Battle of Corinth (146 BC)

Battle of Corinth (146 BC)

The Battle of Corinth of 146 BC was a big fight between the Roman Republic and the Greek city-state of Corinth and its friends in the Achaean League. This battle ended the Achaean War and began a long time when Rome ruled Greece.

The Romans were winning battles fast. They beat the main army of the Achaeans at Scarpheia, took over Boeotia, and then came to Corinth. The Achaeans wanted to defend Corinth, their main city. They fought the Romans, but after only a few hours, the Achaeans lost.

After waiting a few days, the Romans entered Corinth. They burned the city. The women and children were taken away to live under Roman rule. After this, all of Greece came under Rome’s control.

Background

There were problems between Rome and the Achaean League. The Achaeans wanted to include the city of Sparta in their group. This caused a big argument with Rome. The Roman Senate sent Lucius Mummius, a leader, to fix the problem. They also let Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus act first because he had just won a battle in the Fourth Macedonian War and had a strong army ready.

Prelude

The Romans marched from Macedonia, which had become part of Roman land. They won a battle against soldiers from the Achaean League led by Critolaos of Megalopolis at the Battle of Scarpheia. After this, many Greek cities decided to stop fighting and give up to the Romans. But many people in the League, especially in Corinth, chose to keep fighting. They chose a new leader named Diaeus and decided to continue the war.

After this battle, the Roman leader moved through Boeotia. He tried to offer peace to the League, but Diaeus refused and did not accept peace. He arrested or removed people who supported peace or the Romans.

In 146 BC, a new Roman leader named Lucius Mummius arrived. He gathered all Roman soldiers in the area, including foot soldiers and horse soldiers, along with help from Cretans and Pergamese allies. He then moved toward Corinth, where the Achaean general Diaeus had set up with soldiers.

Battle

The Romans had some Italian helpers watching, but they were not careful. This let the Achaeans surprise them at night, attacking the Roman soldiers who were ahead. This made the Achaeans feel more confident.

The next day, the Achaeans fought the Romans. The Achaean foot soldiers fought hard, but their horse soldiers ran away when the Roman horse soldiers charged. Later, some Roman soldiers attacked the side of the Achaean foot soldiers, causing them to run back into the city. Some Achaeans hiding inside Corinth had no plan to defend the city because their leader fled to Arcadia.

Sack of Corinth

After the battle, many soldiers and citizens of Corinth left the city. The Romans waited three days before entering. When they went in, they treated the people harshly. The city was broken apart, and many valuable things were taken to Italy.

Some Roman leaders tried to protect the art. But many beautiful statues and paintings were lost or damaged. They did honor a Greek leader named Philopoemen by respecting his statues.

Aftermath

The battle ended the fighting in Greece for a long time. The group of Greek cities, called the League, stopped existing, and Greece became part of a new Roman area called Macedonia. Rome now controlled mainland Greece directly.

Like in another city the Romans had taken, many beautiful Greek artworks came to Rome. This helped spread Greek culture and create what we call the Greco-Roman world. Corinth, the city where the battle happened, took more than 100 years to recover. It didn’t really become important again until the Roman leader Julius Caesar rebuilt it in 44 BC, just before he died.

In popular culture

The Battle of Corinth was an important event shown in the 1961 film The Centurion.