Scott here with another episode of the History and Plug podcast.

Alexander the Great conquered everything from Macedon to India in a span of 13 years because

of his combination of flanks and cavalry, incredibly well-trained soldiers and innovative form

of battle.

After his death, the Zempyre broke up into a number of daughter states.

They controlled Persia, Egypt, Greece, the Near East, and it was only finally overtaken by the Roman

Republic, over a century later. But if the army of Alexander the Great was so good, and he was

such a military genius, how was Rome ever victorious in the first place? Most historians trace

the turning point to the Battle of Sinocifala in 197 BC, a key moment

in the history of a Greco-Roman world, where the Macedonian hold over mainland Greece was broken,

and the Roman Republic rose in its place as the preeminent power in the Greek East.

The Macedonian flanks was no longer invincible, because Roman legions were more flexible, they

could exploit the uneven terrain of battle, and they could improvise in a way that the rigid Mesodonian

flanks formation couldn't. But was just one battle that led to this turning of power, or was it

larger structural forces that caused the changing of the guard over power in this part of the

world? In today's episode, I'm speaking to Mark Vanderenden, author of the book Cinocephala, 197 BC. We look at the battle not as an isolated event, but as the culmination

of three years of intensive campaigning, along with a detailed look of the opposing armies,

their weaponry, organization, tactics, and commanders, whether the victory truly demonstrated

the superiority of Roman arms or something else at play.

Hope we enjoyed this discussion.

And one more thing before we get started with this episode, a quick break for a word from our sponsors.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States.

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