Macedonia (ancient kingdom)

Macedonia(/ˌmæsɪˈdoʊniə/MASS-ih-DOH-nee-ə;Greek:Μακεδονία,Makedonía), also calledMacedon(/ˈmæsɪdɒn/MASS-ih-don), was anancientkingdomon the periphery ofArchaicandClassical Greece,which later became the dominant state ofHellenistic Greece.Thekingdom was foundedand initially ruled by the royalArgead dynasty, which was followed by theAntipatridandAntigoniddynasties. Home to theancient Macedonians, the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of theGreek peninsula,and bordered byEpirusto the southwest,Illyriato the northwest,Paeoniato the north,Thraceto the east andThessalyto the south.
Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the greatcity-statesofAthens,SpartaandThebes, andbriefly subordinatetoAchaemenid Persia.During the reign of the Argead kingPhilipII(359–336 BC), Macedoniasubduedmainland Greeceand theThracianOdrysian kingdomthrough conquest and diplomacy. With a reformedarmycontainingphalanxeswielding thesarissapike, PhilipII defeated the old powers ofAthensandThebesin theBattle of Chaeroneain 338BC. PhilipII's sonAlexander the Great, leading afederation of Greek states, accomplished his father's objective of commanding the whole of Greece when hedestroyed Thebesafter the city revolted. During Alexander's subsequentcampaign of conquest, heoverthrewtheAchaemenid Empireand conquered territory that stretched as far as theIndus River. For a brief period, hisMacedonian Empirewas the most powerful in the world – the definitiveHellenisticstate, inaugurating the transition to a new period ofAncient Greek civilization.Greek artsandliteratureflourished in the new conquered lands and advances inphilosophy,engineering, andsciencespread across the empire and beyond. Of particular importance were the contributions ofAristotle, tutor to Alexander,whose writingsbecame a keystone ofWestern philosophy.
AfterAlexander's deathin 323BC, the ensuingwars 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 withPtolemaic Egypt, theSeleucid Empire, and theAttalid kingdom. Important cities such asPella,Pydna, andAmphipoliswere involved in power struggles for control of the territory. New cities were founded, such asThessalonicaby the usurperCassander(named after his wifeThessalonike of Macedon).Macedonia's decline began with theMacedonian Warsandthe riseofRomeas the leadingMediterraneanpower. At the end of theThird Macedonian Warin 168BC,the Macedonian monarchy was abolishedand replaced by Romanclient states. A short-lived revival of the monarchy during theFourth Macedonian Warin 150–148BC ended with the establishment of theRoman provinceofMacedonia.
The Macedonian kings, who wieldedabsolute powerand commandedstate resourcessuch as gold and silver, facilitated mining operations tomintcurrency, financetheir armiesand, by the reign of PhilipII, a Macedonian navy. Unlike the otherdiadochisuccessor states, theimperial cultfostered by Alexander was never adopted in Macedonia, yet Macedonian rulers nevertheless assumed roles ashigh priestsof the kingdom and leading patrons of domestic and internationalcultsof theHellenistic religion. The authority of Macedonian kings was theoretically limited by the institution of the army, whilea few municipalitieswithin theMacedonian commonwealthenjoyed a high degree of autonomy and even haddemocratic governmentswithpopular assemblies.
The name Macedonia (Greek:Μακεδονία,Makedonía) comes from theethnonymΜακεδόνες(Makedónes), which itself is derived from theancient Greekadjectiveμακεδνός(makednós), meaning "tall, slim", also the name of a people related to theDorians(Herodotus), and possibly descriptive ofAncient Macedonians.It is most likelycognatewith the adjectiveμακρός(makrós), meaning "long" or "tall" inAncient Greek.The name is believed to have originally meant either "highlanders", "the tall ones", or "high grown men".LinguistRobert S. P. Beekesclaims that both terms are ofPre-Greek substrateorigin and cannot be explained in terms ofIndo-Europeanmorphology,however Filip De Decker rejects Beekesʼ arguments as insufficient.
TheClassicalGreek historiansHerodotusandThucydidesreported thelegendthat theMacedonian kingsof theArgead dynastywere descendants ofTemenus, king ofArgos, and could therefore claim the mythicalHeraclesas one of theirancestorsas well asa direct lineagefromZeus, chief god of theGreek pantheon.Contradictory legends state that eitherPerdiccas I of MacedonorCaranus of Macedonwere 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 theHellanodikaiauthorities of theAncient Olympic Games, permittingAlexander I of Macedon(r.498–454 BC) to enter the competitions owing to his perceived Greek heritage.Little is known about the kingdom before the reign of AlexanderI's fatherAmyntas I of Macedon(r.547–498 BC) during theArchaic period.
Thekingdom of Macedoniawas situated along theHaliacmonandAxiusrivers inLower Macedonia, north ofMount Olympus. HistorianRobert Malcolm Erringtonsuggests that one of the earliest Argead kings establishedAigai(modernVergina) as their capital in the mid-7th centuryBC.Before the 4th centuryBC, the kingdom covered a region corresponding roughly to thewesternandcentralparts of theregion of Macedoniain modernGreece.It gradually expanded into the region ofUpper Macedonia, inhabited by the GreekLyncestaeandElimiotaetribes, and into regions ofEmathia,Eordaia,Bottiaea,Mygdonia,Crestonia, andAlmopia, which were inhabited by various peoples such asThraciansandPhrygians.Macedonia's non-Greek neighbors included Thracians, inhabiting territories to the northeast,Illyriansto the northwest, andPaeoniansto the north, while the lands ofThessalyto the south andEpirusto the west were inhabited by Greeks with similar cultures to that of the Macedonians.
A year afterDarius I of Persia(r.522–486 BC) launchedan invasioninto Europe against theScythians,Paeonians,Thracians, and several Greek city-states of theBalkans, the Persian generalMegabazusused diplomacy to convince AmyntasI to submit as avassalof theAchaemenid Empire, ushering in the period ofAchaemenid Macedonia.Achaemenid Persianhegemonyover Macedonia was briefly interrupted by theIonian Revolt(499–493BC), yet the Persian generalMardoniusbrought it back under Achaemenidsuzerainty.
Although Macedonia enjoyed a large degree ofautonomyand was never made asatrapy(i.e. province) of the Achaemenid Empire, it was expected to provide troops for theAchaemenid army.AlexanderI provided Macedonian military support toXerxes I(r.486–465 BC) during theSecond Persian invasion of Greecein 480–479 BC, and Macedonian soldiers fought on the side of the Persians at the 479BCBattle of Platea.Following theGreek victory at Salamisin 480BC, AlexanderI was employed as an Achaemenid diplomat to propose a peace treaty and alliance withAthens, an offer that was rejected.Soon afterwards, the Achaemenid forces wereforced to withdraw from mainland Europe, marking the end of Persian control over Macedonia.
Although initially a Persian vassal, AlexanderI of Macedon fostered friendly diplomatic relations with his former Greek enemies, the Athenian andSpartan-led coalition of Greek city-states.His successorPerdiccasII(r.454–413 BC) led the Macedonians to war in four separate conflicts against Athens, leader of theDelian League, while incursions by the Thracian rulerSitalcesof theOdrysian kingdomthreatened Macedonia'sterritorial integrityin the northeast.The Athenian statesmanPericlespromoted colonization of theStrymon Rivernear the Kingdom of Macedonia, where the colonial city ofAmphipoliswas founded in 437/436BC so that it could provide Athens with a steady supply of silver and gold as well astimberandpitchto support theAthenian navy.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 inChalcidiceand subsequently won over the strategic city ofPotidaea.After capturing the Macedonian citiesThermaandBeroea, Athens besieged Potidaea but failed to overcome it; Therma was returned to Macedonia and much of Chalcidice to Athens in apeace treatybrokered by Sitalces, who provided Athens with military aid in exchange for acquiring new Thracian allies.
