Macedonia (; , '), 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 founded and initially ruled by the royal Argead dynasty, which was followed by the Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient Macedonians, the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, and bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the great city-states of Athens, Sparta and Thebes, and briefly subordinate to Achaemenid Persia.
Introduction
Macedonia (ancient kingdom)
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
On the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Alexander would rule over an empire consisting of mainland Greece, Asia Minor, the Levant, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and much of Central and South Asia (i.e. modern Pakistan). It was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece. It was on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece
who was the king of macedonia who built an empire that stretched to india
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Alexander the Great
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where is the above ancient kingdom located?
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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 and Axius rivers in Lower Macedonia, north of Mount Olympus. Historian Robert Malcolm Errington suggests that one of the earliest Argead kings established Aigai (modern Vergina) as their capital in the mid-7th centuryBC. Before the 4th centuryBC, the kingdom covered a region corresponding roughly to the western and central parts of the region of Macedonia in modern Greece. It gradually expanded into the region of Upper Macedonia, inhabited by the Greek Lyncestae and Elimiotae tribes, and into regions of Emathia, Eordaia, Bottiaea, Mygdonia, Crestonia, and Almopia, which were inhabited by various peoples such as Thracians and Phrygians.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Early history and legend
Macedonia or "Macedon", the ancient kingdom, was located on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. It was centered on the fertile plains west of the Gulf of Salonica (today north-western Greece); the first Macedonian state emerged in the 8th or early 7th century BC. Its extent beyond the center varied; some Macedonian kings could not hold their capital; Philip II expanded his power until it reached from Epirus, across Thrace to Gallipoli, and from Thermopylae to the Danube. His son Alexander the Great conquered most of the land in southwestern Asia stretching from what is currently Turkey in the west to parts of India in the east.
Macedonia (terminology) | Ancient Macedonia
Macedonia (; , '), 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 founded and initially ruled by the royal Argead dynasty, which was followed by the Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient Macedonians, the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, and bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the great city-states of Athens, Sparta and Thebes, and briefly subordinate to Achaemenid Persia.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
Eordaea () was an ancient kingdom and later an administrative region of the kingdom of Macedon. It was part of the ancient geographical region of Upper Macedonia and was located south of Lynkestis, west of Emathia, north of Elimiotis and east of Orestis. The modern province and municipality Eordaia were named after the ancient kingdom and region. The capital of Eordaea was the city of Eordaea () (), which was mentioned by many historians and geographers of antiquity.
Eordaea | Introduction
The kingdom of Macedonia was an ancient state in what is now the Macedonian region of northern Greece, founded in the mid-7th century BC during the period of Archaic Greece and lasting until the mid-2nd century BC. Led first by the Argead dynasty of kings, Macedonia became a vassal state of the Achaemenid Empire of ancient Persia during the reigns of Amyntas I of Macedon () and his son Alexander I of Macedon (). The period of Achaemenid Macedonia came to an end in roughly 479 BC with the ultimate Greek victory against the second Persian invasion of Greece led by Xerxes I and the withdrawal of Persian forces from the European mainland.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
The definition of Macedonia has changed several times throughout history. Prior to its expansion under Alexander the Great, the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, to which the modern region owes its name, lay entirely within the central and western parts of the current Greek province of Macedonia and consisted of 17 provinces/districts or eparchies (Ancient Greek: επαρχία). Expansion of Kingdom of Macedon:
Macedonia (region) | Ancient times
By 500 BCE, the ancient kingdom of Macedon was centered somewhere between the southern slopes of Lower Olympus and the lowest reach of the Haliakmon River. Since 512/511 BCE, the kingdom of Macedonia was subject to the Persians, but after the battle of Plataia it regained its independence. Under Philip II and Alexander the Great, the kingdom of Macedonia forcefully expanded, placing the whole of the region of Macedonia under their rule. Alexander's conquests produced a lasting extension of Hellenistic culture and thought across the ancient Near East, but his empire broke up on his death. His generals divided the empire between them, founding their own states and dynasties.
