Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom)

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obverse
and on the reverse the lion's forepart

The first government of ancient Macedonia was established by the

Roman province of Macedonia
.

It is unclear if there was a formally established constitution dictating the laws, organization, and divisions of power in ancient Macedonia's government, although some tangential evidence suggests this. The king (

religious cults. The Macedonian kings had command over certain natural resources such as gold from mining and timber from logging. The right to mint gold, silver, and bronze coins was shared by the central
and local governments.

The Macedonian kings served as the

Koinon of Macedonians. With their mining and tax revenues, the kings were responsible for funding the military, which included a navy that was established by Philip II and expanded during the Antigonid period
.

Sources and historiography

Further information:
Greek historiography, and Histories of Alexander the Great

The earliest known government in ancient Macedonia was their monarchy, which lasted until 167 BC when it was abolished by the Romans. Written evidence about Macedonian governmental institutions made before Philip II of Macedon's reign (r. 359 – 336 BC) is both rare and non-Macedonian in origin. The main sources of early Macedonian historiography are the works of the 5th-century BC historians Herodotus and Thucydides, the 1st-century AD Diodorus Siculus, and the 2nd-century AD Justin. Contemporary accounts given by those such as Demosthenes were often hostile and unreliable; even Aristotle, who lived in Macedonia, provides us with terse accounts of its governing institutions.[1] Polybius was a contemporary historian who wrote about Macedonia, while later historians include Livy, Quintus Curtius Rufus, Plutarch, and Arrian.[2] The works of these historians affirm the hereditary monarchy of Macedonia and basic institutions, yet it remains unclear if there was an established constitution for Macedonian government.[3][note 1] The main textual primary sources for the organization of Macedonia's military as it existed under Alexander the Great include Arrian, Quintus Curtius, Diodorus, and Plutarch, while modern historians rely mostly on Polybius and Livy for understanding detailed aspects of the Antigonid-period military.[5][note 2]

Division of power

Further information: Ancient Greek law
Aigai

At the head of Macedonia's government was

hetairoi), friends (philoi), an assembly that included members of the military, and magistrates during the Hellenistic period.[3][7] Evidence is lacking for 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.[3][note 3] Before the reign of Philip II, the only institution supported by textual evidence is the monarchy.[8] In 1931, Friedrich Granier was the first to propose that by the time of Philip II's reign, Macedonia had a constitutional government with laws that delegated rights and customary privileges to certain groups, especially to its citizen soldiers, although the majority of evidence for the army's alleged right to appoint a new king and judge cases of treason stems from the reign of Alexander the Great (r. 336 – 323 BC).[9][10] Pietro De Francisci refuted these ideas and advanced the theory that the Macedonian government was an autocracy ruled by the whim of the monarch, although this issue of kingship and governance is still unresolved in academia.[8][11][12]

Institutions

Kingship and the royal court

Macedonia, Greece
, c. 340 BC

The Macedonian hereditary monarchy existed since at least the time of

Archelaus I of Macedon (r. 413 – 399 BC) was the son of Perdiccas II of Macedon (r. c. 454 – 413 BC) and a slave woman, although Archelaus succeeded the throne after murdering his father's designated heir apparent and son from another mother.[16]

Dionysos riding a cheetah, mosaic floor in the "House of Dionysos" at Pella
, Greece, c. 330–300 BC

Historical sources confirm that the Macedonian kings before Philip II at least upheld the privileges and responsibilities of hosting foreign diplomats, initiating the kingdom's foreign policies, and negotiating deals such as alliances with foreign powers. After the Greek victory at the

royal land, the early Macedonian kings were also capable of bribing foreign and domestic parties with impressive gifts.[18]

Little is known about the

Royal Secretary, royal archive, royal pages, and a throne, although there is some scholarly debate as to the level of Persian influence in Philip's court.[22]

Royal pages

White relief depicting a youth ladlind wine from a krater, a type of container, next to a round table with vases.
Fragmentary votive relief depicting a youth ladling wine from a krater next to a round table with vases, from the agora of Pella, end of 4th century BC, Archaeological Museum of Pella

