The Antigonid Macedonian army was the army that evolved from the ancient Greek kingdom of

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 ...

in the period when it was ruled by the Antigonid dynasty from

276 BC __NOTOC__ Year 276 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gurges and Clepsina (or, less frequently, year 478 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 276 BC for this year has been ...

168 BC __NOTOC__ Year 168 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Macedonicus and Crassus (or, less frequently, year 586 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 168 BC for this year has ...

. It was seen as one of the principal Hellenistic fighting forces until its ultimate defeat at

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

hands at the

Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back ...

in 168 BC. However, there was a brief resurgence in 150-148 during the revolt of

Andriscus Andriscus (, ''Andrískos''; 154/153 BC – 146 BC), also often referenced as Pseudo-Philip, was a Greek pretender who became the last independent king of Macedon in 149 BC as Philip VI (, ''Philipos''), based on his claim of being Philip, a n ...

, a supposed heir to

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

. Starting as just a mere handful of mercenary troops under

Antigonus Gonatas Antigonus II Gonatas (, ; – 239 BC) was a Macedonian Greek ruler who solidified the position of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedon after a long period defined by anarchy and chaos and acquired fame for his victory over the Gauls who had inva ...

in the

270s BC This article concerns the period 279 BC – 270 BC. References {{DEFAULTSORT:270s Bc 270s BC ...

, the Antigonid army eventually became the dominant force in

Hellenistic Greece Hellenistic Greece is the historical period of Ancient Greece following Classical Greece and between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek Achaean League heartlands by the Roman Republic. This cul ...

, fighting campaigns against

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

, the

Achaean League The Achaean League () was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era confederation of polis, Greek city-states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea (ancient region), Achaea in the northwestern Pelopon ...

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

and

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 ...

, not to mention the numerous

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

and Celtic tribes that threatened Macedon from the north. The Antigonid army, as with the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

of Philip II and

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

that came before it, was based principally around the

Macedonian phalanx The Macedonian phalanx () was an infantry formation developed by Philip II from the classical Greek phalanx, of which the main innovation was the use of the sarissa, a 6-metre pike. It was famously commanded by Philip's son Alexander the Grea ...

, which was a solid formation of men armed with small shields and long pikes called ''

sarissa The sarissa or sarisa was a long spear or pike about in length. It was introduced by Philip II of Macedon and was used in his Macedonian phalanxes as a replacement for the earlier dory, which was considerably shorter. These longer spears imp ...

e''. The majority of Macedonian troops serving in the army would have made up the numbers of the phalanx, which took up to one-third to two-thirds of the entire army on campaign.Head, 1982, p.18 Alongside the phalanx, the Antigonid army had its

elite corps In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...

, the

Peltasts A ''peltast'' (, ) was a type of light infantry originating in Thrace and Paeonia and named after the kind of shield he carried.Antigonid dynasty. It is uncertain how many men were appointed as ''

somatophylakes ''Somatophylakes'' (; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece. The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. They ...

'' bodyguards, which numbered eight men at the end of Alexander the Great's reign, while the ''

hypaspistai A hypaspist ( "shield bearer" or "shield covered") is a squire, man at arms, or "shield carrier". In Homer, Deiphobos advances "" () or under cover of his shield. By the time of Herodotus (426 BC), the word had come to mean a high status sol ...

'' seem to have morphed into assistants of the ''somatophylakes'' rather than a separate unit in their own right. At the

Battle of Cynoscephalae The Battle of Cynoscephalae () was an encounter battle fought in Thessaly in 197 BC between the Roman army, led by Titus Quinctius Flamininus, and the Antigonid dynasty of Macedon, led by Philip V, during the Second Macedonian War. It was ...

in 197 BC, the Macedonians commanded some 16,000

phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

pikemen A pike is a long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the early modern period, and wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayonet-equipped ...

