Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/423

 PHILIP II. (FEANCE) 409 Europe and Asia, surrender his fleet to the Ro- mans, reduce his standing army to 5,000 men, and pay the sum of 1,000 talents. One of the hostages for the fulfilment of these terms was his son Demetrius. Philip now acted outward- ly as a zealous ally of the Romans, assisted them in their war against Nabis, king of Spar- ta, and subsequently not only refused to join Antiochus, but aided the Romans in their war with that monarch. So thoroughly were they satisfied with his conduct, that the portion of the fine unpaid was remitted, and his son De- metrius was sent home. But after the defeat of Antiochus they grew jealous of Philip, who was strengthening his power in every quarter. He was compelled to give up all his conquests in Perrhsebia and Thessaly, remove his garri- sons from the cities of Thrace, and restrict his authority to the ancient boundaries of Mace- donia. Demetrius was sent to Rome, and pro- cured such advantageous terms that the jeal- ousy of his brother Perseus was excited. The life of Philip was henceforth embittered by the dissensions between his two sons. In his domestic administration he also became more cruel, while he was engaged in secret prepara- tions for renewing the war against the Romans. In an expedition into Pseonia, Perseus by means of forged letters induced his father to put De- metrius to death. The unhappy king was now overcome with grief and remorse. He thought he was haunted by the avenging spirit of De- metrius, and not long after died, in his last moments cursing his son Perseus. Polybius said of Philip, that there were few monarchs of whom more good or more evil could justly be spoken. He was a ready speaker, and possessed great power of repartee. He was exceedingly licentious, and fond of excessive drinking. PHILIP (Augustus) II., king of France, the seventh monarch of the Capetian line, born in August, 1165, died in Mantes, July 14, 1223. He was the son of Louis VII., and was crown- ed at Rheims during the lifetime of his father, whom he succeeded in 1180. His marriage with the daughter of the count of Hainaut uni- ted the races of Capet and Charlemagne, and a second coronation was performed at St. Denis. He immediately banished all the Jews, confis- cated their property, and persecuted the Wal- denses. "When his wife died without issue, the count of Flanders, her uncle, refused to give up Amiens, a part of her dowry, and a war broke out, in the course of which the count marched to the gates of Paris (1184); but Philip ultimately secured Amiens and nearly all of Vermandois. He was next involved in a war with the duke of Burgundy, who dis- puted his authority, and with Henry II. of Eng- land, whose sons he supported against their father. In 1188, on hearing of the fall of Je- rusalem, he assumed the cross, and in 1190 the allied forces of France and England started on the third crusade. They reached the Holy Land in 1191, but, outshone by his rival Rich- ard I., Philip soon returned to Europe, swear- ing on his departure to respect the dominions of the English king. Nevertheless, he soon found a pretext for invading Normandy, and made some conquests, while Richard was a pris- oner in the hands of the emperor of Germany ; but in 1193 he was repulsed from Rouen! After Richard's release a war, marked by no great military or political events, began be- tween the two monarchs, and lasted till the death of Richard in 1199. The statesmanship of Philip in the end proved too much for the more soldierly qualities of the English king. During this war Philip recalled the Jews, be- ing in need of money. Having divorced his second wife, and, in defiance of a papal bull, married in 1196 Agnes of Meran, a princess of the Tyrol, he was excommunicated, and his kingdom laid under an interdict. The death of Agnes enabled him to reconcile himself with the church, and the murder of Arthur by King John afforded him a plausible pretext for re- newing the war with England. He summoned John to appear at his court and answer for the crime, and on his failing to do so ad- judged him guilty of felony, and declared his dominions confiscated. Normandy, Maine, and Anjou were conquered in 1203-'4 ; and though Poitou and Guienne were not effectually sub- dued until the reign of Philip's son, the power of the English was broken. In 1206 a truce of two years was concluded, which Philip employ- ed in strengthening his power and developing the material resources of his dominions. About this time the crusade against the Albigenses began in the south of France, where the king scarcely exercised even nominal authority. Its early success encouraged the pope to excommu- nicate John, with whom a dispute had arisen, and to present England to Philip. Immense preparations were made for an invasion, but the French king was diverted from the execu- tion of his purpose by the insubordination of Ferdinand, count of Flanders. He invaded the dominions of his vassal in 1213, and commit- ted great ravages ; but his fleet was defeated and destroyed at Damme by the English, under command of the count of Boulogne and the earl of Salisbury. The next year he was at- tacked on the side of Poitou by John, and on the side of Flanders by the nobles of the Low Countries commanded by Otho, emperor of Germany. John was beaten off by the dau- phin Louis, and Otho was defeated in the bat- tle of Bovines between Lille and Tournay, in which the counts of Boulogne and Flanders were taken prisoners. After this the life of Philip is marked by no events of great mili- tary importance, except the abortive expedi- tion of his son Louis (afterward Louis VIII.) to England, to take possession of the crown of that country, on the invitation of barons opposed to King John. Philip amassed great wealth, which he divided among several lega- tees. He was the ablest king that had sat on the throne of France since the time of Charle- magne. The kingdom, limited at his accession