What is the historical significance of Macedonia?

Answer 1

Ancient kingdom The first recorded Macedonian kingdom emerged around the 8th century B.C, under a dynasty originating from the city state of Argos, who also claimed descendence from the mythical hero Hercules. According to legend, they migrated to the region and gave their name to it: the Argeads. It should be mentioned that the Macedonian tribe ruled by the Argeads, was itself called Argead (which translates from Greek "descended from Argos"). The first recorded king was Perdikkas the 1st. Geographically, the kingdom was situated on a plain between two rivers: Aliakmon and Aksios, north of the Olympus mountain, the home of the Ancient Greek Gods. In the coming two centuries, the kingdom gradually expanded north, conquering neighbouring tribes. The capital was built around 500B.C and it was called Aiges (which translates from Greek "Goats") modern name: Vergina, located about 50km from Thessaloniki in Northern Greece. During the Persian wars (490-479.B.C) Macedonia was conquered by Darius, yet the kingdom regained its independence under King Alexander the 1st. The situation that allowed the Kingdom of Macedonia to its height at the 4th century B.C. is due to the preceding civil wars that left the rest of the Greek city-states in ruins; first the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) between Athens, Sparta and their allies, and the following Theban hegemony wars (circa 370 B.C.) between Theba and Sparta made it possible for Phillip the 2nd of Macedon to expand his kingdom to the south. Yet Phillip did not have in mind to subdue his fellow countrymen, but to unite them against an old and far richer foe: Persia. His son, Alexander the great (356-323 B.C.) embarked on a campaign that would spread Greek culture and civilization from Northern Greece all the way to the river Hindus, in east 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 extended kingdom. Yet Alexander did not live long enough to finish his campaigns. He died, but left no apparent heir-on his deathbed, when asked who is to take his place, he replied 'Krat'oisto' which in Greek would have three possible meanings at the time: 1)he meant his general Krateros(=Strongest, in ancient Greek) 2)'to the strong-est' 3)'to the strong-er'. Krateros would be a wise choice=he was the commander of the infantry of Alexander's army, so whoever controlled the army, basically controlled the empire. Yet the people present at Alexander's deathbed chose to hear otherwise-they heard 'the stronger'-and that was the cause of the Wars of the 'Diadohoi' (322-301B.C). Through 21 years of civil wars, Alexander's generals managed to carve four separate kingdoms: The kingdom of Macedonia, under Cassander, Egypt under Ptolemy, Seleukia under Seleucus and Baktria under Lysimachus. Alexander's conquests left a lasting legacy in the new Greek-speaking cities founded across Persia's western territories, heralding the Hellenistic period, under which these kingdoms flourished. Roman-Byzantine rule In 146.B.C the Kingdom of Macedon was conquered by the Romans, and the region later became part of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire. In the 6th century A.D. Slavs moved into the southern Balkan peninsula, together with Bulgars, Patzinaks, Vogomils, and others. The Byzantines regained control only after 200 years in 1018 A.D. under the emperor Basil Bulgaroktonus (which translates from Greek "Bulgar slayer"). In 1430 B.C. the last city controlled by the Byzantines fell to the Ottoman Empire. 19th-20th Century The province of Macedonia in the late 19th and early 20th century saw immense warfare. After the failed Neo-Turk movement, many subjects of the crumbling Ottoman Empire longed for liberation/independence. The main ethnic groups in the region were Greeks, Bulgarians, Slavs and Turks. After two Balkan Wars (1911-1913) Greece managed to anex the largest part of southern Macedonia, Serbia got the north part and Bulgaria the east part, along with the province of Thrace. But that was not the last fighting there: after the First World War, were Greece and Serbia joined the Andante Powers, while Bulgaria joined the Central powers, the latter lost more grounds to Greece and Serbia. Greece was to enter war for a last time with Turkey in 1919, which brought the result of a population exchange between the two countries. Half a million Turks left Greece, and 1.5 million Greeks left Turkey. This resulted in an 'ethnic' cleansing of the region, since a second population exchange between Greece and Bulgaria had similar results. Modern History Today, the region of Ancient Macedonia is divided between three countries: Greece (61%), F.Y.R.O.M.-Rep. of Macedonia (30%) and Bulgaria (9%). There is a strong political debate between two neighbouring countries- Greece and F.Y.R.O.M. (Rep.of Macedonia). The dispute started with the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991. The southernmost part of the country declared independence and decided to take the name 'Republic of Macedonia' since its boundaries coincided with a small part of Ancient Macedonia. Greece protested since it felt that its history was being stolen. The majority of the population in F..Y.R.O.M. is made up of Slavs, with a considerable minority of Albanians (1/4 of the population) in the northwest and Bulgarians spread throughout the country. Their claim of F.Y.R.O.M.'s Macedonian identity is because the Slavic population that moved in the region got the name after it. Though the first president of the independent nation (Mr. Kiro Gligorof) stated that his country had nothing to do with Ancient Macedonians, and though the country's previous President (Mr.Georgefsky) became a Bulgarian citizen after his term ended, stating that his countrymen were not Ancient Macedonians, but Bulgarians, the dispute still goes on. What raises an eyebrow is that F.Y.R.O.M. does not fulfil any of the criteria to make a connection with the ancient Macedonians, since the language spoken there is a mixture of Bulgarian and Serbian, and the culture is considerably different than the Ancient Greek one that Alexander the Great spread throughout Asia. As mentioned beforehand, Slavs moved into the region on th 6th centrury A.D.-which would place them 900 years later than Alexander's rule, and 1200 years later than Perdikkas' first Macedonian kingdom. 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