Venturesome son of Demetrius
II, whose repeated attempts to expand Macedonian influence only
succeeded in losing control of the western Balkan peninsula & Greece to Rome. Since Philip was just 9 when his father was killed (229
BCE), his father's cousin
[Antigonus
Doson] married his mother & ruled
as king. Instead of usurping power for himself, Philip's stepfather
prepared his ward to be king & even had the foresight to create a
council of royal advisors for his stepson.
Philip, however, was just 17 when Antigonus died (221
BCE), leaving him to
manage a complex volatile political situation. Though he was energetic
& ambitious, his decisions proved that he lacked his stepfather's
wisdom & diplomatic skills which were sorely needed to preserve
Macedonian supremacy in the Balkans. With Antigonus dead, his newly
reconstituted Hellenic league split into feuding factions (220
BCE).
Sparta declared its independence & persuaded the Aetolian league [a
confederacy of Greek cities on the north side of the gulf of Corinth] to
attack Macedonia's Greek allies, the Achaean league [a confederation of
cities in the northern Peloponnese]. When the Achaeans called for
Macedonian aid, Philip -- who had unwisely dissolved his council of
advisors -- decided to conclude a unilateral treaty (217
BCE) with his
nearer neighbors [the Aetolians] rather than aiding Macedonia's more
distant allies [the Achaeans]. This diplomatic blunder cost Macedonia most
of its hard won support in the Peloponnese & created the conditions
for Greeks to ally themselves with Rome instead.
The reason for Philip's
shortsightedness was concern for Macedonia's own northern borders &
the prospect of extending Macedonian control over the northwestern Balkan
peninsula. In 229
BCE Rome had briefly invaded Macedonia's neighbor,
Illyria, which was a safe haven for Adriatic pirates. A decade
later, when the Illyrians threatened to disrupt Adriatic trade again, Rome
swiftly & decisively defeated them (219
BCE). The Illyrian ruler,
Demetrius of Pharos, found refuge in the court of the youthful Philip, who
had just become king, and persuaded him to join forces to repel the threat
of Roman invasion. Within months Hannibal of Carthage launched a
devastating invasion of Italy that began the second Punic war (218
BCE).
With Roman forces focused on defending their home turf, Philip invaded
Illyria to expel Roman garrisons, meeting with mixed success.
By 215 Hannibal had inflicted
so many crushing defeats on Roman armies defending Italy that many old
Hellenic cities in the south of the peninsula decided to support him. In
order to isolate & encircle Rome he formed an alliance with Philip.
Philip, who was just 23, saw this as an opportunity to make Macedonia not
only the undisputed master of the whole Balkan peninsula but even of
southern Italy.
Unfortunately for Philip,
however, Romans intercepted his correspondence with Hannibal. So his
alliance only succeeded in making him public enemy number two in Rome.
Rather than wait for Philip to join forces with Hannibal, Rome declared a
preemptive war on Macedonia (214
BCE) & recruited the Aetolian
league & Attalus of Pergamum (in Asia Minor) as allies. Instead of
fulfilling his dream of Macedonian expansion & conquest, Philip found
himself fighting a defensive battle on all his borders. Most damaging to
his vision of Macedonian hegemony was the fact that he was finally forced
into a no win war with the leagues of Greek cities on his southern border
that he had tried to avoid three years earlier. This time, the
Achaeans were no longer enthusiastic Macedonian allies. Still Philip managed to win
enough battles over the next decade to force the Aetolians to
sue for peace on his terms (206
BCE). Without further allies in Greece,
Rome declared an end to the war with Macedonia (205
BCE), having
achieved its goal of keeping Philip from aiding Hannibal.
The so-called "Peace of
Phoenice," however, failed to bring lasting peace. Rather, it freed
Roman forces to lay siege to Carthage, preventing the reinforcement of Hannibal's troops. Hannibal was recalled to Carthage where he was finally
defeated (202
BCE), ending the second Punic war.
Meanwhile, Philip totally
misjudged his strength & the balance of power in his stalemate with
Rome. Seeking to punish Egypt for its neutrality in the first
Macedonian war, he joined forces with Antiochus
III to attack & divide Egypt's Aegean possessions (203
BCE). Just
as Rome was celebrating its victory over Carthage, Philip attacked
Pergamum & Rhodes. When Philip refused a Roman ultimatum to desist,
Rome came to the aid of its besieged allies. With Philip's army
engaged in Asia, the Aetolians again rebelled & joined forces with
Rome. This time Philip's overextended forces were no match for his
opponents. The once invincible Macedonian phalanx was decisively defeated
at the battle of Cynoscephalae ["Dog's Head"] in Thessaly by the
more flexible combat tactics of the Roman legions (197
BCE).
Though Philip escaped with his
life & his throne, the conditions of the Roman dictated treaty
deprived Macedonia of any claim of dominion over Greeks or their
territory. At the pan-Hellenic games of 196
BCE, all Greek cities &
their citizens were declared "free" -- and under the
"protection" of Rome. To guarantee Philip's compliance, his
youngest son was sent as a hostage to Rome.
Finally wiser from failed
ventures, Philip spent the rest of his reign restructuring his kingdom's
internal affairs & securing its borders. He even helped the Romans end
an Aetolian revolt against Roman domination. Though the Macedonian
homeland survived as a technically "independent" state through
the reign of Philip's oldest son [Perseus], after 196
BCE it was just a
client of Rome & never
again a major force in Mediterranean politics.
References:
Josephus,
Antiquities
12.414.
Polybius,
Histories 18.1-12, 18-39.
Plutarch,
Philopoemen 12, 15.
_____,
Flaminius 1-10, 14-15, 17.
Cassius Dio, Roman
History 18.
Other resources on line:
Perspective on the
World of Jesus 