| Philip V | |
|---|---|
| Basileus | |
.jpg) Bust of Philip V inside thePalazzo Massimo, Rome. | |
| King of Macedon | |
| Reign | 221–179 BC |
| Predecessor | Antigonus III Doson |
| Successor | Perseus |
| Born | 238 BC Pella,Macedonia |
| Died | 179 BC (aged 59) Amphipolis,Macedonia |
| Spouse | Polycratia |
| Issue | Perseus Apame IV Demetrius Philippus |
| Greek | Φίλιππος (Philippos) |
| House | Antigonid dynasty |
| Father | Demetrius II Aetolicus |
| Mother | Phthia of Macedon orChryseis of Macedonia |
Philip V (Greek:Φίλιππος,romanized: Philippos; 238–179 BC) was king of theancient Greek kingdom ofMacedon from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by theSocial War in Greece (220-217 BC) and a struggle with the emerging power of theRoman Republic. He would lead Macedon against Rome in theFirst (212-205 BC) andSecond (200-196 BC) Macedonian Wars. While he lost the latter, Philip later allied with Rome againstAntiochus III in theRoman-Seleucid War. He died in 179 BC from illness after efforts to recover the military and economic condition of Macedonia and passed the throne onto his elder son,Perseus of Macedon.
Philip was the son ofDemetrius II of Macedon, and eitherPhthia of Macedon or Chryseis.[1][2] Philip was nine years old when his father died in 229 BC. His elder paternal half-sister wasApama III.[3] Philip's great-uncle,Antigonus III Doson, administered the kingdom as regent and then king until his death in 221 BC when Philip was seventeen years old (Plb. 4.2.5, 4.5.3-4; Just. 28.4.16, 29.1.1).[4]
Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man. A dashing and courageous warrior, he was compared toAlexander the Great, modelled himself onPhilip II, and is said by Polybius to have becomea universal beloved of the Greeks (κοινός τις...ἐρώμενος...τῶν Ἑλλήνων; Plb. 7.8.11) because of his benevolent conduct towards them.[5] He had a close relationship withAratus of Sicyon, who until 213 BC held a prestigious position at his court.[6]
After ascending to the throne, in the first year of his reign Philip V pushed back theDardani and other tribes in the north ofMacedonia.[citation needed]
The Social War (220–217 BC) began following the establishment of theHellenic League (Symmachy) of Greek federations (eventually including the Achaeans, Acarnanians, Boeotians, Euboeans, Magnesians, Messenians, and Thessalians) was assembled inCorinth in 224 BC at the instigation of Antigonus III Doson, the uncle and predecessor of Philip V. Philip took over leadership of the Hellenic League in 221/0 BC and led the Hellenic League on a three-year war againstAetolia,Sparta andElis. Following the sack of Thermum, the Aetolian political and religious capital, the Aetolians agreed to peace. Philip's troops destroyed 2,000 statues and hauled away vast sums of treasure which included some fifteen thousandshields and suits of arms with which the Aetolians had decorated theirstoas (Plb. 5.9).[7] These shields were the arms taken from the enemies of the Aetolians during their previous military victories and included the shields of theGauls who had raided Greece in the 3rd century BC.[8]
Philip and his Greek allies in the Hellenic League ultimately claimed victory against the Aetolians, Spartans and Elians at the conference of Naupactus in 217 BC (Plb. 5.102-105). During the war, Philip V was able to stabilise and increase his own authority amongst his own ministers and became well-known and respected for his leadership and military prowess among the Greeks (Plb. 4.77.1-4; 5.104.4-11; 7.11.4-6).
After the Peace ofNaupactus in 217 BC, Philip V tried to replaceRoman influence along the eastern shore of theAdriatic Sea, forming alliances or lending patronage to certain island and coastal provinces such asLato on Crete. He first tried to invadeIllyria from the sea, but with limited success. His first expedition in 216 BC had to be aborted, while he suffered the loss of his whole fleet in a second expedition in 214 BC. A later expedition by land met with greater success when he capturedLissus in 212 BC.[9][10]
In 215 BC, Philip V signed aMacedonian–Carthaginian Treaty withHannibal Barca theCarthaginian general (Plb. 7.9; Livy 23.33, 38.7).[11] Their treaty defined spheres of operation and interest, but achieved little of substance or value for either side. Philip V became heavily involved in assisting and protecting his allies from attacks from theSpartans, the Romans and their allies.