PerdiccasII sidedwith Spartain thePeloponnesian 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, a local ruler ofLynkestisin Upper Macedonia, rebelled against hisoverlordPerdiccas, and the Spartans agreed to help in putting down the revolt.At theBattle of Lyncestisthe Macedonians panicked and fled before the fighting began, enraging the Spartan generalBrasidas, whose soldiers looted the unattended Macedonianbaggage train.Perdiccas then changed sides and supported Athens, and he was able to put down Arrhabaeus's revolt.
Brasidas died in 422 BC, the year Athens and Sparta struck an accord, thePeace of Nicias, that freed Macedonia from its obligations as an Athenian ally.Following the 418BCBattle of Mantinea, the victorious Spartans formed an alliance withArgos, 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-Atheniandemocracy, the Athenian navy was able to form ablockadeagainst Macedonianseaportsand invade Chalcidice in 417BC.PerdiccasII sued for peace in 414BC, forming an alliance with Athens that was continued by his son and successorArchelausI(r.413–399 BC).Athens then provided naval support to ArchelausI in the 410BC Macedonian siege ofPydna, 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 bySirrasof 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 thecapitalof the kingdom north toPella, which was then positioned by a lake with a river connecting it to theAegean Sea.He improved Macedonia'scurrencyby mintingcoinswith ahigher silver contentas well as issuing separatecopper coinage.His royal court attracted the presence of well-known intellectuals such as the AthenianplaywrightEuripides.When ArchelausI was assassinated (perhaps following ahomosexuallove affair withroyal pagesat 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; andAmyntasII, who was married to the youngest daughter of ArchelausI.Very little is known about this turbulent period; it came to an end whenAmyntasIII(r.393–370 BC), son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of AmyntasI, killed Pausanias and claimed the Macedonian throne.
Amyntas III was forced to flee his kingdom in either 393 or 383BC (based on conflicting accounts), owing to a massive invasion by theIllyriansled byBardylis.Thepretenderto the throneArgaeusruled 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 ofOlynthos, but with the aid ofTeleutias, brother of the Spartan kingAgesilaus II, the Macedonians forced Olynthos to surrender and dissolve theirChalcidian Leaguein 379BC.
Alexander II(r.370–368 BC), son ofEurydiceIand AmyntasIII, succeeded his father and immediately invaded Thessaly to wage war against thetagus(supreme Thessalian military leader)Alexander of Pherae, capturing the city ofLarissa.The Thessalians, desiring to remove both AlexanderII and Alexander of Pherae as theiroverlords, appealed toPelopidasofThebesfor aid; he succeeded in recapturing Larissa and, in the peace agreement arranged with Macedonia, received aristocratichostagesincluding AlexanderII's brother and future kingPhilipII(r.359–336 BC).When Alexander was assassinated by his brother-in-lawPtolemy of Aloros, the latter acted as an overbearing regent forPerdiccasIII(r.368–359 BC), younger brother of AlexanderII, who eventually had Ptolemy executed when reaching theage of majorityin 365BC.The remainder of Perdiccas III's reign was marked by political stability and financial recovery.However, an Athenian invasion led byTimotheus, son ofConon, managed to captureMethoneand Pydna, and an Illyrian invasion led by Bardylis succeeded in killing PerdiccasIII and 4,000 Macedonian troops in battle.
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 underBerisadesto cease their support ofPausanias, a pretender to the throne, and the Athenians to halt their support ofanother pretender.He achieved these by bribing the Thracians and theirPaeonianallies and establishing a treaty with Athens that relinquished his claims to Amphipolis.He was also able to make peace with the Illyrians whohad threatened his borders.
Philip II spent his initial years radically transforming theMacedonian army. A reform of its organization, equipment, and training, including the introduction of theMacedonian phalanxarmed withlong pikes(i.e. thesarissa), 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 hisadolescentyears of captivity in Thebes as a political hostage during theTheban hegemony, especially after meeting with the generalEpaminondas.
The Macedonians, like the other Greeks, traditionally practicedmonogamy, but PhilipII practicedpolygamyand married seven wives withperhaps only onethat did not involve the loyalty of his aristocratic subjects or new allies.His first marriages were toPhila of Elimeiaof the Upper Macedonian aristocracy as well as the Illyrian princessAudatato ensure a marriage alliance.To establish an alliance with Larissa in Thessaly, he married the Thessalian noblewomanPhilinnain 358BC, who bore him a son who would later rule asPhilip III Arrhidaeus(r.323–317 BC).In 357BC, he marriedOlympiasto secure an alliance withArybbas, theKing of Epirusand theMolossians. This marriage would bear a son who would later rule as AlexanderIII (better known asAlexander the Great) and claim descent from the legendaryAchillesby way of hisdynastic 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, andMenelaus.PhilipII had Archelaus put to death in 359BC, while PhilipII's other two half brothers fled to Olynthos, serving as acasus bellifor theOlynthian War(349–348BC) against the Chalcidian League.
While Athens was preoccupied with theSocial War (357–355 BC), 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 tookCrenides, refounding it asPhilippi, while his generalParmeniondefeated the Illyrian kingGrabos IIof theGrabaei.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.
Philip II then involved Macedonia in theThird Sacred War(356–346BC). It began whenPhociscaptured and plundered the temple ofApolloatDelphiinstead of submitting unpaid fines, causing theAmphictyonic Leagueto declare war on Phocis and acivil waramong the members of theThessalian Leaguealigned with either Phocis or Thebes.PhilipII's initial campaign againstPheraein Thessaly in 353BC at the behest of Larissa ended in two disastrous defeats by the Phocian generalOnomarchus.PhilipII in turn defeated Onomarchus in 352BC at theBattle 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 weddingNicesipolis, niece of the tyrantJason of Pherae.
Philip II had some early involvement with the Achaemenid Empire, especially by supportingsatrapsand mercenaries who rebelled against the central authority of the Achaemenid king. The satrap ofHellespontine PhrygiaArtabazos II, who was in rebellion againstArtaxerxes III, 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 generalMemnon of Rhodes.Barsine, daughter of Artabazos, and future wife of Alexander the Great, grew up at the Macedonian court.
After campaigning against the Thracian rulerCersobleptes, in 349BC, PhilipII began his war against the Chalcidian League, which had been reestablished in 375BC following a temporary disbandment.Despite an Athenian intervention byCharidemus,Olynthos was captured by PhilipII in 348BC, and its inhabitants weresold into slavery, including someAthenian citizens.The Athenians, especially in a series of speeches byDemosthenesknown as theOlynthiacs, were unsuccessful in persuading their allies to counterattack and in 346BC concluded a treaty with Macedoniaknown as the PeaceofPhilocrates.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 theThracian Chersonese.Meanwhile, Phocis andThermopylaewere captured by Macedonian forces, theDelphic templerobbers were executed, and PhilipII was awarded the two Phocian seats on the Amphictyonic Council and the position ofmaster of ceremoniesover thePythian Games.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 orationOn the Peace.
