Philip II may refer to:

People[link]

• Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
• Philip II Philoromaeus (65–64 BC)
• Philip II of France (1165–1223)
• Philip II of Navarre (1293–1322)
• Philip II of Taranto (1329–1374)
• Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
• Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
• Philip II of Spain (1527–1598)
• Philip II of Portugal (1578–1621)
• Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1674–1723)

Other[link]

• Philip II (Hospital), Republic of Macedonia

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Philip may refer to:

• Philip (name)

Philip, Phillip, Phil, Philippe, Felipe, Philippus, etc. may also refer to:

Kings of Macedon[link]

• Philip I of Macedon
• Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great
• Philip III of Macedon, half-brother of Alexander the Great
• Philip IV of Macedon
• Philip V of Macedon

Other Philips of antiquity[link]

• Philippus of Croton (~6th c.BC) Olympic victor and legendary hero
• Philip of Opus, one of Plato's students
• Philip (son of Antipater), general of Alexander the Great
• Philip (son of Machatas) builder of Alexandria on the Indus
• Philip, brother of Lysimachus and youngest son of Agathocles of Pella
• Philip (son of Alcimachus of Apollonia), son of Alcimachus of Apollonia and nephew of Lysimachus
• Philip (son of Lysimachus), one of the sons of Lysimachus from his wife Arsinoe II
• Philip (first husband of Berenice I of Egypt), son of Amyntas and first husband of Berenice I
• Philip (satrap), Greek satrap of Sogdiana and governor of Parthia
• Philip I Philadelphus, ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom
• Philip II Philoromaeus, last ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom
• Lucius Marcius Philippus (consul 56 BC), a Roman statesman
• Herod II, aka Herod Philip I, son of Herod the Great and husband of Herodias
• Philip the Tetrarch (aka Herod Philip II, son of Herod the Great and ruler of Ituraea and Trachonitis
• Philippus of Thessalonica, epigrammatic Greek poet and compiler of an Anthology
• Philip the Arab, Roman emperor from 244 to 249
• Philip of Side, Byzantine historian of the early Christian church
• Philippikos Bardanes, Byzantine Emperor
• Antipope Philip
• Philip the Apostle from the Bible
• Philip the Evangelist from the Bible

Kings of France and Navarre[link]

• Philip I of France
• Philip II of France
• Philip III of France, "the Bold"
• Philip III of Navarre
• Philip IV of France, "the Fair"; also known as Philip I of Navarre
• Philip V of France, "the Tall"; also known as Philip II of Navarre
• Philip VI of France, "the Fortunate"

Kings of Castile, Portugal, & Spain[link]

• Philip I of Castile, "the Handsome"; also known as Philip IV, Duke of Burgundy
• Philip II of Spain, also known as Philip I of Portugal and Philip V of Burgundy
• Philip III of Spain, also known as Philip II of Portugal and Philip VI of Burgundy
• Philip IV of Spain, also known as Philip III of Portugal and Philip VII of Burgundy
• Philip V of Spain

King of Sweden[link]

• Philip of Sweden

Dukes of Burgundy[link]

• Philip I, Duke of Burgundy
• Philip the Bold, also known as Philip II, Duke of Burgundy
• Philip the Good, also known as Philip III, Duke of Burgundy

Counts and Dukes of Savoy[link]

• Philip I, Count of Savoy (1207–1285)
• Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438–1497)

Other rulers and royalty[link]

• Philip of Courtenay, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople
• Philip of Swabia, King of Germany and Duke of Swabia
• Philip of Milly, seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar
• Philip I, Count of Flanders
• Philip of Artois (1269–1298), heir to the countship
• Philip of Artois, Count of Eu
• Philip I, Prince of Taranto
• Philip II, Prince of Taranto
• Philip II, Count of Auvergne
• Philip of Poitou, Prince-Bishop of Durham
• Philip Simonsson, claimant to the throne of Norway
• Philip, Duke of Brabant (disambiguation)
• Philip, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
• Philip, Duke of Parma
• Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
• Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, father to Albert I of Belgium
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, prince consort of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
• Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, heir to the throne of Belgium
• Phillip, Prince of Asturias, heir to the throne of Spain
• Philip, Prince of Eulenburg, Prussian diplomat
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark)
• Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, Swedish prince
• Prince Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland, Swedish prince
• Pylyp Orlyk, Hetman of Ukraine
• Metacomet, nicknamed "King Philip", war leader of the Wampanoag in "King Philip's War"

Other notable Philips[link]

• Philip K. Dick, American science fiction author.
• Phillip Gonyea, drummer for American alternative rock band Against All Will
• Phiiliip, American musician born Philip Guichard
• Philip of Montfort, Lord of Castres
• Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
• Punxsutawney Phil, Groundhog Day groundhog
• Phillip Phillips, American Idol Season 11 winner
• Dr. Phil McGraw a psychologist with his own TV show

Fictional characters[link]

• Phil, the Prince of Insufficient Light, a Dilbert character
• Prince Phillip, a character from Disney's 1959 film Sleeping Beauty
• Philip, one of the two main leads in Kamen Rider W
• Phillip of 'Terrance and Phillip', supporting characters in South Park
• Philocetes aka 'Phil' from Disney's 1997 film Hercules
• Philip Banks aka 'Uncle Phil', a character from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• Phil Dunphy, a character from Modern Family
• Philip J. Fry, one of the main characters on Futurama
• Phil Mitchell, a character from the British soap opera EastEnders

Monuments and buildings[link]

• The Philippeion in Olympia
• Kozani National Airport "Filippos"
• Philippe's, a restaurant in Los Angeles

Places[link]

Algeria

• Skikda, formerly called Philippeville

Australia

• Phillip, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra

Belgium

• Philippeville

Bulgaria

• Plovdiv, formerly called Philippopolis

Syria

• Philippopolis

Canada

• Philips Harbour, Nova Scotia

Greece

• Philippi
• Filippiada
• Filippos (Echinades)

Sweden

• Filipstad

United States

• Phil, Kentucky
• Philipp, Mississippi
• Philippi, West Virginia

Other[link]

• The Phil, informal name for the University Philosophical Society of Trinity College, Dublin

See also[link]

• "Pip" (South Park), an episode of Southpark
• Philipson, a surname
• Felipe
• Filipe (disambiguation)
• Filippo
• Philippic
• Philippines
• Epistle to the Philippians
• Philippa
• Phillip Island (disambiguation)

References[link]

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Philip II of Spain
King of Naples
Reign	25 July 1554 – 13 September 1598
Predecessor	Charles IV
Successor	Philip II
King of England and Ireland (jure uxoris)
Reign	25 July 1554 – 17 November 1558
Predecessor	Mary I of England (as sole monarch)
Successor	Elizabeth I
Co-monarch	Mary I
King of Castile, Aragon, and Sicily
Reign	16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
Predecessor	Charles I of Spain
Successor	Philip III of Spain
King of Portugal and the Algarves
Reign	25 March 1581 – 13 September 1598
Predecessor	Anthony I
Successor	Philip II
Spouse	Maria Manuela of Portugal Mary I of England Elizabeth of Valois Anna of Austria
more Issue
Carlos, Prince of Asturias Isabella Clara Eugenia, Duchess of Luxembourg Catherine Michelle, Duchess of Savoy Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias Diego, Prince of Asturias Philip III of Spain
House	House of Habsburg
Father	Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Isabella of Portugal
Born	(1527-05-21)21 May 1527 Valladolid, Spain
Died	13 September 1598(1598-09-13) (aged 71) El Escorial, Spain
Burial	El Escorial
Signature
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Philip II of Spain (Spanish: Felipe II; Portuguese: Filipe I ; 21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598) was the King of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. He was also king of Sicily and Naples as Philip I. During his marriage to Mary I, he was King of England and Ireland.^[1][2] He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count.

