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MacedoniaΜακεδονία
808–168 BC
Vergina Sun
The Kingdom of Macedonia in 336 BC.
Capital	Aigai (808–399 BC) Pella (399–167 BC)
Common languages	Ancient Macedonian, Attic Greek, Koine Greek
Religion	Greek Polytheism
Government	Oligarchic Monarchy
King
• 808–778 BC	Caranus (first)
• 179–168 BC	Perseus (last)
Legislature	Synedrion
Historical era	Classical Antiquity
• Founded by Karanus	808 BC
• Rise of Macedon	359–336 BC
• Conquest of Persia	335–323 BC
• Partition of Babylon	323 BC
• Wars of the Diadochi	322–275 BC
• Battle of Pydna	168 BC
Currency	Tetradrachm
Preceded by Succeeded by Greek Dark Ages Kingdom of Pergamon Seleucid Empire Ptolemaic Kingdom Macedonia (Roman province)

Macedonia or Macedon (/ˈmæsɪˌdɒn/; Template:Lang-el, Makedonía; Greek pronunciation: [ma͜akedoní.a͜a]) was an ancient Greek kingdom. Centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, the kingdom was bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. The rise of Macedon, from a small kingdom at the periphery of Classical Greek affairs, to one which came to dominate the entire Hellenic world, occurred under the reign of Philip II. For a brief period, after the conquests of Alexander the Great, it became the most powerful state in the world, controlling a territory that included the former Persian empire, stretching as far as the Indus River; at that time it inaugurated the Hellenistic period of Ancient Greek civilization.

Name

The name Macedonia (Template:Lang-el, Makedonía) comes from the ancient Greek word μακεδνός (Makednos). It is commonly explained as having originally meant "a tall one" or "highlander", possibly descriptive of the people. The shorter English name variant Macedon developed in Middle English, based on a borrowing from the French form of the name, Macédoine.

History

Early history and legend

The lands around Aegae, the first Macedonian capital, were home to various peoples. Macedonia was called Emathia (from king Emathion) and the city of Aiges was called Edessa, the capital of fabled king Midas in his youth. In approximately 650 BC, the Argeads, an ancient Greek royal house led by Perdiccas I established their palace-capital at Aegae.

It seems that the first Macedonian state emerged in the 8th or early 7th century BC under the Argead Dynasty, who, according to legend, migrated to the region from the Greek city of Argos in Peloponnesus (thus the name Argead). Herodotus mentions this founding myth when Alexander I was asked to prove his Greek descent in order to participate in the Olympic Games, an athletic event in which only men of Greek origin were entitled to participate. Alexander proved his (Argead) descent and was allowed to compete by the Hellanodikai: “And that these descendants of Perdiccas are Greeks, as they themselves say, I happen to know myself, and not only so, but I will prove in the succeeding history that they are Greeks. Moreover the Hellanodicai, who manage the games at Olympia, decided that they were so: for when Alexander wished to contend in the games and had descended for this purpose into the arena, the Greeks who were to run against him tried to exclude him, saying that the contest was not for Barbarians to contend in but for Greeks: since however Alexander proved that he was of Argos, he was judged to be a Greek, and when he entered the contest of the foot-race his lot came out with that of the first." The Macedonian tribe ruled by the Argeads, was itself called Argead (which translates as "descended from Argos").

Other founding myths served other agenda: according to Justin's, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus, Caranus, accompanied by a multitude of Greeks came to the area in search for a new homeland took Edessa and renamed it Aegae. Subsequently, he expelled Midas and other kings and formed his new kingdom. Conversely, according to Herodotus, it was Dorus, the son of Hellen who led his people to Histaeotis, whence they were driven off by the Cadmeians into Pindus, where they settled as Macedonians. Later, a branch would migrate further south to be called Dorians.

The kingdom was situated in the fertile alluvial plain, watered by the rivers Haliacmon and Axius, called Lower Macedonia, north of the mountain Olympus. Around the time of Alexander I of Macedon, the Argead Macedonians started to expand into Upper Macedonia, lands inhabited by independent Macedonian tribes like the Lyncestae and the Elmiotae and to the West, beyond Axius river, into Eordaia, Bottiaea, Mygdonia, and Almopia, regions settled by, among others, many Thracian tribes. To the north of Macedonia lay various non-Greek peoples such as the Paeonians due north, the Thracians to the northeast, and the Illyrians, with whom the Macedonians were frequently in conflict, to the northwest. To the south lay Thessaly, with whose inhabitants the Macedonians had much in common both culturally and politically, while to west lay Epirus, with whom the Macedonians had a peaceful relationship and in the 4th century BC formed an alliance against Illyrian raids.

