Philip V and the Roman Republic

Kings were anathema to the Roman Republic due to Rome's experience of them before the Republic came into being. It is unusual, therefore so see a portrait of a king, let alone a foreign king, on a coin of the Republic. However, the fate of Philip V of Macedonia and the fate of Rome were tightly bound.

Philip V was the king of Macedon 221-179 BC, and was the son of Demetrius II, successor of Antigonus III. He rose to prominence in a war in Greece (220-217 BC), in which he took the side of the Achaean League against the Spartans and the Aetolian League .

While Italy was weakened by Hannibal's invasion, Philip tried to take Illyria away from Rome, even making a treaty with Hannibal. This led to the First Macedonian War with Rome (215-205), which ended in Macedonia's favour. In 202 Philip, in collaboration with Antiochus III, attempted to expand in the Aegean by plundering the territorial possessions of Ptolemy V. However, the states of Rhodes and Pergamum coaxed Rome into entering the Second Macedonian War (200 BC). This ended when Titus Quinctius Flamininus decisively defeated (197) Philip at Cynoscephalae. In part the victory was won by one of Flamininus' lieutenants, Claudius Nero. From then on Philip allied himself with the Romans. In spite of his actions, Philip was well respected by the Romans.