Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of

Hellenistic Greece Hellenistic Greece is the historical period of the country following Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek Achaean League heartlands by the Roman Republic. This culminated ...

. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal Argead dynasty, which was followed by the Antipatrid and

Antigonid The Antigonid dynasty (; grc-gre, Ἀντιγονίδαι) was a Hellenistic dynasty of Dorian Greek provenance, descended from Alexander the Great's general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ("the One-Eyed") that ruled mainly in Macedonia. History ...

dynasties. Home to the

ancient Macedonians The Macedonians ( el, Μακεδόνες, ''Makedónes'') were an ancient tribe that lived on the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios in the northeastern part of mainland Greece. Essentially an ancient Greek people ...

, the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of the

Greek peninsula Greece is a country of the Balkans, in Southeastern Europe, bordered to the north by Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria; to the east by Turkey, and is surrounded to the east by the Aegean Sea, to the south by the Cretan and the Libyan Seas, an ...

,. and bordered by

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

to the west, Paeonia to the north,

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

to the east and

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

to the south. Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the great

city-states A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

and Thebes, and briefly subordinate to

Achaemenid Persia The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

. During the reign of the Argead king PhilipII (359–336 BC), Macedonia subdued

mainland Greece Greece is a country of the Balkans, in Southeastern Europe, bordered to the north by Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria; to the east by Turkey, and is surrounded to the east by the Aegean Sea, to the south by the Cretan and the Libyan Seas, ...

and the

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

Odrysian kingdom The Odrysian Kingdom (; Ancient Greek: ) was a state grouping many Thracian tribes united by the Odrysae, which arose in the early 5th century BC and existed at least until the late 1st century BC. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria an ...

through conquest and diplomacy. With a reformed

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

containing

phalanxes The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...

wielding the ''

sarissa The sarisa or sarissa ( el, σάρισα) was a long spear or pike about in length. It was introduced by Philip II of Macedon and was used in his Macedonian phalanxes as a replacement for the earlier dory, which was considerably shorter. The ...

'' pike, PhilipII defeated the old powers of

and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338BC. PhilipII's son

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

, leading a federation of Greek states, accomplished his father's objective of commanding the whole of Greece when he destroyed Thebes after the city revolted. During Alexander's subsequent campaign of conquest, he overthrew the Achaemenid Empire and conquered territory that stretched as far as the Indus River. For a brief period, his Macedonian Empire was the most powerful in the world – the definitive

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

state, inaugurating the transition to a new period of

Ancient Greek civilization Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...

. Greek arts and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

flourished in the new conquered lands and advances in philosophy,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

spread throughout much of the ancient world. Of particular importance were the contributions of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

, tutor to Alexander, whose writings became a keystone of

Western philosophy Western philosophy encompasses the philosophical thought and work of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the pre-Socratics. The word ' ...

. After Alexander's death in 323BC, the ensuing

wars of the Diadochi The Wars of the Diadochi ( grc, Πόλεμοι τῶν Διαδόχων, '), or Wars of Alexander's Successors, were a series of conflicts that were fought between the generals of Alexander the Great, known as the Diadochi, over who would rule h ...

, and the partitioning of Alexander's short-lived empire, Macedonia remained a Greek cultural and political center in the Mediterranean region along with Ptolemaic Egypt, the Seleucid Empire, and the

Kingdom of Pergamon The Kingdom of Pergamon or Attalid kingdom was a Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; grc-x-koine, Δυναστ ...

. Important cities such as

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

Pydna Pydna (in Greek: Πύδνα, older transliteration: Pýdna) was a Greek city in ancient Macedon, the most important in Pieria. Modern Pydna is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Pieria regional unit, Greece. Sin ...

, and

Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. It was an important ancient Gr ...

were involved in power struggles for control of the territory. New cities were founded, such as

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

by the usurper

Cassander Cassander ( el, Κάσσανδρος ; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and ''de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a conte ...

(named after his wife Thessalonike of Macedon).. Macedonia's decline began with the

Macedonian Wars The Macedonian Wars (214–148 BC) were a series of conflicts fought by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies in the eastern Mediterranean against several different major Greek kingdoms. They resulted in Roman control or influence over Greece ...

and the rise of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

as the leading

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

power. At the end of the

Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman ...

in 168BC, the Macedonian monarchy was abolished and replaced by Roman

client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...

s. A short-lived revival of the monarchy during the

Fourth Macedonian War The Fourth Macedonian War (150–148 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by the pretender Andriscus, and the Roman Republic. It was the last of the Macedonian Wars, and was the last war to seriously threaten Roman control of Greece until the Fi ...

in 150–148BC ended with the establishment of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

of Macedonia. The Macedonian kings, who wielded absolute power and commanded state resources such as gold and silver, facilitated mining operations to

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

, finance their armies and, by the reign of PhilipII, a Macedonian navy. Unlike the other ''

diadochi The Diadochi (; singular: Diadochus; from grc-gre, Διάδοχοι, Diádochoi, Successors, ) were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The War ...

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

s, the

imperial cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...

fostered by Alexander was never adopted in Macedonia, yet Macedonian rulers nevertheless assumed roles as high priests of the kingdom and leading patrons of domestic and international cults of the Hellenistic religion. The authority of Macedonian kings was theoretically limited by the institution of the army, while a few municipalities within the Macedonian commonwealth enjoyed a high degree of autonomy and even had democratic governments with

popular assemblies A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Assemblies tend to be freely open to participation and operate by direct democracy. Some assemblies are of people from a location ...

Etymology

The name Macedonia ( el, Μακεδονία, ') comes from the ethnonym (), which itself is derived from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

adjective μακεδνός (), meaning "tall, slim", also the name of a people related to the

Dorians The Dorians (; el, Δωριεῖς, ''Dōrieîs'', singular , ''Dōrieús'') were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionian ...

(

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

), and possibly descriptive of

Ancient Macedonians The Macedonians ( el, Μακεδόνες, ''Makedónes'') were an ancient tribe that lived on the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios in the northeastern part of mainland Greece. Essentially an ancient Greek people ...

. It is most likely cognate with the adjective (), meaning "long" or "tall" in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

. The name is believed to have originally meant either "highlanders", "the tall ones", or "high grown men".; ; Eugene N. Borza writes that the "highlanders" or "Makedones" of the mountainous regions of western Macedonia are derived from northwest Greek stock; they were akin to those who at an earlier time may have migrated south to become the historical "Dorians". Linguist

Robert S. P. Beekes Robert Stephen Paul Beekes (; 2 September 1937 – 21 September 2017) was a Dutch linguist who was emeritus professor of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at Leiden University and an author of many monographs on the Proto-Indo-European langu ...

claims that both terms are of Pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be explained in terms of

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

morphology, however Filip De Decker rejects Beekesʼ arguments as insufficient.

History

Early history and legend

The Classical

Greek historians Hellenic historiography (or Greek historiography) involves efforts made by Greeks to track and record historical events. By the 5th century BC, it became an integral part of ancient Greek literature and held a prestigious place in later Roman histo ...

and

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

reported the

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

that the Macedonian kings of the Argead dynasty were descendants of

Temenus In Greek mythology, Temenus ( el, Τήμενος, ''Tḗmenos'') was a son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Aristodemus. Temenus was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the ...

, king of Argos, and could therefore claim the mythical

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

as one of their ancestors as well as a direct lineage from

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

, chief god of the

Greek pantheon A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of d ...

.; ; . Contradictory legends state that either

Perdiccas I of Macedon Perdiccas I ( gr, Περδίκκας, Perdíkkas) was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia. He ruled somewhere between 650 BC and 620 BC. Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from ...

Caranus of Macedon Caranus or Karanos ( gr, Κάρανος, Káranos) was the first king of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia according to later traditions. According to Herodotus, however, the first king was Perdiccas I. Caranus is first reported by Theopompus and ...

were the founders of the Argead dynasty, with either five or eight kings before AmyntasI. The assertion that the Argeads descended from Temenus was accepted by the ''

Hellanodikai The ''Hellanodikai'' ( grc, , literally meaning ''Judges of the Greeks''; sing. Ἑλλανοδίκας Ancient Olympic Games, permitting Alexander I of Macedon () to enter the competitions owing to his perceived Greek heritage. Little is known about the kingdom before the reign of AlexanderI's father Amyntas I of Macedon () during the Archaic period. The kingdom of Macedonia was situated along the

Haliacmon The Haliacmon ( el, Αλιάκμονας, ''Aliákmonas''; formerly: , ''Aliákmon'' or ''Haliákmōn'') is the longest river flowing entirely in Greece, with a total length of . In Greece there are three rivers longer than Haliakmon, Maritsa ( e ...

and Axius rivers in

Lower Macedonia Lower Macedonia ( el, Κάτω Μακεδονία, ''Kato Makedonia'') or Macedonia proper or Emathia is a geographical term used in Antiquity referring to the coastal plain watered by the rivers Haliacmon, Axius on the west and bounded by Stry ...

, north of

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

. Historian Robert Malcolm Errington suggests that one of the earliest Argead kings established Aigai (modern

Vergina Vergina ( el, Βεργίνα, ''Vergína'' ) is a small town in northern Greece, part of Veria municipality in Imathia, Central Macedonia. Vergina was established in 1922 in the aftermath of the population exchanges after the Treaty of Laus ...

) as their capital in the mid-7th centuryBC. Before the 4th centuryBC, the kingdom covered a region corresponding roughly to the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and central parts of the

region of Macedonia Macedonia () is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as the modern geographical region by the mid 19th century. T ...

in modern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It gradually expanded into the region of Upper Macedonia, inhabited by the Greek Lyncestae and Elimiotae tribes, and into regions of Emathia, Eordaia,

Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...

Mygdonia Mygdonia (; el, Μυγδονία / Μygdonia) was an ancient territory, part of Ancient Thrace, later conquered by Macedon, which comprised the plains around Therma (Thessalonica) together with the valleys of Klisali and Besikia, including the ...

Crestonia Crestonia (or Crestonice) ( el, Κρηστωνία) was an ancient region immediately north of Mygdonia. The Echeidorus river, which flowed through Mygdonia into the Thermaic Gulf, had its source in Crestonia. It was partly occupied by a remnant o ...

, and Almopia, which were inhabited by various peoples such as

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

and Phrygians., see also for the Macedonian expulsion of original inhabitants such as the Phrygians. Macedonia's non-Greek neighbors included Thracians, inhabiting territories to the northeast,

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...

to the northwest, and

Paeonians Paeonians were an ancient Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania, to the west of Thrace and to the east of Illyria, most of their lan ...

to the north, while the lands of

to the south and

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

to the west were inhabited by Greeks with similar cultures to that of the Macedonians. Oktadrachm of Alexander I 498 – 454 BCE

A year after Darius I of Persia () launched an invasion into Europe against the

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

, and several Greek city-states of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, the Persian general Megabazus used diplomacy to convince AmyntasI to submit as a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the Achaemenid Empire, ushering in the period of

Achaemenid Macedonia Achaemenid Macedonia refers to the period in which the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedonia was under the sway of the Achaemenid Persians. In 512/511 BC, the Persian general Megabyzus forced the Macedonian king Amyntas I to make his kingdom a vas ...

.; ; .
Errington is skeptical that at this point Amyntas I of Macedon offered any submission as a vassal at all, at most a token one. He also mentions how the Macedonian king pursued his own course of action, such as inviting the exiled Athenian

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to re ...

Hippias Hippias of Elis (; el, Ἱππίας ὁ Ἠλεῖος; late 5th century BC) was a Greek sophist, and a contemporary of Socrates. With an assurance characteristic of the later sophists, he claimed to be regarded as an authority on all subjects ...

to take refuge at Anthemous in 506BC. Achaemenid Persian

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...

over Macedonia was briefly interrupted by the

Ionian Revolt The Ionian Revolt, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several Greek regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 BC to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisf ...

(499–493BC), yet the Persian general Mardonius brought it back under Achaemenid suzerainty. Although Macedonia enjoyed a large degree of autonomy and was never made a satrapy (i.e. province) of the Achaemenid Empire, it was expected to provide troops for the

Achaemenid army The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

. AlexanderI provided Macedonian military support to

Xerxes I Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of D ...

() during the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480–479 BC, and Macedonian soldiers fought on the side of the Persians at the 479BC Battle of Platea. Following the Greek victory at Salamis in 480BC, AlexanderI was employed as an Achaemenid diplomat to propose a peace treaty and alliance with

, an offer that was rejected. Soon afterwards, the Achaemenid forces were forced to withdraw from mainland Europe, marking the end of Persian control over Macedonia.

Involvement in the Classical Greek world

Although initially a Persian vassal, AlexanderI of Macedon fostered friendly diplomatic relations with his former Greek enemies, the Athenian and

n-led coalition of Greek city-states. His successor PerdiccasII () led the Macedonians to war in four separate conflicts against Athens, leader of the Delian League, while incursions by the Thracian ruler Sitalces of the

threatened Macedonia's

territorial integrity Territorial integrity is the principle under international law that gives the right to sovereign states to defend their borders and all territory in them of another state. It is enshrined in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and has been recognized ...

in the northeast. The Athenian statesman

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelo ...

promoted colonization of the Strymon River near the Kingdom of Macedonia, where the colonial city of

was founded in 437/436BC so that it could provide Athens with a steady supply of silver and gold as well as

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

and pitch to support the

Athenian navy The Athenian military was the old man force of Athens, one of the major city-states ('' poleis'') of Ancient Greece. It was largely similar to other armies of the region – see Ancient Greek warfare. Army In the manner of neighboring city-s ...

. Initially Perdiccas II did not take any action and might have even welcomed the Athenians, as the Thracians were foes to both of them. This changed due to an Athenian alliance with a brother and cousin of PerdiccasII who had rebelled against him.. Thus, two separate wars were fought against Athens between 433 and 431BC. The Macedonian king retaliated by promoting the rebellion of Athens' allies in Chalcidice and subsequently won over the strategic city of Potidaea. After capturing the Macedonian cities

Therma Therma or Thermē ( grc, Θέρμα, ) was a Greek city founded by Eretrians or Corinthians in late 7th century BC in ancient Mygdonia (which was later incorporated into Macedon), situated at the northeastern extremity of a great gulf of the Aege ...

and

Beroea Beroea (or Berea) was an ancient city of the Hellenistic period and Roman Empire now known as Veria (or Veroia) in Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Northern Greece. It is a small city on the eastern side of the Vermio Mountains north of Mount Olympus ...

, Athens besieged Potidaea but failed to overcome it; Therma was returned to Macedonia and much of Chalcidice to Athens in a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

brokered by Sitalces, who provided Athens with military aid in exchange for acquiring new Thracian allies. PerdiccasII sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) between Athens and Sparta, and in 429 BC Athens retaliated by persuading Sitalces to invade Macedonia, but he was forced to retreat owing to a shortage of provisions in winter. In 424 BC,

Arrhabaeus Arrhabaeus ( el, Ἀρραβαῖος) or ''Arrhibaeus'' may refer to: *Arrhabaeus, the king of Lynkestis, who claimed Corinthian aristocratic (Bacchiadae) origin.Strabo, ''Geography'', 7.7: "The Lyncestae were under Arrhabaeus, who was of the ra ...

, a local ruler of Lynkestis in Upper Macedonia, rebelled against his overlord Perdiccas, and the Spartans agreed to help in putting down the revolt. At the

Battle of Lyncestis The Battle of Lyncestis/Lyncus took place in 423 BC between the allied forces of the Lyncestians and Illyrians against those of the Spartans and Macedonians. The battle was part of the wider Peloponnesian Wars. Before Athens suffered defeat at D ...

the Macedonians panicked and fled before the fighting began, enraging the Spartan general Brasidas, whose soldiers looted the unattended Macedonian

baggage train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

. Perdiccas then changed sides and supported Athens, and he was able to put down Arrhabaeus's revolt. Didrachm of Archelaos I King of Macedonia

Brasidas died in 422 BC, the year Athens and Sparta struck an accord, the

Peace of Nicias The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in March 421 BC that ended the first half of the Peloponnesian War. In 425 BC, the Spartans had lost the battles of Pylos and Sphacteria, a severe ...

