Military Conquest of Philip the Second

Running head: MILITARY CONQUEST OF PHILIP THE SECOND
Military Conquest of Philip the Second
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1MILITARY CONQUEST OF PHILIP THE SECOND
Philip the Second was one the greatest kings of Macedonia during the three
hundred BC (Müller 2018). He is popularly known to be the father of Alexander the
Great, but there are many accomplishments of his which make him a unique character
to be studied in itself. This essay seeks to understand the military exploits of Philip in
to the land of Greece. In this regard, the essay looks in to the use of diplomacy by
Philip the Second as in contrast to the use of military force by him.
Philip is recognised to be the conqueror of Macedonia who redesigned his army
in order to make it stronger and more effective (Thomas 2017). He made the army so
that they become quite invincible in their exploits and also be able to conquer other
territories.
Philip’s military exploits can be seen to be starting as early as 359 BC when the
King of Paeonians, Agis, passed away (Martin 2016). Philip took this opportunity to
attack against the foreign power, ultimately emerging victorious in his conquest. In
the year 359 BC, Philip even went against Bardylis who had a firm control over the
upper part of Macedonia. Bardylis wanted to enter in to a treaty with Philip which
advocated for the maintenance of status quo but Philip did not believe in diplomacy.
He went in to a war with Bardylis and emerged victorious by defeating the king.
With respect of the use of diplomacy by Philip, in 358 BC, Aleuadae of Larissa
residing in Thessaly, wanted the aid of Philip to fight against Alexander of Pherae,
who was considered to be a tyrant. In order to help Aleuadae of Larissa, Philip
entered in to a marriage agreement with Philinna of Larissa (Worthington 2015). A
second instance of diplomacy employed by Philip in order to protect his kingdom was
the marriage with Olympias. Olympias was the daughter of Neoptolemus I of Epirus.
The king of Arybbas was her uncle. As a result of this marriage, Philip could enter in