The royal pages were adolescent boys and young men

conscripted from aristocratic households and serving the kings of Macedonia perhaps from the reign of Philip II onward, although more solid evidence for their presence in the royal court dates to the reign of Alexander the Great.[23][note 4] Royal pages played no direct role in high politics and were conscripted as a means to introduce them to political life.[26] After a period of training and service, pages were expected to become members of the king's companions and personal retinue.[27] 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 during symposia (i.e. formal drinking parties).[28] While conscripted pages would have looked forward to a lifelong career at court or even a prestigious post as a governor, they can also be regarded as hostages held by the royal court in order to ensure the loyalty and obedience of their aristocratic fathers.[29] The abusive punishment of pages, such as flogging, carried out by the king at times, led to intrigue and conspiracy against the Crown, as did the frequent homosexual relations between the pages and the elite, sometimes with the king.[30] Although there is little evidence for royal pages throughout the Antigonid period, it is known that a group of them fled with Perseus of Macedon (r. 179 – 168 BC) to Samothrace following his defeat by the Romans in 168 BC.[31]

Bodyguards

Royal bodyguards served as the closest members to the king at court and on the battlefield. They were split into two categories: the

hypaspistai, a type of ancient special forces usually 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, respectively. 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.[26]

Companions, friends, councils, and assemblies

Ptolemaic Egypt
, now at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

The companions, including the elite

pezhetairoi infantry, represented a substantially larger group than the king's bodyguards.[32] The ranks of the companions were greatly increased during the reign of Philip II when he expanded this institution to include Upper Macedonian aristocrats as well as Greeks.[33] The most trusted or highest ranking companions formed a council that served as an advisory body to the king, called the synedrion.[12][32] A small amount of evidence also suggests that an assembly of the army during times of war and a people's assembly during times of peace existed in ancient Macedonia. The first recorded instance dates to 359 BC, when Philip II called together a number of assemblies to address them with speech and raise their morale following the death of Perdiccas III of Macedon (r. c. 365 – 359 BC) in battle against the Illyrians.[34]

Members of the council had the right to speak their minds freely, and although there is no evidence that they voted on affairs of state or that the king was even obligated to implement their ideas, it is clear that he was at least occasionally pressured to do so.

high treason and assign punishments for them, such as when Alexander III acted as prosecutor in the trial and ultimate conviction of three alleged conspirators in the plot to assassinate Philip II (while many others were acquitted).[36] However, there is perhaps insufficient evidence to allow a conclusion that councils and assemblies were regularly upheld, constitutionally grounded, or that their decisions were always heeded by the king.[12][37] At the death of Alexander the Great, the companions immediately formed a council to assume control of his empire; however, it was soon destabilized by open rivalry and conflict between its members.[12][38] The army also used mutiny as a tool to achieve political ends. For instance, when Perdiccas had Philip II's daughter Cynane murdered to prevent her own daughter Eurydice II of Macedon from marrying Philip III of Macedon (r. 323 – 317 BC), the army revolted and ensured that the marriage took place.[39]

Magistrates, the commonwealth, local government, and allied states

inscription bearing the names of six city archons (politarchs), 2nd century BC, Archaeological Museum of Pella

There is epigraphic evidence from the Hellenistic period and Antigonid dynasty that the Macedonian kingdom relied on various regional officials to conduct affairs of state. This included a number of high-ranking municipal officials, including the military-rooted strategos and politarch, i.e. the elected governor (archon) of a large city (polis), but also the politico-religious office of the epistates. Although these were highly influential members of local and regional government, Carol J. King asserts that they were not collectively powerful enough to formally challenge the authority of the Macedonian king or his right to rule.[40] Robert Malcolm Errington affirms that no evidence exists about the personal backgrounds of these officials, although they may have been picked from the available aristocratic pools of philoi and hetairoi that were used to fill vacancies of officers in the army.[19]

In

priesthoods.[45]

Macedonian commonwealth

Within the Macedonian commonwealth, or the

prostates) of the league.[50]