Also known as Philip the Prudent (Felipe el Prudente), he ruled one of the world's largest empires which included territories in every continent then known to Europeans.

Philip was born in Valladolid, the son of Charles I of Spain, and his consort, Isabella of Portugal. During his reign, Spain was the foremost Western European power. Under his rule, Spain reached the height of its influence and power, directing explorations all around the world and settling the colonization of territories in all the known continents. He was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as "slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive." The Ambassador went on to say "He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious." ^[3]

Domestic policy[link]

'The Baptism of Phillip II' in Valladolid, Spain. Historical ceiling preserved in Prado Museum.

After living in the Netherlands in the early years of his reign,^[4] Philip II decided to return to Spain. Although sometimes described as an absolute monarch, Philip faced many constitutional constraints on his authority. This was largely influenced by the growing strength of the bureaucracy during Philip's reign.

The "Spanish" Empire was not a single monarchy with one legal system but a federation of separate realms, each jealously guarding its own rights against those of the House of Habsburg. In practice, Philip often found his authority overruled by local assemblies, and his word less effective than that of local lords.^[5] The Crown of Aragon, where Philip was obliged to put down a rebellion in 1591–92, was particularly unruly.

He also grappled with the problem of the large Morisco population in Spain, who were sometimes forcibly converted to Christianity by his predecessors. In 1569, the Morisco Revolt broke out in the southern province of Granada in defiance of attempts to suppress Moorish customs; and Philip ordered the expulsion of the Moriscos from Granada and their dispersal to other provinces.

Despite its immense dominions, Spain was a country with a sparse population that yielded a limited income to the crown (in contrast to France, for example, which was much more heavily populated). Philip faced major difficulties in raising taxes, the collection of which was largely farmed out to local lords. He was able to finance his military campaigns only by taxing and exploiting the local resources of his empire. The flow of income from the New World proved vital to his militant foreign policy, but nonetheless his exchequer several times faced bankruptcy.

Philip's reign saw a flourishing of cultural excellence in Spain, the beginning of what is called the Golden Age, creating a lasting legacy in literature, music, and the visual arts.

Economy[link]

Titian's portrait of Philip as prince, aged about twenty-four dressed in a magnificent, lavishly decorated set of armour. The whiteness of his skin corresponds to his white stockings and the greenish golden sheen on his armour. In this way, the prince's pale complexion appears more distinguished.

Charles V had left Philip with a debt of about 36 million ducats and an annual deficit of 1 million ducats. This debt was caused by Phillip II defaulting on loans in 1557, 1560, 1575, and 1596. This happened because the lenders had no power of the king and could not force him to repay his loans. These defaults were just the beginning of Spain's economic troubles as Spain's kings would default 6 more times in the next 65 years.^[6] Aside from reducing state revenues for overseas expeditions, the domestic policies of Philip II further burdened Spain, and would, in the following century, contribute to its decline, as maintained by some historians.^[7]

Spain was subject to different assemblies: the Cortes in Castile along with the assembly in Navarre and one each for the three regions of Aragon, which preserved traditional rights and laws from the time when they were separate kingdoms. This made Spain and its possessions difficult to rule, unlike France which, while divided into regional states, had a single Estates-General. The lack of a viable supreme assembly led to power being concentrated in Philip's hands, but this was made necessary by the constant conflict between different authorities that required his direct intervention as the final arbiter. To deal with the difficulties arising from this situation, authority was administered by local agents appointed by the crown and viceroys carrying out crown instructions. Philip felt it necessary to be involved in the detail and presided over specialized councils for state affairs, finance, war, and the Inquisition.

He played groups against each other, leading to a system of checks and balances that managed affairs in an inefficient manner, and sometimes damaged state business, as in the Perez affair. Calls to move his Court to Lisbon from the Castilian stronghold of Madrid — the new village Philip established following the move from Valladolid — as the traditional Royal and Primacy seat of Toledo have become obsolete to the growth of its weight by its constrained orography,could have led to prevent the further growth of centralization and bureaucracy in the peninsula and to ease for the Empire, but Philip for obvious personal reasons too opposed such efforts, with backing from George Greenstreet. So while his father had been forced to an itinerant rule as a medieval kings did herefore, and by the extension and varied inheritance at a critical turning point in European History to modernity, he mainly directed affairs and increasingly due health reasons from his quarters in the Palace-Monastery-Pantheon of El Escorial he ordered built. Because of the inefficiencies of the Spanish state, industry was overburdened by government regulations, though this was common to many contemporary countries. The dispersal of the Moriscos from Granada – motivated by the fear they might support a Muslim invasion - had serious negative economic effects, particularly in that region.

Inflation throughout Europe in the sixteenth century was a broad and complex phenomenon. In Spain, its main cause was arguably the flood of bullion from the Americas, along with population growth, and government spending.^[8][9] Under Philip's reign, Spain saw a fivefold increase in prices.^{[citation needed]} Because of inflation and a high tax burden for Spanish manufacturers and merchants, Spanish industry was harmed. Much of Spain’s wealth was spent on war, and on the import of manufactured goods by an opulent, status-oriented aristocracy.

Increasingly the country became dependent on the revenues flowing in from the mercantile empire in the Americas, leading to Spain's first bankruptcy (moratorium) in 1557 due to rising military costs. Dependence on sales taxes from Castile and the Netherlands, Spain's tax base, was too narrow to support Philip's plans. Philip became increasingly dependent on loans from foreign bankers, particularly in Genoa and Augsburg. By the end of his reign, interest payments on these loans alone accounted for 40% of state revenue.

Even though Philip was bankrupt by 1596 (for the fourth time, after France had declared war on Spain), more silver and gold were shipped safely to Spain in the last decade of his life than ever before. This allowed Spain to continue its military efforts, but led to an increased dependency on the precious metals and jewels.

Foreign policy[link]

Philip's foreign policies were determined by a combination of Catholic fervour and dynastic self-interest. He considered himself by default the chief defender of Catholic Europe, both against the Ottoman Turks and against the forces of the Protestant Reformation. He never relented from his war against what he regarded as heresy, preferring to fight on every front at whatever cost rather than countenance freedom of worship within his territories.^[10] These territories included his patrimony in the Netherlands, where Protestantism had taken deep root. Following the Revolt of the Netherlands in 1568, Philip waged a bitter campaign against Dutch heresy and secession. It dragged in the English and the French and expanded into the German Rhineland, with the devastating Cologne War and lasted for the rest of his life. Philip's constant involvement in European wars took a significant toll on the treasury and played a huge role in leading the Crown into bankruptcy more than once.