Near the modern city of Veria, Perdiccas I (or, more likely, his son, Argaeus I) built his capital, Aigai (modern Vergina). After a brief period under Persian rule under Darius Hystaspes, the state regained its independence under King Alexander I (495–450 BC). In the Peloponnesian War Macedon was a secondary power that alternated in support between Sparta and Athens.

Involvement in the Classical Greek world

Prior to the 4th century BC, the kingdom covered a region approximately corresponding to the Western and Central parts of province of Macedonia in modern Greece. A unified Macedonian state was eventually established by King Amyntas III (c. 393–370 BC), though it still retained strong contrasts between the cattle-rich coastal plain and the fierce isolated tribal hinterland, allied to the king by marriage ties. They controlled the passes through which barbarian invasions came from Illyria to the north and northwest. It became increasingly Atticised during this period, though prominent Athenians appear to have regarded the Macedonians as uncouth. Before the establishment of the League of Corinth, even though the Macedonians apparently spoke a dialect of the Greek language and claimed proudly that they were Greeks, they were not considered to fully share the classical Greek culture by many of the inhabitants of the southern city states, because they did not share the polis based style of government. Herodotus, one of the foremost biographers in antiquity who lived in Greece at the time when the Macedonian king Alexander I was in power, recorded:

"And that these descendants of Perdiccas are Hellenes, as they themselves say, I happen to know myself, and not only so, but I will prove in the succeeding history that they are Hellenes. Moreover the Hellanodikai, who manage the games at Olympia, decided that they were so: for when Alexander wished to contend in the games and had descended for this purpose into the arena, the Hellenes who were to run against him tried to exclude him, saying that the contest was not for Barbarians to contend in but for Hellenes: since however Alexander proved that he was of Argos, he was judged to be a Hellene, and when he entered the contest of the foot-race his lot came out with that of the first."

Over the 4th century Macedon became more politically involved with the south-central city-states of Ancient Greece, but it also retained more archaic features like the palace-culture, first at Aegae (modern Vergina) then at Pella, resembling Mycenaean culture more than classic Hellenic city-states, and other archaic customs, like Philip's multiple wives in addition to his Epirote queen Olympias, mother of Alexander.

Another archaic remnant was the very persistence of a hereditary monarchy which wielded formidable – sometimes absolute – power, although this was at times checked by the landed aristocracy, and often disturbed by power struggles within the royal family itself. This contrasted sharply with the Greek cultures further south, where the ubiquitous city-states mostly possessed aristocratic or democratic institutions; the de facto monarchy of tyrants, in which heredity was usually more of an ambition rather than the accepted rule; and the limited, predominantly military and sacerdotal, power of the twin hereditary Spartan kings. The same might have held true of feudal institutions like serfdom, which may have persisted in Macedon well into historical times. Such institutions were abolished by city-states well before Macedon's rise (most notably by the Athenian legislator Solon's famous σεισάχθεια seisachtheia laws).

Rise of Macedon

Amyntas had three sons; the first two, Alexander II and Perdiccas III reigned only briefly. Perdiccas III's infant heir was deposed by Amyntas' third son, Philip II of Macedon, who made himself king and ushered in a period of Macedonian dominance in Greece. Under Philip II, (359–336 BC), Macedon expanded into the territory of the Paeonians, Thracians, and Illyrians. Among other conquests, he annexed the regions of Pelagonia and Southern Paeonia.

Philip redesigned the army of Macedon adding a number of variations to the traditional hoplite force to make it far more effective. He added the hetairoi, a well armoured heavy cavalry, and more light infantry, both of which added greater flexibility and responsiveness to the force. He also lengthened the spear and shrank the shield of the main infantry force, increasing its offensive capabilities.

Philip began to rapidly expand the borders of his kingdom. He first campaigned in the north against non-Greek peoples such as the Illyrians, securing his northern border and gaining much prestige as a warrior. He next turned east, to the territory along the northern shore of the Aegean. The most important city in this area was Amphipolis, which controlled the way into Thrace and also was near valuable silver mines. This region had been part of the Athenian Empire, and Athens still considered it as in their sphere. The Athenians attempted to curb the growing power of Macedonia, but were limited by the outbreak of the Social War. They could also do little to halt Philip when he turned his armies south and took over most of Thessaly.

