List of kings of Macedonia

Template:Short description Template:Infobox former monarchy

Macedonia, also called Macedon, was ruled continuously by kings from its inception around the middle of the seventh century BC until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 168 BC. Kingship in Macedonia, its earliest attested political institution, was hereditary, exclusively male, and characterized by dynastic politics.Template:Snf Template:Snf Template:Snf

Information regarding the origins of the Argeads, Macedonia's founding dynasty, is very scarce and often contradictory. The Argeads themselves claimed descent from the royal house of Argos, the Temenids, but this story is viewed with skepticism by some scholars as a fifth century BC fiction invented by the Argead court "to 'prove' Greek lineage".Template:Snf Template:Snf Template:Snf Template:Snf It is more likely that the Argeads first surfaced either as part of a tribe living near Mount Bermion who, possibly under the authority of Perdiccas, subjugated neighboring Template:Nowrap or, according to Herodotus, were of a Doric race that originally resided in Pindus.<ref>Herodotus. Histories, 1.56.2–3.</ref> During their reign, Macedonia would not only come to dominate Greece, but also emerge as one of the most powerful states in the ancient world with the conquest of the Persian Empire under Alexander the Great. However, Alexander's untimely death in 323 BC triggered a series of civil wars and regents for his young son Alexander IV, ultimately leading to the Argead dynasty's demise.

Cassander, the ostensible regent of Macedonia, murdered Alexander IV in 310 and installed the Antipatrids as the ruling house. His dynasty was short-lived, however, as his death in 297 triggered a civil war between his sons that further destabilized the kingdom. The following decades saw a rapid and violent succession of Diadochi from various dynasties, each vying for the Macedonian throne. This chaos continued until the death of Pyrrhus in 272 and the accession of the Antigonids under Antigonus II Gonatas.

Following decades of continuous conflict, the Antigonids saw the temporary renewal of the kingdom's fortunes, but were destroyed by Rome after Perseus' defeat at the battle of Pydna in 168 BC.

Argead dynasty (Template:Circa – 310 BC)Edit

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LegendaryEdit

There are two separate historical traditions relating the foundation of Macedonia and the Argead dynasty. The earlier, documented by Herodotus and Thucydides in the fifth century BC, records Perdiccas as the first king of Macedonia.Template:Snf Template:Snf The later tradition first emerged around the beginning of the fourth century BC and claimed that Caranus, rather than Perdiccas, was the founder.Template:Snf Aside from Satyrus, who adds Coenus and Tyrimmas to the list, Marsyas of Pella, Theopompos, and Justin all agree that Caranus was Perdiccas' father.Template:Snf Furthermore, Plutarch claimed in his biography of Alexander the Great that all of his sources agreed that Caranus was the founder.Template:Snf This unhistorical assertion, like the Argive connection, is rejected by modern scholarship as court propaganda, possibly intended to diminish the significance of the name 'Perdiccas' in rival family branches following Amyntas III accession.Template:Snf Template:Snf Template:Snf


Name	Reign	Succession
Caranus	Unknown	According to various ancient authors, either the son, brother, or relative of the Argive king Pheidon Template:Snf
Coenus	Unknown	Son of Caranus
Tyrimmas	Unknown	Son of Coenus

HistoricalEdit

Herodotus mentions the names of the five kings preceding Amyntas I, but provides no other information.Template:Snf Template:Snf Consequently, the reign dates and activities of the early Argead kings can only be guessed at. By allowing thirty years for the span of an average generation and counting backwards from the beginning of Archelaus' reign in 413 BC, British historian Nicholas Hammond estimated that the dynasty began around 650 BC.Template:Snf Amyntas I and his son Alexander I are the earliest kings for which we have any reliable historical information, and even then, only in the context of their relationships with Achaemenid Persia and Greeks.Template:Snf


Name	Reign	Succession	Life details
Perdiccas I	Template:Fl.	According to various ancient authors, either the son of Caranus or Tyrimmas	Conquered Macedonia after settling near Mount Bermion.Template:Snf
Argaeus I	Template:Fl.	Son of Perdiccas I	Possibly established the cult of Dionysus in Macedonia.Template:Snf
Philip I	Template:Fl.	Son of Argaeus I
Aeropus I	Template:Fl.	Son of Philip I
Alcetas	Template:Fl.	Son of Aeropus I