Macedonia (region) | Ancient Macedonia (500 to 146 BCE)
The kingdom was situated in the fertile alluvial plain, watered by the rivers Haliacmon and Axius, called Lower Macedonia, north of Mount Olympus. Around the time of Alexander I, the Argead Macedonians started to expand into Upper Macedonia, lands inhabited by independent Greek tribes like the Lyncestae and the Elimiotae, and to the west, beyond the Axius river, into the Emathia, Eordaia, Bottiaea, Mygdonia, Crestonia and Almopia; regions settled by, among others, many Thracian tribes. To the north of Macedonia lay various non-Greek peoples such as the Paeonians due north, the Thracians to the northeast, and the Illyrians, with whom the Macedonians were frequently in conflict, to the northwest.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Early history and legend
In classical times, the region of Macedonia comprised parts of what at the time was known as Macedonia, Illyria and Thrace. Among others, in its lands were located the kingdoms of Paeonia, Dardania, Macedonia and Pelagonia, historical tribes like the Agrianes, and colonies of southern Greek city states. Prior to the Macedonian ascendancy, parts of southern Macedonia were populated by the Bryges, while western, (i. e., Upper) Macedonia, was inhabited by Macedonian and Illyrian tribes. Whilst numerous wars are later recorded between the Illyrian and Macedonian Kingdoms, the Bryges might have co-existed peacefully with the Macedonians. In the time of Classical Greece, Paionia, whose exact boundaries are obscure, originally included the whole Axius River valley and the surrounding areas, in what is now the northern part of the Greek region of Macedonia, most of the Republic of North Macedonia, and a small part of western Bulgaria.
Macedonia (region) | Ancient Macedonia (500 to 146 BCE)
With their mining and tax revenues, the kings were responsible for funding the military, which included a navy that was established by Philip II and expanded during the Antigonid period.
Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
The ruins of roughly twenty Greek theatres survive in the present-day regions of Macedonia and Thrace in Greece: sixteen open-air theatres, three odea, and a possible theatre in Veria undergoing excavation.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Architecture
Aegae or Aigai (), also Aegeae or Aigeai (Αἰγέαι) was the original capital of the Macedonians, an ancient kingdom in Emathia in northern Greece. The city was also the burial-place of the Macedonian kings, the dynasty which sprang from the Temenid Perdiccas. It was built on a commanding and picturesque site near the modern town of Vergina. The seat of government was afterwards transferred to the marshes of Pella, which lay in the plain beneath the ridge through which the Lydias forces its way to the sea. But the old capital always remained the "hearth" (ἑστία, Diod. Excerpt. p. 563) of the Macedonian kingdom and the burial place for their kings.
Aegae (Macedonia) | Introduction
Sitalces eventually retreated from Macedonia, perhaps due to logistical concerns: a shortage of provisions and harsh winter conditions.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Involvement in the Classical Greek world
Below is a list of ancient kingdoms in Anatolia. Anatolia (most of modern Turkey) was the home of many ancient kingdoms. This list does not include the earliest kingdoms, which were merely city states, except those that profoundly affected history. It also excludes foreign invaders (such as The Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, Roman Empire etc.).
List of ancient kingdoms of Anatolia | Introduction
Hecataeus and Strabo identified these mountain Macedonia kingdoms as of Epirote stock. Three of the most important Hellenistic dynasties originated from Upper Macedonia: the Lagids from Eordaea, the Seleucids from Orestis and the Antigonids from Elimiotis.
Upper Macedonia | Introduction
Although governed by a king and martial aristocracy, Macedonia seems to have lacked the widespread use of slaves seen in contemporaneous Greek states.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Economics and social class
North Macedonia geographically roughly corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Paeonia, which was located immediately north of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia. Paeonia was inhabited by the Paeonians, a Thracian people, whilst the northwest was inhabited by the Dardani and the southwest by tribes known historically as the Enchelae, Pelagones, and Lyncestae; the latter two are generally regarded as Molossian tribes of the northwestern Greek group, whilst the former two are considered Illyrian. In the late 6th century BC, the Achaemenid Persians under Darius the Great conquered the Paeonians, incorporating what is today the state of North Macedonia within their vast territories.
North Macedonia | Early history
In the Macedonian Kingdom, and later the Macedonian Empire, the body that assisted the king with running the kingdom was called the "synedrion", literally translated as "The Congress". This tradition continued to be in use in the years of Alexander the Great and its members were hereditary. Although not democratic, the members of the Synedrion, including the king were considered equal to one another and had the right of the freedom of speech.
Boule (ancient Greece) | Kingdom of Macedonia
There is much greater evidence for the reigns of Amyntas I of Macedon () and his successor Alexander I, especially due to the aid given by the latter to the Persian commander Mardonius at the Battle of Platea in 479 BC, during the Greco-Persian Wars. Although stating that the first several kings listed by Herodotus were most likely legendary figures, historian Robert Malcolm Errington uses the rough estimate of twenty-five years for the reign of each of these kings to assume that the capital Aigai (modern Vergina) could have been under their rule since roughly the mid-7th century BC, during the Archaic period.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Early history and legend
The earliest known government of ancient Macedonia was that of its monarchy, lasting until 167BC when it was abolished by the Romans. The Macedonian hereditary monarchy existed since at least the time of Archaic Greece, with Homeric aristocratic roots in Mycenaean Greece. Thucydides wrote that in previous ages, Macedonia was divided into small tribal regions, each having its own petty king, the tribes of Lower Macedonia 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 in 396BC (allegedly by his regent 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 to choose another king.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Kingship and the royal court
In antiquity, most of the territory that is now North Macedonia was included in the kingdom of Paeonia, which was populated by the Paeonians, a people of Thracian origins, but also parts of ancient Illyria, Ancient Macedonians populated the area in the south, living among many other tribes and Dardania, inhabited by various Illyrian peoples, and Lyncestis and Pelagonia populated by the ancient Greek Molossian tribes. None of these had fixed boundaries; they were sometimes subject to the Kings of Macedon, and sometimes broke away. In the late 6th century BC, the Achaemenid Persians under Darius the Great conquered the Paeonians, incorporating what is today North Macedonia within their vast territories.