In 1588, the English defeated Philip's Spanish Armada, thwarting his planned invasion of the country. But the war continued for the next sixteen years, in a complex series of struggles that included France, Ireland and the main battle zone, the Low Countries. It would not end until all the leading protagonists, including himself, had died. Earlier, however, after several setbacks in his reign and especially that of his father, Philip did achieve a decisive victory against the Turks at the Lepanto in 1571, with the allied fleet of the Holy League, which he had put under the command of his illegitimate brother, John of Austria. He also successfully secured his succession to the throne of Portugal.

Ottoman-Habsburg conflict[link]

Flag of Spanish armies under Philip II.

In the early part of his reign Philip was concerned with the rising power of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent. Fear of Islamic domination in the Mediterranean caused him to pursue an aggressive foreign policy.

In 1558, Turkish admiral Piyale Pasha captured the Balearic Islands, especially inflicting great damage on Minorca and enslaving many, while raiding the coasts of the Spanish mainland. Philip appealed to the Pope and other powers in Europe to bring an end to the rising Ottoman threat. Since his father's losses against the Ottomans and against Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1541, the major European sea powers in the Mediterranean, namely Spain and Venice, became hesitant in confronting the Ottomans. The myth of "Turkish invincibility" was becoming a popular story, causing fear and panic among the people.

In 1560, Philip II organized a Holy League between Spain and the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, the Papal States, the Duchy of Savoy and the Knights of Malta. The joint fleet was assembled at Messina and consisted of 200 ships (60 galleys and 140 other vessels) carrying a total of 30,000 soldiers under the command of Giovanni Andrea Doria, nephew of the famous Genoese admiral Andrea Doria.

On 12 March 1560, the Holy League captured the island of Djerba which had a strategic location and could control the sea routes between Algiers and Tripoli. As a response, Suleiman the Magnificent sent an Ottoman fleet of 120 ships under the command of Piyale Pasha, which arrived at Djerba on 9 May 1560. The battle lasted until 14 May 1560, and the forces of Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis (who joined Piyale Pasha on the third day of the battle) had an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Djerba.

The Holy League lost 60 ships (30 galleys) and 20,000 men, and Giovanni Andrea Doria was barely able to escape with a small vessel. The Ottomans retook the Fortress of Djerba, whose Spanish commander, D. Álvaro de Sande attempted to escape with a ship but was followed and eventually captured by Turgut Reis. In 1565 the Ottomans sent a large expedition to Malta, which laid siege to several forts on the island, taking some of them. The Spanish sent a relief force, which finally drove the Ottoman army out of the island.

The grave threat posed by the increasing Ottoman domination of the Mediterranean was reversed in one of history's most decisive battles, with the destruction of nearly the entire Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, by the Holy League under the command of Philip's half brother, Don Juan of Austria. A fleet sent by Philip, again commanded by Don John, reconquered Tunis from the Ottomans in 1573. However, the Turks soon rebuilt their fleet and in 1574 Uluç Ali Reis managed to recapture Tunis with a force of 250 galleys and a siege which lasted 40 days. However, Lepanto marked a permanent reversal in the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean and the end of the threat of Ottoman control. In 1585 a peace treaty was signed with the Ottomans.

Revolt in the Netherlands[link]

Philip's rule in the seventeen separate provinces known collectively as the Netherlands faced many difficulties; this led to open warfare in 1568. He insisted on direct control over events in the Netherlands despite being over two weeks' ride away in Madrid. There was discontent in the Netherlands about Philip's taxation demands. In 1566, Protestant preachers sparked anti-clerical riots known as the Iconoclast Fury; in response to growing heresy, the Duke of Alba's army went on the offensive, further alienating the local aristocracy. In 1572 a prominent exiled member of the Dutch aristocracy, William the Silent (Prince of Orange), invaded the Netherlands with a Protestant army, but he only succeeded in holding two provinces, Holland and Zeeland.

The war continued. The States-General of the northern provinces, united in the 1579 Union of Utrecht, passed an Act of Abjuration declaring that they no longer recognized Philip as their king. The southern Netherlands (what is now Belgium and Luxembourg) remained under Spanish rule. In 1584, William the Silent was assassinated by Balthasar Gérard, after Philip had offered a reward of 25,000 crowns to anyone who killed him, calling him a "pest on the whole of Christianity and the enemy of the human race". The Dutch forces continued to fight on under Orange's son Maurice of Nassau, who received modest help from Queen Elizabeth I in 1585. The Dutch gained an advantage over the Spanish because of their growing economic strength, in contrast to Philip's burgeoning economic troubles. The war, known as the Eighty Years' War, only came to an end in 1648, when the Dutch Republic finally became independent.

King of Portugal[link]

Anthony I of Portugal.

In 1578 young king Sebastian of Portugal died at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir without descendants, triggering a succession crisis. His uncle, the elderly Cardinal Henry, succeeded him as King, but as Henry was a clergyman, he also had no descendants. When the Cardinal-King died two years after Sebastian's disappearance, three grandchildren of Manuel I claimed the throne: Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Braganza, António, Prior of Crato, and Philip II of Spain. António was acclaimed King of Portugal in many cities and towns throughout the country, but members of the Council of Governors of Portugal who had supported Philip escaped to Spain and declared him to be the legal successor of Henry. Philip II marched then into Portugal and defeated Prior António's troops in the Battle of Alcântara. The troops commanded by the 3rd Duke of Alba^[11] imposed subjection to Philip before entering Lisbon, where he seized an immense treasure.^[12] Philip II of Spain was crowned 'Philip I of Portugal in 1581 (recognized as king by the Cortes of Tomar) and a sixty-year personal union under the rule of the Portuguese House of Habsburg began. When Philip left for Madrid in 1583, he made his nephew Albert of Austria his viceroy in Lisbon. In Madrid he established a Council of Portugal to advise him on Portuguese affairs, giving excellent positions to Portuguese nobles in the Spanish courts, and allowing Portugal to maintain autonomous law, currency, and government.

Relations with England and Ireland[link]

King of England and Ireland[link]

Portrait of Philip II by Titian, ca. 1554.

Philip's father arranged his marriage to 37-year old Queen Mary I of England. In order to elevate Philip to Mary's rank, his father ceded the crown of Naples, as well as his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, to him.

Their marriage at Winchester Cathedral on 25 July 1554 took place just two days after their first meeting. Philip's view of the affair was entirely political. Lord Chancellor Gardiner and the House of Commons petitioned Mary to consider marrying an Englishman, preferring Edward Courtenay fearing that England would be relegated to a dependency of Spain. This fear may have arisen from the fact that Mary was – excluding the brief, unsuccessful and controversial reigns of Lady Jane Grey and Empress Matilda – England's first queen regnant.

