Achaemenid Macedonia

Achaemenid Macedonia
Αχαιμενιδών Μακεδονία
512/511 BC–479 BC
Macedonia as a Persian vassal kingdom during the early stages of the Greco-Persian Wars
Capital		Aigai
Languages		Ancient Macedonian, Aramaic, Attic Greek, Koine Greek, Old Persian
Government		Vassal monarchy (512/511-492 BC) Fully subordinate monarchy (492-479 BC)
President		Amyntas I (first)
		Alexander I (last)
Historical era		Classical Antiquity
•	Macedon becomes a vassal kingdom under Darius I.	512/511–492 BC
•	Macedon becomes a fully subordinate part of Persia.	492–479 BC
•	Conclusion of the Second Persian invasion of Greece.	479 BC
•	Macedon gains independence from Persia.	479 BC
Currency		Daric, Siglos, Tetradrachm

Achaemenid Macedonia refers to the period the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedonia was under the Achaemenid Persian sway. In 512/511 BC, Megabyzus forced the Macedonian king Amyntas I to make his kingdom a vassal of the Achaemenids. In 492, following the Ionian Revolt, Mardonius firmly re-tightened the Persian grip in the Balkans, and made Macedon a fully subordinate kingdom within the Achaemenid domains, part of its administrative system, until the definite withdrawal of the Persians from their European territories following the eventual failure at the Second Persian invasion of Greece.

512/511 BC: Macedon becomes an Achaemenid vassal

Ever since the Macedonian king Amyntas I surrendered his country to the Persians in about 512-511, Macedonians and Iranians were strangers no more. Subjugation of Macedonia was part of Persian military operations initiated by Darius the Great (521-486) in 513 - after immense preparations - a huge Achaemenid army invaded the Balkans and tried to defeat the European Scythians roaming to the north of the Danube river. Darius' army subjugated several Thracian peoples, and virtually all other regions that touch the European part of the Black Sea, such as parts of nowadays Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia, before it returned to Asia Minor. Darius left in Europe one of his commanders named Megabazus whose task was to accomplish conquests in the Balkans. The Persian troops subjugated gold-rich Thrace, the coastal Greek cities, as well as defeating and conquering the powerful Paeonians. Finally, Megabazus sent envoys to Amyntas, demanding acceptation of Persian domination, which the Macedonian accepted, thus becoming a vassal state. The Balkans provided many soldiers for the multi ethnic Achaemenid army. Many of the Macedonian and Persian elite intermarried, such as the Persian official Bubares who married Amyntas' daughter, Gygaea. As Roisman and Worthington state, the family ties the Macedonian rulers Amyntas and Alexander enjoyed with Bubares ensured them good relations with the Persian kings Darius and Xerxes I.

492-479 BC: fully subordinate status within the empire

Following the Ionian Revolt the Persian authority in the Balkans was restored by Mardonius in 492, which not only included the re-subjugation of Thrace, but also the full subordinate inclusion of Macedon into the Persian Empire. According to Herodotus, Mardonius' main task was to subject Athens and Eretria, and as many other Greek cities as possible. After having crossed to Europe, he and his army had reached the Persian garrison of Doriscus, and from there, the army separated after which the navy subjected Thasos, while the infantry continued its way towards Mount Pangaeum, and after crossing the Angites, entered the lands of the Paeonians and re-asserted Persian suzerainty there. Heading towards the Thermaic Gulf, the infantry and the navy encountered difficulties; the former was attacked at night by the Byrgi, while a strong storm devastated the latter. The Byrgi were completely subdued however, and the rest of the navy continued the campaign. Having arrived at the eastern border of Macedon, Alexander I of Macedon was forced to reacknowledge Persian suzerainty over the kingdom. As a result of Mardonius' campaign, Macedonia was incorporated into the administrative system of Persia. As Herodotus mentions in his Histories; "(...) and with their army they added the Macedonians to the already existing slaves [of the Persians]; for all the peoples on their side of Macedonia had already been subjected to them.

The Persian invasion led indirectly to Macedonia's rise in power and Persia had some common interests in the Balkans; with Persian aid, the Macedonians stood to gain much at the expense of some Balkan tribes such as the Paeonians and Greeks. All in all, the Macedonians were "willing and useful Persian allies." Macedonian soldiers fought against Athens and Sparta in Xerxes' army. In Macedon, abundant food supplies of the Persians were stored during their rule. Due to the scarce source base, it however remains debatable whether Macedon also held any Persian garrisons.

Although Persian rule in the Balkans was overthrown following the failure of Xerxes' invasion, the Macedonians (and Thracians) borrowed heavily from the Achaemenid Persians their tradition in culture and economy in the fifth to mid fourth centuries. Some artificats, excavated at Sindos and Vergina maybe be considered as influenced by Asian practices, or even imported from Persia in the late sixth and early fifth centuries.