Control of Thessaly meant Philip was now closely involved in the politics of central Greece. 356 BC saw the outbreak of the Third Sacred War that pitted Phocis against Thebes and its allies. Thebes recruited the Macedonians to join them and at the Battle of Crocus Field Phillip decisively defeated Phocis and its Athenian allies. As a result Macedonia became the leading state in the Amphictyonic League and Phillip became head of the Pythian Games, firmly putting the Macedonian leader at the centre of the Greek political world.

In the continuing conflict with Athens Philip marched east through Thrace in an attempt to capture Byzantium and the Bosphorus, thus cutting off the Black Sea grain supply that provided Athens with much of its food. The siege of Byzantium failed, but Athens realized the grave danger the rise of Macedon presented and under Demosthenes built a coalition of many of the major states to oppose the Macedonians. Most importantly Thebes, which had the strongest ground force of any of the city states, joined the effort. The allies met the Macedonians at the Battle of Chaeronea and were decisively defeated, leaving Philip and the Macedonians the unquestioned master of Greece.

Empire

Philip's son, Alexander the Great (356–323 BC), managed to briefly extend Macedonian power not only over the central Greek city-states by becoming Hegemon of the League of Corinth (also known as the "Hellenic League"), but also to the Persian empire, including Egypt and lands as far east as the fringes of India. Alexander helped spread the Greek culture and learning through his vast empire. Although the empire fractured into multiple Hellenic regimes shortly after his death, his conquests left a lasting legacy, not least in the new Greek-speaking cities founded across Persia's western territories, heralding the Hellenistic period. In the partition of Alexander's empire among the Diadochi, Macedonia fell to the Antipatrid dynasty, which was overthrown by the Antigonid dynasty after only a few years, in 294 BC.

Hellenistic era

Antipater and his son Cassander gained control of Macedonia but it slid into a long period of civil strife following Cassander's death in 297 BC. It was ruled for a while by Demetrius I (294–288 BC) but fell into civil war.

Demetrius' son, Antigonus II (277–239 BC), defeated a Galatian invasion as a condottiere, and regained his family's position in Macedonia; he successfully restored order and prosperity there, though he lost control of many of the Greek city-states. He established a stable monarchy under the Antigonid dynasty. Antigonus III (239–221 BC) built on these gains by re-establishing Macedonian power across the region.

What is notable about the Macedonian regime during the Hellenistic times is that it was the only successor state to the Empire that maintained the old archaic perception of kingship, and never adopted the ways of the Hellenistic monarchy. Thus the king was never deified in the same way that Ptolemies and Seleucids were in Egypt and Asia respectively, and never adopted the custom of Proskynesis. The ancient Macedonians during the Hellenistic times were still addressing their kings in a far more casual way than the subjects of the rest of the Diadochi, and the kings were still consulting with their aristocracy (Philoi) in the process of making their decisions.

Conflict with Rome

Under Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) and his son Perseus of Macedon (179–168 BC), the kingdom clashed with the rising power of the Roman Republic. During the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Macedon fought a series of wars with Rome. Two major losses that led to the end of the kingdom were in 197 BC when Rome defeated Philip V, and 168 BC when Rome defeated Perseus. The overall losses resulted in the defeat of Macedon, the deposition of the Antigonid dynasty and the dismantling of the Macedonian kingdom. Andriscus' brief success at reestablishing the monarchy in 149 BC was quickly followed by his defeat the following year and the establishment of direct Roman rule and the organization of Macedon as the Roman province of Macedonia.

Institutions

The political organization of the Macedonian kingdom was a three-level pyramid: on the top, the King and the nation, at the foot, the civic organizations (cities and éthnē), and between the two, the districts. The study of these different institutions has been considerably renewed thanks to epigraphy, which has given us the possibility to reread the indications given us by ancient literary sources such as Livy and Polybius. They show that the Macedonian institutions were near to those of the Greek federal states, like the Aetolian and Achaean leagues, whose unity was reinforced by the presence of the king.

The King

The king (Βασιλεύς, Basileús) headed the central administration: he led the kingdom from its capital, Pella, and in his royal palace was conserved the state's archive. He was helped in carrying out his work by the Royal Secretary (βασιλικὸς γραμματεύς, basilikós grammateús), whose work was of primary importance, and by the Council. The title "king" (basileús) may have not officially been used by the Macedonian regents until Alexander the Great, whose "usage of it may have been influenced by his ambivalent position in Persia."

