, in effect, had learned to be a Greek general. He had also seen how weak Greece was becoming with its painstakingly slow democratic system and the general disunity that was becoming predominant after many years of internal quarreling. Also, his time in Thebes gave him a greater understanding of the geography of Greece. He learned the strongholds, and the weak cities of Greek society, and this would prove priceless in later expeditions. When his brother died, he left his infant son, Amyntas as the heir to the throne. Philip was, therefore, made regent, and had control of Macedon. He succeeded to the throne in 359 BC in the traditional Macedonian custom – a round of family assassinations. Macedon, at the time of Philip’s ascension to the throne, was not a very highly regarded northern state whose power depended upon a warrior aristocracy. The kingship rested more on personal ascendancy then institutions. Philip disposed of the young heir and immediately began implementing his plans to unite Macedon, and control the Greek world. One of Philip’s first and most notable achievements was the creation of the National Army. He had learned the military tactics used in the Greek army and structured his army on the model of the Theban phalanx. However, Philip only based his army on the Greek model. He made sure that the Macedonian National army was a vast improvement on the Greek model, and ensured that the shortcomings of the Greek Phalanx were not the shortcomings of the Macedonian Phalanx. The Macedonian phalanx consisted of individual battalions that were made up of local recruits. These groups encourage loyalty to the specific battalion, and eventually to Macedon and Philip. When compared to the Greek phalanx, the Macedonian phalanx had heavier armour then the Greeks. The spears, or sarissa, were longer, reaching 5.5 metres. The Macedonian phalanx was sixteen rows deep and each man was armed with a spear. Philip also c...
