Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon (382 – 336 BC) was king of Macedon from 359 to 336 BC. When he rose to the throne Macedon had suffered recent defeats against the Illyrians, Paionians and Thracians. Philip had to content with an Athenian invasion force. He soon set about reorganizing the army of Macedon and over the following twenty years managed to establish Macedon as the dominant state of the Balkans and leader of the League of Corinth, a Greek alliance.

He was initiating a campaign against the Achaemenid Empire when assassinated by Pausanias of Orestis, a bodyguard with personal grievances against him. Since ancient times the possibility that Pausanias did not act alone but was part of a wider conspiracy has been widely discussed. The truth of the matter is unknown since Pausanias was striked down minutes later and was never interrogated. Philip was succeeded by his son Alexander the Great. Philip was a polygamist and had married seven times. At the time of his death Alexander was his only legitimate son who had both reached adulthood and was of sound mind.

His succesful reign had much to do with Macedon taking control of gold mines, making Philip among the wealthiest monarchs of his time. The influence of his coinage spread far from the Greek areas. The Celts imitated them and cut their first coins of their own in a very similar style. Surprisingly the coins of Vercingetorix were still similar to those of Philip, about 300 hundred years following the assassination of the Macedonian king.

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