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This battle of Lade was the second of two naval battles fought by
Philip V of Macedonia during 201. Philip had begun to construct a war fleet
during the First Macedonian War against Rome, but the fleet was not completed
until after the end of the war in 205. Once the fleet was ready, in 202, Philip
went onto the offensive, attacking a series of independent cities around the
Aegean. Rhodes and Attalus of Pergamum were both directly threatened by
Philip’s actions, and were soon drawn into a war against him. The exact
order of events during 201 is unclear. Philip was active in Asia Minor, at some
point attacking the city of Pergamum. One of his targets during this period was
the island of Chios, sixty miles to the south west of Pergamum. A large naval
battle followed (battle of Chios) in which the Rhodians were successful, but
Attalus was defeated, leaving Philip free to complete the conquest of Chios. In
the aftermath of this battle Attalus returned to Pergamum, while the Rhodian
fleet moved south, taking up a new position at Lade, off Miletus. Philip
followed the Rhodians, and attacked them at Lade. The losses he had suffered at
Chios meant that the Macedonian fleet was not powerful enough to inflict a
crushing defeat on the Rhodian fleet, but he still won a victory. The Rhodian
fleet then retreated further south, while Philip returned to his campaign in
Asia Minor.
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