The Art of War: Military and Diplomatic Tactics of Philip II

This essay examines the military tactics, diplomacy, and deceit employed by Philip II of Macedon to expand his empire. It highlights his early military successes, such as the annexation of Paeonia and his victory over Bardylis. The essay further analyzes Philip's use of diplomacy through matrimo...Read More

Running head: MILITARY TACTICS OF PHILIP THE SECOND
Military tactics of Philip the Second
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1MILITARY TACTICS OF PHILIP THE SECOND
One of the greatest great in the ancient times was Philip the second of Macedon.
He ruled the country of Macedon during the three hundred BC and is popularly
known in history to be the father of Alexander the Great (Gilley 2016). Much of
history speaks about the achievements and the great feats of Alexander but his father
was equally impressive in his battles and tactics. He employed many means to
conquer the neighbouring kingdoms of Macedon and even went to the extent to
employ tactics of diplomacy and deceit to expand his power (Ryder 1994). So great
was the ability of Philip the Second that he even challenged the might of the power of
the Athens who were considered to be the most powerful kingdom during that time.
This essay seeks to analyse the different means of warfare, diplomacy and deceit
utilized by Philip the Second during his time as an Emperor.
The use of military tactics by Philip the Second can be observed in his initial
attempts to expand his territory by capturing the surrounding states of Macedon. His
first significant attack was on the region of Paeonians when its King, Agis passed
away (Buckler 1996). Philip took absolute advantage of this opportunity to strike an
attack on the unaware neighbouring state, thereby annexing it with the territory of
Macedon. This happened as early as 359 BC. Philip the Second again launched an
attack on the region of Bardylis. Bardylis controlled a considerable portion of
Northern Macedon which led to the unhappiness of Philip the Second. The King of
Bardylis wanted to negotiate a peace treaty with Philip the Second in the hopes of
maintaining the status quo as it existed between the two powers (Welch 2016).
However, Philip saw this to be at his disadvantage, instead choosing to go to war with
Bardylis. Ultimately, Philip emerged victorious in the war, leading to a considerable
improvement upon his image in the world.

2MILITARY TACTICS OF PHILIP THE SECOND
Philip the Second also utilized the art of diplomacy to expand his territorial hold
over the other countries of the world. In the year 358 BC, Philip was presented with
an opportunity when Aleuadae of Larissa, who was based in Thessaly, wanted to
defeat the power of Alexander of Pherae who was addressed to be a tyrant (Howe,
Garvin and Wrightson 2015). In this scenario, Aleuadae of Larissa wanted the aid of
Philip. According, Philip entered in to a matrimonial alliance with Philinna of Larissa
and concurred to the diplomatic ties between the two kingdoms. The second example
where Philip the Second utilized the diplomatic relations was in the case of
Neoptolemus I of Epirus. Epirus was a powerful empire at that time and in order to
have the backing of this mighty empire, Philip married the daughter of the King,
named as Olympias. Olympias is the mother of Alexander the Great. Moreover, the
uncle of Olympias was the King of Arybbas. The marriage alliance aided Philip to
secure the alliance of the Molossians in Epirus who were an important power in the
Western part of Macedon. As a result, Philip was able to secure the western front of
his empire with his diplomatic agenda.
The use of deceit can be clearly observed in the case of Amphipolis. Amphipolis
shared a close relation with Athens, who was at that time worried about her alliances
with the other countries. Philip used this opportunity to launch an attack on
Amphipolis who had to fight the battle alone (Brice 2015). By the time Athens came
to the support of Amphipolis, much harm had already been done. Moreover, this
incident sparked the ten year war between Athens and Macedon.
The concerned countries wanted to negotiate a peace treaty with Philip which
would put a halt to his territorial expanding desires. As a result, the Peace of
Philocrates was drafted which called for a negotiations amongst the countries. One

3MILITARY TACTICS OF PHILIP THE SECOND
unique feature that can be observed is that the Peace of Philocrates was drafted in
such a way that it favoured Philip and his demands. However, one of the officers of
Athens, known as Demosthenes was reluctant to believe in Philip and was of the
opinion that Philip posed a major challenge to the might of the Athens. As a result,
when Philip was in the need of help, Athens refused to answer the call.
Thus, to conclude, it is noted that Philip is one of the greatest ruler of the
Macedonia empire. He built a large empire for the benefit of his successors which was
carried forward by the legacy of Alexander.

4MILITARY TACTICS OF PHILIP THE SECOND
References:
Brice, L.L., 2015. Military unrest in the age of Philip and Alexander of Macedon:
Defining the terms of debate. Greece, Macedon and Persia, p.69.
Buckler, J., 1996. ‘Philip II’s Designs on Greece’, Transitions to Empire. Essays in
Honor of E. Badian, pp. 77-97.
Gilley, D.L., 2016. Macedonian Empire. The Encyclopedia of Empire, pp.1-8.
Howe, T., Garvin, E.E. and Wrightson, G., 2015. Greece, Macedon and
Persia. Studies in Social, Political and Military History in Honour of Waldemar
Heckel.
Ryder, T.T.B., 1994. The diplomatic skills of Philip II. Ventures into Greek History,
pp.228-57.
Welch, M.T.J., 2016. Tales of Philip II under the Roman Empire: Aspects of
Monarchy and Leadership in the Anecdotes, Apophthegmata, and (Doctoral
dissertation, The University of Queensland).