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for most of its early history, Macedonia was a potential superstate

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fitfully slumbered through most of that early history waiting for someone to come along and master its fiercely independent tribes and harness its rich resources

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that person turned out to be Alexander's father, Philip II

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the sheer size of Macedon potentially made it into a dominant power in Greece and even beyond

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the Macedon city-state

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Macedonia

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refers to the empire that was carved during Philip and Alexander's reigns

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Macedon

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refers to the original political entity located north of Greece

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in the end the terms have more overlapping similarities than differences

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about 80% of the 1000-1500 Greek city states that we know to have existed at one time or another, had territories of around 200 square kilometers (Rhode Island has a territory of over 3000 square kilometers)

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Greek city states were micro-states

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Macedon, however, had a territory of over 20,000 square kilometers

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it was gigantic compared to Greek city-states

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unlike many Greek city states, it comprised two distinct geographical regions

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Lower Macedon

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formed by the alluvial plain created by two rivers

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Haliacmon [Ἁλιάκμων]

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Axios [Αξιός]

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flowed into the Thermaic Gulf

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climate

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essential Mediterranean

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short, rainy winters

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long, hot summers

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suitable conditions for growing grains, olives and grapes

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the Macedonians were enthusiastic wine drinkers

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the existence of several year-round rivers, rare in the Greek context

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helped produce a much larger population than in any other Greek city-state that we know about

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Greek city-state didn't keep very accurate records of their populations

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but we know around 80% of them had populations over 1000

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only about 10% had population over 10,000

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the significance of these data is that since only half of the population could serve in the army at any given time

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Greek city-states could put into the field Hoplite armies of somewhere between 500 to 5,000 or an absolute maximum of 10,000 infantry soldiers

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on the other hand we know that in 334 BCE, the Macedonians could field an infantry army of 27,000 soldiers, roughly two and a half times as large as the army of any Greek city-state that we know about

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it's not a historic accident that both Pella, the capital of 4th century Macedon, and Aigai [Αἰγαί] (modern Vergina), where the kings were buried, were located in lower Macedon

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Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos unearthed the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great

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Upper Macedon

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consisted of the uplands and mountains

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stretched into the north and northwest

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into Illyria and Epirus

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where Alexander's mother was born

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natural resources

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mineral resources

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Eastern Macedon around Mount Pangaion

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silver mines

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a talent of silver

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6000 coins called drachmas

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one silver drachma was the pay for one skilled artisan for one day's work

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each year the Macedonian kings were getting 6 million drachmas worth of revenues from those mines alone

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could buy a lot of body armor

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climate of Eastern Macedonia

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more continental, colder winters and warmer summers

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tribes that Macedonian kings tried to bring under their control

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the kings of Macedon had to struggle with other rings of enemies

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forests of diciduous and evergreen trees

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harvested timber for ships

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oak wood which they used to lay the keels of the ships

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enemies

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east

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tried to subdue tribes in Eastern Macedonia

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inner ring

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Thessaly to the south

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Thrace

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Caldedian League

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to the north

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to the west

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Epirus

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to the far south

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Greek city-states of central Greece

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to the far east

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Persian Empire

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until the Macedonia kings were able to master their own areas in upper and lower Macedon

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and fend off both rings of enemies around them

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they could not entertain broader ambitions

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unleashing Macedon's potential took over 200 years of constant warfare

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led to the creation of a state that looked like a very different kind of place to most Greeks than the city states they lived in