Rome's alliance with theAetolian League in 211 BC effectively neutralised Philip's advantage on land (Livy 26.24.6-11). The intervention ofAttalus I of Pergamum on the Roman side further exposed Philip's position in Macedonia. Philip was able to take advantage of the withdrawal of Attalus from the Greek mainland in 207 BC, along with Roman inactivity and the increasing role ofPhilopoemen, thestrategos of theAchaean League. Philip and his troops sackedThermum, the religious and political centre ofAetolia for the second time, destroying any remaining structures (Plb. 11.7.2), and the king was able to force the Aetolians to accept his terms in 206 BC. The following year (205 BC) he was able to conclude thePeace of Phoenice with Rome and its allies (Livy 29.12.14).
Following an agreement with theSeleucid kingAntiochus III to capture Egyptian-held territory from the boy kingPtolemy V (Plb. 15.20), Philip invaded their territories inAsia Minor, besiegingSamos and capturingMiletus. This expansion of Macedonian influence created alarm in a number of neighbouring states, includingAttalid Pergamum andRhodes. Philip responded by ravaging Attalid territory and destroying the temples outside the walls of Pergamon (Didodorus XXVIII 5). Their navies clashed with Philip's offChios and Lade (nearMiletus) in 201 BC. Philip then invadedCaria. Although the Rhodians and Attalids successfully blockaded his fleet atBargylia, they nevertheless sent an appeal to the Romans for help. At around the same time, the Romans finally defeated Carthage. Although very little in Philip's recent actions in Thrace and Asia Minor could be said to concern the Roman Republic directly, the Senate passed a decree supporting Pergamum and Rhodes andMarcus Valerius Laevinus was sent to investigate (Livy 31.3). Simultaneously, Philip's relationship with Athens suddenly deteriorated. TheAcarnanian League launched a raid onAttica, aided by troops which they had received from Philip V. Attalus I and Rhodes convinced the Athenians to declare war on Macedon and Philip dispatched a force of 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry under the command of Philokles to invade Attica and place the city of Athens under siege (Livy 31.14-16).
In light of reports from Laevinus and further embassies from Pergamon, Rhodes, and Athens,Publius Sulpicius Galba one of the consuls for 200 BC was tasked with resolving the troubles in Macedonia. He organised a formal declaration of war in March (Livy 31.4-8) then recruited troops, and crossed theAdriatic in autumn (Livy 31.12-14). Meanwhile, Philip was besiegingAbydos in theHellespont.[12] During the siege of Abydos, in the autumn of 200 BC, Philip was met byMarcus Aemilius Lepidus, a Roman ambassador on his way back from Egypt,[13] who urged him not to attack any Greek state or to seize any territory belonging to Ptolemy and to go to arbitration with Rhodes and Pergamon. Philip protested that he was not in violation of any of the terms of the Peace of Phoenice, but in vain. As he returned to Macedonia after the fall of Abydos, he learnt of the landing of Sulpicius' force in Epirus.[14]
Gaius Claudius Centho was sent with 20 ships and 1,000 men to aid the Athenians, then led a surprise raid on the city ofChalcis inEuboea, one of the key Antigonid strongholds known as the 'fetters of Greece'.[15] Philip rushed to Chalcis with a force of 5,000 men and 300 cavalry. Finding that Claudius had already withdrawn, he sped on towards Athens, where he defeated the Athenian and Attalid troops in a battle outside theDipylon Gate and encamped atCynosarges, made a series of unsuccessful assaults onEleusis,Piraeus, and Athens. Then he ravaged the sanctuaries throughout Attica and withdrew toBoeotia.[16] The damage to the rural anddeme sanctuaries of Attica was severe and marked the permanent end of their use.[17]
Over the winter of 200-199 BC, the diplomatic efforts of Philip, Sulpicius, and the Athenians centred on theAetolian League, which seemed inclined to support the Romans but remained neutral at this stage.[18] In the spring, Sulpicius and the Dardanians separately invaded Upper Macedonia,[19] while the Aetolian League joined the war on the Roman side and invadedMagnesia andPerrhaebia, then continued to ravageThessaly. There, Philip suddenly appeared and completely defeated their force. He spent some time besieging the Aetolian city ofThaumaci, but gave up and withdrew as winter approached. He spent the winter training his army and engaging in diplomacy, particularly with the Achaean League.[20]
