The history of Macedonia?

The ancient Macedonians were a branch of Dorian people, and their early residences were located in northern Greece, south-central Macedonia and southwest Bulgaria. The southern part of this area is close to the Aegean Sea, and the terrain is flat, called Lower Macedonia; The northern part is convex, which is called Upper Macedonia. Macedonians have always adopted absolute monarchy since they entered the civilized era. The king is the master of the national land, the supreme commander in the war and represents the country in foreign relations. He is also a priest, a judge and a treasurer. They never became citizens of this city-state. Therefore, their lifestyle towards the polis has always been a layman, which is different from their Greek neighbors in the south. Because of this factor and backward economy and culture, they were called barbarians by the Greeks. Nevertheless, Macedonia can participate in the ancient Olympic Games, and only Greeks are allowed to participate, which shows that Macedonia's Greek descent is still recognized. Most books about ancient Macedonia include ancient Macedonia in the history of ancient Greece, as Marx said: "Perikles is the internal heyday of Greece, and Alexandria is the external heyday of Greece." Ancient Macedonia has long been unknown. During the Persian War, Macedonia helped Greece, and King Alexander I (reigned 495-450 BC) claimed that his ancestors were also Greeks. Courts in Macedonia have always used Attica dialect spoken by Athenians. By the middle of the 4th century BC, King Philip II of Macedonia was in power (from 359 BC to 336 BC), and this country began to enter the historical stage. Philip II was a very talented king. When I was young, I was a hostage in Thebes, lived in the home of Ipaminanda, a famous soldier who put an end to the invincible myth of Spartan army, was familiar with government affairs and military affairs, and studied Greek culture diligently. After he acceded to the throne, he immediately carried out reforms to consolidate the kingship and enrich Qiang Bing. Strengthen the kingship and limit the power of the aristocratic parliament; Economically, currency exchange is adopted to promote trade; Militarily, a standing army under the direct command of the king was established, and on the basis of Thebes army formation, a Macedonian phalanx with spears and shields as the main weapons was established, with both offensive and defensive capabilities. After internal reorganization, Philip II made his first attempt, first conquering neighboring Illyria and Thrace, thus giving Macedonia a solid rear. In 349 BC, Philip II led an army south to attack Olympus in Garci's Diss Peninsula, and his ambition to capture Greece was obvious. Although Athens sent troops to help, Philip II captured Olympus, signed the Philoque Lardy Peace Treaty with Athens, and the occupied territory was recognized. In 340 BC, Athens, Megara, Corinth and Gass formed an anti-Macedonian alliance. In 338 BC, Macedonian army and Greek allied forces fought in central Greece, and the famous battle of Caronia was defeated by Greek allied forces. The main force of Macedonian army went south to the Peloponnesus, completely isolated Sparta and basically realized the conquest of Greece. In 337 BC, Philip II held an all-Greek conference in Corinth (except Sparta), and the conference agreed to establish a permanent alliance between Macedonia and Greece, with Macedonia as the leader. The meeting decided to maintain the existing law and order and to March eastward into Persia. The decisive defeat of the Battle of Coronha and the autocratic provisions of the Corinthian Conference extinguished the Greek torch of freedom. The Corinthian Conference marked the end of the Greek city-state era. It is said that Isoklatus, a 98-year-old pro-Macedonian leader, died of hunger strike after gradually realizing the essence of Philip II's slavery to Greece. His suicide achieved the same goal as his old rival, the anti-Macedonian leader Demosthenes's fight to defend Greek freedom. Before his death, he reached the * * * knowledge, which constituted the last scene of Greek tragedy in the city-state era. Philip II had further expansion plans for Persia after conquering Greece. In the spring of 336 BC, Philip sent at least 65,438+/kloc-0,000,000 vanguard troops to cross the Helegu Strait. The army will leave with Philip in autumn. The curtain of a war shaking Eurasia and Africa is about to open. However, Philip was suddenly assassinated at his daughter's wedding that summer, which was an unfulfilled ambition. Macedonia was succeeded to the throne by his son Alexander the Great (356-323 BC).