. Alexander the Great's 'royal squadron' of companion cavalry were similarly numbered to the 800 cavalrymen of the 'sacred squadron' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''sacra ala'';

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ''hiera ile'') commanded by

Philip V of Macedon Philip V (; 238–179 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by the Social War (220–217 BC), Social War in Greece (220-217 BC) ...

during the Social War of 219 BC. Due to the Roman historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

's accounts of the battles of Callinicus in 171 BC and

Pydna Pydna (; Greek: Πύδνα, ''Pýdna'') is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pydna-Kolindros, of which it is a ...

in 168 BC, it is known that the Macedonian cavalry were also divided into groups with similarly named officers as had existed in Alexander's day. The regular Macedonian cavalry numbered 3,000 at Callinicus, which was separate from the 'sacred squadron' and 'royal cavalry'. Thanks to contemporary inscriptions from

Amphipolis Amphipolis (; ) was an important ancient Greek polis (city), and later a Roman city, whose large remains can still be seen. It gave its name to the modern municipality of Amphipoli, in the Serres regional unit of northern Greece. Amphipol ...

and Greia dated 218 and 181 respectively, historians have been able to partially piece together the organization of the Antigonid army under Philip V, such as its command by ''tetrarchai'' officers assisted by ''grammateis'' (i.e. secretaries or clerks).

Antigonid army under Antigonus Gonatas

When

took over from his father,

Demetrius I of Macedon Demetrius I Poliorcetes (; , , ; ) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, ...

, he inherited little more than a few mercenary garrisons spread across Greece. But using his mercenary forces, he was able to defeat an invading Celtic army at Lysimachea in 277 BC. This gave Gonatas the Macedonian throne, which had been in turmoil since the Galatian invasions of 279 BC. However, when

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

invaded Macedon in 274 BC, Antigonus' army suffered some minor defeats and desertions before eventually defecting en masse to Pyrrhus. Once again Gonatas was left with but a mere handful of followers and mercenaries. These forces were of considerable aid to Sparta when Pyrrhus assaulted the city in 272 BC. Pyrrhus was soon killed by a combined effort of the Spartans, the Argives and Antigonus Gonatas. Having now recovered Macedon after the death of Pyrrhus, Gonatas ruled until 239 BC. At this point, the Antigonid kingdom probably had no standing army; the only permanent corps, besides the mercenaries, being the 'horse guards... and the foot guards, the agema'. The army was probably formed by a levy of farmers called out when a serious campaign was expected. Almost all overseas and garrison work was performed by mercenaries. Due to the financial strains that plagued the kingdom, Gonatas primarily hired Galatian and Celtic mercenaries, as they were much cheaper than Greeks. Antigonus Gonatas ruled directly over the original Macedonian kingdom, however he put the newly acquired territory under the control of a strategoi with military powers. By the time of his death, Gonatas had cemented Antigonid dominance in Macedon; however, in Greece itself, Macedon was weaker than it had been under Alexander the Great. This would change with his successors though.

Antigonid army, 239–168 BC

Demetrius II, father of the future

, only ruled for 10 years, but in his reign he fought many campaigns against the northern Thracian, Celtic and Illyrian tribes as well as an Achaean-Aetolian alliance. However his swift death left

Antigonus Doson Antigonus III Doson () was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He was a member of the Antigonid dynasty. He was called Euergetes, Soter and Guardian (ἐπίτροπος) as he was the guardian of Philip V of Macedon. Family background An ...

as regent for the young Philip. A resurgent Sparta under

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III () was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 BC, 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to 222 BC, Cleomen ...

led to war in the Peloponnese and the Achaean League under

Aratus of Sicyon Aratus of Sicyon (Ancient Greek: Ἄρατος ὁ Σικυώνιος; 271–213 BC) was a politician and military commander of Hellenistic period, Hellenistic Ancient Greece, Greece. He was elected strategos of the Achaean League 17 times, lead ...

turned to Antigonus Doson for help. Doson campaigned against Cleomenes in 224-22 BC. This culminated with the

Battle of Sellasia The Battle of Sellasia took place during the summer of 222 BC between Macedon and the Achaean League, led by Antigonus III Doson, and Sparta under the command of King Cleomenes III. The battle was fought at Sellasia on the northern frontier of L ...

in 222 BC, in which Cleomenes was defeated by an allied army, mainly anchored by a Macedonian army of 13,300 Macedonians and 5,300 mercenaries. After the death of Doson, Philip took the throne and almost immediately began to campaign. Wars against the Aetolia, Sparta and Elis, as well as a

