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.
Alexander adopted Persian governing practices, but he had little use for Persian culture. According to his Greek biographer Plutarch, he considered himself "a governor from God and a reconciler of the world." He hoped that Greek culture would, through his actions, permeate all of Asia, inspiring its peoples to pursue virtue, excellence, and truth. This heroic idealism blended with practicality in his plan to develop the Tigris, Euphrates, and Indus rivers as commercial waterways linking all of Asia These undertakings promised to be long and difficult, however, and Alexander was an impatient man. His soldiers' unwillingness to proceed past the Indus was a great disappointment to him, for which he compensated by throwing his own festivals and celebrations. Alexander showed early leadership qualities. When King Phillip invaded Thrace, he left Alexander in charge of Macedonia at the age of 16. During his father's absence, one of the Thracian tribes, the Maedi, rebelled. Alexander was able to mobilize an army and put down the rebellion. In 336 B.C, Alexander's father was assassinated, putting Alexander on the throne at the age of 20. Shortly after this, Alexander left Macedonia with his armies to put down rebellions in the countries of Illyria, Thrace and Greece, all of which had previously been conquered by King Phillip. Alexander then moved his armies into Asia Minor and began to conquer the peoples there. Among the countries conquered by Alexander were Syria, Phoenicia and
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 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
Bury, J. B.; Russell Meiggs (2000). A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great, son of Philip of Macedon took the throne at nineteen years of age in 336BCE and with this single event the Hellenic culture abounded. Philip did not want Alexander to be a course and boorish Macedonian so he gave Alexander a tutor, Aristotle. Between Philip and Aristotle, Alexander was raised in the Hellenic culture. The Hellenic culture’s aim was to...
Alexander’s first battle came when he was only sixteen. Philip, his father had gone away on a campaign and left Macedonia u...
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
Macedonia.org, History of. Alexander the Great Alexander of Macedon biography: King of Macedonia and Conqueror of Persian Empire. 2001-2013. Document. 11 October 2013.
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 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).
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...
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