Philip II of Macedon | |
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Basileus of Macedon | |
Bust of Philip II of Macedon from the Hellenistic period; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
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Reign | 359–336 BC |
Predecessor | Perdiccas III |
Successor | Alexander the Great |
Born | 382 BC Pella, Macedon |
Died | October 336 BC (aged 46) Aigai, Macedon |
Burial | Aigai, Macedon |
Wives | |
Issue |
Cynane Philip III Alexander the Great Cleopatra Thessalonica Europa Caranus |
Greek | Φίλιππος |
House | Argead dynasty |
Father | Amyntas III |
Mother | Eurydice I |
Religion | Ancient Greek religion |
Philip II of Macedon (Greek: Φίλιππος Β΄ ὁ Μακεδών, Phílippos II ho Makedṓn; 382–336 BC) was the king (Basileus) of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty of Macedonian kings, the third son of King Amyntas III, and father of Alexander the Great and Philip III. The rise of Macedon during the reign of Philip II was achieved in part by his reformation of the Ancient Macedonian army, establishing the Macedonian phalanx that proved critical in securing victories on the battlefield. After defeating Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, Philip II led the effort to establish a federation of Greek states known as the League of Corinth, with him as the elected hegemon and commander-in-chief of a planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. However, his assassination led to the immediate succession of his son Alexander, who would go on to invade the Achaemenid Empire in his father's stead.