Rodos was a Greek island empire that existed from the 16th century BC to 164 BC. The island was first settled by the Minoans from Crete, and it was invaded by the Mycenaeans in the 15th century BC. Under the leadership of Tlepolemus, Rodos took part in the Trojan War, and the Dorians arrived in the 8th century BC and established the settlements of Lindos, Ialyssos, and Kameiros. During the Greco-Persian Wars, the Persians invaded and overran the island, but Athens defeated them in 478 BC. Rodos went on to become an ally of Athens, but it refused to fight in the Peloponnesian War. In 408 BC, the cities of Rhodes united to form a singular city of Rhodes, and Rhodes was conquered by Caria in 357 BC and by the Persians in 340 BC. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great and his Macedonians ended the brief rule of the Persians on Rhodes, and Rhodes and Ptolemaic Egypt formed an alliance after Alexander's death. In 305 BC, the Antigonids besieged Rhodes, but he was forced to lift the siege and make peace in 304 BC. Rhodes went on to maintain the balance of power in the Wars of the Diadochi, and it also acquired lands in Caria on Asia Minor. In 201 BC, Rhodes appealed to the Roman Republic to check Philip V of Macedon's advances, and Rhodes was rewarded with more territory. However, Rhodes' power became dependent upon Rome, and, after Rhodes insisted on being neutral during the Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC), Rome had Rhodes surrender its independence and become a permanent ally of Rome.
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