Amyntas I	Template:Circa – 498/7	Son of Alcetas	Unknown – 498/7 First king for which there is reliable historical information; vassal of Darius I from 512.Template:Snf
Alexander I "Philhellene"	498/7 – 454 (43 years)	Son of Amyntas I	Unknown – 454 Intensified Macedon's relationship with Greece following Persian withdrawal in 479.Template:Snf
Perdiccas II	454 – 413 (41 years)	Son of Alexander I	Unknown – 413 Fought both for and against Athens during the Peloponnesian War; died probably of natural causes.Template:Snf
Archelaus	413 – 399 (14 years)	Son of Perdiccas II	Unknown – 399 Moved center of kingdom from Aegae to Pella; either murdered in a personal revenge plot or killed in a hunting accident by his lover Craterus.Template:Snf
Orestes	399 – 398/7 (3 years)	Son of Archelaus	Unknown – 398/7 Minority reign until removal in 398/7; possibly murdered by Aeropus II, his guardian, but facts are uncertain.Template:Snf Template:Snf
Aeropus IITemplate:Efn	398/7 – 395/4 (3 years)	Son of Perdiccas II	Unknown – 395/4 Died of illnessTemplate:Snf
Amyntas II "the Little"	394/3 (Several months)Template:Sfn	Son of Menelaus, Alexander I's second son	Unknown – 394/3 Probably ruled at the same time as Pausanias; sources for reign are few, but likely murdered by the ruler of Elimiotis, Derdas.Template:Snf Template:Snf
Pausanias	394/3 (Several months)Template:Sfn	Son of Aeropus II	Unknown – 394/3 Probably ruled at the same time as Amyntas II; sources for reign are few, but likely murdered by Amyntas III.Template:Snf Template:Snf
(1st reign) Amyntas III	393 (Less than a year)	Great grandson of Alexander I through his third son, Amyntas	Unknown – 369 Held kingdom together despite multiple Illyrian invasions; died of natural causes.Template:Snf
Argaeus II	393? (disputed)	Pretender to the throne installed by the Illyrians under Bardylis; possibly the son of ArchelausTemplate:Efn	Unknown Expelled by Amyntas III with Thesallian help.Template:Snf
(2nd reign) Amyntas III	393 – 369 (18 years)	Great grandson of Alexander I through his third son, Amyntas	Unknown – 369 Held kingdom together despite multiple Illyrian invasions; died of natural causes.Template:Snf
Alexander II	369 – 368 (2 years)	Eldest son of Amyntas III	Template:Circa – 368 (aged 22)Template:Snf Assassinated by Ptolemy of Aloros following Theban military intervention under Pelopidas.Template:Snf
Ptolemy of Aloros	368 – 365 (3 years; disputed)Template:Efn	Possibly the son of Amyntas II; acted as regent for Perdiccas III	Template:Circa– 365 (aged 53)Template:Snf Assassinated by Perdiccas III.Template:Snf
Perdiccas III	365 – 360/59 (6 years)	Son of Amyntas III	Template:Circa – 360/59 (aged 24)Template:Snf Killed in battle against the Illyrians.
Amyntas IV	360/59 (disputed)	Son of Perdiccas III	Template:Circa – 335 (aged 30)Template:Sfn Never ruled in his own right; later murdered by Alexander III.
Philip II	360/59 – 336 (23 years)	Son of Amyntas III	382 – 336 (aged 47) Would come to dominate Ancient Greece through a massive expansion of Macedonian power; assassinated by Pausanias of Orestis.Template:Sfn Template:Snf
Alexander III "the Great"	336 – 323 (13 years)	Son of Philip II	356 – 10/11 June 323 (aged 33) Conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire; died of illness at Babylon.Template:Sfn
Philip III Arrhidaeus	323 – 317 (6 years)	Son of Philip II; co-ruler with Alexander IV	Template:Circa – 317 (aged 41)Template:Snf Owing to his diminished mental capacity, Philip never ruled in his own right and instead went through a series of regents; executed by the mother of Alexander III, Olympias.Template:Sfn
Alexander IV	323 – 310 (13 years)	Son of Alexander III; co-ruler with Philip III	323 – 310 (aged 13) Due to his age, Alexander never ruled in his own right. Alexander III's mother, Olympias, guarded him until her execution in 316; murdered by Cassander.Template:Sfn

Antipatrid dynasty (310–294 BC)Edit

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Name	Reign	Succession	Life details
Cassander	310 – 297 (13 years)	Son of the regent Antipater and son-in-law of Philip II	Template:Circa – 297 (aged 59)Template:Snf Died of illness (possibly tuberculosis)Template:Sfn
Philip IV	297 (4 months)	Son of Cassander	Unknown – 297 Died of illness (possibly tuberculosis)Template:Sfn
Antipater I	297 – 294 (3 years)	Son of Cassander; co-ruler with Alexander until Antipater murdered their mother, Thessalonike, for favoring his brother.Template:Snf	Unknown – 294 Killed by his father-in-law, Lysimachus.Template:Sfn
Alexander V	297 – 294 (3 years)	Son of Cassander; co-ruler with his brother Antipater.	Unknown – 294 Assassinated by Demetrius I.Template:Snf

