0:08

I've been watching Shogun on Hulu

0:10

recently and really enjoying it. It's

0:12

a really well-constructed narrative mashup of

0:14

fish out of water, culture clash,

0:16

romance, political thriller, and spectacle war

0:18

movie. The acting is great, the

0:20

costumes are rich, the cinematography is

0:22

transported, it's all around a great

0:24

show. But while I am invested

0:26

in the characters and their journeys,

0:28

one of the things that really piques my

0:31

curiosity is the real history of feudal Japan

0:33

at the time. The year is somewhere around

0:35

1600 and Wikipedia tells

0:37

me that this is the

0:39

tumultuous end to the Azuchi Momoyama

0:41

period, but that's academic. What's interesting

0:44

is the style of government, the

0:46

evolution of power. There are fragile

0:48

alliances, strained institutions, and tenuous agreements,

0:50

but ultimately it's a tale of

0:53

warlords. Those with enough will and

0:55

courage to take power, concentrate

0:57

it, and then take some more. Of

1:00

course, warlords have been with us throughout history

1:02

and not just in Japan. Even right now,

1:04

in 2024, warlords are tearing Haiti apart, for

1:09

instance, upending democracy and sowing a

1:11

lawless chaos. There's one warlord there

1:13

known as Barbecue, though he swears

1:15

the nickname comes from his mother's

1:17

roadside chicken joint and not his

1:19

tendency for burning his enemies alive.

1:22

And in the 4th century BCE,

1:24

there was Philip II of Macedon,

1:26

the man that defeated what we

1:28

know as classical Greece, whose conquest

1:30

was second only to that of

1:32

his son, Alexander the Great. And

1:35

that's the story we bring you on

1:37

today's Saturday Matinee, with an episode from

1:39

Warlords of History, a podcast that uncovers

1:41

the lifetimes and achievements of warlords from

1:43

ancient and medieval times. I hope you

1:46

enjoy. While you're listening, be sure to

1:48

search for and follow Warlords of History. We put

1:50

a link in the show notes to make it

1:52

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3:42

daily to 500-500. In

3:54

370 BCE at the Royal

3:56

Palace in the city of Pella,

3:58

Macedonia. The twelve-year-old boy by

4:00

the name of Philip stood off far

4:03

to the side, quiet, forgotten,

4:06

amidst the concerned bustling activity in

4:09

the room. Watching

4:11

and absorbing the scene before him

4:13

was sorrowful, yet keenly attentive eyes,

4:16

as his father, King Amentus

4:18

III of Macedon, who had taken ill,

4:20

lay in what would be his deathbed.

4:24

This attention was momentarily drawn to

4:26

his eldest brother, Alexander II,

4:28

the young, impetuous, and

4:32

hot-headed future king, as

4:34

he tersely commanded the royal physicians

4:36

to leave the room, having done

4:38

all they could but failing to

4:40

prevent the inevitable. Would

4:42

he be the one to guide

4:44

Macedonia out of this seemingly ever-present storm

4:47

surrounding the kingdom, threatening

4:49

its very existence? He

4:51

certainly had the right temperament for a warrior

4:53

king, an essential attribute

4:55

of a Macedonian monarch, but

4:58

something fundamental was missing, a

5:01

solid foundation to heal the internal

5:03

divides and unite the kingdom. Philip

5:06

looked again to his father, carefully

5:08

studying his face. The

5:11

burden of leadership had taken its toll

5:13

on King Amentus, although Philip

5:15

could now see the lines of

5:17

worry melt away as he cascaded

5:19

into his final sleep. His

5:22

breaths coming in irregularly and in

5:24

shallow bursts, struggling to

5:26

keep him alive. Struggle,

5:29

a notion that Philip clearly understood

5:31

his father had faced his entire

5:33

reign. Although Amentus

5:35

had somehow been able to hold

5:38

onto the Macedonian clown for twenty-two

5:40

years, he had been surrounded

5:42

by countless enemies internally and

5:44

externally throughout. As

5:47

such, his hold was ever

5:49

tenuous, severely limiting his

5:51

ability to govern and protect their

5:53

lands. This, while

5:56

the Macedonian court was beset

5:58

with intrigue, the trail and

6:00

murder, even within his own family. Disunity,

6:04

squabbling, fighting for crumbs, while

6:06

Macedonia's neighbors and the supreme

6:08

powers in that part of

6:10

the world were feasting. From

6:13

the very founding of the Kingdom of Macedonia

6:15

in 808 BCE to

6:17

that moment, these

6:19

were the issues that had always plagued

6:21

the Kingdom, locking it

6:23

into its status as a second-rate

6:26

power, a player of lesser importance,

6:28

far off, both literally and figuratively

6:31

in the fringes of the Greek

6:33

world. Philip shook

6:35

his head slowly while pondering these thoughts.

6:38

This didn't have to be the way of the world,

6:40

did it? Maybe there

6:42

was another way. At that moment,

6:45

even the young prince himself, nor anyone

6:47

else for that matter, could have foreseen

6:49

the rise of Macedon. Although

6:52

Philip in time would become the

6:54

architect, the innovator, the

6:56

builder of that foundation that would

6:58

take Macedon to unimagined heights. Welcome

7:08

to the Warlords of History podcast. I'm

7:11

your host, Mark Pimenta. The

7:13

focus of this podcast is on people,

7:16

those defined by the term warlord.

