The rise of Macedonia - World History

The rise of Macedonia ( 370 ) Philip II of Macedon makes his country the greatest Greek power.

In 370 Jason of Feres was assassinated. It seems that Jason planned to make Thessaly the greatest Greek power, but with his death Thessaly lost the opportunity. The government passed into the hands of his nephew Alexander, but he was a cruel man who lost the support of the other Thessalian tribes. King Amyntas III of Macedonia also died, who was succeeded by his son Alexander II. Macedonia tried to impose itself on decadent Thessaly, and so for a time the two Alexanders were at war.

Meanwhile, Thebes continued to crush Sparta. Epaminondas freed Messenia. In 369 the Messenians founded the city of Messene .around the fortress of Mount Ítome, where long ago the helots resisted. Sparta was reduced only to Laconia. At this time Alexander II of Macedonia asked Thebes for help against the Thessalians. Thebes sent an army north under Pelopidas, who signed a treaty with the Macedonian king. This gave Sparta a break. In addition, Athens became uneasy with the rise of Thebes and sided with Sparta. Syracuse also sent troops and with this help King Agesilaus II was able to defend Laconia from two invasion attempts by Thebes.

In 368 Dionysius of Syracuse found himself in a position to make up for the defeat he had suffered against Carthage eleven years earlier. He marched west again and besieged the new Carthaginian stronghold: Lilibeo. However he was unable to take it and instead he had to watch from shore a naval battle in which his fleet was destroyed. Meanwhile, King Alexander II of Macedonia was assassinated by Ptolemy of Aloros, a courtier who proclaimed himself tutor to his victim's brother, now the new King Perdiccas III, and assumed the regency. This undid the agreement between Macedonia and Thebes, so in 367 Pelopidas returned to his city. However, as a precautionary measure to prevent Thebes from being threatened by Macedonia, he took some nobles hostage, including Philip, the third son of Amyntas III.

That same year Dionysius of Syracuse died. After the last defeat against Carthage, his empire was falling apart. However, it seems that he had a joy. Dionysus was fond of poetry and often sent his work to the many contests held in Greece. He had occasionally won third and even second prizes, but never his first, until this year, when he won first prize with his dramatic poem "Hector's Rescue." It is said that after hearing the news he organized a great banquet that made him sick and led to his death.

Dionysus was succeeded by his son, named Dionysius the Younger . He was then twenty-four years old and not very experienced, but he allowed himself to be advised by his uncle Dion and by the historian Philistus.Dion had spent several years in Plato's Academy, and he convinced his nephew to call the philosopher back to the Syracuse court. Plato agreed. Perhaps he was hoping that the new tyrant could put into practice his political theories, which essentially consisted of an iron dictatorship of the wise. Dionisio was impressed by the teacher, and began to study mathematics. Philistus waited for the young man to tire of the theorems and then began to suggest that his uncle was trying to distract him with Plato in order to take over the government of the city. Finally Dionysus exiled Dion and Plato chose to return to his Academy in Athens, where Dion also went.

In Rome the plebeians finally achieved equal rights against the patricians. It seems that the influence of Camilo was decisive in the process, who managed to get the Licinio-Sextian laws approved.(named after the two consuls of that year). These laws established that commoners could access the consulate, and some time later the custom established that at least one of the two consuls was from a commoner family. In addition, there were limits to the amount of land that could be owned by a single man, so the patricians stopped pressuring the plebeian farmers to keep their land. Since then, laws and decrees have been promulgated with the initials SPQR ( Senatus Populus Que Romanus,the Senate and the Roman People), as a sign that the Senate and the People acted jointly. From this moment Rome began a vertiginous recovery that would make it in a short time one of the powers of Italy. Camillus died in 365.

That same year, the young King Perdiccas III of Macedonia was able to have his tutor murdered, the one who had murdered his brother three years earlier. Immediately afterwards he restored the treaties with Thebes and so Pelopidas led an expedition against Thessaly, but he was captured and held prisoner for several months, until another expedition led by Epaminondas was able to free him. In 364 Philip, the brother of Perdiccas III returned to Macedonia, Pelopidas set out again for Thessaly and faced Alexander at Cynoscephalus, north of Feres. The Thebans won, but Pelopidas was killed in battle. Alexander lost all influence beyond Feres herself. Since then he dedicated himself to piracy.

