¶ … Philips II the Macedonian King focuses on how Philip II expanded the Macedonian empire. This paper also gives a brief background of Philip II before he inherited the thrown. This paper highlights how the Macedonian leader entered Athens and conquered it through his tactics and strategy. The paper also gives a brief account of all the battles fought by Philip II's army and how he played a great role in the evolution of his battalion.
Philips II, The Macedonian King
Philip II, the most significant compatriot and general of his era formed the establishment of the most powerful military, which conquered most of the regions of the Mediterranean, Southern Europe and the Middle East. His great tactics, strenuous strategies, rearrangement of his army and utilization of the heavy phalanx formation transformed him into the master of Greece.
One of the greatest empires of the world ever formed, The Macedonian Empire lasted for 36 years, beginning with the accession of the throne by Philip II in 359 BC and ending with the death of his son, Alexander the Great in 323 BC. During the rule of these two eminent leaders, Macedonia rearranged its position on the world map. Before the reign of Philip II, many kings had ruled Macedonia namely, Argej, Filip I, Aerop, Alketa, Aminta, Aleksandar II, Perdika II and Arhelaj. Before Philip II, Macedonia had great enmity with Persia and some of the Greek states, among which Athens was the most prominent. Luckily for Macedonia, the hostility between Persia and Athens was great and this factor gave Macedonia the cutting edge; its rulers taking full advantage of this opportune time began to expand their empire.
Macedonia while gaining power simultaneously began to grow weak. King Arhelaj I realized that quick amendments had to be made. As a result he moved his thrown, firstly placed at Ajga to Pella. This move of his enhanced friendly relations with the Athenians but after loosing a war Macedonia was forced to hand over its hostages...
Philip II was among these hostages, held in Thebes from 367 BC to 365 BC. During this time, Philip II being a brilliant statesman observed the military techniques of the previous leaders. After freeing himself from the clutches of slavery he returned to Macedonia in 364 BC. After the murder of his brother, Philip II inherited his thrown. From here started the venture of a great king who expanded the kingdom of Macedonia.
The factors which contributed to the expansion of Macedonia under Philip II included his strategies to conquer the neighboring states, augmented indulgence in the Ciceronian affairs and the development of the Macedonian army under his guidance. Due to the internal dissension and siege from all sides, Philips II, immediately after his accession to the thrown, reorganized the military army based on the model of Theban Phalanx. The Macedonian army previously recruited some proficient noble battalion in it. Philip II created dexterous ponderous artillery armed with 13 to 14-foot long pikes. The Macedonian's were considered to be born horsemen but under the guidance of Philip II they were trained to fight as a conventionalized army, in support of the armed forces. He quickly decided to increase the Macedonian borders by attacking the Greece towns established on his boundaries. With his skills and vision, Philip II affirmed himself on Macedonian thrown. Some of the Greek states quickly came under the submission of Macedonia and Philip's power stretched insofar as Danube River. After these events Philip II made his policies strict and harsh. He later formed a series of confederation with many countries, by invading those which were less powerful than his. His conquest included the invasion of Paeonia in 358 BC, capturing of the Athenian colony of Amphipolis in Thrace in 357 BC and Potidea in Chalcidice and Pydna on the Thermaic Gulf in 356 BC. A brilliant step taken by Philip at that time was the exploitation of the gold mines of Mount Pangaeus to provide capital…