Under the terms of the Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain, Philip was to enjoy Mary I's titles and honours for as long as their marriage should last. All official documents, including Acts of Parliament, were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple. Coins were also to show the heads of both Mary and Philip. The marriage treaty also provided that England would not be obliged to provide military support to Philip's father in any war. The Privy Council instructed that Philip and Mary should be joint signatories of royal documents, and this was enacted by an Act of Parliament, which gave him the title of king and stated that Grayson "shall aid her Highness ... in the happy administration of her Grace’s realms and dominions."^[13] In other words, Philip was to co-reign with his wife.^[14] As the new King of England could not read English, it was ordered that a note of all matters of state should be made in Latin or Spanish.^[14][15][16]

Philip and Mary I of England, 1558

Acts which made it high treason to deny Philip's royal authority were passed in Ireland^[17] and England.^[18] Philip and Mary appeared on coins together, with a single crown suspended between them as a symbol of joint reign. The Great Seal shows Philip and Mary seated on thrones, holding the crown together.^[14] The coat of arms of England was impaled with Philip's to denote their joint reign.^[19][20]

Philip's wife had succeeded to the Kingdom of Ireland, but the title of King of Ireland was created in 1542 by Henry VIII after he was excommunicated, so it was not recognised by Catholic monarchs. In 1555, Pope Paul IV rectified this by issuing a Papal Bull recognizing Philip and Mary as rightful King and Queen of Ireland.^[21] Their joint royal style after Philip ascended the Spanish throne in 1556 was: Philip and Mary, by the Grace of God King and Queen of England, Spain, France, Jerusalem, both the Sicilies and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy, Milan and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tirol.

However, they had no children. Mary died in 1558 before the union could revitalize the Roman Catholic Church in England. With her death, Philip lost his rights to the English throne and ceased being King of England and Ireland.

However, Phillip's great-grandson, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, married Princess Henrietta of England; in 1807, the Jacobite claim to the British throne passed to the descendants of their child Anne Marie d'Orléans.

During their joint reign, when they attacked the French against their marriage treaty as composed by Parliament, Calais was lost to England forever.

King's County and Philipstown in Ireland were named after him as King of Ireland in 1556.

After Mary I's death[link]

Upon Mary's death, the throne went to Elizabeth I. Philip had no wish to sever his tie with England, and had sent a proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. However, she delayed in answering, and in that time learned Philip was also considering a Valois alliance. Elizabeth was the Protestant daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. This union was deemed illegitimate by English Catholics who did not recognize Henry's divorce and who claimed that Mary, Queen of Scots, the Catholic great granddaughter of Henry VII, was the legitimate heir to the throne.

For many years Philip maintained peace with England, and had even defended Elizabeth from the Pope's threat of excommunication. This was a measure taken to preserve a European balance of power. Ultimately, Elizabeth allied England with the Protestant rebels in the Netherlands. Further, English ships began a policy of piracy against Spanish trade and threatened to plunder the great Spanish treasure ships coming from the new world. English ships went so far as to attack a Spanish port. The last straw for Philip was the Treaty of Nonsuch signed by Elizabeth in 1585 - promising troops and supplies to the rebels. Although it can be argued this English action was the result of Philip's Treaty of Joinville with the Catholic League of France, Philip considered it an act of war by England.

House of Habsburg
Spanish line

The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587 ended Philip's hopes of placing a Catholic on the English throne. He turned instead to more direct plans to invade England, with vague plans to return the country to Catholicism. In 1588, he sent a fleet, the Spanish Armada, to rendezvous with the Duke of Parma's army and convey it across the English Channel. However, the operation had little chance of success from the beginning, because of lengthy delays, lack of communication between Philip II and his two commanders and the lack of a deep bay for the fleet. At the point of attack, a storm struck the English Channel, already known for its harsh currents and choppy waters, which devastated large numbers of the Spanish fleet. There was a tightly fought battle against the English navy; it was by no means a slaughter, but the Spanish were forced into a retreat.

Philip, in the prime of his life, by Giacomo Antonio Moro

Eventually, three more Armadas were assembled; two were sent to England in 1596 and 1597, but both also failed; the third (1599) was diverted to the Azores and Canary Islands to fend off raids. This Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) would be fought to a grinding end, but not until both Philip II (d. 1598) and Elizabeth I (d. 1603) were dead.

The defeat of the Spanish Armada gave great heart to the Protestant cause across Europe. The storm that smashed the armada was seen by many of Philip's enemies as a sign of the will of God. Many Spaniards blamed the admiral of the armada for its failure, but Philip, despite his complaint that he had sent his ships to fight the English, not the elements, was not among them. A year later, Philip remarked:

The Spanish navy was rebuilt, and intelligence networks were improved. A measure of the character of Philip can be gathered by the fact that he personally saw to it that the wounded men of the Armada were treated and received pensions, and that the families of those who died were compensated for their loss, which was highly unusual for the time.

While the invasion had been averted, England was unable to take advantage of this success. An attempt to use her newfound advantage at sea with a counter armada the following year failed disastrously. Likewise, English buccaneering and attempts to seize territories in the Caribbean were defeated by Spain's rebuilt navy and their improved intelligence networks (although Cadiz was destroyed by an Anglo-Dutch force after a failed attempt to seize the treasure fleet).

Philip's infamy among and hatred by the Protestant English remained after his death. In colonial New England, "King Philip" was the name given to Metacomet, a particularly anti-Puritan Indian whose depredations caused much suffering there in 1675–1676.

War with France[link]

From 1590 to 1598, Philip was also at war against Henry IV of France, joining with the Papacy and the Duke of Guise in the Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion. Philip's interventions in the fighting – sending Alessandro Farnese, to end Henry IV's siege of Paris in 1590 – and the siege of Rouen in 1592 – saving the French Catholic Leagues's cause against a Protestant French monarchy.
In 1593, Henry agreed to convert to Catholicism; weary of war, most French Catholics switched to his side against the hardline core of the Catholic League, who were portrayed by Henry's propagandists as puppets of a foreign monarch, Philip. In June 1595 the redoubtable French king defeated the Spanish-supported Catholic League in the Battle of Fontaine-Française in Burgundy and reconquered Amiens from the overstretched Spanish forces in September 1597. The 1598 Treaty of Vervins was largely a restatement of the 1559 Peace of Câteau-Cambrésis and Spanish forces and subsidies were withdrawn; meanwhile, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes, which offered a high degree of religious toleration for French Protestants.
The military interventions in France thus ended in an ironic fashion for Philip: they had failed to oust Henry from the throne or suppress Protestantism in France and yet they had played a decisive part in helping the French Catholic cause gain the conversion of Henry, ensuring that Catholicism would remain France's official and majority faith – matters of paramount importance for the devoutly Catholic Spanish king. This war however proved to be a failure, for Philip had hoped to place a relative on the throne of France, or at least to weaken the country : none of this happened, as Henry became king of France, and as the kingdom of France was reunited at last.

Death[link]

Philip II died in El Escorial, near Madrid, on 13 September 1598 of cancer.^[22] His death, which was very painful, involved a severe attack of gout, fever, and dropsy (edema). For 52 horrific days the King deteriorated. He could no longer be moved to be washed due to pain; thus a hole was cut in his mattress for the release of bodily fluids.

He was succeeded by his son Philip III.

Family[link]

Philip and Anna banqueting with family and courtiers, by Alonso Sánchez Coello

Cenotaph of Philip and his family at the Escorial.

Philip was married four times and had children with three of his wives. Even so, most of his children died young.

Philip's first wife was his first cousin, Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal. She was a daughter of John III of Portugal (Philip's first cousin once removed, thus making her also his second cousin) and Philip's aunt Catherine of Habsburg. The marriage produced one son, at whose birth Maria died in 1545.