In 362 Epaminondas attacked Sparta for the fourth time. The old king Agesilaus II was willing to defend the city to the death, but Epaminondas must have thought that a final defeat for Sparta could unite the other Greek powers against Thebes, so he managed to avoid direct combat and instead Instead he took the fight to the city of Mantinea,where he faced the allied troops of Sparta and Athens. The Greeks were still at a loss as to how to deal with the phalanx, and Epaminondas again achieved a complete victory, except for the fact that a javelin struck and killed him. With the death of Epaminondas and Pelopidas the decline of Thebes began.

In 361 the Chinese state of Qin passed into the hands of Duke Xiao. He appointed Shang Yang, who had held a minor position as an official in the neighboring kingdom of Wei, as his adviser. Shang Yang promoted a system of rewards and fines that led most of the population to adopt productive trades. It was the first of a series of measures that would dramatically strengthen Qin's position vis-à-vis the other states.

In 360 Nectanebo I, king of a flourishing Egypt, died and was succeeded by his son Teos. The Persian Empire was still a threat, and the new king decided to place his army in the hands of a Greek general. He chose none other than Agesilaus II of Sparta. The old king had no more business in his weary city and was forced to offer his services as a mercenary for pay. However, Teos was disappointed when he saw that lame and withered old man, so he did not give him the supreme command of his army, but only entrusted him with the Greek troops. He sent for the Athenian Cabrias and put him in command of his fleet.

Teos considered that he was in a position to attack Persia, and so his troops entered Syria. However disputes arose between Athenians, Spartans and Egyptians, so the project was aborted. On the other hand, a relative of Teos claimed the throne and tried to get Agesilaus to kill the king. This one refused, but Teos was forced to flee to Persia, and the pretender to the throne occupied it with the name of Nectanebo II. Agesilaus decided to return to Sparta, but died on the journey. He was succeeded by his he son Archidamus III.

In 359 Philip, the brother of King Perdiccas III of Macedonia, married Olympias, niece of the King of Epirus (after the death of Dionysius of Syracuse, the Molossians had regained control of the country). That same year Perdiccas III died in one of the many skirmishes that he was forced to maintain to protect his kingdom from the barbarians of the north. The throne was occupied by his son Amyntas IV,but he was a minor. Macedonia had enemies in all directions, so it could not afford a weak government. Filipo was appointed regent, with only twenty-one years. It was a wise decision. In his stay in Thebes he had learned much from Epaminondas. He attacked in all directions: first against the Paeonians (to the north), then against the Illyrians (to the west). In 358 he had put an end to border raids. Relations with Epirus were good, thanks to his marriage. In fact, it was Philip who put his brother-in-law, Alexander I , on the throne of Epirus. Then he set his sights on the east, in Chalcidice, where Olynthus led a confederation that competed with Athens. Philip knew how to intervene in the ongoing disputes between Olynthus and Athens, helping one party or the other, but always for his own benefit. His greatest achievement was to seize Amphipolis. When Olynthus and Athena began to realize that they were being played with, Philip used diplomacy and kept them calm. He then enlarged and reinforced a city located about a hundred kilometers from Amphipolis and renamed it Philippi. Nearby there were valuable gold mines whose yields he knew how to take advantage of.

Meanwhile the aged Persian king Artaxerxes II died, and was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes III. The change of king provoked the usual convulsions. One of those who had been waiting most avidly for the king's death was Mausolus, the satrap of Caria, who in recent years had been preparing for something great and now it was time for him to put his plans into practice. His first step was to intrigue the larger Aegean islands until he persuaded them to rebel against Athens. In 357 Athens sent a fleet, but it was defeated and its generals were dismissed. That same year Alexander of Feres died.