Dynastic conflicts (294–272 BC)Edit

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Name	Reign	Succession	Life details
Demetrius I "Poliorcetes"	294 – 288 (6 years)	Proclaimed king by army in Larissa following Alexander V's assassination; son of the diadochos Antigonus and brother-in-law of Cassander through Phila Template:Snf	January/February 336 – 282 (aged 54) Surrendered to Seleucus I Nicator in 285, died of illness in captivity a few years later.Template:Sfn
(1st reign) Pyrrhus of Epirus	288 – 285 (3 years)	Usurped throne following joint invasion of Macedonia with Lysimachus and Ptolemy; non-dynastic.	Template:Circa – 272 (aged 46) Killed at the Battle of Argos.
Lysimachus	287 – 281 (6 years)	Ruled only the eastern half of the kingdom until 285 when he seized the whole of Macedonia; non-dynastic.	Template:Circa – 281 (aged 79) Killed at the Battle of Corupedium.
Ptolemy "Ceraunus"	281 – 279 (2 years)	Assassinated Seleucus before he entered Macedon and was proclaimed king at Lysimachia; son of Ptolemy I Soter.Template:Snf	Template:Circa – February 279 (aged approx. 40)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Captured and beheaded by an invading Celtic army.Template:Snf
Meleager	279 (2 months)Template:Snf	Elected king following the death of Ceraunus; son of Ptolemy I Soter.	Unknown Deposed by Macedonians after accusations of inadequacy
Antipater II "Etesias"	279 (45 days)Template:Snf	Elected king following Meleager's removal; nephew of Cassander	Unknown Removed by Sosthenes for failing to lead the army.
Sosthenes	279 – 277 (2 years)	Strategos and de facto king of Macedon, but refused royal title despite election; non-dynastic	Unknown – 277 Died of natural causes.
(1st reign) Antigonus II "Gonatas"Template:Efn	277 – 274 (3 years)	Seized Macedonia by the middle of 276 in the chaosTemplate:Efn that followed the death of Sosthenes; son of Demetrius I and son-in-law of Seleucus I Nicator	319 – 239 (aged 80) Died of natural causes.Template:Sfn
(2nd reign) Pyrrhus of Epirus	274 – 272 (disputed)Template:Efn	Retook Thessaly and the interior of Macedonia, but remained unable to oust Antigonus from the coastal areas	Template:Circa – 272 (aged 46) Killed at the Battle of Argos.

Antigonid dynasty (272–168 BC)Edit

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Name	Reign	Succession	Life details
(2nd reign) Antigonus II "Gonatas"	272 – 239 (33 years)	Son of Demetrius I and son-in-law of Seleucus I Nicator	319 – 239 (aged 80) Died of natural causes.Template:Sfn
Demetrius II	239 – 229 (10 years)	Son of Antigonus II	Template:Circa – 229 (aged approx. 45) Defeated in battle by the Dardanians, died shortly after in unknown circumstances.Template:Sfn
Antigonus III "Doson"	229 – 221 (8 years)	Chosen by "leading Macedonians" to rule first as regent for Philip and, then later, as king; grandson of Demetrius I and cousin of Demetrius IITemplate:Snf	Template:Circa – 221 (aged approx. 42) Suffering from tuberculosis, Antigonus burst a blood vessel following a battle with the Illyrians and died some months later.Template:Snf
Philip V	221 – 179 (42 years)	Son of Demetrius II	239 – 179 (aged 60) Died suddenly of natural causes.Template:Snf
Perseus I	179 – 168 (11 years)	Son of Philip V	212 – 166 (aged 46) Surrendered to Aemilius Paullus following defeat at Pydna and imprisoned at Alba Fucens for the remainder of his life.Template:Snf Template:Snf

Non-dynastic rebel kings (150–93 BC)Edit

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Name	Reign	Succession	Life details
Andriscus (Philip VI)	150 – 148 (2 years)	Claimed to be a son of Perseus	Unknown – 146 Executed during the triumph of Caecilius Metellus; last king to rule in Macedonia.
Pseudo-Alexander (Alexander VI)	147	Claimed to be a son of Perseus	Unknown Fled to Dardania following military defeat whereafter his fate is unknown.
Pseudo-Philip/Pseudo-Perseus (Philip VII/Perseus II)	143	Rose against the Romans with 16,000 men; claimed to be the son of PerseusTemplate:Sfn	Unknown – 143 Defeated, and presumably executed, by Lucius Tremellius Scrofa.
Euephenes	93	Styled himself as king, but apprehended before uprising began; claimed Antigonid HeritageTemplate:Sfn	Unknown

Family treeEdit

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Individuals with disputed heritage or rule are italicized.

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