Military

Main articles: Ancient Macedonian army and Antigonid Macedonian army
Further information: Hellenistic armies and Macedonian phalanx
Republic of North Macedonia
, dated 4th century BC

Early Macedonian army

The basic structure of

Nicholas Victor Sekunda writes that at the beginning of Philip II's reign in 359 BC, the Macedonian army consisted of 10,000 infantry and 600 cavalry, the latter figure similar to that recorded for the 5th century BC.[54] However, Malcolm Errington cautions that any figures for Macedonian troop sizes provided by ancient authors should be treated with a degree of skepticism, since there are very few means by which modern historians are capable of confirming their veracity, and the true number could have been possibly lower or even higher than the amount stated.[58]

Philip II and Alexander the Great

Further information:
Thessalian cavalry
Figures lined up in a row, all with military equipment and dressed colorfully.
More figures, with some riding on horses.
An ancient fresco of Macedonian soldiers from the tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki, Greece, 4th century BC

Imitating the Greek example of martial exercises and issuance of

military officers, while pikemen wore the kotthybos stomach bands along with their helmets and greaves, wielding a dagger as a secondary weapon along with their shields.[62]

The elite hypaspistai infantry, composed of handpicked men from the ranks of the pezhetairoi and perhaps synonymous with earlier doryphoroi, were formed during the reign of Philip II and saw continued use during the reign of Alexander the Great.

embolon (i.e. 'flying wedge') formation of the Scythians. This offered cavalry far greater maneuverability and an edge in battle that previously did not exist in the Classical Greek world.[65]

İstanbul Archaeology Museums

During the reign of Alexander the Great, the only Macedonian cavalry units attested in battle were the companion cavalry.

from Thessaly, 600 cavalrymen from the rest of Greece, and 900 prodromoi cavalry from Thrace. Antipater was able to quickly levy 600 native Macedonian cavalry to fight in the Lamian War when it began in 323 BC.[71] For his infantry, the most elite members of his hypaspistai were designated as the agema, yet a new term for hypaspistai emerged after the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC: the argyraspides ('silver shields').[72][73] The latter continued to serve after the reign of Alexander the Great and may have been of Asian origin.[note 8] Overall, his pike-wielding infantry numbered some 12,000 men, 3,000 of which were elite hypaspista and 9,000 of which were pezhetairoi.[74][note 9] Alexander continued the use of Cretan archers, yet around this time a clear reference to the use of native Macedonian archers was made. After the Battle of Gaugamela, archers of West Asian backgrounds became commonplace and were organized into chiliarchs (units comprising around a thousand men each).[76]

Antigonid period military

Further information: Military Decree of Amphipolis

The Macedonian army continued to evolve under the Antigonid dynasty. It is uncertain how many men were appointed as somatophylakes, which numbered eight men at the end of Alexander the Great's reign, while the hypaspistai seem to have morphed into assistants of the somatophylakes rather than a separate unit in their own right.

Celtic invaders of the 270s BC who settled in Galatia, central Anatolia.[79]

Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican Museums

Thanks to contemporary inscriptions from Amphipolis and Greia dated 218 and 181 respectively, historians have been able to partially piece together the organization of the Antigonid army under Philip V, such as its command by tetrarchai officers assisted by grammateis (i.e. secretaries or clerks).[note 11] The most elite, veteran Antigonid-period Macedonian infantry from at least the time of Antigonus III Doson were the peltasts, lighter and more maneuverable soldiers wielding peltai javelins, swords, and a smaller bronze shield than Macedonian phalanx pikemen, although they sometimes served in that capacity.[note 12] Among the peltasts, roughly 2,000 men were selected to serve in the elite agema vanguard, with other peltasts numbering roughly 3,000.[82] The amount of peltasts varied over time, perhaps never more than 5,000 men (the largest figure mentioned by ancient historians, an amount that existed in the Social War of 219 BC).[83] The peltasts fought alongside the phalanx pikemen, divided now into 'bronze shield' (chalkaspides) and 'white shield' (leukaspides) regiments, up until the very end of the kingdom in 168 BC.[84]

