Battle of Callinicus

Overview

The Battle of Callinicus was fought in 171 BC between Macedonia and the Roman Republic near a hill called Callinicus, close to the Roman camp at Tripolis Larisaia, five kilometres north of Larissa, the capital of Thessaly. It was fought during the first year of the Third Macedonian War. The Macedonians were led by their king, Perseus of Macedon, while the Roman force was led by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus. The Macedonians were supported by Cotys IV, the king of the Odrysian kingdom and his forces, Cretan mercenaries, and auxiliaries of mixed nationalities. The Romans had their Italian allies with them and were supported by soldiers provided by Eumenes II of Pergamon, as well as a force of Thessalian cavalry and Greek allies. The battle saw the deployment of troops with cavalry intermixed with light infantry. Although the battle was actually inconclusive because Perseus withdrew before it came to a conclusion, it was considered a Macedonian victory because the Romans suffered heavy casualties.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Callinicus, fought near Larissa in Thessaly during the first year of the Third Macedonian War, was the opening major engagement between Perseus of Macedon and the Roman consul Publius Licinius Crassus. Although Perseus withdrew before the engagement reached a decisive conclusion, the battle was treated as a Macedonian victory on account of the heavy casualties inflicted on the Roman side. The result gave Perseus an early psychological and operational advantage at the outset of the war, demonstrating that the Macedonian army — supported by Odrysian cavalry under Cotys IV, Cretan mercenaries, and mixed auxiliaries — could contest Roman arms in open battle. For Rome, the engagement exposed vulnerabilities in the coalition force of Italian allies, Pergamene troops under Eumenes II, and Thessalian cavalry at a strategically sensitive moment, as the war was being fought on Greek soil close to the Thessalian capital.

Tactics

Commanders (4)