155-502: Naqsh-e Rostam ( lit. ' mural of Rostam ' ; Persian : نقش رستم , Persian: [ˌnæɣʃeɾosˈtæm] ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 13 km northwest of Persepolis , in Fars Province , Iran . A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the face of the mountain and the mountain contains the final resting place of four Achaemenid kings, notably king Darius
310-606: A Greek cultural and political center in the Mediterranean region along with Ptolemaic Egypt , the Seleucid Empire , and the Attalid kingdom . Important cities such as Pella , Pydna , and Amphipolis were involved in power struggles for control of the territory. New cities were founded, such as Thessalonica by the usurper Cassander (named after his wife Thessalonike of Macedon ). Macedonia's decline began with
465-636: A Hellenic league in the same vein as Philip II's League of Corinth, he managed to defeat Sparta at the Battle of Sellasia in 222 BC. Sparta was occupied by a foreign power for the first time in its history, restoring Macedonia's position as the leading power in Greece. Antigonus died a year later, perhaps from tuberculosis , leaving behind a strong Hellenistic kingdom for his successor Philip V. Philip V of Macedon ( r. 221–179 BC ) faced immediate challenges to his authority by
620-428: A Roman enemy, probably Roman emperor Carus from his horse. In the lower register, the king is again battling a mounted enemy wearing a headgear shaped as an animal’s head, thought to be the vanquished Indo-Sassanian ruler Hormizd I Kushanshah . In this relief, the king is depicted as receiving the ring of kingship from a female figure that is frequently assumed to be the divinity Aredvi Sura Anahita . This relief
775-547: A brother and cousin of Perdiccas II who had rebelled against him. Thus, two separate wars were fought against Athens between 433 and 431 BC. The Macedonian king retaliated by promoting the rebellion of Athens' allies in Chalcidice and subsequently won over the strategic city of Potidaea . After capturing the Macedonian cities Therma and Beroea , Athens besieged Potidaea but failed to overcome it; Therma
930-595: A campaign in Magna Graecia (i.e. southern Italy ) against the Roman Republic known as the Pyrrhic War , followed by his invasion of Sicily . Ptolemy Keraunos secured his position on the Macedonian throne by giving Pyrrhus five thousand soldiers and twenty war elephants for this endeavor. Pyrrhus returned to Epirus in 275 BC after the ultimate failure of both campaigns, which contributed to
1085-576: A coalition against Perdiccas in a civil war initiated by Ptolemy's seizure of the hearse of Alexander the Great . Perdiccas was assassinated in 321 BC by his own officers during a failed campaign in Egypt against Ptolemy, where his march along the Nile River resulted in the drowning of 2,000 of his men. Although Eumenes of Cardia managed to kill Craterus in battle, this had little to no effect on
1240-456: A heroic journey to save his sovereign, the over-confident Kay Kāvus who is captured by the Divs of Mazandaran. This journey is called "Rostam's Seven Quests". There are some similarities between the legends of Rostam and those pertaining to the great Irish hero Cú Chulainn . They both defeat a ferocious beast as a young man, slay their sons in combat (" Rostam and Sohrab ", a motif also found in
1395-569: A high priest. Naqsh-e Rostam is the necropolis of the Achaemenid dynasty ( c. 550–330 BC), with four large tombs cut high into the cliff face. These have mainly architectural decoration, but the facades include large panels over the doorways, each very similar in content, with figures of the king being invested by a god, above a zone with rows of smaller figures bearing tribute, with soldiers and officials. The three classes of figures are sharply differentiated in size. The entrance to each tomb
1550-625: A large degree of autonomy and was never made a satrapy (i.e. province) of the Achaemenid Empire, it was expected to provide troops for the Achaemenid army . Alexander I provided Macedonian military support to Xerxes I ( r. 486–465 BC ) during the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480–479 BC, and Macedonian soldiers fought on the side of the Persians at the 479 BC Battle of Platea . Following