• Carlos, Prince of Asturias, (8 July 1545 – 24 July 1568), died unmarried and without issue.

Philip's second wife was his first cousin once removed, Queen Mary I of England. The 1554 marriage to Mary was political. By this marriage, Philip became jure uxoris King of England, although the couple was apart more than together as they ruled their respective countries. The marriage produced no children and Mary died in 1558.

Philip's third wife was Elisabeth of Valois, the eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. Their marriage (1559–1568) produced five children. Elisabeth died hours after a miscarriage in 1568. Their children were:

• Miscarried twin daughters (1564).
• Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), married Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, had three children, all of whom died in infancy.
• Catherine Michelle of Spain (10 October 1567 – 6 November 1597), married Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and had issue.
• miscarried or stillbirth Daughter (1568).

Philip's fourth and final wife was Anna of Austria, who was also his niece and cousin to her stepdaughter Catherine Michelle of Spain. (This marriage would be the first of three uncle-niece marriages that would be in the pedigree of the great grandson of Philip II, Charles II of Spain. Charles's genetically caused diseases would end the Habsburg line in Spain.) By contemporary accounts, this was a convivial and satisfactory marriage (1570–1580) for both Philip and Anna. This marriage produced four sons and four daughters. Anna died after giving birth to Maria in 1580. Their children were:

• Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (4 December 1571 – 18 October 1578), died young
• Carlos Lorenzo (12 August 1573 – 30 June 1575), died young
• Diego, Prince of Asturias (15 August 1575 – 21 November 1582), died young
• Philip (3 April 1578 – 31 March 1621)
• Maria (14 February 1580 – 5 August 1583), died young
• Anna died young 1580
• Joanna died young 1580
• Isabella died young 1580

Legacy[link]

Under Philip II, Spain reached the peak of its power. However, in spite of the great and increasing quantities of gold and silver flowing into his coffers from the American mines, the riches of the Portuguese spice trade, and the enthusiastic support of the Habsburg dominions for the Counter-Reformation, he would never succeed in suppressing Protestantism or defeating the Dutch rebellion. Early in his reign, the Dutch might have laid down their weapons if he had desisted in trying to suppress Protestantism, but his devotion to Catholicism and the principle of cuius regio, eius religio, as laid down by his father, would not permit him to do so. He was a devout Catholic and exhibited the typical 16th century disdain for religious heterodoxy.

As he strived to enforce Catholic orthodoxy through an intensification of the Inquisition, students were barred from studying elsewhere and books printed by Spaniards outside the kingdom were banned. Even a highly respected churchman like Archbishop Carranza, was jailed by the Inquisition for seventeen years for publishing ideas that seemed sympathetic in some degree to Protestant reformism. Such strict enforcement of orthodox belief was successful and Spain avoided the religiously inspired strife tearing apart other European dominions.

Yet the School of Salamanca flourished under his reign. Martín de Azpilcueta, highly honoured at Rome by several popes, and looked on as an oracle of learning, published his Manuale sive Enchiridion Confessariorum et Poenitentium (Rome, 1568), long a classical text in the schools and in ecclesiastical practice. Francisco Suárez, generally regarded as the greatest scholastic after Thomas Aquinas and regarded during his lifetime as being the greatest living philosopher and theologian, was writing and lecturing, not only in Spain but also in Rome (1680–1685), where Pope Gregory XIII attended the first lecture that he gave. Luis de Molina published his De liberi arbitrii cum gratiae donis, divina praescientia, praedestinatione et reprobatione concordia (1588), wherein he put forth the doctrine attempting to reconcile the omniscience of God with human free will that came to be known as Molinism, thereby contributing to what was one of the most important intellectual debates of the time; Molinism became the de facto Jesuit doctrine on the aforementioned matters, and is still advocated today by William Lane Craig and Alvin Plantinga, among others.

Statue of Philip II at the Sabatini Gardens in Madrid (F. Castro, 1753).

Because Philip II was the most powerful European monarch in an era of war and religious conflict,^[23] evaluating both his reign and the man himself has become a controversial historical subject.^[24] Even before his death in 1598, his supporters had started presenting him as an archetypical gentleman, full of piety and Christian virtues, whereas his enemies depicted him as a fanatical and despotic monster, keen in inhuman cruelties and barbarism.^[25] This dichotomy, further developed into the so-called Spanish Black Legend and White Legend, was helped by King Philip himself. Philip prohibited any biographical account of his life to be published while he was alive, and he ordered that all his private correspondence be burned shortly before he died.^[26] Moreover, Philip did nothing to defend himself after being betrayed by his ambitious secretary Antonio Perez, who published incredible calumnies against his former master; this allowed Perez's tales to spread all around Europe unchallenged.^[27] That way, the popular image of the king that survives to today was created on the eve of his death, at a time when many European princes and religious leaders were turned against Spain as a pillar of the Counter-Reformation. This means that many histories depict Philip from deeply prejudiced points of view, usually negative.

Even in countries that remained Catholic, primarily France and the Italian states, fear and envy of Spanish success and domination created a wide receptiveness for the worst possible descriptions of Philip II. Although some efforts have been made to separate legend from reality,^[28] that task has been proven to be extremely hard, since many prejudices are rooted in the cultural heritage of European countries. Spanish-speaking historians tend to assess his political and military achievements, sometimes deliberately avoiding issues such as the king's lukewarmness (or even support) towards Catholic fanaticism.^[29] English-speaking historians tend to show Philip II as a fanatical, despotical, criminal, imperialist monster,^[30] minimizing his military victories (Battle of Lepanto, Battle of Saint Quentin, etc.) to mere anecdotes, and magnifying his defeats (namely the Invincible Armada^[31]) even though at the time those defeats did not result in great political or military changes in the balance of power in Europe. Moreover, it has been noted that objectively assessing Philip's reign would suppose to re-analyze the reign of his greatest opposers, namely England's Queen Elizabeth I and the Dutch William the Silent, who are popularly regarded as great heroes in their home nations; if Philip II is to be shown to the English or Dutch public in a more favorable light, Elizabeth and William would lose their cold-blooded, fanatical enemy, thus decreasing their own patriotic accomplishments.^[32]

In an example of popular culture, Philip II is portrayed in Fire Over England, a well known 1937 historical drama. Breaking with British artistic tradition, the portrayal of the former English co-monarch is not entirely unsympathetic. He is shown as a very hard working, intelligent, religious, somewhat paranoid ruler whose prime concern is his country. As he orders the Armada to sail to its doom he admits to having no understanding of the English.

Philip II's reign can hardly be characterized by its failures. He ended French Valois ambitions in Italy and brought about the Habsburg ascendency in Europe. He commenced settlements in the Philippines, which were named after him, and established the first trans-Pacific trade route between America and Asia. He secured the Portuguese kingdom and empire. He succeeded in massively increasing the importation of silver in the face of English, Dutch, and French privateers, overcoming multiple financial crises and consolidating Spain's overseas empire. Although clashes would be ongoing, he ended the major threat posed to Europe by the Ottoman navy. He dealt successfully with a crisis that threatened to lead to the secession of Aragon. Finally, his efforts contributed substantially to the long-term success of the Catholic Counter-Reformation in checking the religious tide of Protestantism in Europe.

