In the wake of Ptolemy V's death in 205 B.C., Antiochus III of Syria annexed Judea. As part of the Roman Republic's expansion, Roman legions entered Asia Minor in 197 B.C. and were met with opposition from the Syrians. Leading the Roman forces was Scipio Africanus.
This long and intense military engagement reached its conclusion in 190 B.C. at the Battle of Magnesia. Under the command of Scipio Africanus, the Roman forces decisively defeated the Syrian armies. This victory paved the way for further Roman advances into the Near Eastern territories, including Palestine.
(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 80-81.)