Khremonidov war

Having gained a victory over Pyrrhus and finally asserted his authority in Macedonia, Antigonus II Gonat began to strengthen the rule of Macedonia over Greece. In a number of cities he left his garrisons, in others he brought to power the tyrannical regimes that pleased him. Antigonus took particularly vigorous measures to strengthen his power in Athens , occupying the most important fortresses of Attica and Piraeus with his garrisons. The constant intervention of the Macedonians in the internal affairs of Athens caused the desire of the Athenians to free themselves from their power.

Another opponent of Macedonia was Sparta, who, although she withstood the blow of Pyrrhus with the help of the Macedonians, understood that the power of active Antigonus was no better than that of Pyrrhus. In addition, the Spartan king Ares did not give up hopes of returning to Sparta her greatness in Greece.

The growing power of Macedonia, whose fleet dominated the Aegean, began to alarm the Egyptian Ptolemies . They supported anti-Macedonian sentiment in Greece.

Thus, a common front was organized against Macedonia from the Athenians, Egyptians, as well as a number of Peloponnesian cities ( Sparta , Elis , Tehei , Mantinea , Orkhomen , Figalia, Kafii , Achaean cities ), the tyrants of Megalopolis and Argos , friendly to him, remained on the side of Macedonia, and also Corinth , occupied by the Macedonian garrison.

The war began in the fall of 267 BC. e. In Athens, as a result of a fierce political struggle, the anti-Macedonian group Chremonides and Glavkon came to power. At the suggestion of Chremonides, a decree was adopted proclaiming an alliance between the Athenians and the Peloponnesians, as well as witnessing an alliance with the Egyptian king Ptolemy II , who sent an embassy to Sparta and Athens with a proposal of friendship against Macedonia. With the participation of Egypt, the struggle between the Cretan cities resumed, some of which supported Antigonus, and some belonged to its opponents.

Antigonus opposed Athens with the army and navy, besieging them with a dense ring of siege. The siege of Athens was facilitated by the fact that Piraeus remained in the hands of the Macedonians. To help Athens came the Egyptian rich Patroclus the Macedonian . In the Peloponnese, Sparta and its allies intensified, however, being locked up within the peninsula by the Macedonian garrison in Corinth, they could not come to the aid of the Athenians.

Fighting 266 BC e. deployed in Attica, where the Egyptian landing, and under Corinth, where the Spartans unsuccessfully tried to break through the defense of the Macedonians in Istma. In Megara, a detachment of Galata mercenaries rebelled against Antigonus, but Antigonus opposed them with the whole army and defeated them in battle. The victory of Antigonus caused confusion in the ranks of his opponents: the Spartans refused to land in Attica, and soon the Egyptians were evacuated from Attica.

In 265 BC e. the war resumed with the Spartans attack on Corinth. In a major battle near Corinth, where the Spartan king Ares I and the son of Antigonus Alkionei were killed, the Macedonians won and kept the city behind them. The Union of Peloponnesian cities immediately collapsed, leaving Sparta alone.

Athens withstood the siege. Sparta, in which Acrotat succeeded the fallen Areus, was unable to do anything against Corinth and turned against the Peloponnesian allies of Antigonus. In 264 or 263 BC. e. Akrotat attacked Megalopol, but was utterly defeated by the megalopolitan commander Aristodem and died in battle.

As a result of the successful actions of Macedonia and its allies, almost all of their opponents, except Athens, withdrew from the struggle. However, for Antigonus, the situation was complicated by the fact that the Epirus king Alexander II took advantage of his prolonged absence and invaded Macedonia. Antigonus was forced to lift the siege of Athens and urgently return to Macedonia. In the battle with the orphans, he was defeated and lost the army that went over to the side of Alexander. However, his brother Demetrius the Beautiful , despite his age at 13 years old, defeated the Epiroths at the Battle of Derdia, expelled them from the country and took away Upper Macedonia and Thessaly from them.

Antigonus, along with the army, suddenly returned to Athens and renewed the siege. Despite the fact that Corinth and Chalkida on Euboea unexpectedly fell away from him, and a new squadron moved from Attria to the Egyptian fleet at Attica, Antigonus took the lead - he did not give the enemies the opportunity to unite, marched against the Egyptians and defeated them in a naval battle off the island of Kos . His victory brought him complete dominance in the Aegean, power over the Cyclades archipelago, the coast of Caria and Euboea .

In 262 BC e. Athens surrendered, having endured all the horrors of siege and famine. The Macedonian garrisons established themselves in Athens, Megara, Epidaurus , and Tresen . The war ended in 261 BC. e. victory of Macedonia.

With victory in the war, Macedonia firmly established its rule in the Balkans and in the Aegean Sea. Her opponents were weakened, and Athens was finally exhausted and lost any political and military significance.

• Korolev K. War of the ancient world. Macedonian gambit. M .: LLC "Publishing house AST"; St. Petersburg: Terra Fantastica, 2003 .-- 512 p.
• Zhigunin V. D. International relations of the Hellenistic states in 280-220. BC e. Kazan University Publishing House, Kazan. - 1980. - 192 p.