Over the next few years, Philip II reformed local governments in Thessaly, campaigned against the Illyrian rulerPleuratus I, deposed Arybbas inEpirusin favor of his brother-in-lawAlexanderI(through PhilipII's marriage to Olympias), and defeated Cersebleptes in Thrace. This allowed him to extend Macedonian control over theHellespontin anticipation of an invasion intoAchaemenid Anatolia.In 342BC, PhilipII conquereda Thracian cityin what is nowBulgariaand renamed itPhilippopolis(modernPlovdiv).War broke out with Athens in 340BC while PhilipII was engaged in two ultimately unsuccessful sieges ofPerinthusandByzantion, followed by a successful campaign against the Scythians along theDanubeand Macedonia's involvement in theFourth Sacred WaragainstAmphissain 339BC.Thebes ejected a Macedonian garrison fromNicaea (near Thermopylae), leading Thebes to join Athens,Megara, Corinth,Achaea, andEuboeain a final confrontation against Macedonia at theBattle of Chaeroneain 338BC.After the Macedonian victory at Chaeronea, PhilipII installed anoligarchyin 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 theLeague of Corinththat 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) of its council (synedrion) and thecommander-in-chief(strategosautokrator) 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 Minoras 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 kingArtaxerxes IIIfurther consolidated his control over satrapies inwestern 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 marriedCleopatra Eurydice, niece of generalAttalus, 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 andAda of Caria, daughter ofPixodarus, the Persian satrap ofCaria, Alexander intervened and proposed to marry Ada instead. PhilipII then cancelled the wedding altogether and exiled Alexander's advisorsPtolemy,Nearchus, andHarpalus.To reconcile with Olympias, PhilipII had their daughterCleopatramarry Olympias' brother (and Cleopatra's uncle) AlexanderI of Epirus, but PhilipII was assassinated by his bodyguard,Pausanias of Orestis, during their wedding feast and succeeded by Alexander in 336BC.
Modern scholars have argued over the possible role ofAlexanderIII "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 deputyhegemonof the League of Corinth, and the potential bearing of another male heir between PhilipII and his new wife, Cleopatra Eurydice.AlexanderIII (r.336–323 BC) was immediately proclaimed king byan assemblyof the army and leading aristocrats, chief among them beingAntipaterand Parmenion.By the end of his reign and military career in 323BC, Alexander would rule over an empire consisting ofmainland Greece,Asia Minor, theLevant,ancient Egypt,Mesopotamia,Persia, and much ofCentralandSouth Asia(i.e. modernPakistan).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 ashegemonof the league to carry out the planned invasion of Achaemenid Persia.
In 335 BC, Alexanderfought against the Thracian tribeof theTriballiatHaemus Monsand along theDanube, forcing their surrender onPeuce Island.Shortly thereafter, the Illyrian chieftainCleitus, son ofBardylis, threatened to attack Macedonia with the aid ofGlaucias, king of theTaulantii, but Alexander took the initiative andbesieged the IllyriansatPelion(in modernAlbania).When Thebes had once again revolted from the League of Corinth and was besieging the Macedonian garrison in theCadmea, Alexander left the Illyrian front and marched to Thebes, which heplaced under siege.After breaching the walls, Alexander's forces killed 6,000 Thebans, took 30,000 inhabitants asprisoners 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 theBattle of the Granicusin 334BC used a small cavalry contingent as a distraction to allow his infantry to cross the river followed by acavalry chargefrom hiscompanion cavalry.Alexander led the cavalry charge at theBattle of Issusin 333BC, forcing the Persian kingDarius IIIand his army to flee.DariusIII, despite having superior numbers, was again forced to flee theBattle of Gaugamelain 331BC.The Persian king was later captured and executed by his own satrap ofBactriaand kinsman,Bessus, in 330BC. The Macedonian king subsequently hunted down and executed Bessus in what is nowAfghanistan, securing the region ofSogdiain the process.At the 326BCBattle of the Hydaspes(modern-dayPunjab), when thewar elephantsofKing Porusof thePauravasthreatened Alexander's troops, he had them form open ranks to surround the elephants and dislodge their handlers by using theirsarissapikes.When his Macedonian troops threatenedmutinyin 324BC atOpis,Babylonia(near modernBaghdad,Iraq), 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.
Alexander perhaps undercut his own rule by demonstrating signs ofmegalomania.While utilizing effective propaganda such as the cutting of theGordian Knot, he also attempted to portray himself as aliving godand son of Zeus following his visit to theoracleatSiwahin theLibyan Desert(in modern-day Egypt) in 331BC.His attempt in 327BC to have his men prostrate before him inBactrain an act ofproskynesisborrowed from the Persian kings was rejected as religious blasphemy by his Macedonian and Greek subjects after his court historianCallisthenesrefused to perform this ritual.When Alexander had Parmenion murdered atEcbatana(near modernHamadan,Iran) 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 ofCleitus the Blackin 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 wedRoxana, a Sogdian princess of Bactria.He then marriedStateira II, eldest daughter of DariusIII, andParysatis II, youngest daughter ofArtaxerxes III, at theSusa weddingsin 324BC.
Meanwhile, in Greece, theSpartan kingAgis IIIattempted to lead a rebellion of the Greeks against Macedonia.He was defeated in 331BC at theBattle of Megalopolisby Antipater, who was serving as regent of Macedonia and deputyhegemonof the League of Corinth in Alexander's stead.Before Antipater embarked on his campaign in thePeloponnese, 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 thetyranniesinstalled in Greece were to be abolished and Greek freedom was to be restored.
WhenAlexander the Great diedatBabylonin 323BC, his mother Olympias immediately accused Antipater and his faction of poisoning him, although there is no evidence to confirm this.With no officialheir apparent, the Macedonian military command split, with one side proclaiming Alexander's half-brother PhilipIII Arrhidaeus (r.323–317 BC) as king and the other siding with the infant son of Alexander and Roxana,AlexanderIV(r.323–309 BC).Except for the Euboeans and Boeotians, the Greeks also immediately rose up in a rebellion against Antipater known as theLamian War(323–322BC).When Antipater was defeated at the 323BCBattle of Thermopylae, he fled toLamiawhere he was besieged by the Athenian commanderLeosthenes. A Macedonian army led byLeonnatusrescued 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 ina power strugglebetween thediadochi, the former generals of Alexander's army.
Acouncil of the army convened in Babylonimmediately after Alexander's death, naming PhilipIII as king and thechiliarchPerdiccasas his regent.Antipater,Antigonus Monophthalmus,Craterus, and Ptolemy formed a coalition against Perdiccas in a civil war initiated by Ptolemy'sseizure 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 theNile Riverresulted in the drowning of 2,000 of his men.AlthoughEumenes of Cardiamanaged to kill Craterus in battle, this had little to no effect on the outcome of the 321BCPartition of TriparadisusinSyriawhere 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 loyalistPolyperchonas his successor, passing over his own sonCassanderand 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, andLysimachus, Cassander had his officerNicanorcapture theMunichiafortress of Athens' port townPiraeusin defiance of Polyperchon's decree that Greek cities should be free of Macedonian garrisons, sparking theSecond War of the Diadochi(319–315BC).Given a string of military failures by Polyperchon, in 317BC, PhilipIII, by way of his politically engaged wifeEurydice II of Macedon, 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 daughterThessalonikeand briefly extended Macedonian control into Illyria as far asEpidamnos(modernDurrës, Albania). By 313BC, it was retaken by the Illyrian kingGlaucias of Taulantii.By 316BC, Antigonus had taken the territory of Eumenes and managed to ejectSeleucus Nicatorfrom 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 thequeen motherRoxana.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 thediadochiwere declared kings of their respective territories.