7:20

Fascinating warriors and leaders that made

7:22

a huge impact in history. Some

7:25

with more lasting effects and others

7:27

that were relatively short-lived, but certainly

7:29

no less interesting. That

7:32

said, when I select a particular warlord, I

7:34

plan to of course review their lifetime

7:36

and actions. But also

7:39

take this further by looking at

7:41

the environmental and political conditions right

7:43

before their lifetime. We'll

7:45

explore their motivations for taking on the mantle

7:48

of war. We'll

7:50

cover what they did, how they did

7:52

it, and finally what their legacy was

7:54

beyond their demise. But

7:56

with the caveat that I'm going to look

7:58

beyond the mainstream historical figures that everyone

8:01

knows about by taking on

8:03

lesser known subjects, such

8:05

as the feature of this episode, Philip

8:08

II of Macedon. Although

8:12

I wouldn't exactly say that Philip is

8:14

a lesser known historical figure, his

8:16

name at the very least is

8:18

known far and wide by many

8:20

history enthusiasts. But what

8:23

may come first to mind for most is

8:25

that he's the father of Alexander the Great,

8:28

the eternally youthful, renowned Macedonian

8:30

king that has been studied

8:32

and romanticized throughout history, helping

8:34

his father to reign supreme

8:36

in Greece and then

8:39

later upon Philip's death, fulfilling his

8:41

father's desire to conquer the Achaemenid

8:43

Persian empire, establishing one

8:46

of the largest empires in history,

8:48

undefeated in battle and considered to

8:51

be one of history's most successful

8:53

commanders. Following all of

8:55

this, it's easy to understand

8:57

how Philip has been overshadowed by

9:00

the astounding achievements of his son

9:02

and consequently how his story remains

9:04

obscure. In my

9:06

humble opinion, however, what Philip achieved

9:08

in his lifetime is no less

9:10

astounding, in some ways

9:13

even more unbelievable. When

9:15

he assumed the throne of Macedon in

9:18

359 BCE, he inherited

9:20

a kingdom that had been stagnating

9:22

for some time, wracked by

9:24

infighting, disunity, a poor economy

9:27

and mediocre military power. His

9:30

predecessors had a tenuous hold on

9:32

power internally, while surrounded

9:34

by neighbors that regularly chipped

9:37

away, most literally, at Macedonian

9:39

domains and sovereignty. Macedon

9:42

at that time was considered no more

9:44

than a minor player in the unfolding

9:46

drama that was classical Greece. In

9:49

many ways an afterthought of

9:51

the successive hegemon including Athens,

9:53

Sparta and Thebes, who

9:56

spurned Macedonia as no more than a

9:58

pawn in the wars of Greece. greater

10:00

nations, and in many

10:02

ways, at least prior to Philip's

10:04

reign, they were right. Though

10:06

as soon as Philip took charge in his first

10:09

year in 359 BCE, he miraculously reached into

10:13

the fire and pulled his nation out

10:16

of a terrible series of predicaments, using

10:19

an artful combination of cunning

10:21

diplomacy and military acumen in

10:24

symphony to stave off disaster,

10:27

providing just a hint of what

10:29

was to come. A

10:31

23 year reign from

10:34

359 to 336 BCE

10:37

that would coincide with the rise of

10:39

Macedon, taking it from

10:41

the periphery of classical Greece and

10:44

molding it into the undisputed superpower

10:46

of its time. How

10:49

is this even possible when

10:51

the kingdom he was handed was falling

10:53

apart at the seams, being assailed from

10:55

all sides? That

10:57

thought is exactly what makes Philip's

10:59

story so unbelievable. He

11:02

revolutionized the Macedonian army,

11:04

its configuration and tactics,

11:07

showing a brilliance that was only

11:09

matched by his diplomatic skills. Underneath

11:13

his jovial and friendly appearance,

11:15

he was shrewdly calculating, pitting

11:18

his enemies against one another, spinning

11:20

webs of alliances and agreements to

11:22

be kept or broken when convenient.

11:25

With somehow Philip always coming out

11:27

on top. And we

11:29

can't neglect the overall circumstances within Greece,

11:32

the development of a power vacuum

11:34

of sorts that followed in the

11:36

wake of the exhaustive Peloponnesian war,

11:39

veritably consuming all of Greece

11:41

and that ultimately paved the way for

11:43

others beyond the traditional contenders

11:46

of Athens and Sparta to ascend

11:48

as hegemon of the Greek world.

11:51

If somehow you had a time machine and were

11:53

able to see the 46 year old Philip near

11:55

the end of his time in 336 BCE, sitting

11:57

on his thrown

12:00

in the Macedonian capital of Pella, his

12:03

appearance alone would give an indication

12:05

of the toil required to bring

12:07

this to fruition. A

12:09

missing right eye that had been taken by

12:11

an arrow during a siege, his

12:13

smashed collarbone that had healed but never

12:16

really set properly, a disfigured

12:18

leg that had been pierced by a

12:20

lance leaving him permanently lame, and

12:23

numerous scars covering his entire body,

12:26

each one acting as a reminder to

12:29

leading his troops through so many

12:31

battles, sieges and skirmishes. Very

12:34

different from the unproven, fresh-faced Philip that would

12:36

have come to the throne at 23. He

12:40

proudly wore these scars like badges

12:42

of honor, and he was

12:44

still lively in energy and hungry for more,

12:47

despite having brought Greece to its knees.

12:50

The Achaemenid Persian Empire was to be

12:52

next. Philip's story

12:54

is indeed the stuff of legends, but

12:57

in order to better understand and

12:59

appreciate the scope and gravity of

13:02

his story, let's backtrack in time

13:04

to learn about the origins of

13:06

the ancient kingdom of Macedonia and

13:08

its regional neighbors, framing the

13:10

environment and political climate leading up

13:12

to his lifetime. Before

13:15

becoming established as a kingdom in 808 BCE,

13:19

Macedonia, also known as

13:21

Macedon, names that I'll

13:23

use interchangeably throughout the story, the

13:26

lands that would in time roughly make up

13:28

the boundaries of its early domains included

13:31

the alluvial flatland plains between

13:33

the Halia-Kamon and Axios rivers

13:36

in contemporary northern mainland Greece,

13:39

rivers that have their origins in

13:41

the surrounding highlands that also carry

13:44

in life-giving silt and nutrients to

13:46

these lowland plains, yielding

13:48

an abundance of fertile soils

13:51

perfect for livestock cultivation and

13:53

farming, which beckoned

13:55

various tribes to settle this landscape

13:57

in pockets, living independent for

14:00

one another with different laws and

14:02

chieftains, then later increasingly

14:04

mingling with one another through trade

14:06

and at times in conflict. It's

14:09

believed that these tribal people who

14:11

formed the basis of ancient Macedonia

14:14

shared a common heritage with the ancient

14:16

Greeks who ended up populating the

14:19

rest of the Greek peninsula to the south

14:21

of Macedon. However, some distance

14:23

was created beyond this common heritage

14:26

as the Macedonian predecessors intermingled

14:28

with the bloodlines of other

14:30

non-Greek tribes of the highlands

14:32

surrounding the plains. As

14:35

they settled and grew their populations on

14:37

these fruitful lands, they gradually

14:39

expanded their territories along the northern

14:42

edge of the Greek peninsula, an

14:45

area that would later be called

14:47

Lower Macedon, while either absorbing and

14:49

driving out the neighboring non-Greek tribes

14:52

that were of Illyrian, Peonian, and

14:54

Thracian ancestry. Three of

14:56

the collections of people neighboring Macedonia that

14:58

we'll expand on a little later on,

15:01

being that they factor in heavily during

15:03

Philip's early reign. From

15:06

a geographical standpoint, Mount

15:08

Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece,

15:11

and in Greek mythology the home

15:13

of the gods, marks the historical

15:15

southern limit of where Macedonia ended

15:17

and the Greek states began, a

15:20

distinction that I'll continue to use for

15:22

the sake of storytelling clarity. Underneath

15:25

of this, however, is a much broader

15:27

debate, because it's

15:29

heavily disputed how Greek Macedonia

15:31

was, a debate

15:33

present during Philip's lifetime and that

15:35

remains heated to this day, a

15:38

rabbit hole that I am leery of getting drawn

15:40

into. According to much

15:42

of the Greek world at the time, Macedonia

15:45

was not quite Greek and

15:47

not quite barbarian, rather

15:49

something in between, regarding

15:52

some of their customs cultural

15:54

practices with disdain as in

15:56

kuth or uncivilized behaviors. One

15:58

point in the book is that the Greek people example is

16:00

that Macedonia was a monarchy, a

16:03

political structure that the Greeks felt

16:05

was primitive, for people

16:07

not intelligent enough to rule themselves

16:10

in comparison to other forms, like

16:12

the Athenian democracy. Even

16:14

external powers, such as the

16:17

Achaemenid Persians, they applied an

16:19

interesting naming convention when referring

16:21

to the Macedonians, noting

16:23

similarities but also differentiating them from

16:25

the rest of the Greek world.

