Cretan War (205–200 BC)
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| Cretan War | |||||||||
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| File:Philip V Macedonia.png A map of the Aegean at the end of the war . | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Olous, Hierapytna, Macedon, Spartan and Aetolian pirates |
Rhodes, Knossos, Pergamum, Byzantium, Athens | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Philip V, Nabis, Dikaiarchos |
Attalus I, Acesimbrotus, Theophiliscus, Cleonaeus | ||||||||
The Cretan War was fought between the Macedons under Philip V, the Spartas under Nabis, the Aetolias under Dikaiarchos, and some Cretan cities (of which Olous and Hierapytna were the foremost) against the forces of Rhodes under Theophiliscus, Cleonaeus and Acesimbrotus and later on Pergamum under Attalus I, Byzantium, Knossos, Athens and Cyzicus. The war started in 205 BC and concluded in 200 BC.
The war was fought primarily in naval encounters around the coast of Asia Minor, in the Aegean Islands and in Crete. There were a few battles on land in Asia Minor, Attica and Crete. The war started with Philip of Macedon having Spartan and Aetolian pirates raid Rhodian ships and he also made a treaty with some Cretan cities. The Rhodians then declared war on Macedon and Crete.[1] The war was going in Philip's favour until Rhodes' allies Cyzicus, Byzantium and Pergamum declared war on Philip. The Macedonian fleet was defeated by the allied fleet at Chios but Philip latter defeated the Rhodians at Lade. Philip swept through Asia Minor where he plundered and captured many cities Caria. Philip attacked Athens which was convinced by Attalus to declared war against Macedon. Rome declared war on Philip so Philip abandoned his Rhodian campaign which left Rhodes with their new Cretan ally Knossos to defeat their main Cretan enemies, Olous and Hierapytna and force them to sign a treaty favourable to them.
Prelude
The First Macedonian War had just ended with the Treaty of Phoenice and with the Romans busy with Carthage, Philip saw this as his chance to take control of the Greek world, which was his greatest ambition and he knew that his ambitions would be aided by an alliance with Crete.[2] He had just crushed Pergamum, the Greek power of Asia Minor, and he had also made the Aetolians his allies. Now he was opposed only by the Greek island-state of Rhodes, which had one of the most powerful fleets in the Mediterranean and was supposed to be his ally, but they were also allies of the Romans who were Phillip's mortal enemies.[3] Rhodes was also important because it was the dominant naval and economic power in the eastern side of the Mediterranean and the southern side of the Aegean Sea.
Piracy and war
Under the conditions of the Treaty of Phoenice, Philip wasn't allowed to expand his territory westward into Illyria or the Adriatic Sea. Philip then turned his attentions eastwards to the Aegean Sea where he started to build a large fleet.[4] One of his aims was to crush the island state of Rhodes.
