More wars and end of the Peace Treaty with Athens (345-341 BC)
Yet the peace that had been so hard to reach was far from being achieved. The Thebans were unhappy to be left out; the Spartans complained about being isolated, and even the Thessalians resented the peace outcome for they had expected more. Athens was not faring any better in 345 BC for Demosthenes did all he could to sabotage the treaty, while Aeschines tried by all means to keep it alive.
Meanwhile, Philip was up north fighting some obscure war against what is now southern Albania where he broke his collarbone. Details of these encounters are not known but they led Philip to take the drastic and emphatic decision to submit the conquered peoples once and for all. The facts seem to be related by Justin only. Philip moved entire cities and tribes to areas he felt needed to be populated. Some people were settled right on his borders to serve as a buffer against his enemies, others were moved to the far frontiers of his kingdom, and yet others were used to repopulate some of his cities. His aim apparently was to create one cohesive kingdom with one people instead of the large numbers of tribes and clans spread all over his territories. Although this may be considered as being a useful tactical and political move, the victims of this move were far from content. According to Justin, the overall feeling was that of deep fear, "there was a silent, forlorn dejection, as men feared that even their tears might be taken to signify opposition” – a picture far from the loving and caring king we want to see. But in Philip’s eyes, this decision was a rational one as these new cities served as training grounds for the military where boys would be trained the Macedonian way. They would acquire experience defending the outposts, indirectly adding power to the king’s army. This was also the time when Philip ordered the swampy areas to be drained and turned into agricultural land. He had new roads built that could be used year-round and made sure of the rivers by building dikes. It is important to note that is was the army that undertook most of these projects, creating a kind of engineering corps that would be crucial in later years, especially in Alexander’s conquests east.
Meanwhile, Philip was up north fighting some obscure war against what is now southern Albania where he broke his collarbone. Details of these encounters are not known but they led Philip to take the drastic and emphatic decision to submit the conquered peoples once and for all. The facts seem to be related by Justin only. Philip moved entire cities and tribes to areas he felt needed to be populated. Some people were settled right on his borders to serve as a buffer against his enemies, others were moved to the far frontiers of his kingdom, and yet others were used to repopulate some of his cities. His aim apparently was to create one cohesive kingdom with one people instead of the large numbers of tribes and clans spread all over his territories. Although this may be considered as being a useful tactical and political move, the victims of this move were far from content. According to Justin, the overall feeling was that of deep fear, "there was a silent, forlorn dejection, as men feared that even their tears might be taken to signify opposition” – a picture far from the loving and caring king we want to see. But in Philip’s eyes, this decision was a rational one as these new cities served as training grounds for the military where boys would be trained the Macedonian way. They would acquire experience defending the outposts, indirectly adding power to the king’s army. This was also the time when Philip ordered the swampy areas to be drained and turned into agricultural land. He had new roads built that could be used year-round and made sure of the rivers by building dikes. It is important to note that is was the army that undertook most of these projects, creating a kind of engineering corps that would be crucial in later years, especially in Alexander’s conquests east.
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| [picture graciously shared by Jim] |
But then it was the Molossian ruler who created new problems for Macedonia and Philip invaded Epirus to settle the matter once and for all. It turned out to be a bloodless campaign; the Molossian king left for Athens (he had Athenian citizenship) and Philip put Alexander, his brother-in-law, on the throne – a wise move because this Alexander had spent time at Philip’s court and was Olympias’ brother. Macedonia’s southwestern border was now properly secured while the king acquired access to rich timberland and pastureland.
As was to be expected, Demosthenes had done his utmost to convince the Athenians that the peace treaty with Philip was worthless, using every opportunity and trick in the book to manipulate his audience and distort Philip’s words. By 342/341 BC the famous peace treaty collapsed entirely.
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