King Philip II of Macedonia conquered the whole of Greece when he was in power, and his son Alexander later integrated the power of Greece and began to March eastward, establishing the famous Alexander Empire in history. Philip II finally conquered Greece in 338 BC, and established the "Greek Union" in the first 337 years, that is, the "Corinthian Union". After Alexander's death, the empire collapsed and was roughly divided into three parts. Among them, the European part, the Greek mainland, changed hands several times and was finally ruled by Antioch, and was destroyed by Rome in the middle of the second century BC. The territory of Alexander Empire includes all or most of today's Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A small part of India "Let's bring war to Asia and wealth back to Greece". This is the ambition of Greece's most famous orator, but unfortunately Greece at that time had lost its spirit and was in the sunset. But a few years later, King Alexander of Macedonia led a powerful army on the journey of conquering Asia. Macedonia is a barren, backward and unknown city-state in northern Greece. By Philip II, the polis became strong. In 338 BC, Philip II defeated the Greek Federation that opposed him and truly established his hegemony in all Greece. In 336 BC, Philip II was killed by an assassin sent by Persia at his daughter's wedding. Alexander, the son of Philip II, succeeded to the throne at the age of 20. Alexander has a wide range of interests, and he has been smart and brave since childhood. /kloc-when I was 0/2 years old, I once tamed a fierce horse that other riders could not control. From the age of 13 to the age of 16, his father hired Aristotle, the "most learned man" in Greece at that time, as a tutor. He learned from his teacher about philosophy, medicine and science. His favorite book is Iliad, and he devoted himself to learning from Achilles and made brilliant achievements. After the murder of Philip II, the conquered Greek city-states thought it was a godsend opportunity to get rid of the control and slavery of Macedonian Empire, and they revolted one after another, but young Alexander quelled the commotion in just two years. In order to maintain a huge army to suppress the anti-Macedonian movement in the Greek city-state and realize the ambition of conquering the world, Alexander turned his attention to Persia with vast territory, rich information and rolling wealth. In the spring of 334 BC, Alexander led an army of 35,000 people and 160 warships to the east. Before leaving, he gave up all his real estate income, slaves and cattle. A general was puzzled and asked, "Excuse me, Your Majesty, what did you leave for yourself?" "Hope". Alexander said: "I keep my hope for myself, it will give me endless wealth!" " Encouraged by Alexander's ambition, the soldiers decided to follow him to the East to plunder more wealth. Alexander led his troops to occupy Asia Minor, where he wiped out a small number of Persian troops. Then he marched north to Syria, where he defeated King Darius Iii of Persia and captured his mother, wife and two daughters. Looking at Darius' luxurious palace, Alexander was full of praise: "This is like a king!" " "Then, Alexander marched south to Syria and Phoenicia, and sent his generals to capture Damascus, and got a lot of trophies from Darius' armory. He personally led the troops south, and after seven months of hard fighting, he captured Tyre and sold 30,000 residents of Tyre as slaves. When Alexander besieged Tyre, Darius Iii sent messengers to see Alexander, willing to pay a huge sum of money to redeem his mother, wife and daughter. Ceded half the Persian Empire to Alexander. Alexander General Parmenion said with satisfaction, "If I were Alexander, I would accept this condition." Alexander was unmoved. He said, "I'm not Parmenon, I'm Alexander." In 332 BC, Alexander cut off the contact between the Persian army and the maritime fleet and marched straight into Egypt, claiming to be the son of the sun god "Amon". He personally explored and designed Alexandria in the west of the Nile Delta, and he hoped it would last forever as a monument to his great achievements. The Pharaoh of Egypt gave Alexander the title of "Pharaoh". Alexander was particularly excited at the celebration dinner. He said: "The greatness of a hero lies in constantly expanding his territory, constantly increasing his power, and enjoying the food and the beauty of a girl. "In 33 1 year BC, Alexander led an army through northern Mesopotamia and launched a life-and-death battle with Persia in Gauguin Milla Plain. Darius Iii was defeated and killed by his men. Alexander plundered 6,543,800 talents of gold and silver in Persian palaces such as Babylon, Susa, Persepolis and Ekbatan. In 330 BC, Alexander completely defeated Darius' successor and conquered the entire Persian Empire. In 327 BC, Alexander left Central Asia, invaded India, established two Alexandria cities in the Indian Valley, and quickly occupied a vast area of northwest India. He wants to further conquer the heart of India and head for the Ganges River Basin. But at this time, Alexander's soldiers were tired of the long and tense war, plus the heat, heavy rain and disease in India. They refused to go forward and asked to go home. They held rallies and mutinied one after another, and the indigenous Indians fought back. In desperation, Alexander withdrew from India in 325 BC. Alexander's army retreated in two ways. All the way under the leadership of Admiral Nie Ahos, take the sea route from the Iranian Gulf to the Persian Gulf; A route, led by Alexander himself, returned by land through the desert of Camagna. At the beginning of 324 BC, the two armies joined forces in the city of Opis in Babylon. Due to the long journey, Alexander's troops suffered great losses. Nearly 10 years of Alexander expedition, finally ended. Alexander made Babylon his capital. He built a huge empire. Its territory starts from Greece and meston in the west, reaches the Indus Valley in the east, faces the first waterfall of the Nile in the south, and kills water by medicine in the north. Before the expedition, Alexander thought that the Greek nation was unique in the world, and only this nation was truly civilized, and other non-Greek peoples were barbaric. With the expedition to the East, Alexander gradually realized that Persians, like Greeks, have outstanding wisdom and talents, and they should also be respected. Therefore, Alexander's idea has changed. He believes that all ethnic groups should live in harmony in a fair, equal and harmonious way. Therefore, he came up with a great plan to make Persians, Greeks and Macedonians friendly partners. In order to promote the integration of Macedonians with Persians and Orientals, Alexander married Roxana, an aristocrat, in the summer, and encouraged Macedonians to marry oriental women. In Susa, Alexander held a grand and luxurious wedding. He personally married Stathira, the daughter of Darius Iii, king of Persia. As many as 1000 Macedonian soldiers got married on the same day. At the wedding, Alexander announced that Macedonians can enjoy the right of tax exemption when they marry oriental women, and he also presented many gifts to the newlyweds. In Babylon, Alexander also reorganized a huge army and incorporated 30,000 Persian youths into the Macedonian army. Prepare to continue the exploration. He planned to invade the northern lands of Arabia and Persia, and wanted to invade India again to conquer Rome, Carthage and the western Mediterranean. Unfortunately, in June 323 BC, Alexander suddenly suffered from malignant malaria, and it took only 10 days from the onset to the end of his life. He left this world in a hurry. Due to the sudden arrival of death, Alexander did not designate an heir, which led to fierce competition for the throne. In the struggle, his mother, wife and children were all killed by the opposition. The generals rallied to become kings, and the kingdom of Macedonia across Europe, Asia and Africa was split into several Hellenistic countries. Alexander's vast empire only existed for 13 years. Alexander's crusade to the East promoted cultural exchanges between the East and the West and broadened people's horizons. Beautiful Greek sculptures and buildings have appeared in cities in the East, and the knowledge of astronomy and mathematics in the East has also been introduced to Greece and the West, enriching the treasure house of knowledge in the West. Alexander's eastward expedition also opened the way for East-West trade. Dozens of cities he established in the east gradually developed into commercial centers. For example, Alexandria in Egypt is still a famous seaport in Egypt. The rule of Alexander Empire and Seleucia Kingdom (330 BC-247 BC): Alexander III actively promoted the "Hellenistic" colonial rule in Persia. In 323 BC, after the death of Alexander III, the empire he established split, and his department Seleucus (Macedonian) won a vast area in the eastern part of the empire. In 3 12 BC, he became king and established the Seleucus kingdom with Syria as the center. China was called Tiaozhi in ancient times. In its heyday, Seleuc Kingdom included Asia Minor, Syria, the two river basins, Persia and parts of Central Asia.

