50 THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE. 



called Macedonia, which though in many respects 

 congenial with it, was looked on as barbarian. 

 This country was governed by an absolute king : 

 Philip, prince of Macedonia, happening on some 

 occasion to be an hostage among the Greeks, had the 

 advantage of learning their art of war, and seeing 

 their internal dissensions ; profiting by this know- 

 ledge, when he succeeded to the throne of Macedo- 

 nia, he so contrived to embroil the affairs of Greece 

 by corruption and intrigue, and by taking part 

 sometimes with one party and sometimes with ano- 

 ther, so as to weaken the whole ; that having bribed 

 the chiefs of some of the republics to his interest, and 

 totally defeated the Athenians and their allies at the 

 battle 01 Chaeronea, he rendered Greece entirely 

 dependent on himself. 



Knowing, however, the difficulty of keeping such 

 people in peaceable subjection, he planned the po- 

 pular scheme of an invasion of Persia; assembling 

 for this purpose the whole force of Greece, and 

 causing himself to be acknowledged chief of the 

 confederacy. In the midst of this undertaking he 

 was assassinated, and was succeded in his power by 

 his son, distinguished by the appellation of Alex- 

 ander the Great. Thus anxious for conquest, and 

 ihirsting for glory, putting himself at the head of 

 this formidable army, conquered the Persian empire 

 with all its dependencies, and penetrating to the 

 banks of the Ganges, subdued even part of that 

 country, known to us by the name of the East In- 

 dies. But this immense empire was of short dura- 

 tion, for when returning he died at Babylon, either 



