Филипп II Македонский.

PHILIP II OF MACEDONIA, FATHER OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. The armor is based on the one found in the royal tombs of Vergina, northern Greece, traditionally attributed to Philip II, despite the more recent hypothesis that Philip may be buried in a different tomb in Vergina. I used the replica of Philip’s armor made by Katsikis Dimitrios (you can see all his armors at https://www.hellenicarmors.gr/en/) because it’s the finest replica of this armor you will ever see. 

Philip II inherited the kingdom of Macedonia, located in the outskirts of Greek civilization. During the Greco-Persian wars, Macedonia became a vassal of the Persian Empire, and played both sides in the conflict. During the subsequent wars between Athens and Sparta, the kingdom of Macedonia played both sides once again. After reaching the throne, Philip II launched a campaign of expansion, defeated a coalition of Greek city-states and united all of Greece under his command. Philip’s military reforms proved crucial in the rise of Macedon, as well as Alexander’s campaigns. The most notorious of these reforms was the introduction of the sarissa pike, and the combined use of shock cavalry and the phalanx. He also waged war against the Thracians, the Illyrians and the Scythians of the Black Sea. Polygamy was common in the Macedonian court, so Philip married Greek and barbarian women alike. As hegemon of the Hellenic League, Philip II planned a panhellenic campaign against the Achaemenid Persian Empire, taking advantage of the instability that had been affecting the empire during the last years, with a succession of short-lived kings and rebellions in the provinces. But that campaign would not happen, not under Philip’s rule, because he was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, victim of the violent conspiracies of the Macedonian court. He died at the age of 46. Philip’s 20-year-old son Alexander succeeded him, and after securing his position as king, Alexander finally launched the Asian campaign that his father had planned.

️ Joan Francesc Oliveras Pallerols