16:29

Naming the Greeks as Yona and

16:31

naming the Macedonians as Yona

16:33

Takabara, meaning Greeks with

16:36

hats that look like shields, referring

16:38

to the distinct Macedonian Kaziya

16:41

hat. Macedon

16:43

and Greece shared many characteristics,

16:46

a notion that would gain

16:48

momentum and grow more symbiotic, especially

16:50

during the classical Greek era,

16:53

which is 500 to 336 BCE. For

16:57

example, in language. While

16:59

there's controversy surrounding just how closely

17:01

related the ancient Macedonian language was

17:04

to ancient Greek, this gap would

17:06

later be narrowed as the Macedonians

17:08

adopted the Greek dialect that dominated

17:11

the peninsula in the 4th century

17:13

BCE. Another

17:15

significant similarity were their religious

17:17

beliefs, mirroring those of the

17:20

Greeks and following the deities of the

17:22

Greek pantheon. Religious

17:25

beliefs that are linked to the official founding

17:27

of the kingdom of Macedon, traditionally

17:29

marked as 808 BCE. A

17:32

founding shrouded in myth for reasons

17:34

of preserving and affirming legitimacy of

17:36

the Argea dynasty that ruled this

17:39

kingdom, the dynasty later that

17:41

Philip and his son Alexander also belonged

17:43

to. Conflicting accounts

17:45

name either Caranus or Perdicus

17:47

I as the initial king

17:50

of Macedon and the founder

17:52

of the Argea dynasty. In

17:54

both cases cited as relatives

17:57

to Tomenus, the mythical king

17:59

of Argos. a city

18:01

in the Peloponnese in southern Greece,

18:03

who in turn was the great-great

18:05

grandson of Heracles, the son

18:08

of Zeus, the king of the

18:10

Greek gods that ruled from Mount Olympus.

18:13

A lineage, which of

18:15

course sounds far-fetched to us, but

18:18

this was a common practice for noble families in

18:20

Greece, setting them apart from

18:22

the common riffraff, thus

18:25

establishing a direct lineage from

18:27

the gods to that of

18:29

the reigning Macedonian kings, a

18:31

necessity for legitimizing their right to

18:34

rule, being that no other

18:36

people, no matter how rich or powerful,

18:38

could possess those same rights. But

18:41

that also meant that for relatives

18:43

possessing these bloodlines, they were often

18:45

seen as valuable tools by foreign

18:47

rulers as a means to install

18:49

puppet kings, which you'll see

18:51

a little bit in this episode and definitely

18:54

in future episodes, because Philip had

18:56

to deal with a seemingly unending line

18:58

of pretenders to the throne, backed by

19:00

foreign powers. The

19:02

capital of this fledgling kingdom was initially

19:04

established as the city of Agae in

19:08

the mid-seventh century BCE, placing

19:10

it near to where the present-day town

19:12

of Virgina now sits. Interestingly,

19:15

the name Agae doesn't have

19:17

some grandiose meaning, but

19:20

surprisingly stands for the city or

19:22

place of goats. The

19:25

ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus relates

19:27

that it was named so by

19:29

King Perdicus I, who

19:31

was advised by Epithaean priestess to

19:34

build the capital of his kingdom

19:36

wherever he found white-horned and white-fleeced

19:38

ghosts resting at dawn. And

19:41

while I'm sure that we all appreciate

19:43

a good goat story, what

19:45

we now better understand thanks to

19:47

modern archaeology is that from

19:50

around 1000 BCE, the area within roughly

19:53

a 10 kilometer radius of where the

19:55

city would be founded was

19:57

already intensely occupied by Virgina.

20:00

villages and seemingly an

20:02

already important population center. While

20:05

a new capital would later be founded

20:07

at Pella in the 5th century BCE,

20:10

about 40 kilometers northeast to the original,

20:13

Ege would remain an important city

20:15

largely from a symbolic standpoint, used

20:18

for religious ceremonies like royal weddings

20:20

and as the location for the

20:22

royal tombs. Prior

20:24

to the late 5th and early 4th

20:26

centuries BCE, the territory of

20:29

the Kingdom of Macedon roughly

20:31

corresponds with the western and central

20:33

parts of the modern-day region of

20:35

Macedonia and Greece, forming

20:37

the portion of the kingdom known

20:39

as Lower Macedonia, encircled

20:42

by the surrounding mountains. However,

20:44

successive kings gradually expanded the

20:47

kingdom's boundaries to the highlands

20:49

west and northwest of Lower

20:51

Macedon, an area that

20:53

would eventually become known as Upper

20:55

Macedonia. History

20:58

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23:05

to again give this some context in

23:07

terms of location the lands

23:09

of upper Macedonia would roughly equate

23:12

to modern central north Greece and

23:14

the southern reaches of the country

23:16

today called the Republic of North

23:19

Macedonia I'll be sure to

23:21

include some maps on my website so you can

23:23

better see what I'm talking about here these

23:26

two portions of land are what formed

23:28

the domains of maston during Phillips early

23:30

reign and that of several generations of

23:32

our gay ed kings before him but

23:35

there were some important distinctions

23:38

between upper and lower Macedonia

23:41

in theory the king of maston was

23:43

the ruler of all mastodon but

23:46

in reality this centralized notion

23:48

of kingship was only really

23:50

recognized in lower Macedonia while

23:53

the tribes of upper Macedonia some of

23:55

these Greek some of these of non

23:57

Greek ancestry while offering regular

24:00

tribute to the king still retained

24:02

a strong sense of independence and

24:04

their own royal families, at

24:07

times rebelling and revolting against

24:09

Macedonian rulers. In

24:12

addition, while the inhabitants of

24:14

Lower Macedonia were largely settled

24:16

in farming communities, towns, and

24:18

some cities, those of

24:20

Upper Macedonia lived a pastoral

24:22

or semi-nomadic existence, herding goats,

24:24

sheep, and raising some cattle

24:27

and horses. The

24:29

Upper Macedonians also most heavily felt

24:31

the influence and threats of those

24:33

outside of the kingdom, various

24:36

tribes of the surrounding Illyrians,

24:38

Epirotes, and Peonians that

24:41

would regularly attack and occupy portions

24:43

of these lands, seeking

24:45

to increase their own pastoral holdings. Sometimes

24:49

the Upper Macedonian tribes would even throw

24:51

in their allegiance with these neighbors as

24:53

well, looking to separate from the kingdom

24:55

of Macedon. As

24:58

such, disunity remained a nagging problem

25:00

for Macedon throughout much of its

25:02

history, and aside from constantly

25:04

having to deal with this internal strife, this

25:07

also inhibited a unified front

25:09

when fighting against outside influences.

25:13

Another detrimental impact of this

25:15

disunity was on the Macedonian

25:17

economy, keeping it perpetually

25:20

poor. Lower

25:22

Macedonia had productive agricultural lands,

25:25

so at least they were well fed relative to

25:27

most of Greece, which of

25:29

course is important, but they didn't

25:31

really have much else going for them. Whereas

25:34

Upper Macedonia was rich in

25:37

natural resources, including mineral deposits,

25:39

but most importantly lumber, a

25:42

highly sought after commodity that was

25:44

scarce throughout Greece. Macedonian

25:48

lumber was prized and heavily imported

25:50

by city states like Athens, for

25:52

uses like shipbuilding. However, at

25:55

this time a huge proportion of the

25:57

source, these magnificent forests,

25:59

and were largely under the

26:01

control of the tribes within. Underscoring

26:04

an important notion in that

26:06

the pieces were there to

26:08

fuel a powerful national economy

26:11

but they were essentially inaccessible.