, that freed Macedonia from its obligations as an Athenian ally. Following the 418BC Battle of Mantinea, the victorious Spartans formed an alliance with Argos, a military pact PerdiccasII was keen to join given the threat of Spartan allies remaining in Chalcidice. When Argos suddenly switched sides as a pro-Athenian

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

, the Athenian navy was able to form a

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...

against Macedonian

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

s and invade Chalcidice in 417BC. PerdiccasII sued for peace in 414BC, forming an alliance with Athens that was continued by his son and successor ArchelausI (). Athens then provided naval support to ArchelausI in the 410BC Macedonian siege of

, in exchange for timber and naval equipment. Although Archelaus I was faced with some internal revolts and had to fend off an invasion of Illyrians led by

Sirras Sirras or Sirrhas ( grc, Σίρρας; d. 390 BC) was a prince, royal member and perhaps prince-regent of Lynkestis (Lyncestis) in Upper Macedonia for his father-in-law King Arrhabaeus ( 423–393 BC). He participated in the Pelopponesian War a ...

of Lynkestis, he was able to project Macedonian power into Thessaly where he sent military aid to his allies. Although he retained Aigai as a ceremonial and religious center, ArchelausI moved the capital of the kingdom north to

, which was then positioned by a lake with a river connecting it to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

. He improved Macedonia's

by minting

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s with a higher silver content as well as issuing separate copper coinage.. His royal court attracted the presence of well-known intellectuals such as the Athenian playwright

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

. When ArchelausI was assassinated (perhaps following a homosexual love affair with

royal page Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

s at his court), the kingdom was plunged into chaos, in an era lasting from 399 to 393BC that included the reign of four different monarchs:

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness an ...

, son of ArchelausI; AeropusII, uncle,

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, and murderer of Orestes;

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, son of AeropusII; and AmyntasII, who was married to the youngest daughter of ArchelausI. Very little is known about this turbulent period; it came to an end when AmyntasIII (), son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of AmyntasI, killed Pausanias and claimed the Macedonian throne. Coin of Amyntas III-161113

Amyntas III was forced to flee his kingdom in either 393 or 383BC (based on conflicting accounts), owing to a massive invasion by the

led by Bardylis.; see also for further details; the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus provided a seemingly conflicting account about Illyrian invasions occurring in 393BC and 383BC, which may have been representative of a single invasion led by the Illyrian king Bardylis. The

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the throne Argaeus ruled in his absence, yet AmyntasIII eventually returned to his kingdom with the aid of Thessalian allies. AmyntasIII was also nearly overthrown by the forces of the Chalcidian city of Olynthos, but with the aid of Teleutias, brother of the Spartan king

Agesilaus II Agesilaus II (; grc-gre, Ἀγησίλαος ; c. 442 – 358 BC) was king of Sparta from c. 399 to 358 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemo ...

, the Macedonians forced Olynthos to surrender and dissolve their Chalcidian League in 379BC. Alexander II (), son of EurydiceI and AmyntasIII, succeeded his father and immediately invaded Thessaly to wage war against the ''

tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...

'' (supreme Thessalian military leader)

Alexander of Pherae Alexander ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος) was Tyrant or Despot of Pherae in Thessaly, ruling from 369 to c. 356 BC. Following the assassination of Jason, the tyrant of Pherae and Tagus of Thessaly, in 370 BC, his brother Polydorus ruled for a year ...

, capturing the city of Larissa. The Thessalians, desiring to remove both AlexanderII and Alexander of Pherae as their overlords, appealed to Pelopidas of Thebes for aid; he succeeded in recapturing Larissa and, in the peace agreement arranged with Macedonia, received aristocratic

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

s including AlexanderII's brother and future king PhilipII (). When Alexander was assassinated by his brother-in-law Ptolemy of Aloros, the latter acted as an overbearing regent for PerdiccasIII (), younger brother of AlexanderII, who eventually had Ptolemy executed when reaching the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

in 365BC. The remainder of Perdiccas III's reign was marked by political stability and financial recovery. However, an Athenian invasion led by

Timotheus Timotheus is a masculine male name. It is a latinized version of the Greek name (Timόtheos) mmeaning "one who honours God", from τιμή "honour" and θεός "god"., . The English version '' Timothy'' (and its variations) is a common name in ...

, son of

Conon Conon ( el, Κόνων) (before 443 BC – c. 389 BC) was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, who led the Athenian naval forces when they were defeated by a Peloponnesian fleet in the crucial Battle of Aegospotami; later he c ...

, managed to capture Methone and Pydna, and an Illyrian invasion led by Bardylis succeeded in killing PerdiccasIII and 4,000 Macedonian troops in battle.

Rise of Macedon

Philip II was twenty-four years old when he acceded to the throne in 359BC. Through the use of deft diplomacy, he was able to convince the Thracians under Berisades to cease their support of

, a pretender to the throne, and the Athenians to halt their support of another pretender. He achieved these by bribing the Thracians and their

Paeonian In antiquity, Paeonia or Paionia ( grc, Παιονία, Paionía) was the land and kingdom of the Paeonians or Paionians ( grc, Παίονες, Paíones). The exact original boundaries of Paeonia, like the early history of its inhabitants, a ...

allies and establishing a treaty with Athens that relinquished his claims to Amphipolis. He was also able to make peace with the Illyrians who had threatened his borders. Philip II spent his initial years radically transforming the Macedonian army. A reform of its organization, equipment, and training, including the introduction of the

Macedonian phalanx The Macedonian phalanx ( gr, Μακεδονική φάλαγξ) was an infantry formation developed by Philip II from the classical Greek phalanx, of which the main innovation was the use of the sarissa, a 6 meter pike. It was famously commanded ...

armed with long pikes (i.e. the ''

''), proved immediately successful when tested against his Illyrian and Paeonian enemies. Confusing accounts in ancient sources have led modern scholars to debate how much PhilipII's royal predecessors may have contributed to these reforms and the extent to which his ideas were influenced by his adolescent years of captivity in Thebes as a political hostage during the

Theban hegemony The Theban hegemony lasted from the Theban victory over the Spartans at Leuctra in 371 BC to their defeat of a coalition of Peloponnesian armies at Mantinea in 362 BC, though Thebes sought to maintain its position until finally eclipsed by th ...

, especially after meeting with the general

Epaminondas Epaminondas (; grc-gre, Ἐπαμεινώνδας; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greek general of Thebes and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent posit ...

. The Macedonians, like the other Greeks, traditionally practiced

monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., polyg ...

, but PhilipII practiced

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

and married seven wives with perhaps only one that did not involve the loyalty of his aristocratic subjects or new allies..
Müller is skeptical about the claims of

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

and

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

that PhilipII of Macedon married

Cleopatra Eurydice of Macedon Eurydice (Greek: Εὐρυδίκη), born Cleopatra (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα) was a mid-4th century BC Macedonian noblewoman, niece of Attalus, and last of the seven wives of Philip II of Macedon, but the first Macedonian one. Biography Cleo ...

, a younger woman, purely out of love or due to his own

midlife crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's grow ...

. Cleopatra was the daughter of the general Attalus, who along with his father-in-law

Parmenion Parmenion (also Parmenio; grc-gre, Παρμενίων; c. 400 – 330 BC), son of Philotas, was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. A nobleman, Parmenion rose to become Philip's chief milita ...

were given command posts in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

(modern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

) soon after this wedding. Müller also suspects that this marriage was one of political convenience meant to ensure the loyalty of an influential Macedonian noble house. His first marriages were to Phila of Elimeia of the Upper Macedonian aristocracy as well as the Illyrian princess

Audata Audata (Ancient Greek Αὐδάτη; ruled ''c.'' 359 – 336 BC) was an Illyrian princess and wife of Philip II of Macedon. Biography She was the daughter or granddaughter of the Illyrian king Bardyllis. In order to concentrate on the in ...

to ensure a marriage alliance. To establish an alliance with Larissa in Thessaly, he married the Thessalian noblewoman Philinna in 358BC, who bore him a son who would later rule as

Philip III Arrhidaeus Philip III Arrhidaeus ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος Ἀρριδαῖος ; c. 359 BC – 25 December 317 BC) reigned as king of Macedonia an Ancient Greek Kingdom in northern Greece from after 11 June 323 BC until his death. He was a son of King P ...

(). In 357BC, he married Olympias to secure an alliance with

Arybbas Arybbas ( grc, Ἀρύββας or Ἀρύβας; 373–343/2 BC) was a king of the Molossians. Family Arybbas was a son of Alcetas I, brother of Neoptolemus I and grandfather of Pyrrhus. He married his niece Troas (sister of Olympias). ...

, the King of Epirus and the

Molossians The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On t ...

. This marriage would bear a son who would later rule as AlexanderIII (better known as

) and claim descent from the legendary

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...

by way of his dynastic heritage from Epirus. It is unclear whether or not the Achaemenid Persian kings influenced PhilipII's practice of polygamy, although his predecessor AmyntasIII had three sons with a possible second wife Gygaea: Archelaus, Arrhidaeus, and

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

. PhilipII had Archelaus put to death in 359BC, while PhilipII's other two half brothers fled to Olynthos, serving as a '' casus belli'' for the Olynthian War (349–348BC) against the Chalcidian League. While Athens was preoccupied with the

Social War (357–355 BC) The Social War, also known as the War of the Allies, was fought from 357 BC to 355 BC between Athens with the Second Athenian League and the allied city-states of Chios, Rhodes, Cos and Byzantion. Origins Provoked by Athens' increasingly domina ...

, PhilipII retook Amphipolis from them in 357BC and the following year recaptured Pydna and Potidaea, the latter of which he handed over to the Chalcidian League as promised in a treaty. In 356BC, he took Crenides, refounding it as Philippi, while his general

defeated the Illyrian king

Grabos II Grabus (also Grabos; grc-gre, Γράβος; ruled c. 358 – 356 BC) was an Illyrian king who reigned in southern Illyria in the 4th century BC. Biography According to a historical reconstruction, Grabus belonged to the Grabaei, an Illyrian ...

of the Grabaei. During the 355–354BC siege of Methone, PhilipII lost his right eye to an arrow wound, but managed to capture the city and treated the inhabitants cordially, unlike the Potidaeans, who had been enslaved.; ; .
Cawkwell contrarily provides the date of this siege as 354–353 BC. Philip II then involved Macedonia in the Third Sacred War (356–346BC). It began when

Phocis Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Var ...

captured and plundered the temple of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

at Delphi instead of submitting unpaid fines, causing the

Amphictyonic League In Archaic Greece, an amphictyony ( grc-gre, ἀμφικτυονία, a "league of neighbors"), or amphictyonic league, was an ancient religious association of tribes formed before the rise of the Greek '' poleis''. The six Dorian cities of coast ...

to declare war on Phocis and a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

among the members of the

Thessalian League The Thessalian League (Thessalian Aeolic: , ''Koinòn toûn Petthaloûn''; Attic: , ''Koinòn tôn Thettalôn''; Ionic and Koine Greek: , ''Koinòn tôn Thessalôn'') was a ''koinon'' or loose confederacy of feudal-like ''poleis'' and tribes in a ...

aligned with either Phocis or Thebes. PhilipII's initial campaign against

Pherae Pherae (Greek: Φεραί) was a city and polis (city-state) in southeastern Ancient Thessaly. One of the oldest Thessalian cities, it was located in the southeast corner of Pelasgiotis. According to Strabo, it was near Lake Boebeïs 90 stadia ...

in Thessaly in 353BC at the behest of Larissa ended in two disastrous defeats by the Phocian general

Onomarchus Onomarchus ( grc, Ὀνόμαρχος) was general of the Phocians in the Third Sacred War, brother of Philomelus and son of Theotimus. After his brother's death he became commander of the Phocians and pursued a warmongering policy until his final ...

.; ; ; .
Conversely, Buckler provides the date of this initial campaign as 354BC, while affirming that the second Thessalian campaign ending in the Battle of Crocus Field occurred in 353BC. PhilipII in turn defeated Onomarchus in 352BC at the Battle of Crocus Field, which led to PhilipII's election as leader ('' archon'') of the Thessalian League, provided him a seat on the Amphictyonic Council, and allowed for a marriage alliance with Pherae by wedding Nicesipolis, niece of the tyrant

Jason of Pherae Jason of Pherae ( grc-gre, Ἰάσων ὁ Φεραῖος) was the ruler of Thessaly during the period just before Philip II of Macedon came to power. He had succeeded Lycophron I of Pherae, possibly his father, as tyrant of Pherae and was appoi ...

. Philip II had some early involvement with the Achaemenid Empire, especially by supporting

satraps A satrap () was a governor of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of ...

and mercenaries who rebelled against the central authority of the Achaemenid king. The satrap of

Hellespontine Phrygia Hellespontine Phrygia ( grc, Ἑλλησποντιακὴ Φρυγία, Hellēspontiakē Phrygia) or Lesser Phrygia ( grc, μικρᾶ Φρυγία, mikra Phrygia) was a Persian satrapy (province) in northwestern Anatolia, directly southeast of ...

Artabazos II Artabazos II (in Greek Ἀρτάβαζος) (fl. 389 – 328 BC) was a Persian general and satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. He was the son of the Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia Pharnabazus II, and younger kinsman (most probab ...

, who was in rebellion against

Artaxerxes III Ochus ( grc-gre, Ὦχος ), known by his dynastic name Artaxerxes III ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 359/58 to 338 BC. He was the son and successor of ...

, was able to take refuge as an exile at the Macedonian court from 352 to 342 BC. He was accompanied in exile by his family and by his mercenary general

Memnon of Rhodes Memnon of Rhodes (Greek: Μέμνων ὁ Ῥόδιος; c. 380 – 333 BC) was a prominent Rhodian Greek commander in the service of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Related to the Persian aristocracy by the marriage of his sister to the satr ...

Barsine Barsine ( el, Βαρσίνη; c. 363–309 BC) was the daughter of a Persian father, Artabazus, satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, and a Greek Rhodian mother, the sister of mercenaries Mentor of Rhodes and Memnon of Rhodes. Barsine became t ...

, daughter of Artabazos, and future wife of Alexander the Great, grew up at the Macedonian court. After campaigning against the Thracian ruler Cersobleptes, in 349BC, PhilipII began his war against the Chalcidian League, which had been reestablished in 375BC following a temporary disbandment. Despite an Athenian intervention by

Charidemus Charidemus (or Kharidemos, grc-gre, Χαρίδημος), of Oreus in Euboea, was an ancient Greek mercenary leader of the 4th century BC. He had a complicated relationship with Athens, sometimes aiding the city in its efforts to secure its interes ...

, Olynthos was captured by PhilipII in 348BC, and its inhabitants were sold into slavery, including some Athenian citizens. The Athenians, especially in a series of speeches by

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual pr ...

known as the '' Olynthiacs'', were unsuccessful in persuading their allies to counterattack and in 346BC concluded a treaty with Macedonia known as the Peace of

Philocrates Philocrates (Greek: Φιλοκράτης; floruit: 340s BC) was an ancient Greek politician from Athens who first negotiated the Peace of Philocrates with Philip II of Macedonia after Philip devastated the city of Olynthos in 348 BC.. The unpopu ...

. The treaty stipulated that Athens would relinquish claims to Macedonian coastal territories, the Chalcidice, and Amphipolis in return for the release of the enslaved Athenians as well as guarantees that PhilipII would not attack Athenian settlements in the Thracian Chersonese. Meanwhile, Phocis and

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...

were captured by Macedonian forces, the Delphic temple robbers were executed, and PhilipII was awarded the two Phocian seats on the Amphictyonic Council and the position of master of ceremonies over the

Pythian Games The Pythian Games ( grc-gre, Πύθια;) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Apollo at his sanctuary at Delphi every four years, two years after the Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and ...

. Athens initially opposed his membership on the council and refused to attend the games in protest, but they eventually accepted these conditions, perhaps after some persuasion by Demosthenes in his oration '' On the Peace''. Over the next few years, Philip II reformed local governments in Thessaly, campaigned against the Illyrian ruler

Pleuratus I Pleuratus I (Ancient Greek: Πλευρᾶτος; ruled 356335 ) was an Illyrian king of the Illyrian tribe of the Taulantii. Pleuratus was the father of Glaucias. Pleuratus managed to defeat philip II during Macedon's expansion, wounding the M ...

, deposed Arybbas in

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

in favor of his brother-in-law AlexanderI (through PhilipII's marriage to Olympias), and defeated Cersebleptes in Thrace. This allowed him to extend Macedonian control over the Hellespont in anticipation of an invasion into Achaemenid Anatolia. In 342BC, PhilipII conquered a Thracian city in what is now

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and renamed it Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv). War broke out with Athens in 340BC while PhilipII was engaged in two ultimately unsuccessful sieges of

Perinthus Perinthus or Perinthos ( grc, ἡ Πέρινθος) was a great and flourishing town of ancient Thrace, situated on the Propontis. According to John Tzetzes, it bore at an early period the name of Mygdonia (Μυγδονία). It lay 22 miles wes ...

and

Byzantion Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium' ...

