What is the difference between today’s Macedonia and Alexander the Great’s Macedonian Empire?

Except for the same name and geographical overlap, there are not many connections between the two, whether in terms of culture or population. In addition, pay attention to distinguishing between the Macedonian Republic and the Macedonian region. The current term "Macedonia" generally refers to the former. The Macedonian Empire

The Macedonian Empire refers to the glorious period of the ancient Macedonian Kingdom under Alexander III. Macedonia is located in the border area of ??ancient Greece, in the north-central part of Greece, bordering Aprus to the west and Thrace to the east. Its ethnic origin has not yet been determined, but it may be a mixed descendant of the Illyrians, Thracians and the Dorians of Greece. It mainly believes in ancient Greek polytheism. Around the second half of the 6th century BC, Macedonia completed its unification and implemented a monarchy.

In the 4th century BC, the regent Philip established himself as king (Philip II), implemented a series of reforms, drew on the advanced experience of Greece, and took measures with Macedonian characteristics to strengthen the royal power and Weakened the power of the aristocratic assembly and the citizens' assembly, implemented currency reform, and adopted the gold and silver bimetallic system. The most important thing was his military reforms, which established a standing army loyal to the king and created a powerful Macedonian phalanx. Later, he invaded the gold mines of Thrace and gained a stable income every year to expand his military. The combat effectiveness of the Macedonian army exceeded that of other Greek city-states. In preparation for his march to the eastern countries, Philip also built a powerful fleet.

After Philip II became strong in military strength, he took advantage of Greece's city-state war to go south and invade Greece. In 337 BC, all Greece except Sparta was forced to recognize Macedonian hegemony. In 336 BC, Philip was assassinated. The throne was succeeded by his son Alexander (ie Alexander the Great). After Alexander came to the throne, he suppressed the rebellion in Greece and continued to expand his territory, conquering Syria, Phoenicia, Egypt and other places, and finally destroyed the Achaemenid Empire. Then they entered India, but were forced to retreat due to unaccustomed conditions and the soldiers' homesickness.

In early 324 BC, Alexander made Babylon his new capital and established a huge empire, the Macedonian Empire, also known as the Alexander Empire. At this time, the territory of the Macedonian Empire reached its peak, including today's Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. All or part of its territory spans three continents: Asia, Europe and Africa.

In June 323 BC, Alexander died of malaria. After his death, his generals divided the empire. Macedonian Peace

Since the 5th century AD, Slavs began to enter the Macedonian region and settled there, thus establishing the division of modern Macedonia into the north and south (Greeks in the south and Slavs in the north). the basis of.

Bulgaria conquered Macedonia in 837 and established its capital in Ohrid at the end of the 10th century. In 1018, the Byzantine Empire conquered Macedonia. In the following centuries, Macedonia changed hands many times between the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarian Empire and the Serbian Empire. Influenced by the Byzantine cultural circle, the main religion is Orthodox Christianity, and the Cyrillic alphabet is used as the written language. The Ottoman Empire conquered Macedonia in the early 15th century and began a 500-year rule.

In the 19th century, the Balkan restoration movements were launched one after another, nationalism rose, and Macedonia became a must-win for Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. In 1913, the three countries won the first Balkan War against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans ceded Macedonia to the three countries. However, the second Balkan War broke out between the three countries due to the specific partition plan of Macedonia. In the end, Greece and Serbia defeated Bulgaria. , the three countries divided Macedonia. The part Serbia received was the territory of the modern Macedonian Republic. After World War I, Serbian Macedonia and Serbia became part of Yugoslavia.

During World War II, Greece and Yugoslavia were allies, and Bulgaria participated in the Axis camp led by Germany. After Greece and Yugoslavia were occupied by Germany, Bulgaria received most of Macedonia, but After the war, the borders between countries returned to the pre-war situation.

After World War II, Yugoslavia became a socialist country led by Tito. In 1946, Tito separated Macedonia from Serbia and became a republic directly under the jurisdiction of Yugoslavia. Macedonia peacefully separated from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on September 17, 1991, but a country name dispute broke out with Greece. Finally, the Democratic Republic of Macedonia joined the United Nations in 1993 under the name "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".