26:14

Or perhaps a better

26:16

characterization would be as

26:18

intermittently accessible because

26:20

as mentioned earlier conflict between

26:22

the Macedonian king and the

26:25

various upper Macedonian tribes was

26:27

a frequent occurrence. In

26:29

large part due to the squabbles

26:31

over land and the resources within. Would

26:34

the king unable to maintain a hold on

26:36

these areas? Overall

26:39

the Macedonian army was

26:41

rather lackluster in keeping

26:43

with its status as a second-rate power. However

26:46

there was one exception. Their

26:48

cavalry an exceedingly skilled group that

26:51

would become known as the companions

26:54

alluding to its lofty status as being

26:56

made up of those the

26:58

king which had prestige and

27:00

political influence attached to it. These

27:03

typically coming from the Macedonian nobility

27:06

as they were the only ones who could afford

27:08

to put up the expenses required to take part

27:10

in these types of units. Being

27:13

that a common practice across the

27:15

Greek world was that participation in

27:17

any army required self-funding in terms

27:19

of equipment. The

27:22

plains of lower Macedonia had always been

27:24

well suited for horse breeding. As

27:26

such this proud tradition grew with

27:29

the cavalry evolving to play a

27:31

prominent role in Macedonian armies early

27:33

on. The problem

27:35

with this however is that although

27:37

formidable they were relatively few in

27:40

number coming mostly from the aristocracy

27:43

thus limiting their effectiveness. Also

27:46

leaving the infantry habitually neglected

27:49

with the poor citizens filling its ranks

27:51

with less training and less prestige attached

27:53

to it. This

27:55

disjointed military wracked with self-imposed

27:58

limitations made it exciting. extremely

28:00

difficult for Macedonian kings to

28:02

exert any ongoing power over

28:04

the upper Macedonian tribes and

28:07

even worse made it extremely difficult

28:09

to ward off foreign incursions. While

28:12

all of this was happening within

28:14

Macedonia, while important to our story,

28:16

it barely registered among the superpowers

28:18

in that part of the world.

28:21

Nothing more than background noise who were

28:23

playing a greater game for much higher

28:26

stakes during which Macedon

28:28

would be swept into the storm,

28:31

one of the many weaker realms swallowed

28:33

up by the behemoths surrounding them, most

28:35

notably the lumbering giant to the east

28:37

of Greece across the

28:39

Aegean Sea, the Achaemenid

28:41

Persian Empire, spanning an

28:43

enormous five million square kilometers

28:46

from modern Afghanistan and northwest

28:48

India to Egypt and Anatolia,

28:51

Turkey. Led by

28:53

Darius I, the King of Kings

28:55

who in 513 BCE initiated

28:58

the first phase of his quest to

29:00

conquer Greece, a period

29:02

called the Persian Wars or

29:04

Greco-Persian Wars. Launching

29:07

a massive military campaign across

29:09

the Hellespont, what we today

29:11

call the Dardanelles, invading

29:13

Thrace, the Balkans and Macedon, which

29:15

fell and submitted to the Persians

29:18

becoming a vassal state, which

29:20

would last until 492 until

29:23

the Persians annexed Macedon, officially

29:25

incorporating it as a part of

29:27

the Achaemenid Empire. Though

29:30

Macedon was given a great deal

29:32

of autonomy in terms of administering

29:34

themselves, one unavoidable

29:37

expectation was providing military

29:39

support to Darius and

29:41

his successor, Xerxes, during

29:43

their expeditions into Greece.

29:45

And while Xerxes did manage to sack

29:47

the city of Athens, the

29:50

coalition of Greek city-states, one

29:52

of the rare times they united in pursuit

29:54

of a cause, inflicted a

29:56

series of stunning defeats on the Persians

29:59

in the battle. battles of Salamis

30:01

and then Plataea, forcing

30:03

the Achaemenids to withdraw from

30:05

Greece and the entirety of

30:07

mainland Europe in 479, in

30:09

the process also freeing Macedon from

30:12

their Persian overlords. The

30:14

victory over the Persians during the

30:16

Greco-Persian wars would give way to

30:19

the rise of Athens as a

30:21

superpower and the establishment of the

30:23

Delian League in 478, a coalition of Greek city-states

30:27

under Athenian leadership. The

30:30

purpose of this league was initially

30:32

aimed at inhibiting any further Persian

30:34

aggression, but was then

30:36

twisted by Athens for self-serving interests

30:39

and entrenching their power across the

30:41

coastlines of the Aegean Sea. No

30:44

longer an Athenian-led league, a

30:46

better description would be more

30:48

of an Athenian empire, pushing

30:51

an imperialist agenda backed

30:53

by their growing military power and

30:55

confidence, in particular their

30:57

navy, which was second to none,

31:00

the strongest and largest of all

31:02

the city-states. Through this,

31:04

Athenian allies were essentially turned into

31:06

subjects, with Athens in firm control

31:08

of the vast majority of cities

31:10

all along the coast of the

31:12

Aegean Sea, including the

31:14

Ionian Greek settlements along the

31:17

western coast of the Anatolian

31:19

Peninsula, the Dardanelles Strait, the

31:21

Bosporus Strait, even as

31:23

far as the coastline surrounding the Black Sea.

31:26

The Athenians had also established a

31:28

strong presence on the southern coast

31:30

of Macedon and Thrace, in

31:33

particular the city of Amphipolis, one

31:35

of its most important colonies due to

31:38

its control over the nearby gold and

31:40

silver mines, which will become

31:42

a key battleground into the future of

31:44

our story here. In fact,

31:46

among the many fights that Athens was

31:48

picking at this time, the Macedonian

31:51

kingdom was certainly on that list.

31:54

Following the reign of Perdicus II, King of Macedon from 454 to 413, the

32:00

The Macedonians were involved in a

32:02

number of conflicts against Athens, not

32:04

faring too well in these encounters,

32:06

while incursions by the Thracians

32:09

threatened Macedonians' territorial integrity to

32:11

the east. This

32:13

was a dark time for Macedonia, who

32:15

were forced into ceding land,

32:17

cities, and paying tributes to

32:19

numerous external entities. While

32:22

internally this inflamed the disunity that

32:24

I mentioned a little earlier. The

32:26

tribes in Upper Macedon, seeing

32:28

the weakness of their supposed monarch,

32:31

stopped with the tribute payments and

32:33

in some instances rebelling outright. The

32:36

Athenian Empire was gaining enormous

32:38

momentum, in the process reaping

32:40

a windfall of resources, riches,

32:42

and grains, strengthening the

32:45

Athenians to such a degree that

32:47

they were now threatening to become

32:49

the unassailable power in Greece. Which

32:52

of course alarmed the other superpower

32:55

in Greece, the

32:57

land-based military-focused powerhouse

32:59

Sparta. Widely known

33:01

even today to have one of the

33:03

finest land armies that ever existed, they

33:06

were also the leaders of the Peloponnesian League,

33:09

the counterpart or counterweight of the

33:11

Delian League. The Spartans understood

33:13

that the window was quickly closing

33:15

for them to stem the rising Athenian

33:17

power, otherwise be relegated

33:20

to subservience. As

33:22

such, in 431 the Peloponnesian War

33:24

erupted, which was essentially the ancient

33:27

Greek equivalent of a world war.