Following the initiative of Philip II, Macedonian kings continued to expand and equip

lemboi at the outbreak of the Third Macedonian War in 171 BC.[85]

Currency, finances, and resources

Further information: Ancient Greek coinage and Economy of ancient Greece
One side of a gold coin of Alexander the Great. The obverse, depicted, shows his profile in armor.
Coin of Alexander the Great minted at Miletus, depicting his profile in armor

The

autonomous municipal governments of Thessaloniki, Pella, and Amphipolis within the Macedonian commonwealth.[91]

In addition to mining, the crown and central authorities also raised revenues by collecting produce from

seaports began since at least the reign of Amyntas III, while the Oikonomika by Pseudo-Aristotle explains how Callistratus of Aphidnae (died c. 350 BC) aided Perdiccas III in doubling the kingdom's annual profits on customs duties from 20 to 40 talents.[94][95]

After the defeat of Perseus of Macedon at the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC, the

Roman province of Macedonia.[99][100][101] The Roman-era historians Livy and Diodorus Siculus asserted that the law was originally 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.[102][103] It is also possible that the Romans were concerned with stemming inflation caused by an increased money supply from Macedonian silver mining.[104] The Macedonians continued minting silver coins between 167 and 148 BC, and when the Romans lifted the ban on Macedonian silver mining in 158 BC it may have only reflected the local reality of this illicit practice continuing regardless of the Senate's decree.[102]

See also

References

Notes

  1. the king and involving a popular assembly of the army.[4]
  2. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 446–447 writes the following: "... to this we can add the evidence provided by two magnificent archaeological monuments, the 'Alexander Sarcophagus' in particular and the 'Alexander Mosaic'... In the case of the Antigonid army ... valuable additional details are occasionally supplied by Diodorus and Plutarch, and by a series of inscriptions preserving sections of two sets of army regulations issued by Philip V."
  3. ^ For an argument about the absolutism of the Macedonian monarchy, see Errington 1990, pp. 220–222.
  4. Archelaus I of Macedon.[25]
  5. mainland Greece
    by 146 BC.
  6. ^ Unlike the sparse Macedonian examples, ample textual evidence of this exists for the Achaean League, Acarnanian League, and Achaean League; see Hatzopoulos 1996, pp. 366–367.
  7. ^ Errington 1990, p. 238; 247 writes the following: "the crucial necessity of drilling troops must have become clear to Philip at the latest during his time as a hostage in Thebes."
  8. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 455–456; see also Errington 1990, p. 245: in regards to both the argyraspides and chalkaspides, "these titles were probably not functional, perhaps not even official."
  9. F.W. Walbank choose Diodorus Siculus' figure of 32,000 infantry as the most reliable, while disagreeing with his figure for cavalry at 4,500, asserting it was closer to 5,100 horsemen.[75]
  10. hypaspistai from an elite unit to a form of military police or bodyguard under Philip V
    ; the only thing the two functions had in common was the particular closeness to the king."
  11. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 460–461; for the evolution of Macedonian military titles, see also Errington 1990, pp. 242–243 for further details.
  12. hypaspistai
    ."

