In 393 BC, Bardylis invaded Macedonia and won a decisive battle against Amyntas III, driving him out and establishing control over lower Macedonia through a puppet ruler named Argaois[1][2] Bardylis' forces advanced as far as the Thermaic Gulf,[3] bringing key cities like the capital Pella and former capital Aigai under Dardanian control.
[5] When Perdiccas learned of the incursion, he mobilized an army of six thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry to confront Bardylis.
[9] The surviving soldiers were panic-stricken, deeply fearful of the Dardanian army, and had lost the morale to continue the war.
[15] In 358 BC, Philip II marched towards Dardanian-occupied Upper Macedon with a newly trained force of ten thousand infantry and six hundred cavalry.
Unwilling to relinquish his gains without a fight, Bardylis at the age of 90 gathered a similarly sized army of ten thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry to confront Philip.