, followed by a successful campaign against the Scythians along the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

and Macedonia's involvement in the

Fourth Sacred War Under the reign of Philip II (359–336 BC), the kingdom of Macedonia, initially at the periphery of classical Greek affairs, came to dominate Ancient Greece in the span of just 25 years, largely thanks to the personality and policies of its k ...

against Amphissa in 339BC. Thebes ejected a Macedonian garrison from Nicaea (near Thermopylae), leading Thebes to join Athens, Megara, Corinth, Achaea, and

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

in a final confrontation against Macedonia at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338BC. After the Macedonian victory at Chaeronea, PhilipII installed an

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

in Thebes, yet was lenient toward Athens, wishing to utilize their navy in a planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire. He was then chiefly responsible for the formation of the

League of Corinth The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was create ...

that included the major Greek city-states except Sparta. Despite the Kingdom of Macedonia's official exclusion from the league, in 337BC, PhilipII was elected as the leader (''

hegemon Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over other city-states. ...

'') of its council (''

synedrion A synedrion or synhedrion ( Greek: συνέδριον, "sitting together", hence " assembly" or "council"; he, סנהדרין, ''sanhedrin'') is an assembly that holds formal sessions. The Latinized form is synedrium. Depending on the widely varie ...

'') and the commander-in-chief ('' strategos autokrator'') of a forthcoming campaign to invade the Achaemenid Empire. Philip's plan to punish the Persians for the suffering of the Greeks and to liberate the Greek cities of Asia Minor as well as perhaps the panhellenic fear of another Persian invasion of Greece, contributed to his decision to invade the Achaemenid Empire. The Persians offered aid to Perinthus and Byzantion in 341–340BC, highlighting Macedonia's strategic need to secure Thrace and the Aegean Sea against increasing Achaemenid encroachment, as the Persian king

further consolidated his control over satrapies in western Anatolia. The latter region, yielding far more wealth and valuable resources than the Balkans, was also coveted by the Macedonian king for its sheer economic potential. When Philip II married Cleopatra Eurydice, niece of general Attalus, talk of providing new potential heirs at the wedding feast infuriated PhilipII's son Alexander, a veteran of the Battle of Chaeronea, and his mother Olympias. They fled together to Epirus before Alexander was recalled to Pella by PhilipII.; . When PhilipII arranged a marriage between his son Arrhidaeus and

Ada of Caria Ada of Caria ( grc, Ἄδα) (fl. 377 – 326 BC)377 BC is the date of her father's death: was a member of the House of Hecatomnus (the Hecatomnids) and ruler of Caria during the mid-4th century BC, first as Persian Satrap and later as Queen un ...

, daughter of

Pixodarus Pixodarus or Pixodaros (in Lycian 𐊓𐊆𐊜𐊁𐊅𐊀𐊕𐊀 ''Pixedara''; in Greek Πιξώδαρoς; ruled 340–334 BC), was a satrap of Caria, nominally the Achaemenid Empire Satrap, who enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue ...

, the Persian satrap of

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined ...

, Alexander intervened and proposed to marry Ada instead. PhilipII then cancelled the wedding altogether and exiled Alexander's advisors

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

, Nearchus, and

Harpalus Harpalus (Greek: Ἅρπαλος) son of Machatas was an aristocrat of Macedon and boyhood friend of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. Harpalus was repeatedly entrusted with official roles by Alexander and absconded three times with la ...

. To reconcile with Olympias, PhilipII had their daughter Cleopatra marry Olympias' brother (and Cleopatra's uncle) AlexanderI of Epirus, but PhilipII was assassinated by his bodyguard,

Pausanias of Orestis Pausanias of Orestis ( grc, Παυσανίας ἐκ τῆς Ὀρεστίδος) was a member of Philip II of Macedon's personal bodyguard (''somatophylakes''). He assassinated Philip in 336 BC, possibly at the behest of Philip's wife Olym ...

, during their wedding feast and succeeded by Alexander in 336BC.

Empire

Modern scholars have argued over the possible role of AlexanderIII "the Great" and his mother Olympias in the assassination of PhilipII, noting the latter's choice to exclude Alexander from his planned invasion of Asia, choosing instead for him to act as regent of Greece and deputy ''hegemon'' of the League of Corinth, and the potential bearing of another male heir between PhilipII and his new wife, Cleopatra Eurydice.; .
Without implicating

Alexander III of Macedon Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to t ...

as a potential suspect in the plot to assassinate

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

, N. G. L. Hammond and F. W. Walbank discuss possible Macedonian as well as foreign suspects, such as

and Darius III: . AlexanderIII () was immediately proclaimed king by an assembly of the army and leading aristocrats, chief among them being Antipater and Parmenion. By the end of his reign and military career in 323BC, Alexander would rule over an empire consisting of

, the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

, ancient Egypt,

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and much of Central and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

(i.e. modern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

). Among his first acts was the burial of his father at Aigai. The members of the League of Corinth revolted at the news of PhilipII's death, but were soon quelled by military force alongside persuasive diplomacy, electing Alexander as ''hegemon'' of the league to carry out the planned invasion of Achaemenid Persia. In 335 BC, Alexander fought against the Thracian tribe of the

Triballi The Triballi ( grc, Τριβαλλοί, Triballoí, lat, Triballi) were an ancient people who lived in northern Bulgaria in the region of Roman Oescus up to southeastern Serbia, possibly near the territory of the Morava Valley in the late Iron A ...

at Haemus Mons and along the

, forcing their surrender on

Peuce Island In ancient geography, Peuce ( grc, πεύκη, peúkē, pine tree) is a former island in the Danube Delta, in Scythia Minor (present-day Tulcea County, Romania). It was about the size of the island of Rhodes. The inhabitants of the island were ...

. Shortly thereafter, the Illyrian chieftain Cleitus, son of Bardylis, threatened to attack Macedonia with the aid of Glaucias, king of the

Taulantii Taulantii or Taulantians ('swallow-men'; Ancient Greek: , or , ; la, Taulantii) were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria (modern Albania). They dominated at various times much of the plain between the rivers ...

, but Alexander took the initiative and besieged the Illyrians at

Pelion Pelion or Pelium (Modern el, Πήλιο, ''Pílio''; Ancient Greek/ Katharevousa: Πήλιον, ''Pēlion'') is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in northern Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the ...

(in modern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

). When Thebes had once again revolted from the League of Corinth and was besieging the Macedonian garrison in the Cadmea, Alexander left the Illyrian front and marched to Thebes, which he placed under siege. After breaching the walls, Alexander's forces killed 6,000 Thebans, took 30,000 inhabitants as prisoners of war, and burned the city to the ground as a warning that convinced all other Greek states except Sparta not to challenge Alexander again. Throughout his military career, Alexander won every battle that he personally commanded. His first victory against the Persians in Asia Minor at the

Battle of the Granicus The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the Gr ...

in 334BC used a small cavalry contingent as a distraction to allow his infantry to cross the river followed by a

cavalry charge A charge is an offensive maneuver in battle in which combatants advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in a decisive close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decis ...

from his

companion cavalry The Companions ( el, , ''hetairoi'') were the elite cavalry of the Macedonian army from the time of king Philip II of Macedon, achieving their greatest prestige under Alexander the Great, and regarded as the first or among the first shock cav ...

.. Alexander led the cavalry charge at the

Battle of Issus The Battle of Issus (also Issos) occurred in southern Anatolia, on November 5, 333 BC between the Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III. It was the second great battle of Alexander's conquest of ...

in 333BC, forcing the Persian king Darius III and his army to flee. DariusIII, despite having superior numbers, was again forced to flee the

Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela (; grc, Γαυγάμηλα, translit=Gaugámela), also called the Battle of Arbela ( grc, Ἄρβηλα, translit=Árbela), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great ...

in 331BC. The Persian king was later captured and executed by his own satrap of Bactria and kinsman, Bessus, in 330BC. The Macedonian king subsequently hunted down and executed Bessus in what is now

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, securing the region of Sogdia in the process. At the 326BC

Battle of the Hydaspes The Battle of the Hydaspes was fought between Alexander the Great and king Porus in 326 BC. It took place on the banks of the Jhelum River (known to the ancient Greeks as Hydaspes) in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent (modern-day ...

(modern-day

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

), when the

war elephant A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elepha ...

s of

King Porus Porus or Poros ( grc, Πῶρος ; 326–321 BC) was an ancient Indian king whose territory spanned the region between the Jhelum River (Hydaspes) and Chenab River (Acesines), in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. He is only men ...

of the Pauravas threatened Alexander's troops, he had them form open ranks to surround the elephants and dislodge their handlers by using their ''sarissa'' pikes. When his Macedonian troops threatened mutiny in 324BC at

Opis Opis (Akkadian ''Upî'' or ''Upija''; grc, Ὦπις) was an ancient Babylonian city near the Tigris, not far from modern Baghdad. Akkadian and Greek texts indicate that it was located on the east side of the Tigris, near the Diyala River. T ...

, Babylonia (near modern

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

), Alexander offered Macedonian military titles and greater responsibilities to Persian officers and units instead, forcing his troops to seek forgiveness at a staged banquet of reconciliation between Persians and Macedonians. Stag hunt mosaic, Pella

Alexander perhaps undercut his own rule by demonstrating signs of megalomania. While utilizing effective propaganda such as the cutting of the Gordian Knot, he also attempted to portray himself as a living god and son of Zeus following his visit to the oracle at Siwah in the

Libyan Desert The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the north-eastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval maps, its use predates t ...

(in modern-day Egypt) in 331BC. His attempt in 327BC to have his men prostrate before him in

Bactra ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

in an act of ''

proskynesis Proskynesis or proscynesis , or proskinesis ( Greek , ''proskýnēsis''; Latin adoratio) is a solemn gesture of respect for the gods and people; among the Persians, it referred to a man prostrating himself and kissing the earth, or the lim ...

'' borrowed from the Persian kings was rejected as religious blasphemy by his Macedonian and Greek subjects after his court historian Callisthenes refused to perform this ritual.. When Alexander had Parmenion murdered at Ecbatana (near modern

Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) in 330BC, this was "symptomatic of the growing gulf between the king's interests and those of his country and people", according to Errington. His murder of

Cleitus the Black Cleitus the Black ( grc-gre, Κλεῖτος ὁ μέλας; c. 375 BC – 328 BC), was an officer of the Macedonian army led by Alexander the Great. He saved Alexander's life at the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC and was killed by him in a drun ...

in 328BC is described as "vengeful and reckless" by Dawn L. Gilley and Ian Worthington. Continuing the polygamous habits of his father, Alexander encouraged his men to marry native women in Asia, leading by example when he wed Roxana, a Sogdian princess of Bactria. He then married

Stateira II Stateira ( el, Στάτειρα; died 323 BC), possibly also known as Barsine, was the daughter of Stateira and Darius III of Persia. After her father's defeat at the Battle of Issus, Stateira and her sisters became captives of Alexander ...

, eldest daughter of DariusIII, and Parysatis II, youngest daughter of

, at the

Susa weddings The Susa weddings was a mass wedding arranged by Alexander the Great in 324 BC in the Persian city of Susa. Alexander intended to symbolically unite the Persian and Greek cultures, by taking a Persian wife himself and celebrating a mass wedding ...

in 324BC. Meanwhile, in Greece, the Spartan king Agis III attempted to lead a rebellion of the Greeks against Macedonia. He was defeated in 331BC at the Battle of Megalopolis by Antipater, who was serving as regent of Macedonia and deputy ''hegemon'' of the League of Corinth in Alexander's stead.; .
Gilley and Worthington discuss the ambiguity surrounding the exact title of Antipater aside from deputy ''

'' of the

, with some sources calling him a regent, others a governor, others a simple general.
N. G. L. Hammond and F. W. Walbank state that Alexander the Great left "Macedonia under the command of Antipater, in case there was a rising in Greece." . Before Antipater embarked on his campaign in the Peloponnese, Memnon, the governor of Thrace, was dissuaded from rebellion by use of diplomacy. Antipater deferred the punishment of Sparta to the League of Corinth headed by Alexander, who ultimately pardoned the Spartans on the condition that they submit fifty nobles as hostages. Antipater's hegemony was somewhat unpopular in Greece due to his practice (perhaps by order of Alexander) of exiling malcontents and garrisoning cities with Macedonian troops, yet in 330BC, Alexander declared that the tyrannies installed in Greece were to be abolished and Greek freedom was to be restored. Diadochi LA

When Alexander the Great died at Babylon in 323BC, his mother Olympias immediately accused Antipater and his faction of poisoning him, although there is no evidence to confirm this. With no official

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

, the Macedonian military command split, with one side proclaiming Alexander's half-brother PhilipIII Arrhidaeus () as king and the other siding with the infant son of Alexander and Roxana, AlexanderIV (). Except for the Euboeans and Boeotians, the Greeks also immediately rose up in a rebellion against Antipater known as the

Lamian War The Lamian War, or the Hellenic War (323–322 BC) was fought by a coalition of cities including Athens and the Aetolian League against Macedon and its ally Boeotia. The war broke out after the death of the King of Macedon, Alexander the Great, ...

(323–322BC). When Antipater was defeated at the 323BC Battle of Thermopylae, he fled to

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

where he was besieged by the Athenian commander

Leosthenes Leosthenes ( grc, Λεωσθένης Λεωσθένους Κεφαλῆθεν, Leōsthenēs Leōsthenous Kephalēthen; died 323 BC) was an Athenian who was commander of the combined Greek army in the Lamian War. Leosthenes was the son of his names ...

. A Macedonian army led by Leonnatus rescued Antipater by lifting the siege. Antipater defeated the rebellion, yet his death in 319BC left a power vacuum wherein the two proclaimed kings of Macedonia became pawns in a power struggle between the ''

'', the former generals of Alexander's army. A council of the army convened in Babylon immediately after Alexander's death, naming PhilipIII as king and the

chiliarch Chiliarch is a military rank dating back to antiquity. Originally denoting the commander of a unit of about one thousand men (a chiliarchy) in the Macedonian army, it was subsequently used as a Greek translation of a Persian officer who functioned ...

Perdiccas Perdiccas ( el, Περδίκκας, ''Perdikkas''; 355 BC – 321/320 BC) was a general of Alexander the Great. He took part in the Macedonian campaign against the Achaemenid Empire, and, following Alexander's death in 323 BC, rose to beco ...

as his regent. Antipater, Antigonus Monophthalmus,

Craterus Craterus or Krateros ( el, Κρατερός; c. 370 BC – 321 BC) was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. Throughout his life he was a loyal royalist and supporter of Alexander the Great.Anson, Edward M. (20 ...

, and Ptolemy formed a coalition against Perdiccas in a civil war initiated by Ptolemy's seizure of the hearse of Alexander the Great. Perdiccas was assassinated in 321BC by his own officers during a failed campaign in Egypt against Ptolemy, where his march along the Nile River resulted in the drowning of 2,000 of his men. Although

Eumenes of Cardia Eumenes (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης; c. 362316 BC) was a Greek general and satrap. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as both Alexander's personal secretary and as a battlefield commander. He later was a participant in th ...

managed to kill Craterus in battle, this had little to no effect on the outcome of the 321BC Partition of Triparadisus in Syria where the victorious coalition settled the issue of a new regency and territorial rights. Antipater was appointed as regent over the two kings. Before Antipater died in 319BC, he named the staunch Argead loyalist

Polyperchon Polyperchon (sometimes written Polysperchon; el, Πολυπέρχων; b. between 390–380 BCafter 382 BC according to Billows, R., 'Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State' (1990), p. 172, n. 20 – d. after 304 BC,Heckel ...

as his successor, passing over his own son

and ignoring the right of the king to choose a new regent (since PhilipIII was considered mentally unstable), in effect bypassing the council of the army as well. Forming an alliance with Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Lysimachus, Cassander had his officer Nicanor capture the

Munichia Munichia or Munychia (; el, Μουνιχία or Μουνυχία) is the ancient Greek name for a steep hill ( high) in Piraeus, Greece, known today as Kastella (Καστέλλα). This is a fashionable neighborhood in Piraeus. On the top of ...

fortress of Athens' port town

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

in defiance of Polyperchon's decree that Greek cities should be free of Macedonian garrisons, sparking the Second War of the Diadochi (319–315BC). Given a string of military failures by Polyperchon, in 317BC, PhilipIII, by way of his politically engaged wife

Eurydice II of Macedon Eurydice (Greek: Εὐρυδίκη ''Eurydike''; died 317 BC) was the Queen of Macedon, wife of Philip III, daughter of Amyntas IV, son of Perdiccas III, and Cynane, daughter of Philip II and his first wife Audata. Biography Early life Eurydic ...

