Greek - Macedonia during the Interregnum period 288-277 B.C.
Bronze 15mm (4.2 grams) Reference: Sear 6781 -
Macedonian shield with Gorgon's head at center.
Macedonian helmet dividing B - A ; in lower field to left, caduceus; to right,
monogram.
Following Demetrios' overthrow by Lysimachos and Pyrrhos,
Macedon underwent a decade during which no ruler was able to control the country
for any length of time. Most of the bronze coins issued in this period were
anonymous, though a few have the name of Pyrrhos in monogrammed form.
Lysimachos also struck some tetradrachms of his usual type at the Amphipolis mint.
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Macedonia or Macedon (from
Greek: Μακεδονία,
Makedonía) was an ancient
kingdom,
centered in the northeastern part of the
Greek peninsula[1],
bordered by
Epirus to the west,
Paionia to the north, the region of
Thrace to the
east and
Thessaly to the south. For a brief period, after the conquests of
Alexander the Great, it became the most powerful state in the world,
controlling a territory that included most of
Greece and
Persia, stretching as far as the
Indus
River; at that time it inaugurated the
Hellenistic period of
history.
Name
The name Macedonia (Greek:
Μακεδονία,
Makedonía) is related to
the ancient Greek word μακεδνός (Makednos).
It is commonly explained as having originally meant 'a tall one' or
'highlander', possibly descriptive of the
people.[2][3]
The shorter English name variant Macedon developed in Middle English,
based on a borrowing from the French form of the name, Macédoine.[4]
History
Early history and
legend
The lands around Aegae, the first Macedonian capital, were home to various
peoples. Macedonia was called Emathia (from king Emathion) and the city of Aiges
was called Edessa, the capital of fabled king Midas. According to legend,
Caranus, accompanied by a multitude of Greeks came to the area in search for a
new homeland
[5]
took Edessa and renamed it to Aegae. Subsequently, he expelled Midas and other
kings off the lands and he formed his new kingdom. According to Herodot, it was
Dorus, the son of Hellen who led his people to Histaeotis, whence they were
driven off by the Cadmeians into Pindus, where they settled as Macedonians.
Later, a branch would migrate further south to be called Dorians
[6].
It seems that the first
Macedonian state emerged in the
8th
or early
7th
century BC under the
Argead Dynasty, who, according to legend, migrated to the region from the
Greek city of
Argos in
Peloponnesus (thus the name Argead).[7]
It should be mentioned that the Macedonian tribe ruled by the Argeads, was
itself called Argead (which translates as "descended from Argos").
The kingdom was situated in the fertile alluvial plain, watered by the rivers
Haliacmon
and Axius, called
Lower Macedonia, north of the mountain
Olympus. Around the time of
Alexander I of Macedon, the Argead Macedonians started to expand into
Upper Macedonia, lands inhabited by independent Macedonian tribes like the
Lyncestae and the Elmiotae and to the West, beyond Axius river, into
Eordaia,
Bottiaea,
Mygdonia, and
Almopia-, regions settled by, among others, many Thracian tribes.[8]
Near the modern city of
Veria,
Perdiccas I (or, more likely, his son,
Argaeus I) built his capital, Aigai (modern
Vergina).
After a brief period under
Persian rule under
Darius Hystaspes, the state regained its independence under King
Alexander II (495–450
BC).
In the long
Peloponnesian War Macedon was a secondary power that alternated in support
between Sparta and Athens.[9]
Involvement in
the Greek world
Prior to the
4th
century BC, the kingdom covered a region approximately corresponding to the
province of Macedonia of modern
Greece
Amyntas III (c.
393–370 BC),
though it still retained strong contrasts between the cattle-rich coastal plain
and the fierce isolated tribal hinterland, allied to the king by marriage ties.
They controlled the passes through which barbarian invasions came from
Illyria to
the north and northwest. It became increasingly
Atticised
during this period, though prominent
Athenians
appear to have regarded the Macedonians as uncouth.[10]
Before the establishment of the
League of Corinth, even though the Macedonians apparently spoke a dialect of
the Greek language and claimed proudly that they were Greeks, they were not
considered to fully share the
classical Greek culture by many of the inhabitants of the southern city
states, because they did not share the
polis based style
of government of the southerners.[9]
Herodotus,
being one of the foremost biographer in antiquity who lived in Greece at the
time when the Macedonian king
Alexander I was in power, mentioned: "I happen to know, and I will
demonstrate in a subsequent chapter of this history, that these descendants of
Perdiccas are, as they themselves claim, of Greek nationality. This was,
moreover, recognized by the managers of the
Olympic games, on the occasion when
Alexander wished to compete and his Greek competitors tried to exclude him
on the ground that foreigners were not allowed to take part. Alexander, however,
proved his Argive descent, and so was accepted as a Greek and allowed to enter
for the foot-race. He came in equal first"..[11]
Over the 4th century Macedon became more politically involved with the
south-central city-states of
Ancient GreecePella, resembling
Mycenaean culture more than classic
Hellenic city-states, and other archaic customs, like Philip's multiple
wives in addition to his Epirote queen
Olympias,
mother of Alexander.