33:30

Sparta and the Peloponnesian League

33:32

vs Athens and the Delian

33:34

League, resulting in a brutal

33:36

and exhaustively draining 27 year

33:38

war that devastated the Greek

33:40

peninsula, pulling almost all the

33:42

Greek city-states, Macedonia, and other

33:44

foreign nations such as Persia

33:46

into this fight. The

33:48

Macedonian king Perdicus II cast their lot

33:51

in with the Spartans. Not

33:53

surprising really given the concerns with

33:55

the heavy-handed Athenian approach, who habitually

33:58

harassed and conquered the Macedonian

34:00

coastal holdings. However, Perdicus

34:02

was apparently unable to keep peace

34:04

with his allies, as

34:06

he would in due course change

34:08

his allegiance a dizzying amount of

34:10

times, from Sparta to

34:13

Athens, back to Sparta, and then

34:15

finally back to the Athenian side

34:17

by 414, although in

34:19

reality he was probably just looking aside

34:21

with a group that was most looking

34:23

like it would win the war, thereby

34:26

yielding the best returns for his kingdom.

34:29

Which didn't work out too well for Macedonian

34:31

in the end, who had wagered on the

34:33

wrong race horse, because in 404 BCE

34:36

the Spartans and their allies had

34:38

finally managed to conquer the city

34:40

of Athens after a prolonged siege,

34:43

tearing down the walls protecting the

34:45

city and dissolving the Delian League.

34:48

Although Athens lost the war, it would

34:50

recover some of its strength, and again

34:52

become one of the more influential city

34:55

states in Greece. However, it

34:57

would never regain its pre-war prosperity

34:59

or reach the lofty heights as

35:01

Hegemon. This title

35:04

now belonged to Sparta. But

35:06

in reality, all the city states,

35:08

even the victors, had been significantly

35:10

weakened and depleted following this

35:12

marathon of a war. The

35:15

economic costs of the prolonged conflict

35:17

were felt all across Greece, with

35:20

poverty that became widespread in the

35:22

aftermath. Another outcome

35:24

of the Peloponnesian War was that it

35:26

reshaped the ancient Greek world, significantly

35:29

reducing the economic and military

35:31

lead between the dominant city

35:33

states, Athens and Sparta, and

35:35

everyone else. Not

35:37

quite a power vacuum just yet, but

35:40

almost. Not allowing the

35:42

Hegemon to dominate the other states as

35:44

extensively as they did previously. As

35:47

mentioned, the Kingdom of Macedonian had found

35:50

itself on the losing side of the

35:52

Peloponnesian War thanks to Perdicus II, who

35:55

didn't have to deal with the fallout, being that he

35:57

died in 413 with his son and

36:00

Arcaleus the first succeeding him. Thankfully,

36:03

everyone in Greece was relatively spent

36:06

licking their wounds after the prolonged

36:08

war. So the Kingdom of

36:10

Macedon fared better than expected in the

36:12

aftermath, in part due to

36:15

Arcaleus being a capable ruler, recognized

36:18

for his numerous administrative and

36:20

infrastructure achievements such as

36:22

extensive road building helping to improve

36:24

the nation's economy and military mobility,

36:27

as well as moving the Macedonian capital

36:29

from Ege to Pella. Why

36:32

did he move it? Well, mainly for

36:34

three reasons. Firstly, to

36:36

start fresh with a new canvas, to

36:38

construct a more modern and impressive capital

36:41

city. Secondly, to gain sea

36:43

access for the capital. Being

36:45

that, in antiquity, Pella was

36:47

connected to the Aegean through an inlet,

36:50

although it has since silted over

36:52

leaving the site today landlocked. And

36:55

thirdly, historical accounts note that the

36:57

natural features around the city made

36:59

it more defensible against invading armies,

37:02

an elevated hill site jutting out

37:04

like an island surrounded by marshlands.

37:07

Unfortunately, this was only to be

37:09

a short burst of momentum for

37:12

Macedon, and where things get particularly

37:14

troublesome for the kingdom, in the

37:16

lead up to Philip's birth. Being

37:19

that, Arcaleus's reign would be cut short

37:21

in 399, murdered

37:23

by one of his entourage during a hunt, a

37:26

man by the name of Kratovas, who

37:28

then proclaimed himself as king, ruling

37:31

for a mere four days. Plunging

37:34

Macedonia into utter chaos over

37:36

the next six years, internal

37:39

battles of succession and civil

37:42

strife, obliterating much of the

37:44

improvements that had been made prior to

37:46

this time. The details

37:48

of which are extremely murky, but we

37:50

know that the crown exchanged hands at

37:52

least six times, with numerous

37:54

other pretenders to the throne emerging,

37:56

including some backed by foreign nations

37:58

looking to instill all puppet kings.

38:02

This chaotic, wild ride of short-term

38:04

Macedonian kings finally ending in 393

38:06

BCE, when Philip's father,

38:10

Amentus III, secured the throne

38:12

by assassinating his predecessor. But

38:15

by then, the damage had been done, and

38:18

while Amentus had managed to grasp the

38:20

crown, recent events made it

38:23

rather clear that holding onto it was

38:25

going to be more than a challenge,

38:27

surrounded by enemies at home and abroad.

38:30

Setting the tone for life in the

38:32

Macedonian court for the foreseeable future, a

38:35

soap opera of intrigue, murder,

38:38

and internal factionalism, with

38:40

external entities influencing and inserting

38:42

themselves to tease out desired

38:44

outcomes. In fact,

38:46

in 392 BCE, just one

38:49

year after assuming the throne,

38:52

Amentus was forced to flee from his kingdom,

38:54

owing to a massive invasion

38:56

of Illyrian and Dardanian tribes

38:59

under an ambitious ruler, King

39:01

Bardilis, whose lands bordered west

39:03

and northwest Macedonia. It's

39:05

debated whether the Dardanians were an

39:08

Illyrian tribe or a separate entity

39:10

altogether, but what seems to

39:12

be clear is that there was a

39:14

long tradition of conflict over the upper

39:16

Macedonian lands, including all of these people.

39:19

However, being that this was typically

39:22

situated around smaller tribal warfare, the

39:24

overall threat to the whole of

39:26

Maston was never too great and

39:29

somewhat localized. That is,

39:31

until Bardilis entered the picture. In

39:33

the years leading up to that point in time, and

39:36

Amentus' reign, Bardilis had arose to become

39:38

the king of his tribe and

39:41

then proceeded to dominate all the

39:43

Dardanian tribes. Roughly

39:45

correlating with the present day areas

39:48

of southeastern Serbia and Kosovo, followed

39:51

by the conquest of a number of

39:53

tribes in southern Illyria, which is modern

39:55

day Albania, thereby uniting a

39:57

huge collection of people under the name of the

39:59

tribe. his thumb. And was

40:01

now looking to expand his territory

40:03

into upper Macedonia, taking advantage

40:06

of the weakened state of Amentus'

40:08

new position. Bardilis

40:10

proceeded to defeat Amentus in a series

40:12

of battles and even managed to seize

40:15

the Macedonian capital, Pella, installing

40:17

a puppet king of the Argeid bloodline.

40:20

However, once Bardilis left Macedonia,

40:22

seeking new conquests in other

40:24

lands, Amentus would

40:26

shortly thereafter return, ousting

40:29

the pretender to regain his crown with

40:31

the help of Greek Thessalian allies, who

40:34

were directly south of Macedonia. Thessaly

40:37

was viewed by many contemporaries of

40:39

the time as the last bastion

40:41

of civilization before finding the barbarians

40:43

that lived beyond Mount Olympus to

40:46

the north, which

40:48

included the Macedonians that also

40:50

acted as a buffer state against

40:52

the truly uncivilized barbarians beyond. And

40:55

they probably very much desired Macedonia

40:57

to continue assuming that role, saving

41:00

them the trouble of having to deal

41:02

with the barbarians directly. An

41:05

interesting little side note regarding the word

41:07

barbarian. As we know, it's

41:09

somewhat of a blanket term to describe

41:11

a person or people that are considered

41:13

to be uncivilized. This word

41:16

has Greek origins, emerging out of

41:18

the ancient Greek language as barbaros,

41:21

which developed as an antonym for citizen.

