Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/71

 AMYNTAS EXPELLED FROM MACEDONIA. 4^ nis stead for two years. He then died of sickness, and was suc- ceeded by his son Pausanias ; who, after a reign of only one year, was assassinated and succeeded by Amyntas. 1 This Amyntas (chiefly celebrated as the father of Philip and the grandfather of Alexander the Great), though akin to the royal family, had been nothing more than an attendant of -3Eropus, 2 until he made him- self king by putting to death Pausanias. 3 He reigned, though with interruptions, twenty-four years (393-369 B. c.) ; years, for the most part, of trouble and humiliation for Macedonia, and of occasional exile for himself. The vigorous military organization introduce"! by Archelaus appears to have declined ; while the fre- quent dethronements and assassinations of kings, beginning even with Perdikkas the father of Archelaus, and continued down to Amyntas, unhinged the central authority and disunited the various portions of the Macedonian name ; which naturally tended to separation, and could only be held together by a firm hand. The interior regions of Macedonia were bordered, to the north, north-east, and north-west, by warlike barbarian tribes, Thracian and Illyrian, whose invasions were not unfrequent and often form- idable. Tempted, probably, by the unsettled position of the gov- ernment, the Elyrians poured in upon Amyntas during the first year of his reign ; perhaps they may have been invited by other princes of the interior, 4 and at all events their coming would ope- rate as a signal for malcontents to declare themselves. Amyntas, having only acquired the sceptre a few months before by assas- sinating his predecessor, and having little hold on the people, was not only unable to repel them, but found himself obliged to evacuate Pella, and even to retire from Macedonia altogether. Despairing of his position, he made over to the Olynthians a large 1 Diodor. xiv. 84-89. 2 JElian, V. H. xii, 43 ; Dexippus ap. Syncell. p. 263 ; Justin, vii, 4. 3 Diodor. xiv, 89. 'Ere/le6r7?cre 6s icai TLavaaviaf 6 TUV Manedovuv flaai- Ticvf, uvatps&elf VKO 'A.p.vvrov 66?M, up^df ivtavrov rr/v 6e jBafft^eiav Karea- ev 'A/n/vraf, etc. 4 See in Thucyd. iv, 112 the relations of Arrhibseus, prince of the Macedonians called Lynkestse in the interior country, with the Illyrian in- vaders B. c. 423. Archelaus had been engaged at a more recent period in war with prince of the interior named Arrhibseus, perhaps the same person (Aria- tot. Polit. v, 8, 11). VOL. x. 3 4oa