, officially replaced him as regent with Cassander. Afterwards, Polyperchon desperately sought the aid of Olympias in Epirus.; . A joint force of Epirotes, Aetolians, and Polyperchon's troops invaded Macedonia and forced the surrender of PhilipIII and Eurydice's army, allowing Olympias to execute the king and force his queen to commit suicide. Olympias then had Nicanor and dozens of other Macedonian nobles killed, but by the spring of 316BC, Cassander had defeated her forces, captured her, and placed her on trial for murder before sentencing her to death. Cassander married Philip II's daughter Thessalonike and briefly extended Macedonian control into Illyria as far as Epidamnos (modern

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

, Albania). By 313BC, it was retaken by the Illyrian king

Glaucias of Taulantii Glaucias ( grc, Γλαυκίας; ruled c. 335 – c. 295 BC) was a ruler of the Taulantian kingdom which dominated southern Illyrian affairs in the second half of the 4th century BC. Glaucias is first mentioned as bringing a considerable for ...

. By 316BC, Antigonus had taken the territory of Eumenes and managed to eject Seleucus Nicator from his Babylonian satrapy, leading Cassander, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus to issue a joint ultimatum to Antigonus in 315BC for him to surrender various territories in Asia. Antigonus promptly allied with Polyperchon, now based in Corinth, and issued an ultimatum of his own to Cassander, charging him with murder for executing Olympias and demanding that he hand over the royal family, King AlexanderIV and the

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also u ...

Roxana. The conflict that followed lasted until the winter of 312/311BC, when a new peace settlement recognized Cassander as general of Europe, Antigonus as "first in Asia", Ptolemy as general of Egypt, and Lysimachus as general of Thrace. Cassander had AlexanderIV and Roxana put to death in the winter of 311/310BC, and between 306 and 305BC the ''diadochi'' were declared kings of their respective territories.

Hellenistic era

The beginning of

was defined by the struggle between the

Antipatrid dynasty The Antipatrid dynasty (; grc-gre, Ἀντιπατρίδαι) was a Dorian Greek dynasty of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon founded by Cassander, the son of Antipater, who declared himself King of Macedon in 302 BC. This dynasty did not l ...

, led first by

(), son of Antipater, and the Antigonid dynasty, led by the Macedonian general Antigonus I Monophthalmus () and his son, the future king DemetriusI (). Cassander besieged Athens in 303BC, but was forced to retreat to Macedonia when Demetrius invaded

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

to his rear, attempting to sever his path of retreat. While Antigonus and Demetrius attempted to recreate PhilipII's Hellenic league with themselves as dual hegemons, a revived coalition of Cassander,

Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy I Soter (; gr, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'' "Ptolemy the Savior"; c. 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great from the Kingdom of Macedo ...

() of Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty,

Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...

() of the Seleucid Empire, and Lysimachus (), King of Thrace, defeated the Antigonids at the Battle of Ipsus in 301BC, killing Antigonus and forcing Demetrius into flight. Cassander died in 297 BC, and his sickly son PhilipIV died the same year, succeeded by Cassander's other sons Alexander V of Macedon () and Antipater II of Macedon (), with their mother Thessalonike of Macedon acting as regent. While Demetrius fought against the Antipatrid forces in Greece, AntipaterII killed his own mother to obtain power. His desperate brother AlexanderV then requested aid from

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...

(), who had fought alongside Demetrius at the Battle of Ipsus, but was sent to Egypt as a hostage as part of an agreement between Demetrius and PtolemyI.. In exchange for defeating the forces of AntipaterII and forcing him to flee to the court of Lysimachus in Thrace, Pyrrhus was awarded the westernmost portions of the Macedonian kingdom. Demetrius had his nephew AlexanderV assassinated and was then proclaimed king of Macedonia, but his subjects protested against his aloof, Eastern-style autocracy.. War broke out between Pyrrhus and Demetrius in 290BC when Lanassa, wife of Pyrrhus, daughter of

Agathocles of Syracuse Agathocles ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθοκλῆς, ''Agathoklḗs''; 361–289 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse (317–289 BC) and self-styled king of Sicily (304–289 BC). Biography Agathocles was born at Thermae Himeraeae (modern na ...

, left him for Demetrius and offered him her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

Corcyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

. The war dragged on until 288BC, when Demetrius lost the support of the Macedonians and fled the country. Macedonia was then divided between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus, the former taking

western Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional uni ...

and the latter eastern Macedonia.; . By 286BC, Lysimachus had expelled Pyrrhus and his forces from Macedonia.; ; .
Conversely, Errington dates Lysimachus' reunification of Macedonia by expelling

as occurring in 284BC, not 286BC. In 282BC, a new war erupted between SeleucusI and Lysimachus; the latter was killed in the

Battle of Corupedion The Battle of Corupedium, also called Koroupedion, Corupedion or Curupedion ( grc, Κύρου πεδίον or Κόρου πεδίον, "the plain of Kyros or Koros") was the last battle between the Diadochi, the rival successors to Alexander the Gr ...

, allowing SeleucusI to take control of Thrace and Macedonia.; ; . In two dramatic reversals of fortune, SeleucusI was assassinated in 281BC by his officer

Ptolemy Keraunos Ptolemy Ceraunus ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Κεραυνός ; c. 319 BC – January/February 279 BC) was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and briefly king of Macedon. As the son of Ptolemy I Soter, he was originally heir to the thron ...

, son of PtolemyI and grandson of Antipater, who was then proclaimed king of Macedonia before being killed in battle in 279BC by Celtic invaders in the Gallic invasion of Greece. The Macedonian army proclaimed the general Sosthenes of Macedon as king, although he apparently refused the title. After defeating the Gallic ruler

Bolgios Bolgios (Greek Βόλγιος, also Bolgius, Belgius) was a Gaulish leader during the Gallic invasion of the Balkans who led an invasion of Macedon and Illyria in 279 BC, killing the Macedonian king Ptolemy Keraunos. He was part of a force of Gau ...

and driving out the raiding party of

Brennus Brennus or Brennos is the name of two Gaulish chieftains, famous in ancient history: * Brennus, chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe originating from the modern areas of France known as Seine-et-Marne, Loiret, and Yonne; in 387 BC, in t ...

, Sosthenes died and left a chaotic situation in Macedonia. The Gallic invaders ravaged Macedonia until

Antigonus Gonatas Antigonus II Gonatas ( grc-gre, Ἀντίγονος Γονατᾶς, ; – 239 BC) was a Macedonian ruler who solidified the position of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedon after a long period defined by anarchy and chaos and acquired fame for ...

, son of Demetrius, defeated them in Thrace at the 277BC

Battle of Lysimachia The Battle of Lysimachia was fought in 277 BC between the Gallic tribes settled in Thrace and a Greek army of Antigonus at Lysimachia, Thracian Chersonese. After the Greek defeat at Battle of Thermopylae, the Gauls retreated out of Greece and ...

and was then proclaimed king Antigonus II of Macedon (). In 280 BC, Pyrrhus embarked on a campaign in Magna Graecia (i.e. southern Italy) against the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

known as the

Pyrrhic War The Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans. A sk ...

, followed by his

invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

.; . Ptolemy Keraunos secured his position on the Macedonian throne by giving Pyrrhus five thousand soldiers and twenty

s for this endeavor. Pyrrhus returned to Epirus in 275BC after the ultimate failure of both campaigns, which contributed to the

rise of Rome The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman King ...

because Greek cities in southern Italy such as Tarentum now became Roman allies. Pyrrhus invaded Macedonia in 274BC, defeating the largely mercenary army of AntigonusII at the 274BC Battle of Aous and driving him out of Macedonia, forcing him to seek refuge with his naval fleet in the Aegean. Ancient Mieza, Macedonian tombs of Lefkadia, Tomb of Lyson and Kallikles a72b9b998c2e98a1390dbae9e032ea1c

Ancient Mieza, Macedonian tombs of Lefkadia, Tomb of Lyson and Kallikles a72b9b998c2e98a1390dbae9e032ea1c

Pyrrhus lost much of his support among the Macedonians in 273BC when his unruly Gallic mercenaries plundered the royal cemetery of Aigai. Pyrrhus pursued AntigonusII in the Peloponnese, yet AntigonusII was ultimately able to recapture Macedonia.. Pyrrhus was killed while besieging Argos in 272BC, allowing AntigonusII to reclaim the rest of Greece. He then restored the Argead dynastic graves at Aigai and annexed the Kingdom of Paeonia. The

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...

hampered AntigonusII's control over

central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

, and the formation of the

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

in 251BC pushed Macedonian forces out of much of the Peloponnese and at times incorporated Athens and Sparta. While the Seleucid Empire aligned with Antigonid Macedonia against Ptolemaic Egypt during the Syrian Wars, the Ptolemaic navy heavily disrupted AntigonusII's efforts to control mainland Greece. With the aid of the Ptolemaic navy, the Athenian statesman Chremonides led a revolt against Macedonian authority known as the

Chremonidean War The Chremonidean War (267–261 BC) was fought by a coalition of some Greek city-states and Ptolemaic Egypt against Antigonid Macedonian domination. It ended in a Macedonian victory which confirmed Antigonid control over the city-states of Gr ...

(267–261BC). By 265BC, Athens was surrounded and besieged by AntigonusII's forces, and a Ptolemaic fleet was defeated in the

Battle of Cos The Battle of Cos was fought in , or as late as 255 BC, between an Antigonid fleet and a Ptolemaic fleet. Antigonus II Gonatas led his forces to victory, possibly over Patroclus, admiral of Ptolemy II. It has been widely assumed that the battl ...

. Athens finally surrendered in 261BC. After Macedonia formed an alliance with the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II, a peace settlement between AntigonusII and Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt was finally struck in 255BC.. Apollon Tempel im antiken Korinth

In 251 BC,

Aratus of Sicyon Aratus of Sicyon (Ancient Greek: Ἄρατος ὁ Σικυώνιος; 271–213 BC) was a politician and military commander of Hellenistic Greece. He was elected strategos of the Achaean League 17 times, leading the League through numerous m ...

led a rebellion against AntigonusII, and in 250BC, PtolemyII declared his support for the self-proclaimed King

Alexander of Corinth Alexander ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος) (died 247 BC) was a Macedonian governor and tyrant of Corinth. He was the son of Craterus who had faithfully governed Corinth and Chalcis for his half-brother Antigonus II Gonatas. His grandmother was Phila, ...

. Although Alexander died in 246BC and Antigonus was able to score a naval victory against the Ptolemies at Andros, the Macedonians lost the

Acrocorinth Acrocorinth ( el, Ακροκόρινθος), "Upper Corinth", the acropolis of ancient Corinth, is a monolithic rock overseeing the ancient city of Corinth, Greece. In the estimation of George Forrest, "It is the most impressive of the acropolis ...

to the forces of Aratus in 243BC, followed by the induction of Corinth into the Achaean League. AntigonusII made peace with the Achaean League in 240BC, ceding the territories that he had lost in Greece. AntigonusII died in 239BC and was succeeded by his son Demetrius II of Macedon (). Seeking an alliance with Macedonia to defend against the Aetolians, the

and regent of Epirus, Olympias II, offered her daughter Phthia of Macedon to DemetriusII in marriage. Demetrius II accepted her proposal, but he damaged relations with the Seleucids by divorcing

Stratonice of Macedon Stratonice ( el, Στρατονίκη, ''Stratoníkē''; lived in the 3rd century BC) of Macedonia was the daughter of Stratonice of Syria and of the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter (281–261 BC). She was married to Demetrius II (239–229 ...

. Although the Aetolians formed an alliance with the Achaean League as a result, DemetriusII was able to invade Boeotia and capture it from the Aetolians by 236BC.. The Achaean League managed to capture

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...

in 235BC, and by the end of DemetriusII's reign most of the Peloponnese except Argos was taken from the Macedonians. DemetriusII also lost an ally in Epirus when the monarchy was toppled in a republican revolution.; . DemetriusII enlisted the aid of the Illyrian king Agron to defend Acarnania against Aetolia, and in 229BC, they managed to defeat the combined navies of the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues at the Battle of Paxos. Another Illyrian ruler, Longarus of the Dardanian Kingdom, invaded Macedonia and defeated an army of DemetriusII shortly before his death in 229BC. Although his young son Philip immediately inherited the throne, his regent Antigonus III Doson (), nephew of AntigonusII, was proclaimed king by the army, with Philip as his heir, following a string of military victories against the Illyrians in the north and the Aetolians in Thessaly. Tetradrachm, 229-221, Antigonos Doson

Aratus sent an embassy to Antigonus III in 226BC seeking an unexpected alliance now that the reformist king

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III ( grc, Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to ...

of Sparta was threatening the rest of Greece in the Cleomenean War (229–222BC). In exchange for military aid, AntigonusIII demanded the return of Corinth to Macedonian control, which Aratus finally agreed to in 225BC. In 224BC, AntigonusIII's forces took Arcadia from Sparta. After forming a Hellenic league in the same vein as PhilipII's League of Corinth, he managed to defeat Sparta at the Battle of Sellasia in 222BC. Sparta was occupied by a foreign power for the first time in its history, restoring Macedonia's position as the leading power in Greece. Antigonus died a year later, perhaps from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

, leaving behind a strong Hellenistic kingdom for his successor PhilipV.

Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...

() faced immediate challenges to his authority by the Illyrian

Dardani The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...

and Aetolian League. PhilipV and his allies were successful against the Aetolians and their allies in the

Social War (220–217 BC) The Social War, also War of the Allies and the Aetolian War, was fought from 220 BC to 217 BC between the Hellenic League under Philip V of Macedon and the Aetolian League, Sparta and Elis. It was ended with the Peace of Naupactus. Backgroun ...

, yet he made peace with the Aetolians once he heard of incursions by the Dardani in the north and the Carthaginian victory over the Romans at the

Battle of Lake Trasimene The Battle of Lake Trasimene was fought when a Carthaginian force under Hannibal ambushed a Roman army commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC, during the Second Punic War. It took place on the north shore of Lake Trasimene, to th ...

in 217BC.

Demetrius of Pharos Demetrius of Pharos (also Pharus) ( grc, Δημήτριος ἐκ Φάρου and Δημήτριος ὁ Φάριος) was a ruler of Pharos involved in the First Illyrian War, after which he ruled a portion of the Illyrian Adriatic coast on behalf ...

is alleged to have convinced PhilipV to first secure Illyria in advance of an invasion of the Italian peninsula.; see also for further details.
Errington is skeptical that Philip V at this point had any intentions of invading southern Italy via Illyria once the latter was secured, deeming his plans to be "more modest", . In 216BC, PhilipV sent a hundred light warships into the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

to attack Illyria, a move that prompted Scerdilaidas of the Ardiaean Kingdom to appeal to the Romans for aid. Rome responded by sending ten heavy quinqueremes from Roman Sicily to patrol the Illyrian coasts, causing PhilipV to reverse course and order his fleet to retreat, averting open conflict for the time being.

Conflict with Rome

In 215 BC, at the height of the Second Punic War with the

Carthaginian Empire Carthage () was a settlement in modern Tunisia that later became a city-state and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, Carthage reached its height in the fourth century BC as one of the largest metropolises in t ...

, Roman authorities intercepted a ship off the Calabrian coast holding a Macedonian envoy and a Carthaginian ambassador in possession of a treaty composed by Hannibal declaring an alliance with PhilipV. The treaty stipulated that

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...

had the sole right to negotiate the terms of Rome's hypothetical surrender and promised mutual aid if a resurgent Rome should seek revenge against either Macedonia or Carthage. Although the Macedonians were perhaps only interested in safeguarding their newly conquered territories in Illyria, the Romans were nevertheless able to thwart whatever grand ambitions PhilipV had for the Adriatic region during the First Macedonian War (214–205BC). In 214BC, Rome positioned a

naval fleet A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land. Purpose In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but not ne ...

at Oricus, which was assaulted along with Apollonia by Macedonian forces. When the Macedonians captured Lissus in 212BC, the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

responded by inciting the Aetolian League, Sparta,

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

, and

Attalus I Attalus I ( grc, Ἄτταλος Α΄), surnamed ''Soter'' ( el, , "Savior"; 269–197 BC) ruled Pergamon, an Ionian Greek polis (what is now Bergama, Turkey), first as dynast, later as king, from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the fi ...

() of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

to wage war against PhilipV, keeping him occupied and away from Italy. The Aetolian League concluded a peace agreement with PhilipV in 206BC, and the

negotiated the

Treaty of Phoenice The Treaty of Phoenice, also known as the Peace of Phoenice, was a treaty''Hannibal's War: A Military History of the Second Punic War'' by J. F. Lazenby, , 1998, page 178, "... the two belligerents with peace proposals, both were more than ready to ...

in 205BC, ending the war and allowing the Macedonians to retain some captured settlements in Illyria. Although the Romans rejected an Aetolian request in 202BC for Rome to declare war on Macedonia once again, the Roman Senate gave serious consideration to the similar offer made by Pergamon and its ally

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

in 201BC. These states were concerned about PhilipV's alliance with

Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the res ...

of the Seleucid Empire, which invaded the war-weary and financially exhausted Ptolemaic Empire in the

Fifth Syrian War The Syrian Wars were a series of six wars between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, successor states to Alexander the Great's empire, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC over the region then called Coele-Syria, one of th ...

