Paeonia (kingdom)

Paeonia or Paionia (Ancient Greek: Παιονία, romanized: Paionía, Latinized: Paeonia), was the land and the kingdom of the Paeonians in classical antiquity. Paeonia roughly corresponded to present-day North Macedonia. It also included parts of northern Greece and western Bulgaria.

In the Iliad, the Paeonians are portrayed as allies of the Trojans. Ancient authors placed Paeonia south of Dardania, northeast of Pelagonia, north of Lower Macedonia, west of the Thracian mountains, and east of the southernmost Illyrians of the Ohrid–Prespa basin. Pelagonia was used as a name for the westernmost part of Paeonia, while the north-westernmost part of Pelagonia was referred to as Derriopos. Paeonia was separated from Dardania by the mountains through which the Vardar river passes from the field of Scupi (modern Skopje) to the valley of Bylazora (near modern Sveti Nikole), which was the Paeonian capital. In 356 BC, the Paeonian king Lyppeius became a subject to Philip II. Starting from Agis in the 4th century BC down to 227 BC, at least seven Paeonian kings reigned Paeonia as a distinct entity, either subject to Macedon or independent.