Citations

  1. ^ King 2010, p. 373.
  2. ^ King 2010, pp. 373–374.
  3. ^ a b c King 2010, p. 374.
  4. ^ Hammond & Walbank 2001, pp. 12–13.
  5. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 446–447.
  6. ^ King 2010, pp. 36–37.
  7. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 220–221.
  8. ^ a b King 2010, p. 375.
  9. ^ Granier 1931, pp. 4–28, 48–57.
  10. ^ King 2010, pp. 374–375.
  11. ^ de Francisci 1948, pp. 345–435.
  12. ^ a b c d e Errington 1990, p. 220.
  13. ^ King 2010, pp. 375–376.
  14. ^ King 2010, p. 376.
  15. ^ King 2010, pp. 376–377.
  16. ^ King 2010, p. 377.
  17. ^ King 2010, p. 378.
  18. ^ a b King 2010, p. 379.
  19. ^ a b c Errington 1990, p. 222.
  20. ^ Errington 1990, p. 221.
  21. ^ a b King 2010, p. 380.
  22. ^ Olbrycht 2010, pp. 345–346.
  23. ^ Sawada 2010, pp. 403–405.
  24. ^ King 2010, pp. 380–381.
  25. ^ Hammond & Walbank 2001, p. 13.
  26. ^ a b King 2010, p. 381.
  27. ^ Sawada 2010, p. 403.
  28. ^ Sawada 2010, pp. 404–405.
  29. ^ Sawada 2010, p. 405.
  30. ^ Sawada 2010, pp. 405–406.
  31. ^ Sawada 2010, p. 406.
  32. ^ a b King 2010, p. 382.
  33. ^ Sawada 2010, p. 404.
  34. ^ King 2010, p. 384.
  35. ^ Sawada 2010, pp. 382–383.
  36. ^ Hammond & Walbank 2001, pp. 5, 12.
  37. ^ King 2010, pp. 384–389.
  38. ^ King 2010, pp. 383–384.
  39. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 119–120.
  40. ^ King 2010, p. 390.
  41. ^ Amemiya 2007, pp. 11–12.
  42. ^ a b Errington 1990, p. 231.
  43. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 229–230.
  44. ^ Errington 1990, p. 230.
  45. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 231–232.
  46. ^ Hatzopoulos 1996, pp. 365–366.
  47. ^ Hatzopoulos 1996, pp. 366–367.
  48. ^ Hatzopoulos 1996, pp. 367–369.
  49. ^ Hatzopoulos 1996, pp. 368–369.
  50. ^ Errington 1990, p. 242.
  51. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 447.
  52. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 243–244.
  53. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 447–448.
  54. ^ a b Sekunda 2010, pp. 448–449.
  55. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 238–239.
  56. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 238–239, 243–244.
  57. ^ a b Sekunda 2010, p. 449.
  58. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 239–240.
  59. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 449–450.
  60. ^ Errington 1990, p. 238.
  61. ^ a b Sekunda 2010, p. 450.
  62. ^ Errington 1990, p. 241.
  63. ^ Errington 1990, p. 244.
  64. ^ a b Sekunda 2010, p. 452.
  65. ^ a b c d Sekunda 2010, p. 451.
  66. ^ a b Errington 1990, pp. 241–242.
  67. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 449–451.
  68. ^ a b Errington 1990, pp. 247–248.
  69. ^ Hammond & Walbank 2001, pp. 24–26.
  70. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 453.
  71. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 454.
  72. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 455.
  73. ^ Errington 1990, p. 245.
  74. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 455–457.
  75. ^ Hammond & Walbank 2001, pp. 22–23.
  76. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 458–459.
  77. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 461.
  78. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 460.
  79. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 469.
  80. ^ Saddington 2011, pp. 204, Plate 12.2.
  81. ^ Coarelli 1987, pp. 35–84.
  82. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 462.
  83. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 463.
  84. ^ Sekunda 2010, pp. 463–464.
  85. ^ Errington 1990, p. 248.
  86. ^ Roisman 2010, pp. 156–157.
  87. ^ Kremydi 2011, p. 163.
  88. ^ Errington 1990, p. 246.
  89. ^ Treister 1996, p. 379.
  90. ^ Meadows 2008, p. 773.
  91. ^ Hatzopoulos 1996, pp. 432–433.
  92. ^ Hatzopoulos 1996, p. 433.
  93. ^ Hatzopoulos 1996, p. 434.
  94. ^ Hatzopoulos 1996, pp. 433–434.
  95. ^ Roisman 2010, p. 163.
  96. ^ Bringmann 2007, pp. 99–100.
  97. ^ Treister 1996, pp. 373–375.
  98. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 216–217, 223.
  99. ^ Bringmann 2007, pp. 104–105.
  100. ^ Eckstein 2010, pp. 247–248.
  101. ^ Errington 1990, pp. 203–205, 216–217.
  102. ^ a b Treister 1996, pp. 374–375.
  103. ^ Errington 1990, p. 223.
  104. ^ Treister 1996, p. 374.

Sources

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