Ashlee Mackey
Professor Chissanthos
History 110A
5 May 2015 The Successful Reign of Philip II of Macedonia “Was it not for the careful planning and bold actions of Philip II of Macedon, Alexander would have little or no place in history” . Philip II was the basis of Macedonia’s success because without what he had already done for Macedonia, Alexander the Great would not have been able to obtain his reputable name. Before Alexander the Great became king, Philip II had already established the unification of Macedonia, an effective army, and a stable economy. This paper will cover how Philip II managed to create a successful Macedonia before his son Alexander took the throne. Before Macedonia was unified, it consisted of two parts, Upper
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He created better hoplite soldiers by paying for the armor and weapons with the government’s money instead of having the individual soldiers pay for their own armor and weapons. Philip II created a weapon called the sarissa, which was an 18 foot long spear. In the back rows of the phalanx, the sarissa was held upright, while it the front rows it was held horizontal . This weapon was very destructive when used because a person could be run through from almost 20 feet away. The line of the phalanx was a strategic method because even if the front hoplite soldiers were killed, the next line would be ready for action. Along with the sarissa, hoplite soldiers also carried a small shield called a pelta. The pelta was about 24 inches in diameter, which was slung over the hoplites shoulder, considering two hands were needed to hold the sarissa . The hoplites did not wear a heavy amount of armor because the sarissa was sufficient protection. The soldiers only wore a bronze helmet, greaves, and a cloth …show more content…
As a result of the unification, the economy thrived. Macedonia has always been rich in natural resources, so it was not extremely difficult to get it up and running. With the manpower and the natural resources, Macedonia’s economy was developing agriculturally. The land was great for fruit and cattle, it was also rich with timber . Because Macedonia was fortunate with a lot of natural resources, this allowed for trade, in which Philip II encouraged greatly. Because Philip II was able to modernize the economy, build and train an effective army, and unify the Macedonian kingdom, he was able to expand his kingdom further into other territories. With his expansion the economy, the kingdom, and the army just grew larger. “According to the Greek historian Theopompus of Chios, Europe had never seen a man like king Philip of Macedonia, and he called his history of the mid-fourth century BCE the Philippic History” . Phillip obtained his reputable name from many sources because of how quickly he was able to build Macedonia from the ground up. Without all of the work that Philip II did prior to Alexander taking the throne, Alexander would not have been
Demosthenes and Isocrates came to prominence in fourth century B.C.E. Athens as public speakers and as politicians. Isocrates was a teacher of rhetoric, or the art of public speaking, while Demosthenes was a professional litigator, writing speeches for clients arguing in the courts of law, and occasionally presenting arguments himself. Both men were highly respected citizens and opinion makers throughout the sphere of influence maintained by Athens, though they held opposing views regarding the proper course for Athenian government, warfare between the Greek city-states, and the prospect of invasion from the Persian Empire to the east. While the Greek city-states engaged in fratricidal warfare, Philip of Macedon began consolidation of his political power by essentially offering up his highly trained professional Macedonian army as mercenary soldiers to the various city-states requesting assistance or protection and demanding control as hegemon or monarch of the city-state in return for military aid. Following a declaration of truce, Philip would impose his rule upon the vanquished as well.
Without the right ecosystem for horses, the ancient Greeks were forced to trade for horses, which were highly expensive. The ancient Greeks were then forced to come up with a way to counter the Persians’ use of cavalry, which they solved with the creation of the phalanx. A phalanx was a group of soldiers armed with 7- to 8-foot-long spears, short swords, and round shields that were able to interlock with other shields. The soldiers wore a helmet, breastplate, and usually greaves. A phalanx is made up of lines of men extending their spears towards the enemy's direction. If a soldier is killed, the soldier from behind is to take his place, and this continues until all of the soldiers are killed. Machiavelli wrote, “The injuries which the first rank suffered, depleted the last, and the first rank always remained complete; and thus the Phalanxes, because of their arrangement, were able rather to become depleted than broken, since the large (size of its) body made it more immobile.” Machiavelli greatly admired the phalanx and considered it to be a useful formation if used correctly. Eventually Phillip the II of Macedonia improved the phalanx by doubling the spear length and reducing the shield size, which greatly increased a phalanx’s mobility. The Greeks would line up their phalanxes, and when the Persian
The Hellenistic culture was founded from the Hellenic culture. The Hellenic culture was born with Philip of Macedon. Philip of Macedon was a king in Macedonia at the beginning of the fourth century. Philip was known for his great organizational skills and his prowess in battle as a warrior. Philip had a dream of making an empire and surpassing everyone’s expectations he succeeded. It took seven years for Philip to unite the once Greek city-states into a unit, but once he gained control of them he had a battle tested army. Philip of Macedon led his army into Asia Minor and defeated the Persian army. The defeat of the Persian army brought the collapse of the Persian Empire which was unimaginable because at the time Persia ruled the world. Unfortunately, as Philip turned to conquer the rest of the world he died. Luckily he left behind a son.
Alexander’s first battle came when he was only sixteen. Philip, his father had gone away on a campaign and left Macedonia u...
The. The "Philip of Macedon". History of Macedonia Website, 2013. Web. The Web.
