The ancient Macedonians were the people of Macedon on the Balkan Peninsula who created a state in the seventh century BC that lasted until the second century BC. Its most famous ruler was Alexander the Great (356-323 BC).
The name of the kingdom, Macedon, is sometimes cited as Macedonia; it is perhaps derived from the name of a ruler, Makedon or from the Greek word makedos or makednos for ‘tall man’.
Macedon was conquered by the Persian king Darius and remained part of the Persian Empire until the defeat of Xerxes in 480 BC.
Ancient Macedonians were the core of the Kingdom of Macedon, which reach the peak of its might under Alexander the Great in the 4th century. Under King Philip and then his son Alexander the Great Macedon conquered the whole of Greece and went on to add the Persian Empire to its own vast dominion.In the historical record the Macedonian first entered Egypt in the course of the eastern campaigns of Alexander the Great. In 331 BBC Alexander arrived in Egypt, where he visited Memphis, founded the city of Alexandria.
After his death, like Alexander’s wider empire, Macedon was split between relentless warring factions.
Three Macedonia Wars were fought, leading to Philip’s defeat at Cynoscephalae in 197 and to his son Perseus’ even more catastrophic defeat at Pydna in 168. After Pydna, Macedonia was ruthlessly sacked and the kingship abolished. The region became a full province of Rome in 146 BC.
Following the decline of Roman power, in the 6th century AD the region was settled by the Slav peoples from whom the majority of modern Macedonians are descended. Macedonia was fiercely fought over by the Byzantines, Bulgars and Serbs until it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1371.
Ancient Kingdom of Macedonia
