The Battle of Magnesia & Hannibal's Last Dance

A History of Mankind (183)

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A re-alignment of Hellenistic kingdoms after Carthage’s humbling was the background for the Second Macedonian War. Having pacified his eastern borders and gained the upper hand in the Seleucids’ never-ending wars with Ptolemaic Egypt, the Seleucid Antiochus III allied with Philip V of Macedonia to effectively divide all of the Eastern Mediterranean into spheres of influence.

This caused hurried embassies from Athens, Rhodes and Egypt to Rome, in search for help against the strongest Hellenistic warlords. The most warlike among the Roman elite, far from being intimidated by the Hellenistic alliance, saw the chance to cut down Philip V to size forever and ensure that no Hannibal-style could ever emerge from the East; but others hesitated.

When the comitia centuriata bringing together both patricians and plebeians nearly unanimously rejected a campaign so soon after the war against Hannibal, consul Publius Sulpicius Galba forced it to vote again, securing a mandate out of the weary body – through the old expedient of exaggerating the threat posed by the enemy, and the claim that Philip, if unopposed, would soon set foot in Italy.