The Second Macedonian War

-Rome began to eye the East after the Second Punic War.
-The post-Alexandrian East (ruled by descendants of Alexander the Great's generals) :
   -Egypt (Ptolemaic Kingdom)- ruled by Ptolemy IV.
   -Syria and Persia (Seleucid Empire)- ruled by Antiochus III.
   -Macedonia- ruled by Philip V.
-204 BC- Ptolemy IV dies, but his heir is only 8.
   -Philip V and Antiochus III formed an alliance to undermine the power of the Ptolemaic Kingdom by expanding their own territories against other regional powers.
      -Antiochus III attacked southern Egypt (near the Red Sea), and Philip V moved east and attacked Thrace.  This alarmed the kingdom of Pergamon, who were a mid-grade power who were located in the middle of all of this.
-King Attalus, king of Pergamon, decided to call on Rome for help in 201 BC.
   -He had been an ally to Rome during the First Macedonian War/Second Punic War.
-Rome decided to investigate this situation, and while Roman officials were staying in Athens (still a city-state), Athens declared war on Macedonia.
   -Philip V sent an army to attack Athens.
      -Roman officials then quickly met with Pergamon, Athens, and Rhodes, and decided to tell Macedonia to back off, or else, as these places were now under the protection of the Roman Empire!  This pissed off Philip V, so he ordered troops to go ahead and attack Athens AND Pergamon anyway!
-Rome then sent legions to Illyria and began to have light skirmishes with Macedonia.
-198- Titus Flaminus is elected consul.
   -Huge fan of Greek culture.
   -Rome began to get really serious about defending Greece, which scared Phillip V.
      -Phillip V immediately began to sue for peace.
-Meanwhile, to prepare for war, Phillip V acquired 25,000 meals to augment his forces, since the Aetolian League joined Rome to fight against Macedonia.
   -Rome had about 30,000 troops ready.
-The first major battle was finally at Cynoscephalae in 197 BC.
   -It was the Roman maniple vs. the Macedonian phalanx.
      -Rome kicked the Macedonian army's ass, proving that the old-school Greek-style phalanx was obsolete and times had changed.
-Macedonia was defeated, and Rome then left Greece alone.
   -Rome acted like they had simply just done Greece a favor and had no interest in conquering the region, but really it was just because Rome didn't have the strength or money at the time to take them over.