The Republic of Macedonia, whose history dates back to ancient times, is a small European state in the Balkans with the capital Skopje, which has no seaports and access to the sea. In the UN, the state is included in the status of Former Yugoslav Macedonia, the official language is Macedonian. The area of the republic is 25,333 square meters. km, which corresponds to 145 place in the world. The state also occupies 145th place in terms of the number of inhabitants. Briefly, the history of Macedonia will be presented to the reader in an article.
History
The historical region of ancient Macedonia, sensational in ancient legends, myths and chronicles, is today divided between the territories of the modern states of Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria. In antiquity, its territory and the inhabited peoples were owned by Peonia and Rome, the Serbian and Bulgarian kingdoms, the Ottoman Empire and Byzantium. As history testifies, the name "Macedonia" comes from two Greek words meaning literally "high land" or simply "mountainous terrain".
Under the rule of the wise kings of the dynasty of Argead in the region of Edessa from multilingual peoples and tribes in the VIII century. BC e. the Old Macedonian state was first formed. Under the first Macedonian king Perdikkus I (707-660 BC), the influence of the state in the Balkans was significantly increased. To the V century BC e. his lands were expanding, the ancient capital of the state became Pella, the centralization of the power of local tsars was gradually achieved, the army was reorganized, and metal deposits were developed. The power of Athens on the continental part of Greece was also strengthened, the Greeks regarded the Macedonians with dismissive prejudice, considering them to be essentially the same ethnic Greeks as uneducated and uncivilized barbarians. But over time, it so happened that the cities of Hellas were subordinated to Macedonia (the history of Greece and Macedonia describes in detail the events of those times).
King Philip II
The reign of Philip II of Macedon is considered by historians to be the heyday of the ancient Balkan state. In historical chronicles, Philip II is better known as the father of the greatest warrior of his time, Alexander the Great, but it was he who coped with the difficult tasks of establishing Macedonia as a state. His son subsequently used the ready-made, battle-hardened army formed by Philip for his conquests and the creation of a world empire. Under Philip II, the country quickly captured the entire Aegean coast, gained power over the Halkidiki peninsula, Epirus and magnificent Thessaly, the region of Lake Orchid and Thrace.
The most important date in the history of ancient Macedonia was 338 BC. e. Then there was the famous battle of Heronaeus. In the legendary battle of Philip II near Thebes in the town of Chaeronea, with the strength of his 32 thousandth infantry and horse troops, he defeated the united army, then formed by the Greek city-states. The result of this battle was that all the ancient cities of Hellas obey Macedonia. In history, this played a significant role. We will talk more about this later.
History of Macedonia: Alexander the Great
The history of the ancient world knows many great warriors and commanders, but the name of Alexander the Great always stands apart in historical documents and works of art. The vast conquests of Philip II on the European continent were multiplied by his legendary son Alexander, known in historical documents as the Macedonian (356-323 BC).
At the very beginning of his reign, which he entered at 20 years after the death of the king of Macedonia, Philip II, had to suppress the powerful Thracian rebellion, in which he showed his decisive and firm character. The uprising was brutally crushed, Greece re-subjugated, the rebellious Thebes completely destroyed. In 334 BC e. Tsar Alexander sends his trained battle-worthy army to the shores of Asia Minor and begins the war with Persia, about which his father had dreamed. After the victories at Granik over the Persian satraps, at Issus over the army of Tsar Darius III and the battle deciding in this war at Gaugamela, Alexander accepts the title “King of all Asia” and ponders the conquest of the world.
A terrible and devastating whirlwind, his army marched and for three years (329-326 BC) completely conquered all the ancient states of Central Asia and the Middle East, Syria and Palestine, Caria and Phenicia. Like a new deity, he was met in Egypt, where he founded Alexandria. Returning to Persia, Alexander conquers Persepolis, Suzu and Babylon, which makes it the capital of his vast world empire. Having captured Bactria and Sogdiana, Alexander goes to conquer India. The unrivaled commander, tactician and strategist of his time, Alexander the Great, was not defeated in any battle, and showed the whole world the persistent character of a true Macedonian.
Reign of Rome
The empire of Alexander the Great with his death began to quickly disintegrate into separate parts, controlled by his comrades in military conquests. Macedonia and continental Greece came under the control of one of the army commanders Alexander Antipater. The following decades passed in the internecine struggle of the generals for power in Macedonia, as a result of it in 277 BC. e. the dynasty of the kings of Antigonides ascended the throne of Macedonia.