(202–195BC) as PhilipV captured Ptolemaic settlements in the Aegean Sea. Although Rome's envoys played a critical role in convincing Athens to join the anti-Macedonian alliance with Pergamon and Rhodes in 200BC, the ''

comitia centuriata The Centuriate Assembly (Latin: ''comitia centuriata'') of the Roman Republic was one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the Centuriate Assembly as it originally divided Roman citizens into groups of one hundred ...

'' (people's assembly) rejected the Roman Senate's proposal for a declaration of war on Macedonia. Meanwhile, PhilipV conquered territories in the Hellespont and

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

as well as Ptolemaic

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

, which led Rhodes to form an alliance with Pergamon, Byzantium,

Cyzicus Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peni ...

, and

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

against Macedonia. Despite PhilipV's nominal alliance with the Seleucid king, he lost the naval Battle of Chios in 201BC and was blockaded at Bargylia by the Rhodian and Pergamene navies.

While Philip V was busy fighting Rome's Greek allies, Rome viewed this as an opportunity to punish this former ally of Hannibal with a war that they hoped would supply a victory and require few resources..
: "Roman desire for revenge and private hopes of famous victories were probably the decisive reasons for the outbreak of the war." The Roman Senate demanded that PhilipV cease hostilities against neighboring Greek powers and defer to an international arbitration committee for settling grievances. When the ''comitia centuriata'' finally voted in approval of the Roman Senate's declaration of war in 200BC and handed their

ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series ...

to PhilipV, demanding that a

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

assess the damages owed to Rhodes and Pergamon, the Macedonian king rejected it. This marked the beginning of the

Second Macedonian War The Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. Philip was defeated and was forced to abandon all possessions in southern Greece, Thrace and Asia Min ...

(200–197BC), with Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus spearheading

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations ma ...

s in Apollonia. The Macedonians successfully defended their territory for roughly two years, but the

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

Titus Quinctius Flamininus Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 228 – 174 BC) was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. Family background Flamininus belonged to the minor patrician '' gens'' Quinctia. The family had a glorious plac ...

managed to expel PhilipV from Macedonia in 198BC, forcing his men to take refuge in Thessaly.. When the Achaean League switched their loyalties from Macedonia to Rome, the Macedonian king sued for peace, but the terms offered were considered too stringent, and so the war continued. In June 197BC, the Macedonians were defeated at the

Battle of Cynoscephalae The Battle of Cynoscephalae ( el, Μάχη τῶν Κυνὸς Κεφαλῶν) was an encounter battle fought in Thessaly in 197 BC between the Roman army, led by Titus Quinctius Flamininus, and the Antigonid dynasty of Macedon, led by Phil ...

. Rome then ratified a treaty that forced Macedonia to relinquish control of much of its Greek possessions outside of Macedonia proper, if only to act as a buffer against Illyrian and Thracian incursions into Greece. Although some Greeks suspected Roman intentions of supplanting Macedonia as the new hegemonic power in Greece, Flaminius announced at the

Isthmian Games Isthmian Games or Isthmia (Ancient Greek: Ἴσθμια) were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were named after the Isthmus of Corinth, where they were held. As with the Nemean Games, the Isthmian Games were held both the year b ...

of 196BC that Rome intended to preserve Greek

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

by leaving behind no garrisons and by not exacting

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

of any kind. His promise was delayed by negotiations with the Spartan king

Nabis Nabis ( grc-gre, Νάβις) was the last king of independent Sparta. He was probably a member of the Heracleidae, and he ruled from 207 BC to 192 BC, during the years of the First and Second Macedonian Wars and the eponymous " War against Nab ...

, who had meanwhile captured Argos, yet Roman forces evacuated Greece in 194BC. Encouraged by the Aetolian League and their calls to liberate Greece from the Romans, the Seleucid king AntiochusIII landed with his army at

Demetrias Demetrias ( grc, Δημητριάς) was a Greek city in Magnesia in ancient Thessaly (east central Greece), situated at the head of the Pagasaean Gulf, near the modern city of Volos. History It was founded in 294 BCE by Demetrius Polior ...

, Thessaly, in 192BC, and was elected ''strategos'' by the Aetolians. Macedonia, the Achaean League, and other Greek city-states maintained their alliance with Rome. The Romans defeated the Seleucids in the 191BC Battle of Thermopylae as well as the

Battle of Magnesia The Battle of Magnesia took place in either December 190 or January 189 BC. It was fought as part of the Roman–Seleucid War, pitting forces of the Roman Republic led by the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and the allied Kingdom of Pe ...

in 190BC, forcing the Seleucids to pay a

war indemnity War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. R ...

, dismantle most of its navy, and abandon its claims to any territories north or west of the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...

in the 188BC

Treaty of Apamea The Treaty of Apamea was a peace treaty conducted in 188 BC between the Roman Republic and Antiochus III, ruler of the Seleucid Empire. It ended the Roman–Seleucid War. The treaty took place after Roman victories at the Battle of Thermopylae ...

. With Rome's acceptance, PhilipV was able to capture some cities in central Greece in 191–189BC that had been allied to AntiochusIII, while Rhodes and

Eumenes II Eumenes II Soter (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης Σωτήρ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. Biography The eldest son of king Attalus ...

() of Pergamon gained territories in Asia Minor. Failing to please all sides in various territorial disputes, the Roman Senate decided in 184/183BC to force PhilipV to abandon Aenus and Maronea, since these had been declared free cities in the Treaty of Apamea.; ; .
Bringmann dates this event of handing over Aenus and Maronea along the

coast as 183BC, while Eckstein dates it as 184BC. This assuaged the fear of EumenesII that Macedonia could pose a threat to his lands in the Hellespont.

Perseus of Macedon Perseus ( grc-gre, Περσεύς; 212 – 166 BC) was the last king (''Basileus'') of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great. He was the last Antigonid to rule Macedon, aft ...

() succeeded PhilipV and executed his brother Demetrius, who had been favored by the Romans but was charged by Perseus with

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. Perseus then attempted to form marriage alliances with

Prusias II of Bithynia Prusias II Cynegus (Greek: Προυσίας ὁ Κυνηγός; "the Hunter", c. 220 BC – 149 BC, reigned c. 182 BC – 149 BC) was the Greek king of Bithynia. He was the son and successor of Prusias I and Apama III. Life Prusias was ...

and

Seleucus IV Philopator Seleucus IV Philopator (Greek: Σέλευκος Φιλοπάτωρ; c. 218 – 3 September 175 BC), ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 187 BC to 175 BC over a realm consisting of Syria (now including Cilicia and Judea), Mesop ...

of the Seleucid Empire, along with renewed relations with Rhodes that greatly unsettled EumenesII. Although EumenesII attempted to undermine these diplomatic relationships, Perseus fostered an alliance with the Boeotian League, extended his authority into Illyria and Thrace, and in 174BC, won the role of managing the Temple of Apollo at Delphi as a member of the Amphictyonic Council. Eumenes II came to Rome in 172 BC and delivered a speech to the Senate denouncing the alleged crimes and transgressions of Perseus. This convinced the Roman Senate to declare the

(171–168BC).; see also , who says that "Rome ... as the sole remaining superpower ... would not accept Macedonia as a peer competitor or equal."
Klaus Bringmann asserts that negotiations with Macedonia were completely ignored due to Rome's " political calculation" that the Macedonian kingdom had to be destroyed to ensure the elimination of the "supposed source of all the difficulties which Rome was having in the Greek world". Although Perseus's forces were victorious against the Romans at the

Battle of Callinicus The Battle of Callinicus ( el, μάχη του Καλλίνικου) was fought in 171 BC between the Kingdom of Macedon and the Roman Republic near a hill called Callinicus, close to the Roman camp at Tripolis Larisaia, five kilometres north ...

in 171BC, the Macedonian army was defeated at the Battle of Pydna in June 168BC. Perseus fled to

Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...

but surrendered shortly afterwards, was brought to

for the

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (c. 229 – 160 BC) was a two-time consul of the Roman Republic and a general who conquered Macedon, putting an end to the Antigonid dynasty in the Third Macedonian War. Family Paullus' father was Luciu ...

, and was placed under house arrest at

Alba Fucens Alba Fucens was an ancient Italic town occupying a lofty location (1,000 m) at the foot of the Monte Velino, c. 6.5 km north of Avezzano, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its remains are today in the ''comune'' of Massa d'Albe. History It was ...

, where he died in 166BC. The Romans abolished the Macedonian monarchy by installing four separate allied republics in its stead, their capitals located at

, and Pelagonia.; ; ; see also for further details. The Romans imposed severe laws inhibiting many social and economic interactions between the inhabitants of these republics, including the banning of marriages between them and the (temporary) prohibition on gold and silver mining. A certain

Andriscus Andriscus ( grc, Ἀνδρίσκος, ''Andrískos''; 154/153 BC – 146 BC), also often referenced as Pseudo-Philip, was a Greek pretender who became the last independent king of Macedon in 149 BC as Philip VI ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος, ''Phil ...

, claiming Antigonid descent, rebelled against the Romans and was pronounced king of Macedonia, defeating the army of the Roman

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

Publius Juventius Thalna during the

(150–148BC). Despite this, Andriscus was defeated in 148BC at the second Battle of Pydna by

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic during the second century BC. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, the Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC an ...

, whose forces occupied the kingdom. This was followed in 146BC by the Roman destruction of Carthage and victory over the Achaean League at the Battle of Corinth, ushering in the era of

Roman Greece Greece in the Roman era describes the Roman conquest of Greece, as well as the period of Greek history when Greece was dominated first by the Roman Republic and then by the Roman Empire. The Roman era of Greek history began with the Corinthian ...

and the gradual establishment of the

Roman province of Macedonia Macedonia ( grc-gre, Μακεδονία) was a province of the Roman Empire, encompassing the territory of the former Antigonid Kingdom of Macedonia, which had been conquered by Rome in 168 BC at the conclusion of the Third Macedonian War. The pr ...

Institutions

Division of power

At the head of Macedonia's government was the king ('' basileus'').Written evidence about Macedonian governmental institutions made before

's reign is both rare and non-Macedonian in origin. The main sources of early Macedonian historiography are the works of

, Diodorus Siculus, and

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

. Contemporary accounts given by those such as

were often hostile and unreliable; even

, who lived in Macedonia, provides us with terse accounts of its governing institutions.

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

was a contemporary historian who wrote about Macedonia; later historians include

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

, Quintus Curtius Rufus,

, and Arrian. The works of these historians affirm Macedonia's

hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is a form of government and succession of power in which the throne passes from one member of a ruling family to another member of the same family. A series of rulers from the same family would constitute a dynasty. It is h ...

and basic institutions, yet it remains unclear if there was an established

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

for Macedonian government. See: .
However, N. G. L. Hammond and F. W. Walbank write with apparent certainty and conviction when describing the Macedonian constitutional government restricting the king and involving a

popular assembly A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Assemblies tend to be freely open to participation and operate by direct democracy. Some assemblies are of people from a location ...

of the army. See: .
The main textual primary sources for the organization of Macedonia's military as it existed under Alexander the Great include Arrian, Curtis, Diodorus, and Plutarch; modern historians rely mostly on Polybius and

for understanding detailed aspects of the Antigonid-period military. On this, writes: "... to this we can add the evidence provided by two magnificent archaeological monuments, the '

Alexander Sarcophagus The Alexander Sarcophagus is a late 4th century BC Hellenistic stone sarcophagus from the necropolis near Sidon, Lebanon. It is adorned with bas-relief carvings of Alexander the Great and scrolling historical and mythological narratives. The ...

' in particular and the '

Alexander Mosaic The ''Alexander Mosaic,'' also known as the ''Battle of Issus Mosaic'', is a Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii (an alleged imitation of a Philoxenus of Eretria or Apelles' painting, 4th century BC) that dates ...

'... In the case of the Antigonid army ... valuable additional details are occasionally supplied by

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

and

, and by a series of inscriptions preserving sections of two sets of army regulations issued by

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

." From at least the reign of PhilipII, the king was assisted by the

s (''basilikoi paides''), bodyguards (''

somatophylakes ''Somatophylakes'' ( el, Σωματοφύλακες; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece. The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon a ...

''), companions ('' hetairoi''), friends (''

philoi ''Philoi'' ( grc, φίλοι; plural of φίλος ''philos'' "friend") is a word that roughly translates to "friend." This type of friendship is based on the characteristically Greek value for reciprocity as opposed to a friendship that exists as ...

''), an assembly that included members of the military, and (during the Hellenistic period)

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

s. Evidence is lacking regarding the extent to which each of these groups shared authority with the king or if their existence had a basis in a formal constitutional framework.; for an argument about the absolutism of the Macedonian monarchy, see .
However, N. G. L. Hammond and F. W. Walbank write with apparent certainty and conviction when describing the Macedonian constitutional government restricting the king and involving a

of the army. . Before the reign of PhilipII, the only institution supported by textual evidence is the monarchy..
In 1931 Friedrich Granier was the first to propose that by the time of Philip II's reign, Macedonia had a constitutional government with laws that delegated rights and customary privileges to certain groups, especially to its citizen soldiers, although the majority of evidence for the army's alleged right to appoint a new king and judge cases of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

stems from the reign of

. See and .
Pietro De Francisci was the first to refute Granier's ideas and advance the theory that the Macedonian government was an autocracy ruled by the whim of the monarch, although this issue of kingship and governance is still unresolved in academia. See: as well as and for further details.

Kingship and the royal court

The earliest known government of ancient Macedonia was that of its

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

, lasting until 167BC when it was abolished by the Romans.. The Macedonian hereditary monarchy existed since at least the time of

Archaic Greece Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history lasting from circa 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period. In the archaic period, Greeks settled across the ...

, with Homeric aristocratic roots in

Mycenaean Greece Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in ...

. Thucydides wrote that in previous ages, Macedonia was divided into small tribal regions, each having its own

petty king A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into t ...

, the tribes of

eventually coalescing under one great king who exercised power as an overlord over the lesser kings of Upper Macedonia.. The direct line of father-to-son succession was broken after the assassination of

Orestes of Macedon Orestes of Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founde ...

in 396BC (allegedly by his

and successor Aeropus II of Macedon), clouding the issue of whether primogeniture was the established custom or if there was a constitutional right for an assembly of the army or

of the people ''Of the People'' is a 2008 Indian Malayalam-language vigilante film directed and produced by Jayaraj. It is a sequel to ''4 the People ''4 the People'' is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language vigilante thriller film directed by Jayaraj and w ...

to choose another king. It is unclear if the male offspring of Macedonian queens or

consorts __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

were always preferred over others given the accession of

Archelaus I of Macedon Archelaus I (; grc-gre, Ἀρχέλαος ) was a king of the kingdom of Macedonia from 413 to 399 BC. He was a capable and beneficent ruler, known for the sweeping changes he made in state administration, the military, and commerce. By the t ...

, son of

Perdiccas II of Macedon Perdiccas II ( gr, Περδίκκας, Perdíkkas) was a king of Macedonia from c. 448 BC to c. 413 BC. During the Peloponnesian War, he frequently switched sides between Sparta and Athens. Family Perdiccas II was the son of Alexander I, he had ...

and a slave woman, although Archelaus succeeded the throne after murdering his father's designated

It is known that Macedonian kings before PhilipII upheld the privileges and carried out the responsibilities of hosting foreign diplomats, determining the kingdom's foreign policies, and negotiating alliances with foreign powers.. After the Greek victory at Salamis in 480BC, the Persian commander Mardonius had Alexander I of Macedon sent to Athens as a chief envoy to orchestrate an alliance between the Achaemenid Empire and

. The decision to send Alexander was based on his

marriage alliance A marriage of state is a diplomatic marriage or union between two members of different nation-states or internally, between two power blocs, usually in authoritarian societies and is a practice which dates back into ancient times, as far back as ear ...

with a noble Persian house and his previous formal relationship with the city-state of Athens. With their ownership of natural resources including gold, silver, timber, and royal land, the early Macedonian kings were also capable of

bribing Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...

foreign and domestic parties with impressive gifts.. Little is known about the

judicial system The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

of ancient Macedonia except that the king acted as the

chief judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the kingdom. The Macedonian kings were also supreme commanders of the military.; ; early evidence for this includes not only Alexander I's role as a commander in the

Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the ...

but also the city-state of Potidaea's acceptance of

as their commander-in-chief during their rebellion against the Delian League of Athens in 432 BC. PhilipII was also highly regarded for his acts of piety in serving as the high priest of the nation. He performed daily

ritual sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

s and led

religious festival A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar. The science of religious rites and festivals is known ...

s.. Alexander imitated various aspects of his father's reign, such as granting land and gifts to loyal aristocratic followers, but lost some core support among them for adopting some of the trappings of an Eastern, Persian monarch, a "lord and master" as Carol J. King suggests, instead of a "comrade-in-arms" as was the traditional relationship of Macedonian kings with their companions. Alexander's father, PhilipII, was perhaps influenced by Persian traditions when he adopted institutions similar to those found in the Achaemenid realm, such as having a royal secretary, royal archive, royal pages, and a seated

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the mona ...

