382?-336 b.c., King of the Macedonians
When Philip assumed the leadership of the
Macedonian kingdom in 360-359 b.c., few could have foreseen that he would transform this Balkan backwater into a formidable European power. But Philip had two major resources at his disposal: a tough people inhabiting a land rich in natural resources and the force of his own personality.
Philip fashioned the Macedonian army into the tool by which he exercised his foreign policy, using the service of his troops as a means by which they expressed their loyalty to him and to the Macedonian cause. The army thus emerged as both a personal and a national military force.
It is not clear just when Philip developed the plan to invade Asia, but it appears that his policy toward the Greek cities intended to create an alliance whose security he would guarantee through his military hegemony, thereby freeing him to pursue his Asian expedition. The Greeks, of course, did not see it that way, being fearful that Philip's alliance would mean the end of Greek freedom. Philip normally preferred diplomacy to military force: he was too careful a commander to risk good troops unnecessarily. Perhaps the best proof of his intentions is that, after he defeated the Greeks at
Chaeronea in 338 b.c., he created an alliance like the one he had offered the Greeks years earlier by peaceful means. One ancient writer described Philip as being prouder of his grasp of diplomacy than of his prowess on the field of battle. He was assassinated just before realizing his dream of invading Asia, but the task was brilliantly carried out by his son,
Alexander the Great.
Eugene N. Borza
