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)