41:23

Barbaros, in turn, originally

41:25

arose out of a form of

41:28

disparagement among Greeks, who believed that

41:30

the languages of non-Greeks sounded like

41:32

nothing more than gibberish, sounding

41:35

like bar-bar, easily

41:37

making the connection for us

41:39

to barbaros and ultimately barbarian.

41:42

But let's get back to our story. Although

41:44

Amentus had been reinstalled as the king,

41:47

he was well aware of where he stood

41:49

relative to the king of the dardanians and

41:51

Illyrians, and continued paying tribute

41:53

to Bardilis to prevent any further

41:56

invasions. These events

41:58

didn't escape the notice of all

42:00

the other nations surrounding Macedonia, including

42:03

the Calcidian League that

42:05

bordered Macedon to the southeast, situated

42:08

on the peninsula that juts out

42:10

into the northwest Aegean Sea. The

42:13

Calcidian League was a wealthy federation

42:15

of Greek cities, led by

42:17

the most powerful, called Olenthes, that

42:19

had broken away from Athenian domination

42:22

in 432. Seeing that

42:25

Macedonia was seriously struggling to

42:27

stay afloat, the Calcidian

42:29

seized upon this land-grabbing opportunity

42:31

and began occupying some of

42:34

Macedonian southeastern lands, including,

42:36

for a short time at least, its capital

42:38

city of Pella. This was

42:40

a particularly tumultuous time for the

42:42

Kingdom of Macedon, with the

42:44

nations of Thrace to the east and Peonia to

42:47

the north also rattling their

42:49

swords, circling like vultures

42:51

above the wounded animal that was Macedon,

42:53

waiting for it to drop so that

42:55

they too could feast. In

42:58

fact, one interesting anecdote

43:00

from this period that illustrates this

43:02

sentiment involves the Calcidian envoy that

43:04

had traveled to Sparta in 383,

43:07

describing that the Macedonian king had been

43:09

forced to retire from a number of

43:12

his cities and had all but fallen

43:14

out of his kingdom. History

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44:53

surrounded Macedonia practically on all

44:55

sides with perhaps only

44:58

its southern border secure with Bessaly

45:00

who had recently helped them to avoid

45:02

a complete disaster by bailing out Amentus.

45:06

This was the dire state of

45:08

the kingdom into which Philip II

45:11

was born in 382 BCE in

45:13

Pelham Macedon, the youngest

45:15

or second youngest of four children including

45:17

two older brothers, the

45:19

children of King Amentus III and

45:22

his wife Eurydice, a fiery woman

45:24

from upper Macedonia who played

45:26

an unusually large role in Macedonian

45:28

public life and was known to

45:30

be rather aggressive in terms of

45:32

court intrigues and also in the

45:34

political sphere. Of

45:36

note is that Philip also had three half

45:39

brothers from his father's second wife. Although

45:41

having multiple wives was somewhat common

45:44

among the Macedonian ruling class, polygyny

45:46

was another aspect of their culture

45:48

that the Greeks frowned upon viewing

45:51

this in bad taste similar

45:53

to the practices of other uncultured

45:55

barbarians. Granted there

45:57

was a bigger and very real problem

46:00

that came with this practice. In

46:02

that, there were loads of people

46:04

running around possessing the Argead bloodline,

46:06

thus adding to the morass of

46:08

people with claims to the Macedonian

46:10

throne. And while

46:12

these three half-brothers weren't in the immediate

46:14

line of succession, given

46:16

what we now know of the

46:18

value of the Argead dynasty in

46:21

terms of legitimacy to kingship, these

46:23

men would later be leveraged by

46:25

foreign powers, attempting to install puppet

46:27

rulers. In his youth,

46:29

despite Macedonia being a comparatively weaker

46:31

and poorer nation versus the dominant

46:34

powers in the region, Philip

46:36

was still the son of a king, receiving

46:39

an excellent education by the

46:41

standards of the day, learning

46:43

Greek philosophy, drama, and poetry,

46:46

developing strong oratory skills in

46:48

the process, a vital

46:50

component for someone destined to be active

46:52

in public life, even though

46:55

it was unlikely that he would ever rise

46:57

to become king as the youngest of three

46:59

male heirs. Nonetheless, he would

47:01

have still been expected to be appointed

47:03

to a lofty position, including

47:05

participation in the military, which

47:08

was an absolute must for the males

47:10

of the aristocratic class. Accordingly,

47:14

the training he received in his youth

47:16

was well-rounded, including an

47:18

extensive amount of physical conditioning,

47:21

and he would have been well-versed in

47:23

a wide range of athletics, in particular

47:25

running, horse riding, and various forms of

47:28

combat and weapons training that would have

47:30

been emphasized. Hunting would have

47:32

also been included in this sphere, helping

47:35

to instill virtues of bravery and

47:37

courage. Beyond the formal

47:39

schooling and martial training that he received,

47:41

a key part of his education

47:44

included an early indoctrination into court

47:46

life in order to gain insights

47:48

and learnings on proper conduct in

47:51

these proceedings and about

47:53

the issues assailing his kingdom, involving

47:56

two key parts, the

47:58

more public assemblies that that primarily

48:00

consisted of ranking men of the

48:03

Macedonian noble families, which interestingly the

48:05

king did not get to select,

48:08

being that these spots had been guaranteed

48:10

by birthright, would the king

48:12

considered to be something more akin to a

48:14

first among equals, during

48:16

which they would meet to discuss issues

48:18

regarding their kingdom and offer up advice

48:20

to the king, who was

48:22

the ultimate decision maker but not

48:25

necessarily beholden to the nobility. Granted,

48:27

at the point before Philip's reign,

48:29

the nobility still held a considerable

48:32

balance of power versus the king,

48:34

meaning that Macedonian monarchs needed

48:37

to keep the nobility happy,

48:39

otherwise they might find themselves murdered

48:41

and replaced by another of the

48:44

Argaic lineage. That would

48:46

be more agreeable. Also, at

48:48

times when there was no clear heir to

48:50

the throne or multiple competing

48:52

claims, textual evidence

48:55

suggests that it was this group that

48:57

would be the decision makers on royal

48:59

succession. In addition to

49:01

these public assemblies, Philip would

49:03

have also attended the smaller, wine-soaked

49:05

meetings called symposia, wherein, unlike those

49:07

broader assemblies, the king would have

49:10

his pick of the litter, selecting

49:12

influential men from nobility, the

49:15

military, philosophers and poets to

49:17

debate, plot and revel with

49:20

one another, while languishing, reclined

49:22

on ornate couches. Although

49:26

only those that had killed a wild

49:28

boar by themselves during a hunt were

49:31

allowed to recline, otherwise they

49:33

were required to sit up throughout the

49:35

event. This was a

49:37

more tight-knit group, highly

49:39

sought after, with the

49:41

Macedonian elite probably clamouring to get

49:43

invited into these in order to

49:45

win the king's favour. Also,

49:48

being that the Macedonians were apparently

49:50

among the hardest-drinking folks in that

49:52

part of the world, drinking

49:54

copious amounts of undiluted wine was

49:57

another feature of these meetings, typically

50:00

devolving into a debauched celebration

50:02

following the more serious discussions,

50:05

which was another aspect of their

50:07

culture that was considered barbaric, demonstrating

50:10

the lack of restraint necessary for

50:12

a civilized society. Beyond

50:15

the public assemblies and symposia, there

50:17

was something else about his upbringing

50:20

in the Macedonian court and royal

50:22

family that was much darker, but

50:24

that nonetheless provided an essential piece

50:27

of his character that would help

50:29

him to achieve his goals without

50:31

always resorting to overt military force.