In 336 BC, Philip II was assassinated and the conquered Greek city-states revolted. His son Alexander ascended the throne and soon put down the civil strife. In the spring of 334 BC, Alexander began his expedition to Persia. He led the troops to occupy Asia Minor first, and then marched north to Izu, Syria. Then Alexander's army went south, captured Phoenicia, and then occupied Egypt. In 33 1 BC, Alexander occupied the Persian capital Babylon and Susa, and the Persian king Darius Iii was killed. In 329 BC, Alexander marched into Central Asia and invaded Parthia and other places. In 327 BC, Alexander's army invaded the Indus River valley again, and then tried to conquer the Ganges River valley, but its strength was weak and it was forced to retreat in 324 BC. The ten-year trip to the East has come to an end. After Alexander's eastward invasion, an unprecedented Macedonian empire was established. Its territory spans three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa, starting from Greece in the west, east to the Indus Valley, south to Egypt and north to Central Asia. In order to rule the huge empire, Alexander inherited the Persian rule and retained the administrative system of the Persian empire. However, this huge empire is composed of some nationalities and tribes with different lifestyles and languages, and there are few internal connections, so its disintegration is inevitable. In 323 BC, Alexander died of illness, and the empire split immediately. Alexander's Macedonian generals fought against each other and the empire declined. In 307 BC, the Macedonian Empire was divided into the Kingdom of Macedonia, the Kingdom of Seleucus and the Kingdom of Egypt under Ptolemy.