History of North Macedonia | Ancient period
In the table it can be seen that there are no new local kingdoms between the 9th and 3rd centuries BC. This era roughly corresponds to foreign rule (Achaemenid Empire and Macedonian Empire.)
List of ancient kingdoms of Anatolia | Classical Age
To the south lay Thessaly, with whose inhabitants the Macedonians had much in common, both culturally and politically, while to the west lay Epirus, with whom the Macedonians had a peaceful relationship and in the 4th century BC formed an alliance against Illyrian raids. Prior to the 4th century BC, the kingdom covered a region approximately corresponding to the western and central parts of the region of Macedonia in modern Greece. After Darius I of Persia () launched a military campaign against the Scythians in Europe in 513 BC, he left behind his general Megabazus to quell the Paeonians, Thracians, and coastal Greek city-states of the southern Balkans.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Early history and legend
The Macedonian hereditary monarchy existed since at least the time of Archaic Greece, perhaps evolving from a tribal system, and with roots in Mycenaean Greece in view of its seemingly Homeric aristocratic attributes. Thucydides wrote that in previous ages Macedonia was divided into small tribal regions each having their own petty king, the tribes of Lower Macedonia eventually coalescing under one great king who exercised power as an overlord over the lesser kings of Upper Macedonia. The Argead dynasty lasted from the reign of Perdiccas I of Macedon until that of Alexander IV of Macedon, supplanted by the Antigonid dynasty during the Hellenistic period.
Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Kingship and the royal court
Following the Greek victory at Salamis, the Persians sent Alexander I as an envoy to Athens, hoping to strike an alliance with their erstwhile foe, yet his diplomatic mission was rebuffed. Achaemenid control over Macedonia ceased when the Persians were ultimately defeated by the Greeks and fled the Greek mainland in Europe.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Early history and legend
"Macedonia" or "Macedon" (from , "") was an ancient Greek kingdom and region, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paionia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. Early geographers put river Strimon as the eastern border of Macedonia with Thrace. However, as kingdom of Macedon was expanding and was pushing east the Thracian tribes, river Nestos was regarded as the eastern border of the region and Sintice, Odomantis and Edonis were included in it.
Regions of ancient Greece | Macedonia
At the head of Macedonia's government was the king ("basileus"). From at least the reign of PhilipII, the king was assisted by the royal pages ("basilikoi paides"), bodyguards ("somatophylakes"), companions ("hetairoi"), friends ("philoi"), an assembly that included members of the military, and (during the Hellenistic period) magistrates. 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. Before the reign of PhilipII, the only institution supported by textual evidence is the monarchy.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Division of power
This is a list of the ancient Macedonians.
List of ancient Macedonians | Introduction
Following the loss in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 479 BC, the Persians eventually withdrew from their European territories, including from what is today North Macedonia. In 336 BC Philip II of Macedon fully annexed Upper Macedonia, including its northern part and southern Paeonia, which both now lie within North Macedonia. Philip's son Alexander the Great conquered most of the remainder of the region, incorporating it in his empire, with exclusion of Dardania. The Romans included most of the Republic in their province of Macedonia, but the northernmost parts (Dardania) lay in Moesia; by the time of Diocletian, they had been subdivided, and the Republic was split between Macedonia Salutaris and Moesia prima.
History of North Macedonia | Ancient period
Kale-Krševica, located south of Ristovac, is an archaeological site of a 5th-century BC Ancient city of Macedon, thought to be Damastion. The Thracian Triballi and Paeonian Agrianes dwelled in the region, with the Scordisci settling here after the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. The region was conquered by the Romans after 75 BC. It became part of the Roman propraetorial province Moesia in 29 BC (imperial from 27 BC). In 87 AD the region was re-organized into the Moesia Superior, which was a province of the Roman Empire.
Bujanovac | Ancient history
Another part moved southwards and after an agreement with the Kingdom of Macedonia, 20,000 settled in the Parorbelian mountain range, in the borderlands between modern southeastern North Macedonia, northern Greece and southwestern Bulgaria.