50:35

Philip became widely known to be

50:37

a master of diplomacy, using

50:39

intrigue and cunning, leveraging

50:41

relationships and marriages, pitting

50:44

nations and Greek city-states against

50:46

one another, to somehow facilitate

50:49

scenarios that would always and

50:51

favorably for Macedon, whatever the

50:54

outcome, which we'll cover as we

50:56

come across them in the course of his reign. Following

50:59

the assassination of King Archaleus in 399

51:01

BCE, and

51:04

the overall weakness surrounding the

51:06

king's position, the Macedonian capital

51:09

had become a viper's nest

51:11

of plodding, vicious treachery, royal

51:13

murders and infighting, involving factions

51:15

of ambitious nobles and people

51:18

with royal blood jockeying for

51:20

better positions. The

51:22

young Philip would have undoubtedly been

51:24

frequently hearing of these stories and

51:26

conspiracies, and his mother,

51:29

Eurydice, was quite the

51:31

master player in this realm herself.

51:34

So perhaps this is where he

51:36

gained his uncanny ability to prod

51:39

and twist scenarios to his advantage,

51:41

whatever the outcome. To

51:44

help illustrate this a little further, towards

51:46

the latter part of Amentus' reign,

51:48

while he fought and struggled to

51:51

keep Macedonia from collapsing, several

51:53

accounts speak of Eurydice, his wife and Philip's mother,

51:55

taking on a lover, a young man, a young

51:57

man, a young man, a young man, a young

52:00

man, nobleman that was in fact

52:02

her son-in-law, the husband of her

52:04

daughter, a man called Ptolemy, which,

52:06

okay, is already quite bad as

52:08

it is. However,

52:11

to make things even worse, she

52:13

and her liaison were in the

52:15

midst of concocting a scheme to

52:18

have King Amentus cast down and

52:20

replaced by Ptolemy as regent since

52:23

he wasn't of the Argea bloodline and

52:25

couldn't be acclaimed as king. At

52:27

length, the affair and plot were

52:30

uncovered and brought to the attention

52:32

of King Amentus, who surprisingly

52:34

didn't have her killed and actually pardoned

52:36

her and told of me. Why

52:38

would he do such a thing, you may be asking, on

52:42

the surface stating that he did so because

52:44

she was the mother of his children and

52:47

couldn't bring himself to do it. Which,

52:50

okay, maybe, but I'm

52:52

convinced that Eurydice, being

52:54

the wily negotiator that she was,

52:57

had taken many steps to insulate

52:59

herself against this. One

53:02

interesting theory may be that she

53:04

and Ptolemy had built a considerable

53:06

coalition of nobles around them, helping

53:08

to protect themselves from a death

53:11

sentence, otherwise risk a

53:13

civil war, a conflict

53:15

that was essentially untenable and that

53:17

Amentus was not willing to risk

53:19

given the precarious state of the

53:22

Macedonian Kingdom. Ptolep

53:24

was so close to all these events. Having

53:27

a front row seat to

53:29

the endless plotting and counter

53:31

plotting, alliances built and broken

53:33

with head spinning frequency, that

53:35

this must have had a significant and

53:38

lasting effect on his personality. As

53:41

for his father, Amentus III, he

53:43

was able to somehow hold onto

53:45

the crown for 22 years, But

53:48

being so mired in the muck

53:51

of internal strife, this severely constrained

53:53

his ability to effectively govern and

53:55

defend the entirety of his domains.

54:00

The few are geared kings to dine

54:02

as bad from natural causes in three

54:04

seventy P C when Philip was twelve

54:06

years old. The. Macedonian thrown

54:09

passing to Alexander the second

54:11

phillips eldest brother. Which.

54:14

Would have been of little consequence to

54:16

the Greeks in the south, as a

54:18

much more significant transition of power was

54:20

taking place. Calling. The

54:22

rapt attention of the dominant powers in

54:25

the region. When. We had last

54:27

less things off and Greece earlier in the

54:29

episode. Sparta. Had just emerged

54:31

as the Greek had him on after

54:33

winning the Peloponnesian war. However,

54:36

This. Title didn't last too long. In

54:39

the aftermath of their victory over

54:41

the Athenians as Sparta when about

54:43

asserting it's domination over the whole

54:45

of Greece, The. City state of

54:47

Thebes in modern Central Greece began

54:50

taking on a new role. That.

54:52

Had been previously occupied by

54:54

Athens as the counterweight to

54:56

Spartan power. Being. That

54:58

there were numerous cities, both former

55:00

foes and allies a like that

55:03

were disaffected with how the Spartans

55:05

were conducting their foreign policy. The.

55:07

See Been had long been respected

55:09

for their military prowess. As.

55:12

Such the Spartans not ones to take

55:14

a wait and see what happens type

55:16

of attitude or entertain it sounds to

55:19

their supremacy. Promptly. Declared war

55:21

on the feet and. However,

55:23

In an unexpected turn of events,

55:25

shock waves were sent wrote Greece

55:28

when thieves decisively defeated the legendary

55:30

start an army at the battle

55:32

of Look For in three seventy

55:35

one bc he. Largely.

55:37

As a result of their gifted

55:39

general be permanent Us and they're

55:41

elite infantry known as the Sacred

55:43

Band. To. See been

55:45

victory saturday Spartan dominance over the

55:47

Greek peninsula with thieves now emerging

55:49

as a new Greek had human.

55:52

And. While this may be the case on how

55:54

was considered at the time. I'm. Convinced

55:56

that Thebes was just one of the

55:59

contenders are. Temporary leaders that were

56:01

ultimately consumed in the power vacuum

56:03

that emerged in the wake of

56:05

the Peloponnesian War. as

56:07

that war had done much more bad

56:09

than good, even for the victors who

56:11

were a shell of their former selves.

56:14

And. Essential piece of the puzzle. That.

56:16

Would later give the space for the rise

56:18

of mass it on under Philip to eventually

56:20

occur. Although. For the

56:22

Macedonians, No. One would have reasonably

56:25

imagine this is a potential possibility at

56:27

the point in time when Phil it's

56:29

eldest brother. Alexander the Second.

56:31

assume the Macedonian thrown in three

56:34

seventy B C D. Not.

56:36

That he was a poor leader. Although.

56:38

Maybe quite young, inexperienced

56:40

and all aggressive. It

56:43

was just that. Mastodon for so long,

56:45

had been struggling just to keep its

56:47

head above water. Much. Less

56:49

challenge the powers that be for

56:51

supremacy. Either way, Peeves.

56:54

Was clearly at the helm as the

56:56

leading state for now, but in truth,

56:58

that mattered very little to the Macedonians

57:01

that had much greater problems closer to

57:03

home under the new king. Shortly.

57:05

After Alexander the Second assumed power,

57:08

The. Neighboring foreign powers began swooping

57:10

in. Eager to take

57:13

advantage of this inexperienced and young

57:15

Macedonian monarch and is weekend kingdom.

