Macedon/Macedonia was an ancient kingdom reportedly on the periphery of ancient Greece, and for some time became part of an empire that encompassed the near and middle east. Said to have been founded and initially ruled by the Argead dynasty which was followed by Antipatid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient Macedonians, the religion was reportedly Greek polytheism. Macedonia was said to have been a vassal for Persia 511-493 BC.
The term Macedonia is said to mean tall and thought to pertain to indegenous Macedonians. Prior to the 4th Century the kingdom was said to correspond to western and central Macedonia. Reported to have gradually expanded into regions inhabited by the Greek Lyncestae and Elimioate tribes and into the regions of Emathia, Eordaia, Bottiaea, Mygdonea, Crestonia and Almopia, that is mainly Greece and present day Greek Macedonia. Persian hegemony is documented. Macedonia was expected to provide troops for Persia and reportedly fought with Persia during their second invasion of Greece in 480/479 BC and in the battle of Platea. The Greek victory in Salamis in 480 BC marked the end of Persian dominance.
Difficulties with Greece are documented during the reign of Philip II. War on four occasions was followed by a Greek colonisation of the Strymon River and the founding of the colonial city of Amphipolis, 437/436 BC which would provide Athens with gold, silver, timber and pitch to finance and build ships. In 417 BC there followed a blockade on Macedonian seaports and an invasion of Chalcidice by a coalition of Argos and the Athenian navy. In 414 BC Perdiccas II was said to have sued for peace which resulted in a deal. More timber was provided for the Athenian navy and Athens provided ships in the 410 siege of Pydna.
Macedonia was a small independent kingdom surrounded by city states, and during the reign of the Argead King Philip II 359-336 BC is said to have dominated mainland Greece and Thrace, reportedly through a mixture of diplomacy and conquest. Philip is said to have spent his adolescent years as a political prisoner in Thebes under General Epaminondas.He married Olympias in an alliance with Arrybus, the king of Epirus. Their son was Alexander III who became known as the great. Alexander’s empire once covered mainland Greece, Israel named Assyrio Palestine under Persia, Egypt, Babylonia, Syria and reportedly much of central and southern Asia including modern day Punjab: Greek philosophy such as Aristotle and Plato and other Greek culture became popular.
There were many battles. Between 357 and 355 BC Athenians were fighting the social war. The battle of the Crocus Field in 352 BC was followed by the Olynthian war of 349-348 BC. According to a report Philip II gave refuge to Hellespontine Phrygia Artabazos for a decade during the fourth Century BC, thereby supporting a rebellion against the central authority of the persian king Artaxerxes III. Hellespontine’s daughter married Philip’s son Alexander. Olynthus was captured by Macedonia during this time and its inhabitants sold into slavery including Athenians. Philip was given two seats on the Ampyctionic council and the position of master of ceremonies in the Pythion games. Athens objected.
In 342 BC Philip invaded a Thracian city now named Plovdiv in present day Bulgaria. The as called fourth sacred war occured in 339 BC, and the battle of Chaeronia occured in 338 BC between Macedonia and the city states of Athens, Megara, Corinth, Megaera and Euboea. Macedonia won, established an oligarchy in Thebes and planned to make use of the Athenian navy to fight Persia.
Though Macedonia was reportedly excluded from the league of Corinth (a formation of city states apart from Sparta) Philip II was said to have been elected as leader hegemon of its council or synedrion, and the commander in chief to invade the Persians. When Philip married Cleopatre Eurydice, niece of general Attalus, Alexander III, Philip’s son from a previous marriage left for Epirus with his mother Olympias. Philip then arranged a marriage between his son Arridaeus and Ada daughter of Pixodarus an administrator of the Persian regime in Caria. Alexander intervened, proposing to take his place. Philip cancelled the wedding and Alexander’s advisors were ostracized. Philip was assasinated in another wedding feast in 336 BC. Alexander was chosen to succeed him by a group of army generals and aristocrats, chief among them was Antipater, deputy hegemon of the league of Corinth.
In 335 BC Alexander fought against the Thracian tribes of the Balkans. They were said to have surrendered on Peuce Island. He attacked the Dardani at Pelion, modern day Albania and besieged Thebes. Six thousand Thebians were killed, thirty thousand taken as prisoners of war and the city was burnt to the ground.
Alexander was said to have personally lead many battles. The battle of Granicus in 334 BC to free Asia Minor was followed by the battle of Issus which was said to have resulted in the Persian king Darius retreating. Likewise the battle of Gaugamela in 331. More battles with Persia, reportedly in Afghanistan, India and Babylonia. Success was followed by alliances in the form of marriages into the Persian royal court. According to reports Alexander had a policy that Greek soldiers intermarry and settle in Israel or Assyrio Palestine, Asia and perhaps elsewhere throughout the empire.
When Alexander died in 323 BC his mother said he had been poisoned by Antipater who was of a different branch of the family. Reportedly the army council chose Alexander’s half brother Philip to succeed him. Chiliarch Perdiccas was chosen as regent, but civil war or the wars of the diadochi that is the former generals of Alexander’s army followed. Antipater, Alexander’s second in command died in 319 BC which was said to have left a power vacuum. Antipater Antigonus was elected as new regent but died a year or two later. He was said to have chosen Polyperchon, a general of Greek heritage rather than allowing Philip III the right to choose his own regent. In doing so he was seen to pass over his son Cassander. Forming an alliance with Ptolemy and others Cassander gave orders to capture the Munichia fortress in the Athenian port town, Piraeus. Polyperchon had decreed that Greek cities should be free of Macedonian garrisons.
A joint force of Argeads invaded Macedonia and forced the surrender of Philip III. The king, queen and dozens of Macedonian nobles were said to have been killed. Some sources say by order of Olympias who was placed on trial by Cassander and put to death. Others say she died during Cassander’s siege of Pydna.
The partition of Triparadisis in Syria, 321 BC by Alexander’s generals named Perdiccas, thought to be son of the Macedonian prince Orontes as regent of the empire, and arranged territorial rights for themselves as administrators. By 306/305 BC Alexander’s generals had declared themselves kings.
The Macedonian empire was overtaken by mainland Greece and subsequently became part of the Greek empire which replaced a persian empire. At the end of the third Macedonian war in 168 BC the monarchy was abolished by Rome. The fourth Macedonian war of 150-148 BC resulted in the roman state of Macedonia which is thought to correspond to both ancient Macedonia and modern day Greek Macedonia.