The beginning ofHellenistic Greecewas defined by the struggle between theAntipatrid dynasty, led first byCassander(r.305–297 BC), son of Antipater, and theAntigonid dynasty, led by the Macedonian generalAntigonus I Monophthalmus(r.306–301 BC) and his son, the future kingDemetriusI(r.294–288 BC). Cassander besieged Athens in 303BC, but was forced to retreat to Macedonia when Demetrius invadedBoeotiato his rear, attempting to sever his path of retreat.While Antigonus and Demetrius attempted to recreate PhilipII'sHellenic leaguewith themselves as dual hegemons, a revived coalition of Cassander,Ptolemy I Soter(r.305–283 BC) of Egypt'sPtolemaic dynasty,Seleucus I Nicator(r.305–281 BC) of theSeleucid Empire, and Lysimachus (r.306–281 BC),King of Thrace, defeated the Antigonids at theBattle of Ipsusin 301BC, killing Antigonus and forcing Demetrius into flight.
Cassander died in 297 BC, and his sickly sonPhilipIVdied the same year, succeeded by Cassander's other sonsAlexander V of Macedon(r.297–294 BC) andAntipater II of Macedon(r.297–294 BC), with their motherThessalonike of Macedonacting 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 fromPyrrhus of Epirus(r.297–272 BC),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-styleautocracy.
War broke out between Pyrrhus and Demetrius in 290BC whenLanassa, wife of Pyrrhus, daughter ofAgathocles of Syracuse, left him for Demetrius and offered him herdowryofCorcyra.The war dragged on until 288BC, when Demetrius lost the support ofthe Macedoniansand fled the country. Macedonia was then divided between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus, the former takingwestern Macedoniaand the latter eastern Macedonia.By 286BC, Lysimachus had expelled Pyrrhus and his forces from Macedonia.In 282BC, a new war erupted between SeleucusI and Lysimachus; the latter was killed in theBattle of Corupedion, allowing SeleucusI to take control of Thrace and Macedonia.In two dramatic reversals of fortune, SeleucusI was assassinated in 281BC by his officerPtolemy Keraunos, son of PtolemyI and grandson of Antipater, who was then proclaimed king of Macedonia before being killed in battle in 279BC byCeltic invadersin theGallic invasion of Greece.The Macedonian army proclaimed the generalSosthenes of Macedonas king, although he apparently refused the title.After defeating theGallicrulerBolgiosand driving out the raiding party ofBrennus, Sosthenes died and left a chaotic situation in Macedonia.The Gallic invaders ravaged Macedonia untilAntigonus Gonatas, son of Demetrius, defeated them in Thrace at the 277BCBattle of Lysimachiaand was then proclaimed kingAntigonus II of Macedon(r.277–274, 272–239 BC).
In 280 BC, Pyrrhus embarked on a campaign inMagna Graecia(i.e.southern Italy) against theRoman Republicknown as thePyrrhic War, followed by hisinvasion of Sicily.Ptolemy Keraunos secured his position on the Macedonian throne by giving Pyrrhus five thousand soldiers and twentywar elephantsfor this endeavor.Pyrrhus returned to Epirus in 275BC after the ultimate failure of both campaigns, which contributed to therise of RomebecauseGreek cities in southern Italysuch asTarentumnow became Roman allies.Pyrrhus invaded Macedonia in 274BC, defeating the largely mercenary army of AntigonusII at the 274BCBattle of Aousand driving him out of Macedonia, forcing him to seek refuge with his naval fleet in the Aegean.
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 besiegingArgosin 272BC, allowing AntigonusII to reclaim the rest of Greece.He then restored the Argead dynastic graves at Aigai and annexed theKingdom of Paeonia.
TheAetolian Leaguehampered AntigonusII's control overcentral Greece, and the formation of theAchaean Leaguein 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 theSyrian Wars, the Ptolemaic navy heavily disrupted AntigonusII's efforts to control mainland Greece.With the aid of the Ptolemaic navy, the Athenian statesmanChremonidesled a revolt against Macedonian authority known as theChremonidean War(267–261BC).By 265BC, Athens was surrounded and besieged by AntigonusII's forces, and a Ptolemaic fleet was defeated in theBattle of Cos. Athens finally surrendered in 261BC.After Macedonia formed an alliance with the Seleucid rulerAntiochus II, a peace settlement between AntigonusII andPtolemy II Philadelphusof Egypt was finally struck in 255BC.
In 251 BC,Aratus of Sicyonled a rebellion against AntigonusII, and in 250BC, PtolemyII declared his support for the self-proclaimed KingAlexander of Corinth.Although Alexander died in 246BC and Antigonus was able to score a naval victory against the Ptolemiesat Andros, the Macedonians lost theAcrocorinthto 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 sonDemetrius II of Macedon(r.239–229 BC). Seeking an alliance with Macedonia to defend against the Aetolians, thequeen motherand regent of Epirus,Olympias II, offered her daughterPhthia of Macedonto DemetriusII in marriage. Demetrius II accepted her proposal, but he damaged relations with the Seleucids by divorcingStratonice of Macedon.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 captureMegalopolisin 235BC, and by the end of DemetriusII's reign most of the Peloponnese except Argos was taken from the Macedonians.DemetriusII also lost an allyin Epiruswhen themonarchy was toppledin arepublican revolution.DemetriusII enlisted the aid of theIllyriankingAgronto defendAcarnaniaagainst Aetolia, and in 229BC, they managed to defeat the combined navies of the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues at theBattle of Paxos.Another Illyrian ruler,Longarusof theDardanian Kingdom, invaded Macedonia and defeated an army of DemetriusII shortly before his death in 229BC.Although his young sonPhilipimmediately inherited the throne, his regentAntigonus III Doson(r.229–221 BC), 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.
Aratus sent an embassy to Antigonus III in 226BC seeking an unexpected alliance now that the reformist kingCleomenes IIIof Sparta was threatening the rest of Greece in theCleomenean 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 tookArcadiafrom Sparta. After forming a Hellenic league in the same vein as PhilipII's League of Corinth, he managed to defeat Sparta at theBattle of Sellasiain 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 fromtuberculosis, leaving behind a strongHellenistic kingdomfor his successor PhilipV.
Philip V of Macedon(r.221–179 BC) faced immediate challenges to his authority by the IllyrianDardaniand Aetolian League.PhilipV and his allies were successful against the Aetolians and their allies in theSocial War (220–217 BC), yet he made peace with the Aetolians once he heard of incursions by the Dardani in the north and theCarthaginianvictory overthe Romansat theBattle of Lake Trasimenein 217BC.Demetrius of Pharosis alleged to have convinced PhilipV to firstsecure Illyriain advance of an invasion of theItalian peninsula.In 216BC, PhilipV sent a hundredlight warshipsinto theAdriatic Seato attack Illyria, a move that promptedScerdilaidasof theArdiaean Kingdomto appeal to the Romans for aid.Rome responded by sending ten heavyquinqueremesfromRoman Sicilyto patrol the Illyrian coasts, causing PhilipV to reverse course and order his fleet to retreat, averting open conflict for the time being.
In 215 BC, at the height of theSecond Punic Warwith theCarthaginian Empire,Romanauthorities intercepted a ship off theCalabriancoast holding a Macedonian envoy and a Carthaginian ambassador in possession of a treaty composed byHannibaldeclaring an alliance with PhilipV.The treatystipulated thatCarthagehad 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 theFirst Macedonian War(214–205BC). In 214BC, Rome positioned anaval fleetatOricus, which was assaulted along withApolloniaby Macedonian forces.When the Macedonians capturedLissusin 212BC, theRoman Senateresponded by inciting the Aetolian League, Sparta,Elis,Messenia, andAttalus I(r.241–197 BC) ofPergamonto wage war against PhilipV, keeping him occupied and away from Italy.
