A closer look at Illyria

So little is known about Illyria, and so little is mentioned in history that it hardly appears on a map. Yet, it was the northwestern neighbor of Macedonia that made life difficult for Alexander and, before that, for his father, Philip II. Today, most of the northern territory is occupied by Serbia, while the south is in the hands of Albania.

[Map from Wikipedia]

The Illyrians envied the good agricultural land and lush grasslands of the Macedonian floodplains and invaded that country on a more or less regular basis. It was during such an attack in 360/359 BC by the Illyrian King Bardylis that King Perdiccas III of Macedonia was killed and, with him, 4,000 brave Macedonian soldiers. 

This incursion left the door open for further invasions, for not only could the Illyrians push all the way down to the Thermaic Gulf, but neighboring tribes like the Paeonians (in the buffer zone between Illyria and Macedonia) and the Thracians from the east could also seize this opportunity. With the death of Perdiccas III, Macedonia was exposed to more attacks by its neighbors. Besides, there was also the matter of succession to the throne since the dead king’s son, Amyntas, was still a youngster. Given all these threats, the Macedonian Assembly unexpectedly proclaimed Philip II king in 359 BC, and the people swore their oath of allegiance to him. The most urgent enemies were evidently the Illyrians, who had just defeated his brother, and it seems that King Philip II managed to sign some treaty which may have included his marriage with Audata (his second wife), King Bardylis’ granddaughter. One year later, with a stronger army, Philip was confident enough to march into Illyria and bluntly refused to accept the old King Bardylis’s terms. Consequently, both armies met near today’s Lake Ochrid, maybe close to Heraklea Lyncestis. Philip was victorious and demanded that the Illyrians pull out of Upper Macedonia all the way north to Lake Lychnitis, including the tribes of Orestis, which until then were controlled by the Molossian King of Epirus – no small achievement for a young king.

Illyria again comes into the news in 337 BC at King Philip’s wedding to Cleopatra, the niece of Attalus. Purposely or by accident, Attalus brings a toast to a lawful successor to the Macedonian throne, which implies that he looked at Alexander as a bastard. We know how insulted Alexander felt, more so when his father sided with Attalus. Alexander then leaves the court, taking his mother Olympia with him, and after placing her in the hands of her brother, the King of Epirus, he himself retires to Illyria. It is not known what he did or didn’t do there, except for spending the winter. All that is being reported is that Alexander returns to his father’s palace thanks to the diplomatic intervention of Demaratus, a mutual friend and actor.

The news of Philip’s murder in October 336 BC runs fast, and practically all his new allies start revolting. The following summer, Alexander, who meanwhile succeeded his father as king of Macedonia, marched north towards the Danube and defeated the Illyrians on his way back to subdue Thebes. Obviously, no deep ties of friendship had been forged during his earlier stay.

This long introduction brings me to recent excavations carried out at Kale-Krševica in southeastern Serbia, exposing significant remains of what appears to be a city from the late 4th/early 3rd century BC built according to the Greek model in the days of Philip and Alexander! The settlement covers an area of about five hectares and was located on an important through-road from Greece to Central Europe. Archaeology in Serbia is still in its infancy, and only about 6% of this site has been investigated so far, raising more questions than providing answers. But based on the type of architecture, the shards of pottery and amphorae, the coins and jewelry, tools, and the overall organizational system of the area, clearly establish a Greek presence that might lead to locating the city of Damastion, which is still elusive, as well as its precious silver mines mentioned by Strabo. This would, of course, boost further research. So far, it has been established that most of the settlement was located on the slopes of the hill towards the Krševica River. Several remains were uncovered, like a rampart, a larger building, undefined walls, ovens, etc.

It is interesting, however, to mention that a wide range of coins has been found with the effigy of Philip, silver drachmae showing Alexander the Great, and bronze coins of Cassander, Uranopolis, and Demetrios Poliorcetes – all of them having close ties with Macedonia in any case. On top of these specimens, one tetradrachma of early Damastion was discovered (hence the possible theory that this settlement might be the very city), and one tetradrachma of Aduleon, King of Paeonia.

Yet one of the greatest discoveries so far is the arched vault used for water storage and supply, a highly sophisticated and modern installation for its time. It shows that because of the rising water level by the end of the 4th century BC, the entire appearance and function of the original structure had to be adapted, resulting in this 10-meter-long and 6-meter-wide cistern, built from large ashlars to a height of at least six meters. The fact is that it must have held enough water for a population of several thousand. A more intensive investigation had to be abandoned, however, as archaeologists were seriously hampered by the high water table, and the cistern has been buried again pending more advanced technologies.

Well, this is just a tiny corner of Illyria that has surfaced lately. Still, it would be extremely interesting to see these excavations and others bring proof of closer contact with Macedonia from the days of King Philip II and Alexander the Great.