1705-525: A new regent (since Philip III was considered mentally unstable), in effect bypassing the council of the army as well. Forming an alliance with Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Lysimachus , Cassander had his officer Nicanor capture the Munichia fortress of Athens' port town Piraeus in defiance of Polyperchon's decree that Greek cities should be free of Macedonian garrisons, sparking the Second War of
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#17327659608791860-489: A photo of this inscription in 2017. But she did not find a suitable person to translate and read the inscription. Also, according to Ebrahim Rustaei, in 2018, in cooperation with Abdul Majid Arfai, he presented an article about the inscription to the International Conference on History and Culture of Southern Iran (Historical Persia), in which a reading of the inscription was presented. However, this reading
2015-580: A popular name in Persianate cultures from Turkey to India. In Afghanistan, there is a Dari proverb , "“Rostam’s name is better than Rostam.” Edward Zellem explained, “This proverb is used when a person’s name or reputation is better than his actual abilities”. Macedon Macedonia ( / ˌ m æ s ɪ ˈ d oʊ n i ə / MASS -ih- DOH -nee-ə ; Greek : Μακεδονία , romanized : Makedonía ), also called Macedon ( / ˈ m æ s ɪ d ɒ n / MASS -ih-don ),
2170-625: A possible second wife Gygaea: Archelaus, Arrhidaeus, and Menelaus . Philip II had Archelaus put to death in 359 BC, while Philip II's other two half brothers fled to Olynthos, serving as a casus belli for the Olynthian War (349–348 BC) against the Chalcidian League. While Athens was preoccupied with the Social War (357–355 BC) , Philip II retook Amphipolis from them in 357 BC and
2325-561: A pro-Athenian democracy , the Athenian navy was able to form a blockade against Macedonian seaports and invade Chalcidice in 417 BC. Perdiccas II sued for peace in 414 BC, forming an alliance with Athens that was continued by his son and successor Archelaus I ( r. 413–399 BC ). Athens then provided naval support to Archelaus I in the 410 BC Macedonian siege of Pydna , in exchange for timber and naval equipment. Although Archelaus I
2480-724: A resurgent Rome should seek revenge against either Macedonia or Carthage. Although the Macedonians were perhaps only interested in safeguarding their newly conquered territories in Illyria, the Romans were nevertheless able to thwart whatever grand ambitions Philip V had for the Adriatic region during the First Macedonian War (214–205 BC). In 214 BC, Rome positioned a naval fleet at Oricus , which
2635-565: A revolt against Macedonian authority known as the Chremonidean War (267–261 BC). By 265 BC, Athens was surrounded and besieged by Antigonus II's forces, and a Ptolemaic fleet was defeated in the Battle of Cos . Athens finally surrendered in 261 BC. After Macedonia formed an alliance with the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II , a peace settlement between Antigonus II and Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt
2790-645: A shortage of provisions in winter. In 424 BC, Arrhabaeus , a local ruler of Lynkestis in Upper Macedonia, rebelled against his overlord Perdiccas, and the Spartans agreed to help in putting down the revolt. At the Battle of Lyncestis the Macedonians panicked and fled before the fighting began, enraging the Spartan general Brasidas , whose soldiers looted the unattended Macedonian baggage train . Perdiccas then changed sides and supported Athens, and he
2945-503: A son, Bijan . Rostam had also a half brother called Shaghad , who was always jealous of him and provoked his death. Just as famous as Rostam was his horse Rakhsh , which had an incredibly long life like Rostam, due to divine protection, and died at the same time as Rostam. Ernst Herzfeld maintained that the dynasty of Gondophares represented the House of Suren , highest of the five premier families of Parthian Empire , invested with
3100-710: A staged banquet of reconciliation between Persians and Macedonians. Alexander perhaps undercut his own rule by demonstrating signs of megalomania . While utilizing effective propaganda such as the cutting of the Gordian Knot , he also attempted to portray himself as a living god and son of Zeus following his visit to the oracle at Siwah in the Libyan Desert (in modern-day Egypt) in 331 BC. His attempt in 327 BC to have his men prostrate before him in Bactra in an act of proskynesis borrowed from
