Perseus of Macedonia

Perseus was a descendant of Antigonus One-Eyed in the fifth generation, rumors circulated that he was not the blood son of King Philip , as if the king’s wife secretly took him as a baby from a certain Gnafenia ^[1] . Ancient Greek sources are very biased towards Perseus and his father . Plutarch describes him as a man with an insignificant nature, greedy and power-hungry. ^[1] This assessment should be taken with caution, as it was expressed by writers who were initially hostile to Macedonia and its kings in general.

Perseus, envious of the success of his brother , who played the role of ambassador to Rome, persuaded his father to poison Demetrius as a potential usurper . Upon learning the truth, King Philip died of grief. Involvement of Perseus in the death of a potential Roman protégé could not attract Rome to him.

Immediately after the death of King Philip V in 179 BC. e. Perseus resumed negotiations with Rome and completed all preparations for his father. Perseus’s actions did not go to the good of the republic - he began to interfere in the affairs of his neighbors, occupied Delphi , expelled the Roman ambassadors from Macedonia and entered into a dynastic marriage. All these events gave the Romans an opportunity to intervene in the affairs of Macedonia . Soon, Rome and Perseus declared war on each other, called the Third of Macedon ( 171 - 168 years BC ).

At the beginning of the war, the young king successfully repelled the attacks of the Romans, won victories in small land and sea battles ^[2] , but despite a number of initial successes of the Macedonians at the beginning of the war, it ended in a crushing defeat from the Romans led by Lucius Emilius Paul at the Battle of Pidne . King Perseus was captured and was forced to go with the children in front of the triumphal chariot of Emilia Paul . The antigonid state was divided into four republics. Later, Andrisk , posing as one of the sons of Perseus, lost Roman power for a year and a half, but after another defeat Macedonia finally lost its independence and became a province of Rome.

In June 2005, the tomb of Perseus of Macedonia was found near the city of L'Aquila at the ancient Valerian road , as stated by the Italian Ministry of Culture and the archaeological delegation of Macedonia ^[3]

From a marriage with Laodika , Perseus had a son Alexander and a daughter. He also adopted the youngest of his brothers, Philip. ^[4]