Royal pages

The

s were adolescent boys and young men

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

from aristocratic households and serving the kings of Macedonia perhaps from the reign of PhilipII onward, although more solid evidence dates to the reign of Alexander the Great..
According to Carol J. King, there was no "certain reference" to this institutional group until the

military campaigns of Alexander the Great The wars of Alexander the Great were a series of conquests that were carried out by Alexander III of Macedon from 336 BC to 323 BC. They began with battles against the Achaemenid Persian Empire, then under the rule of Darius III of Persia. ...

in Asia..
However, N. G. L. Hammond and F. W. Walbank state that the

s are attested to as far back as the reign of

. . Royal pages played no direct role in high politics and were conscripted as a means to introduce them to political life.. After a period of training and service, pages were expected to become members of the king's companions and personal retinue.. During their training, pages were expected to guard the king as he slept, supply him with horses, aid him in mounting his horse, accompany him on royal hunts, and serve him during ''

symposia ''Symposia'' is a genus of South American araneomorph spiders in the family Cybaeidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1898. Species it contains six species in Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic o ...

'' (i.e. formal drinking parties). Although there is little evidence for royal pages in the Antigonid period, it is known that some of them fled with

following his defeat by the Romans in 168BC.

Bodyguards

Royal bodyguards served as the closest members to the king at court and on the battlefield. They were split into two categories: the ''

agema Agema ( el, Ἄγημα) is a term to describe a military detachment, used for a special cause, such as guarding high valued targets. Due to its nature the ''Agema'' most probably comprised elite troops. Etymology The word derives from the Greek ...

'' of the ''

hypaspistai A hypaspist ( el, Ὑπασπιστής "shield bearer" or "shield covered") is a squire, man at arms, or "shield carrier". In Homer, Deiphobos advances "" () or under cover of his shield. By the time of Herodotus (426 BC), the word had come ...

'', a type of ancient special forces usually numbering in the hundreds, and a smaller group of men handpicked by the king either for their individual merits or to honor the noble families to which they belonged. Therefore, the bodyguards, limited in number and forming the king's inner circle, were not always responsible for protecting the king's life on and off the battlefield; their title and office was more a mark of distinction, perhaps used to quell rivalries between aristocratic houses.

Companions, friends, councils, and assemblies

The companions, including the elite

and ''

pezhetairoi The pezhetairoi (Greek: , singular: ''pezhetairos)'' were the backbone of the Macedonian army and Diadochi kingdoms. They were literally "foot companions" (in Greek, ''pezos'' means "pedestrian" and ''hetairos'' means "companion" or "friend"). ...

'' infantry, represented a substantially larger group than the king's bodyguards..
The ranks of the companions were greatly increased during the reign of Philip II when he expanded this institution to include Upper Macedonian aristocrats as well as Greeks. See: . The most trusted or highest ranking companions formed a council that served as an advisory body to the king. A small amount of evidence suggests the existence of an assembly of the army during times of war and a people's assembly during times of peace.: the first recorded instance dates to 359 BC, when Philip II called together assemblies to address them with a speech and raise their morale following the death of

Perdiccas III of Macedon Perdiccas III (Greek: Περδίκκας Γ΄) was king of the Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 365 BC to 360 BC, succeeding his brother Alexander II. Son of Amyntas III and Eurydice, he was a child when in 369 BCE his brother Alexander II was k ...

in battle against the Illyrians. Members of the council had the right to speak freely, and although there is no direct evidence that they voted on affairs of state, it is clear that the king was at least occasionally pressured to agree to their demands. The assembly was apparently given the right to judge cases of

and assign punishments for them, such as when Alexander the Great acted as

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

in the trial and conviction of three alleged conspirators in his father's assassination plot (while many others were acquitted). However, there is perhaps insufficient evidence to allow a conclusion that councils and assemblies were regularly upheld or constitutionally grounded, or that their decisions were always heeded by the king. At the death of Alexander the Great, the companions immediately formed a council to assume control of his empire, but it was soon destabilized by open rivalry and conflict between its members. The army also used mutiny as a tool to achieve political ends.For instance, when

had Philip II's daughter

Cynane Cynane ( el, Kυνάνη, ''Kynane'' or , ''Kyna''; killed 323 BC) was half-sister to Alexander the Great, and daughter of Philip II by Audata, an Illyrian princess. She is estimated to have been born in 357 BC. Biography According to Polyaenus ...

murdered to prevent her own daughter

from marrying

Philip III of Macedon Philip III Arrhidaeus ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος Ἀρριδαῖος ; c. 359 BC – 25 December 317 BC) reigned as king of Macedonia an Ancient Greek Kingdom in northern Greece from after 11 June 323 BC until his death. He was a son of King P ...

, the army revolted and ensured that the marriage took place. See and for details.

Magistrates, the commonwealth, local government, and allied states

Antigonid Macedonian kings relied on various regional officials to conduct affairs of state.. This included high-ranking municipal officials, such as the military '' strategos'' and the

politarch Politarch ( el, πολιτάρχης, ''politarches''; plural πολιτάρχαι, ''politarchai'') was a Hellenistic and Roman-era Macedonian title for an elected governor (''archon'') of a city (''polis''). The term had been already attested in ...

, i.e. the elected governor ('' archon'') of a large city (''

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

''), as well as the politico-religious office of the ''

epistates An ( gr, ἐπιστάτης, plural ἐπιστάται, ) in ancient Greece was any sort of superintendent or overseer. In the Hellenistic kingdoms generally, an is always connected with a subject district (a regional assembly), where the , as ...

''..
Although these were highly influential members of local and regional government, Carol J. King asserts that they were not collectively powerful enough to formally challenge the authority of the Macedonian king or his right to rule. No evidence exists about the personal backgrounds of these officials, although they may have been chosen among the same group of aristocratic ''philoi'' and ''hetairoi'' who filled vacancies for army officers.. In ancient Athens, the Athenian democracy was restored on three separate occasions following the initial conquest of the city by Antipater in 322BC. When it fell repeatedly under Macedonian rule it was governed by a Macedonian-imposed

composed of the wealthiest members of the city-state.: under Antipater's oligarchy, the lower value in terms of property for acceptable members of the oligarchy was 2,000 ''

drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fr ...

''. Athenian democracy was restored briefly after Antipater's death in 319 BC, yet his son

reconquered the city, which came under the regency of

Demetrius of Phalerum Demetrius of Phalerum (also Demetrius of Phaleron or Demetrius Phalereus; grc-gre, Δημήτριος ὁ Φαληρεύς; c. 350 – c. 280 BC) was an Athenian orator originally from Phalerum, an ancient port of Athens. A student of Theophrast ...

. Demetrius lowered the property limit for oligarchic members to 1,000 ''drachma'', yet by 307 BC he was exiled from the city and

direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...

was restored.

Demetrius I of Macedon Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to the Antigonid dynas ...

reconquered Athens in 295 BC, yet democracy was once again restored in 287 BC with the aid of

Ptolemy I of Egypt Ptolemy I Soter (; gr, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'' "Ptolemy the Savior"; c. 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great from the Kingdom of Macedon ...

. Antigonus II Gonatas, son of Demetrius I, reconquered Athens in 260 BC, followed by a succession of Macedonian kings ruling over Athens until the

conquered both Macedonia and then

by 146 BC. Other city-states were handled quite differently and were allowed a greater degree of autonomy. After PhilipII conquered Amphipolis in 357BC, the city was allowed to retain its

, including its constitution,

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

('' boule''), and yearly

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s for new officials, but a Macedonian garrison was housed within the city walls along with a Macedonian royal commissioner (''epistates'') to monitor the city's political affairs. Philippi, the city founded by PhilipII, was the only other city in the Macedonian commonwealth that had a democratic government with popular assemblies, since the assembly ('' ecclesia'') of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

seems to have had only a passive function in practice. Some cities also maintained their own municipal

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

s.. The Macedonian king and central government administered the revenues generated by

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and priesthoods. Within the Macedonian commonwealth, some evidence from the 3rd centuryBC indicates that foreign relations were handled by the central government. Although individual Macedonian cities nominally participated in

Panhellenic Greek nationalism (or Hellenic nationalism) refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture.. As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in pre-modern times. It became a major political movement beginning in the 18th century, ...

events as independent entities, in reality, the granting of ''

asylia In ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, Rome, an asylum referred to a place where Refugee, people facing persecution could seek refuge. These locations were largely religious in nature, such as temples and other religious sites. A similar concept, the ...

'' (inviolability,

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

, and the

right of asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

sanctuaries A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

) to certain cities was handled directly by the king. Likewise, the city-states within contemporary Greek '' koina'' (i.e.,

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

s of city-states, the '' sympoliteia'') obeyed the federal decrees

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

d on collectively by the members of their league.Unlike the sparse Macedonian examples, ample textual evidence of this exists for the

Acarnanian League The Acarnanian League ( grc, τὸ κοινὸν τῶν Ἁκαρνάνων, ''to koinon tōn Akarnanōn'') was the tribal confederation, and later a fully-fledged federation ('' koinon''), of the Acarnanians in Classical, Hellenistic, and ear ...

, and

; see . In city-states belonging to a league or commonwealth, the granting of ''

proxenia Proxeny or ( grc-gre, προξενία) in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. The citizen was called (; plural: o ...

'' (i.e. the hosting of foreign ambassadors) was usually a right shared by local and central authorities. Abundant evidence exists for the granting of ''proxenia'' as being the sole

prerogative In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right bestowed by a government or state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law. It was a common facet of feudal law. The ...

of central authorities in the neighboring

Epirote League The Epirote League ( Epirote: , ''Koinòn Āpeirōtân''; Attic: , ''Koinòn Ēpeirōtôn'') was an ancient Greek coalition, or ''koinon'', of Epirote tribes. History The coalition was established between 370 and 320 BC (firstly as the Moloss ...

, and some evidence suggests the same arrangement in the Macedonian commonwealth. City-states that were

allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

with Macedonia issued their own decrees regarding ''proxenia''. Foreign leagues also formed alliances with the Macedonian kings, such as when the Cretan League signed treaties with

Demetrius II Aetolicus Demetrius II Aetolicus (Greek: Δημήτριος ὁ Αἰτωλικός) was the son of Antigonus II Gonatas and Phila who reigned as king of Macedonia from the winter of 239 to 229 BC. Biography Demetrius II belonged to the Antigonid dynasty a ...

and Antigonus III Doson ensuring enlistment of Cretan mercenaries into the Macedonian army, and elected

as honorary protector ('' prostates'') of the league..

Military

Early Macedonian army

The basic structure of the

Ancient Macedonian army The army of the Kingdom of Macedon was among the greatest military forces of the ancient world. It was created and made formidable by King Philip II of Macedon; previously the army of Macedon had been of little account in the politics of the Gre ...

was the division between the companion cavalry ('' hetairoi'') and the foot companions (''

''), augmented by various allied troops, foreign levied soldiers, and mercenaries. The foot companions existed perhaps since the reign of Alexander I of Macedon. Macedonian cavalry, wearing muscled cuirasses, became renowned in Greece during and after their involvement in the Peloponnesian War, at times siding with either Athens or Sparta. Macedonian infantry in this period consisted of poorly trained shepherds and farmers, while the cavalry was composed of noblemen. As evidenced by early 4th century BC artwork, there was a pronounced Spartan influence on the Macedonian army before PhilipII.. Nicholas Viktor Sekunda states that at the beginning of PhilipII's reign in 359BC, the Macedonian army consisted of 10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry,. yet Malcolm Errington cautions that these figures cited by ancient authors should be treated with some skepticism.

Philip II and Alexander the Great

After spending years as a political hostage in Thebes, PhilipII sought to imitate the Greek example of martial exercises and the issuing of standard equipment for citizen soldiery, and succeeded in transforming the Macedonian army from a levied force of unprofessional farmers into a well-trained,

professional army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars or na ...

.. PhilipII adopted some of the

military tactics Military tactics encompasses the art of organizing and employing fighting forces on or near the battlefield. They involve the application of four battlefield functions which are closely related – kinetic or firepower, Mobility (military), mobil ...

of his enemies, such as the ''

embolon A flying wedge (also called flying V or wedge formation, or simply wedge) is a configuration created from a body moving forward in a triangular formation. This V-shaped arrangement began as a successful military strategy in ancient times when inf ...

'' (flying wedge) cavalry formation of the

Scythia Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe. Hi ...

ns.. His infantry wielded ''peltai'' shields that replaced the earlier '' aspis''-style shields, were equipped with protective helmets,

greave A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armour") or jambeau is a piece of armour that protects the leg. Description The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to the ski ...

s, and either

cuirass A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cuirac ...

breastplate A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...

s or ''

kotthybos Kotthybos ( el, κότθυβος) was a type of Macedonian body armour. Etymology The name originally referred to a metallic cooking pot used by ancient Macedonian soldiers to prepare their own food. The term appears to be a variant of terms suc ...

'' stomach bands, and armed with ''

'' pikes and

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

s as secondary weapons.According to Sekunda, Philip II's infantry were eventually equipped with heavier armor such as cuirasses, since the ''

Third Philippic The "Third Philippic" was delivered by the prominent Athenian statesman and orator, Demosthenes, in 341 BC. It constitutes the third of the four philippics. Historical background In 343 BC, the Macedonian arms were carried across Epirus and a year ...

'' of

in 341 BC described them as hoplites instead of lighter peltasts: ; see also for further details.
However, Errington argues that breastplates were not worn by the phalanx pikemen of either Philip II or Philip V's reigns (during which sufficient evidence exists). Instead, he claims that breastplates were worn only by military officers, while pikemen wore the ''

'' stomach bands along with their helmets and greaves, wielding a daggers as secondary weapons along with their shields. See . The elite ''

'' infantry, composed of handpicked men from the ranks of the ''pezhetairoi'', were formed during the reign of PhilipII and saw continued use during the reign of Alexander the Great. PhilipII was also responsible for the establishment of the royal bodyguards (''

'').. For his lighter missile troops, Philip II employed mercenary Cretan archers as well as Thracian, Paeonian, and Illyrian javelin throwers, Sling (weapon), slingers, and archers. He hired engineers such as Polyidus of Thessaly and Diades of Pella, who were capable of building state of the art siege engines and artillery that fired large Crossbow bolt, bolts. Following the acquisition of the lucrative mines at Krinides (renamed Philippi), the royal treasury could afford to field a permanent, professional standing army. The increase in state revenues under PhilipII allowed the Macedonians to build a small navy for the first time, which included triremes. The only Macedonian cavalry units attested under Alexander were the companion cavalry, yet he formed a ''Hipparchus (cavalry officer), hipparchia'' (i.e. unit of a few hundred horsemen) of companion cavalry composed entirely of ethnic Persian people, Persians while campaigning in Asia.. When marching his forces into Asia, Alexander brought 1,800 cavalrymen from Macedonia, 1,800 Thessalian cavalry, cavalrymen from Thessaly, 600 cavalrymen from the rest of Greece, and 900 ''prodromoi'' cavalry from

.. Antipater was able to quickly raise a force of 600 native Macedonian cavalry to fight in the

when it began in 323BC. The most elite members of Alexander's ''hypaspistai'' were designated as the ''

'', and a new term for ''hypaspistai'' emerged after the

in 331BC: the ''argyraspides'' (silver shields). The latter continued to serve after the reign of Alexander the Great and may have been of Asian origin..
: in regards to both the ''argyraspides'' and ''chalkaspides'', "these titles were probably not functional, perhaps not even official." Overall, his pike-wielding phalanx infantry numbered some 12,000 men, 3,000 of which were elite ''hypaspistai'' and 9,000 of which were ''pezhetairoi''..
However, in discussing the discrepancies among List of Greek historiographers, ancient historians about the size of

's army, N. G. L. Hammond and F. W. Walbank choose Diodorus Siculus' figure of 32,000 infantry as the most reliable, while disagreeing with his figure for cavalry at 4,500, asserting it was closer to 5,100 horsemen. . Alexander continued the use of Cretan archers and introduced native Macedonian archers into the army. After the Battle of Gaugamela, archers of West Asian backgrounds became commonplace..

