When did rome conquer Greece and how did it happen?

Answer 1

The Romans annexed mainland Greece in 176 BC. This was the result of Rome having fought a war in Greece and, after this, having been drawn into further wars between Greek states to support Greek allies. Given the volatile situation between Greek states, Rome decided to take over.

Greece was not a unified country. It was divided into various states, such as the kingdom of Macedon, the kingdom of Epirus, two alliances between city-states (the Aetolian League (which was formed to counter Macedon's power) and the Achaean League (which was formed to counter Sparta's power) and other city-states, such as Athens and Sparta. The island of Rhodes was an important state and had territories on the nearby Turkish coast. There were other Greek states in the eastern Mediterranean, the kingdom of Pergamon in western Turkey, the Seleucid Empire, centred on Syria, and the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt.

During the Second Punic War the Romans fought the First Macedonian War (214 to 205 BC) against Macedon (the biggest and most powerful state in Greece) because their king, Philip V, allied with Hannibal who was invading Italy and because he wanted to take over Illyrian territories (in Albania) which were under Rome's sphere of influence. The Aetolian league and Pergamon allied with Rome and fought alongside her.

Rome then got involved in more wars in Greece to fight with her allies during conflicts between Greek states.

A Second Macedonian War (200-197 BC) broke out because Rhodes, an island near Turkey, and Pergamon (a Greek kingdom in western Turkey) asked Rome for help against Macedon. Phillip IV attacked land that belonged to the (Greek) king of Egypt south of Pergamon and close to Rhodes. Rhodes and Pergamon asked Rome for help. The Romans sent ambassadors to investigate who found little support for a war against Philip in Greece. However, Athens declared war on Greece and Macedon sent an invading force. The Roman ambassador urged Philip V to leave the Greek states alone and gave an ultimatum. Philip ignored this. Rome declared war and won. The Aetolian league, Athens, Pergamon and Rhodes fought with Rome.

In the 190s BC a stand-off developed between the two great powers of the Mediterranean, Rome and the Seleucid Empire (a Greek state centred on Syria) of Antiochus III. It was caused by the latter's expansion into western Turkey (and attacked Greek cities in this area) and Thrace, (next door to Greece). A Greek city in north-western Turkey asked Rome for help. This led to a stand-off. Then the Aetolian League (which had fought with Rome) turned against Rome and called for all Greeks to rebel against the Romans and for Antiochus III to attack Greece. Antiochus landed in Greece, expecting many Greek states to ally with him. However, only the king of Athamania (in central Greece) joined the Seleucids and the Aetolians. Boeotia and Epirus made an alliance but did not join the war and remained neutral. Instead, the Achaean League and Macedon joined the fight on the side of Rome. In this war, the Roman-Syrian War (192-188 BC) the allies of the Romans were: the Achaean League, Macedon, Pergamon and Rhodes

The Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC) was caused by the policies of the new king of Macedon, Perseus. He increased the size of his army and made alliances with the kingdom of Epirus (on the coast next to Italy) some Illyrian tribes (in an area which was in Rome's sphere of influence) and Thracian tribes hostile to Rome's allies in that area. Pergamon accused Perseus of violating an existing treaty. Rome declared war, won and divided Macedon into four puppet republics with restrictions of political and trade contracts, destroyed some cities and villages, gave some land to Roman veterans and enslaved 300,000 Macedonians. Pergamon fought with Rome again.

The Fourth Macedonian War (150 to 148 BC) was caused by a revolt in Macedon. Rome annexed Macedon. In 146 BC the Achaean League rebelled and Rome annexed the whole of mainland Greece, which became the Roman provinces of Achaea and Epirus. Pergamon continued to be an ally of Rome until its last king, Attalus III, who died without male issue, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome in 133 BC.