Macedonia History

 In the inaugural dissertation "Studies on War and Power Formation in Early Hellenism" (Justus Liebig University, Giessen) we find an important reference to the constant question of whether the ancient Macedonians were actually Greeks, as the modern Greek propaganda claims.  This construction that a foreign king was leader of a Greek league is an absolute novelty In section "5.2.4" Personal union" we read the following passage about the father of Alexander the Great, Phillip II of Macedon: ... The area to which the Argead kings had been of special interest even before Philip was Thessaly, the bridging land between the Hellas of the great Poleis and Macedonia. The rule over Thessaly meant security to the south and was at the same time an offensive position, a gateway against Thebes or Athens, both of which had appeared as intervention powers in Macedonia. But Thessaly had more to offer than just its strategic location; Thessaly had a powerful cavalry, but also a...

Differences Between Ancient Macedonians and Ancient Greeks  by J.S. Gandeto An impressive book on the differences between the two ancient nations - Macedonians and Greeks.  "To understand the history of the ancient Macedonians, their ethnogenesis and their innermost drives as people, we need to analyze and comprehend, first and foremost, their deeply rooted material culture. Only by sifting meticulously through the thick layered strata of their rich culture can we discover and appreciate who this ancient people were. The rare glimpses into their intricate and deeply carved traditions afford us a window of luxury through which the plumage of their race emerges and becomes recognizable. Coupled with numerous anecdotes recorded and preserved through time and epitaphs that are impervious to politics and change, we now have a sizeable body of truth to know and believe that ancient Macedonians were, what they said they were—Macedonians" (from the publisher). "It i...

James Romm examines some intriguing new theories about a long-standing historical mystery. In Babylon on June 10th, 323 BC, at about 5pm, Alexander the Great died aged 32, having conquered an empire stretching from modern Albania to eastern Pakistan. The question of what, or who, killed the Macedonian king has never been answered successfully. Today new theories are heating up one of history’s longest-running cold cases. Like the death of Stalin, to which it is sometimes compared, the death of Alexander poses a mystery that is perhaps insoluble but nonetheless irresistible. Conspiracy buffs have been speculating about it since before the king’s body was cold, but recently there has been an extraordinary number of new accusers and new suspects. Fuel was added to the fire by Oliver Stone’s Alexander, released in 2004 with new versions in 2006 and 2008: a film that, whatever its artistic flaws, presents a historically informed theory about who killed Alexander and why. Few ...

Macedonian ancient heritage is undeniable (2) With the weakening of the theme system in Byzantium during the second half of the 9th century, and particularly in the 12th, the term Macedonia was being less and less used in its thematic and administrative meaning and under the influence of classicism the term Macedonia in its classic, historical-geographical meaning was being restored.   When did the Slavs start calling themselves Macedonians? Since then, the term was gradually used not only to mark the territory of Macedonia in its ancient meaning, but the use by its inhabitants that they were from Macedonia or that they were Macedonians became more frequent. This nomination was gradually accepted by the new inhabitants, the Slavs, who started naming themselves Macedonians after the territory and the people that they assimilated, according to Dr. Boshkoski. “The relationship between the Slavs and the native Macedonians and their life together is a...

The Macedonian ancient heritage is undeniable (1) In the medieval original documentation, the name Macedonia for the territory, and Macedonians for the inhabitants that lived there as Macedonian people, have a full continuity, which means that in the Macedonians’ ethno genesis, the ancient Macedonians were also included, which mainly remained in these areas as indigenous population even after the arrival of the Slavs.   In the complex ethno genetic process, the native ancient Macedonians gradually took the Slavic language and the Slavs took the Christianity, the name Macedonia and the ethnic denomination Macedonians. The language from the region of Thessaloniki, that was fixed by the brothers Cyril and Methodius, played a great role in the Christianization of the Slavs in Macedonia, according to the historians that studied and study the history of Macedonia and the Macedonian people. The historical documents confirm that the terms Macedonia, Macedonians, Macedonian – ...

Today´s Greeks are on a major offensive campaign, with a huge Hellenic brush in their hands, to show the world, especially here in the West, that the Ancient Macedonians were Greeks. Slogans like "Macedonia is Greece", "Macedonians have always been Greek", "Welcome to Macedonia – Greece" and a countless number of other less visible interventions have saturated the media with unprecedented regularity. Such frantic, almost feverish, drive to prove something is telling. What prompted the Greeks, especially after the mid-eighties, to embark on such a monumental task when they had almost more than one hundred years at their disposal to fix the apparent problem with Macedonia and the Macedonians? Several scenarios forcefully enter the picture:  (a) The Green parties in European Parliament and their push for ethnic recognition of minority populations,  (b) Awakening of the ethnic Macedonians in Greece and  (c) Greece´s realization that she i...

Third in a series of weekly conversations between historians James Romm [JR] and Paul A. Cartledge [PC], editor and introduction-author, respectively, of the new Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander , just published by Pantheon under series editor Robert Strassler. This discussion was created by the Reading Odyssey, a non-profit that aims to reignite curiosity and lifelong learning for adults through lectures, reading groups and webcasts.) PC: Jamie, I’ve been reading the latest book publication by Pierre Briant, probably the world’s leading ancient Persologist (if there’s such a word) – technically he’s ‘Professor of the History and Civilization of the Achaemenid World and the Empire of Alexander the Great’ at the stellar College de France (founded in 1530 in Paris by Francois I). The book’s called Alexander the Great and his Empire, and has been translated for Princeton University Press by another leading Persologist, emeritus London Professor Amelie Kuhrt. What...