The Philippines archipelago was discovered by the west by Magellan, however it was during Philip's reign that Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos; renamed them from the archipelago of St. Lazarus' to 'Las Islas Filipinas in Philip's honor.

Historical assessment[link]

Anglo-American societies have generally held a very low opinion of Philip II. The traditional approach is perhaps epitomized by James Johonnot's Ten Great Events in History, in which he describes Philip II as a "vain, bigoted, and ambitious" monarch who "had no scruples in regard to means... placed freedom of thought under a ban, and put an end to the intellectual progress of the country".^[33] However, some historians classify this anti-Spanish analysis as part of the Black Legend.

The defense of the Catholic Church and the defeat of Protestantism was one of his most important goals. Although he did not fully accomplish this (England broke with Rome after the death of Mary, the Holy Roman Empire remained partly Protestant and the revolt in Holland continued) he prevented Protestantism from gaining a grip in Spain and Portugal and the colonies in the New World, and successfully re-established Catholicism in the reconquered southern half of the Low Countries. More importantly for Christendom as a whole he, via both the Spanish Habsburgs and his Uncle's Austrian Habsburgs, stopped the expansionist phase of the Ottoman Empire.

Philip was an austere and intelligent statesman. He was given to suspicion of members of his court, and was something of a meddlesome manager; but he was not the cruel tyrant painted by his opponents and subsequent Anglophile histories. He took great care in administering his vast dominions, and was known to intervene personally on behalf of the humblest of his subjects.^{[citation needed]}

Ancestry[link]

Gallery[link]

Heraldry[link]

COMMON VERSIONS
1556-1558 (As Spanish Monarch)	1558–1580	1580–1598

ITALIAN VARIANTS
Duchy of Milan			Naples and Sicily
1554–1558	1558–1580	1580–1598	1554–1598

Coat of Arms of Mary I and Philip as English Monarchs 1554-1558	Coat of Arms with Supporters, Crest and Motto 1580-1598

See also[link]

• Descendants of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon
• Eighty Years' War
• List of Portuguese monarchs
• List of Spanish monarchs
• The empire on which the sun never sets
• The Philippines

Notes[link]

Sources and further reading[link]

• Henry Kamen, Philip of Spain (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1999) - the standard modern biographical source.
• Glyn Redworth, "Philip (1527–1598)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edition, May 2011 accessed 25 Aug 2011
• Pettegree, Andrew (2002). Europe in the Sixteenth Century. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-20704-X. .
• Benton Rain Patterson, With the Heart of a King: Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain & the Fight for a Nation's Soul & Crown (2007)
• Rodriguez-Salgado, M.J. "The Court of Philip II of Spain". In Princes Patronage and the Nobility: The Court at the Beginning of the Modern Age, cc. 1450-1650. Edited by Ronald G. Asch and Adolf M. Birke. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-19-920502-7.
• Geoffrey Parker, The Grand Strategy of Philip II (New Haven, 1998).
• Markus Reinbold, Jenseits der Konfession. Die frühe Frankreichpolitik Philipps II. von Spanien 1559-1571 (Stuttgart, Thorbecke, 2005) (Beihefte der Francia, 61).
• Harry Kelsey, Philip of Spain, King of England: the forgotten sovereign (London, I.B. Tauris, 2011).

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Philip II of Spain

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Philip II of Spain

• "Philip of Spain: Renaissance Man"
• The Grand Strategy of Philip II"
• Letters of Philip II, King of Spain
• Letters of Philip II, King of Spain 1592-1597
• Philip II of Spain (King of England)
• Philip II and the Paracelsian movement
• Philip II of Spain at Find a Grave
•  "Philip II". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 

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Philip II of Macedon
Basileus of Macedon
Reign	359 BC – 336 BC
Greek	Φίλιππος
Born	382 BC
Birthplace	Pella, Macedon
Died	October 336 BC (aged 46)
Place of death	Aigai, Macedon
Buried	Aigai, Macedon
Predecessor	Perdiccas III
Successor	Alexander the Great
Wives	Audata Phila Nicesipolis Philinna Olympias Meda of Odessa Cleopatra Eurydice
Offspring	Cynane Philip III Alexander the Great Cleopatra Thessalonica Europa Caranus Ptolemy I Soter
Royal House	Argead dynasty
Father	Amyntas III
Mother	Eurydice I

Philip II of Macedon (Greek: Φίλιππος Β' ὁ Μακεδών – φίλος phílos, "friend" + ἵππος híppos, "horse"^[1] — transliterated  Philippos (help·info); 382–336 BC), was a Greek king (basileus) of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.

Biography[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

Philip was the youngest son of the king Amyntas III and Eurydice I. In his youth, (c. 368–365 BC) Philip was held as a hostage in Thebes, which was the leading city of Greece during the Theban hegemony. While a captive there, Philip received a military and diplomatic education from Epaminondas, became eromenos of Pelopidas,^[2][3] and lived with Pammenes, who was an enthusiastic advocate of the Sacred Band of Thebes.

In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedon. The deaths of Philip's elder brothers, King Alexander II and Perdiccas III, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally appointed regent for his infant nephew Amyntas IV, who was the son of Perdiccas III, Philip managed to take the kingdom for himself that same year.

Philip's military skills and expansionist vision of Macedonian greatness brought him early success. He first had to re-establish a situation which had been greatly worsened by the defeat against the Illyrians in which King Perdiccas himself had died. The Paionians and the Thracians had sacked and invaded the eastern regions of the country, while the Athenians had landed, at Methoni on the coast, a contingent under a Macedonian pretender called Argeus.

Using diplomacy, Philip pushed back Paionians and Thracians promising tributes, and crushed the 3,000 Athenian hoplites (359). Momentarily free from his opponents, he concentrated on strengthening his internal position and, above all, his army. His most important innovation was doubtless the introduction of the phalanx infantry corps, armed with the famous sarissa, an exceedingly long spear, at the time the most important army corps in Macedonia.

Philip had married Audata, great-granddaughter of the Illyrian king of Dardania, Bardyllis. However, this did not prevent him from marching against them in 358 and crushing them in a ferocious battle in which some 7,000 Illyrians died (357). By this move, Philip established his authority inland as far as Lake Ohrid and the favour of the Epirotes.^[4]

He agreed with the Athenians, who had been so far unable to conquer Amphipolis, which commanded the gold mines of Mount Pangaion, to lease it to them after its conquest, in exchange for Pydna (lost by Macedon in 363). However, after conquering Amphipolis, he kept both the cities (357). As Athens declared war against him, he allied with the Chalkidian League of Olynthus. He subsequently conquered Potidaea, this time keeping his word and ceding it to the League in 356. One year before Philip had married the Epirote princess Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians.

In 356 BC, Philip also conquered the town of Crenides and changed its name to Philippi: he established a powerful garrison there to control its mines, which granted him much of the gold later used for his campaigns. In the meantime, his general Parmenion defeated the Illyrians again. Also in 356 Alexander was born, and Philip's race horse won in the Olympic Games. In 355–354 he besieged Methone, the last city on the Thermaic Gulf controlled by Athens. During the siege, Philip lost an eye. Despite the arrival of two Athenian fleets, the city fell in 354. Philip also attacked Abdera and Maronea, on the Thracian seaboard (354–353).