3255-420: A struggle between Persians and invaders from the northern Caspian provinces . In Shahnameh, the life spans of the heroes who are from the generation of Sām (Rostam's grandfather) are described as being very long, and that of Rostam fits this pattern: he has reached the age of six hundred at the time of his violent demise (dying at the hand of his envious half-brother Shaghad, who kills him by throwing him into
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#17327659608793410-544: A well full of poisoned spears). In this incident, Rostam's faithful steed Rakhsh and the hero's brother, Zavareh are also killed. With Tahmineh , princess of Samangan , Rostam had a son called Sohrab , who was killed accidentally by his father in the time of Kay Kavus . In Banu Goshasp Nama Rostam later had a daughter called Banu Goshasp , who had a full brother called Faramarz , and both became renowned heroes in Turan and India. Goshasp, through her marriage with Giv had
3565-722: Is at the center of each cross, which opens onto a small chamber, where the king lay in a sarcophagus . Well below the Achaemenid tombs, near ground level, are rock reliefs with large figures of Sassanian kings, some meeting gods, others in combat. The most famous shows the Sassanian king Shapur I on horseback, with the Roman Emperor Valerian bowing to him in submission, and Philip the Arab (an earlier emperor who paid Shapur tribute) holding Shapur's horse, while
3720-647: Is below tomb 3 (perhaps that of Artaxerxes I) and depicts Hormizd forcing an enemy (perhaps Papak of Armenia) from his horse. In 1923, the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld made casts of the inscriptions on the tomb of Darius I . Since 1946, these casts have been held in the archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery , Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, DC . Naqsh-e Rostam
3875-430: Is severely damaged, it depicts a faint image of a man with unusual headgear, and is thought to be Elamite in origin. Four tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings are carved out of the rock face at a considerable height above the ground. One of the tombs is explicitly identified, by an accompanying inscription (“parsa parsahya puthra ariya ariyachitra”, meaning, “a Parsi, the son of a Parsi, an Aryan, of Aryan family), as
4030-505: Is very basic and has many flaws. But finally, the DNf petroglyph, which had been hidden in the shade and under algae and sediments for 2500 years, was officially and scientifically recorded by Mojtaba Doroodi and Soheil Delshad in February 2019. [3] Babylonian Transliteration : 1- [mx-x-x(-x) LÚ pa-id-di-iš-ḫu]-ri-iš ˹a˺-˹na˺ m da-a-ri-i̭a-˹muš˺ LUGAL i-GA-ir-ra-bi Translation (based on
4185-730: The Hildebrandslied ), are virtually invincible in combat, and are murdered by treachery while killing their murderer on their last breath. Two Persian heroes, Rostam and Esfandiyār, share stories with the Labours of Hercules . It is written by the Royal Central Asian Society in the Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society that the struggle between Rostam and the Div-e Sepid "White Demon" represents
4340-762: The Tārikh-e Sistān , and the Ketāb al-Sakisarān cited by al-Masudi . These related the deeds of the hero Garshasp and his descendants, Narimān , Sām, Zāl or Dastān, and above all of the latter's son Rostam. It is difficult to relate the Indo-Parthian names known from coins and history to those of the epic, which are possibly honorific titles, since a recently reported silver coin describes Gondophares (spelt in Greek script Hyndopharres) as surnamed Sām. A single ruler may of course have received more than one such title, and
4495-505: The tagus (supreme Thessalian military leader) Alexander of Pherae , capturing the city of Larissa . The Thessalians, desiring to remove both Alexander II and Alexander of Pherae as their overlords , appealed to Pelopidas of Thebes for aid; he succeeded in recapturing Larissa and, in the peace agreement arranged with Macedonia, received aristocratic hostages including Alexander II's brother and future king Philip II ( r. 359–336 BC ). When Alexander