Phillip saw two ways of shaking off the Rhodian dominance of the sea: piracy and war. He decided to use both methods and encouraged his allies to begin pirate attacks against Rhodian ships. Phillip convinced the Cretans (who had been involved in piracy for a long time), the Aetolians and the Spartans to take part in the piracy. The lure for these nations was the promise of vast loot from captured Rhodian vessels.[5] He sent the Aetolian freebooter Dikaiarchos on a large razzia through the Aegean where he plundered the Cyclades and Rhodian territories.[6]
By the end of 205 BC, the Rhodians had suffered from the piracy and Philip saw his chance to strike with the second part of his plan, military action. Philip convinced the cities of Hierapytna, Olous and other cities in Eastern Crete to declare war against Rhodes.[7]
Rhodes' initial response to the declaration of war was diplomatic; they asked Rome for help against Philip. The Romans were weary of another war (the Second Punic War had just ended) and they were refused. But even after their allies Pergamum, Cyzicus and Byzantium joined the war on the Rhodians side, the Romans Senate tried to convince the people to join the war against Macedon. Their attempt to persuade the battle weary people failed.[8]
What further enraged the Rhodes was the capture and razing of Cius and Myrleia, Greek cities on the coast of the Sea of Marmara by Philip V. Philip then handed these cities over to his brother-in-law, the king of Bithynia, Prusias I who rebuilt and renamed the cities Prusa after himself and Apameia after his wife respectively. In return for these cities Prusias promised that he would continue on enlarging his kingdom at the expense of Pergamum (his latest war with Pergamum had ended in 205). The capture of these cities also enraged the Aetolians, because the two cities were part of the Aetolian League. The Aetolians were only allied to the Macedonians through fear of the ravaging of their lands at the hands of Philip. This caused the Aetolians to further distance themselves from Macedon.[9] Philip then went and captured the cities of Lysimachia and Chalcedon who were also part of the Aetolia League and forced them to break off their alliance with Aetolia.[10]
On the way home, Philip's fleet stopped at the island of Thasos off the coast of Thrace. Philip's general Metrodorus went to the island's capitol which was also called Thasos to meet emissaries from the city. The envoys said they would surrender the city to the Macedonians on the conditions that they did not have to be garrisoned, they did not have to pay tribute, contribute soldiers to the Macedonian army and that they could have their own laws.[11] Metrodorus replied that the king accepted the terms and then they admitted the Macedons into the city. Once admitted into the city, Philip ordered his soldiers to enslave all the citizens (who were then sold as slaves) and to loot the city.[12]
Philip then concluded a treaty with Antiochus III the Great, emperor of the Seleucid Empire. The main reason that this treaty was signed was to capture all the land held by the Ptolemaic Egypt and their young Pharaoh Ptolemy V. They agreed that Philip would help Antiochus to seize Egypt and Cyprus and Antiochus would help Philip take control of Cyrene, the Cyclades islands and Ionia.[13]
With the treaty concluded, Philip's army then attacked Ptolemy's territories in Thrace. Then the Macedonian fleet headed south and took over the island of Samos which belonged to Ptolemy V and captured the Egyptian fleet stationed there. The fleet then turned north and laid siege to the island of Chios. The combined navies of Pergamum, Rhodes, Cyzicus and Byzantium under the command of Attalus and Theophiliscus of Rhodes attacked the Macedonian fleet under the command of Philip between Chios and the mainland of Asia Minor. Attalus' group of ships were separated from the rest of the fleet and were pursued by Philip but managed to make it to the mainland. He thought that his enemies would catch up to him so he scattered coins from his treasury ship on the sand so when the Macedonians landed would not chase after him but instead would stop to gather the loot. When Philip landed and found Attalus' ships abandoned he thought that the Pergamese monarch had perished. He then towed off the ships that Attalus had deserted on the beach. Meanwhile Attalus escaped to Erythrae.[14] The battle then turned to the allies' favour and the Macedonian fleet was routed. The Rhodians and their allies then returned to their base in Chios.
With the battle over, the Rhodian admirals decided to leave Chios and sail back home. On the way back to Rhodes, the Rhodian admiral Theophiliscus died of the wounds he recieved at Chios but before he died he appointed Cleonaeus as his successor.[15] As the Rhodian fleet was sailing in the strait between Lade and Miletus on the shore of Asia Minor, Philip' fleet attacked them. Philip defeated the Rhodian fleet and forced it to retreat back to Rhodes. The Milesians were impressed by the victory and sent Philip and the Heracleides garlands of victory when they entered Milesian territory.[16]
Asia Minor Campaign
Philip saw his chance to capture Pergamum since it was undermanned because most of the Pergamese army was out campaigning, went with his army and laid siege to Pergamum. But Pergamum's king, Attalus I had strengthened the wall before he set off on the campaign against Macedon and the walls proved too strong for the Macedonian army. Philip retreated after destroying a few temples amongst them the temple of Aphrodite and the sanctuary of Athena Nicephorus.[17] The Macedonians then attacked the town of Thyatira and after capturing it the army advanced to the plain of Thebe thinking that this region would have the richest spoils.[18] He was dissapointed to find that that the spoils were less than he had expected. Once he arrived at Thebe he demanded corn from the Seleucid governor of the region, Zeuxis. Zeuxis however never planned to give Philip substantial supplies.[19]
Philip disapointed by the spoils in Mysia then went south and plundered the towns and cities of Caria. Philip reached the city of Prinassus. At first the city and it's citizen held out bravely. But when Philip set up his artillery, he sent an envoy into the city offering to let them leave the city unharmed or they would all be killed. The citizens decided to abandon the city.[20] At this stage in the campaign, Philip's army was running out of food so he seized the city of Myus and gave it to the Magnesians in return for giving enough figs to feed his army since the Magnesians had no corn.[21] Philip then seized and garrisoned the cities of Iasus, Bargylia, Euromus, Pedasa in quick succession. Philip then besieged and captured the city of Peraea which was in Rhodian possesion.