The king was commander of the army, head of the Macedonian religion, and director of diplomacy. Also, only he could conclude treaties, and, until Philip V, mint coins.

The number of civil servants was limited: the king directed his kingdom mostly in an indirect way, supporting himself principally through the local magistrates, the epistates, with whom he constantly kept in touch.

Succession

Royal succession in Macedon was hereditary, male, patrilineal and generally respected the principle of primogeniture. There was also an elective element: when the king died, his designated heir, generally but not always the eldest son, had first to be accepted by the council and then presented to the general Assembly to be acclaimed king and obtain the oath of fidelity.

As can be seen, the succession was far from being automatic, more so considering that many Macedonian kings died violently, without having made dispositions for the succession, or having assured themselves that these would be respected. This can be seen with Perdiccas III, slain by the Illyrians, Philip II assassinated by Pausanias of Orestis, Alexander the Great, suddenly died of malady, etc. Succession crises were frequent, especially up to the 4th century BC, when the magnate families of Upper Macedonia still cultivated the ambition of overthrowing the Argaead dynasty and to ascend to the throne.

Finances

The king was the simple guardian and administrator of the treasure of Macedon and of the king's incomes (βασιλικά, basiliká), which belonged to the Macedonians: and the tributes that came to the kingdom thanks to the treaties with the defeated people also went to the Macedonian people, and not to the king. Even if the king was not accountable for his management of the kingdom's entries, he may have felt responsible to defend his administration on certain occasions: Arrian tells us that during the mutiny of Alexander's soldiers at Opis in 324 BC, Alexander detailed the possessions of his father at his death to prove he had not abused his charge.

It is known from Livy and Polybius that the basiliká included the following sources of income:

• The mines of gold and silver (for example those of the Pangaeus), which were the exclusive possession of the king, and which permitted him to strike currency, as already said his sole privilege till Philip V, who conceded to cities and districts the right of coinage for the lesser denominations, like bronze.
• The forests, whose timber was very appreciated by the Greek cities to build their ships: in particular, it is known that Athens made commercial treaties with Macedon in the 5th century BC to import the timber necessary for the construction and the maintenance of its fleet of war.
• The royal landed properties, lands that were annexed to the royal domain through conquest, and that the king exploited either directly, in particular through servile workforce made up of prisoners of war, or indirectly through a leasing system.
• The port duties on commerce (importation and exportation taxes).

The most common way to exploit these different sources of income was by leasing: the Pseudo-Aristotle reports in the Oeconomica that Amyntas III (or maybe Philip II) doubled the kingdom's port revenues with the help of Callistratus, who had taken refuge in Macedon, bringing them from 20 to 40 talents per year. To do this, the exploitation of the harbour taxes was given every year at the private offering the highest bidding. It is also known from Livy that the mines and the forests were leased for a fixed sum under Philip V, and it appears that the same happened under the Argaead dynasty: from here possibly comes the leasing system that was used in Ptolemaic Egypt.

Except for the king's properties, land in Macedon was free: Macedonians were free men and did not pay land taxes on private grounds. Even extraordinary taxes like those paid by the Athenians in times of war did not exist. Even in conditions of economic peril, like what happened to Alexander in 334 BC and Perseus in 168 BC, the monarchy did not tax its subjects but raised funds through loans, first of all by his Companions, or raised the cost of the leases.

The king could grant the atelíē (ἀτελίη), a privilege of tax exemption, as Alexander did with those Macedonian families which had losses in the battle of the Granicus in May 334: they were exempted from paying tribute for leasing royal grounds and commercial taxes.

Extraordinary incomes came from the spoils of war, which were divided between the king and his men. At the time of Philip II and Alexander, this was a considerable source of income. A considerable part of the gold and silver objects taken at the time of the European and Asian campaigns were melted in ingots and then sent to the monetary foundries of Pella and Amphipolis, most active of the kingdom at that time: an estimate judges that during the reign of Alexander only the mint of Amphipolis struck about 13 million silver tetradrachms.

The Assembly

All the kingdom's citizen-soldiers gather in a popular assembly, which is held at least twice a year, in spring and in autumn, with the opening and the closing of the campaigning season.