The Aetolian League concluded apeace agreementwith PhilipV in 206BC, and theRoman Republicnegotiated theTreaty of Phoenicein 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 allyRhodesin 201BC.These states were concerned about PhilipV's alliance withAntiochus III the Greatof the Seleucid Empire, which invaded the war-weary and financially exhausted Ptolemaic Empire in theFifth Syrian War(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, thecomitia centuriata(people's assembly) rejected the Roman Senate's proposal for a declaration of war on Macedonia.Meanwhile, PhilipV conquered territories in theHellespontandBosporusas well as PtolemaicSamos, which led Rhodes toform an alliance with Pergamon,Byzantium,Cyzicus, andChiosagainst Macedonia.Despite PhilipV's nominal alliance with the Seleucid king, he lost the navalBattle of Chiosin 201BC and was blockaded atBargyliaby 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.The Roman Senate demanded that PhilipV cease hostilities against neighboring Greek powers and defer to an international arbitration committee for settling grievances.When thecomitia centuriatafinally voted in approval of the Roman Senate's declaration of war in 200BC and handed theirultimatumto PhilipV, demanding that atribunalassess the damages owed to Rhodes and Pergamon, the Macedonian king rejected it. This marked the beginning of theSecond Macedonian War(200–197BC), withPublius Sulpicius Galba Maximusspearheadingmilitary operationsin Apollonia.
The Macedonians successfully defended their territory for roughly two years,but theRoman consulTitus Quinctius Flamininusmanaged 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 theBattle of Cynoscephalae.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 theIsthmian Gamesof 196BC that Rome intended to preserve Greeklibertyby leaving behind no garrisons and by not exactingtributeof any kind.His promise was delayed by negotiations with the Spartan kingNabis, 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, theSeleucid kingAntiochusIII landed with his army atDemetrias, Thessaly, in 192BC, and was electedstrategosby the Aetolians.Macedonia, the Achaean League, and other Greek city-states maintained their alliance with Rome.The Romansdefeated the Seleucidsin the 191BCBattle of Thermopylaeas well as theBattle of Magnesiain 190BC, forcing the Seleucids to pay awar indemnity, dismantle most of its navy, and abandon its claims to any territories north or west of theTaurus Mountainsin the 188BCTreaty of Apamea.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 andEumenes II(r.197–159 BC) 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 abandonAenusandMaronea, since these had been declared free cities in the Treaty of Apamea.This assuaged the fear of EumenesII that Macedonia could pose a threat to his lands in the Hellespont.Perseus of Macedon(r.179–168 BC) succeeded PhilipV and executedhis brother Demetrius, who had been favored by the Romans but was charged by Perseus withhigh treason.Perseus then attempted to form marriage alliances withPrusias II of BithyniaandSeleucus IV Philopatorof 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 theBoeotian League, extended his authority into Illyriaand Thrace, and in 174BC, won the role of managing the Temple of Apollo at Delphi as a member of theAmphictyonic Council.
Eumenes II came to Rome in 172 BC and delivered a speech tothe Senatedenouncing the alleged crimes and transgressions of Perseus.This convinced the Roman Senate to declare theThird Macedonian War(171–168BC).Although Perseus's forces were victorious against the Romans at theBattle of Callinicusin 171BC, the Macedonian army was defeated at theBattle of Pydnain June 168BC.Perseus fled toSamothracebut surrendered shortly afterwards, was brought toRomefor thetriumphofLucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, and was placed underhouse arrestatAlba Fucens, where he died in 166BC.The Romans abolished the Macedonian monarchy by installing four separate alliedrepublicsin its stead, their capitals located atAmphipolis,Thessalonica,Pella, andPelagonia.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 certainAndriscus, claiming Antigonid descent, rebelled against the Romans and was pronounced king of Macedonia, defeating the army of the RomanpraetorPublius Juventius Thalna during theFourth Macedonian War(150–148BC).Despite this, Andriscus was defeated in 148BC at thesecond Battle of PydnabyQuintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, whose forces occupied the kingdom.This was followed in 146BC by the Romandestruction of Carthageand victory over the Achaean League at theBattle of Corinth, ushering in the era ofRoman Greeceand the gradual establishment of theRoman province of Macedonia.
At the head ofMacedonia's governmentwasthe king(basileus).From at least the reign of PhilipII, the king was assisted by theroyal 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.
The earliest known government of ancient Macedonia was that of itsmonarchy, lasting until 167BC when it was abolished by the Romans.The Macedonian hereditary monarchy existed since at least the time ofArchaic Greece, with Homeric aristocratic roots inMycenaean Greece.Thucydides wrote that in previous ages, Macedonia was divided into small tribal regions, each having its ownpetty king, the tribes ofLower Macedoniaeventually coalescing under one great king who exercised power as anoverlordover the lesser kings ofUpper Macedonia.The direct line offather-to-son successionwas broken after the assassination ofOrestes of Macedonin 396BC (allegedly by hisregentand successorAeropus II of Macedon), clouding the issue of whetherprimogeniturewas the established custom or if there was a constitutional right for an assembly of the army orof the peopleto choose another king.It is unclear if the male offspring of Macedonian queens orconsortswere always preferred over others given the accession ofArchelaus I of Macedon, son ofPerdiccas II of Macedonand aslave woman, although Archelaus succeeded the throne after murdering his father's designatedheir apparent.
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 atSalamisin 480BC, the Persian commanderMardoniushadAlexander I of Macedonsent to Athens as a chief envoy to orchestrate an alliance between the Achaemenid Empire andAthens. The decision to send Alexander was based on hismarriage alliancewith 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, androyal land, the early Macedonian kings were also capable ofbribingforeign and domestic parties with impressive gifts.
Little is known about thejudicial systemof ancient Macedonia except that the king acted as thechief judgeof the kingdom.The Macedonian kings were alsosupreme commandersof the military.PhilipII was also highly regarded for his acts of piety in serving as thehigh priestof the nation. He performed dailyritual sacrificesand ledreligious festivals.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 aroyal secretary, royal archive, royal pages, and a seatedthrone.
Theroyal pageswere adolescent boys and young menconscriptedfrom 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 duringsymposia(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 withPerseus of MacedontoSamothracefollowinghis defeatby the Romans in 168BC.
Royal bodyguards served as the closest members to the king at court and on the battlefield.They were split into two categories: theagemaof thehypaspistai, a type of ancientspecial forcesusually 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.
The companions, including the elitecompanion cavalryandpezhetairoiinfantry, represented a substantially larger group than the king's bodyguards.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 apeople's assemblyduring times of peace.
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 ofhigh treasonandassign punishmentsfor them, such as when Alexander the Great acted asprosecutorin the trial and conviction of three alleged conspirators in his father's assassination plot (while many otherswere 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 companionsimmediately formed a councilto assume control of his empire, but it was soon destabilized byopen rivalry and conflictbetweenits members.The army also usedmutinyas a tool to achieve political ends.
Antigonid Macedonian kings relied on various regional officials to conduct affairs of state.This included high-ranking municipal officials, such as the militarystrategosand thepolitarch, i.e. the elected governor (archon) of a large city (polis), as well as the politico-religious office of theepistates.No evidence exists about the personal backgrounds of these officials, although they may have been chosen among the same group of aristocraticphiloiandhetairoiwho filled vacancies for army officers.
Inancient Athens, theAthenian democracywas 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-imposedoligarchycomposed of the wealthiest members of the city-state.Other city-states were handled quite differently and were allowed a greater degree ofautonomy.After PhilipII conquered Amphipolis in 357BC, the city was allowed to retain itsdemocracy, including its constitution,popular assembly,city council(boule), and yearlyelectionsfor 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 Macedoniancommonwealththat had a democratic government with popular assemblies, since the assembly (ecclesia) ofThessalonikiseems to have had only a passive function in practice.Some cities also maintained their own municipalrevenues.The Macedonian king and central government administered the revenues generated bytemplesandpriesthoods.
