Macedonian
civilization
(323 BC to 146 BC)
The Macedonians were a Greek people
that populated the south central Balkan
Peninsula. In 338 BC, King Philip II of
Macedonia conquered the Greek city-
states. Philip’s son, Alexander the Great,
conquered nearly every civilization from
Egypt to India, building a huge empire in
which culture and art flourished. After
Alexander’s death in 323 BC, his empire
went through many years of turmoil as his
senior generals and family members vied
for control. By 301 BC, Alexander’s
mother, wife, son, and half brother had all been murdered. Following the battle of Ipsus that year in Asia
Minor, the empire was divided into four kingdoms—Macedonia, Thrace, Egypt, and Persia. Although
Egypt and Persia both initially claimed Syria, Persia annexed it by 281 BC. In 277 BC, Antigonos
Gonatas (a descendent of Antigonos, one of Alexander’s generals) became king of the Greek Kingdom
of Macedonia and established the ruling Antigonid dynasty, which reigned until its conquest by the
Romans. Together with Syria and Egypt, Macedonia became one of the three great kingdoms of the
Hellenistic world. Macedonia’s attempt to expand its territories met opposition from Pyrrhus and the
confederation of the city-states of central and southern Greece. (Athens bribed its way out of the
confederation and became a neutral state, but never regained its past prominence.)
During the 3rd century BC, Pyrrhus came to the aid of the Greek colonies in southern Italy and Sicily
that were fighting the Romans in Italy. The early victories by Pyrrhus were so costly and had so little
effect (thus the expression, “Pyrrhic victories”) that the Greeks were forced to withdraw by 275 BC.
During the Second Punic War the Greeks actively aided Hannibal against the Romans. In this same
period, the Greeks fought the Romans, who had invaded Illyria (northeast Adriatic coast from modern
north Albania to Croatia) to put an end to piracy in the Adriatic.
By 202 BC, the kingdom of Macedonia was
struggling to maintain control of the city-states of
the Greek Peninsula, which were joining together in
rebellion. A small Roman army came to their aid
and, by 196 BC, defeated the Macedonian army.
Macedonia’s power revived and the Romans
invaded again in 172 BC, defeated the kingdom of
Macedonia at the battle of Pydna in 168 BC, and
removed the Antigonids from power. The Romans
attempted to leave the other Greek city-states on
their own, but the kingdom of Macedonia took up
arms again. The Romans invaded in 149 BC and
made the kingdom of Macedonia a Roman
province. Roman patience with the other Greek
city-states was exhausted by unrest in Corinth in
147 BC, so they besieged and sacked that city in 146 BC. As a lesson to the other city-states, the
citizens of Corinth were sold into slavery, the buildings were torn down, and anything of value was
shipped home to Rome.
Chapter 4: Civilizations 11
