Lamian War > Battle of the Crannon

Battle of the Crannon

Background

The Battle of Crannon (322 BC), fought between the Macedonian forces of Antipater and Craterus and rebellious forces led by the Athenians, was the decisive battle of the Lamian War. Macedonian victory, though militarily unspectacular, convinced the other Greeks to sue for peace. This marked the end of city-state freedom from Macedonian hegemony in Greece.

The Athenians, upon learning of the death of Alexander the Great in June 323 BC, decided to rebel against Macedonian hegemony in the rest of Greece. Recruiting a force of mercenaries and joined by many other city-states the Athenians were at first able to bring superior numbers against the enemy as Antipater, the Macedonian viceroy in Europe, was short on troops due to the Macedonian campaigns in the east. Forced to take refuge in Lamia, Antipater called for reinforcements from Asia.

The first to respond, Leonnatus, was killed in a battle against the rebels' cavalry. This allowed Antipater to escape from Lamia and merge his army with that of Leonnatus. The arrival of a third Macedonian force under the leadership of Craterus decidedly shifted the numerical superiority to the Macedonian side.

Battle

Antipater and Craterus now marched their combined army south to force the Greeks to battle. The Greeks, after calling together their dispersed forces met the Macedonians near Crannon in Thessaly.

Relying on the high reputation of the Thessalian horse, the Athenian general Antiphilus decided to try to win the battle by cavalry, as in the prior battle with Leonnatus. The battle therefore opened with the clash between the Athenian-led and Macedonian cavalry. With the cavalry of both sides occupied, Antipater ordered his infantry to charge the Greek line. The Greek infantry was driven back by the more numerous Macedonians and withdrew to the high ground from where they could easily repulse any Macedonian assault. Seeing their infantry in retreat the Greek cavalry disengaged from the battle, leaving the field and victory in Macedonian hands.

Aftermath

While the Athenian led army was still intact, it was clear that the Macedonians had gained the advantage in the war. After conferring with his cavalry commander Menon of Pharsalus, Antiphilus therefore sent an embassy to Antipater the next day asking for terms. Antipater refused to conclude any general peace with the Athenian led alliance as a whole, however, insisting instead that each city send its own ambassadors. While these terms were at first rejected, the subsequent Macedonian capture of several Thessalian cities caused a rush of defections as each city strove to make a separate peace.

Athens, abandoned by her allies, was at last forced to surrender unconditionally. In the peace imposed by Antipater, the Athenians were forced to accept a Macedonian garrison as well as a replacement of democracy with an oligarchy under the leadership of Phocion.

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