Dardani The Dardani (; ; ) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Kingdom of Dardania, Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their society wa ...

an invasion kept Philip busy in the years 220-217 BC and gave him a great deal of military experience. Yet Philip's rule would be marked by war with Rome, which culminated with a treaty with Carthage which led to the First Macedonian War. The first war ended in a stalemate and the Peace of Phoinike, which allowed Philip to keep his newly acquired land from his campaigns against the Aetolians, Rome's ally. Between 205 and 201/200 BC Philip used the peace to reorganize his army recruitment system and introduce new strict disciplinary codes for the army. Peace did not last and an alliance with

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

, which allowed Philip to campaign in Asia Minor, led to an alliance of Pergamon, Athens and Rhodes who appealed to Rome for help. By 199 BC, the Romans had inflicted some minor defeats on the Macedonians and had also recruited the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues to their side. An army under

Titus Quinctius Flamininus Titus Quinctius Flamininus (229 – 174 BC) was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. Family background Flamininus belonged to the minor patrician ''gens'' Quinctia. The family had a glorious place in ...

was sent to Greece and campaigned against Philip V in 198 BC in the

Aous The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös () is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its average dischar ...

Valley, which Philip defended by using carefully placed artillery and missile troops, leading to many Roman casualties. Using a flanking maneuver, Flaminius managed to dislodge Philip and chase him into Thessaly, where in 197 BC the two sides met at the

. Here, Philip was decisively beaten, with 8,000 of his men killed and 5,000 taken prisoner, about half of his entire army. The defeat left Philip with a weakened kingdom. Consequently, the king set about a system of reforms and reorganized his kingdom, especially in increasing his manpower base for future campaigns. He encouraged large families and imported Thracians from districts he had recently annexed into Macedon proper. Thus, in the autumn of 187 BC, Philip transported segments of the populations of the coastal towns and cities to the northern

Paeonian In antiquity, Paeonia or Paionia () was the land and kingdom of the Paeonians (or Paionians; ). The exact original boundaries of Paeonia, like the early history of its inhabitants, are obscure, but it is known that it roughly corresponds to m ...

frontier and then moved Thracians and so forth into the evacuated districts of the towns. This 'Macedonised' the frontier and also made it easier to defend. The Thracians moved to the cities and towns were people directly responsible to Philip as king and also a useful force to watch over suspect citizens. New mines were created, old ones were deepened and agricultural and harbour duties were increased to increase the kingdom's revenue. Overall, these social and economic moves strengthened the kingdom by Philip's death and the accession of his son

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 ...

. By the eve 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 ...

, Perseus, thanks to his father, had enough grain to last the army 10 years without drawing on harvests in or outside Macedon, enough money to hire 10,000 mercenaries for 10 years, a fully reconstituted army and "arms for three such armies as Perseus possessed in his armouries".Walbank, 1940, p.256 In fact, when Aemilius Paullus, the Roman commander who defeated Perseus at Pydna in 168 BC, took the Antigonid royal treasury, he found 6,000 talents left. The army fielded by Perseus in the Third Macedonian war was 43,000 strong, 29,000 of them Macedonians. Compare this to the army of Doson at Sellasia, which had 13,300 Macedonians, or the army of Philip at Cynoscephalae (18,000 Macedonian foot, 2,000 cavalry and 5,500 mercenaries). The years of peace and consolidation had increased the national levy by 9,000 men. However, at the

in 168 BC, Perseus was severely defeated, with the loss of 20-25,000 killed and 11,000 captured. After this defeat, the Antigonid kingdom was quickly disbanded, with Perseus becoming a Roman prisoner and Macedonia being split up into several autonomous republics.

Amphipolis military codes

Sometime around the beginning of the second century BC, Philip V introduced a set of new codes for discipline in his army - the Amphipolis codes. As an example, these new measures included fines for missing equipment and weaponry: two

obols The obol (, ''obolos'', also ὀβελός (''obelós''), ὀβελλός (''obellós''), ὀδελός (''odelós''). "nail, metal spit"; ) was a form of ancient Greek currency and weight. Currency Obols were used from early times. ...

for not having the ''

konos Konos (: ''cone, spinning top'') is a conical Macedonian helmet worn in combat during the Hellenistic era. Its pointed shape is similar to the pilos helmet that is placed underneath a konos as an interior protector. Although close in design, a pil ...

