Ionian Islands - Greece - page 1355

However, the political influence of the major city-states had by now been significantly
eroded. Their strength waning, they were unable to combat the new power in the north,
Macedon - geographically the modern nomós (prefecture) of Macedonia - which was
gathering strength under its aggressive monarch, Philip II.
In 338 BC, Philip II marched into Greece and defeated a combined army of Athenians
and Thebans at the Battle of Chaeronea. In a move that signalled the beginning of the
end of the autonomous city-state structure, Philip called together all the city-states (ex-
cept Sparta who resisted alliance) at Corinth and persuaded them to swear allegiance to
Macedonia by promising to campaign against Persia. But before the monarch could real-
ise those ambitions, a Macedonian noble assassinated Philip in 336 BC. His 20-year-old
son, Alexander - brilliantly talented as a fighter and scholar - became king.
Philip II's death had been the signal for rebellions throughout the budding empire, but
Alexander wasted no time in crushing them, making an example of Thebes by razing it to
the ground. Upon his black stallion he was always the first into battle ahead of his men,
and was renowned for his valour, cunning and recklessness. After restoring order in
Thebes, he turned his attention to the Persian Empire and marched his seasoned army of
40,000 men into Asia Minor in 334 BC.
After a few bloody battles with the Persians, most notably at Issus (333 BC), Alexan-
der succeeded in conquering Syria, Palestine and Egypt - where he was proclaimed
pharaoh and founded the city of Alexandria. One of Alexander's tactics to minimise fu-
ture resistance from his new subjects was to interbreed his soldiers with his new subjects,
which forced a union between former foes. After Alexandria he maniacally pursued the
Persian king, Darius III, defeating his army in 331 BC. Alexander continued his reign
east into what is now Uzbekistan, Balkh in Afghanistan and northern India. His ambition
was now to conquer the world, which he believed ended at the sea beyond India, but his
now aged soldiers grew weary and in 324 BC forced him to return to Mesopotamia,
where he settled in Babylon. The following year, at the age of 33, he fell ill suddenly and
died. There had never been a leader like him, achieving such reach in such a short space
of time. However, despite this powerful, expanded dynasty, his generals swooped like
vultures on the empire and, when the dust settled, Alexander's empire was carved up into
fractious, independent kingdoms.
Macedonia lost control of the Greek city-states to the south, which banded together in-
to the Aetolian League, centred on Delphi, and the Achaean League, based in the Pelo-
ponnese. Athens and Sparta joined neither.