57:18

Their. Old foe King Martellus of

57:21

that are Damien's and Illyrian

57:23

that we were introduced to

57:25

earlier entered into Macedonia from

57:27

the west. And began

57:29

occupying a sizable portion of the

57:31

upper Macedonian lands. Humiliation.

57:34

That was compounded by also having

57:36

to offer a yearly financial tribute

57:38

to Bar Dallas in order to

57:41

prevent a more complete take over,

57:43

including according to some accounts, holding

57:45

fill up as a hostage or

57:47

bargaining chip for a short time

57:50

until the initial payments were rendered,

57:52

which luckily for Philip were promptly

57:54

handed over. While

57:56

this disaster was unfolding on the Western

57:59

Front, The eastern border of

58:01

mass it on. Another disaster in

58:03

the making was emerging. Courtesy

58:05

of the three sons who are backing

58:07

a pretender to the Macedonian throw name.

58:10

Pause and yes, Three.

58:12

Is the historical region of

58:14

South Eastern Europe that corresponds

58:17

with modern day Bulgaria, South

58:19

Eastern Romania, Northeastern Greece, and

58:21

a European part of Turkey.

58:24

Similar to Elyria, it was

58:26

inhabited by a collection of

58:28

independent tribes. However, a sizable

58:30

and unified kingdom has arisen following

58:33

the departure of the Aca me

58:35

and It Person's Back and Four

58:37

Seventy Nine. Called. The

58:39

intrusion kingdom in southeastern threes.

58:42

That. Had become the dominant power in

58:44

these lands. In. Fact

58:46

at that time the aggressive owed

58:49

resenting Coat the first had quite

58:51

the expansiveness they could gender and

58:53

was looking to Macedonian lands as

58:56

the next place to exert his

58:58

influence Leveraging present yes, who had

59:01

some type of ancestral linked to

59:03

our gets. Although it

59:05

probably mattered, very little had justified

59:07

pause. And yes as claim was

59:09

being that it provided the ideal

59:11

cause for coat is to launch

59:13

a campaign against the struggling Neeson.

59:17

Poisonous. Supported by the

59:19

address, genes invaded Eastern Macedonia

59:21

and managed to capture some

59:23

of it's territories. Whoever.

59:26

You're to see. Mother. To the

59:29

reigning King of Mass it on the

59:31

savvy political survivor that he was. Was.

59:33

Able to temporarily enlist the

59:36

aid of the Athenians. Who.

59:38

Still held a number of coastal

59:40

settlements in the area to bolster

59:42

Alexander's response. This. Show of

59:45

force being enough to drive the three sons

59:47

back into their lands. With. Pas the

59:49

anus remaining at large. After

59:52

this event seen, Alexander had managed

59:54

to establish an uneasy balance in

59:56

mass it on. But.

59:58

was eager to build forward momentum

1:00:01

having pushed the Thracians out of

1:00:03

Eastern Macedonia. In

1:00:05

the following year in 368 BCE,

1:00:08

an opportunity arose to do

1:00:10

just that, with a civil

1:00:12

war breaking out in Thessaly just south

1:00:14

of Macedon. The

1:00:17

leading family in northern Thessaly called

1:00:19

the Alove from their power base

1:00:22

in the city of Larissa had

1:00:24

revolted against the tyrannical rule of

1:00:26

the Thessalian leader also known as

1:00:28

the Tagus in southern Thessaly. Understanding

1:00:32

that a military backlash from the tyrant was

1:00:34

coming their way, they requested

1:00:36

military assistance from Macedon to help

1:00:39

fend off the impending attack. Which

1:00:41

doesn't really surprise me being that

1:00:44

the Macedonians and northern Thessalians had

1:00:46

established somewhat of a tradition of

1:00:48

helping each other out, such

1:00:51

as when the Thessalians had helped Amentus

1:00:53

regain his throne back in 390 BCE.

1:00:57

With Thessaly being one of the

1:00:59

few peaceful neighbors that the Macedonians

1:01:01

possessed. King Alexander

1:01:03

II agreed to jump in and

1:01:06

provide assistance, entering Thessaly

1:01:08

at the head of his army with

1:01:10

his forces welcomed as saviors into the

1:01:12

city of Larissa and several others in

1:01:14

the area. But then

1:01:17

betraying the Alove family by

1:01:19

firming up his grasp on these cities,

1:01:21

claiming them as the newest additions to

1:01:23

the kingdom of Macedon. This

1:01:26

audacious act provoked a hostile reaction

1:01:28

from Thebes that we covered earlier

1:01:30

in the episode had recently become

1:01:33

the dominant power in Greece. The

1:01:36

Thebans quickly mustered their army

1:01:38

and marched into northern Thessaly,

1:01:40

easily defeating and routing Alexander and

1:01:43

his army, pushing them back into

1:01:45

Macedon. So thoroughly

1:01:47

defeated in fact that Alexander desperately

1:01:49

began seeking peace with the hegemon

1:01:52

of Greece. Thankfully,

1:01:54

Thebes had other fires burning that required

1:01:57

their attention, so they ultimately

1:01:59

agreed to opening negotiations,

1:02:02

but reportedly not before

1:02:04

imposing heavy penalties on Macedonia.

1:02:07

And although we don't have a

1:02:09

detailed account of the terms of the ensuing

1:02:12

peace agreement, one condition

1:02:14

that we do know of was a

1:02:16

demand for 50 young nobles from the

1:02:18

leading families in Macedon to be sent

1:02:20

as hostages and thebes to

1:02:22

ensure Macedon's good behavior. Included

1:02:26

among these 50 hostages was

1:02:28

King Alexander's youngest brother, the

1:02:31

14-year-old Philip. In

1:02:40

the next episode, we'll learn more

1:02:42

about Philip's three-year-long captivity and thebes,

1:02:45

which sounds ominous but ended up

1:02:48

being of immense benefit to Philip,

1:02:50

soaking up valuable military lessons from

1:02:53

these masters of war. This

1:02:55

happening all the while Chaos and

1:02:58

Mayhem continues to permeate his homeland,

1:03:00

leading up to his eventual return to Macedonia

1:03:02

in 365 at the age

1:03:05

of 17, where he's

1:03:07

immediately set to work by the

1:03:09

new king, his second eldest brother,

1:03:12

Perdicus III. Stationed

1:03:14

in eastern Macedonia, Philip

1:03:16

immediately starts to leverage his

1:03:18

recent military education and

1:03:21

begins playing with his own innovations, the

1:03:24

very beginning of his revolutionization

1:03:26

of the Macedonian army, showing

1:03:29

glimmers of future brilliance, fighting

1:03:32

off incursions of the Thracians to the east

1:03:34

and the Peonians to the north, whereas

1:03:37

in the west Macedonian territory

1:03:39

losses continue to mount, four

1:03:42

nations taking more and more land,

1:03:45

in particular their old adversary,

1:03:47

Bardilis of the Dardanians, who

1:03:49

devastates Macedonia and kills Perdicus

1:03:52

III in battle, leaving

1:03:54

the throne to his infant

1:03:56

son, viewing the vulnerability of the

1:03:59

kingdom of Macedon. the Macedonian

1:04:01

nobility calls upon the promising young

1:04:03

Philip to assume the regency, to

1:04:06

pull them out of the fire that threatens

1:04:08

to consume them. This

1:04:10

is where Philip's story becomes

1:04:12

the stuff of legends. And

1:04:15

much, much more to come in the

1:04:17

next episode of the Warlords of History

1:04:19

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1:04:22

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1:04:42

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