Autariatae | Introduction
The contemporaneous famous actors Thessalus and Athenodorus performed at the event. Music was also appreciated in Macedonia. In addition to the agora, the gymnasium, the theatre, and religious sanctuaries and 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 for musical performances. This was the case not only for Alexandria in Egypt, but also for cities as distant as Ai-Khanoum in what is now modern-day Afghanistan.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Theatre, music and performing arts
The Indo-Greek Kingdom or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, and historically known as Yavanarajya (Kingdom of Yavanas), was a Hellenistic kingdom spanning modern-day Afghanistan, into the classical circumscriptions of the Punjab of the Indian subcontinent (northern Pakistan and northwestern India), during the last two centuries BC and was ruled by more than thirty kings, often conflicting with one another. The kingdom was founded when the Graeco-Bactrian king Demetrius invaded the subcontinent early in the 2nd century BC. The Greeks in the Indian Subcontinent were eventually divided from the Graeco-Bactrians centered on Bactria (now the border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan), and the Indo-Greeks in the present-day north-western Indian Subcontinent.
Indo-Greek Kingdom | Introduction
The region that today forms the country of North Macedonia has been inhabited since Paleolithic times. It occupies most of the ancient kingdom of Paionia and part of the territory of what was in antiquity Upper Macedonia (which coincides with some parts of today's southern Republic of North Macedonia), the region which became part of the kingdom of Macedon in the early 4th century BC. It was settled by the Paionians and Dardani, peoples of mixed Thraco-Illyrian origin. The Paionians founded several princedoms which coalesced into a kingdom centred in the central and upper reaches of the Vardar and Struma rivers until they were finally conquered by Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, in 358 BC.
History of the Macedonians (ethnic group) | Ancient period
Macedonian became extinct in either the Hellenistic or the Roman period, and entirely replaced by Koine Greek.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Language and dialects
Important cities such as Pella, Pydna, and Amphipolis were involved in power struggles for control of the territory. New cities were founded, such as Thessalonica by the usurper Cassander (named after his wife Thessalonike of Macedon). Macedonia's decline began with the Macedonian Wars and the rise of Rome as the leading Mediterranean power. At the end of the Third Macedonian War in 168BC, the Macedonian monarchy was abolished and replaced by Roman client states. A short-lived revival of the monarchy during the Fourth Macedonian War in 150–148BC ended with the establishment of the Roman province of Macedonia.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
The first column shows the name of the kingdom or the state, the second column shows the name of the capital, the third column shows the life span of the state. However, there are uncertainties both in the second and in the third columns. In particular, the first dates (of emergence) are approximate.
List of ancient kingdoms of Anatolia | Bronze and Iron Age
Gilley and Ian Worthington. He also pursued the polygamous habits of his father Philip II and 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, eldest daughter of Darius III, and Parysatis II, youngest daughter of Artaxerxes III, at the Susa weddings in 324 BC.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Empire
Kingdoms of Ancient India
Karnata Kingdom | See also
This pretender to the throne was eventually executed by Alexander, yet the latter eventually succumbed to an unknown illness at the age of 32, whose death led to the Partition of Babylon by his former generals, the "diadochi", chief among them being Antipater, regent of Alexander IV of Macedon (). This event ushered in the Hellenistic period in West Asia and the Mediterranean world, leading to the formation of the Ptolemaic, Seleucid, and Attalid successor kingdoms in the former territories of Alexander's empire.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece, best known as the historical capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedon and birthplace of Alexander the Great. On the site of the ancient city is the Archaeological Museum of Pella.
Pella | Introduction
They were also expected to accompany him on royal hunts for the acquisition of game meat as well as for sport.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Dining and cuisine
The Kingdom of Dardania was an independent state in the Balkans during classical antiquity. Dardania was mostly populated by Dardanians (who were either an Illyrian or a Thracian tribe, or perhaps a mixture of the two; Thraco-Illyrian).
Kingdom of Dardania | Introduction
It is now an archaeological site located near the village of Marvinci, near Valandovo, modern North Macedonia.
Idomenae | Introduction
In antiquity, Paeonia or Paionia () was the land and kingdom of the Paeonians (). The exact original boundaries of Paeonia, like the early history of its inhabitants, are obscure, but it is known that it roughly corresponds to most of present-day North Macedonia and north-central parts of Greek Macedonia (i.e. probably the Greek municipalities of Paionia, Almopia, Sintiki, Irakleia, and Serres), and a small part of south-western Bulgaria. Ancient authors placed it south of Dardania (an area corresponding to modern-day Kosovo and northern North Macedonia), west of the Thracian mountains, and east of the southernmost Illyrians. It 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).