This assembly (koinê ekklesia or koinon makedonôn), of the army in times of war, of the people in times of peace, is called by the king and plays a significant role through the acclamation of the kings and in capital trials; it can be consulted (without obligation) for the foreign politics (declarations of war, treaties) and for the appointment of high state officials. In the majority of these occasions, the Assembly does nothing but ratify the proposals of a smaller body, the Council. It is also the Assembly which votes the honors, sends embassies, during its two annual meetings. It was abolished by the Romans at the time of their reorganization of Macedonia in 167 BC, to prevent, according to Livy, that a demagogue could make use of it as a mean to revolt against their authority.

Council (Synedrion)

The Council was a small group formed among some of the most eminent Macedonians, chosen by the king to assist him in the government of the kingdom. As such it was not a representative assembly, but notwithstanding that on certain occasions it could be expanded with the admission of representatives of the cities and of the civic corps of the kingdom.

The members of the Council (synedroi) belong to three categories:

• The somatophylakes (in Greek literally "bodyguards") were noble Macedonians chosen by the king to serve to him as honorary bodyguards, but especially as close advisers. It was a particularly prestigious honorary title. In the times of Alexander there were seven of them.
• The Friends (philoi) or the king's Companions (basilikoi hetairoi) were named for life by the king among the Macedonian aristocracy.
• The most important generals of the army (hégémones tôn taxéôn), also named by the king.

The king had in reality less power in the choice of the members of the Council than appearances would warrant; this was because many of the kingdom's most important noblemen were members of the Council by birth-right.

The Council primarily exerted a probouleutic function with respect to the Assembly: it prepared and proposed the decisions which the Assembly would have discussed and voted, working in many fields such as the designation of kings and regents, as of that of the high administrators and the declarations of war. It was also the first and final authority for all the cases which did not involve capital punishment.

The Council gathered frequently and represented the principal body of government of the kingdom. Any important decision taken by the king was subjected before it for deliberation.

Inside the Council ruled the democratic principles of isegoria (equality of word) and of parrhesia (freedom of speech), to which even the king subjected himself.

After the removal of the Antigonid dynasty by the Romans in 167 BC, it is possible that the synedrion remained, unlike the Assembly, representing the sole federal authority in Macedonia after the country's division in four merides.

Regional districts (Merides)

The creation of an intermediate territorial administrative level between the central government and the cities should probably be attributed to Philip II: this reform corresponded with the need to adapt the kingdom's institutions to the great expansion of Macedon under his rule. It was no longer practical to convene all the Macedonians in a single general assembly, and the answer to this problem was the creation of four regional districts, each with a regional assembly. These territorial divisions clearly did not follow any historical or traditional internal divisions; they were simply artificial administrative lines.

This said, it should be noted that the existence of these districts is not attested with certainty (by numismatics) before the beginning of the 2nd century BC.

See also

• Ancient Macedonians
• Ancient Macedonian army
• Ancient Macedonian calendar
• Ancient Greece
• Vergina Sun
• List of kings of Macedon
• Alexander the Great
• Diadochi
• Antigonid dynasty
• Seleucid Empire
• Ptolemaic dynasty
• Crestonia
• Lynkestis
• Orestis
• Deuriopus
• Tymphaia
• Elimiotis
• Almopia
• Eordaea
• Mygdonia
• Paeonia
• Pelagonia
• Cleopatra

