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To secure his own position, he established the Royal Pages, an elite unit that secured Phillip’s throne. Phillip’s also introduced fiscal reforms and developed tax—gathering facilities that would be later used by Alexander the Great to finance his campaigns. Perhaps Phillip II’s greatest innovation in Macedonia was that he transformed the notion of kingship in the kingdom. He was an autocrat and was an absolute ruler in his realm. He greatly expanded the power of the Macedonian king. Phillip II greatly weakened the power of the nobles and created a well-run, centralized state.<ref> Worthington, p. 113</ref>

Phillip not only build a strong and stable state, but he also built an empire. He expanded Macedonian territory and influence greatly. He conquered Thrace, Molossia, and Thessaly. This greatly expanded the resources of Macedonia and allowed Phillip to pay for his professional army. His great victory over the Greeks allowed him, in the words of Demosthenes, his great enemy, ‘to settle the destiny of Hellas.’<ref> Demosthenes, <i>Philippics</i>, 3.10</ref>. Phillip was so powerful that he could impose his own terms on Greece, except for the defiant Spartans. He forced the defeated city-states to enter into the League of Corinth. The League-bound the various city-states to Macedonia. They did not have an independent foreign policy, and they had to provide military support if requested by the Macedonian monarch.

Phillip II also imposed garrisons on key Greek cities. These garrisons ensured that the Greek city-states complied with the terms of the League of Corinth. Phillip created a system that ensured that Greece was subjugated to Macedonia and was not a threat. Phillip II was able to neutralize any threat from Greece for many decades. This allowed Alexander to concentrate on Persia's invasion without worrying about the obedience and loyalty of the Greek City-States. Greece's conquest effectively ended the autonomy of many Greek states and increasingly became cultural and economic backwaters. The Macedonian victory at the Battle of Chaeronea effectively ended the Greek city-states' age as independent powers and as the center of one of the most remarkable civilizations in western history.<ref>Lewis, p. 118</ref>

Phillip II was a remarkable ruler, and his son, Alexander the Great has eclipsed his achievements. He created a strong Macedonian state that was stable and prosperous for many decades. He created a professional army that was arguably the best in the known world and conquered an empire. The army and the state that Phillip II created changed the history of Macedonia and Greece. His successes and policies also laid the foundation for Greece's Macedonian domination that lasted almost two centuries. Phillip II's conquest of Greece marked the end of the Greek city-states era and the end of a great period of cultural achievement <ref>Lewis, p 119</ref>. He also laid the foundation for the Empire of Alexander the Great and the great Hellenistic monarchies. Phillip II changed the Greek World and paved the way for his more famous son to change World History.

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