Paeonia (kingdom) | Introduction
For a brief period, his empire was the most powerful in the worldthe definitive Hellenistic state, inaugurating the transition to a new period of Ancient Greek civilization. Greek arts and literature flourished in the new conquered lands and advances in philosophy, engineering, and science spread throughout much of the ancient world. Of particular importance were the contributions of Aristotle, tutor to Alexander, whose writings became a keystone of Western philosophy. After Alexander's death in 323BC, the ensuing wars of the Diadochi, 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.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
At the time of Alexander's invasion, the Pauravas were situated on or near the Jhelum River, until the Chenab River. This was not only the extant of Porus' Kingdom, but was also the eastern limit of the Macedonian Empire.
Pauravas | Porus as Paurava
Mainland Greece to the north, nowadays known as Central Greece, consisted of Aetolia and Acarnania in the west, Locris, Doris, and Phocis in the center, while in the east lay Boeotia, Attica, and Megaris. Northeast lay Thessaly, while Epirus lay to the northwest. Epirus stretched from the Ambracian Gulf in the south to the Ceraunian mountains and the Aoos river in the north, and consisted of Chaonia (north), Molossia (center), and Thesprotia (south). In the northeast corner was Macedonia, originally consisting Lower Macedonia and its regions, such as Elimeia, Pieria, and Orestis. Around the time of Alexander I of Macedon, the Argead kings of Macedon started to expand into Upper Macedonia, lands inhabited by independent Macedonian tribes like the Lyncestae and the Elmiotae and to the West, beyond the Axius river, into Eordaia, Bottiaea, Mygdonia, and Almopia, regions settled by Thracian tribes.
Ancient Greece | Regions
However, while Alexander's conquests are of major historical importance as having launched the Hellenistic Age, Macedon as a state had no significant territorial gains due to them. Alexander's kingdom fell apart after his death in 323 BC; several of his Successors attempted to form a kingdom for themselves in Macedonia; the kingdom formed by Antigonus Gonatas contained all the land Philip II had started with and controlled much of what is now modern Greece; it lasted until the Romans divided it into four republics in 168 BC.
Macedonia (terminology) | Ancient Macedonia
Macedon or Macedonia was a kingdom in ancient Greece. Macedon or Makedon may also refer to:
Macedon (disambiguation) | Introduction
Hecatompedum or Hekatompedon () was an ancient Greek city in the interior of Chaonia located in the region of Epirus. Its site is tentatively located near modern Saraqinisht.
Hecatompedum | Introduction
The southwestern part of the region was located in the Monastir vilayet. Sanjaks located in this vilayet that contained territory now within the Republic of North Macedonia were:
North Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire | Monastir Vilayet
The works of these historians affirm the hereditary monarchy of Macedonia and basic institutions, yet it remains unclear if there was an established constitution for Macedonian government. The main textual primary sources for the organization of Macedonia's military as it existed under Alexander the Great include Arrian, Quintus Curtius, Diodorus, and Plutarch, while modern historians rely mostly on Polybius and Livy for understanding detailed aspects of the Antigonid-period military.
Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Sources and historiography
The war dragged on until 288 BC, 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 and the latter eastern Macedonia.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Hellenistic era
Remnants of the architecture from the times of the ancient Macedonian Kingdom are scattered throughout North Macedonia, especially in the south of the former territory of Macedon. Heraclea Lyncestis, founded in the middle of the 4th century BC, was an important strategical town as it bordered Epirus to the west and the Paeonian kingdoms to the north. Roman architecture dominates the site today because of the level of the excavations which are exposing the layers from the Roman times. The Ancient Theatre in present-day Ohrid was built during the 1st century BC. It was part of the ancient town of Lychnidos.
Architecture of North Macedonia | Architecture of Ancient Macedonia
Kingdoms of Ancient India
Kekeya Kingdom | See also
Kingdoms of Ancient India
Parasika Kingdom | See also
Macedonia forms part of Greece's national frontier with three countries: Bulgaria to the northeast, North Macedonia to the north, and Albania to the northwest. Macedonia incorporates most of the territories of ancient Macedon, a kingdom ruled by the Argeads, whose most celebrated members were Alexander the Great and his father Philip II. The name "Macedonia" was later applied to a number of widely-differing administrative areas in the Roman and Byzantine empires, resulting in modern geographical Macedonia. Even prior to the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1830 Macedonia was identified as a Greek province, albeit without clearly defined geographical borders.
Macedonia (Greece) | Introduction
formal drinking parties). Although there is little evidence for royal pages in the Antigonid period, it is known that some of them fled with Perseus of Macedon to Samothrace following his defeat by the Romans in 168BC.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Royal pages
In antiquity, the territory of the present-day Republic of North Macedonia equated approximately to the kingdom of Paeonia, which lay immediately north of ancient Macedonia. The western and central parts of modern Greek region of Macedonia approximately corresponds to that of ancient Macedonia, while the Bulgarian part and the eastern part of the Greek area, are mostly in Ancient Thrace. After the Romans conquered Greece in 168 BC they established a large administrative district in northern Greece which added Paeonia and eastern parts of Ancient Thrace to other territories outside the original ancient Macedonia. It used the name 'Macedonia' to describe the whole of this new province.