Another archaic remnant was the very persistence of a
hereditary
monarchy which wielded formidable – sometimes absolute – power, although
this was at times checked by the landed aristocracy, and often disturbed by
power struggles within the royal family itself. This contrasted sharply with the
Greek cultures further south, where the ubiquitous city-states mostly possessed
aristocratic or democratic institutions; the
de facto
monarchy of tyrants,
in which heredity was usually more of an ambition rather than the accepted rule;
and the limited, predominantly military and sacerdotal, power of the twin
hereditary Spartan
kings. The same might have held true of
feudal institutions like
serfdom,
which may have persisted in Macedon well into historical times. Such
institutions were abolished by city-states well before Macedon's rise (most
notably by the Athenian legislator
Solon's famous
σεισάχθεια
seisachtheia laws)..
Amyntas had three sons; the first two,
Alexander II and
Perdiccas III reigned only briefly. Perdiccas III's infant heir was deposed
by Amyntas' third son,
Philip II of Macedon, who made himself king and ushered in a period of
Macedonian dominance of Greece. Under Philip II, (359–336
BC), Macedon expanded into the territory of the
Paionians,
Thracians,
and Illyrians.
Among other conquests, he annexed the regions of
Pelagonia
and Southern
Paionia.[12]]
Kingdom of Macedon after Philip's II death.
Philip redesigned the
army of Macedon adding a number of variations to the traditional
hoplite
hetairoi, a well armoured heavy cavalry, and more light infantry, both
of which added greater flexibility and responsiveness to the force. He also
lengthened the spear and shrank the shield of the main infantry force,
increasing its offensive capabilities.
Philip began to rapidly expand the borders of his kingdom. He first
campaigned in the north against non-Greek peoples such as the
IllyriansAmphipolis,
which controlled the way into
Thracee and also
was near valuable silver mines. This region had been part of the
Athenian Empire, and Athens still considered it as in their sphere. The
Athenians attempted to curb the growing power of Macedonia, but were limited by
the outbreak of the
Social War. They could also do little to halt Philip when he turned his
armies south and took over most of
Thessaly.
Control of Thessaly meant Philip was now closely involved in the politics of
central Greece. 356 BCE saw the outbreak of the
Third Sacred War that pitted
Phocis against
Thebes and its allies. Thebes recruited the Macedonians to join them and at
the
Battle of Crocus Field Phillip decisively defeated Phocis and its Athenian
allies. As a result Macedonia became the leading state in the
Amphictyonic League and Phillip became head of the Pythian Games, firmly
putting the Macedonian leader at the centre of the Greek political world.
In the continuing conflict with Athens Philip marched east through Thrace in
an attempt to capture
Byzantium
and the
Bosphorus, thus cutting off the Black Sea grain supply that provided Athens
with much of its food. The siege of Byzantium failed, but Athens realized the
grave danger the rise of Macedon presented and under
Demosthenes built a coalition of many of the major states to oppose the
Macedonians. Most importantly Thebes, which had the strongest ground force of
any of the city states, joined the effort. The allies met the Macedonians at the
Battle of Chaeronea and were decisively defeated, leaving Philip and the
Macedonians the unquestioned master of Greece.
Empire
Alexander's empire at the time of its maximum expansion
The entrance to one of the royal tombs at Vergina, a UNESCO World
Heritage site.
Philip's son,
Alexander the Great (356–323
BC), managed to briefly extend Macedonian power not only over the central
Greek city-states, but also to the
Persian empire, including
Egypt and lands
as far east as the fringes of
India. Alexander's adoption of the styles of government of the conquered
territories was accompanied by the spread of Greek culture and learning through
his vast empire. Although the empire fractured into multiple Hellenic regimes
shortly after his death, his conquests left a lasting legacy, not least in the
new Greek-speaking cities founded across Persia's western territories, heralding
the
HellenisticDiadochi,
Macedonia fell to the
Antipatrid dynasty, which was overthrown by the
Antigonid dynasty after only a few years, in 294 BC..
Hellenistic era
Antipater
and his son
Cassander gained control of Macedonia but it slid into a long period of
civil strife following Cassander's death in
297 BC. It was
ruled for a while by
Demetrius I (294–288
BC) but fell into civil war.