While Philip's fleet was wintering in Bargylia, the combined Pergamese and Rhodian fleet blockaded the harbour. The situation in the Macedonian camp became so grave that the Macedonian were close to surrendering. But Philip managed to get out by trickery. He sent an Egyptian deserter to Attalus and the Rhodians to say that Philip was preparing to attack the allies the next day. Upon hearing the news, Attalus and the Rhodians started preparing the fleet for the oncoming attack. But Philip and his fleet slip out of the blockade while the Pergamese and the Rhodians ships were preparing for battle. To make it look like his fleet was still there, Philip lit numerous campfires.[22]
During Philip's campaigns in Asia Minor, Attalus went to Athens and convinced the Athenian citizens to vote to declare war against Philip. Attalus' efforts paid off and the Athens joined the his side.[23] When Philip found out, he sent some troops stationed in Macedon and together with their allies the Acarnanians they went to raid Attica under the command of Nicanor. The raiders reached the Academy of Athens before being driven back.[24] Once the Romans heard that Philip attacked a Greek state, they warned him to retreat or they would get involved in the war.[25]
Philip's fleet had just escaped from the allied blockade and Philip ordered that a squadron head to Athens. The Macedonian squadron sailed into Piraeus and captured four Athenian ships. As the Macedonian squadron was retreating, the Rhodian and Pergamese fleet appeared from the Pergamese base of Aegina after having pursued the Macedonian fleet across the Aegean. The allies defeated the Macedonian fleet and recaptured the Athenian ships which they gave back to the Athenians. The Athenians were so pleased by the rescue that replaced the recently abolished pro-Macedonian tribes, the Demetrias and Antigonis tribes with the Attalid tribe in honour of Attalus.[26]
The Pergamese fleet then returned to their base at Aegina and the Rhodians set out to raid the Macedonian islands in the Cyclades.[27] Philip then ordered his prefect on the island of Euboea, Philoces, to attack Athens once again with 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry.[28] They were unable to capture Athens so they ravaged the surrounding countryside.
Roman Intervention
Meanwhile Rhodian, Pergamese and Athenian travelled to Rome to appear before the senate. When they were given an audience they informed the senate about the treaty between Philip and Antiochus. They also complained about Philip's attacks on their territories. In response to these complaints the Romans sent three ambassadors, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Gaius Claudius Nero and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus to Egypt with the orders to go to Rhodes after speaking with Ptolemy.[29]
While this was happening, Philip attacked and captured the cities of Maronea, Cypsela, Doriscos, Serrheum and Aemus which belonged to Ptolemy.[30] The Macedonians then advanced on the Thracian Chersonese where they captured the cities of Perinthus, Sestos, Elaeus, Alopeconnesus, Callipolis and Madytus.[31] Philip then advanced on the city of Abydos which was home to a combined Pergamese and Rhodian garrison. Philip started the siege by blockading the city by land and sea to stop attempts to reinforce the city or give supplies to the Abydenians. The Abydenians full of confidence dislodged some of the siege engines with their own catapults while some of Philip's other engines were burnt by the defenders.[32] With some of their siege engines destroyed, the Macedonians started undermining the city's walls and soon the outer wall collapsed.[33]
The situation was now grave for defenders and they decided to send two of their prominent citizens to Philip. When they were taken to Philip, they offered to surrender the city to him on the conditions that the Rhodian and the Pergamese garrisons were allowed to leave the city under a truce and that all the citizens were able to leave the city with the clothes they were wearing and go wherever they please.[34] Philip reply to them was surrender at discretion or fight like men.[35] With his response the ambassadors returned back to the city.