'' (helmet), 3 obols for missing a ''sarissa'' and a

drachma Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma The drachma ( ) was the official currency of modern Greece from 1832 until the launch of the euro in 2001. First modern drachma The drachma was reintroduce ...

for missing the shield. We also know from this code that the ordinary phalangite would have been equipped with a leather or linen jerkin known as a ''

linothorax The ''linothorax'' (, from the , ) is a type of upper body armor that was used throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. The term ''linothorax'' is a modern term based on the Greek , which means "wearing a breastplate of linen"; a number of anc ...

'' and not a full metal cuirass, as the fines for missing cuirasses are limited to officers only. They also dealt with the organization of encampments. Hypaspists were to set up their tents "immediately after those of the king and his immediate entourage".Connolly, 2006, p.80

Peltasts and the ''agema''

The most elite, veteran Antigonid-period Macedonian infantry from at least the time of

Antigonus III Doson Antigonus III Doson () was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He was a member of the Antigonid dynasty. He was called Euergetes, Soter and Guardian (ἐπίτροπος) as he was the Legal guardian, guardian of Philip V of Macedon. Family ...

were the

peltast A ''peltast'' (, ) was a type of light infantry originating in Thracians, Thrace and Paeonia (kingdom), Paeonia and named after the kind of shield he carried.

s, lighter and more maneuverable soldiers wielding ''peltai''

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

s, swords, and a smaller bronze shield than

pikemen. They sometimes served as a more mobile phalanx, using smaller sarissas rather than swords. The premier guard infantry unit of the regular army, they are not to be confused with the skirmisher troops of the same name, denoted by their shield, the ''

pelte A ''peltast'' (, ) was a type of light infantry originating in Thrace and Paeonia and named after the kind of shield he carried.vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

, with other peltasts numbering roughly 3,000. The amount of peltasts varied over time, perhaps never more than 5,000 men (the largest figure mentioned by ancient historians, an amount that existed in the Social War of 219 BC). They fought alongside the phalanx pikemen, notably the ''

chalkaspides ''Chalkaspides'' () is a poetic term used by writers of Koine Greek to refer to a Macedonian phalanx. The most notable group called ''chalkaspides'' was the main phalanx force of the Antigonid Macedonian army in the Hellenistic period. The group ...

'' ('bronze shields'), up until the very end of the kingdom in 168 BC. Malcolm Errington writes that by the time of Antigonus III, the ''peltastai'' formed a separate unit from the Macedonian phalanx and "operated as a form of royal guard similar in function to the earlier ''

''." According to Walbank the peltast corps was "an infantry force... which fought beside the phalanx in battle, but at other times employed for ambushes, forced marches and special expeditions". Examples of their special actions would be their ambush in

Lyncestis Lynkestis, Lyncestis, Lyngistis, Lynkos or Lyncus ( or Λύγκος or ''Lyncus'') was a region and principality traditionally located in Upper Macedonia. It was the northernmost mountainous region of Upper Macedonia, located east of the Prespa ...

and their use, as shock troops, in the storming of

Cephallenia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regi ...

. At Pydna, the corps fought as part of the phalanx, in which they were butchered to the last man. The Peltast corps was probably 5,000 strong, with an elite battalion of 2,000 called the ''

agema Agema (), plural agemata (αγήματα) is a term to describe a military detachment, used for a special purpose, such as guarding high valued targets. Due to its nature the ''agema'' most probably comprises elite troops. Etymology The word d ...

''. The corps was probably organized into ''

chiliarch Chiliarch is a military rank dating back to antiquity. Originally denoting the commander of a unit of about one thousand men (a chiliarchy) in the Macedonian army, it was subsequently used as a Greek translation of a Persian officer who function ...

iai'' and subdivided like those of the phalanx. As for term Hypaspist, it still lived on in the army. However, instead of a combat unit, it was a staff corps and bodyguard force for the king. For instance, a Hypaspist was sent by Philip V to Larissa to burn state papers after the defeat at Cynoscephalae.