Antigonid period military

Antigonid Macedonian army, The Macedonian army continued to evolve under the Antigonid dynasty. It is uncertain how many men were appointed as ''somatophylakes'', which numbered eight men at the end of Alexander the Great's reign, while the ''hypaspistai'' seem to have morphed into assistants of the ''somatophylakes''.; : "Other developments in Macedonian army organization are evident after Alexander the Great, Alexander. One is the evolution of the ''

'' from an elite unit to a form of military police or bodyguard under Philip V of Macedon, Philip V; the only thing the two functions had in common was the particular closeness to the king." At the

in 197BC, the Macedonians commanded some 16,000 phalanx pikemen.. Alexander the Great's royal squadron of companion cavalry contained 800 men, the same number of cavalrymen in the sacred squadron (Latin language, Latin: ''sacra ala''; Greek language, Greek: ''hiera ile'') commanded by

during the Social War (220–217 BC), Social War of 219BC.. The regular Macedonian cavalry numbered 3,000 at Callinicus, which was separate from the sacred squadron and royal cavalry. While Macedonian cavalry of the 4th century BC had fought without shields, the use of shields by cavalry was adopted from the Celtic settlement of Eastern Europe, Celtic invaders of the 270s BC who settled in Galatia, central Anatolia. Thanks to Military Decree of Amphipolis, contemporary inscriptions from Amphipolis and Greia dated 218 and 181BC, respectively, historians have been able to partially piece together the organization of the Antigonid army under PhilipV.; for the evolution of Macedonian military titles, such as its command by ''tetrarchai'' officers assisted by ''grammateis'' (i.e. secretaries or clerks), see . From at least the time of Antigonus III Doson, the most elite Antigonid-period infantry were the peltasts, lighter and more maneuverable soldiers wielding ''peltai'' javelins, swords, and a smaller bronze shield than

pikemen, although they sometimes served in that capacity.;
: "The other development, which happened at the latest under Antigonus III Doson, Doson, was the formation and training of a special unit of ''peltastai'' separate from the Macedonian phalanx, phalanx. This unit operated as a form of royal guard similar in function to the earlier ''

''." Among the peltasts, roughly 2,000 men were selected to serve in the elite ''agema'' vanguard, with other peltasts numbering roughly 3,000.. The number of peltasts varied over time, perhaps never more than 5,000 men.; the largest figure for elite Macedonian peltasts mentioned by ancient historians was 5,000 troops, an amount that existed in the

. They fought alongside the phalanx pikemen, divided now into ''chalkaspides'' (bronze shield) and ''leukaspides'' (white shield) regiments. The Antigonid Macedonian kings continued to expand and equip Ancient navies and vessels, the navy.

maintained Hellenistic-era warships, a small fleet at

had one at Pella, and Antigonus II Gonatas, while serving as a general for Demetrius in Greece, used the navy to secure the Macedonian holdings in

, Chalkis,

, and Corinth.. The navy was considerably expanded during the

(267–261BC), allowing the Macedonian navy to defeat the Ptolemaic Egyptian navy at the 255BC

and 245BC Battle of Andros (246 BC), Battle of Andros, and enabling Macedonian influence to spread over the Cyclades. AntigonusIII Doson used the Macedonian navy to invade

, while PhilipV sent 200 ships to fight in the Battle of Chios in 201BC. The Macedonian navy was reduced to a mere six vessels as agreed in the 197BC

that concluded the

with the

, although

quickly assembled some ''lemboi'' at the outbreak of the

in 171BC.

Society and culture

Language and dialects

Following its adoption as the court language of

's regime, authors of ancient Macedonia wrote their works in Koine Greek, the ''lingua franca'' of late Classical and

.; ; see also for further details.
Edward M. Anson contends that the native spoken language of the Macedonians was a dialect of Greek and that in the roughly 6,300 Macedonian-period inscriptions discovered by archaeologists about 99% were written in the Greek language, using the Greek alphabet. . Rare textual evidence indicates that the native Macedonian language was either a dialect of Greek language, Greek similar to Thessalian Greek and Northwestern Greek,; ; .
states that the native language of the ancient Macedonians as preserved in the rare documents written in a language other than Koine Greek also betray a slight Phonetics, phonetic influence from the languages of the original inhabitants of the region who were Cultural assimilation, assimilated or expelled by the invading Macedonians; Hatzopoulos also asserts that little is known about these languages aside from Phrygian language, Phrygian spoken by the Bryges who migrated to Anatolia.
affirms that the Macedonian language was merely a dialect of Greek that used loanwords from Thracian language, Thracian and Illyrian languages, which "does not surprise modern philologists" but ultimately provided Macedonia's political enemies with the "proof" they needed to level the charge that Macedonians were not Greek. or a Hellenic languages, language closely related to Greek.; Hamp, Eric; Adams, Douglas (2013).
The Expansion of the Indo-European Languages
", ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', vol 239. Accessed 16 January 2017.
Joseph 2001: "Ancient Greek is generally taken to be the only representative (though note the existence of different dialects) of the Greek or Hellenic branch of Indo-European. There is some dispute as to whether Ancient Macedonian (the native language of Philip and Alexander), if it has any special affinity to Greek at all, is a dialect within Greek (see below) or a sibling language to all the known Ancient Greek dialects. If the latter view is correct, then Macedonian and Greek would be the two subbranches of a group within Indo-European which could more properly be called Hellenic."
: ancient Macedonian is closely related to Greek, and Macedonian and Greek are descended from a common Greek-Macedonian idiom that was spoken till about the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. The vast majority of surviving inscriptions from ancient Macedonia were written in Attic Greek and its successor Koine. Attic (and later Koine) Greek was the preferred language of the

, although it is known that Alexander the Great once shouted an emergency order in Macedonian to his royal guards during the Symposium, drinking party where he killed

.. Macedonian became Extinct language, extinct in either the Hellenistic or the Roman period, and entirely replaced by Koine Greek..For instance, Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, spoke Koine Greek as a first language and by her reign (51–30 BC) or some time before it the Macedonian language was no longer used. See .

Religious beliefs and funerary practices

The Abduction of Persephone by Pluto, Amphipolis

Lion of Amphipolis BW 2017-10-05 09-38-25

By the 5th century BC, the Macedonians and the southern Greeks worshiped more or less the List of Greek mythological figures, same deities of the Greek pantheon. In Macedonia, political and religious offices were often intertwined. For instance, the head of state for the city of Amphipolis also served as the priest of Asklepios, Greek god of medicine; a similar arrangement existed at Cassandreia, where a cult priest honoring the city's founder

was the nominal head of the city. The main sanctuary of

was maintained at Dion, Pieria, Dion, while another at Veria was dedicated to Herakles and was patronized by

(). Meanwhile, foreign Ancient Egyptian religion, cults from Egypt were fostered by the royal court, such as the temple of Sarapis at Thessaloniki. The Macedonians also had relations with "international" cults; for example, Macedonian kings

and Alexander IV of Macedon made votive offerings to the internationally esteemed Samothrace temple complex of the Cabeiri mystery cult.. In the three royal tombs at

, professional painters decorated the walls with a mythological scene of Hades abducting Persephone and royal hunting scenes, while lavish grave goods including Ancient Greek military personal equipment, weapons, armor, drinking vessels, and personal items were housed with the dead, whose bones Cremation, were burned before Ancient Greek funeral and burial practices, burial in golden coffins. Some grave goods and decorations were common in other Macedonian tombs, yet some items found at Vergina were distinctly tied to royalty, including a diadem, luxurious goods, and arms and armor. Scholars have debated about the identity of the tomb occupants since Manolis Andronikos, the discovery of their remains in 1977–1978, and recent research and forensic examination have concluded that at least one of the persons buried was PhilipII.; .
Rosella Lorenzi (10 October 2014).
Remains of Alexander the Great's Father Confirmed Found: King Philip II's bones are buried in a tomb along with a mysterious woman-warrior
." ''Seeker''. Retrieved 17 January 2017. Located near Tomb1 are the above-ground ruins of a ''heroon'', a shrine for Cult (religion), cult worship of the dead. In 2014, the ancient Macedonian Kasta Tomb was discovered outside of Amphipolis and is the largest ancient tomb found in Greece (as of 2017).

Economics and social class

Young Macedonian men were typically expected to engage in hunting and martial combat as a by-product of their transhumance lifestyle of herding livestock such as goats and sheep, while horse breeding and raising cattle were other common pursuits. Some Macedonians engaged in farming, often with irrigation, land reclamation, and horticulture activities supported by the Macedonian state.; for a specific example of land reclamation near

during the reign of

, see . The Macedonian economy and state finances were mainly supported by logging and by mining valuable minerals such as copper, iron, gold, and silver. The conversion of these raw materials into finished products and the sale of those products encouraged the growth of urban centers and a gradual shift away from the traditional rustic Macedonian lifestyle during the course of the 5thcenturyBC.. The Macedonian king was an autocracy, autocratic figure at the head of both government and society, with arguably unlimited authority to handle affairs of state and public policy, but he was also the leader of a very personal regime with close relationships or connections to his '' hetairoi'', the core of the Macedonian aristocracy. These aristocrats were second only to the king in terms of power and privilege, filling the ranks of his administration and serving as commanding officers in the military. It was in the more bureaucratic regimes of the Hellenistic kingdoms that succeeded Alexander the Great's empire where greater social mobility for members of society seeking to join the aristocracy could be found, especially in Ptolemaic Egypt. Although governed by a king and martial aristocracy, Macedonia seems to have lacked the widespread History of slavery, use of slaves seen in contemporaneous Greek states.

Visual arts

By the reign of ArchelausI in the 5th century BC, the ancient Macedonian elite was importing customs and artistic traditions from other regions of Greece while retaining more archaic, perhaps Homeric, funerary rites connected with the symposium that were typified by items such as the decorative metal kraters that held the ashes of deceased Macedonian nobility in their tombs.. Among these is the large bronze Derveni Krater from a 4th-centuryBC tomb of Thessaloniki, decorated with scenes of the Greek god Dionysus and Cult of Dionysus, his entourage and belonging to an aristocrat who had had a military career. Macedonian metalwork usually followed Pottery of ancient Greece, Athenian styles of vase shapes from the 6thcenturyBC onward, with drinking vessels, jewellery, containers, crowns, diadems, and Ancient Greek coinage, coins among the many metal objects found in Macedonian tombs.. Lion hunt mosaic from Pella

Surviving Macedonian painted artwork includes frescoes and murals, but also decoration on Ancient Greek sculpture, sculpted artwork such as statues and reliefs. For instance, trace colors still exist on the bas-reliefs of the late 4th-century BC

. Macedonian paintings have allowed historians to investigate the clothing fashions as well as military gear worn by the

. Aside from metalwork and painting, mosaics are another significant form of surviving Macedonian artwork. The Stag Hunt Mosaic of Pella, with its three-dimensional qualities and illusionist style, show clear influence from painted artwork and wider Hellenistic art trends, although the rustic theme of hunting was tailored to Macedonian tastes.. The similar Lion Hunt Mosaic of Pella illustrates either a scene of Alexander the Great with his companion

, or simply a conventional illustration of the royal diversion of hunting. Mosaics with mythological themes include scenes of Dionysus riding a panther and Helen of Troy being abducted by Theseus, the latter of which employs illusionist qualities and realistic shading similar to Macedonian paintings. Common themes of Macedonian paintings and mosaics include warfare, hunting, and aggressive masculine sexuality (i.e. abduction of women for rape or marriage); these subjects are at times combined within a single work and perhaps indicate a metaphorical connection.This metaphorical connection between warfare, hunting, and aggressive masculine sexuality seems to be affirmed by later Byzantine literature, particularly in the Acritic songs about Digenes Akritas. See for details.

Theatre, music and performing arts

Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC at the theatre of Aigai, amid games and spectacles celebrating the marriage of his daughter Cleopatra.. Alexander the Great was allegedly a great admirer of both theatre and music. He was especially fond of the Play (theatre), plays by Classical Athenian tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and

, whose works formed part of a proper Education in ancient Greece, Greek education for his new eastern subjects alongside studies in the Greek language, including the Epic Cycle, epics of Homer.. While he and his army were stationed at Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre (in modern-day Lebanon), Alexander had his generals act as judges not only for athletic contests but also for stage performances of Greek tragedies. The contemporaneous famous actors Thessalus (actor), Thessalus and Athenodorus performed at the event.The actor Athenodorus performed despite risking a fine for being absent from the simultaneous Dionysia festival of Athens where he was scheduled to perform (a fine that his patron Alexander agreed to pay). See for details. History of music, Music was also appreciated in Macedonia. In addition to the agora, the Gymnasium (ancient Greece), gymnasium, the theatre, and Religious sanctuary, religious sanctuaries and Ancient Greek temple, temples dedicated to Greek gods and goddesses, one of the main markers of a true Greek city in the empire of Alexander the Great was the presence of an odeon (building), odeon for Concert, musical performances. This was the case not only for Alexandria in History of Egypt, Egypt, but also for cities as distant as Ai-Khanoum in what is now modern-day History of Afghanistan, Afghanistan..

Literature, education, philosophy, and patronage

was able to host well-known Classical Greek intellectual visitors at his royal court, such as the lyric poet Melanippides and the renowned medical doctor Hippocrates, and Pindar's ''encomium, enkomion'' written for Alexander I of Macedon may have been composed at his court. ArchelausI received many more Greek scholars, artists, and celebrities at his court than his predecessors. His honored guests included the History of painting#Egypt, Greece and Rome, painter Zeuxis (painter), Zeuxis, the Ancient Greek architecture, architect Callimachus (sculptor), Callimachus, the poets Choerilus of Samos, Timotheus of Miletus, and Agathon, as well as the famous Athenian playwright

.; ; .
Although

was criticized by the philosopher Plato, supposedly hated by Socrates, and the first known Macedonian king to be given the label of barbarian, the historian

held the Macedonian king in glowing admiration, especially for his engagement in

sports and fostering of literary culture. See . The philosopher

, who studied at the Platonic Academy of Athens and established the Aristotelianism, Aristotelian school of thought, moved to Macedonia, and is said to have tutored the young Alexander the Great, as well as serving as an esteemed diplomat for PhilipII. Among Alexander's retinue of artists, writers, and philosophers was Pyrrho of Elis, founder of Pyrrhonism, the school of philosophical skepticism. During the Antigonid period, Antigonos Gonatas fostered cordial relationships with Menedemos of Eretria, founder of the Eretrian school of philosophy, and Zeno of Citium, Zenon, the founder of Stoicism.. In terms of early Greek historiography and later Roman historiography, Felix Jacoby identified thirteen possible ancient List of Greek historiographers, historians who wrote about Macedonia in his ''Fragmente der griechischen Historiker''.. Aside from accounts in

and Thucydides, the works compiled by Jacoby are only fragmentary, whereas other works are completely lost, such as the history of an Illyrian war fought by Perdiccas III of Macedon, Perdiccas III written by Antipater. The Macedonian historians Marsyas of Pella and Marsyas of Philippi wrote histories of Macedonia, the Ptolemaic Egypt, Ptolemaic king

authored a history about Alexander, and Hieronymus of Cardia wrote a history about Alexander's royal successors..
For Marsyas of Pella, see also for further details. Following the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian military officer Nearchus wrote a work of his travel literature, voyage from the mouth of the Indus river to the Persian Gulf.. The Macedonian Craterus (historian), historian Craterus published a compilation of decrees made by Ecclesia (ancient Athens), the popular assembly of the Athenian democracy, ostensibly while attending the school of Aristotle.

had manuscripts of the history of PhilipII written by Theopompus gathered by his court scholars and disseminated with further copies.

Sports and leisure

When Alexander I of Macedon petitioned to compete in the foot race of the ancient Olympic Games, the event organizers at first denied his request, explaining that only Greeks were allowed to compete. However, AlexanderI produced proof of an Argead royal genealogy showing ancient Argive Temenid lineage, a move that ultimately convinced the Olympic ''

Hellanodikai The ''Hellanodikai'' ( grc, , literally meaning ''Judges of the Greeks''; sing. Ἑλλανοδίκας Delphi (in the

) for winning chariot racing contests.. PhilipII allegedly heard of the Olympic victory of his horse (in either an individual horse race or chariot race) on the same day his son Alexander the Great was born, on either 19 or 20July 356BC. Non-royal Macedonians also competed in and won various Olympic contests by the 4th century BC. In addition to literary contests, Alexander the Great staged Music competition, competitions for music and athletics across his empire.