The leaders of the city called an assembly when the response was given to them. They decided to liberate all the slave to secure their loyalty, to place all the children and their nurses in the gymnasium and for all the women to stay in the temple of Artemis. They also asked for everyone to bring forward their gold and silver and any clothes that were valuable so they could put in the boats of the Rhodians and the Cyzicenes.[36] Fifty elder and trusted men were elected to carry out these tasks. All the citizens then swore an oath. As Polybius writes:
- ... whenever they saw the inner wall being captured by the enemy, they would kill the children and women, and would burn the above mentioned ships, and, in accordance with the curses that had been invoked, would throw the silver and gold into the sea.[37] After the oath was said they brought forward the priests and everyone swore that they defeat the enemy or die trying.
When the interior wall fell, the men according to their promise sprang from the ruins and fought with great courage that Philip had to send his Macedonians forward in relays to front line until nightfall when the Macedonians retreated back to camp. That night the Abydenians resolved to save the women and children and at daybreak they sent some priests and priestess with a garland and they surrendered the city to Philip.[38]
While this was going on Attalus sailed across the Aegean to the island of Tenedos. Meanwhile the youngest of the Roman ambassadors, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus had heard about the siege at Abydos while he was in Rhodes and he arrived at Abydos set out to find Philip. He found Philip outside Abydos and had a conversation with him. Polybius writes:
- The Senate had resolved to order him not to wage war with any Greek state; nor to interfere in the dominions of Ptolemy; and to submit the injuries inflicted on Attalus and the Rhodians to arbitration; and that if he did so he might have peace, but if he refused to obey he would promptly have war with Rome." Upon Philip endeavouring to show that the Rhodians had been the first to lay hands on him, Marcus interrupted him by saying: "But what about the Athenians? And what about the Cianians? And what about the Abydenians at this moment? Did any one of them also lay hands on you first?" The king, at a loss for a reply, said: "I pardon the offensive haughtiness of your manners for three reasons: first, because you are a young man and inexperienced in affairs; secondly, because you are the handsomest man of your time" (this was true); "and thirdly, because you are a Roman. But for my part, my first demand to the Romans is that they should not break their treaties or go to war with me; but if they do, I shall defend myself as courageously as I can, appealing to the gods to defend my cause.[39] With these words they separated.
While Philip was walking around Abydos he saw people stabbing, burning, hanging, throwing down wells and throwing themselves, their wife and their children from rooftops. Philip was surprised to see this and he published a proclamation announcing that he gave three days' grace to those who wished to hang or stab themselves.[40] The Abydenians who were already bent on following the orders of the original degree, looked upon themselves as traitors to the people that had died and couldn’t bear to live on this terms, and accordingly, apart from whose in chains or similar restraints, went to their deaths each family by itself.[41]
Philip then order another attack on Athens but after the army wasn't able to capture either Athens or Eleusis they subjugated Attica to the worst ravage the Atticans had seen since the Persian Wars.[42] In response the Romans declared war on Philip and attacked his outposts and territories in Illyria. Philip was then forced to abandon his Rhodian and Pergamese campaign so he could deal with the Romans. This was the start of the Second Macedonian War.