Chalkaspides and Leukaspides

Like Alexander's phalanx, the phalanx of the Antigonids was mainly based on men "enrolled territorially from the Macedonian peasantry". "Barbarians" settled in Macedon, like the Thracians and so forth, were given land in return for serving in the phalanx. The phalanx under the Antigonids made up a much higher proportion of the army than under Alexander. At Sellasia, it was 34% of the army (with 10,000 men reported in the phalanx), at Cynoscephalae it was 62% and at Pydna it was 49%. The Antigonid phalanx itself may have been divided into two separate corps, the ''

Chalkaspides ''Chalkaspides'' () is a poetic term used by writers of Koine Greek to refer to a Macedonian phalanx. The most notable group called ''chalkaspides'' was the main phalanx force of the Antigonid Macedonian army in the Hellenistic period. The group ...

'' ("bronze-shields") and '' Leukaspides'' ("white-shields"). The ''Chalkaspides'' were probably more prepared for prolonged combat service than the ''Leukaspides'' as they are sometimes found on distant expeditions without the other corps. The ''leukaspides'' are referred to rarely in sources, suggesting that they may have been a supplemental force only raised in times of need.

Nicholas Victor Sekunda Nicholas Victor Sekunda (born 5 November 1953) is an archaeologist and historian. He is currently the Head of the Department of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Gdańsk. His areas of research include war in antiquity, the Achaeme ...

suggests an alternate view, that the ''leukaspides'' were not a phalanx force, but rather a term used to describe non-Macedonian auxiliaries and mercenaries such as

Thracians The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

, reported as using white shields in other sources, but not always fighting in the style of a Macedonian phalanx.

Cavalry

The importance and proportion of cavalry in the Antigonid army was far less than in Alexander's army. Whereas the proportion of cavalry to infantry in Alexander's army was about 1:6, in the later Antigonid armies the proportion was about 1:20. However, we must remember that Philip II had a similar proportion of cavalry to infantry and the reasoning for the higher amounts of mounted forces in Alexander's campaigns was due to the vast distance of territory needed to be travelled, especially in Persia. In Alexander's campaigns, swift advances and the ability to cover vast distances were the key to success. In comparison, for the Antigonid commanders, the lack of any real enemy cavalry and short distances meant cavalry were not needed as much and they reverted to pitched heavy infantry battle. Antigonus III Doson had only 300 Macedonian horse with him at Sellasia in 222 BC, though by the reign of Philip V the amount of cavalry had increased, with Philip fielding about 2,000 Macedonian and Thessalian horse in 197 BC. A sizeable part of the Macedonian cavalry was actually supplied by Thessaly, whose city-states continued to supply horse for the Antigonid kings as they had for Alexander and his father. However, the use of Thessalian cavalry decreased in 196 BC, when the Romans, triumphant after Cynoscephalae, gave parts of Macedonian Thessaly to their allies, the Aetolians. Perseus, due to his father's extensive recruitment drive and a period of 30 years of peace, was able to field 3,000 purely Macedonian cavalry to serve with him in the Third Macedonian War. The core guard cavalry unit was the small royal or 'sacred' squadron. This unit seems to have been between 300 and 400 strong, as Doson had that amount with him at Sellasia and Philip V had 400 'household' cavalry with him on his campaigns. Due to the general lack of native horse, the Macedonians usually supplemented their cavalry with that of allies and mercenaries. At Sellasia, alongside Doson's 300, there were 600 allied and 300 mercenary cavalry. Meanwhile, at Pydna, Perseus had a 1,000 picked allied Thracian horse under

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 Odrysai.Webber, 2001, p.14 The infantry phalanx depended heavily on the cavalry, which of course the Antigonids lacked in numbers. The weakness and neglect of forces on the flanks, most importantly cavalry forces, led to the exploitation of gaps in the phalanx at Cynoscephalae and Pydna.

Navy

Following the initiative of Philip II,

Macedonian kings Macedonia, also called Macedon, was ruled continuously by kings from its inception around the middle of the seventh century BC until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 168 BC. Kingship in Macedonia, its earliest attested political institution ...

continued to expand and equip the navy.