As the history of the Ancient World, Macedonia, striving for independence, in the III century. BC e. faced with a very formidable enemy, gradually increasing in Rome. The so-called Macedonian Wars began, in which Philip V of Macedon suffered defeat after defeat. After the rout of the Macedonians in 197 BC. e. in the fierce battle of Kinoskofalah, Macedonia abandons part of its territories in Illyria, Thessaly and Thrace, loses its fleet in 146 BC. e. becomes a province of Rome. Roman governors settled in Thessaloniki, some Macedonian cities managed to maintain self-government. Under the power and protection of Rome, cities and trade relations developed in Macedonia, roads and bridges were built.
It was in the Philippines of Macedonia that, for the first time in Europe, a community of Christians appeared, according to the Acts of the Apostles, from which the Christian faith began to spread throughout the continent. In 380, Theodosius I in Thessaloniki signed a decree recognizing Christianity as the religion of the state. With the collapse of the Roman Empire in 395, the historical region of Macedonia was also divided, it underwent devastating raids of nomads, the economy and all major cities came to a complete decline.
Middle Ages
The most important event on the difficult historical path of Macedonia was the arrival of the Slavs in the Balkans in the VI-VII centuries. As the history of the Ancient World tells, Macedonia revived again, once abandoned fields began to be sown with the help of harnessed plows, the Slavs engaged in hunting, flight keeping and fishing, craft flourished, the manufacture of tools, weapons, jewelry, pottery and blacksmithing, and trade. In trading calculations, foreign coins and a natural product were used.
The Slavs were skilled warriors, in clashes with militant neighbors their military skill was honed, and the military organization of Slavic tribes intensified. After the fall of the Hun Empire, the relocation of Slavic tribes to the Balkans became widespread, but these territories were controversial due to the claims of Byzantium. Historians suggest that there was an initial conflict between Christian Macedonians and Gentile Slavs, but this is not documented. It was on the territory of the former Byzantine Balkan provinces that the first local Slavic states appeared.
Bulgarian kingdom
From the 9th century to 1018, Macedonia was conquered by the Balkan Bulgarians and obeyed the power of the Bulgarian kingdom, only Thessaloniki and the surrounding territories remained under the rule of Byzantium. Active Christianization of the Balkan Slavs continued, with St. Clement and St. Naum built two monasteries on the shore and in the vicinity of Lake Orchid. But it was in Macedonia and in neighboring Thrace that the heretical doctrine of bogomilism appeared and became very widespread.
With the capture of Byzantium and the squad of Svyatoslav Igorevich in 970-971. It was Macedonia that became the core of the eastern lands of the Bulgarian Khanate, the core remaining under the rule of the Bulgarian Komitopula Samuel lands with a capital in Ohrid. Over time, Samuel conquered part of the kingdom, Epirus and Albania, part of Bulgaria and Serbia, but with the defeat in the Battle of Belasitsky his kingdom finally disintegrates.
Part of Byzantium
With the fall of the Bulgarian kingdom in 1018, all its lands, together with Macedonia, again returned to Byzantium. Macedonia became part of the administrative unit of the Theme Bulgaria with its capital in Skopje. It was ruled by the governor-stratig, who united in his hands absolute military, political and civil power. In Macedonia, feudalization, expansion of land ownership and oppression of the peasants is intensifying.
Church authorities established the Ohrid Archbishopric, the Greek language becomes official and obligatory in the conduct of church services instead of the Old Slavonic. Only the first archbishop of Ohrid was a Slav by birth of Jovan from Debar, subsequently only Greeks occupied this place. Despite severe persecution, Macedonia maintained bogomilism. In the struggle against high Byzantine taxes in 1040 and 1072 spontaneous popular uprisings arose, and the external invasions of the Seljk Turks, Crusaders, and Normans intensified. In the XII-XIII centuries. Macedonia has become a "bone of contention" in the territorial disputes of Byzantium and the revived Slavic of Bulgaria and Serbia.
Ruled by Serbia
The feuds in Byzantium allowed the phased Serbian kings Stefan Milutin, Stefan Dechansky and Stefan Dushan to conquer almost all of Macedonia except the large city of Thessaloniki. It was the Macedonian lands with royal residences in Serra and Skopje that became the center of the strengthened state of Stephen Dusan, who was crowned simultaneously the king of all Serbs and Greeks. With his death, the Serbian state collapsed, the successors of the Serbian kings ruled certain parts of the once powerful power.
