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Philip II of Macedon (Greek: Φίλιππος Philippos; 382 BC – 21 October 336 BC) was the king (basileus) of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ancient kingdom, and the father of Alexander the Great. The rise of Macedon, including its conquest and political consolidation of most of Classical Greece during his reign, was achieved by his reformation of the army (the establishment of the Macedonian phalanx that proved critical in securing victories on the battlefield), his extensive use of siege engines, and his use of effective diplomacy and marriage alliances. After defeating the Greek city-states of Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, Philip II led the effort to establish a federation of Greek states known as the League of Corinth, with him as the elected hegemon and commander-in-chief of Greece for a planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. However, his assassination by a royal bodyguard, Pausanias of Orestis, led to the immediate succession of his son Alexander, who would go on to invade the Achaemenid Empire in his father's stead. Early life Philip was born in either 383 or 382 BC, and was the youngest son of King Amyntas III and Eurydice of Lynkestis. He had two older brothers, Alexander II and Perdiccas III, as well as a sister named Eurynoe. Amyntas later married another woman, Gygaea, with whom he had three sons, Philip's half-brothers Archelaus, Arrhidaeus, and Menelaus. After the assassination of Alexander II, Philip was sent as a hostage to Illyria by Ptolemy of Aloros. Philip was later held in Thebes (c. 368–365 BC), which at the time was the leading city of Greece. While in Thebes, Philip received a military and diplomatic education from Epaminondas, and lived with Pammenes, who was an enthusiastic advocate of the Sacred Band of Thebes. In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedon. In 359 BC, Philip's other brother, King Perdiccas III, died in battle against the Illyrians. Before leaving, Perdiccas had appointed Philip as regent for his infant son Amyntas IV, but Philip succeeded in taking the kingdom for himself. Philip's military skills and expansionist vision of Macedonia brought him early success. He first had to remedy the woes over Macedonian territory faced by his throne's government. This was a predicament that had greatly worsened through Macedonia's defeat by the Illyrians, a struggle in which King Perdiccas himself had died. The Paeonians and the Thracians had sacked and invaded the eastern regions of Macedonia, while the Athenians had landed at Methoni on the coast with a contingent under the Macedonian pretender Argaeus II. Military career Improvements to the army Using diplomacy, Philip pushed back the Paeonians and Thracians promising tributes, and defeated the 3,000 Athenian hoplites (359 BC). Momentarily free from his opponents, he concentrated on strengthening his internal position and, above all, his army. Philip II made many notable contributions to the Macedonian army. The cavalry, which were the primary source of the army's strength, went from a force of 600 to 4000 from the time of the battles with the Illyrians to 334 BC. The discipline and training of the soldiers increased as well, and the Macedonian soldiers under Philip were provided with the possibility of promotion through the ranks and rewards and bonus wages for exceptional service. In addition to these changes, Philip created the Macedonian phalanx, an infantry formation that consisted of soldiers all armed with a sarissa. Philip is credited for adding the sarissa to the Macedonian army, where it soon was the common weapon used by most soldiers. Early military career Philip had married Audata, daughter or granddaughter of the Illyrian king Bardylis. However, this marriage did not prevent him from marching against the Illyrians in 358 BC and defeating them in a battle in which some 7,000 Illyrians died (357 BC). By this move, Philip established his authority inland as far as Lake Ohrid and earned the favour of the Epirotes. After securing the western and southern borders of Macedon, Philip went on to besiege Amphipolis in 357 BC. The Athenians had been unable to conquer Amphipolis, which commanded the gold mines of Mount Pangaion, so Philip reached an agreement with Athens to lease the city to them after his conquest, in exchange for Pydna (which was lost by Macedon in 363 BC). However, after conquering Amphipolis, Philip captured Pydna for himself and kept both cities (357 BC). Athens soon declared war against him, and as a result, Philip allied Macedon with the Chalcidian League of Olynthus. He subsequently conquered Potidaea, this time keeping his word and ceding it to the League in 356 BC. In 357 BC, Philip married the Epirote princess Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians. Alexander was born in 356 BC, the same year as Philip's racehorse won at the Olympic Games. During 356 BC, Philip conquered the town of Crenides and changed its name to Philippi. He then established a powerful garrison there to control its mines, which yielded much of the gold he later used for his campaigns. In the meantime, his general Parmenion defeated the Illyrians again. In 355–354 BC he besieged Methone, the last city on the Thermaic Gulf controlled by Athens. During the siege, Philip was injured in his right eye, which was later removed surgically. Despite the arrival of two Athenian fleets, the city fell in 354 BC. Philip also attacked Abdera and Maronea, on the Thracian coast (354–353 BC). Third Sacred War Philip's involvement in the Third Sacred War (356–346 BC) began in 354 BC. At the request of the Thessalian League, Philip and his army traveled to Thessaly in order to capture Pagasae, resulting in an alliance with Thebes. A year later in 353 BC, Philip was once again asked to assist in battle, but this time against the tyrant Lycophron who was supported by Onomarchus. Philip and his forces invaded Thessaly, defeating 7,000 Phocians and forcing Phayllus, the brother of Onomarchus, to leave. That same year, Onomarchus and his army defeated Philip in two succeeding battles. Philip returned to Thessaly the next summer, this time with an army of 20,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and the additional support of the Thessalian League's forces. At the Battle of Crocus Field, 6,000 Phocians fell and 3,000 were taken as prisoners and later drowned. This battle earned Philip immense prestige as well as the free acquisition of Pherae. He was made the leader (archon) of the Thessalian League and was able to claim Magnesia and Perrhaebia, which expanded his territory to Pagasae. Philip did not attempt to advance into Central Greece because the Athenians, unable to arrive in time to defend Pagasae, had occupied Thermopylae. There were no hostilities with Athens yet, but Athens was threatened by the Macedonians. From 352 to 346 BC, Philip did not again .... Discover the Philip Mcfarland popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Philip Mcfarland books.