Macedonia naming dispute | Background
Recent radiocarbon dating of seashell fragments and lead contamination show human activity at the location during the period of the Old Kingdom (27th-21st centuries BC) and again in the period 1000-800 BC, followed by the absence of activity thereafter. From ancient sources it is known there existed a trading post at this location during the time of Rameses the Great for trade with Crete, but it had long been lost by the time of Alexander's arrival. A small Egyptian fishing village named Rhakotis (Egyptian: "rꜥ-qdy.t", 'That which is built up') existed since the 13th century BC in the vicinity and eventually grew into the Egyptian quarter of the city.
Alexandria | Ancient era
The city of Sirkap, today in northwestern Pakistan near Taxila, was built according to the "Hippodamian" grid-plan characteristic of Greek cities, and was a Hellenistic fortress of considerable proportions, with a 6,000 meter wall on the circumference, of a height of about 10 meters. The houses of the Indo-Greek level are "the best planned of all the six strata, and the rubble masonry of which its walls are built is also the most solid and compact". It is thought that the city was built by Demetrius.
History of the Indo-Greek Kingdom | Urban remains
The reigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great witnessed the demise of Classical Greece and the birth of Hellenistic civilization, following the 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 later Roman expansion into these territories and entire basis for the Byzantine Empire, according to Errington.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Legacy
Upper Macedonia (Greek: Ἄνω Μακεδονία, "Ánō Makedonía") is a geographical and tribal term to describe the upper/western of the two parts in which, together with Lower Macedonia, the ancient kingdom of Macedon was roughly divided. Upper Macedonia became part of the kingdom of Macedon in the early 4th century BC. From that date, its inhabitants were politically equal to Lower Macedonians. Upper Macedonia was divided in the regions of Elimeia, Eordaea, Orestis, Lynkestis, Pelagonia, Deuriopus, Atintania, Tymphaea and Dassaretis. The middle and southern parts of Upper Macedonia corresponds roughly to the modern Greek region of West Macedonia while the northern part of Upper Macedonia corresponds to the southwestern corner of the Republic of North Macedonia.
Upper Macedonia | Introduction
"See List of ancient Macedonians."
List of Macedonians (Greek) | <a href="Macedon">Ancient</a>
The Kingdom of Hereti ( "heretis samepo") was a medieval monarchy which emerged in Caucasus on the Iberian-Albanian frontier. Nowadays it roughly corresponds to the southeastern corner of Georgia's Kakheti region and a portion of Azerbaijan's northwestern districts. According to traditional accounts, the name of the province originated from the legendary patriarch "Heros", the son of Thargamos, who founded the city of Hereti (later known as Khoranta) at the Alazani River.
Kingdom of Hereti | Introduction
The ancient Persians were present in the region from about the 10th century BC, and became the rulers of the largest empire the world had yet seen under the Achaemenid dynasty which was established in the mid 6th century BC, at its peak stretching from Thrace-Macedonia, Bulgaria-Paeonia and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in its far east. The ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, are located in Fars. The Achaemenid Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, incorporating most of their vast empire. Shortly after this the Seleucid Empire was established.
Fars Province | Persis
Alexander and his Seleucid successors founded many Greek cities all over their dominions.
Ptolemaic Kingdom | Demographics
The turbulent reign of Amyntas III of Macedon () witnessed devastating invasions by both the Illyrian ruler Bardylis of the Dardani and the Chalcidian city-state of Olynthos, both of which were defeated with the aid of foreign powers, the city-states of Thessaly and Sparta, respectively. Alexander II () invaded Thessaly but failed to hold Larissa, which was captured by Pelopidas of Thebes, who made peace with Macedonia on condition that they surrender noble hostages, including the future king Philip II of Macedon (). Philip II came to power when his older brother Perdiccas III of Macedon () was defeated and killed in battle by the forces of Bardylis.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
In 512/511 BC Megabazus sent envoys demanding Macedonian submission as a vassal state to the Achaemenid Empire of ancient Persia, to which Amyntas I responded by formally accepting the hegemony of the Persian king of kings. This began the period of Achaemenid Macedonia, which lasted for roughly three decades. The Macedonian kingdom was largely autonomous and outside of Persian control, but was expected to provide troops and provisions for the Achaemenid army. Amyntas II, son of Amyntas I's daughter Gygaea of Macedon and her husband Bubares, son of Megabazus, was given the Phrygian city of Alabanda as an appanage by Xerxes I (), to secure the Persian-Macedonian marriage alliance.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Early history and legend
Traditionally part of Thrace but after its annexation by the kingdom of Macedon it was regarded as part of the region of Macedonia.