References

Notes

1. J. Roisman, I. Worthington. A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. John Wiley and Sons, 2010. p. 92
2. – Alexander the Great: "Youths of the Pellaians and of the Macedonians and of the Hellenic Amphictiony and of the Lakedaimonians and of the Corinthians… and of all the Hellenic peoples, join your fellow-soldiers and entrust yourselves to me, so that we can move against the barbarians and liberate ourselves from the Persian bondage, for as Greeks we should not be slaves to barbarians." Pseudo-Kallisthenes, “Historia Alexandri Magni”, 1.15.1-4
   – Alexander the Great: "Now you fear punishment and beg for your lives, so I will let you free, if not for any other reason so that you can see the difference between a Greek king and a barbarian tyrant, so do not expect to suffer any harm from me. A king does not kill messengers." Historia Alexandri Magni of Pseudo-Kallisthenes, 1.37.9-13
   – Alexander the Great addressing his troops prior to the Battle of Issus: "There are Greek troops, to be sure, in Persian service — but how different is their cause from ours! They will be fighting for pay – and not much of at that; we, on the contrary, shall fight for Greece, and our hearts will be in it." Anabasis Alexandri by Roman historian Arrian, Book II, 7
   – Alexander's letter to Persian king Darius in response to a truce plea: "Your ancestors came to Macedonia and the rest of Hellas (Greece) and did us great harm, though we had done them no prior injury. I have been appointed leader of the Greeks, and wanting to punish the Persians I have come to Asia, which I took from you." Anabasis Alexandri by Arrian; translated as Anabasis of Alexander by P. A. Brunt, for the "Loeb Edition" Book II 14, 4
   – Alexander the Great: "If it were not my purpose to combine barbarian things with things Hellenic (Greek), to traverse and civilize every continent, to search out the uttermost parts of land and sea, to push the bounds of Macedonia to the farthest Ocean, and to disseminate and shower the blessings of the Hellenic justice and peace over every nation, I should not be content to sit quietly in the luxury of idle power, but I should emulate the frugality of Diogenes. But as things are, forgive me Diogenes, that I imitate Herakles, and emulate Perseus, and follow in the footsteps of Dionysos, the divine author and progenitor of my family, and desire that victorious Hellenes should dance again in India and revive the memory of the Bacchic revels among the savage mountain tribes beyond the Kaukasos." On the Fortune of Alexander by Plutarch, 332 a-b
   – Alexander addressing the dead Hellenes (the Athenian and Thebean Greeks) of the Battle of Chaeronea: "Holy shadows of the dead, I’m not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and brother people, to fight one another. I do not feel happy for this victory of mine. On the contrary, I would be glad, brothers, if I had all of you standing here next to me, since we are united by the same language, the same blood and the same visions." Historiae Alexandri Magni by Quintus Curtius Rufus
   – Alexander I of Macedon, ancestor of Alexander the Great, member of the Argead dynasty: "Tell your king (Xerxes), who sent you, how his Greek viceroy of Macedonia has received you hospitably." Herodotus, Histories, 5.20.4, Loeb
   – Alexander I of Macedon, ancestor of Alexander the Great, member of the Argead dynasty, when he was admitted to the Olympic games: "Men of Athens... In truth I would not tell it to you if I did not care so much for all Hellas; I myself am by ancient descent a Greek, and I would not willingly see Hellas change her freedom for slavery. I tell you, then, that Mardonius and his army cannot get omens to his liking from the sacrifices. Otherwise you would have fought long before this. Now, however, it is his purpose to pay no heed to the sacrifices, and to attack at the first glimmer of dawn, for he fears, as I surmise, that your numbers will become still greater. Therefore, I urge you to prepare, and if (as may be) Mardonius should delay and not attack, wait patiently where you are; for he has but a few days' provisions left. If, however, this war ends as you wish, then must you take thought how to save me too from slavery, who have done so desperate a deed as this for the sake of Hellas in my desire to declare to you Mardonius' intent so that the barbarians may not attack you suddenly before you yet expect them. I who speak am Alexander the Macedonian." Herodotus, Histories, 9.45 (ed. A. D. Godley)
   – Ian Worthington, English historian and archaeologist: "Not much need to be said about the Greekness of ancient Macedonia: it is undeniable." Ian Worthington, "Philip II of Macedonia", Yale University Press, 2008
   – Ulrich Wilcken: "When we take into account the political conditions, religion and morals of the Macedonians, our conviction is strengthened that they were a Greek race and akin to the Dorians. Having stayed behind in the extreme north, they were unable to participate in the progressive civilization of the tribes which went further south." Ulrich Wilcken, "Alexander the Great", p. 22)
   – Strabo: "And Macedonia, of course, is a part of Greece." Strabo. VII, Frg. 9 (Loeb, H.L. Jones)
   – Herodotus: "Now that these descendants of Perdiccas (Perdiccas I of Macedon, King of Macedonia from about 700 BCE to about 678 BCE) are Greeks, as they themselves say, I myself chance to know and will prove it in the later part of my history." Herodotus, Book 5, Ch. 22, 1 (Loeb)
   – Josephus: "And when the book of Daniel was showed to Alexander the Great, where Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended; and as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present." Josephus 11.8.5
   – Arrian: "There a man appeared to them wearing a Greek cloak and dressed otherwise in the Greek fashion, and speaking Greek also. Those Macedonians who first sighted him said that they burst into teers, so strange did it seem after all these miseries to see a Greek, and to hear Greek spoken." Arrian: Anabasis Alexandri: Book VIII (Indica)
   – Titus Livius: "The Aitolians, the Akarnanians, the Macedonians, men of the same speech, are united or disunited by trivial causes that arise from time to time; with aliens, with barbarians, all Greeks wage and will wage eternal war; for they are enemies by the will of nature, which is eternal, and not from reasons that change from day to day." Titus Livius, Liber XXXI, 29, 15
   – David H. Levinson: "It should be noted that there is no connection between the Macedonians of the time of Alexander the Great who were related to other Hellenic tribes and the Macedonians of today, who are of Slavic Origin and related to the Bulgarians." Encyclopedia of World Cultures (1991), by David H. Levinson, page 239.
   – Nicholas Hammond: "Philip was born a Greek of the most aristocratic, indeed of divine, descent... Philip was both a Greek and a Macedonian, even as Demosthenes was a Greek and an Athenian... The Macedonians over whom Philip was to rule were an outlying family member of the Greek-speaking peoples." Nicholas Hummond, Philip of Macedon, Duckworth Publishing, 1998