Philip II became king in 359 BCE. He took on a series of reform to strengthen and expand his kingdom. Under his leadership, a weak, backward country with an ineffective undisciplined army became am efficient military force. Philip II was able to take over many territories around Macedonia. Philip II used bribery, warfare, and threat to protect his kingdom. Over the next twenty-three years, Philip II took his soldiers and a cavalry and fought through Thebes, Corinth, Athens, and many other smaller poleis, gathering new forces and wealth (Acrobatiq,2014.) King Philip II’s insight and determination set the platform for his son Alexander. In 336 BCE, King Philip II was assassinated by a Macedonian and his son Alexander the Great became
The year I became ruler of Macedonia, I set out to the city of Thessaly to restore Macedonian rule. After Thessaly submitted to me, I conquered many states, and many other states freely submitted without battles. Two years after my father's death, my war with the Persians began. Near the city of Troy, I defeated the Persian army. In doing so, all the states of Asia then submitted their arms to me.
The Spartan hoplite soldiers were most certainly a force to be reckoned with, not only were they well trained, but also well armed. A hoplite was a soldier dressed in heavy armour with a large round copper shield, a long spear called a Dory, and one of two different sidearms: a Xiphos or Kopis. The primary weapon was the Dory. Not only was this weapon a key piece of the phalanx, but also good in one on one combat. Dories were typically eight feet long weighing ten pounds. The main combat technique of the Dory was to keep the opponent at a far distance and
Athenian democracy and economy collapsed6. Spartan type regime and Spartan sided government have succeeded on Athens. On the other hand, Spartans and their allies gained great victory against Athens but their economies crashed as well. Greeks lost more than half of their population on the civil war7. The Peloponnesian League and Sparta cannot establish authority on Greek peninsula and in fact, Persians are the true victorious of this war as it seems. Also, this lack of authority on Greece was a great advantage for new founded Hellenistic Empire by Alexander the Great. Alexander united whole Greece under his rule and he began his greatest conquest against Persians. Alexander’s armies defeat Persians every battle through Byzantium (today Istanbul) to Egypt and India. With a different point of look, this unification which created by Themistocles and after war unification with Alexander, establish strong connections among Greeks. When looking at the timeline, Greeks always stand together for every threat after this turning point. For example, Greeks stand together against new founded Roman Republic after death of Alexander and collapse of Hellenistic Empire. Long duration of Roman Empire occupation, Greeks strengthen their connections and they affect Romans culturally and religiously8. Roman law and regime system is a different version of Greek systems after the foundation of Empire. After the separation of Roman Empire
The son of Philip II, Alexander the Great, will become the conqueror of the western world. Alexander received the Macedonian empire when his father passed, he was only twenty at the time. As soon as he had the power of the Macedonian army, several lightning fast campaigns led them into the west and north. Next, he compelled the city-states that rebelled against the League of Corinth. This action demonstrated how Alexander punished disloyalty [Martin 244]. Alexander was able to keep his rule on the territories he conquered by rewarded the cities who recognized his powers and punished the individuals that betrayed his trust or ambitions. The power he possessed depended on his superior force and his unwillingly desire to use it [Martin 245]. The
One of the main contributors in the decline of the Byzantine Empire were the two civil wars that occurred in Macedonia and Constantinople. In 1321, the first civil war, often called the War of the Two Andronikoi, occurred between Byzantine’s emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos over control of the empire. Andronikos III had many supporters including John Kantakouzenos, who had a governorship in the nearby land of Thrace. Shortly after the war began, a peace treaty was reached in which Andronikos III Palaiologos was named co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. The peace treaty did not last long and after seven more years of battle, the war ended leaving Andronikos III in charge of the army and John Kantakouzenos named as the leader. The second civil war of 1341, sometimes referred to as the Second Palaiogan Civil War, happened after disagreement broke out after Andronikos III Palaiologos’s death over the guardiansh...
Alexander the Great is hailed, by most historians, as “The Great Conqueror” of the world in the days of ancient Mesopotamia. “Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in little more than a decade. Alexander was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia in July 356 BCE. His parents were Philip II of Macedon and his wife Olympias. Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE and Alexander inherited a powerful yet volatile kingdom. He quickly dealt with his enemies at home and reasserted Macedonian power within Greece. He then set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire” (Web, BBC History). It is important to note, which will maybe explain his brutal actions, that Alexander was only twenty years old when he became the king of Macedonia. “When he was 13, Philip hired the Greek philosopher Aristotle to be Alexander’s personal tutor. During the next three years Aristotle gave Alexander training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of importance in Alexander’s later life” (Web, Project of History of Macedonia). “In, 340, when Philip assembled a large Macedonian army and invaded Thrace, he left his 16 years old son with the power to rule Macedonia in his absence as regent, but as the Macedonian army advanced deep into Thrace, the Thracian tribe of Maedi bordering north-eastern Macedonia rebelled and posed a danger to the country. Alexander assembled an army, led it against the rebels, and with swift action defeated the Maedi, captured their stronghold, and renamed it after himself to Alexandropolis. Two years later in 338 BC, Philip gave his son a commanding post among the senior gener...
The Macedonian army, under the rule of Alexander the Great, was the most successful army around at that time. Alexander’s father, King Philip the 2nd was the first ruler of Macedonia. At first, Macedonia played no role in Greek history. It was just a tiny
The velites, were considered the entry class into the military, and consequently were the first used in battle. This infantry often consisted of the poorest soldiers, only given a small shield, cheap leather armor, and five javelins, which they had to buy themselves. When enemies would approach, they would be on the front lines of their army, and would quickly throw their pilum (throwing spears) to render enemy shields useless (Roman Empire Wars).