Page:A General Sketch of Political History from the Earlist Times.djvu/106

 94 THE ROMAN DOMINION of Syria to partition Egypt ; and Egypt, which had long ago re- cognised the growing might of Rome, placed herself under Roman protection. Carthage had hardly been settled when Rome found herself involved in a war with Macedon, in which she adopted the role of liberator of the Greeks from the yoke of Philip. A decisive battle was fought at Cynoscephalae. Next year (196 B.C.), the victor Flamininus proclaimed at the Isthmian games the liberation of Greece. A fresh challenge now came from Antiochus of Syria. With him Hannibal had taken refuge, and had formed a design of a War with great coalition against Rome. But Antiochus Antiochus, ruined the plan by his distrust of Hannibal, and 192-190 B.C. 11.. Al r .- by plunging into war prematurely but without energy. He entered Greece, but was- completely defeated at Thermopylae. Antiochus retired to Asia, but the Romans carried the war into Asia Minor, which the Syrian king had seized, and overthrew him at the battle of Magnesia. By the treaty which followed he was compelled to surrender Asia Minor and his fleet. Asia Minor was left for the most part under control of states friendly to Rome. At the same time the northern portion of Italy was subdued and formed into a province under the name of Cisalpine Gaul, End of and a like fate befell Spain. Philip of Macedon was Macedon, 168. succeeded by his son Perseus. An excuse was found for making war on Macedonia. The opening campaigns brought little result, but at last a decisive victory was won at Pydna. Perseus was deposed, and Macedonia was divided into four districts which were professedly independent republics, isolated from each other by the prohibition of intermarriage and of mutual commerce. There was now no state in the west which could rank as a power. The cities of Greece had nearly all been placed under despotic rulers wholly subservient to Rome. In Asia Minor the kings humbled themselves before her. In Syria the Jews who had long ago been allowed to return to Jerusalem by the Persian kings revolted under the leadership of the Maccabees of the tribe of Levi against the Seleucidae, and acquired in- dependence with the approval of Rome.