THE ORGANISATION of the Macedonian army under Alexander the Great, names and functions of units, effective numbers of warriors included, are fiercely debated.[1] That Alexander’s war against Persia occupies the central place in ancient military accounts has not helped scholars reach a degree of consensus. This study likewise departs from the existing reconstructions. It shares with its predecessors a belief that the Companion and Foot Companion units of the Macedonian army were arranged by geographical or tribal origin. I am unable, however, to accept discrepancies between the numbers of cavalry and infantry units suggested by previous studies, and I prefer to look for the regular and logically explicable division of this army, similar to mathematical regularity, with which known armies of Greek poleis, and especially those of federal states, were organised.
This study represents, therefore, an attempt to view Macedonia of the last Argead kings from the perspective of a historian interested in the growth of federalism in the Greek world in the fourth century B.C. This approach should not be surprising. Recently, scholars dealing with Hellenistic Macedonia have tended to stress extensive similarities between the kingdom and the Greek federal states of the period. Of course,various scholars underscore different arguments—the existence of well-organised poleis in fourth-century Macedonia (which strengthens the resemblance between the Macedonian monarchy and Greek confederacies),[2] or the fact that ancient authors list Macedonia together with Greek federal states as members of symmachies. It has been suggested that at least in the Hellenistic age Macedonia’s rulers believed that “Macedonia should not look old-fashioned in a new period of federative boom.” [3]
This study represents, therefore, an attempt to view Macedonia of the last Argead kings from the perspective of a historian interested in the growth of federalism in the Greek world in the fourth century B.C. This approach should not be surprising. Recently, scholars dealing with Hellenistic Macedonia have tended to stress extensive similarities between the kingdom and the Greek federal states of the period. Of course,various scholars underscore different arguments—the existence of well-organised poleis in fourth-century Macedonia (which strengthens the resemblance between the Macedonian monarchy and Greek confederacies),[2] or the fact that ancient authors list Macedonia together with Greek federal states as members of symmachies. It has been suggested that at least in the Hellenistic age Macedonia’s rulers believed that “Macedonia should not look old-fashioned in a new period of federative boom.” [3]
(c) 2008 Jacek Rzepka, University of Warsaw, Department of Ancient History, Department Member
Source: Academia.edu
Source: Academia.edu
RSS Feed
