The Macedonian Royal Line
Zeus => Macedon (his son) => Argeas
(grandson)
The last king of this line was displaced by Perdiccas in mid 7th
century BC, received into the Argead tribe. This line
continued through Alexander IV (son of Alexander the Great)
Perdiccas and his brothers claimed origin from
Argos, the royal house of the Temenidae who were
descendants of Temenos, whose ancestor in turn was Herakles, son of Zeus.
Traditionally, Temenos had led the Dorian tribes into the Argolid
and had founded
Argos in late 12th century BC. Perdiccas
reportedly consulted the oracle of Apollo at Delphi to determine where to build
his capital. He was told to follow the goats, so he named the town Aigai, “goat town.” This became the ancestral burial place
of Macedonian kings (presumably modern Vergina). The
Macedonian calendar year started with the new moon in October, which marked the
beginning of autumn pastoral migrations. Perdiccas
expelled the Thracians from Macedonian coastal lowlands. He claimed all mines
and timber lands for himself.
Alexander I (498-454) obtained Delphic Amphyctionic permission to compete in the Olympic Games; he
won first place in the panoply sprint. During the Persian Wars he medized and
collaborated shamelessly with the Persians; he married his sister to one of
Xerxes’ Persian satraps and accompanied Xerxes to Salamis.
Perdiccas II (454-413) switched sides during the
Peloponnesian War. He otherwise astutely avoided involvement in the conflict.
Archelaus (413-399), Perdiccas II’s illegitimate son, attained the throne by
murdering his uncle, his cousin, and his half-brother. He married his father’s
widow and was himself murdered as a result of his complicated homosexual
intrigues. However, he also safeguarded Macedonia from constant incursions of
neighboring peoples, built the army, unified Upper and Lower Macedonia, and
encouraged the Hellenization of his court. For example, he founded the new
capital of Pella and invited the tragic playwright, Euripides, to reside at the
court. With his murder the Macedonian dynasty imploded into 40 years of the
worst anarchy and intrigue the kingdom had ever faced.
Between 399 and 393 BC there were
four different monarchs: Orestes, son of Archelaus I; Aeropus II, uncle, regent, and murderer of
Orestes; Pausanias, son of Aeropus II;
and Amyntas II, who was married to the
youngest daughter of Archelaus I. Very little is known about this
turbulent period; it came to an end when Amyntas III (r. 393–370 BC),
son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of Amyntas I,
killed Pausanias and claimed the Macedonian throne. Amyntas
III was threatened several times, but managed to hand on his kingdom to his
son, Alexander II in 370 BC. Defeated by Pelopidas of Thebes while contending
for control of neighboring Thessaly, Alexander surrendered his younger brother
Philip as a hostage. Shortly afterward, Alexander II was murdered by his
brother-in-law Ptolemy of Aloros (368-365), who posed
as regent to the third brother Perdiccas III
(365-359). Perdiccas had Ptolemy executed when he
came of age in 365. But Perdiccas was immediately
beset by conflicts on all sides as well as by financial difficulties. The
Athenians retook several Greek cities on the shore, and Perdiccas
was defeated and killed in battle, along with 4000 Macedonian warriors, by King
Bardylis of Illyria 359 BC.
The Thebans allowed Philip to return to
Macedonia to act as regent to the infant child (Amyntas),
son of Perdiccas. He also had to contend with rivals
to the throne, eliminating his nephew Archelaus, the son of Amyntas
III. Philip bought time by negotiating with Athens, Illyria, and Thrace, while
he reconstituted the Macedonian army in the model of the Theban oblique
phalanx.
At the Battle of Monastris in 359 BC, Philip defeated the
Illyrian king (Bardylis) and was acclaimed King of
Macedonia by the Macedonian army. Pushing aside Amyntas,
son of Perdiccas III, Philip’s late brother, he
became King Philip II of Macedonia (359-336 BC). He was 24 years old.
SUMMARY:
Key factors to the dynastic weakness of the Temenid/Argaid Dynasty include
the division of Upper and Lower Macedonia into separate regions. Upper Macedonian was essentially dominated by
the barons; Lower Macedonia by the King. There was a tendency of Macedonian
nobles to invite the aid of kings of neighboring tribal regions, Illyria,
Paeonia, and Thrace (not to mention the great powers) during their disputes
with the royal line. Through the early 4th century, the Macedonian
royal house was relatively weak and subject to domination by Persia, Athens,
Sparta, and Thebes. Last, there were incessant intrigues at the royal court.
Dynastic rivalries were constant; a king could never be certain of the depth of
his support. The life expectancy of the Macedonian king was inherently short.
The Macedonian Constitution- “A
monarchy with limited privileges”
1.The King was invested with religious
power as the mediator between the Macedonian people and the gods
2. The King was assisted by members of the
ruling house (blood and marriage relatives) who ranked below the king but above
the status of commoners.
3. The King appointed a regent whenever
away from Macedonia
4. When the King died, he received the
rites of a “hero”, not of a god. He was buried in a tumulus at Aigai
5. At the death of the King, his
successor would be acclaimed by the “Macedonian People.”
6. The Macedonian King and his Army in
essence were the “Macedonian state.’ No matter where they went or where they
held assemblies, the assembled masses of the Macedonian army WAS
Macedonia. The Army was referred to as companions to the king (hetairoi). The
nobility evolved into the Companion cavalry. After 400 BC, this also included
the Pezhetairoi,
the foot companions.
7. Under the guidance of the king the
Macedonian Army exerted genuine power: it appointed the successor to the king;
it tried Macedonian citizens for crimes against the state.
The king and the army represented the
Macedonian state in its totality. When Philip II ascended the throne the Macedonian Social Structure consisted of the King
(somatophylakes), the Basileis (local barons), the Hetairoi
(companion cavalry), the Pezhetairoi
(foot companions).
8. The King conducted sacrifices on
behalf of the state.
9. The body of the King had to be
protected by citizens under arms – 8 somatophylakes (literally, body guards)