page_title: Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom)
section_title: Sources and historiography
hierarchical_section_title: Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) / Sources and historiography
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Polybios English: The relief stele of Kleitor supposedely depicting the Achaean statesman and historian Polybius, 2nd century BC, Hellenistic Greek artwork from the Peloponnese. Dimensions are as follows: height of the stele, 2.18 m (7.2 ft); width of the stele, 1.11 m (3.6 ft); height of the carved figure of Polybios, 1.96 m (6.4 ft). The information above was taken from pages 281-282 of John Ma's Statues and Cities: Honorific Portraits and Civic Identity in the Hellenistic World (2013, Oxford University Press).
context_page_description: The earliest government of Macedonia was established by the Argead dynasty of Macedonian kings some time during the period of Archaic Greece. Due to shortcomings in the historical record, very little is known about the origins of Macedonian governmental institutions before the reign of Philip II of Macedon, during the final phase of Classical Greece. These institutions continued to evolve under his successor Alexander the Great and the subsequent Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties of Hellenistic Greece. Following the Roman victory in the Third Macedonian War and house arrest of Perseus of Macedon in 168 BC, the Macedonian monarchy was abolished and replaced by four client state republics. However, the monarchy was briefly revived by the pretender to the throne Andriscus in 150–148 BC, followed by the Roman victory in the Fourth Macedonian War and establishment of the Roman province of Macedonia.
  It is unclear if there was a formally established constitution dictating the laws, organization, and divisions of power in ancient Macedonia's government, although some tangential evidence suggests this.
context_section_description: The earliest known government in ancient Macedonia was their monarchy, which lasted until 167 BC when it was abolished by the Romans. Written evidence about Macedonian governmental institutions made before Philip II of Macedon's reign is both rare and non-Macedonian in origin. The main sources of early Macedonian historiography are the works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Diodorus Siculus, and Justin. Contemporary accounts given by those such as Demosthenes were often hostile and unreliable; even Aristotle, who lived in Macedonia, provides us with terse accounts of its governing institutions. Polybius was a contemporary historian who wrote about Macedonia, while later historians include Livy, Quintus Curtius Rufus, Plutarch, and Arrian. 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.
caption: The stele of Polybius depicting him in a carved relief, Hellenistic art, 2nd century BC, Museum of Roman Civilization
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