The Achaean War was an uprising by the Greek Achaean League

Achaean League

The Achaean League was a Hellenistic era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese, which existed between 280 BC and 146 BC...

, A alliance of Achaean and other Peloponnesian states in ancient Greece, against the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 around 146 BC, just after the Fourth Macedonian War

Fourth Macedonian War

The Fourth Macedonian War was the final war between Rome and Macedon. It came about as a result of the pretender Andriscus's usurpation of the Macedonian throne, pretending to be the son of Perseus, the last King of Macedon, deposed by the Romans after the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC...

. Rome defeated the League swiftly, and as a lesson, they destroyed the ancient city of Corinth

Corinth

Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...

. The war ended with Greece's independence taken away, and Greece became the Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...

s of Achaea

Achaea (Roman province)

Achaea, or Achaia, was a province of the Roman Empire, consisting of the Peloponnese, eastern Central Greece and parts of Thessaly. It bordered on the north by the provinces of Epirus vetus and Macedonia...

 and Epirus.

The Roman empire had developed close ties to the League of Achaeans through similar religious and miltary beliefs and a cooperation in the previous Macedonian War. But, the ties were soon disturbed after a series of disputes and interference in the decision making of the league by the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire insisted that the city of Sparta be released from the protection and inclusion in the league. The Spartans had become increasingly opposed to the power that the League held, especially with their relations of the increasingly powerful Romans. The League had desecrated Spartan land, torn down their walls, and disrupted the traditional military educational systems of Spartan Children. Regardless of the uncooperative actions that the Spartans took against the League, under the leadership of Aratus of Sicyon, the Greek confederacy chose to maintain an alliance with the disliked city of Sparta, and thus declared war on the more powerful Romans. The Aechaen War of 146 BC, led to the disbanding of the League, the destruction of two cities Corinth and Patras as punishment, and a permanent Roman Rule in all cities associated with the league, before Octavian, a ruler of Rome, made Achaea just another part of Rome.

Sources

• Wilson, N. G. Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print. Google Books.
• "Achaean League" A Dictionary of World History. Oxford University Press, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. York University. 25 October 2011