The siege of Perinthus (340 BC) was an unsuccessful attempt by

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

to defeat the Athenian forces at

Perinthus Perinthus or Perinthos () was a great and flourishing town of ancient Thrace, situated on the Propontis. According to John Tzetzes, it bore at an early period the name of Mygdonia (Μυγδονία). It lay west of Selymbria and west of Byzanti ...

, and take the city. The siege was conducted alongside an unsuccessful siege of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

. Both sieges took place in the period just before the

Fourth Sacred War Under the reign of Philip II (359–336 BC), the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, initially at the periphery of classical Greek affairs, came to dominate Ancient Greece in the span of just 25 years, largely thanks to the character and policies of ...

Macedonia under Philip II

In 358 BC, Philip II of Macedon marched against the

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

, and defeated them at the Battle of Erigon Valley, killing about 7,000 Illyrians. Later that year, Macedonia and

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

came to an agreement, that Macedonia would give Athens

Amphipolis Amphipolis (; ) was an important ancient Greek polis (city), and later a Roman city, whose large remains can still be seen. It gave its name to the modern municipality of Amphipoli, in the Serres regional unit of northern Greece. Amphipol ...

and, in return, Athens would give Macedonia

Pydna Pydna (; Greek: Πύδνα, ''Pýdna'') is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pydna-Kolindros, of which it is a ...

. Philip broke his promise by keeping both cities. This led to Athens declaring war on Macedonia. Many other campaigns were conducted against Athens. In 356 BC, Philip conquered the town of Crenides and changed its name to Philippi. In 349 BC, Philip started the siege of

Olynthus Olynthus ( ''Olynthos'') is an ancient city in present-day Chalcidice, Greece. It was built mostly on two flat-topped hills 30–40m in height, in a fertile plain at the head of the Gulf of Torone, near the neck of the peninsula of Pallene, Cha ...

. Olynthus was formerly allied with Macedonia but then had later switched their allegiance to Athens. In 345 BC, Philip conducted another campaign against the

Ardiaei The Ardiaei were an Illyrian people who resided in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Croatia between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its right ...

, under their King Pleuratus I, during which Philip was seriously wounded in the lower right leg by an Ardian soldier. In 342 BC, Philip led a great military expedition north against the

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

, conquering the Thracian fortified settlement of Eumolpia which he renamed after himself, Philippopolis (modern-day

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

Siege of Perinthus

In the early spring of 340 BC, Philip started his campaign to besiege Perinthus. The city stood on a peninsula, connected to the land by a 200 yard wide heavily fortified isthmus. The coast was protected by cliffs, making any naval attack nearly impossible. The defenders of the cities were supported by Byzantium, as well as the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

. The Athenian navy, under the control of

Chares of Athens Chares of Athens () was a 4th-century BC Athenian military commander (Strategos), who for a number of years was one of Athens's foremost commanders. He was also a well connected politician enabling him to procure the commands he desired, commands ...

, kept the Macedonians out of the seas and helped maintain naval superiority. Reinforcements and supplies reached the city from its allies, and the Macedonian fleet was unable to stop the reinforcements from reaching the city. After several weeks laying siege to the city, the Macedonians finally broke through the outer wall. But to their dismay, they reached a new wall inside the city that the defenders had built between the houses. This new wall was much more solid and stronger than the previous one. Philip's army was more numerous and had siege engines. However, since Perinthus was receiving constant aid from Byzantium and the Achaemenids, the siege was difficult to maintain. Eventually, Philip had found the challenges of successfully besieging the city too much, and so withdrew.

Aftermath

After the failed siege of Perinthus, Philip focused most of his attention on Byzantium. In the late summer of 340 BC, he led half of his army to Byzantium, but the city refused to surrender to him and prepared to resist. Most of the Byzantian army was still at Perinthus, but the defenders who remained at Byzantium managed to survive the initial attack. The Byzantines received aid in the form of weaponry and men from their allies at Chios, Cos, and Rhodes. After several weeks of laying siege to Byzantium, Philip decided to launch one last surprise assault on the walls, using nothing but moonlight to aid the night attack. However, the barking of dogs was said to have betrayed the attack, and Philip decided once again, to give up and withdraw. The summer of 338 BC, Philip successfully defeated Athens and Thebes at the

Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC) The Battle of Mount Haemus was fought in 338 BC, near the city of Chaeronea in Boeotia, between Macedonia under Philip II and an alliance of city-states led by Athens and Thebes. The battle was the culmination of Philip's final campaigns ...

. After Philip's death, Philip's son, Alexander, later defeated the Achaemenids on several occasions and conquered the entirety of the Achaemenid Empire, greatly expanding the Macedonian Empire.Briant, Pierre (2012). ''Alexander the Great and His Empire: A Short Introduction''. Princeton University Press. p. 114. .

References

{{Achaemenid Empire 340 BC 340s BC conflicts

Battles of Philip II of Macedon