After Alexander's sudden death, the brief Alexander Empire collapsed rapidly, and Greece became a battlefield for military generals to compete for hegemony. At the same time, the anti-Macedonian war in Greek states resumed, and some new anti-Macedonian alliances were established one after another. The crisis of the city-state which was eased during the eastward invasion broke out violently again, and extensive and profound social reform movements broke out one after another. All these made the Greek states fall into infighting and foreign invasion for a long time, and eventually declined and were finally conquered by Rome.

After Alexander's death, the sovereignty of Macedonia and Greece remained in the hands of Macedonian general Antipat when he moved eastward. After Antipat's death, his son Cassander gained the rule of Macedonia. Later, there was a dispute within the ministries of Alexandria, and the Macedonian regime was seized by Dmitry. Dmitry left his son Antico Gonnert in Macedonia, led an army to Asia Minor, and was captured and died. In 285 BC, Croste people living in the Danube River valley invaded central Greece and reached the religious holy land of Darfur. Under the slogan of "Greece saves the nation", the Greek states, mainly Ethiopians, repelled the Cloodt people. In 277 BC, taking advantage of the victories of the Greek states, Antioch Gunnars gave the Croste people near the ancient Greek Strait a final blow. The following year, he was proclaimed King of Macedonia and established Antioch Dynasty (276 BC-BC 168). This dynasty covers an area of 75,000 square kilometers and has a population of about 3 million to 4 million. It ruled for more than 100 years until Rome conquered Macedonia.

During the decades from Alexander's death to the establishment of Antioch, Macedonia's economy has undergone great changes due to the development of internal and external wars, immigration and foreign trade. First of all, the ownership of large tracts of land has been developed, and the king owns large tracts of land, mines and forests. The land granted by the king and the hereditary real estate owned by the nobles spread all over the country. At the same time, urban ports are increasingly prosperous. In addition to the original cities of Pella and Eck, new commercial cities of Cassandra and Thessalonica have emerged. The latter is the commercial contact center for Macedonia to export grain and timber, import overseas products and communicate with the Aegean Sea and Adriatic Sea. In terms of political system, Antioch dynasty was a mixture of kingdom and city-state. It put Macedonia and many Greek city-states under its own rule, but it did not form a unified empire. Antioch dynasty strengthened the suppression of the anti-Macedonian movement at home, consolidated its hegemony in Greece, and competed with Egypt and Syria for control of the Aegean Sea abroad. It conquered Ubia and Megara successively, forced some cities in southern Greece to join it, and sent troops to important Greek city-states. However, the anti-Macedonian struggle of the Greek city-states did not stop.

