Editing Macedonia (ancient kingdom) (section)

====Philip II and Alexander the Great====
{{further|Military tactics in Ancient Greece|Thessalian cavalry}}

After spending years as a political hostage in Thebes, Philip{{nbsp}}II sought to imitate the Greek example of [[Military exercise|martial exercises]] and the issuing of [[Ancient Greek military personal equipment|standard equipment]] for citizen soldiery, and succeeded in transforming the Macedonian army from a levied force of unprofessional farmers into a well-trained, [[professional army]].<ref name="errington 1990 238">{{harvnb|Errington|1990|pp=238, 247}}.</ref> Philip{{nbsp}}II adopted some of the [[military tactics]] of his enemies, such as the ''[[embolon]]'' (flying wedge) cavalry formation of the [[Scythia]]ns.<ref name="sekunda 2010 451">{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|p=451}}.</ref> His infantry wielded ''peltai'' shields that replaced the earlier ''[[aspis]]''-style shields, were equipped with [[Greek helmet (disambiguation)|protective helmets]]<!--intentional link to DAB page-->, [[greave]]s, and either [[cuirass]]es [[breastplate]]s or ''[[kotthybos]]'' stomach bands, and armed with ''[[sarissa]]'' [[Pike (weapon)|pikes]] and  [[dagger]]s as  secondary weapons.<ref group="note">According to Sekunda, Philip&nbsp;II's infantry were eventually equipped with heavier armor such as cuirasses, since the ''[[Third Philippic]]'' of [[Demosthenes]] in 341&nbsp;BC described them as [[hoplite]]s instead of lighter [[peltast]]s: {{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|pp=449–450}}; see also {{harvnb|Errington|1990|p=238}} for further details. <br />However, Errington argues that breastplates were not worn by the [[phalanx]] [[pikemen]] of either Philip&nbsp;II or Philip&nbsp;V's reigns (during which sufficient evidence exists). Instead, he claims that breastplates were worn only by [[military officer]]s, while pikemen wore the ''[[kotthybos]]'' stomach bands along with their helmets and greaves, wielding a daggers as  secondary weapons along with their shields. See {{harvnb|Errington|1990|p=241}}.</ref> The elite ''[[hypaspistai]]'' infantry, composed of handpicked men from the ranks of the ''pezhetairoi'', were formed during the reign of Philip{{nbsp}}II and saw continued use during the reign of Alexander the Great.<ref>{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|p=450}}; {{harvnb|Errington|1990|p=244}}.</ref> Philip{{nbsp}}II was also responsible for the establishment of the royal bodyguards (''[[somatophylakes]]'').<ref name="sekunda 2010 452">{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|p=452}}.</ref>
{{multiple image| align = left | direction = vertical | header = | header_align = left/right/center | footer = An ancient fresco of Macedonian soldiers from the tomb of [[Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki]], Greece, 4th century BC | footer_align = left | image1 = Agios Athanasios 1 fresco.jpg | width1 = 220 | caption1  = | image2 = Agios-Athanasios.jpg | width2 = 220| caption2  = }}

For his lighter missile troops, Philip II employed mercenary [[Cretan archers]] as well as Thracian, Paeonian, and Illyrian [[javelin]] throwers, [[Sling (weapon)|slingers]], and archers.<ref>{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|p=451}}; {{harvnb|Errington|1990|pp=241–242}}.</ref> He hired engineers such as [[Polyidus of Thessaly]] and [[Diades of Pella]], who were capable of building [[state of the art]] [[siege engine]]s and [[artillery]] that fired large [[Crossbow bolt|bolts]].<ref name="sekunda 2010 451"/> Following the acquisition of the lucrative mines at [[Krinides]] (renamed [[Philippi]]), the royal treasury could afford to field a permanent, professional [[standing army]].<ref>{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|pp=449–451}}.</ref> The increase in state revenues under Philip{{nbsp}}II allowed the Macedonians to build a small navy for the first time, which included [[trireme]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|p=451}}; {{harvnb|Errington|1990|pp=247–248}}; {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|pp=24–26}}.</ref>

The only Macedonian cavalry units attested under Alexander were the companion cavalry,<ref name="sekunda 2010 452"/> yet he formed a ''[[Hipparchus (cavalry officer)|hipparchia]]'' (i.e. unit of a few hundred horsemen) of companion cavalry composed entirely of ethnic [[Persian people|Persians]] while campaigning in Asia.<ref name="sekunda 2010 453">{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|p=453}}.</ref> When marching his forces into Asia, Alexander brought 1,800 cavalrymen from Macedonia, 1,800 [[Thessalian cavalry|cavalrymen from Thessaly]], 600 cavalrymen from the rest of Greece, and 900 ''[[prodromoi]]'' cavalry from [[Thrace]].<ref name="sekunda 2010 454">{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|p=454}}.</ref> Antipater was able to quickly raise a force of 600 native Macedonian cavalry to fight in the [[Lamian War]] when it began in 323{{nbsp}}BC.<ref name="sekunda 2010 454"/> The most elite members of Alexander's ''hypaspistai'' were designated as the ''[[agema]]'', and a new term for ''hypaspistai'' emerged after the [[Battle of Gaugamela]] in 331{{nbsp}}BC: the ''[[argyraspides]]'' (silver shields).<ref>{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|p=455}}; {{harvnb|Errington|1990|p=245}}.</ref> The latter continued to serve after the reign of Alexander the Great and may have been of Asian origin.<ref group="note">{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|pp=455–456}}. <br />{{harvnb|Errington|1990|p=245}}: in regards to both the ''[[argyraspides]]'' and ''[[chalkaspides]]'', "these titles were probably not functional, perhaps not even official."</ref> Overall, his pike-wielding phalanx infantry numbered some 12,000 men, 3,000 of which were elite ''hypaspistai'' and 9,000 of which were ''pezhetairoi''.<ref group="note">{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|pp=455–457}}. <br />However, in discussing the discrepancies among [[List of Greek historiographers|ancient historians]] about the size of [[Alexander the Great]]'s army, [[N. G. L. Hammond]] and [[F. W. Walbank]] choose [[Diodorus Siculus]]' figure of 32,000 infantry as the most reliable, while disagreeing with his figure for cavalry at 4,500, asserting it was closer to 5,100 horsemen. {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|pp=22–23}}.</ref> Alexander continued the use of Cretan archers and introduced native Macedonian archers into the army.<ref name="sekunda 2010 458 459"/> After the Battle of Gaugamela, archers of West Asian backgrounds became commonplace.<ref name="sekunda 2010 458 459">{{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|pp=458–459}}.</ref>