Philip forces an independent settlement upon Aetolia in 206 BCE following the Roman withdrawal from Greece.

Scipio, after winning over a number of Hispanian chiefs (namely Indibilis and Mandonius), achieves a decisive victory in 206 BCE over the full Carthaginian levy at Ilipa (now the city of Alcalá del Río, near Hispalis, now called Seville), which results in the evacuation of Hispania by the Punic commanders.

After his rapid success in conquering Hispania, and with the idea of striking a blow at Carthage in Africa, Scipio pays a short visit to the Numidian princes Syphax and Massinissa.

Scipio, on his return to Hispania, has to quell a mutiny at Sucro that had broken out among his troops.

Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal had meanwhile marched for Italy and met his death, and in 206 BCE Scipio himself, having secured the Roman occupation of Hispania by the capture of Gades, gives up his command and returns to Rome.

Masinissa, the son of the chieftain Gala of a Numidian tribal group, the Massylii, had been brought up in Carthage, an ally of his father.

At the start of the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE), Masinissa had fought for Carthage against Syphax, the King of the Masaesyli of western Numidia (present day Algeria), who had allied himself with the Romans.

Masinissa, then seventeen years old, had led an army of Numidian troops and Carthaginian auxiliaries against Syphax's army and won a decisive victory.

Numidia is of vital importance to Carthage, supplying both mercenaries and allied forces.

In addition to supplying the Numidian cavalry, Numidia operates as a buffer for vulnerable Carthage.

When Gaia dies in 206, his sons Masinissa and Oezalces quarrel about the inheritance, and Syphax—now an ally of Carthage—is able to conquer considerable parts of the eastern Numidian kingdom.

Meanwhile, with the Carthaginians having been driven from Spain, Masinissa concludes that Rome is winning the war against Carthage and therefore decides to defect to Rome, promising to assist Publius Scipio, later known as Scipio Africanus, in the invasion of Carthaginian territory in Africa.

This decision is aided by the move by Scipio to free Masinissa's nephew, Massiva, whom the Romans had captured when he had disobeyed his uncle and ridden into battle.

Having lost the alliance with Masinissa, Hasdrubal Barca starts to look for another ally and finds one in Syphax, who marries Sophonisba, the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco, a celebrated beauty, who until the defection had been betrothed to Masinissa.

The Romans support Masinissa's claim to the Numidian throne against Syphax, who is nevertheless successful in driving Masinissa from power.

Antiochus returns westward via the Iranian provinces of Arachosia, Drangiana, and Carmania.

Arriving in Persis in 205, Antiochus receives tribute of five hundred talents of silver from the citizens of Gerrha, a mercantile state on the east coast of the Persian Gulf.

Having established a magnificent system of vassal states in the East, Antiochus now adopts the ancient Achaemenid title of “great king,” and the Greeks, comparing him to Alexander the Great, surname him also “the Great.” Antiochus' long campaign has produced meager results, however.

He has recognized the independence of two kingdoms, that of the Parthians and that of Euthydemus, which had been no more than satrapies.

The struggle must have weakened these two, but after receiving legalization of their status, the two states proceed to the reestablishment of their material and military resources.

Antiochus, having acquired war elephants and provisions for his army in Bactria, crosses the Hindu Kush into the Kabul Valley, where he renews Seleucid friendship and concludes a pact with the Indian king Sophagasenos, securing still more elephants, before embarking on his return to Syria.

The Greeks now form the new upper classes in Egypt, replacing the old native aristocracy.

In general, the Ptolemies have undertaken changes that have far exceeded any other measures that earlier foreign rulers had imposed, using the religion and traditions to increase their own power and wealth.

Although the Ptolemies have established a prosperous kingdom, enhanced with fine buildings, the native population enjoys few benefits, and there are frequent uprisings.

These expressions of nationalism reach a peak in the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator, when the native Egyptians, sensing their power, rise in an anti-Macedonian rebellion, described by Polybius as guerrilla warfare.

The revolt has spread by 205 to Upper Egypt, where others have gained control over one district and rule as a prospective line of native "pharaohs."

As the feeble reign of Ptolemy IV has progressed, he has fallen increasingly under the influence of his favorites, and he dies around November 205 at thirty-nine.

His clique of Alexandrian Greek courtiers, led by Sosibius, keeps Ptolemy's death a secret.

Macedon concludes the war with Rome in 205 BCE by the Peace of Phoenice on favorable terms that allow Phillip to keep his conquests in Illyria.

The Spartan tyrant Nabis, who has deposed Machanidas as regent for the very young Pelops and styled himself king, has carried on the revolutionary tradition of Kings Agis IV and Cleomenes III. (Since ancient accounts of him are mainly abusive, the details of his laws remain obscure, but it is certain that he confiscated a great deal of property and enfranchised many helots.)

Overshadowed by the struggle between Rome and Philip V, Nabis has adroitly maintained his power.

After the Peace of Phoenice between Rome and Macedon, he goes to war in 205 with the Achaean League.

Philopoemen, the league's general in 206/205 BCE, rescues Messene from the Spartans, routing Nabis and his forces.