(June 22, 168 BC) Decisive confrontation in the Roman victory over Perseus and Macedonia in the Third
It took place on a plain near Pydna (present-day Kítros, Greece). The Roman general Lucius Paullus (b. с 229–d. 160 BC) adroitly outmaneuvered the Macedonians; their {{link=phalanx">phalanx was penetrated by the Roman legion s, whose short swords were more effective than the Macedonian pike s. When defeat was imminent, Perseus fled. The Romans ended the Macedonian monarchy and divided the country into four republics.