Quote Originally Posted by Scipio Germanicus View Post
The only attack on Rhodes by the Romans I know of was by Cassius. He attacked because Rhodes was allied to Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus. But as far as I know it was like the previous posts said: Rhodes joined Rome by treaty.

This brings a question to mind. Why did Rhodes join Rome? It was previously a close ally of Ptolemaic Egypt.
Start of Second Macedonian War, 2004- 2001 BC Saw Phillip V of Macedonia behaving very aggressively against the Ptolomais, Thracia and Samos. This worried the Greek Cities (KH), especially as rumours were cirkulating that Mac and AS had a secret agreement to share the Ptolomaic possessions in Asia Minor. They thus sent fleets against him and ambassadors to Rome for aid. That is fairly logical, with the Ptolomais weak and the two other Diadochii on the warpath, where else to turn than the newly emerged major power and undisputed ruler of the West Mediterrenean?

Rome sent emmisarries to Phillip demanding he cease hostilities, but the powerful Phillip was astounished and had no intension of desisting. Macedonia was on the rise and Rome was exhausted by the Second Punic War and had few interests in that part of the Med. Yet they dictate his foreign policy. He was promptly handed a Declaration of War. We all know how that went (no need to rub the Roman-haters nose in it), in 196 BC the Consule Titus Quinctius Flamininus declared the Greek cities free at the Isthmian Games in Korinth. Personally I believe that Rome acted so belligerently exactly because of its long and hard fight for sheer survival in the Second Punic War. The People and Senate of Rome had no intension of letting another such threat develop and would crush any such tendencies before they could consolidate.

Rhodes was smarter than the rest of the Greek Cities apparently, who kept up their constant bickering and infighting and seems to have chosen to ally themselves more and more firmly with this newly emerging juggernaut. Whatever the price.