The Seleucid Army: A Historical Guide [Part Eight] Antiochus III and the War with Rome (1)

The Seleucid Army:
A Historical Guide

Part Eight

Antiochus III and the War with Rome (1)

By Craig Tyrrell

More Seleucid Army

Seleucid Army: Part 1

Seleucid Army: Part 2

Seleucid Army: Part 3

Seleucid Army: Part 4

Seleucid Army: Part 5

Seleucid Army: Part 6

Seleucid Army: Part 7

The campaign in Greece: Preludes to War

By 192BC, war between the Seleucid empire and Rome was seen as inevitable by both sides, who therefore busied themselves with preparations. Antiochus had been concentrated on military subjugation of the remaining independent cities in Asia Minor when word of the Aetolian seizure of Demetrias reached him. The gates of Greece were now open – he had only to enter and fulfill the long standing dream of his line.

A Strategy is Decided

Thoas, strategos of the Aetolian league, personally brought word to Antiochus, urging him to assume the mantle of champion of Hellenism in Greece. He painted a very rosy picture for the king, of Macedon coming to his aid, and of the Greek cities rallying beneath his banner.

Hannibal, on the other hand, argued that to defeat Rome a campaign must be waged in Italy. Antiochus had indeed prepared a great fleet for Hannibal to use in rallying Carthage and landing in the Roman heartland.

The voice of Thoas was strong, and won the day. It is interesting to think how things might have turned out had Hannibal's less emotional but more reasoned argument been accepted.

Antiochus Invades Greece

Grasping his opportunity, Antiochus set out in a fleet of 40 decked ships, 60 open ships and 200 transports across the Aegean. The Greeks were to be quite disappointed with his forces – he landed with only 10,000 foot, 500 horse and 6 elephants. Worse, he had crossed at the beginning of winter, meaning that reinforcements would not be available from Asia until the following spring.

His principal object, to link up with the Aetolian cause, was however achieved. At a meeting of their federal assembly he was received with great applause, and elected Commander in Chief of the Confederation.

The Rallying of Greece

Antiochus had taken Rome by surprise, and Greece lay virtually defenseless before his forces. The only Roman force nearby was two legions with auxiliary contingents under Baebius at Apollonia, separated from his forces by the mountains of Epirus, and 3,000 Roman and Italian infantry on the vessels of the praetor Atilius. Unfortunately for the success of Antiochus, the wily King Eumenes of Pergamum had left a force garrisoning Chalcis of 500 troops.

There followed a phase of intense negotiations and lobbying of the factions in the major Greek city states and leagues, in order to sway them to one side or the other. Although the persuasion of the Aitolians and Seleucids was strong, most cities seemed inclined to remain friendly to Rome.

Chalcis was the point of most serious contention. Of the three "fetters of Greece", the Aitolians had succeeded in seizing Demetrias, and barely missed their last attempt to seize Chalcis. Despite strong diplomatic maneuvering, plus attempts to bribe a faction within the city, they had been unable to secure the capture of this strategic point. The Pergamene garrison obviously had a strong deterrent effect in these attempts.

Antiochus dispatched his admiral Polyxenidas (the Rhodian) with 3,000 troops under Menippus toward Chalcis from Demetrias. He soon followed with 6,000 of his own troops and a hurried levy of Aitolians. To oppose him, Eumenes had his garrison of 500 under Xenoclides, plus 500 Achaeans and 500 Romans drawn from the ships of Atilius. The Pergamenes and Achaeans made the safety of the city, but Menippus cut the Roman force off from the city, and fell upon them in the sanctuary of Apollo and virtually wiped them out.

This bold stroke turned the tide, and at the arrival of Antiochus the city opened her gates. Soon all of Euboea was under his control. This was followed by the declaration of Elis and the Boitians to the Seluecid cause. In addition, Amynander, king of the Athamanians came over to Antiochus' side.

The Strategic Position of Antiochus

It was now, in the moment of his triumph, that the insecurity of Antiochus' position began to manifest itself. The successes he had won were significant only if he could hold them when spring brought the inevitable Roman response. For this he was poorly positioned. He had brought over a negligable portion of his strength from Asia. His chosen battlefield of Greece was but a poor country, yielding little enough to support his large forces – this forces a large burden for provisioning on his navy from Asia. And finally, his position was strategically unsound without a strong alliance with Philip of Macedon.

Cooperation with Philip would be difficult due to the historic rivalry of the Antigonid and Seleucid houses, but Antiochus put another barrier in the way by seeming to support the claims of Amynander's brother-in-law Philip, an obscure claimant to the Macedonian throne. This, coupled with poor management of the situation and excessive pride, succeeded in driving Macedon over to the Roman side.

The Campaign in Thessaly

Antiochus' forces did march into Thessaly and began the subjugation of that area from its pro-Roman administration. First Pherae, then Scotussa, then Crannon fell to the Seleucids. The Aitolians and Athamanians concentrated on the areas bordering their homelands. Finally Antiochus approached Larissa, the capital of Thessaly, and a key strategic position as the northern gate of Greece.

Antiochus paraded his mighty phalanx and exotic elephants before Larissa, and tried all forms of persuasion to adhere the city to his cause. But as his force surrounded the city, a Roman force allowed through Macedonia approached from his rear.