Regions of ancient Greece | Odomantis
His royal court attracted the presence of well-known intellectuals such as the Athenian playwright Euripides. When ArchelausI was assassinated (perhaps following a homosexual love affair with royal pages 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, son of ArchelausI; AeropusII, uncle, regent, and murderer of Orestes; Pausanias, 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.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Involvement in the Classical Greek world
When urbanization began to take place, it was Pella which became the largest city. Kingdom of Macedonia had 4 million people after the Wars of the Diadochi.
Classical demography | Demography of the Hellenistic kingdoms
Acharn. 156, 164; Suid. s. v. ἀποτεθρίακεν; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. pp. 210, 306, 465.) During the Roman period, most of their land belonged to the territory ("chora") of the ancient city of Sirra (today Serres)
Odomanti | Introduction
It is reconstructed and in use today. Its location between two hills that surround it keep it protected from winds that could interfere with acoustics during performances.
Architecture of North Macedonia | Architecture of Ancient Macedonia
Combreia or Kombreia () was an ancient Greek polis (city-state) in the Chalcidice, ancient Macedonia. It is cited by Herodotus as one of the cities—together with Lipaxus, Lisaea, Gigonus, Campsa, Smila, Aeneia—located in the vicinity of the Thermaic Gulf, in a region called Crusis near the peninsula of Pallene, where Xerxes recruited troops in his expedition of the year 480 BCE against Greece. Its site is unlocated.
Combreia | Introduction
Although the empire fractured into multiple Hellenic regimes shortly after his death, his conquests left a lasting legacy, not least in the new Greek-speaking cities founded across Persia's western territories, heralding the Hellenistic period. In the partition of Alexander's empire among the Diadochi, Macedonia fell to the Antipatrid dynasty, which was overthrown by the Antigonid dynasty after only a few years.
List of ancient great powers | Macedonia
The kingdom of Macedon was taken by Cassander, who ruled it until his death in 297 BC. At the time, Macedonian control over the Thracoillyrian states of the region slowly waned, although the kingdom of Macedonia remained the most potent regional power. This period also saw several Celtic invasions into Macedonia. However, the Celts were each time successfully repelled by Cassander, and later Antigonus, leaving little overall influence on the region.
Macedonia (region) | Ancient Macedonia (500 to 146 BCE)
It was situated in a field called "Cave Close." I am not aware of any description of this, and am unable to give any details as to dimensions, or as to what articles of antiquity were found."
Daglingworth | Introduction
Little is known about the Slavs before the 5th century.
History of North Macedonia | Ancient period
Mehrjankadak is the ancient name for eastern part of Ilam province during the Sassanid dynasty. It was located at the present day Dare Shahr and next to Seimareh River.
Mehrjankadak | Introduction
Following the loss in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 479 BC, the Persians eventually withdrew from their European territories, including from what is today North Macedonia. Philip II of Macedon absorbed the regions of Upper Macedonia (Lynkestis and Pelagonia) and the southern part of Paeonia (Deuriopus) into the kingdom of Macedon in 356 BC. Philip's son Alexander the Great conquered the remainder of the region and incorporated it in his empire, reaching as far north as Scupi, but the city and the surrounding area remained part of Dardania.
North Macedonia | Early history
In the 2nd century, Macedonia covered approximately the area where it is considered to be today, but the northern regions of today Republic of North Macedonia were not identified as Macedonian lands. For reasons that are still unclear, over the next eleven centuries Macedonia's location was changed significantly. The Roman province of Macedonia consisted of what is today Northern and Central Greece, much of the geographical area of the Republic of North Macedonia and southeast Albania. Simply put, the Romans created a much larger administrative area under that name than the original ancient Macedon. In late Roman times, the provincial boundaries were reorganized to form the Diocese of Macedonia, consisting of most of modern mainland Greece right across the Aegean to include Crete, southern Albania, parts of south-west Bulgaria and most of Republic of North Macedonia.
Macedonia (region) | Roman era
Macedonia's non-Greek neighbors included Thracians, inhabiting territories to the northeast, Illyrians to the northwest, and Paeonians to the north, while the lands of Thessaly to the south and Epirus to the west were inhabited by Greeks with similar cultures to that of the Macedonians. A year after Darius I of Persia () launched an invasion into Europe against the Scythians, Paeonians, Thracians, and several Greek city-states of the Balkans, the Persian general Megabazus used diplomacy to convince AmyntasI to submit as a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire, ushering in the period of Achaemenid Macedonia. Achaemenid Persian hegemony over Macedonia was briefly interrupted by the Ionian Revolt (499–493BC), yet the Persian general Mardonius brought it back under Achaemenid suzerainty.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Early history and legend
There are a number of other hypotheses about its location somewhere near Resen in ancient Paionia, modern Republic of Macedonia. The most recent location that was proposed was at Serbian archaeological site Kale-Krševica, south-east of Vranje (southern Serbia) where 5th-century BC foundations of an Ancient Greek urban town have been unearthed. Dr. Petar Popović from the Institute of Archeology in Belgrade says that Kale-Krševica could very likely be the city of Damastion. He added that monumental building was found made from semicircular blocks 9m long and 3 m high. He estimated that only 5% was excavated and said that the town probably had 3.000 people.
