1. Historical Background
After he was defeated in the Battle of Magnesia (late December 190 – early January 189 BC), Antiochus III pursued a peace treaty with Rome. The victor of Magnesia, Scipio, drafted a treaty with onerous terms for the Seleucid king, who had to accept it. The draft had to be approved by the Roman senate in order to be ratified. So, envoys of Antiochus III, Eumenes II, the king of Pergamon, Rhodes and cities of Asia Minor, whose interests were related to the terms of the treaty, went to Rome in the summer of 189 BC in order to influence the decisions of the senate. Βecause the endless territorial disputes between the involved parties could not be settled, the senate prepared the general principles of the treaty and assigned a ten-member committee of senators with the task of immediately deciding on the separate issues. The committee travelled to Ephesus in the spring of 188 BC and went to Apamea together with Eumenes II in order to meet the consul Gaius Manlius Vulso, who had replaced Scepio as the head of the Roman forces in Asia Minor. After they had discussed the views of the involved parties, they set the following terms.
2. The Terms
The text of the treaty is provided by Polybius, who was later copied, though with slight differences, by Titus Livius. References to the text are also provided by Appian, Diodorus Siculus and Memnon.1 According to the text, a permanent treaty of friendship between Antiochus III and the Romans is made under the following terms:
1) The forces of Antiochus III have to evacuate all the regions to the west of the Taurus Mountains and take with them only their weapons; they should leave behind anything they looted. On the other hand, the allies of the Romans keep their property in the regions under Seleucid control and have the right to claim that any debts should be settled and all assets be returned to their possessors.
2) After the departure of Antiochus III, the following regions are ceded:
a) Lycia and Caria as far as the Maeander River, except Telmessus, to the Rhodians
b) Cherronesos and Lysimacheia in Thrace and the neighbouring areas as well as the strongholds captured by Antiochus, Hellespontic Phrygia, Lycaonia, Milyas, Lydia, Tralles and Ephesus to Eumenes II.
3) The autonomous cities that paid tribute to Antiochus III but joined the Romans are exempted from taxation. The cities that paid tribute to Attalus II before the war will continue paying Eumenes II. In addition, the cities that deserted the Romans and joined the Seleucid king have to pay the king of Pergamon an amount equal to the taxes they gave to Antiochus III.
Finally, the cities that did not pay any taxes before the war will remain untaxed.
The terms have been widely discussed by modern historians. Several of the latter prepared lists of the untaxed cities, which vary according to the researcher and the interpretation of the epigraphic and literary evidence.2 The treaty expressly states that Notium, Cyme, Mylasa, Clazomenae, to which the Romans ceded the island of Drymousa, Miletus, which regained its lost sacred land, as well as Chios, Smyrna and Erythrae, whose territory was expanded thanks to its attitude during the war, were exempted from taxation. As a matter of fact, Phocaea should be included in this list, since the early regime was restored and the city regained the land captured during the Seleucid domination, according to Polybius. It is also almost certain that the clause dictating that the cities that did not pay Attalus II any taxes before the war should pay taxes to Eumenes II did not finally come into effect.
4) Antiochus III should stop any military operations against Rome, the islands and the Greek mainland, and should not permit the passage of forces hostile to Rome or its allies through his territories. Moreover, he is not permitted to provision them.
5) Antiochus III is permitted to fight against a city or state in Asia Minor as long as he has been attacked. However, his alliance should not include the cities he is going to cede. All conflicts between these cities and Antiochus should be settled by arbitration.
6) Antiochus III should not grant any fugitives of Pergamon asylum, while he should release his men who come from the territories he abandons. He has also to hand over all the captives and slaves of the Romans and their allies, the enemies of Rome, Hannibal, Thoas, Mnasilochus, Philon and Eubulides, as well as 20 hostages, including his son, Antiochus IV. The hostages should be replaced every 3 years and should be between eighteen and forty-five years old. On the other hand, his subjects who joined the Romans may either remain there or return home.
7) He has to hand over all war elephants3 and avoid acquiring new in the future, as well as all his battle ships, except 10, which are allowed to sail to the west of the capes Sarpedon and Calycadnus of Cilicia in case they carry hostages, taxes or envoys.4
8) He should not recruit mercenaries or volunteers from regions under Roman domination.
9) He should pay:
a) the Romans war indemnity of 12,000 Attic talents, in 12 annual installments,5 and 40,500 modii of wheat per year
b) Eumenes II 350 talents, in 5 annual installments, and 1,208 drachmae and 127 talents instead of wheat.
It is also defined that the talent should not weigh less than 80 Roman quarts.6
3. The Results
After the Peace of Apamea, the state of Eumenes II became double in size, while the Rhodians gained important land in Asia Minor, necessary for their safety and commercial activities in Asia Minor. Antiochus III was in economic distress due to the war indemnity he had to pay and the loss of regions with mines, which were sources of significant income and necessary for the manufacture of coins and weapons. However, the Seleucid Kingdom continued being an important Asian power controlling considerable territories from the Taurus Mountains to eastern Iran.
Besides, Rome did not aim to disintegrate the Seleucid Kingdom but have friendly powers controlling the Aegean coasts, which was achieved. This results from the fact that the prohibition of Seleucid military involvement concerns these regions, while the terms related to the manning and armament of the Seleucid army were silently violated, a few years after the Peace of Apamea, as evidenced by the marching army at Daphne of Antioch in 166 BC.7 On the other hand, it is certain that the Seleucid presence in Asia Minor –with the exception of Cilicia– had permanently ended. As for Rome, not only did it manage to control the Aegean, which was important for both safety and economy, but also was established as the regulator of the Greek matters in Asia Minor and the protector of the Greek cities there. The Peace of Apamea is the continuation and the echo of the treaty of the Isthmian Games of 196 BC, when Titus Quinctius Flamininus proclaimed all the cities of the Greek mainland free and autonomous.