Second Macedonian War

The Second Macedonian War, fought from 200 to 197 BC, marked Rome's first major military intervention in Greece and the start of its dominance in the eastern Mediterranean. After defeating Carthage, Rome responded to appeals from Pergamon and Rhodes, which were alarmed by the expansion of Philip V of Macedon in the Aegean. Rome declared war on Philip, claiming to defend the freedom of the Greeks. The early campaigns achieved little, but in 198 BC the young Roman general Titus Quinctius Flamininus took command. He won support from many Greek states, including the Achaean League, by presenting Rome as the liberator of Greece. In 197 BC, Flamininus decisively defeated Philip at Cynoscephalae in Thessaly. Under the peace terms, Philip had to give up his possessions in Greece, surrender most of his fleet and pay a large indemnity. Macedon was reduced to its home territory. The following year, Flamininus proclaimed the freedom of the Greeks at the Isthmian Games. Rome had become the most powerful force in Greek affairs, a position it never lost.