Demetrius' son,
Antigonus II (277–239
BC), defeated a
Galatian
invasion as a
condottiere, and regained his family's position in Macedonia; he
successfully restored order and prosperity there, though he lost control of many
of the Greek city-states. He established a stable monarchy under the
Antigonid dynasty.
Antigonus III ((239–221
BC) built on these gains by re-establishing Macedonian power across the
region.
What is notable about the Macedonian regime during the Hellenistic times is
that it was the only successor state to the Empire that maintained the old
archaic perception of Kingship, and never adopted the ways of the Hellenistic
Monarchy. Thus the king was never deified in the same way that Ptolemies and
Seleucids were in Egypt and Asia respectively, and never adopted the custom of
Proskynesis. The ancient Macedonians during the Hellenistic times were still
addressing their kings in a far more casual way than the subjects of the rest of
the Diadochi, and the Kings were still consulting with their aristocracy
(Philoi) in the process of making their decisions.
Conflict with Rome
Kingdom of Macedon under Philip V.
Under
Philip V of Macedon (221–179
BC
Perseus of Macedon (179–168
BC), the kingdom clashed with the rising power of the
Roman Republic. During the
2nd
and
1st centuries BC, Macedon fought a
series of wars with Rome. Two major losses that led to their inevitable
defeat were in 197
BC when Rome defeated Philip V, and
168 BC when
Rome defeated Perseus. The overall losses resulted in the defeat of Macedon, the
deposition of the Antigonid dynasty and the dismantling of the Macedonian
kingdom.
Andriscus' brief success at reestablishing the monarchy in
149 BCC was
quickly followed by his defeat the following year and the establishment of
direct
Roman rule and the organization of Macedon as the
Roman province of Macedonia.
Institutions
éthnē), and between the two, the districts. The
study of these different institutions has been considerably renewed thanks to
epigraphy,
which has given us the possibility to reread the indications given us by ancient
literary sources such as
Livy and
Polybius.
They show that the Macedonian institutions were near to those of the Greek
federal states, like the
Aetolian and
Achaeann leagues, whose unity was reinforced by the presence of the king.
The
Vergina Sun, the 16-ray star covering what appears to be the
royal burial larnax of Philip II of Macedon, discovered in Vergina,
Greece.
The Kingg
The king (Βασιλεύς,
Basileús) headed the
central administration: he led the kingdom from its capital, Pella, and in his
royal palace was conserved the state's archive. He was helped in carrying out
his work by the Royal Secretary (βασιλικὸς
γραμματεύς, basilikós
grammateús), whose work was of primary importance, and by the
Council.
The king was commander of the army, head of the Macedonian religion, and
director of diplomacy. Also, only he could conclude treaties, and, until
Philip V, mint coins.
The number of civil servants was limited: the king directed his kingdom
mostly in an indirect way, supporting himself principally through the local
magistrates, the epistates, with whom he constantly kept in touch.
Successionon
Royal succession in Macedon was hereditary, male,
patrilineal and generally respected the principle of
primogeniture. There was also an elective element: when the king died, his
designated heir, generally but not always the eldest son, had first to be
accepted by the council and then presented to the general Assembly to be
acclaimed king and obtain the oath of fidelity.
Perdiccas III, slain by the
Illyrians,
Philip II assassinated by
Pausanias of Orestis,
Alexander the Great, suddenly died of malady, etc. Succession crises were
frequent, especially up to the
4th
century BC, when the magnate families of Upper Macedonia still cultivated
the ambition of overthrowing the Argaead dynasty and to ascend to the throne.
An atrium with a pebble-mosaic paving, in Pella, Greece
Financesces
The king was the simple guardian and administrator of the treasure of Macedon
and of the king's incomes (βασιλικά,
basiliká), which belonged
to the Macedonians: and the tributes that came to the kingdom thanks to the
treaties with the defeated people also went to the Macedonian people, and not to
the king. Even if the king was not accountable for his management of the
kingdom's entries, he may have felt responsible to defend his administration on
certain occasions:
Arrian tells us that during the
mutiny of
Alexander's soldiers at
Opis in 324 BC BC,
Alexander detailed the possessions of his father at his death to prove he had
not abused his charge.
It is known from Livy and Polybius that the basiliká included the
following sources of income:
- The mines of gold and silver (for example those of the
Pangaeus), which were the exclusive possession of the king, and which
permitted him to strike currency, as already said his sole privilege till
Philip V, who conceded to cities and districts the right of coinage for the
lesser denominations, like bronze.
- The forests, whose timber was very appreciated by the Greek
cities to build their ships: in particular, it is known that
Athens made
commercial treaties with Macedon in the
5th century BC to import the timber necessary for the construction and
the maintenance of its fleet of war.
