Around the 8th century BCE, a kingdom with its capital in Aigai is established in the Macedonian lands. The heyday of the state falls only in the 4th century BCE when thanks to Philip II (359 – 336 BCE) the Hellenic states surrendered to Macedonian power after the defeat in 338 BCE. under Chaeronea, and then the reign of Alexander the Great ended with his death in 321 BCE. After Alexander’s death, the Macedonian state was divided among the higher commanders, giving rise to new great dynasties. Seleucids in Parthia (Persia), Anatygonids in Hellas and Lagids in Egypt.
At the end of the 3rd century BCE king Philip V allied with Hannibal against Rome. Titus Quinctius Flamininus defeated Philip in 197 BCE under Cynoscephalae and was forced to relinquish hegemony over Greece.
In another war, Lucius Aemilius Paulus of Macedon defeated Philip’s son – Perseusat Pydna(168 BCE) and dethroned the dynasty. Macedonia surrendered to Roman rule but was temporarily split into 4 republics dependent on the authority of the Roman Senate. Only in 146 BCE after the unsuccessful war with Rome, Macedonia was incorporated into the Roman state as a province.
The Macedonian lands were rich in iron, gold and also copper. Macedonia, like the rest of Hellenic, provided skilled craftsmen, teachers and doctors.
In addition to its natural resources, the Macedonian lands were also rich in wood, tar, resin, hemp, and flax and the surrounding seas were rich in fish.
The partition of the Roman state in 395 CE was attached to the Eastern Empire.