   – Nicholas Hammond: "All in all, the language of the Macedones was a distinct and particular form of Greek, resistant to outside influnces and conservative in pronunciation. It remained so until the fourth century when it was almost totally submerged by the flood tide of standardized Greek." Nicholas Hummond, A History of Macedonia Vol ii, 550-336 BC
   – Nicholas Hammond: “As members of the Greek race and speakers of the Greek language, the Macedonians shared in the ability to initiate ideas and create political forms." Nicholas Hummond, "The Miracle that was Macedonia", 1992, p. 206
   – M. Opperman, "The Oxford Classical Dictionary 3rd ed. (1996) - Macedonia, Cults", page 905: "Nowadays historians generally agree that the Macedonian ethnos form part of the Greek ethnos; hence they also shared in the common religious and cultural features of the Hellenic world"
   – Robin Lane Fox: 1) "Alexander was still the Greek avenger of Persian sacrilege who told his troops, it was said 'that Persepolis was the most hateful city in the world'. On the road there, he met with the families of Greeks who had deported to Persia by previous kings, and true to his slogan, he honoured them conspicuously, giving them money, five changes of clothing, farm animals, corn, a free passage home, and exemption from taxes and bureaucratic harassments." p. 256,
   2) "To his ancestors (to a Persian's ancestors) Macedonians were only known as 'yona takabara', the 'Greeks who wear shields on their heads', an allusion to their broad-brimmed hats." p. 104,
   3) "Alexander was not the first Greek to be honoured as a god for political favour." p. 131,
   4) "In spirit, Alexander made a gesture to the Lydians' sensitivities, though his Greek crusade owed them nothing as they were not Greeks." p. 128. Robin Lane Fox, Alexander the Great, Penguin Books, UK, 1997
   – Katheryn A. Bard: "The Macedonians were originally one of several Greek tribes living on the northern frontier of the Hellenic world." Katheryn A. Bard, Encyclopaedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, Taylor & Francis, 1999, p. 460.
   – Benjamin Ide Wheeler: "That the Macedonians were Greek by race there can be no longer any doubt. They were the northernmost fragments of the race left stranded behind the barriers." Benjamin Ide Wheeler, Alexander the Great: The Merging of East and West in Universal History, Elibron Classics, 2011
3. Zacharia 2008, Simon Hornblower, "Greek Identity in the Archaic and Classical Periods", pp. 55–58 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFZacharia2008 (help); Joint Association of Classical Teachers 1984, pp. 50–51 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJoint_Association_of_Classical_Teachers1984 (help); Errington 1990 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFErrington1990 (help); Fine 1983, pp. 607–608 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFFine1983 (help); Hall 2000, p. 64 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHall2000 (help); Hammond 2001, p. 11 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHammond2001 (help); Jones 2001, p. 21 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJones2001 (help); Osborne 2004, p. 127 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFOsborne2004 (help); Hammond 1989, pp. 12–13 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHammond1989 (help); Hammond 1993, p. 97 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHammond1993 (help); Starr 1991, pp. 260, 367 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFStarr1991 (help); Toynbee 1981, p. 67 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFToynbee1981 (help); Worthington 2008, pp. 8, 219 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFWorthington2008 (help); Chamoux 2002, p. 8 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFChamoux2002 (help); Cawkwell 1978, p. 22 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFCawkwell1978 (help); Perlman 1973, p. 78 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPerlman1973 (help); Hamilton 1974, Chapter 2: The Macedonian Homeland, p. 23 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHamilton1974 (help); Bryant 1996, p. 306 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBryant1996 (help); O'Brien 1994, p. 25 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFO'Brien1994 (help).
4. Simon Hornblower, "Greek Identity in the Archaic and Classical Periods" in Katerina Zacharia, Hellenisms, Ashgate Publishing, 2008, pp. 55–58.
5. "Macedonia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
6. "Georg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary, μακεδνός". Perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
7. Johann Baptist Hofmann (1950). Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen. R. Oldenbourg.
8. Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. 'Macedon'
9. Ring, Trudy (1996). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 753. ISBN 1-884964-02-8.
10. Herodotus, Histories, Book 5: Terpsichore 22.
11. Justin, 7.1.
12. Herodotus, Histories, 1.56.3.
13. The Cambridge ancient history: The fourth century B.C. edited by D.M. Lewis et al. I E S Edwards, Cambridge University Press, D. M. Lewis, John Boardman, Cyril John Gadd, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond, 2000, ISBN 0-521-23348-8, pp. 723-724.
14. Anson, Edward (December 2010). Roisman, Joseph; Worthington, Ian (eds.). A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4051-7936-2.
15. ^ Kagan, Donald "Twilight of the Polis." Introduction to Ancient Greek History.
16. A History of Macedonia by R. Malcolm Errington, Catherine Errington, ISBN 1-56619-519-5, 1994, page 4, "Ancient allegations that the Macedonians were non-Greeks all had their origin in Athens at the time of the struggle with Philip II. ..."
17. Ian Worthington, Alexander the Great: A Reader, Routledge, 2003, p. 21: "To Greek literally writers before the Hellenistic period the Macedonians were 'barbarians'. The term referred to their way of life and their institutions, which were those of the ethne and not of the city-state, and it did not refer to their speech. We can see this in the case of Epirus. There Thucydides called the tribes 'barbarians'. But inscriptions found in Epirus have shown conclusively that the Epirote tribes in Thucydides' lifetime were speaking Greek and used names which were Greek. In the following century 'barbarian' was only one of the abusive terms applied by Demosthenes to Philip of Macedon and his people."
18. Herodotus, Histories, 5. 22. Translation from http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hh/hh5020.htm. Retrieved 11th April 2012.
19. South East Europe History pages - Map showing Upper and Lower Macedon and the growth of Macedon 4th BC.
20. R. M. Errington, "Macedonian 'Royal Style' and Its Historical Significance," Journal of Hellenic Studies 94 (1974): 20.