Publius Villius Tappulus replaced Sulpicius in command,[21] but spent most of the year dealing with a mutiny.[22] In summer 198 BC Philip marched west and encamped on both sides of theAoös river where it passed through a narrow ravine. Villius marched to meet him, but was still considering what to do when he learnt that his successor,Titus Quinctius Flamininus was on his way to Corcyra to assume command.[23] At a peace conference, Flamininus announced the Romans' new peace terms. Up to this point, the Romans had merely ordered Philip to stop attacking the Greek cities. Now Flamininus demanded that he should make reparations to all the Greek cities he had harmed and withdraw all his garrisons from cities outside Macedonia, including Thessaly, which had been part of the Macedonian kingdom continuously since 353 BC. Philip stormed out of the meeting in anger and Flamininus decided to attack.[24] In the subsequentBattle of the Aous, the Macedonian force collapsed and fled, suffering 2,000 casualties. Philip gathered up the survivors and retreated to Thessaly and then toTempe.[25]
Over the winter of 198/197 BC, Philip declared his willingness to make peace. The parties met atNicaea inLocris in November 198 - Philip sailed from Demetrias, but he refused to disembark and meet Flamininus and his allies on the beach, so he addressed them from the prow of his ship. To prolong the proceedings, Flamininus insisted that all his allies should be present at the negotiations. He then reiterated his demands that Philip should withdraw all his garrisons from Greece, Illyria, and Asia Minor. Philip was not prepared to go this far and he was persuaded to send an embassy to the Roman Senate. When this embassy reached Rome, the Senate demanded that Philip surrender the "fetters of Greece," Demetrias, Chalcis, and Corinth, but Philip's envoys claimed they had no permission to agree to this, so the war continued.[26] Over the rest of the winter, Philip mobilised all the manpower of his kingdom, which amounted to 18,000 men. To these he added 4,000peltasts from Thrace and Illyria, and 2,500 mercenaries. All these forces were gathered atDion.[27]
In June 197 BC, Flamininus marched north throughThermopylae, with allies from Aetolia,Gortyn, Apollonia, and Athamania.[28] Philip marched south into Thessaly and the two armies met at theBattle of Cynoscephalae (Plb. 18.18-27; Livy 33.5-11).[29] In what proved to be the decisive engagement of the war, thelegions of Flamininus defeated Philip'sMacedonian phalanx. Philip himself fled on horseback, collected the survivors, and withdrew to Macedonia. Philip was forced to sue for peace on Roman terms.
In 196 BC Philip V signed a peace treaty with the Romans. As per the treaty, Philip V had to relinquish his claim to all Greek cities on the mainland and Asia Minor, including the "fetters" of Greece - Corinth, Chalcis and Demetrias (Plb. 18.44-46). He could also no longer harvesttimber on the territory under his control. This effectively meant he could not build up anarsenal of weapons, such as large naval vessels.[30]
Following the peace treaty, Philip cooperated with the Romans and provided material support for their wars against the Spartans underNabis in 195 BC. Philip V also supported the Romans againstAntiochus III the Great and theAetolian League.[31] After theRoman–Seleucid War the Romans allowed Philip V to keep territory he had conquered, such asDemetrias, theMagnesian coastline ofThessaly, parts ofAthamania, parts ofDolopia, parts ofPerrhaebia, and a number of towns in theMalian Gulf.[32]
Philip V was able to generate revenue by imposingtaxes on the population of Macedonia and the exploitation of royal property, includingmining,forestry andagriculture. According to the Roman historianLivy, less than half of thetributum paid to Philip V was passed on to Rome after 168 BC. Following the Second Macedonian War, Philip V increased his revenues from agriculture and mines.[34] Philip focused on consolidating power within Macedonia. He reorganised the country's internal affairs and finances. Mines were reopened, and a newcurrency wasminted.[citation needed]
However, Rome continued to be suspicious of Philip's intentions. Accusations by Macedon's neighboring states, particularlyPergamon, led to constant interference from Rome. Feeling the threat growing that Rome would invade Macedon and remove him as king, he tried to extend his influence in theBalkans by force and diplomacy. However, his efforts were undermined by the pro-Roman policy of his younger son Demetrius, who was encouraged by Rome to consider the possibility of succession ahead of his older brother,Perseus. This eventually led to a quarrel between Perseus and Demetrius which forced Philip to decide reluctantly to execute Demetrius for treason in 180 BC.[35] This decision had a severe impact on Philip's health and he died a year later atAmphipolis towards the end of 179 B.C.
He was succeeded by his eldest sonPerseus, who ruled as the last king ofMacedon.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Philip V., king of Macedonia".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.Philip V of Macedon Born: 238 BC Died: 179 BC | ||
| Preceded by | King of Macedon 221–179 BC | Succeeded by |
| Legendary |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Argead dynasty | ||
| Antipatrid dynasty | ||
| Dynastic conflict | ||
| Antigonid dynasty | ||
| Post-Conquest Rebel Kings |
| |
Debatable or disputed rulers are initalics. | ||