The death of Alexander, the anti-Macedonian movement in Greek States, provided favorable conditions for the revival of the anti-Macedonian movement in Greece. Athens took the opportunity to recruit mercenaries. From 323 BC to 322 BC, the Macedonian army was besieged at Fort lamia in Saglia with the support of Etoria. Encouraged by the victory of the first battle, Athens called on the Greek states to launch a war of liberation against Macedonia. However, Athens is weak after all, and it is difficult for Greek States to unite against the enemy. Therefore, a temporary victory, like a blip, can't last long, and the battle of lamia ended in failure in Athens. Since then, the Macedonian army under the command of Antipat defeated the Greek allies in the Cronon Valley, and Athens has never recovered. Since 322 BC, pro-Macedonian factions in Athens have established oligarchy under the control of Macedonia, and only 9,000 people have civil rights. The failure of Athens' anti-Macedonian war is the inevitable result of the city-state crisis. Due to the disintegration of the economic foundation of the city-state, the number of citizens in the city-state decreased sharply and their status declined, and the powerful and brave citizen soldiers and high-spirited patriotism used to defeat the powerful enemies in the Greek-Persian war were also lost. At the same time, due to the sharp opposition between pro-Macedonian and anti-Macedonian factions, Athens could not unite against the enemy, and certainly could not become a powerful core for uniting other countries to deal with Macedonia. Therefore, the dominant position of Athens in the anti-Macedonian movement was replaced by the city-state with less acute social contradictions later.

From the end of the 4th century BC to the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the League of Etoria and Arcaya rose in western Greece and northwestern South Greece. Etoria is located in the mountainous area of central and western Greece, where the remnants of clan system are strong, residents form rural communes, and the city has just developed. At the end of 4th century BC and the beginning of 3rd century BC, Etoria improved its position in the Greek city-state by participating in the Battle of lamia, fighting against Croste and defending Darfur. And through the contact with major commercial centers such as Crete, it has promoted its own economic development. The alliance centered on Ethiopia was first formed in 365,438+04 BC, and further expanded in the middle of the 3rd century BC, including attiya, Foces, Eris and Messenia in the Peloponnesus, as well as several islands in the Aegean Sea, with its capital in Telmont, Ethiopia. The highest authority of the Federation is the All-Federation Congress, which meets once a year and is open to citizens of all states that have joined the Federation. The Congress of the All-China League elects permanent organs, league meetings and commanders who command allied forces. The League holds several meetings every year, attended by representatives of participating countries. The states that joined the federation have equal relations with each other, maintain their own political systems and autonomy, and the diplomatic power is in the hands of the commander. Each state must provide a certain number of soldiers and pay the Federation. In the 3rd century BC, Etoria was in its heyday, excluding Macedonian forces from western Greece and Saglia. The Arcaya League, which stood side by side with the Ethiopian League, was founded in 280 BC, including Arcaya, Acadia, Messenia and some cities, with Icahn as its capital. The organization of this alliance is similar to the Etoria Alliance. When Alatu was commander in chief in the late 3rd century BC, he expelled Macedonian troops from Corinth, and made Corinth, Scuan, Megara and other industrialized cities join the alliance, so the alliance reached its peak. From 245 BC to 2 13 BC, Alatu served as commander-in-chief of the alliance for more than 30 years. He monopolized the leadership of the alliance, implemented the aristocratic conservative policy and opposed social reform. The purpose of his internal and external policies is to protect the interests of upper-class slave owners and business nobles. Therefore, although the Arcaya League flaunts its opposition to Macedonia, whenever the people's movement rises, it will not hesitate to collude with Macedonia to put it out. This situation is particularly evident in the reform movement to suppress Sparta.

The destruction and political turmoil of the Spartan social reform war further aggravated the process of economic recession and polarization between the rich and the poor in Greek States. Citizens are heavily in debt, lose their land in bankruptcy, and class struggle is becoming increasingly fierce. This situation can be seen from the social reform in Sparta. Sparta's self-sufficient agricultural economy and economic system based on land ownership, originally closed and conservative, developed slowly, but could not avoid the city-state crisis. After the Peloponnesian War, Sparta began to buy and sell land, land annexation prevailed and property division became increasingly fierce. In the 3rd century BC, the population of Sparta was reduced to 700, of which the area occupied was no more than 65,438+000. On the one hand, citizens are exhausted; On the other hand, a few nobles are rich and powerful. Originally, the simple spirit of Spartan citizens serving the public was replaced by the corrupt atmosphere of greed and luxury. This not only made Sparta lose its national strength, but also made it impossible to strengthen its rule at home and compete with Greece for hegemony abroad. Moreover, the ruling class is faced with the threat of a poor uprising that may erupt at any time, prompting some people in the upper ruling class to launch a top-down reform movement.