Dining and cuisine

Ancient Macedonia produced only a few fine foods or beverages that were highly appreciated elsewhere in the Greek world, including eels from the Strymonian Gulf and special History of wine, wine produced in Chalcidice.. The earliest known use of flat bread as a plate for meat was made in Macedonia during the 3rdcenturyBC, which perhaps influenced the later Trencher (tableware), trencher bread of medieval Europe. Cattle and goats were consumed, although there was no notice of Macedonian mountain History of cheese, cheeses in literature until the Middle Ages. The comedic playwright Menander wrote that Macedonian dining habits penetrated History of Athens, Athenian high society; for instance, the introduction of meats into the dessert course of a meal. The Macedonians also most likely introduced ''mattye'' to Athenian cuisine, a dish usually made of chicken or other spiced, salted, and sauced meats served Full course dinner, during the wine course. This particular dish was derided and connected with licentiousness and drunkenness in a play by the Athenian comic poet Alexis (poet), Alexis about the declining morals of Athenians in the age of

. The ''symposium'' in the Macedonian and wider Greek realm was a banquet for the nobility and privileged class, an occasion for feasting, drinking, entertainment, and sometimes Symposium (Plato), philosophical discussion. The '' hetairoi'', leading members of the Macedonian aristocracy, were expected to attend such feasts with their king.. They were also expected to accompany him on royal hunts for the acquisition of game meat as well as for sport.

Ethnic identity

Ancient authors and modern scholars alike disagree about the ethnic identity of the ancient Macedonians. Ernst Badian notes that nearly all surviving references to antagonisms and differences between Greeks and Macedonians exist in the written speeches of Arrian, who lived at the time of the Roman Empire, when any notion of an ethnic disparity between Macedonians and other Greeks was incomprehensible. Hatzopoulos argues that there was no real ethnic difference between Macedonians and Greeks, only a political distinction contrived after the creation of the

in 337BC (which was led by Macedonia through the league's elected ''

'' PhilipII, when he was not a member of the league itself),.
Hatzopoulos stresses the fact that Macedonians and other peoples such as the Epirus (ancient state), Epirotes and History of Cyprus, Cypriots, despite speaking a Greek dialect, worshiping in Greek cults, engaging in Panhellenic games, and upholding traditional Greek institutions, nevertheless occasionally had their territories excluded from contemporary geographic definitions of "Greece, Hellas" and were even considered barbarians by some. See: ; Johannes Engels comes to a similar conclusion about the comparison between Macedonians and Epirotes, saying that the "Greekness" of the Epirotes, despite them not being considered as refined as southern Greeks, never came into question. Engels suggests this perhaps because the Epirotes did not try to dominate the Greek world as

had done. See: . N. G. L. Hammond asserts that ancient views differentiating Macedonia's ethnic identity from the rest of the Greek-speaking world should be seen as an expression of conflict between two different political systems: the democratic system of the city-states (e.g. Athens) versus the monarchy (Macedonia). Other academics who concur that the difference between the Macedonians and Greeks was a political rather than a true ethnic discrepancy include Michael B. Sakellariou, Malcolm Errington,.
: "Ancient allegations that the Macedonians were non-Greek all had their origin in Athens at the time of the struggle with PhilipII. Then as now, political struggle created the prejudice. The orator Aeschines once even found it necessary, to counteract the prejudice vigorously fomented by his opponents, to defend Philip on this issue and describe him at a meeting of the Athenian Popular Assembly as being 'entirely Greek'.

' allegations were lent an appearance of credibility by the fact, apparent to every observer, that the life-style of the Macedonians, being determined by specific geographical and historical conditions, was different to that of a Greek city-state. This alien way of life was, however, common to western Greeks of Epirus, Akarnania and Aitolia, as well as to the Macedonians, and their fundamental Greek nationality was never doubted. Only as a consequence of the political disagreement with Macedonia was the issue raised at all." and Craige B. Champion.: "

could drop the barbarian category altogether in advocating an Athenian alliance with the Great King against a power that ranked below any so-called barbarian people, the Macedonians. In the case of Aeschines, PhilipII could be 'a barbarian due for the vengeance of God', but after the orator's embassy to Pella in 346, he became a 'thorough Greek', devoted to Athens. It all depended upon one's immediate political orientation with Macedonia, which many Greeks instinctively scorned, was always infused with deep-seated ambivalence." Anson argues that some Hellenic authors expressed complex or even ever-changing and ambiguous ideas about the exact ethnic identity of the Macedonians, who were considered by some such as

in his ''Politics (Aristotle), Politics'' as barbarians and others as semi-Greek or fully Greek.; this was manifested in the different Family tree of the Greek gods, mythological genealogies concocted for the Macedonian people, with Hesiod's ''Catalogue of Women'' claiming that the Macedonians descended from Makedon (mythology), Macedon, son of

and Thyia, and was therefore a nephew of Hellen, progenitor of the Greeks. See: ; .
By the end of the 5th century BC, Hellanicus of Lesbos asserted Macedon was the son of Aeolus, the latter a son of Hellen and ancestor of the Aeolians, one of the major tribes of the Greeks. As well as belonging to tribal groups such as the Aeolians,

, Achaeans (tribe), Achaeans, and Ionians, Anson also stresses the fact that some Greeks even distinguished their ethnic identities based on the ''

'' (i.e. city-state) they originally came from. See: . Roger D. Woodard asserts that in addition to persisting uncertainty in modern times about the proper classification of the Macedonian language and its relation to Greek, ancient authors also presented conflicting ideas about the Macedonians.For instance,

when labeling PhilipII of Macedon as a barbarian whereas

called Greeks and Macedonians as ''homophylos'' (i.e. part of the same race or Kinship, kin). See: ; Johannes Engels also discusses this ambiguity in ancient sources: . Simon Hornblower argues on the Greek identity of the Macedonians, taking into consideration their origin, language, cults and customs. Any preconceived ethnic differences between Greeks and Macedonians faded by 148BC soon after the Macedonian Wars, Roman conquest of Macedonia and then Macedonia (Roman province), the rest of Greece with the defeat of the

by the

at the Battle of Corinth (146 BC).

Technology and engineering

Architecture

Macedonian architecture, although utilizing a mixture of different forms and styles from the rest of Greece, did not represent a unique or diverging style from other Architecture of ancient Greece, ancient Greek architecture. Among the classical orders, Macedonian architects favored the Ionic order, especially in the peristyle courtyards of private homes.. There are several surviving examples, albeit in ruins, of Macedonian palatial architecture, including a palace at the site of the capital Pella, the summer residence of

near the old capital Aigai, and the royal residence at

near modern Volos. At Vergina, the ruins of three large banquet halls with marble-tiled floors (covered in the debris of roof tiles) with floor plan dimensions measuring roughly 16.7 x 17.6 m (54.8 x 57.7 ft) demonstrate perhaps the earliest examples of monumental timber roof trusses, triangular roof trusses, if dated before the reign of Antigonus II Gonatas or even the onset of the Hellenistic period.. Later Macedonian architecture also featured arches and vault (architecture), vaults.. The palaces of both Vergina and Demetrias had walls made of sundried bricks, while the latter palace had four corner towers around a central courtyard in the manner of a fortified residence fit for a king or at least a military governor. Macedonian rulers also sponsored works of architecture outside of Macedonia proper. For instance, following his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), PhilipII raised a round memorial building at Olympia, Greece, Olympia known as the Philippeion, decorated inside with statues depicting him, his parents Amyntas III of Macedon and Eurydice I of Macedon, his wife Olympias, and his son Alexander the Great. 20100913 Ancient Theater Marwneia Rhodope Greece panoramic 3

20100913 Ancient Theater Marwneia Rhodope Greece panoramic 3

The ruins of roughly twenty Greek theatres survive in the present-day Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace, regions of Macedonia and Thrace in Greece: sixteen open-air theatres, three Odeon (building), odea, and a possible theatre in Veria undergoing excavation.

Military technology and engineering

By the Hellenistic period, it became common for Greek states to finance the development and proliferation of ever more powerful torsion siege engines, Naval warfare, naval ships, and standardized designs for Ancient Greek military personal equipment, arms and armor. Under PhilipII and Alexander the Great, improvements were made to siege artillery such as bolt-shooting ballistae and siege engines such as huge rolling siege towers. E.W.Marsden and M.Y.Treister contend that the Macedonian rulers Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his successor

had the most powerful siege artillery of the Hellenistic world at the end of the 4thcenturyBC. Battle of Salamis (306 BC), The siege of Salamis, Cyprus, in 306BC necessitated the building of large siege engines and drafting of craftsmen from parts of West Asia.. The siege tower commissioned by DemetriusI for the Macedonian Siege of Rhodes (305–304 BC) and defended by over three thousand soldiers was built at a height of nine Storey, stories. It had a base of , eight wheels that were steered in either direction by pivots, three sides covered in iron plates to protect them from fire, and mechanically opened windows (shielded with wool-stuffed leather curtains to soften the blow of ballistae rounds) of different sizes to accommodate the firing of missiles ranging from arrows to larger bolts.. During the siege of Echinus (Phthiotis), Echinus by

in 211BC, the besiegers built Mining (military), tunnels to protect the soldiers and sappers as they went back and forth from the camp to the siege works. These included two siege towers connected by a makeshift wickerwork curtain wall (fortification), curtain wall mounted with stone-shooting ballistae, and sheds to protect the approach of the battering ram. Despite the early reputation of Macedon as a leader in siege technology, Alexandria in Ptolemaic Egypt became the center for technological improvements to the catapult by the 3rdcenturyBC, as evidenced by the writings of Philo of Alexandria.

Other innovations

Although perhaps not as prolific as other areas of Greece in regards to technological innovations, there are some inventions that may have originated in Macedonia aside from siege engines and artillery. The Rotation around a fixed axis, rotary-operated olive press for producing olive oil may have been invented in ancient Macedonia or another part of Greece, or even as far east as the

or Anatolia. History of glass, Mold-pressed glass first appeared in Macedonia in the 4thcenturyBC (although it could have simultaneously existed in the Achaemenid Empire); the first known clear, translucent glass pieces of the Greek world have been discovered in Macedonia and

and date to the second half of the 4thcenturyBC. Greek technical and scientific literature began with Classical Athens in the 5thcenturyBC, while the major production centers for technical innovation and texts during the Hellenistic period were Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Rhodian school, Rhodes, and

Currency, finances, and resources

The Mint (facility), minting of silver coinage began during the reign of Alexander I of Macedon, AlexanderI as a means to pay for royal expenditures. ArchelausI increased the silver content of his coins as well as minting copper coins to promote foreign and domestic commerce. The minting of coinage significantly increased during the reigns of PhilipII and Alexander the Great, especially after the increase in state revenues following the seizure of the Pangaion Hills. During the Hellenistic period the royal houses of Macedonia, Ptolemaic Egypt, and the

exercised State monopoly, full monopolistic control over mining activities, largely to ensure the funding of their armies. By the end of the conquests of Alexander the Great, nearly thirty mints stretching from Macedonia to Babylon produced standard coins. The right to mint coins was shared by Central government, central and some local governments, i.e. the autonomous municipal governments of Thessaloniki, Pella, and Amphipolis within the Macedonian commonwealth. The Macedonians were also the first to issue different coins for Circulation (currency), internal and external circulation. State revenues were also raised by collecting produce from arable lands, timber from forests, and Tax#History, taxes on imports and exports at harbors. Some mines, Grove (nature), groves, History of agriculture, agricultural lands, and Logging, forests belonging to the Macedonian state were exploited by the Macedonian king, although these were often leased as assets or given as Grant (money), grants to members of the nobility such as the '' hetairoi'' and ''

''. Tariffs exacted on goods flowing in and out of Macedonian

s existed from at least the reign of AmyntasIII, and Callistratus of Aphidnae (d.c.350BC) aided PerdiccasIII in doubling the kingdom's annual profits on customs duties from 20 to 40 Talent (measurement), talents. After the defeat of Perseus of Macedon, Perseus at Battle of Pydna, Pydna in 168BC, the

allowed the reopening of iron and copper mines, but forbade the mining of gold and silver by the four newly established autonomous

s that replaced the monarchy in Macedonia. The law may originally have been conceived by the Senate due to the fear that material wealth gained from gold and silver mining operations would allow the Macedonians to fund an armed rebellion. The Romans were perhaps also concerned with stemming inflation caused by an increased money supply from Macedonian silver mining. The Macedonians continued minting silver coins between 167 and 148BC (i.e. just before the establishment of the

), and when the Romans lifted the ban on Macedonian silver mining in 158BC it may simply have reflected the local reality of this illicit practice continuing regardless of the Senate's decree..

Legacy

The reigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great witnessed the demise of Classical Greece and the birth of Hellenistic civilization, following the Hellenization, spread of Greek culture to the Near East during and after Alexander's conquests. Macedonians then migrated to Egypt and parts of Asia, but the intensive colonization of foreign lands sapped the available manpower in Macedonia proper, weakening the kingdom in its fight with other Hellenistic powers and contributing to its downfall and conquest by the Romans. However, the diffusion of Greek culture and language cemented by Alexander's conquests in West Asia and North Africa served as a "precondition" for the Mithridatic Wars, later Roman expansion into these territories and Byzantine Greeks, entire basis for the Byzantine Empire, according to Errington. Battle of Issos MAN Napoli Inv10020 n01

The ethnic Macedonian rulers of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid successor states accepted men from all over the Greek world as their ''hetairoi'' companions and did not foster a national identity like the Antigonids. Modern scholarship has focused on how these Hellenistic successor kingdoms were influenced more by their Macedonian origins than Eastern or southern Greek traditions. While Spartan Constitution, Spartan society remained mostly insular and Athens continued placing Solonian Constitution, strict limitations on acquiring citizenship, the Cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan Hellenistic cities of Asia and northeastern Africa bore a greater resemblance to Macedonian cities and contained a mixture of subjects including natives, Greek and Macedonian colonists, and Greek-speaking Hellenized Easterners, many of whom were the product of intermarriage between Greeks and native populations. The deification of Macedonian monarchs perhaps began with the death of PhilipII, but it was his son Alexander the Great who unambiguously claimed to be a Imperial cult, living god..
As pharaoh of the Egyptians, he was already titled Ra, Son of Ra and considered the living incarnation of Horus by his Egyptian subjects (a belief that the Ptolemaic kingdom, Ptolemaic successors of Alexander would foster for Ptolemaic dynasty, their own dynasty in Egypt). See: and for details. Following his visit to the oracle of Didyma in 334BC that suggested his divinity, Alexander traveled to the Oracle of Ammon, Oracle of Zeus Ammon—the Interpretatio graeca, Greek equivalent of the Egyptian Amun-Ra—at the Siwa Oasis of the

in 332BC to confirm his Sacred king, divine status.; .
After the priest and Oracle of Ammon, Oracle of Zeus Ammon at the Siwa Oasis convinced him that PhilipII was merely his mortal father and Zeus his actual father, Alexander began styling himself as the 'Son of Zeus', which brought him into contention with some of his Greek subjects who adamantly believed that living men could not be immortals. See and for details. Although the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great, maintained ancestral cults and deified their rulers, kings were not worshiped in the Kingdom of Macedonia. While Zeus Ammon was known to the Greeks prior to Alexander's reign, particularly at the Colonies in antiquity, Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya, Alexander was the first Macedonian monarch to patronize Egyptian mythology, Egyptian, Persian mythology, Persian, and Babylonian religion, Babylonian priesthoods and deities, strengthening the fusion of Ancient Mesopotamian religion, Near Eastern and Greek religious beliefs. After his reign, the Mysteries of Isis, cult of Isis gradually spread throughout the Hellenistic and Religion in ancient Rome, Roman world, while beliefs in the Egyptian god Sarapis were thoroughly Hellenized by the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt before the spread of his cult to Macedonia and the Aegean region. The German historian Johann Gustav Droysen argued that the conquests of Alexander the Great and creation of the Hellenistic world allowed for the growth and History of Christianity, establishment of Christianity in the Roman era..

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

Online * * Hamp, Eric; Adams, Douglas (2013).
The Expansion of the Indo-European Languages
, ''Sino-Platonic Papers'', vol 239. Accessed 16 January 2017. * Joseph, Brian D. (2001).

" Ohio State University, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. Accessed 16 January 2017. Print * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Ancient Macedonia
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Livius
by Jona Lendering
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
"Macedonia, ancient kingdom"
entry from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
"The Rise of Macedonia and the Conquests of Alexander the Great"
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References

Notes

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