Battle of Corinth | |||||||||
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Part of the Achaean War | |||||||||
The last day of Corinth, Tony Robert-Fleury, 1870 | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Roman Republic | Achaean League | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Lucius Mummius | Diaeus † | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
23,500 infantry 3,300 cavalry |
13,500 infantry 650 cavalry | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Minor | Total |
The Battle of Corinth of 146 BC, also known as the Battle of Leucapetra or the Battle of Lefkopetra, was a decisive engagement fought between the Roman Republic and the Greek city-state of Corinth and its allies in the Achaean League. The battle marked the end of the Achaean War and the beginning of the period of Roman domination in Greek history, and is also notable for the complete and total destruction of Corinth by the Romans in its aftermath.
The Romans had moved swiftly since the war's beginning a few weeks earlier; they had destroyed the main Achaean force at Scarpheia, conquered Boeotia and then proceeded to Corinth itself. Despite the Roman successes, the Achaeans refused to surrender and gathered a final army for the defense of the League's capital of Corinth, where they engaged the Romans in battle. In a few hours of fighting, the Achaeans were soundly routed, with their troops killed, captured, or put to flight. After a few days' waiting, the Romans entered the city, and, on the orders of Mummius, set it on fire, killed all the men and enslaved all the women and children, after which the rest of Greece was subjugated by Rome.