terrain, and inaccessible coastlines. The valuable timber, mineral, and
plant resources could not be accessed without developing a partnership;
but coordination was hard to achieve without pyramidal social structures.
What made these kingdoms attractive to ambitious Italian merchants
from the second centurybconwards was indigenous success in exploit-
ing these resources, so clearly apparent in the generous provision of
gilding, silver ornament, and other decorative elaborations of military
apparel. If the conquerors could decapitate the apex of the pyramid, in
the same way that human societies replaced the pack leader or bell-
weather in a herd of animals, they could enjoy the benefits that the
infrastructure of command entailed. It is the economic framework of
these northern kingdoms in their heyday before Roman imperial expan-
sion that deserves serious consideration, and what this book seeks to
reveal and understand.
Neither Livy, nor his predecessor, Polybius, had much appetite for a
dispassionate evaluation of what amounted to asset-stripping on a
breath-taking scale (6,000 talents in gold and silver from the royal
treasury alone: Plb. 18.35.4).^12 Macedon was, quite literally, dismem-
bered. The anatomy of this process gives us a clear insight into the
methods and tactics deployed by Roman commanders and senatorial
advisors in order to ensure that the former kingdom’s assets either passed
directly under Roman control, or could be effectively diverted for later
exploitation. We can look back at the evolution of Macedonia’s earlier
success through the social and cultural connections accumulated over
many centuries with its neighbours; and forwards in time beyond the
circumstances of military disaster. Although Macedonia’s history after
Alexander the Great is often seen by historians as one of decline (in terms
of manpower as well as resources), there are other ways of looking at the
evidence which explain the kingdom’s prosperity up until Perseus’defeat.
Nor should we assume that provincial status condemned Macedonia to
economic stagnation. Rural as well as urban investigations of ancient sites
(Fig. 1.1), triggered in part by development work, especially motorway
networks, show that the rhythms of economic life were not so simple.
Perseus’defeat may have signalled the end of the Macedonian ruling
house, despite subsequent attempts to revive it. In regional terms this was
the end of one historical chapter and the opening of another. From the
point of view of the region’s inhabitants, it was an unlooked-for intrusion
that could, indeed had to be accommodated. Whatever the advantages
that the Roman authorities enjoyed immediately after Pydna, these
(^12) See the analysis in Gruen 1982.
8 Introduction