This chapter analyses the evidence for Roman integration in networks of trade and communication in the Adriatic Sea during the third century bc, and its impact upon modern interpretations of the Romans' military intervention in the Greek east. New archaeological evidence for the character and function of trans-Adriatic networks based around a regional cult to the Greek hero Diomedes confirms that the third century Adriatic was an interconnected entity whose polities enjoyed strong links with each other and the wider Mediterranean world. Numismatic finds and the occurrence of Roman and Latin names in the epigraphic record of the eastern Adriatic demonstrate that Romans were active participants in these networks, with individual Romans becoming substantially integrated in the civic life of the region. These findings demand a reassessment of recent scholarship which has argued that the Romans were unfamiliar with the eastern Adriatic at the time of their first military intervention there in 229 bc.

Fought on June 22, 168, between the forces of Rome commanded by the consul L. Aemilius Paullus and those of Macedon under king Perseus, the battle of Pydna was the decisive military engagement of the Third Macedonian War.

Perseus (213–165 or 162 BCE ), king of Macedonia 179–168, revived Macedonian power and pursued a foreign policy which led to conflict with Rome in the Third Macedonian War. Perseus' defeat at the Battle of Pydna in 168 resulted in the partition of Macedonia and the end of the Macedonian monarchy.

King of Macedon during a turbulent period which included Macedon's first military conflicts with the Romans, Philip V (238–179 BCE ) was a skillful statesman, adept at handling the complexities of Hellenistic interstate relations. Despite a number of military defeats, Macedon remained a major Mediterranean power at the time of his death.

Fought in June 197 BCE , the Battle of Kynoskephalai was the decisive military encounter of the Second Macedonian War.