Description

In the history of ancient Macedonia the last three Antigonid kingsPhilip V his son Perseus and the pretender Andriscus or Philip VIare commonly overlooked in favor of their predecessors Philip II and his son Alexander the Great who established a Macedonian empire By the time Philip V became king Macedonia was no longer an imperial power and Rome was fast spreading its dominance over the Mediterranean Viewed as postscripts to the kingdoms heyday the last Macedonian kings are often denounced for selfserving ambitions flawed policies and questionable personal qualities by hostile ancient writers They are condemned for defeats by Rome that saw both the end of the monarchy and the fall of the formidable Macedonian phalanx before the Roman legion

Producing the first fullscale treatment of Philip V in eighty years and the first in English of Perseus and Andriscus in more than fifty Ian Worthington argues that this period was far from a postscript to Macedonias Classical greatness and disagrees that the last Antigonid kings were merely collateral damage in Romes ascendancy in the east Despite superior Roman manpower and resources Philip and Perseus often had the upper hand in their wars against Rome As Worthington asserts these kings deserve to be remembered for striving to preserve their kingdoms independence against staggering odds