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Divide and Conquer
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The History of Empires From King Philip II of Macedonia Onward
Introduction: An Afternoon at the Theater
As Philip II of Macedon approached the town theater, his mind began to drift elsewhere. With almost all of Greece under his thumb, he could finally turn himself to his goal, the Persian Empire. Once a great, awe inspiring Empire, Philip saw that its time had passed. The Greeks all knew the tale of the Ten Thousand, led by Xenophon, fighting their way out of the Persian Empire. It was time for a new empire, a great Argead Empire.
As he entered the theater he turned to his guards. “Leave us, I am a King, not a Tyrant. I am safe here.” With that, he turned and walked into the theater. He was only 46, and in good health, he was in the position to form an Empire and live long enough to see it prosper. His only problem lie in his succession. Alexander was undoubtedly a skilled general, and a great warrior, but he was half Macedonian, and needed to learn a great deal about respect. He also feared that while Alexander could run a army, he seemed to lack skill at the finer side…
Just then, a fly had decided that Phillip’s head was a perfect place to land [1]. Annoyed, he swatted it away. However, this fly would not leave him alone. Finally, it let him be. A mighty King, and he could not stop a common fly. Just then Philip, now incensed at this little annoyance, noticed something out of the corner of his vision [2]. Pausanias of Orestis, one of his bodyguards, had not left when Philip had ordered him too. Acting calm, Philip walked forward as if he had seen nothing, his pace slightly quickening.
Pausanias, however, noticed Philips change in pace, and pulled a dagger out and rushed at Philip. Philip ran forward as fast as he could, although he was somewhat limited, with past injuries to his leg slowing him down. “Guards!” Philip cried. Pushing his way through several diplomats for various City States, Philip ran towards the other side of the theater. Pausanias quickly found that the same diplomats who had made way for Philip slowed him down, and within moments Philips guards were rushing into the theater.
Realizing that the opportunity was lost, and now his life is in danger, Pausanias tried to run out of the theater, attempting to escape. He did not get far. The rest of Philips guards cut him down ruthlessly. Philips cries to keep Pausanias alive were not registered in time, and Pausanias was dead within seconds. The theater, which had gone into an uproar when Philip ran through, went silent. Philip had survived the attempted assassination, and, as he ironically realized, it was all thanks to the annoyance of a single fly.