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List of kings of Macedonia

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Field	Value
royal_title	King
realm	Macedonia
coatofarms	Vergina Sun WIPO.svg
coatofarmscaption	The Vergina Sun, as depicted on the larnax of Philip II
image	Alexander the Great mosaic (cropped).jpg
caption	Painting of Alexander III the Great
first_monarch	Perdiccas I
last_monarch	Perseus
style	King of the Macedonians, Basileus
residence	Aegae, Pella, and Demetrias
began
ended	168 BC

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.

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". 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 or, according to Herodotus, were of a Doric race that originally resided in Pindus. 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 ({{circa|650 BC}} – 310 BC)

Main article: Argead dynasty

Legendary

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. The later tradition first emerged around the beginning of the fourth century BC and claimed that Caranus, rather than Perdiccas, was the founder. Aside from Satyrus, who adds Coenus and Tyrimmas to the list, Marsyas of Pella, Theopompos, and Justin all agree that Caranus was Perdiccas' father. Furthermore, Plutarch claimed in his biography of Alexander the Great that all of his sources agreed that Caranus was the founder. 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.

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

Historical

Herodotus mentions the names of the five kings preceding Amyntas I, but provides no other information. 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. 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.

Name	Reign	Succession	Life details	Perdiccas I	Argaeus I	Philip I	Aeropus I	Alcetas
Amyntas III	Argaeus II	(2nd reign)
Amyntas III	Alexander II	Ptolemy of Aloros	Perdiccas III	Amyntas IV	Philip II	Alexander III "the Great"	Philip III Arrhidaeus	Alexander IV
	According to various ancient authors, either the son of Caranus or Tyrimmas	Conquered Macedonia after settling near Mount Bermion.
	Son of Perdiccas I	Possibly established the cult of Dionysus in Macedonia.
	Son of Argaeus I
	Son of Philip I
	Son of Aeropus I
– 498/7	Son of Alcetas	Unknown – 498/7First king for which there is reliable historical information; vassal of Darius I from 512.
498/7 – 454
(43 years)	Son of Amyntas I	Unknown – 454 Intensified Macedon's relationship with Greece following Persian withdrawal in 479.
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.
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.
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.
398/7 – 395/4
(3 years)	Son of Perdiccas II	Unknown – 395/4 Died of illness
394/3
(Several months)	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.
394/3	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.
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.
393?
(disputed)	Pretender to the throne installed by the Illyrians under Bardylis; possibly the son of Archelaus	Unknown Expelled by Amyntas III with Thesallian help.
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.
369 – 368
(2 years)	Eldest son of Amyntas III	– 368
(aged 22)Assassinated by Ptolemy of Aloros following Theban military intervention under Pelopidas.
368 – 365
(3 years; disputed)	Possibly the son of Amyntas II; acted as regent for Perdiccas III	– 365
(aged 53) Assassinated by Perdiccas III.
365 – 360/59
(6 years)	Son of Amyntas III	– 360/59
(aged 24)Killed in battle against the Illyrians.
360/59
(disputed)	Son of Perdiccas III	– 335
(aged 30)Never ruled in his own right; later murdered by Alexander III.
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.
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.
323 – 317
(6 years)	Son of Philip II; co-ruler with Alexander IV	– 317
(aged 41)Owing to his diminished mental capacity, Philip never ruled in his own right and instead went through a series of regents including Perdiccas (323 – 320), Peithon and Arridhaeus (320), Antipater (320 – 319), and Polyperchon (319 – 317); executed by the mother of Alexander III, Olympias.
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 and instead went through a series of regents including Perdiccas (323 – 320), Peithon and Arridhaeus (320), Antipater (320 – 319), and Polyperchon (319 – 317). Alexander III's mother, Olympias, guarded him until her execution in 316; murdered by Cassander.

Antipatrid dynasty (310–294 BC)

Main article: Antipatrid dynasty

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

Dynastic conflicts (294–272 BC)

Name	Reign	Succession	Life details	Demetrius I "Poliorcetes"	(1st reign)
Pyrrhus of Epirus	Lysimachus	Ptolemy "Ceraunus"	Meleager	Antipater II "Etesias"	Sosthenes	(1st reign)
Antigonus II "Gonatas"	(2nd reign)
Pyrrhus of Epirus
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	January/February 336 – 282
(aged 54)Surrendered to Seleucus I Nicator in 285, died of illness in captivity a few years later.
288 – 284
(3-4 years)	Usurped throne following joint invasion of Macedonia with Lysimachus and Ptolemy; non-dynastic.	– 272
(aged 46)Killed at the Battle of Argos.
287 – 281
(6 years)	Ruled only the eastern half of the kingdom until 284 when he seized the whole of Macedonia; non-dynastic.	– 281
(aged 79)Killed at the Battle of Corupedium.
281 – 279
(2 years)	Assassinated Seleucus before he entered Macedon and was proclaimed king at Lysimachia; son of Ptolemy I Soter.	– February 279
(aged approx. 40)Captured and beheaded by an invading Celtic army.
279
(2 months)	Elected king following the death of Ceraunus; son of Ptolemy I Soter.	Unknown Deposed by Macedonians after accusations of inadequacy
279
(45 days)	Elected king following Meleager's removal; nephew of Cassander	Unknown
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.
277 – 274 (274 - 272 only the coastal areas)
(3 years)	Seized Macedonia by the middle of 276 in the chaos 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.
274 – 272
(disputed)	Retook Thessaly and the interior of Macedonia, but remained unable to oust Antigonus from the coastal areas	– 272
(aged 46)Killed at the Battle of Argos.

Antigonid dynasty (272–168 BC)

Main article: Antigonid dynasty

Name	Reign	Succession	Life details	(2nd reign)
Antigonus II "Gonatas"	Demetrius II	Antigonus III "Doson"	Philip V	Perseus I
272 – 239
(33 years)	Son of Demetrius I and son-in-law of Seleucus I Nicator		319 – 239
(aged 80)Died of natural causes.
239 – 229
(10 years)	Son of Antigonus II	– 229
(aged approx. 45)Defeated in battle by the Dardanians, died shortly after in unknown circumstances.
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 II	– 221
(aged approx. 42)Suffering from tuberculosis, Antigonus burst a blood vessel following a battle with the Illyrians and died some months later.
221 – 179
(42 years)	Son of Demetrius II	239 – 179
(aged 60)Died suddenly of natural causes.
179 – 168
(11 years)	Son of Philip V	212 – 166
(aged 46)

Non-dynastic rebel kings (150–93 BC)

Name	Reign	Succession
(Philip VI)	Pseudo-Alexander
(Alexander VI)	Pseudo-Philip/Pseudo-Perseus
(Philip VII/Perseus II)	Euephenes
150 – 148
(2 years)	Claimed to be a son of Perseus	Unknown – 146
147	Claimed to be a son of Perseus	Unknown
143	Rose against the Romans with 16,000 men; claimed to be the son of Perseus	Unknown – 143
93	Styled himself as king, but apprehended before uprising began; claimed Antigonid Heritage	Unknown

Family tree

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Primary sources

Secondary sources

References

[[Herodotus]]. ''[[Histories (Herodotus). Histories]]'', 1.56.2–3.
"Ptolemaic Dynasty -- Ptolemy Ceraunus".

Info: Wikipedia Source

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