Within theMacedonian commonwealth, some evidence from the 3rd centuryBC indicates that foreign relations were handled by the central government. Although individual Macedonian cities nominally participated inPanhellenicevents as independent entities, in reality, the granting ofasylia(inviolability,diplomatic immunity, and theright of asylumatsanctuaries) to certain cities was handled directly by the king.Likewise, the city-states within contemporary Greekkoina(i.e.,federationsof city-states, thesympoliteia) obeyed the federal decreesvotedon collectively by the members of their league.In city-states belonging to a league or commonwealth, the granting ofproxenia(i.e. the hosting of foreign ambassadors) was usually a right shared by local and central authorities.Abundant evidence exists for the granting ofproxeniaas being the soleprerogativeof central authorities in the neighboringEpirote League, and some evidence suggests the same arrangement in the Macedonian commonwealth.City-states that werealliedwith Macedonia issued their own decrees regardingproxenia.Foreign leagues also formed alliances with the Macedonian kings, such as when theCretan Leaguesigned treaties withDemetrius II AetolicusandAntigonus III Dosonensuring enlistment of Cretan mercenaries into the Macedonian army, and electedPhilip V of Macedonas honorary protector (prostates) of the league.
The basic structure of theAncient Macedonian armywas the division between the companion cavalry (hetairoi) and the foot companions (pezhetairoi), augmented by various allied troops, foreign levied soldiers, and mercenaries.The foot companions existed perhaps since the reign ofAlexander I of Macedon.Macedonian cavalry, wearingmuscled cuirasses, became renowned in Greece during and after their involvement in thePeloponnesian 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.
After spending years as a political hostage in Thebes, PhilipII sought to imitate the Greek example ofmartial exercisesand the issuing ofstandard equipmentfor citizen soldiery, and succeeded in transforming the Macedonian army from a levied force of unprofessional farmers into a well-trained,professional army.PhilipII adopted some of themilitary tacticsof his enemies, such as theembolon(flying wedge) cavalry formation of theScythians.His infantry wieldedpeltaishields that replaced the earlieraspis-style shields, were equipped withprotective helmets,greaves, and eithercuirassesbreastplatesorkotthybosstomach bands, and armed withsarissapikesanddaggersas  secondary weapons.The elitehypaspistaiinfantry, composed of handpicked men from the ranks of thepezhetairoi, 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 (somatophylakes).
For his lighter missile troops, Philip II employed mercenaryCretan archersas well as Thracian, Paeonian, and Illyrianjavelinthrowers,slingers, and archers.He hired engineers such asPolyidus of ThessalyandDiades of Pella, who were capable of buildingstate of the artsiege enginesandartillerythat fired largebolts.Following the acquisition of the lucrative mines atKrinides(renamedPhilippi), the royal treasury could afford to field a permanent, professionalstanding army.The increase in state revenues under PhilipII allowed the Macedonians to build a small navy for the first time, which includedtriremes.
The only Macedonian cavalry units attested under Alexander were the companion cavalry,yet he formed ahipparchia(i.e. unit of a few hundred horsemen) of companion cavalry composed entirely of ethnicPersianswhile campaigning in Asia.When marching his forces into Asia, Alexander brought 1,800 cavalrymen from Macedonia, 1,800cavalrymen from Thessaly, 600 cavalrymen from the rest of Greece, and 900prodromoicavalry fromThrace.Antipater was able to quickly raise a force of 600 native Macedonian cavalry to fight in theLamian Warwhen it began in 323BC.The most elite members of Alexander'shypaspistaiwere designated as theagema, and a new term forhypaspistaiemerged after theBattle of Gaugamelain 331BC: theargyraspides(silver shields).The latter continued to serve after the reign of Alexander the Great and may have been of Asian origin.Overall, his pike-wielding phalanx infantry numbered some 12,000 men, 3,000 of which were elitehypaspistaiand 9,000 of which werepezhetairoi.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.
The Macedonian armycontinued to evolve under theAntigonid dynasty. It is uncertain how many men were appointed assomatophylakes, which numbered eight men at the end of Alexander the Great's reign, while thehypaspistaiseem to have morphed into assistants of thesomatophylakes.At theBattle of Cynoscephalaein 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:sacra ala;Greek:hiera ile) commanded byPhilip V of Macedonduring theSocial Warof 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 theCeltic invadersof the 270s BC who settled inGalatia, central Anatolia.
Thanks tocontemporary inscriptionsfrom Amphipolis and Greia dated 218 and 181BC, respectively, historians have been able to partially piece together the organization of the Antigonid army under PhilipV.From at least the time ofAntigonus III Doson, the most elite Antigonid-period infantry were thepeltasts, lighter and more maneuverable soldiers wieldingpeltaijavelins, swords, and a smaller bronze shield thanMacedonian phalanxpikemen, although they sometimes served in that capacity.Among the peltasts, roughly 2,000 men were selected to serve in the eliteagemavanguard, with other peltasts numbering roughly 3,000.The number of peltasts varied over time, perhaps never more than 5,000 men.They fought alongside the phalanx pikemen, divided now intochalkaspides(bronze shield) andleukaspides(white shield) regiments.
The Antigonid Macedonian kings continued to expand and equipthe navy.Cassandermaintaineda small fleetatPydna,Demetrius I of Macedonhad one at Pella, andAntigonus II Gonatas, while serving as a general for Demetrius in Greece, used the navy to secure the Macedonian holdings inDemetrias,Chalkis,Piraeus, andCorinth.The navy was considerably expanded during theChremonidean War(267–261BC), allowing the Macedonian navy to defeat the Ptolemaic Egyptian navy at the 255BCBattle of Cosand 245BCBattle of Andros, and enabling Macedonian influence to spread over theCyclades.AntigonusIII Doson used the Macedonian navy to invadeCaria, while PhilipV sent 200 ships to fight in theBattle of Chiosin 201BC.The Macedonian navy was reduced to a mere six vessels as agreed in the 197BCpeace treatythat concluded theSecond Macedonian Warwith theRoman Republic, althoughPerseus of Macedonquickly assembled somelemboiat the outbreak of theThird Macedonian Warin 171BC.
Following its adoption as the court language ofPhilip II of Macedon's regime, authors of ancient Macedonia wrote their works inKoine Greek, thelingua francaof lateClassicalandHellenistic Greece.Rare textual evidence indicates that the native Macedonian language was either a dialect ofGreeksimilar toThessalian GreekandNorthwestern Greek,or alanguage closely related to Greek.The vast majority of surviving inscriptions from ancient Macedonia were written inAttic Greekand its successor Koine.Attic (and later Koine) Greek was the preferred language of theAncient Macedonian army, although it is known that Alexander the Great once shouted an emergency order in Macedonian to his royal guards during thedrinking partywhere he killedCleitus the Black.Macedonian becameextinctin either the Hellenistic or the Roman period, and entirely replaced by Koine Greek.
By the 5th century BC, the Macedonians and the southern Greeks worshiped more or less thesame 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 ofAsklepios, Greek god of medicine; a similar arrangement existed atCassandreia, where a cult priest honoring the city's founderCassanderwas the nominal head of the city.The main sanctuary ofZeuswas maintained atDion, while another atVeriawas dedicated toHeraklesand was patronized byDemetrius II Aetolicus(r.239–229 BC).Meanwhile, foreigncults from Egyptwere fostered by the royal court, such as the temple ofSarapisat Thessaloniki.The Macedonians also had relations with "international" cults; for example, Macedonian kingsPhilip III of MacedonandAlexander IV of Macedonmadevotive offeringsto the internationally esteemedSamothrace temple complexof theCabeirimystery cult.