King Akis (245 BC-24 BC1year) initiated the reform. He put forward a series of reform measures, such as canceling debts, sharing land equally, restoring ancient customs, etc., and formulated a specific plan for sharing land equally: dividing Sparta's land into 4,500 plots for landless Spartans and15,000 plots for Piria from remote areas. Akis publicized the reform in a peaceful way in order to persuade the nobles to adopt it, and promoted the reform by giving his land and property to relatives and friends on his own initiative, but with little effect. The poor support reform, but they are powerless because of lack of organization. Only a few nobles who were in a bad situation because of debt agreed to cancel the debt, but almost all nobles strongly opposed the equal division of land. Therefore, the debt cancellation measures have been implemented, and the plan to divide the land equally has not made any progress. The nobles also used Akis's expedition and the poor's dissatisfaction with the lack of land to undermine the reform. Another king, Leonidas, was ousted at the beginning of the reform, fled abroad, took the opportunity to return home, seized power with the help of mercenaries, and plotted to kill Akis who had just returned from the war. As a result, Akis's reform finally failed.

After Akis's death, King Cleomini (235 BC-22 BC1year) continued his reform. Drawing lessons from Akis's failure, he was determined to carry out reform by violent means. He first seized the army by waging war against the Arcaya League, and then led the mercenaries to suddenly return to Sparta to launch a coup, killing the Ombudsman, abolishing the Ombudsman system, expelling 80 opposition nobles and confiscating their land and property. Subsequently, it announced the cancellation of debts, the equal distribution of land, and the absorption of some Pilahi people as citizens, which increased the number of citizens by 4,000. On the basis of strengthening military strength, Cleomini carried out an expansion policy, defeated the Arcaya League army many times, occupied and plundered many cities of the Arcaya League, and the influence of the reform quickly spread to other city-states, and the movement for equal land distribution and debt cancellation was also expanding. This not only endangered the hegemony of the Arcaya League in the Peloponnesian Peninsula, but also threatened the interests of the upper-class slave owners in various states. So Alatu, the commander of the Arcaya League, even sacrificed the political independence of Greece and asked for help from the Macedonian country, Antoine Dosson (229- 22 BC1). Antioch immediately sent troops to occupy Corinth. In order to deal with the strong enemy, Krini further promoted reform; Under the condition that each person paid a ransom of 5 meters, 6,000 Shiloh people were liberated, and 2,000 of them were recruited into the army. Cleomini led the army to fight bravely with Macedonian army, but was finally defeated in the Battle of Selassia in 22 1 BC. Cleomini fled to Egypt and was later killed. Macedonia rebuilt the Spartan oligarchy and returned the confiscated land to the nobility, and the reform movement failed again.

But after 14, the social reform movement broke out in a more radical and violent form. Nabis (207 BC to 65438 BC+092 BC) established tyrant politics with the support of the poor. Nebis expelled the aristocratic landlords, divided their property equally, liberated the Luo people in Riccardo Chailly, distributed the land to the Pirasians, and recruited Spartan citizens persecuted and exiled by the nobles. Nebis ruled 15 years, and his policies were supported by the poor in neighboring city-States. Finally, Sparta, the coastal city of Argos and parts of Crete merged into Sparta. Therefore, the regime of Nebis met with crazy hostility and resolute opposition from the Greek slave owners, and finally failed under the joint suppression of the Arcaya League and the Roman army invading Greece. Nibis himself was murdered by conspiracy in 192 BC, and Sparta was incorporated into the Arcaya League.

Decades later, the social reform movement in Sparta failed. The main reasons are as follows: first, the city-state system is in crisis because of the serious division of property, and the power of the city-state is declining, which is an inevitable trend. The reformists in the upper ruling group of Sparta tried to restore the old system implemented by the city-state during its initial construction or prosperity, safeguard the unity of citizens, consolidate the order of the city-state, enhance its military strength, and seek hegemony abroad. This kind of subjective intention violates the objective trend of polis crisis and is impossible to realize. Second, the international environment at that time was not conducive to the implementation of the reform. The reformists fought Macedonia first, then Rome, and it was difficult to win because of the disparity in strength.

The failure of these reforms marked the deepening of the city-state crisis and opened the way for the expansion of slavery relations and slave countries. By the middle of the 2nd century BC, the whole of Greece was conquered by Rome and incorporated into the territory of Roman countries.