Map of the territory of Philip II of Macedon.

Involved in the Third Sacred War which had broken out in Greece, in the summer of 353 he invaded Thessaly, defeating 7,000 Phocians under the brother of Onomarchus. The latter however defeated Philip in the two succeeding battles. Philip returned to Thessaly the next summer, this time with an army of 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry including all Thessalian troops. In the Battle of Crocus Field 6,000 Phocians fell, while 3,000 were taken as prisoners and later drowned.

This battle granted Philip an immense prestige, as well as the free acquisition of Pherae. Philip was also tagus of Thessaly, and he claimed as his own Magnesia, with the important harbour of Pagasae. Philip did not attempt to advance into Central Greece because the Athenians, unable to arrive in time to defend Pagasae, had occupied Thermopylae.

Hostilities with Athens did not yet take place, but Athens was threatened by the Macedonian party which Philip's gold created in Euboea. From 352 to 346 BC, Philip did not again come south. He was active in completing the subjugation of the Balkan hill-country to the west and north, and in reducing the Greek cities of the coast as far as the Hebrus. To the chief of these coastal cities, Olynthus, Philip continued to profess friendship until its neighboring cities were in his hands.

Philip II gold stater, with head of Apollo.

In 349 BC, Philip started the siege of Olynthus, which, apart from its strategic position, housed his relatives Arrhidaeus and Menelaus, pretenders to the Macedonian throne. Olynthus had at first allied itself with Philip, but later shifted its allegiance to Athens. The latter, however, did nothing to help the city, its expeditions held back by a revolt in Euboea (probably paid by Philip's gold). The Macedonian king finally took Olynthus in 348 BC and razed the city to the ground. The same fate was inflicted on other cities of the Chalcidian peninsula.

Macedon and the regions adjoining it having now been securely consolidated, Philip celebrated his Olympic Games at Dium. In 347 BC, Philip advanced to the conquest of the eastern districts about Hebrus, and compelled the submission of the Thracian prince Cersobleptes. In 346 BC, he intervened effectively in the war between Thebes and the Phocians, but his wars with Athens continued intermittently. However, Athens had made overtures for peace, and when Philip again moved south, peace was sworn in Thessaly.

With key Greek city-states in submission, Philip turned to Sparta; he sent them a message, "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city." Their laconic reply: "If". Philip and Alexander would both leave them alone. Later, the Macedonian arms were carried across Epirus to the Adriatic Sea.

In 345 B.C., Philip conducted a hard-fought campaign against the Ardiaioi (Ardiaei), under their king Pluratus, during which he was seriously wounded by an Ardian soldier in the lower right leg.^[5]

In 342 BC, Philip led a great military expedition north against the Scythians, conquering the Thracian fortified settlement Eumolpia to give it his name, Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv).

In 340 BC, Philip started the siege of Perinthus. Philip began another siege in 339 of the city of Byzantium. After unsuccessful sieges of both cities, Philip's influence all over Greece was compromised. However, he successfully reasserted his authority in the Aegean by defeating an alliance of Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, while in the same year, Philip destroyed Amfissa because the residents had illegally cultivated part of the Crisaian plain which belonged to Delphi.

Philip created and led the League of Corinth in 337 BC. Members of the League agreed never to wage war against each other, unless it was to suppress revolution. Philip was elected as leader (hegemon) of the army of invasion against the Persian Empire. In 336 BC, when the invasion of Persia was in its very early stage, Philip was assassinated, and was succeeded on the throne of Macedon by his son Alexander III.

Assassination (336 BC)[link]

The murder occurred during October 336 BC, at Aegae, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Macedon. The court had gathered there for the celebration of the marriage between Alexander I of Epirus and Philip's daughter, by his fourth wife Olympias, Cleopatra. While the king was entering unprotected into the town's theater (highlighting his approachability to the Greek diplomats present), he was killed by Pausanias of Orestis, one of his seven bodyguards. The assassin immediately tried to escape and reach his associates who were waiting for him with horses at the entrance of Aegae. He was pursued by three of Philip's bodyguards, tripping on a vine he died by their hands.

The reasons for Pausanias' assassination of Philip are difficult to fully expound, since there was already controversy among ancient historians. The only contemporary account in our possession is that of Aristotle who states rather tersely that Philip was killed because Pausanias had been offended by the followers of Attalus, the king's father-in-law.

Fifty years later, the historian Cleitarchus expanded and embellished the story. Centuries later, this version was to be narrated by Diodorus Siculus and all the historians who used Cleitarchus. According to the sixteenth book of Diodorus' history, Pausanias had been a lover of Philip, but became jealous when Philip turned his attention to a younger man, also called Pausanias. His taunting of the new lover caused the youth to throw away his life, which turned his friend Attalus against Pausanias. Attalus took his revenge by inviting Pausanias to dinner, getting him drunk, then subjecting him to sexual assault.

When Pausanias complained to Philip the king felt unable to chastise Attalus, as he was about to send him to Asia with Parmenion, to establish a bridgehead for his planned invasion. He also married Attalus's niece, or daughter, Eurydice. Rather than offend Attalus, Philip tried to mollify Pausanias by elevating him within the bodyguard. Pausanias' desire for revenge seems to have turned towards the man who had failed to avenge his damaged honour; so he planned to kill Philip, and some time after the alleged rape, while Attalus was already in Asia fighting the Persians, put his plan in action.

Other historians (e.g., Justin 9.7) suggested that Alexander and/or his mother Olympias were at least privy to the intrigue, if not themselves instigators. The latter seems to have been anything but discreet in manifesting her gratitude to Pausanias, according to Justin's report: he says that the same night of her return from exile she placed a crown on the assassin's corpse and erected a tumulus to his memory, ordering annual sacrifices to the memory of Pausanias.

The entrance to the "Great Tumulus" Museum at Vergina.

Many modern historians have observed that all the accounts are improbable. In the case of Pausanias, the stated motive of the crime hardly seems adequate. On the other hand, the implication of Alexander and Olympias seems specious: to act as they did would have required brazen effrontery in the face of a military personally loyal to Philip. What seems to be recorded in this are the natural suspicions that fell on the chief beneficiaries of the murder; their actions after the murder, however sympathetic they might seem (if actual), cannot prove their guilt in the deed itself.

Further convoluting the case is the possible role of propaganda in the surviving accounts: Attalus was executed in Alexander's consolidation of power after the murder; one might wonder if his enrollment among the conspirators was not for the effect of introducing political expediency in an otherwise messy purge (Attalus had publicly declared his hope that Alexander would not succeed Philip, but rather that a son of his own niece Eurydice, recently married to Philip and brutally murdered by Olympias after Philip's death, would gain the throne of Macedon).

Marriages[link]

The dates of Philip's multiple marriages and the names of some of his wives are contested. Below is the order of marriages offered by Athenaeus, 13.557b–e:

• Audata, the daughter of Illyrian King Bardyllis. Mother of Cynane.
• Phila of Elimeia, the sister of Derdas and Machatas of Elimiotis.
• Nicesipolis of Pherae, Thessaly, mother of Thessalonica.
• Olympias of Epirus, mother of Alexander the Great and Cleopatra
• Philinna of Larissa, mother of Arrhidaeus later called Philip III of Macedon.
• Meda of Odessa, daughter of the king Cothelas, of Thrace.
• Cleopatra, daughter of Hippostratus and niece of general Attalus of Macedonia. Philip renamed her Cleopatra Eurydice of Macedon.

