Battle Of Callinicus
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The Battle of Callinicus () was fought in 171 BC between
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
and the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
near a hill called Callinicus, close to the Roman camp at Tripolis Larisaia, five kilometres north of
Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...
, the capital of
Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...
. It was fought during the first year of the
Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman fe ...
(171-168 BC). The Macedonians were led by their king,
Perseus of Macedon Perseus (; – 166 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 179 until 168BC. He is widely regarded as the last List of kings of Macedonia, king of Macedonia and the last ruler from th ...
, while the Roman force was led by the
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
Publius Licinius Crassus. The Macedonians were supported by
Cotys IV Cotys IV (Ancient Greek: Κότυς, Kotys) was a king of the Odrysian kingdom, Odrysians in Thrace from before 171 until after 166 BC. He was the son of Seuthes V and succeeded either his father or another king, Amatokos III, Amadocus III, who was ...
, the king of the Odrysian kingdom (the largest state in Thrace) and his forces, Cretan mercenaries, and auxiliaries of mixed nationalities. The Romans had their Italian allies with them and were supported by soldiers provided by
Eumenes II Eumenes II Soter (; ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. Biography The eldest son of king Attalus I and queen Apollonis, Eumenes was pr ...
of
Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...
, as well as a force of Thessalian cavalry and Greek allies. The battle saw the deployment of troops with cavalry intermixed with light infantry. Although the battle was actually inconclusive because Perseus withdrew before it came to a conclusion, it was considered a Macedonian victory because the Romans suffered heavy casualties.


Background

With the outbreak of war, Roman consul Publius Licinius sailed from Italy to Epirus on the west coast of Greece and marched across most of Greece through arduous mountain passes to reach Thessaly. Meanwhile, Perseus ravaged the northern districts of Thessaly, close to the Macedonian border. After he set up his camp, Perseus sent a detachment to ravage the fields of Pherae, in southern Thessaly, hoping to draw the Romans away from their camp. However, the Romans did not respond. Later Perseus was seen near the Roman camp with a detachment at 9 am. A Roman detachment was sent for reconnaissance. The two forces clashed in a drawn battle. For the next several days Perseus showed up on the same spot and at the same hour. The Romans did not offer battle and each time he withdrew. As he had failed to draw Roman cavalry units of their camp, Perseus moved his camp and placed it five miles from the Roman camp. Then at dawn he marched to the Roman camp with all of his cavalry and light infantry. This caught the Romans by surprise because they were used to seeing him at a later time. Perseus lined up his men a mile and a half from the Roman line.


Deployment

The deployment of the Roman and Macedonian forces was described by Livy, who said that the two armies were almost equally matched in cavalry numbers.


Macedon

Livy tells us that the main part of the Macedonian line consisted of mixed groups of cavalry and light infantry: Perseus' Agema (a detachment of elite troops with both heavy and light infantry) and the "sacred" (elite) cavalry who held the centre with 400 slingers and javelin throwers in front of them. The whole of Cotys IV's Thracian cavalry and light infantry held the left wing while in the right wing there were the Macedonian cavalry and the Cretan infantry. The two wings were flanked by the King's cavalry and auxiliaries from various nationalities.


Rome

Similarly, the Romans had cavalry intermixed with light infantry on the wings, but no heavy infantry. Publius Licinius sent out only the cavalry and light infantry. The right wing had the Roman light infantry and the whole of the cavalry of the Italian allies. The left wing had the cavalry and the light infantry of the various allied Greek cities. The centre had a selected body of volunteer cavalry and 200 Gauls and 300 Crytians brought by Eumenes II in front of it. A Thessalian cavalry of 400 was arrayed at a short distance in front of the left wing. These forces were lined up in front of the rampart of the Roman camp. Publius Licinius kept the heavy infantry lined up behind the rampart; that is, inside the Roman camp.


The battle

The battle was started by the slingers and the javelin throwers. The Thracians then launched a furious charge against the Italian cavalry, which was thrown into disorder. Perseus charged with the centre, dislodged the Greek allies of Rome and pushed them back. The allied Thessalian cavalry, which had been kept in reserve, formed a junction with the troops of Eumenes II at the rear, keeping their ranks unbroken and affording a safe retreat for the disorderly flight of the Italian cavalry. The intensity of the Macedonian attack began to slacken off, and the Thessalians ventured forward to protect the fleeing Roman foot soldiers. Perseus's troops had become spread out in their pursuit of fugitives, and thus did not try to come close to the enemy which was advancing in compact formation. The Macedonian phalanx now advanced without having been ordered to do so by Perseus, and the Roman heavy infantry came out of the camp. On seeing it advancing, Euander, the commander of the Cretans, advised Perseus that continuing the battle was an unnecessary risk. The king decided to withdraw. The Romans lost 200 cavalry and 2,000 infantry and 600 of them were captured. The Macedonians lost 20 cavalry and 40 infantry. Although the battle was actually inconclusive because of Perseus' decision to withdraw rather than bringing it to a conclusion, it was considered a Macedonian victory because of the heavy casualties of the Romans and the light ones of the Macedonians.


Aftermath

Eumenes II urged the consul to move the camp of the other bank of the river to get the protection of that watercourse. The camp was moved that night. Perseus returned the next day for another battle, but when he saw that the Roman camp was safe on the other side of the river, he felt that he had been wrong not to continue the battle and to have remained inactive during the night. As a result, he had not been able to prevent the Romans crossing of the river and thus failed to wipe out the enemy. The Roman misfortune was blamed on the Aetolian contingent, which panicked, causing the flight of the whole of the Greek wing, which followed the example of the Aetolians. Five Aetolian officers who were said to have been the first to run away were sent to Rome. The Thessalians were rewarded for their bravery. The battle did not make much of a difference to the course the first year of the war. The campaign came to a stalemate. Perseus offered peace terms, but Publius Licinius rejected the offer. The consul's focus seemed to be on harvesting local crops to feed his troops. He moved from the north of Larissa to its south-east (to Crannon, modern Krannonas) for this purpose. Then he moved northwards, toward Macedon and harvested again. Perseus carried out some attacks, but these did not amount to more than skirmishes. When he lost one of these skirmishes he left northern Thessaly and returned to Macedon. As winter was approaching he sent his troops to winter camps. After Perseus left, Publius Licinius tried to take a town in the
Vale of Tempe The Vale of Tempe or Tembi (; ; ) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The gorge was known to the Byz ...
, a gorge between Thessaly and Macedon which was the passage between the two states. However, he gave up because it was well fortified. He seized a few towns in the area and returned to his camp.Livy, The History of Rome, 42.67.1-3, 6-8 The Thessalians established a bull-fighting competition called the Stenaia in commemoration of the battle, which was still being celebrated in the Roman Imperial period.


Quotes


References

Livy, History of Rome from Its Foundation: Rome and the Mediterranean (Books 42-45), Penguin Classics, Reprint edition, 1976; {{ISBN, 978-0140443189 Callinicus 2nd century BC in the Roman Republic Callicinus -171 Callicinus -171 Callicinus-171 Callinicus 171 BC