In the three royal tombs atVergina, professional painters decorated the walls with a mythological scene ofHadesabductingPersephoneand royal hunting scenes, while lavishgrave goodsincludingweapons, armor, drinking vessels, and personal items were housed with the dead, whose boneswere burnedbeforeburial 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 adiadem, luxurious goods, and arms and armor.Scholars have debated about the identity of the tomb occupants sincethe discoveryof their remains in 1977–1978,and recent research and forensic examination have concluded that at least one of the persons buried was PhilipII.Located near Tomb1 are the above-ground ruins of aheroon, a shrine forcult worshipof the dead.In 2014, the ancient MacedonianKasta Tombwas discovered outside of Amphipolis and is the largest ancient tomb found in Greece (as of 2017).
Young Macedonian men were typically expected to engage inhuntingand martial combat as a by-product of theirtranshumancelifestyle of herdinglivestocksuch as goats and sheep, whilehorse breedingand raisingcattlewere other common pursuits.Some Macedonians engaged in farming, often withirrigation,land reclamation, andhorticultureactivities supported by the Macedonian state.The Macedonian economy and state finances were mainly supported byloggingand byminingvaluablemineralssuch 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 anautocraticfigure 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 hishetairoi, the core of the Macedonianaristocracy.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 theHellenistic kingdomsthat succeeded Alexander the Great's empire where greatersocial mobilityfor 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 widespreaduse of slavesseen in contemporaneous Greek states.
By the reign ofArchelausIin the 5th century BC, the ancient Macedonian elite was importing customs and artistic traditions from other regions of Greece while retaining more archaic, perhapsHomeric, funerary rites connected with thesymposiumthat were typified by items such as the decorative metalkratersthat held the ashes of deceased Macedonian nobility in their tombs.Among these is the large bronzeDerveni Kraterfrom a 4th-centuryBC tomb of Thessaloniki, decorated with scenes of the Greek godDionysusandhis entourageand belonging to an aristocrat who had had a military career.Macedonianmetalworkusually followedAthenian styles of vase shapesfrom the 6thcenturyBC onward, with drinking vessels, jewellery, containers, crowns,diadems, andcoinsamong the many metal objects found in Macedonian tombs.
Surviving Macedonian painted artwork includesfrescoesandmurals, but also decoration onsculpted artworksuch asstatuesandreliefs. For instance, trace colors still exist on thebas-reliefsof the late 4th-century BCAlexander Sarcophagus.Macedonian paintings have allowed historians to investigate the clothing fashions as well as military gear worn by theancient Macedonians.Aside from metalwork and painting,mosaicsare another significant form of surviving Macedonian artwork.TheStag Hunt Mosaicof 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 companionCraterus, or simply a conventional illustration of the royal diversion of hunting.Mosaics with mythological themes include scenes of Dionysus riding a panther andHelen of Troybeing abducted byTheseus, 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.
Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC at the theatre ofAigai, amid games and spectacles celebrating the marriage of his daughterCleopatra.Alexander the Great was allegedly a great admirer of both theatre and music.He was especially fond of theplaysbyClassical AtheniantragediansAeschylus,Sophocles, andEuripides, whose works formed part of a properGreek educationfor his new eastern subjects alongside studies in the Greek language, including theepicsofHomer.While he and his army were stationed atTyre(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 actorsThessalusand Athenodorus performed at the event.
Musicwas also appreciated in Macedonia. In addition to theagora, thegymnasium, thetheatre, andreligious sanctuariesandtemplesdedicated to Greek gods and goddesses, one of the main markers of a true Greek city in theempire of Alexander the Greatwas the presence of anodeonformusical performances.This was the case not only forAlexandriainEgypt, but also for cities as distant asAi-Khanoumin what is now modern-dayAfghanistan.
Perdiccas II of Macedonwas able to host well-known Classical Greek intellectual visitors at his royal court, such as the lyric poetMelanippidesand the renowned medical doctorHippocrates, andPindar'senkomionwritten forAlexander I of Macedonmay 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 thepainterZeuxis, thearchitectCallimachus, the poetsChoerilus of Samos,Timotheus of Miletus, andAgathon, as well as the famous AthenianplaywrightEuripides.The philosopherAristotle, who studied at thePlatonic Academyof Athens and established theAristotelian 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 wasPyrrho of Elis, founder ofPyrrhonism, the school ofphilosophical skepticism.During the Antigonid period,Antigonos Gonatasfostered cordial relationships withMenedemos of Eretria, founder of theEretrian schoolof philosophy, andZenon, the founder ofStoicism.
In terms of earlyGreek historiographyand laterRoman historiography,Felix Jacobyidentified thirteen possible ancienthistorianswho wrote about Macedonia in hisFragmente der griechischen Historiker.Aside from accounts inHerodotusand Thucydides, the works compiled by Jacoby are only fragmentary, whereas other works are completely lost, such as the history of anIllyrianwar fought byPerdiccas IIIwritten by Antipater.The Macedonian historiansMarsyas of PellaandMarsyas of Philippiwrote histories of Macedonia, thePtolemaickingPtolemy I Soterauthored a history about Alexander, andHieronymus of Cardiawrote a history about Alexander's royal successors.Following theIndian campaign of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian military officerNearchuswrote a work of hisvoyagefrom the mouth of theIndus riverto thePersian Gulf.The Macedonianhistorian Crateruspublished a compilation of decrees made bythe popular assemblyof theAthenian democracy, ostensibly while attending the school of Aristotle.Philip V of Macedonhad manuscripts of the history of PhilipII written byTheopompusgathered by his court scholars and disseminated with further copies.
When Alexander I of Macedon petitioned to compete in thefoot raceof 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 royalgenealogyshowing ancientArgiveTemenidlineage, a move that ultimately convinced the OlympicHellanodikaiauthorities of his Greek descent and ability to compete.By the end of the 5thcenturyBC, the Macedonian king ArchelausI was crowned with theolive wreathat bothOlympiaandDelphi(in thePythian Games) for winningchariot racingcontests.PhilipII allegedly heard of the Olympic victory of his horse (in either an individualhorse raceor 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 stagedcompetitions for musicand athletics across his empire.
Ancient Macedonia produced only a few fine foods or beverages that were highly appreciated elsewhere in the Greek world, includingeelsfrom theStrymonian Gulfand specialwineproduced inChalcidice.The earliest known use of flat bread as a plate for meat was made in Macedonia during the 3rdcenturyBC, which perhaps influenced the latertrencher breadofmedieval Europe.Cattleandgoatswere consumed, although there was no notice of Macedonian mountaincheesesin literature until theMiddle Ages.The comedic playwrightMenanderwrote that Macedonian dining habits penetratedAthenianhigh society; for instance, the introduction of meats into thedessertcourse of a meal.The Macedonians also most likely introducedmattyeto Athenian cuisine, a dish usually made of chicken or other spiced, salted, and sauced meats servedduring the wine course.This particular dish was derided and connected with licentiousness and drunkenness in a play by the Athenian comic poetAlexisabout the declining morals of Athenians in the age ofDemetrius I of Macedon.
Thesymposiumin the Macedonian and wider Greek realm was a banquet for the nobility and privileged class, an occasion for feasting, drinking, entertainment, and sometimesphilosophical discussion.Thehetairoi, leading members of the Macedonianaristocracy, were expected to attend such feasts with their king.They were also expected to accompany him on royal hunts for the acquisition ofgame meatas well as for sport.