The appearance of the Roman force unnerved Antiochus. He was unwilling to risk the late season opposed siege, and wary of the Roman force. He reluctantly withdrew back to Demtrias, leaving garrisons in the captured Thessalian towns. Both sides now settled down for the winter.

The Winter Interlude

The Romans wasted little time, and formally declared war on Antiochus soon after the new consuls for the year were chosen. Of the two, Manius Acilius Glabrio was destined to play a prominent part in the campaign of that year. Antiochus wintered his forces in Demetrias and Euboea, accomplishing little other than a marriage with a young daughter of a family of Chalcis, and exposing the Greeks to the somewhat strange customs of his Asiatic forces through the winter.

The Campaign of 191BC Begins

Antiochus set out as soon as the weather cleared, set on the conquest of Acarnania, the only major area in northern Greece not under his nominal control. The Romans were not idle. Manius Acilius gathered his consular army of 20,000 Roman and Italian infantry, and 2,000 cavalry, at Brundisium. Meanwhile, Baebius and the two legions which had wintered in Epirus, crossed through Macedon and entered Thessaly. Accompanying him were the forces of Philip of Macedon, and they jointly began to reduce the Seleucid garrisons. The mere news of their advance caused Antiochus to raise his campaign in Acarnania and hurry northward.

Manius Acilius arrived with the vanguard of his forces soon thereafter, sealing the fate of the garrisons. The Roman and Macedonian armies then split, with Philip completing a rapid conquest and annexation of Athamania. The Romans continued to advance southward through Thessaly – gathering in the Seleucid garrisons one by one. Soon all of Thessaly was lost and the Athamanians driven from the war. Over 1,000 of his troops, who, being mercenaries, surrendered and entered the service of Macedon.

During this time, Antiochus' entire position depended on rapid reinforcement from Asia. But the aid that arrived was limited and feeble – roughly 1,000 troops arrived during this period. This was enough to replace the garrisons lost in Thessaly, but his force remained greatly inferior to the masses fielded by Rome. He summoned the Aitolians to must at Lamia, but the response was weak and feeble. Antiochus had now lost all of his principle allies in Europe.

Thus, as the Roman forces under Manius Acilius drove south from Thessaly, at none of the difficult points of their passage were they effectively opposed. Lacking the force to halt the advance, Antiochus abandoned Demetrias and retire to Chalcis.

The Battle of Thermopylae

As the relentless Roman advance continued, Antiochus determined to hold them off at the historic pass of Thermopylae to gain time for the hosts of Asia to arrive. He deployed his 10,000 foot and 500 horse to bottle up the main pass, and 4,000 Aitolian allies to hold the mountain trails which could bypass it occupy the key citadel of Heraclea.

The Romans entered the pass and assaulted his position. Antiochus deployed his phalanx to hold the level ground, with their right (toward the sea) protected by his elephants. He then lined the heights to his left with slingers and archers who harassed the Roman advance from their unshielded side. The Roman assaults were broken in turn, until they finally succeeded in pushing the phalanx back behind the old stone wall, where it held like iron.

Just as Antiochus looked to achieve a great triumph, the lessons of history fell upon him as a force of Romans descended in his rear from the mountain tracks. The Romans had detailed troops to force the mountain trails, held by only half the Aitolian forces. Two of their positoins resolutely held, but the third had been surprised asleep and taken. One minute the Seleucid line was holding off all assaults, the next total panic overwhelmed all and the mass disintegrated in flight. Antiochus, fighting hard in the middle of the fray and wounded in the mouth, was unable to rally his force and had to flee as well. When he reached Chalcis, he had only 500 of his original 10,500 men.

The End of the Campaign

Though the Aitolians still retained a force in the field, and several garrisons were still intact, the reality was that the Seleucid position in Europe, so promising at the end of the prior season, had completely collapsed. Antiochus made haste to withdraw to Asia, and his remaining garrisons were reduced one by one. The Aitolians, left to their own devices, fought hard for their homeland, but were rapidly force to submit. The other Greek states quickly returned to Roman allegiance. Antiochus was left with his empire intact, but with a strong and vengeful enemy just across the Aegean looking to settle the score with him.

WARGAMING THE ERA

Guidelines for recreating the later army of Antiochus III on the tabletop were presented in part 7.

Several interesting historical scenarios flow out of the campaign in Greece. The opening struggle for Chalcis is an interesting situation, with the potential for multiple players with slightly different victory conditions, and the maneuvers taking place on a large tabletop with the city reduced in scale. Players could include:

Seleucid Roman

Menippus (3,000) Xenoclides (500 Pergamene troops)

Antiochus (6,000) Achaeans (500)

Thaos (Aitolians) Romans (500)

Pro-Seleucid Chalcites Pro-Roman Chalcites

The other set piece scenario worth re-playing is the battle at Thermopylae itself. The maneuvers for control of the mountain trails can be fought out on the tabletop itself, or can be recreated on maps, while the main action is re-fought.

Finally, the whole struggle in Greece would make a very interesting campaign, by including both the maneuvers and battles of the main protagonists, and also the political maneuvering to secure the support of the various states.