[Last two pictures from Kale-Krševica]

Philip’s Apogee and his Assassination - Macedonia forged by Philip II - 16

Philip's Apogee and his Assassination (336 BC)

Knowing Philip, he would never leave anything to chance if he could avoid it. So, to stay on good terms with his wife's brother, Alexander of Epirus, after he had given shelter to his wife, he decided that a wedding with his own daughter Cleopatra would do the trick (yes, Cleopatra was going to marry her uncle).

It was July 336 BC when the big celebration took place at Aegae, widely attended by delegations from all the Greek states, the Macedonian nobility, and even ordinary people. Philip could afford to show off now that he was the hegemon of all the Greek states, just had fathered a baby girl Europa with his last wife, and already had an advanced army force securing the front lines in Asia. On top of all that, he now had consolidated his back in Epirus.

[from http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/]

The day after the wedding proper was reserved for athletic games, to be opened with a grand procession in the theatre. Statues of the twelve Olympian gods were carried inside, followed by one of Philip himself (probably meaning that he placed himself among the gods). When everyone was seated, Philip arrived flanked by the two Alexanders: his son and his son-in-law (Alexander of Epirus), who was also his brother-in-law, but he made his entry into the theatre alone, dismissing even the royal bodyguards. He certainly wanted to show the world his full power as he walked under the gods' protection. Suddenly, Pausanias, one of the old-time guards, emerged and stabbed Philip in the chest, a mortal blow. King Philip II of Macedonia died at the age of forty-six.

My story about Philip should end here, but I can't avoid the following logical questions: who was behind this murder, and what was its real reason? Already in antiquity, speculations have run high and are still ongoing in our modern times. We'll probably never know the truth, but then do we know the truth about recent assassinations like President John Kennedy? Anyway, I'll try to sift out several facts and figures.

Let's first take a closer look at this Pausanias. He was one of Philip's bodyguards and, for some time, even his lover. But the king ended the relationship and took another lover, also by the name of Pausanias. Our murderer was very unhappy being rejected, mocking and calling names to the new lover, who confided his grief and jealousy to his friend Attalus, the warrant of Cleopatra, Philip's last wife. After the new lover, Pausanias sacrifices himself on the battlefield for king and country, Attalus seems to avenge his friend and arranges a gang-rape at his own house, after which he hands the unhappy victim over to the slaves to repeat the humiliation. Pausanias, in his despair, complained to King Philip, who did nothing more than promote Pausanias to his personal guard, for he was already planning his campaign to Asia, where he needed Attalus. When Attalus was promoted to commander in the  Asian force and later became Philip's father-in-law, it is not difficult to see Pausanias' increased anger and resentment toward both Philip and Attalus.

Both Diodorus and Justin mention that after murdering Philip, Pausanias ran towards waiting horses (not one horse but more than one) to escape. This may implicate that more than one murder was planned, and given the above, the other person might well have been Attalus. Yet who would/could have been the other murderer?

All this would imply that Pausanias assassinated his king for personal reasons, but what if he acted by order of Queen Olympias or/and Prince Alexander? When Philip decided to marry Attalus' adopted niece, the tension between him and Olympias rose to the point that she left the court and sought refuge with her brother in Epirus. At that same time, Alexander had fled Macedonia also and went to neighboring Illyria. They both may have planned revenge, although this is pure speculation. Nothing has ever been proved unless we consider that the executor Pausanias comes from Orestis, which had close relations with Epirus and Illyria. Olympias may have believed the young man and encouraged him, given her relationship with Philip, or did she really want her son to rule Macedonia instead of her husband? I doubt the last.

[Picture from Oliver Stone's movie Alexander]

As to Alexander, we know he recently suffered his father's humiliation in the Pixodarus affair. He certainly will have taken his mother's resentment about Philip's wedding to Cleopatra closely at heart. Would that be reason enough to have his own father killed? Not for Alexander, as we learn to know him during his own reign, where he has given ample proof of his magnanimity. But then there are rumors that Alexander would not participate in his father's campaign east but stay home as regent of Macedonia and fulfill the role of deputy hegemon of the League of Corinth. Philip formed a clique with Parmenion, Antipater, and Attalus, of which Alexander was excluded, as these generals were bound together by several intermarriages. I am sure Philip never intended to belittle his son's role in his plans, for he desperately needed someone he could and would fully trust back home while fighting the Persians. Yet Alexander, young (he would soon turn twenty) and ambitious as he was, may have felt left out when his father was going to conquer new territories, and he would sit idle in Macedonia. Enough reason to kill the king? I can't believe it, but everybody will draw their own conclusions.

As it turned out, the year 336 BC was filled with far-reaching events to changed history forever. King Philip II was dead. Long live King Alexander III – but that's another story.

