I
French Philippe known as Philip Augustus
born Aug. 21, 1165, Paris
died July 14, 1223, Mantes
French king (1179–1223).
The first of the great Richard I on the Third Crusade , but the two kings soon quarreled. Philip returned to France (1191) and attacked English possessions; imprisoned in Austria on his journey home, Richard was freed in 1194 and promptly went to war with the French. When Richard was killed (1199), his brother John signed a treaty with Philip (1200), but within two years France and England were again at war. Philip conquered Normandy (1204) and subdued Maine, Touraine, Anjou, and most of Poitou (1204–05). John later organized a coalition against France, but he was defeated by Philip at the Battle of Bouvines (1214). Philip also expanded his territory into Flanders and Languedoc.
II
French Philippe known as Philip the Bold
born Jan. 17, 1342, Pontoise, France
died April 27, 1404, Halle, Brabant
Duke of Burgundy (1363–1404).
He was granted the duchy of Burgundy by his father, John II , and by marriage and purchase he acquired additional lands in northern and central France, Flanders, and the Netherlands. He shared the government with his brothers during the minority of his nephew Charles VI , ensuring friendly relations with England and Germany. When Charles went insane (1392), Philip became virtual ruler of France. He formed an alliance with England (1396) and withdrew his support of the Avignon papacy (1398).
III
Spanish Felipe
born , May 21, 1527, Valladolid, Spain
died Sept. 13, 1598, El Escorial
King of Spain (1556–98) and of Portugal (as Philip I, 1580–98).
The son of Emperor Charles V , Philip received from his father the duchy of Milan (1540), the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily (1554), the Netherlands (1555), and Spain and its overseas empire (1556). He ruled from the Netherlands from 1555 and waged a successful war against France in 1557. From 1559 he ruled from Spain, where he built the palace of El Escorial and encouraged Spain's literary golden age. He was a champion of the Counter-Reformation but failed to put down rebellions in the Netherlands (from 1568) and to conquer England, suffering the defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588). He gained a victory in the Mediterranean with the defeat of the Ottoman offensive at the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and unified the Iberian Peninsula as king of Portugal from 1580. During his reign the Spanish empire attained its greatest power, extent, and influence.
Philip II, detail of an oil painting by Titian; in the Corsini Gallery, Rome.
Alinari/Art Resource, New York
IV
or Philip of Macedon
born 382
died 336 BC, Asia Minor
Eighteenth king of Macedonia (359–336), father of {{link=Alexander the Great">Alexander the Great .
Appointed regent for his nephew, he seized the throne. He initially promoted peace with his neighbours, using the time gained thereby to build his forces and introducing innovations in arms, tactics, and training and stabilizing his western frontier. His movements on the eastern frontier provoked the Greeks into forming a coalition against him. He intervened in the Sacred War to free Delphi from the Phocians, becoming the ally of Thebes and the Thessalian League, whose president he became. Demosthenes turned Athens against him with his Philippics (346–342), and Thebes also came to view Philip as a threat. He defeated both at the Battle of Chaeronea , becoming leader of all Greece. He formed the Greek states into the League of Corinth to attack Persia but was undone by family politics. After he took a second wife, his first wife, Olympias, left him, taking Alexander. Philip was assassinated by a Macedonian nobleman, possibly in collusion with Olympias and Alexander.