Damastion | Location
Kingdoms of Ancient India Other kingdoms in this group include:
Heheya Kingdom | See also
During the reign of the Argead king PhilipII (359–336 BC), Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom through conquest and diplomacy. With a reformed army containing phalanxes wielding the "sarissa" pike, PhilipII defeated the old powers of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338BC. PhilipII's son Alexander the Great, 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.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
Traditionally part of Thrace but after its annexation by the kingdom of Macedon it was regarded as part of the region of Macedonia.
Regions of ancient Greece | Edonis
Ellipi was an ancient kingdom located on the western side of the Zagros (modern Iran), between Babylonia at the west, Media at the north east, Mannae at the north and Elam at the south. The inhabitants of Ellipi were close relatives of the Elamites.
Ellipi | Introduction
The direct line of father-to-son succession was broken after the assassination of Orestes of Macedon in 396 BC (allegedly by his regent 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 to choose another king. It is also unclear whether certain male offspring were considered more legitimate than others, since Archelaus I of Macedon was the son of Perdiccas II of Macedon and a slave woman, although Archelaus succeeded the throne after murdering his father's designated heir apparent and son from another mother.
Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Kingship and the royal court
After the Macedonian victory over a coalition led by Athens and Thebes at the 338 BC Battle of Chaeronea, Philip established the League of Corinth and was elected as its hegemon in anticipation of commanding a united Greek invasion of the Achaemenid Empire under Macedonian hegemony. However, when Philip II was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, he was succeeded by his son Alexander III, better known as Alexander the Great (), who invaded Achaemenid Egypt and Asia and toppled the rule of Darius III, who was forced to flee into Bactria (in what is now Afghanistan) where he was killed by one of his kinsmen, Bessus.
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Introduction
The fortress was built by the Romans. Thermae, basilicas, floor mosaics have been uncovered.
Kyustendil | Geography
Moesia
List of ancient cities in Serbia | References
The royal pages were adolescent boys and young men conscripted 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. 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" (i.e.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Royal pages
Greeks of the Classical period generally accepted the origin story provided by Herodotus, or another involving lineage from Zeus, chief god of the Greek pantheon, lending credence to the idea that the Macedonian ruling house possessed the divine right of kings. Herodotus wrote that Alexander I of Macedon () convinced the "Hellanodikai" authorities of the Ancient Olympic Games that his Argive lineage could be traced back to Temenus, and thus his perceived Greek identity permitted him to enter the Olympic competitions. Very little is known about the first five kings of Macedonia (or the first eight kings depending on which royal chronology is accepted).
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Early history and legend
Territories of Gandhara or western Punjab A smaller kingdom seems to have emerged in the Kabul valley, between c. 130–115/110 BCE. Territories of Arachosia, Paropamisadae, Gandhara, western and eastern Punjab
History of the Indo-Greek Kingdom | Civil wars and nomad invasions (c. 130 BCE – 50 CE)
In a location near the village it can be concluded from archeological findings (coins, tombs, inscriptions) that there was an ancient settlement during the Hellenistic and Roman period, which was in control of a route that led from Eordaea to southern Macedonia. Historian Margaritis Dimitsas in his work "Ancient Geography of Macedonia" places in the region of Pyrgoi the ancient city of Eordaea. He noted "...the capital city of Eordaea was located to the south east of lake Ostrovo. Katranitsa's (Pyrgoi) location seems to be similar to that of the ancient city, which had been maintained until the 10th century, when it was destroyed by Bulgarian invaders.
Pyrgoi | From classical antiquity to the Roman Empire
Regions of ancient Greece
Outline of ancient Greece | Regions of Ancient Greece
In the ancient Buddhist texts, the Mahajanapada kingdom of Kamboja compassed the territories of Paropamisus and extended to the southwest of Kashmir as far as Rajauri. The region came under Achaemenid Persian control in the late 6th century BC, either during the reign of Cyrus the Great or Darius I. In the 320s BC, Alexander the Great conquered the entire Achaemenid Empire, beginning the Hellenistic period. The Greek name Παροπαμισάδαι or Παροπαμισσός was used extensively in Greek literature to describe the conquests of Alexander and those of the kings of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom, from the 3rd to the 1st centuries BC.
Paropamisadae | History
For this reason the regions of Edonis, Sintice, Odomantis and Pieris, conquered by Philip II, were termed in Latin "Macedonia Adjecta" (Επίκτητος Μακεδονία).
Lower Macedonia | Introduction