ORDER OF BATTLE // -196 BCE
Battle of Cynoscephalae
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 51,500 estimated
Roman Republic
26,000
Medium-confidence figure
Macedon
25,500
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Cynoscephalae, fought in Thessaly in 197 BC, was a decisive Roman victory over Antigonid Macedon that marked the end of the Second Macedonian War. The Roman-Aetolian army under Titus Quinctius Flamininus defeated Philip V's Macedonian forces, who suffered approximately 13,000 casualties against a force of similar size. The battle was an encounter engagement rather than a prepared assault, meaning both sides committed to a major action under conditions neither had fully anticipated. The outcome ended the conflict decisively in Rome's favor, foreclosing Macedonian dominance over Thessaly and the broader Greek world and establishing Roman military and political preeminence in the eastern Mediterranean theater.
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