Ancient authors and modern scholars alike disagree about the precise ethnic identity of the ancient Macedonians. The predominant viewpoint supports that the Macedonians were "truly Greeks" who had just retained a more archaic lifestyle than those living in southern parts of Greece.Ernst Badiannotes however that nearly all surviving references to antagonisms and differences between Greeks and Macedonians exist in the written speeches ofArrian, who lived at the time of theRoman 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 the other Greeks, only a political distinction contrived after the creation of theLeague of Corinthin 337BC (which was led by Macedonia through the league's electedhegemonPhilipII, when he was not a member of the league itself);N. G. L. Hammondasserts 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,and Craige B. Champion.
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 as barbarians and others as semi-Greek or fully Greek.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.Simon Hornblowerargues on the Greek identity of the Macedonians, taking into consideration their origin, language, cults and customs related to ancient Greek traditions.Any preconceived ethnic differences between Greeks and Macedonians faded by 148BC soon after theRoman conquest of Macedoniaand thenthe rest of Greecewith the defeat of theAchaean Leagueby theRoman Republicat theBattle of Corinth (146 BC).
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 otherancient Greek architecture.Among theclassical orders, Macedonian architects favored theIonic order, especially in theperistylecourtyards of private homes.There are several surviving examples, albeit in ruins, of Macedonian palatial architecture, including apalaceat the site of the capital Pella, the summer residence ofVerginanear the old capital Aigai, and the royal residence atDemetriasnear modernVolos.At Vergina, the ruins of three largebanquet hallswith marble-tiledfloors (covered in the debris ofroof 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 monumentaltriangular roof trusses, if dated before the reign ofAntigonus II Gonatasor even the onset of the Hellenistic period.Later Macedonian architecture also featuredarchesandvaults.The palaces of both Vergina and Demetrias had walls made of sundriedbricks, while the latter palace had four cornertowersaround 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 theBattle of Chaeronea (338 BC), PhilipII raised a round memorial building atOlympiaknown as thePhilippeion, decorated inside with statues depicting him, his parentsAmyntas III of MacedonandEurydice I of Macedon, his wifeOlympias, and his son Alexander the Great.
The ruins of roughly twentyGreek theatressurvive in the present-dayregions of Macedonia and Thrace in Greece: sixteen open-air theatres, threeodea, and a possible theatre inVeriaundergoing excavation.
By the Hellenistic period, it became common for Greek states to finance the development and proliferation of ever more powerfultorsion siege engines,naval ships, and standardized designs forarms and armor.Under PhilipII and Alexander the Great, improvements were made tosiege artillerysuch as bolt-shootingballistaeandsiege enginessuch as huge rollingsiege towers.E.W.Marsden and M.Y.Treister contend that the Macedonian rulersAntigonus I Monophthalmusand his successorDemetrius I of Macedonhad the most powerful siege artillery of the Hellenistic world at the end of the 4thcenturyBC.The siegeofSalamis, Cyprus, in 306BC necessitated the building of large siege engines and drafting of craftsmen from parts ofWest Asia.The siege tower commissioned by DemetriusI for the MacedonianSiege of Rhodes (305–304 BC)and defended by over three thousand soldiers was built at a height of ninestories.It had a base of 4,300 square feet (399 square metres), 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 ofEchinusbyPhilip V of Macedonin 211BC, the besiegers builttunnelsto protect the soldiers andsappersas they went back and forth from the camp to the siege works. These included two siege towers connected by a makeshiftwickerworkcurtain wallmounted with stone-shooting ballistae, and sheds to protect the approach of thebattering ram.Despite the early reputation of Macedon as a leader in siege technology,AlexandriainPtolemaic Egyptbecame the center for technological improvements to thecatapultby the 3rdcenturyBC, as evidenced by the writings ofPhilo of Alexandria.
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. Therotary-operatedolive pressfor producingolive oilmay have been invented in ancient Macedonia or another part of Greece, or even as far east as theLevantorAnatolia.Mold-pressed glassfirst 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 andRhodesand date to the second half of the 4thcenturyBC.Greek technical andscientific literaturebegan withClassical Athensin the 5thcenturyBC, while the major production centers for technical innovation and texts during the Hellenistic period wereAlexandria,Rhodes, andPergamon.
Themintingof silver coinage began during the reign ofAlexanderIas a means to pay for royal expenditures.ArchelausIincreased 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 thePangaion Hills.During the Hellenistic period the royal houses of Macedonia,Ptolemaic Egypt, and theAttalid kingdomexercisedfull monopolistic controloverminingactivities, largely to ensure the funding of their armies.By the end of theconquests of Alexander the Great, nearly thirty mints stretching from Macedonia toBabylonproduced standard coins.The right to mint coins was shared bycentraland somelocal governments, i.e. theautonomousmunicipal governmentsof Thessaloniki, Pella, and Amphipolis within the Macedoniancommonwealth.The Macedonians were also the first to issue different coins forinternal and external circulation.
State revenues were also raised by collectingproducefromarable lands, timber from forests, andtaxesonimportsandexportsatharbors.Some mines,groves,agricultural lands, andforestsbelonging to the Macedonian state were exploited by the Macedonian king, although these were oftenleasedasassetsor given asgrantsto members of thenobilitysuch as thehetairoiandphiloi.Tariffsexacted on goods flowing in and out of Macedonianseaportsexisted from at least the reign ofAmyntasIII, andCallistratus of Aphidnae(d.c.350BC) aidedPerdiccasIIIin doubling the kingdom's annual profits oncustoms dutiesfrom 20 to 40talents.
After the defeat ofPerseusatPydnain 168BC, theRoman Senateallowed the reopening of iron and copper mines, but forbade the mining of gold and silver by the four newly established autonomousclient statesthat 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 stemminginflationcaused by an increasedmoney supplyfrom Macedonian silver mining.The Macedonians continued minting silver coins between 167 and 148BC (i.e. just before the establishment of theRoman province of Macedonia), 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.
The reigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great witnessed the demise of Classical Greece and the birth of Hellenistic civilization, following thespread of Greek cultureto theNear Eastduring and after Alexander's conquests.Macedonians then migrated to Egypt and parts of Asia, but the intensivecolonizationof 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 thelater Roman expansioninto these territories andentire basisfor theByzantine Empire, according to Errington.
The ethnic Macedonian rulers of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid successor states accepted men from all over the Greek world as theirhetairoicompanions 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.WhileSpartan societyremained mostly insular and Athens continued placingstrict limitations on acquiring citizenship, thecosmopolitanHellenistic 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.
Thedeificationof Macedonian monarchs perhaps began with the death of PhilipII, but it was his son Alexander the Great who unambiguously claimed to be aliving god.Following his visit to theoracleofDidymain 334BC that suggested his divinity, Alexander traveled to theOracleofZeus Ammon—theGreek equivalentof the EgyptianAmun-Ra—at theSiwa Oasisof theLibyan Desertin 332BC to confirm hisdivine status.Although the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empiresmaintained ancestral cultsand 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 theGreek colonyofCyrene, Libya, Alexander was the first Macedonian monarch to patronizeEgyptian,Persian, andBabylonian priesthoods and deities, strengthening the fusion ofNear Easternand Greek religious beliefs.After his reign, thecult of Isisgradually spread throughout the Hellenistic andRoman world, while beliefs in the Egyptian godSarapiswere thoroughly Hellenized by the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt before the spread of his cult to Macedonia and the Aegean region.The German historianJohann Gustav Droysenargued that the conquests of Alexander the Great and creation of the Hellenistic world allowed for the growth andestablishment of Christianityin the Roman era.