- The royal landed properties, lands that were annexed to the royal
domain through conquest, and that the king exploited either directly, in
particular through servile workforce made up of prisoners of war, or
indirectly through a leasing system.
- The port duties on commerce (importation and exportation taxes).
The most common way to exploit these different sources of income was by
leasing: the
Pseudo-Aristotle reports in the
Oeconomica that
Amyntas III (or maybe Philip II) doubled the kingdom's port revenues with
the help of
Callistratus, who had taken refuge in Macedon, bringing them from 20 to 40
talents per year. To do this, the exploitation of the harbour taxes was
given every year at the private offering the highest bidding. It is also known
from Livy that the mines and the forests were leased for a fixed sum under
Philip V, and it appears that the same happened under the Argaead dynasty: from
here possibly comes the leasing system that was used in
Ptolemaic Egypt.
Except for the king's properties, land in Macedon was free: Macedonians were
free men and did not pay land taxes on private grounds. Even extraordinary taxes
like those paid by the Athenians in times of war did not exist. Even in
conditions of economic peril, like what happened to Alexander in
334 BC< and
Perseus in 168 BC,
the monarchy did not tax its subjects but raised funds through loans, first of
all by his Companions, or raised the cost of the leases.
The king could grant the atelíē (ἀτελίη),
a privilege of tax exemption, as Alexander did with those Macedonian families
which had losses in the
battle of the Granicus in May
334334: they were
exempted from paying tribute for leasing royal grounds and commercial taxes.
Extraordinary incomes came from the spoils of war, which were divided between
the king and his men. At the time of Philip II and Alexander, this was a
considerable source of income. A considerable part of the gold and silver
objects taken at the time of the European and Asian campaigns were melted in
ingots and then sent to the monetary foundries of
PellaAmphipolis,
most active of the kingdom at that time: an estimate judges that during the
reign of Alexander only the mint of Amphipolis struck about 13 million silver
tetradrachms.
The Assembly
All the kingdom's citizen-soldiers gather in a popular assembly, which is
held at least twice a year, in spring and in autumn, with the opening and the
closing of the campaigning season.
This assembly (koinê ekklesia
or koinon makedonôn), of
the army in times of war, of the people in times of peace, is called by the king
and plays a significant role through the acclamation of the kings and in capital
trials; it can be consulted (without obligation) for the foreign politics
(declarations of war, treaties) and for the appointment of high state officials.
In the majority of these occasions, the Assembly does nothing but ratify the
proposals of a smaller body, the Council. It is also the Assembly which votes
the honors, sends embassies, during its two annual meetings. It was abolished by
the
Romans at the time of their reorganization of Macedonia in
167 BC, to
prevent, according to
Livy, that a demagogue could make use of it as a mean to revolt against
their authority.
somatophylakes (in Greek literally "bodyguards") were noble
Macedonians chosen by the king to serve to him as honorary bodyguards, but
especially as close advisers. It was a particularly prestigious honorary
title. In the times of Alexander there were seven of them.
The Friends (philoi)
or the king's Companions (basilikoi
hetairoi) were named for life by the king among the Macedonian
aristocracy.cy.
The most important generals of the army (hégémones tôn taxéôn),
also named by the king.
The king had in reality less power in the choice of the members of the
Council than appearances would warrant; this was because many of the kingdom's
most important noblemen were members of the Council by birth-right.
The Council primarily exerted a probouleutic function with respect to the
Assembly: it prepared and proposed the decisions which the Assembly would have
discussed and voted, working in many fields such as the designation of kings and
regents, as of that of the high administrators and the declarations of war. It
was also the first and final authority for all the cases which did not involve
capital punishment.
The Council gathered frequently and represented the principal body of
government of the kingdom. Any important decision taken by the king was
subjected before it for deliberation.on.
Inside the Council ruled the democratic principles of iségoria
(equality of word) and of parrhésia (freedom of speech), to which even
the king subjected himself.
After the removal of the
Antigonid dynasty by the Romans in
167 BC, it is
possible that the synedrion remained, unlike the Assembly, representing the sole
federal authority in Macedonia after the country's division in four merides.
Regional
districts (Merides)
The creation of an intermediate territorial administrative level between the
central government and the cities should probably be attributed to Philip II:
this reform corresponded with the need to adapt the kingdom's institutions to
the great expansion of Macedon under his rule. It was no longer practical to
convene all the Macedonians in a single general assembly, and the answer to this
problem was the creation of four regional districts, each with a regional
assembly. These territorial divisions clearly did not follow any historical or
traditional internal divisions; they were simply artificial administrative
lines.
This said, it should be noted that the existence of these districts is not
attested with certainty (by
numismatics) before the beginning of the
2nd
century BC.
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