After Philip's withdrawal from his campaign against Rhodes, due to his concentration of troops against Rome, the Rhodians were free to attack Olous and Hierapytna and their other Cretan allies. Rhodes' search for allies in Crete ended when the Cretan city of Knossos, whose government saw the war was going in Rhodes' favour and joined Rhodes in an attempt to gain supremacy over the island.[43] Many other cities in central Crete subsequently joined Rhodes and Knossos against Hierapytna and Olous. Now attacked on two fronts, Hierapytna surrendered.[44]
Aftermath
Under the treaty signed at wars end, Hierapytna agreed to break off all relations and alliances with foreign powers and to place all its harbours and bases into Rhodes' use. Olous had to accept Rhodian power over the city.[45] The terms of the treaty were found amongst the ruins of Olous. As a result, Rhodes was left with control of a significant part of eastern Crete after the war. With this extra territory the Rhodians built new bases to stamp out piracy in the region.[46] With this war finished, it left Rhodians free to help their allies in the Second Macedonian War.
The war had no particular short term effect on the Cretans. They continued their lives of piracy and being employed as mercenaries as soon as the war finished. In the Battle of Cynoscephalae during the Second Macedonian War three years later, Cretan mercenary archers fought for both the Romans and the Macedons employing them to serve with their armies.
The pirate raids still continued from western Crete, which led to the Second Cretan War.[47] This war led to Rhodes further establishing its control over the Aegean and the Eastern Meditereanan, Knossos strengthening its hegemony over most of Crete, and making Rome more involved in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, which led in turn to the eventual Roman conquest of Rhodes, Crete and the Aegean. This Macedonian defeat lead to the barbarian tribe, the Dardanians swarming across the northern frontier[48] and it also lead to an Aetolia uprising which was easily defeated by Philip and Macedon's Greek allies the Achean League deflecting to Rome.[49]
Notes
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historic Evolution of the Hellenstic Age
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historic Evolution of the Hellenstic Age
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome: From Hannibal to Attila the Hun
- ^ Polybius 15.23
- ^ Polybius 15.23
- ^ Polybius 15.24
- ^ Polybius 15.24
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historic Evolution of the Hellenstic Age
- ^ Polybius 16.6
- ^ Polybius 16.9
- ^ Polybius 16.15
- ^ Polybius 16.1
- ^ Polybius 16.1
- ^ Polybius 16.1
- ^ Polybius 16.27
- ^ Polybius 16.24
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historic Evolution of the Hellenstic Age
- ^ Polybius 16.26
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenstic Age
- ^ Polybius 16.27
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Hostoric Evolution of the Hellenstic Age
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historic Evolution of the Hellenstic Age
- ^ Livy, Rome and the Mediterranean
- ^ Livy, "Rome and the Mediterranean"
- ^ Livy, Rome and the Mediterranean
- ^ Livy, Rome and the Mediterranean
- ^ Polybius 16.30
- ^ Polybius 16.30
- ^ Polybius 16.30
- ^ Polybius 16.30
- ^ Polybius 16.31
- ^ Polybius 16.31
- ^ Polybius 16.33
- ^ Polybius 16.34
- ^ Polybius 16.34
- ^ Polybius 16.34
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historic Evolution of the Hellenstic Age
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Detorakis, A History of Crete
- ^ Matyszak, The Enemies of Rome: From Hannibal to Attila the Hun
- ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historic Evolution of the Hellenistic Age
References
Primary Source
- Polybius. The Rise of the Roman Empire. ISBN 0-14-044362-2
- Appian. "The Foreign Wars". ISBN 0674990048
- Livy. "Rome and the Mediterranean" ISBN 0-14-044318-5
Secondary Sources
- Philip Matyszak.The Enemies of Rome:From Hannibal to Attila. ISBN 0-500-25124-X
- Theocharis Detorakis. A History of Crete. ISBN 960-220-712-4
- Peter Green. "Alexandeer to Actium: The Historic Evolution of the Hellenistic Age". ISBN 0-500-01485-X