By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire PDF
Preview By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire
S by the spear Ancient Warfare and Civilization series editors: Richard Alston Robin Waterfield In this series, leading historians offer compelling new narratives of the armed conflicts that shaped and reshaped the classical world, from the wars of Archaic Greece to the fall of the Roman Empire and the Arab conquests. Dividing the Spoils: The War for Alexander the Great’s Empire Robin Waterfield By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire Ian Worthington Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece Robin Waterfield BY THE SPEAR Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire S Ian Worthington 1 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 © Oxford University Press 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form, and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available ISBN: 978–0–19–992986–3 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper S Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments ix List of Maps and Figures xi Ancient Works and Abbreviations xiii Figure 1. Facial reconstruction of Philip II. xv Figure 2. Head of Alexander the Great (Pella). xvi Map 1. Greece. xvii Map 2. Macedonia. xviii Map 3. The Balkan area. xix Map 4. Macedonia’s frontiers and Philip’s mines. xx Map 5. Alexander’s empire. xxi Introduction: The Architect and the Master Builder 1 1. Greece and Macedonia 7 2. Philip II and the Rise of Macedonia 25 3. The New Player in Greek Politics 47 4. The Gathering War Clouds 67 5. The Downfall of Greece 81 6. Philip’s Assassination and Legacy 103 7. Alexander’s Early Kingship—and Persia 121 8. From Europe to Asia 139 9. Alexander: Master Strategist and Emerging God 163 10. The Fall of the Persian Empire 185 11. The War in Afghanistan 209 v Contents 12. Passage to India 231 13. Retreat from India 251 14. Alexander’s Final Years 273 15. Death in Babylon and Alexander’s Legacy 293 Appendix: The Sources of Information 311 Timeline 321 Cast of Principal Characters 327 Notes 335 Bibliography 365 Select Index 383 vi S Preface West met east in the Macedonian Empire of the later fourth century b.c., which stretched from Greece to the Punjab and as far south as Egypt. It was the largest empire in antiquity before the Roman yet was created by only two men: Philip II and his son Alexander the Great. How they did so is an epic tale of warfare across thousands of miles and numerous cultures. Before Alexander physically landed in Asia in 334 b.c. he was said to have thrown a spear into the foreign soil, claiming it as his “spear-won land.” Over the next decade he lived by the spear, waging bloody battles and sieges against numerically superior foes and demonstrating generalship skills and a strategic and tactical genius that arguably no other individual has ever fully matched. Yet his father, Philip II, had already established Macedonia as an imperial power, also by the spear. He conquered first the areas that bordered his kingdom and then Thrace and Greece and was all set to invade Asia when he was cut down by an assassin’s dagger. Alexander inherited his father’s plan and brought it to stunning fruition, but more than just defeating his enemies in fierce battles, his conquests spread Greek language and culture in the East and facilitated economic and cultural contacts between West and East. Thanks to him the Greeks were catapulted from the Mediterranean world they had been accustomed to for centuries into one far larger. This book is the first to consider the achievements of Philip and Alexan- der within one set of covers to show how they together formed one of the most important epochs in Greek history. It is not a biography but, rather, a study of the rise and fall of their Macedonian Empire, which nec- essarily explores their reigns, challenges, achievements, and shortcomings. vii Preface I present Philip as the architect of the Macedonian Empire and Alexander as its master builder—and destroyer. In keeping with this series’ intersec- tion of war and civilization, the narrative is also used as a backdrop to discuss social and cultural matters in the West and East, the impact of an invading army on the societies and cultures of the conquered, and, as far as possible, what the Macedonians themselves thought of their empire and the experience of battle—what fighting in battles and sieges was like for combatants and how it affected them. Analogies to the modern era are also made, such as how the problems Alexander faced in dealing with a multi- cultural subject population and his successes and especially failures can inform makers of strategy in culturally different regions of the world today. All dates are b.c. except where indicated. viii S Acknowledgments It hank robin waterfield for inviting me to write this book and for all his help and advice throughout the writing process. His comments on the content of various chapters and then on a draft of the whole book were invaluable. Equally so were those of my editor, Stefan Vranka, at Oxford University Press, with whom it was a pleasure to work again. Likewise, I owe much to Sarah Pirovitz at the same press for arranging the permissions for the illustrations and a myriad of always cheerful e-mails. I am also grateful to the referees of the book proposal and submitted draft for their astute suggestions and questions. I am indebted to the Research Council of my own institution for award- ing me a Research Leave grant for the 2011–2012 academic year, which allowed me to finish my Demosthenes of Athens and the Fall of Classical Greece (Oxford: 2013) and to complete most of a draft of the present book. Then in 2013 the Research Council continued its generosity by awarding me a Summer Research Fellowship, thanks to which I was able to com- plete the final version of this book. Last, but by no means least, I thank once again my family for putting up with me—and who might read this book one day. Ian Worthington University of Missouri November 2013 ix
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