Ottoman Empire
By the middle of the XIV century. Macedonia, as part of a decaying Serbian state, again faced the threat of conquest, but by the Ottoman Turks. The Serbs, led by the Mrnyavchevich brothers, tried to oppose Turkish expansion, but in 1371 in the Battle of Maritsa they suffered a crushing defeat for their army. By 1393, Macedonia completely came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Islam was spreading here, Christians were not persecuted, but they were limited in many rights. For more than four centuries, Macedonia was under the oppression of the Turks, like other Balkan peoples, and fought for independence.
Macedonia as part of Yugoslavia
In 1918, with the end of the fierce battles of the First World War and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire, a unique opportunity appeared to solve the Macedonian question, create a single state of the Balkan Slavs of Yugoslavia, which Macedonia entered into. It was then a backward remote region of Yugoslavia with a poorly educated population. In 1945, the Republic of Macedonia with a special political status was formed as part of the SFRY. With the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991, the Republic of Macedonia declared its independence, elected President Kiro Gligorov and parliament.
Stages of Macedonia
The following significant dates are known in the history of the state of Macedonia:
- VIII century BC e. - 146 BC e. - the time of the ancient Ancient Macedonian kingdom.
- 146 BC e. - 395 - the rule of Rome, the Christianization of Macedonia.
- VI-VII centuries - the arrival of the Slavs in the Balkan lands and in Macedonia.
- IX century - 1018 - Macedonia under the rule of the Bulgarian kingdom.
- 1018 - XII century - the region of Byzantium.
- XII-XIII centuries - Macedonia becomes a disputed territory between Byzantium and reborn Bulgaria and Serbia.
- 1281 - 1355 - Macedonia was ruled by Serbian kings.
- 1393 - 1918 - the state is ruled by the Ottoman Empire.
- 1918 - 1991 the country is part of Yugoslavia.
- 1945 - the Republic of Macedonia was formed as part of the SFRY.
- 1991 - Macedonia becomes an independent republic.
Famous personalities
The history of the country of Macedonia describes many famous personalities. They made their contribution to literature, philosophical doctrine, culture and science. One of the great natives of Macedonia was Aristotle, the illustrious and beloved teacher of Alexander the Great. The most famous Basileus of Macedonia were Philip II of Macedon and his world-famous son, Alexander the Great. Originally from Macedonia, from the city of Saluni, famous Christian preachers, creators of the Old Slavonic alphabet Cyril the Philosopher and his brother Methodius were ranked Saints.
In historical Macedonia, Vasily the Great of Macedonia (830-886) was born and raised in a family of Armenians in Byzantium. From here comes the famous Greek philosopher Dmitry Kidonis (1324-1398). The patriarch of Constantinople was twice a Greek philosopher and expert on theological texts, a native of Macedonia, Filofei Kokkin. From 1437 to 1442 Metropolitan of Kiev was a native of Macedonia, Isidore the Greek, who later became Cardinal of Rome.
A native of historical Macedonia, Ioannis Cottunios (1577-1658) was a prominent philosopher of his time. Georges Papazolis (1725-1775), a well-known mastermind and organizer of the Greek uprising in 1770, served in the Russian army. In Macedonia, the heroes of the revolution in Greece of 1821 were born E. Pappas, A. Gatzos, A. Karatasos and N. Kasomulis.
For a while, a prominent Greek writer and revolutionary G. Lassanis, who led the secret Greek society Filiki Eteria, lived in Odessa. The famous Bulgarian revolutionary Gotse Delchev and the famous Bulgarian politician Dmitry Blagoev became the natives of Macedonia. Prominent representatives of the bohemian European intelligentsia were the natives of Macedonia, the painter-marinist V. Hadzis and the expressionist D. Vizoris.
The first president of the IOC was a native of the historical region of Macedonia, Demetrius Vikelas (1835-1908). It was the Macedonian roots that had prominent politicians of their time, who first became prime ministers of their countries, and then presidents. In Turkey, these responsible posts were held by M.K. Ataturk, in Greece, respectively, K. Karamanlis. This is where the Bulgarian politician Anton Yugov and the Greek President H. Sardzetakis come from.