Further reading

• Eugene N. Borza: Before Alexander: constructing early Macedonia. Claremont, CA: Regina Books, 1999. Pp. 89. ISBN 0-941690-97-0 (pb)
• Robin Lane Fox, Alexander the Great, Penguin Books, 1973, ISBN 0-14-008878-4 (pb).
• Nicholas G. L. Hammond, The Macedonian State, Oxford University Press, 1989, ISBN 0-19-814883-6. Pg. 12-13.
• Macedonian Empire, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
• Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington: A Companion to Ancient Macedonia, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010

External links

• Ancient Macedonia at Livius, by Jona Lendering
• Hellenism in Macedonia, Britannica Online
• Twilight of the Polis and the rise of Macedon on YouTube (Philip, Demosthenes and the Fall of the Polis). Yale University courses, Lecture 24. (Introduction to Ancient Greek History)
• Heracles to Alexander The Great: Treasures From The Royal Capital of Macedon, A Hellenic Kingdom in the Age of Democracy, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford

v t e The division of Alexander's empire

v t e Kings of Macedon
Legendary	Caranus Coenus Tyrimmas
Argead dynasty	Perdiccas I Argaeus I Philip I Aeropus I Alcetas Amyntas I Alexander I Perdiccas II Archelaus Orestes Aeropus II Amyntas II Pausanias Amyntas III Argaeus II Alexander II Ptolemy of Aloros Perdiccas III Amyntas IV Philip II Alexander III (the Great) Philip III Alexander IV
Antipatrid dynasty	Cassander Philip IV Antipater I Alexander V
Dynastic conflict	Demetrius I Pyrrhus Lysimachus Ptolemy Ceraunus Meleager Antipater II Sosthenes Antigonus II Pyrrhus
Antigonid dynasty	Antigonus II Demetrius II Antigonus III Philip V Perseus
Post-Conquest Rebel Kings	Andriscus Pseudo-Alexander Pseudo-Philip/Pseudo-Perseus Euephenes
Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.

Template:Ancient Greek and Roman Wars

• Macedonia (ancient kingdom)
• Ancient Greece
• 146 BC disestablishments
• States and territories established in the 9th century BC