In 356 Philip of Macedon had a son, whom he named Alexander. Perhaps this led him to the conclusion that his position as regent was not the most suitable. For this reason he had Amyntas IV deposed and became Philip II .from Macedonia. At that time the Macedonian army was undoubtedly the best prepared in all of Greece. The cavalry had always been an important part of the Macedonian army. In addition, Philip adopted the ideas of Iphicrates and trained numerous peltasts and slingers. He also perfected the Theban phalanx. Instead of envisioning her as a mere human battering ram, he made her less dense and more maneuverable. The men in the rear rested their long spears on the shoulders of the following soldiers, but at any moment they could swing them in any direction. This is how the Macedonian phalanx arose , that for a long time was to be the most perfect weapon of war in the civilized world.

That same year, the great temple of Artemis in Ephesus was consumed by fire. It turned out to be an arson attack. When the culprit was captured and asked why he had done it, he replied that in order for his name to live in history (maybe not true, today there is no shortage of unbalanced men who falsely claim murder and other shocking crimes to gain celebrity ). The individual was executed and it was agreed that his name would be erased from all testimonies and would never be pronounced to frustrate his purpose, but the truth is that the alleged moron is known: his name was Erostrato.

In 355 the Athenian general Cares landed in Asia and had no difficulty prevailing over Mausolus's Persian troops, but Athens did not want conflict in Asia. She no longer had colonial aspirations and used her advantage to sign a generous peace with the satrap. She admitted the independence of the Aegean islands and left them to their fate. Thus the Athenian confederation was dissolved forever. This year Xenophon died.

Dion, Dionysius the Younger's uncle, managed to return to Syracuse, oust his nephew, and seize power. He ruled as despotically as his predecessors, but was unable to prevent Syracuse from continuing its decline.

On the other hand, Fócida once again seized Delphi, in a new attempt to dominate the sacred city that was his long ago. Thus began the Third Sacred War. Thebes marched against Fócida, and in 354 achieved a victory, although not final. Phocis liberated Delos and decided to expand at the expense of Thessaly.

Meanwhile, the cities of Latium were forced to join a new Latin League of which Rome was the unquestioned leader. At the same time, the southern part of Etruria recognized Roman sovereignty, giving Rome control of a territory of about 7,500 square kilometers in central Italy.

The Thessalians, threatened by Focida, decided to ask Philip II of Macedonia for help. By then the king had managed to seize the last Athenian possession in the north. The focenses faced him, but finally, in 353 Philip II won and seized all of Thessaly. The Greeks then saw that Macedonia was becoming a serious threat, so Sparta, Athens, and other cities allied with Phocis. However, Sparta deviated from the common interest and tried to seize Megalopolis, its former possession, so Athens backed down to prevent it and the front against Philip II was broken.

That same year Mausolus annexed the island of Rhodes, but died soon after, thus Caria lost all prominence. However, Mausolo is remembered more for his death than for his life. His widow, Artemis, decided to erect a magnificent funerary monument for him at Halicarnassus. It was adorned with gigantic statues of the couple, with carved friezes around them. It was called the Mausoleum, and its fame was such that today any funerary monument is still called a mausoleum.

Dion, the tyrant of Syracuse, was also assassinated. After a period of confusion, Dionysus the Younger managed to regain the power that his uncle had taken from him. Syracuse was governed with more cruelty and inefficiency than ever.

In 352 Philip II headed for Thrace and dominated the routes by which Athens supplied supplies from her colonies on the Black Sea. This caused alarm in Athens. One of the most eloquent voices that denounced the Macedonian threat was that of Demosthenes.He would have been about thirty-two years old then. His childhood must have been difficult, as his father died shortly after his birth and a relative fled with the family fortune. Many anecdotes are told about his youth, such as that he shaved only half of his face to force himself to stay away from people, studying. It is also said that he overcame a pronunciation problem by speaking in front of the sea with stones in his mouth. The fact is that he ended up becoming one of the most famous Greek speakers.

Demosthenes delivered his First Philippic, trying to convince the Athenians to declare war on Philip II, but was unsuccessful. Part of the people no longer believed that the city could successfully embark on such adventures, and even another part did not see Philip II as a threat, but as a powerful Greek capable of definitively unifying Greece. Among Philip II's supporters were Isocrates and Aeschines, also famous for his oratory.

In 351 Artaxerxes III was prepared to invade Egypt, but was repulsed thanks in large part to Greek mercenaries. The Persian king had to withdraw, as Syria revolted and more and more Greek pirates were causing disturbances in the empire.

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