Cassander Cassander (; ; 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and '' de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the ...

maintained a small fleet at

had one at

Pella Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...

, and

Antigonus II Gonatas Antigonus II Gonatas (, ; – 239 BC) was a Macedonian Greek ruler who solidified the position of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedon after a long period defined by anarchy and chaos and acquired fame for his victory over the Gauls who had inv ...

, while serving as a general for Demetrius in Greece, used the navy to secure the Macedonian holdings in

Demetrias Demetrias () was a Greek city in Magnesia in ancient Thessaly (east central Greece), situated at the head of the Pagasaean Gulf, near the modern city of Volos. History It was founded in 294 BCE by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who removed th ...

Chalkis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved fro ...

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, and

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

. The navy was considerably expanded during the

Chremonidean War The Chremonidean War (267–261 BC) was fought by a coalition of Polis, Greek city-states and Ptolemaic Egypt against Antigonid Macedonia. It ended in a Macedonian victory that confirmed Antigonid dynasty, Antigonid control over Greece. The conf ...

(267–261 BC), allowing the Macedonian navy to defeat the Ptolemaic Egyptian Navy at the 255 BC

Battle of Cos The Battle of Cos Omac was fought in , or as late as 255 BC, between an Antigonid fleet and a Ptolemaic fleet. Antigonus II Gonatas led his forces to victory, possibly over Patroclus, admiral of Ptolemy II. It has been widely assumed that the ...

and 245 BC Battle of Andros, and enabling Macedonian influence to spread over the

Cyclades The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...

. Antigonus III Doson used the Macedonian navy to invade

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

, while Philip V allegedly sent two-hundred ships, some of them captured from the Ptolemies, to fight in the (unsuccessful) Battle of Chios in 201 BC. The Macedonian navy was reduced to a mere six vessels as agreed in the 197 BC

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

that concluded the

Second Macedonian War The Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. Philip was defeated and was forced to abandon all possessions in southern Greece, Thrace and Asia Minor. ...

with 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 ...

, although

quickly assembled some '' lemboi'' at the outbreak of the

in 171 BC.

The army of Andriscus

In 149 BC, nearly 20 years after the defeat of Perseus at Pydna, Andriscus, a mercenary and supposed heir to Perseus, went to Demetrius I of Syria for aid, but was sent as a prisoner to Rome. He quickly made his escape and sought refuge amongst the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedon. There, Andriscus gained the support of the Thracian king

Teres III Teres III () was a king of the Odrysians in Thrace in 149 BC, the son of Cotys IV. References See also * List of Thracian tribes This is a list of ancient tribes in Thrace and Dacia () including possibly or partly Thracian or Dacian tribes, a ...

and was given a troop of 100 men, with another 100 sent by other Thracian chieftains. Andriscus quickly defeated the forces of the several autonomous Macedonian republics in battle beyond the Strymon in the lands of the Odomanti tribe. The Thracian troops of Andriscus would have primarily been Peltast skirmisher infantry and light cavalry. Andriscus, having established himself as the new king of Macedon, under the name Philip VI, decisively defeated a Roman army under Publius Juventius. Having defeated the Romans, Andriscus invaded Thessaly in 148 BC, where he suffered a setback in battle against the Achaean League, commanded by Scipio Nasica. A Roman army under Quintus Caecilius Metellus then invaded Macedon and defeated Andriscus at the

Second Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna was fought in 148 BC between Rome and the forces of the Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian leader Andriscus. The Ancient Rome, Roman force was led by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, Quintus Caecilius Metellus, and was v ...

. The defeat was probably helped by the defection of Telestes, the general appointed by Andriscus to command his cavalry. The Macedonian aristocratic cavalry joined Telestes, as the richer classes supported the Romans more than they did Andriscus, and any hope of success was dead.Sekunda, 1995, p.80

References

Bibliography

Ancient sources

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

, ''Bibliotheca Historica'' *

, ''The History of Rome'' *

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Parallel Lives'': "Life of Pyrrhus"; "Life of Flamininus"; "Life of Cleomenes"; "Life of Aemilius Paullus" *

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

, ''Histories''

Modern sources

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