This next series of the Ancient history blog will focus on the wars between the Empires of Macedon and Persia. The first part will look into Philip II and the expansion of Macedon.
In 360 BC the Kingdom of Macedon was a minor regional power in Northern Greece, in the grip of civil war and external occupation by the Illyrian's and Dardanians. However, by the 330’s BC, Macedon had risen to become the dominant power of the Balkans under the leadership of Philip II.
Philip II acceded to the Macedonian throne in 359 BC as regent for the immature Amyntas IV, his nephew, after serving as a hostage in Thebes following that state’s defeat of Macedon under Pelopidas. He was able to arrest the decline of the Kingdom by defeating the invaders and pretenders in battle, following which he became King in his own right. This was accomplished by a series of military and political reforms that transformed the Macedonian army into an effective fighting force, these eventually gave rise to the Macedonian phalanx and the improved companion cavalry which would conquer the Achaemenid Empire under Alexander the Great.
This new army enabled the Macedonian conquest of Paionia, Dardania and Thrace followed by Macedonian intervention and victory in the third sacred war against the Phocians resulting in the weakening of the strongest Greek states – mainly Thebes – and the unification of Macedon and Thessaly. A combination of military victories and diplomatic marriage alliances with neighbouring Kingdoms (most famously, Olympias of Epirus) enabled Philip to conquer the majority of the Balkan area by 338 BC; the year Philip defeated the Thebans and Athenians at Chaeronea. This victory cemented Macedonian hegemony over the Greek states (the new “League of Corinth” was created with Philip as guarantor) and established Macedon as one of the great powers of the period.
Join us next time for a look into the fourth-century Persian resurgence under Artaxerxes III.
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