Archaeological findings[link]

Victory medal (niketerion) struck in Tarsus, 2nd c. BC (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris

Silver tetradrachms dated back to the reign of Philip II. Part of Rezhantsi Treasure, Bulgaria

On November 8, 1977, Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos found, among other royal tombs, an unopened tomb at Vergina in the Greek prefecture of Imathia. The finds from this tomb were later included in the travelling exhibit The Search for Alexander displayed at four cities in the United States from 1980 to 1982. It is generally accepted that the site at Vergina was the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including Philip, but the debate about the unopened tomb is ongoing among archaeologists.

The initial suggestion that the tomb might belong to Philip II was indicated by the greaves, one of which indicated that the owner had a leg injury which distorted the natural alignment of the tibia (Philip II was recorded as having broken his tibia). What is viewed as possible proof that the tomb indeed did belong to Philip II and that the surviving bone fragments are in fact the body of Philip II comes from forensic reconstruction of the skull of Philip II by the wax casting and reconstruction of the skull which shows the damage to the right eye caused by the penetration of an object (historically recorded to be an arrow).^[6]

Eugene Borza and others have suggested that the unopened tomb actually belonged to Philip's son, Philip Arrhidaeus, and Philip was probably buried in the simpler adjacent tomb, which had been looted in antiquity. Disputations often relied on contradictions between "the body" or "skeleton" of Philip II and reliable historical accounts of his life (and injuries), as well as analyses of the paintings, pottery, and other artifacts found there.^[7]

Musgrave, et al. (2010)^[8] showed that there is no valid evidence Arrhidaeus could have been buried in the unopened tomb, hence those who made those claims, like Borza, Palagia and Bartsiokas, had actually misunderstood certain scientific facts which led them to invalid conclusions. Musgrave's study of the bones of Tomb II of Vergina found that the cranium of the male was deformed possibly by a trauma, a finding that is consistent with the history of Philip II.^[9]

According to a study published in 2000,^[10] the style of the artifacts of the royal tomb date 317 B.C., a generation after Philip II's assassinations. Moreover, according to paleoanthropologist Antonis Bartsiokas of the Anaximandrian Institute of Human Evolution at the Democritus University of Thrace in Voula, Greece, and assistant professor at the Democritus who used a technique called macrophotography to study the skeleton in meticulous detail, the features identified by Musgrave, Prag, and Neave are simply normal anatomical quirks, accentuated by the effects of cremation and a poor reassembly of the remains. "The bump, for example," says Bartsiokas, "is part of the opening in the skull's frontal bone called the supraorbital notch, through which a bundle of nerves and blood vessels pass." Most people can feel this notch by pressing their fingers underneath the ridge of bone beneath the eyebrow. The bone at the site of the "injury" is simply the frontal notch and also shows no signs of healing in the bone fabric, a problem for Bartsiokas given that the wound was inflicted 18 years before Philip II's death.

Instead, according to Borza, Tomb I, also known as the Tomb of Persephone may have contained the remains of Phillip II and his family. If this theory is true, then the golden weaponry and royal objects found in Tomb II may have belonged to Alexander the Great. ^[11]

Cult[link]

The heroon at Vergina in Greek Macedonia (the ancient city of Aegae – Αἰγαί) is thought to have been dedicated to the worship of the family of Alexander the Great and may have housed the cult statue of Philip. It is probable that he was regarded as a hero or deified on his death. Though the Macedonians did not consider Philip a god, he did receive other forms of recognition by the Greeks, such as at Eresos (altar to Zeus Philippeios), Ephesos (his statue was placed in the temple of Artemis), and Olympia, where the Philippeion was built.

Isocrates once wrote to Philip that if he defeated Persia, there was nothing left for him to do but to become a god;^[12] and Demades proposed that Philip be regarded as the thirteenth god; however, there is no clear evidence that Philip was raised to the divine status accorded his son Alexander.^[13]

In historical fiction[link]

• Thomas Sundell, Bloodline of Kings: a Novel of Philip of' Macedon, a historical epic beginning with Philip's birth and ending with that of his son, Alexander. Published by Crow Woods, 2002.

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Philip II of Macedon

• A family tree focusing on his ancestors
• A family tree focusing on his descendants
• Plutarch: Life of Alexander
• Pothos.org, Death of Philip: Murder or Assassination?
• Philip II of Macedon entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
• Facial reconstruction expert revealed how technique brings past to life, press release of the University of Leicester, with a portrait of Philip based on a reconstruction of his face.
• Reconstruction of the face of Philip II by Richard Neave
• Twilight of the Polis and the rise of Macedon (Philip, Demosthenes and the Fall of the Polis). Yale University courses, Lecture 24. (Introduction to Ancient Greek History)
• The Burial of the Dead (at Vergina) or The Unending Controversy on the Identity of the Occupants of Tomb II

v t e Kings of Macedon Argeads Karanus Koenus Tyrimmas Perdiccas I Argaeus I Philip I Aeropus I Alcetas I Amyntas I Alexander I Alcetas II Perdiccas II Archelaus I Craterus Orestes and Aeropus II Archelaus II Amyntas II Pausanias Argaeus II Amyntas III Alexander II Perdiccas III Amyntas IV Philip II Alexander the Great Philip III Alexander IV Regents Ptolemy of Aloros Antipater Polyperchon Cassander Antipatrids Cassander Philip IV Alexander V Antipater II Antipater Etesias Sosthenes Antigonids Demetrius I Antigonus II Demetrius II Antigonus III Philip V Perseus Philip VI (pretender) Non-dynastic Lysimachus Pyrrhus Ptolemy Keraunos Meleager

Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II in 2007
Queen of the Commonwealth realms List United Kingdom (1952–) Canada (1952–) Australia (1952–) New Zealand (1952–) Pakistan (1952–56) South Africa (1952–61) Ceylon (1952–72) Ghana (1957–60) Nigeria (1960–63) Sierra Leone (1961–71) Tanganyika (1961–62) Jamaica (1962–) Trinidad and Tobago (1962–76) Uganda (1962–63) Kenya (1963–64) Malawi (1964–66) Malta (1964–74) The Gambia (1965–70) Guyana (1966–70) Barbados (1966–) Mauritius (1968–92) Fiji (1970–87) The Bahamas (1973–) Grenada (1974–) Papua New Guinea (1975–) Solomon Islands (1978–) Tuvalu (1978–) Saint Lucia (1979–) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979–) Belize (1981–) Antigua and Barbuda (1981–) Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983–)
Reign	6 February 1952 – present
Coronation	2 June 1953
Predecessor	George VI
Heir apparent	Charles, Prince of Wales
Prime Ministers	See list
Spouse	Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (m. 1947)
Detail Issue
Charles, Prince of Wales Anne, Princess Royal Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Full name
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
House	House of Windsor
Father	George VI
Mother	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Born	(1926-04-21) 21 April 1926 (age 86) Mayfair, United Kingdom
Religion	Church of England Church of Scotland

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926^{[note 1]}) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. She is also head of state of the Crown Dependencies.^[1][2]