Click here to read the full story about Philip II from the beginning.

King Philip, one year later - Macedonia forged by Philip II - 3

King Philip, one year later (358 BC)

But, returning to 358 BC after one full year of kingship, Philip had to secure his border with the Paeonians again and trounced them. As a result, Paeonia became a sort of buffer zone between Macedonia and the tribes of the Danube to the north, which was the trade route up the Axios Valley and beyond. Philip’s army now numbered 10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry, no small achievement if you consider that only a year or two earlier, the Illyrians had defeated nearly the entire Macedonian army. He was confident about marching into Illyria and bluntly refused to accept old King Bardylis’ terms. Both armies met near today’s Lake Ochrid, maybe close to the town of Heraklea Lyncestis, and by the end of the day, the Macedonians had killed 7,000 Illyrian soldiers.

Philip seemed to have it all planned. He demanded that the Illyrians pull out of Upper Macedonia north to Lake Lychnitis, including the tribes of Orestis, which until now were controlled by the Molossian King of Epirus. This way, he had an open route into Epirus to the south and Orestis in the east. A surprising fact is that Parmenion, one of the Paeonian chieftains, was made a general soon after coming over to Philip’s side – an interesting background for this man who served both Philip and Alexander for many years. At this stage, Philip started training recruits from these newly conquered territories, the non-nobles as infantrymen and the nobles as cavalry. This practice stayed in place far into our 20^th century!

This latest victory also meant that Macedonia virtually doubled in size, that the size of Philip’s army increased substantially in only one year, and that Upper and Lower Macedonia were united as never before. Philip, still married to the Illyrian princess Audata, found it wise to change her name to Eurydice to mask her origin. Their daughter Cynane later married Amyntas, the original heir to the Macedonian throne.

Let us switch our attention to the southern borders with Thessaly and two of its cities in particular, Pherae, with its harbor, Pagasae, controlling the coastal states, and Larissa, which controls the inland states. Strangely enough, both cities were bitter enemies. It so happened that Larissa turned to the king for an alliance against Pherae. Philip agreed, be it for his own reasons, i.e., to incorporate the expert Thessalian cavalry into his new army (estimated to be 3-6,000) and to consolidate Macedonia’s southern borders. This alliance was cemented by Philip’s (third) marriage to Philinna from Larissa. She was to bear him a son, Arrhidaeus, the following year.

After these events in 358-357 BC, Philip planned to include Epirus to consolidate his borders. Three large tribes dominated that country: the Thesprotians, the Chaonians, and the Molossians, who spoke a kind of Greek dialect and were the most powerful and prosperous. Since Epirus had also suffered from the Illyrians, a treaty with Philip was relatively easy, and it was sealed by his marriage to Princess Olympias, Philip’s fourth wife. So in 357 BC, Philip’s borders were mainly secure, but there were still two significant enemies to deal with: Athens and the Chalcidian League, who, luckily, were not on friendly terms with each other!

The Chalcidian League had a powerful army, counting 10,000 infantrymen and no less than 1,000 cavalry. We should remember that the Chalcidice owed its economic importance to the mines of the Crenides. The Athenians, meanwhile, had established settlements at Potidaea (on the neck of the Kassandra peninsula), close to Olynthus, and had captured Torone at the tip of the middle finger of the Chalcidice. And, of course, they still had an eye on Amphipolis, a most important crossing on the trading route with Thrace, including the rich mines of Crenides, the waterway to the Strymon River, and the Danube beyond. To send help to Amphipolis, Athens needed a nearby base for their fleet, and it eventually found one on the island of Thasos.

Philip’s attack on Amphipolis was quickly settled, and the city capitulated in the late summer of 357 BC. He also attacked Athens’ ally Pydna, which promptly fell to him. As a reminder, we should not forget that Philip was only 26 years old then.

Tensions between Philip and Athens ran high at this point, and both parties sought an alliance with Olynthus because of the forces it could muster. Olynthus apparently was blinded by Philip’s promises, and a treaty was made in the winter of 357-356 BC. Copies were set up in Delphi, at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, in Dion, and at the Temple of Artemis in Olynthus. As a consequence, Philip besieged Potidaea and occupied the city.

He had no time to take a break, for now, the king of eastern Thracia besieged the strategic and precious city of Crenides. It was only about 40 miles east of Amphipolis, right above the port of Neapolis (today’s Kavala), a valuable naval base in the region. Philip immediately marched in and defeated the Thracian forces despite their sudden coalition with Illyria and Paeonia. Philip was determined to stay and to put his stamp on this place; he changed its name to Philippi. He fortified the city walls and towers and increased the output of silver coinage. The marshy plain was drained and cultivated, meaning another boost for the local economy.

Click here to read the full story about Philip II from the beginning