The Macedonian Intervention

The Macedonian Intervention was a war between Crete and Macedon from 529 AVC - 531 AVC during the Dictatorship. This was the second war Crete had against Macedonia, the First occurring during the First Republic.

The Intervention
In early 524, Macedonia was an undisputed power in Aegean, a buffer against Seleucid incursions into Europe. However, Crete was on the rise and was soon to eclipse Macedonia in power. In 524 AVC, the King of Macedonia died with no heir, sparking a war of succession. The ruler of Crete at the time, Phillip Helladid The Elder, was advised by the Senate to declare war upon Macedonia in the hope of turning the war in Crete's favor. Lacking a Casus Belli, The Dictator declared war in 529 AVC, deciding the time was finally ripe to intervene into the Macedonian civil war.



The Cretan allies, Bithynia and the Aetolian League, joined on Crete's behalf, while Macedonia called on their erstwhile ally, Sparta. The Macedonian Army was mostly located in the Aegean, helping to secure the Isles for the King. The Cretan Navy mobilized and cut them off from returning to the mainland, while Cretan Armies marched into Macedonia and Sparta. As part of their advice, the Senate had also requested that a favored Strategos, Perseus Zosimid, be given command of an Army during the war. The Dictator obliged the Senate, putting Perseus in command of a small force of only 1,000 men and ordering him to assault the Macedonian heartland in Thessaly. His force was surrounded by Macedonians and wiped out to the man, only Perseus survived.

The war was initially against the Cretan invasion, with inexperienced troops and Strategoi against hardened Macedonian veterans. The Macedonians had been at constant war for nearly 5 years, giving them an edge in experience the Cretan Army just did not have at the time. The Cretan Army recovered from their initial losses and began to turn the tide of the battle. Bithynian Armies in the North took Macedonia and then marched south towards Athens, while the Cretan Army scored a major victory in Maedi against the Macedonians. Sensing the tide of war changing, the Macedonians sued for peace from the Aetolians, giving up their claim on Aetolian land. The Macedonians even sent envoys to Crete requesting peace in exchange for some of their lesser populated and less rich northern territories. The peace was quickly rejected.



In 530 AVC, Argolis was taken, and the Macedonian navy was forced to sea where they were destroyed by the more experienced Cretan navy. Shortly after this, the Spartans sued for peace and offered to become Crete's tributary. Macedonia, knowing the war was all but lost, sued for peace as well, ceding Argolis, Lamia and Thessaly and renouncing their claims on Maedi. To this day, it is the largest single acquisition of land in Cretan history. In a single moment, thousands of Greek citizens, freedmen and slaves were added to Crete's rolls, not to mention the increase in tax income and trade. The Macedonian Intervention paved the way for future Cretan successes by securing much of Southern Greece for Crete.