In the late 3rd century BC, while Rome struggled for her very survival
against the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, Philip V of Macedon
allied with Hannibal in pursuit of his dream for a new Macedonian
empire. Once Carthage was defeated, however, the Roman army for the
first time turned its full attention to the Greek world.
The stage was set for the clash of two of the most successful military
systems of the ancient world, the Roman legions versus the Macedonian
phalanx. Though sorely tested, the legions emerged victorious from
the epic battles of Cynoscephalae and Pydna. The home of Alexander the
Great fell under the power of Rome, along with the rest of Greece, the
cradle of Western Civilization, which had a profound effect on Roman
culture and society.
Philip Matyszak gives a clear narrative of the course of these wars,
explaining how the Roman war machine coped with formidable new foes and
the challenges of unfamiliar terrain. Specially commissioned color
plates bring the main troop types vividly to life in meticulously
researched detail.