE BATTLE AT THE AOUS NARROWS 107 TWO COUPS FOR FLAMININUS 111 THE BATTLE OF CYNOSCEPHALAE 114 THE TEMPE CONFERENCE 118 THE ISTHMIAN DECLARATION 120 GREEK FREEDOM? 125 6: THE ROAD TO THERMOPYLAE 129 POSTURING FOR POSITION 129 EVACUATION POSTPONED 133 EVACUATION AND TRIUMPH 134 FLAMININUS AND PHILOPOEMEN 137 THE AETOLIAN POWER PLAY 140 THE OUTBREAK OF THE SYRIAN–AETOLIAN WAR 142 THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE 144 7: THE PERIPHERY EXPANDS 148 THE BATTLE OF MYONESSUS 149 THE BATTLE OF MAGNESIA 151 PHALANX VERSUS LEGION 153 THE PEACE OF APAMEA 159 A NEW DISPOSITION FOR ASIA MINOR 161 THE END OF THE AETOLIAN WAR 162 ENNIUS AND EARLY LATIN LITERATURE 166 ROME ALONE 168 THE IRON FIST 169 8: REMOTE CONTROL 173 DIPLOMATIC FRIENDSHIP 174 CENTRAL GREECE 179 THE PELOPONNESE 180 MACEDON 183 A DIVIDED COURT 186 9: PERSEUS’ CHOICE 190 PERGAMUM AFTER APAMEA 192 RHODES AFTER APAMEA 195 FLIMSY EXCUSES 198 THE ‘NEW CUNNING’ 200 10: THE END OF MACEDON 206 FIRST BLOOD TO PERSEUS 207 PERSEUS RESTORES PARITY 208 THE BATTLE OF PYDNA 212 THE SETTLEMENT OF MACEDON 215 THE HUMILIATION OF RHODES AND PERGAMUM 219 11: IMPERIUM ROMANUM 223 THE EMASCULATION OF GREECE AND ILLYRIS 224 THE REDUCTION OF MOLOSSIS 226 THE TRIUMPHS 229 CULTURE AND IDENTITY 231 12: THE GREEK WORLD AFTER PYDNA 239 DEFERENCE TO ROME 240 INDIFFERENCE OR REMOTE CONTROL? 241 THE FOURTH MACEDONIAN WAR 243 A NEW DISPENSATION FOR MACEDON 245 THE ACHAEAN WAR 247 THE SETTLEMENT OF GREECE 250 ROME IN GREECE 251 ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION 253 POST-CONQUEST GREECE 254 SOUL-SEARCHING IN ROME 257 KEY DATES 262 ALL DATES ARE BCE 262 Rulers of more-or-less unifi ed Illyris 262 Ardiaean dynasty 262 Labeatan dynasty 262 Rulers of Macedon (Antigonids) 262 Rulers of Syria (Seleucids) 262 Rulers of Pergamum (Attalids) 263 Rulers of Egypt 263 Rulers of Bithynia 263 TIMELINE 263 Sparta and the Achaean League 266 GLOSSARY 268 ROMAN AND GREEK MONEY 270 NOTES 272 ABBREVIATIONS 272 NOTES TO PREFACE 272 NOTES TO PRELUDE 272 CHAPTER 1 273 CHAPTER 2 274 CHAPTER 3 275 CHAPTER 4 277 CHAPTER 5 278 CHAPTER 6 279 CHAPTER 7 280 CHAPTER 8 281 CHAPTER 9 282 CHAPTER 10 283 CHAPTER 11 283 CHAPTER 12 285 BIBLIOGRAPHY 288 Ancient Sources 288 Literature 288 Inscriptions 289 Secondary Literature 289 Atlases 289 Books and Articles 290 Index 304 The Romans first set military foot on Greek soil in 229 BCE; only sixty or so years later it was all over, and shortly thereafter Greece became one of the first provinces of the emerging Roman Empire. It was an incredible journey - a swift, brutal, and determined conquest of the land to whose art, philosophy, and culture the Romans owed so much. Rome found the eastern Mediterranean divided, in an unstable balance of power, between three great kingdoms - the three Hellenistic kingdoms that had survived and flourished after the wars of Alexander the Great's Successors: Macedon, Egypt, and Syria. Internal troubles took Egypt more or less out of the picture, but the other two were reduced by Rome. Having established itself, by its defeat of Carthage, as the sole superpower in the western Mediterranean, Rome then systematically went about doing the same in the east, until the entire Mediterranean was under her control. Apart from the thrilling military action, the story of the Roman conquest of Greece is central to the story of Rome itself and the empire it created. As Robin Waterfield shows, the Romans developed a highly sophisticated method of dominance by remote control over the Greeks of the eastern Mediterranean - the cheap option of using authority and diplomacy to keep order rather than standing armies. And it is a story that raises a number of fascinating questions about Rome, her empire, and her civilization. For instance, to what extent was the Roman conquest a planned and deliberate policy? What was it about Roman culture that gave it such a will for conquest? And what was the effect on Roman intellectual and artistic culture, on their very identity, of their entanglement with an older Greek civilization, which the Romans themselves recognized as supreme? In An Absorbing Account Of A Critical Chapter In Rome's Mastery Of The Mediterranean, Robin Waterfield Reveals The Peculiar Nature Of Rome's Eastern Policy. For Over Seventy Years, The Romans Avoided Annexation So That They Could Commit Their Military And Financial Resources To The Fight Against Carthage And Elsewhere. Though Ultimately A Failure, This Policy Of Indirect Rule, Punctuated By Periodic Brutal Military Interventions And Intense Diplomacy, Worked Well For Several Decades, Until The Senate Finally Settled On More Direct Forms Of Control. Waterfield's Fast-paced Narrative Focuses Mainly On Military And Diplomatic Maneuvers, But Throughout He Interweaves Other Topics And Themes, Such As The Influence Of Greek Culture On Rome, The Roman Aristocratic Ethos, And The Clash Between The Two Best Fighting Machines The Ancient World Ever Produced: The Macedonian Phalanx And Roman Legion. Clouds In The West -- Rome Turns East -- The Illyrian Wars -- Barbarians, Go Home! -- King Philip Of Macedon -- The Freedom Of The Greeks -- The Road To Thermopylae -- The Periphery Expands -- Remote Control -- Perseus' Choice -- The End Of Macedon -- Imperium Romanum -- The Greek World After Pydna. Robin Waterfield. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 247-277) And Index. Content: Prelude: Clouds in the West -- Rome Turns East -- The Illyrian Wars -- Barbarians, Go Home! -- King Philip of Macedon -- The Freedom of the Greeks -- The Road to Thermopylae -- The Periphery Expands -- Remote Control -- Perseus' Choice -- The End of Macedon -- Imperium Romanum -- The Greek World After Pydna -- Key Dates -- Glossary, Money, Names.