4650-538: The Aegean Sea . He improved Macedonia's currency by minting coins with a higher silver content as well as issuing separate copper coinage . His royal court attracted the presence of well-known intellectuals such as the Athenian playwright Euripides . When Archelaus I was assassinated (perhaps following a homosexual love affair with royal pages at his court), the kingdom was plunged into chaos, in an era lasting from 399 to 393 BC that included
4805-657: The Balkans , the Persian general Megabazus used diplomacy to convince Amyntas I to submit as a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire , ushering in the period of Achaemenid Macedonia . Achaemenid Persian hegemony over Macedonia was briefly interrupted by the Ionian Revolt (499–493 BC), yet the Persian general Mardonius brought it back under Achaemenid suzerainty . Although Macedonia enjoyed
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4960-616: The Battle of Cynoscephalae . Rome then ratified a treaty that forced Macedonia to relinquish control of much of its Greek possessions outside of Macedonia proper, if only to act as a buffer against Illyrian and Thracian incursions into Greece. Although some Greeks suspected Roman intentions of supplanting Macedonia as the new hegemonic power in Greece, Flaminius announced at the Isthmian Games of 196 BC that Rome intended to preserve Greek liberty by leaving behind no garrisons and by not exacting tribute of any kind. His promise
5115-577: The Cadmea , Alexander left the Illyrian front and marched to Thebes, which he placed under siege . After breaching the walls, Alexander's forces killed 6,000 Thebans, took 30,000 inhabitants as prisoners of war , and burned the city to the ground as a warning that convinced all other Greek states except Sparta not to challenge Alexander again. Throughout his military career, Alexander won every battle that he personally commanded. His first victory against
5270-693: The Danube , forcing their surrender on Peuce Island . Shortly thereafter, the Illyrian chieftain Cleitus , son of Bardylis , threatened to attack Macedonia with the aid of Glaucias , king of the Taulantii , but Alexander took the initiative and besieged the Illyrians at Pelion (in modern Albania ). When Thebes had once again revolted from the League of Corinth and was besieging the Macedonian garrison in
5425-467: The Dardanian Kingdom , invaded Macedonia and defeated an army of Demetrius II shortly before his death in 229 BC. Although his young son Philip immediately inherited the throne, his regent Antigonus III Doson ( r. 229–221 BC ), nephew of Antigonus II, was proclaimed king by the army, with Philip as his heir, following a string of military victories against
5580-584: The Gallic ruler Bolgios and driving out the raiding party of Brennus , Sosthenes died and left a chaotic situation in Macedonia. The Gallic invaders ravaged Macedonia until Antigonus Gonatas , son of Demetrius, defeated them in Thrace at the 277 BC Battle of Lysimachia and was then proclaimed king Antigonus II of Macedon ( r. 277–274, 272–239 BC ). In 280 BC, Pyrrhus embarked on
5735-518: The Greek victory at Salamis in 480 BC, Alexander I was employed as an Achaemenid diplomat to propose a peace treaty and alliance with Athens , an offer that was rejected. Soon afterwards, the Achaemenid forces were forced to withdraw from mainland Europe , marking the end of Persian control over Macedonia. Although initially a Persian vassal, Alexander I of Macedon fostered friendly diplomatic relations with his former Greek enemies,
5890-465: The Hellespont in anticipation of an invasion into Achaemenid Anatolia . In 342 BC, Philip II conquered a Thracian city in what is now Bulgaria and renamed it Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv ). War broke out with Athens in 340 BC while Philip II was engaged in two ultimately unsuccessful sieges of Perinthus and Byzantion , followed by a successful campaign against
6045-613: The Italian peninsula . In 216 BC, Philip V sent a hundred light warships into the Adriatic Sea to attack Illyria, a move that prompted Scerdilaidas of the Ardiaean Kingdom to appeal to the Romans for aid. Rome responded by sending ten heavy quinqueremes from Roman Sicily to patrol the Illyrian coasts, causing Philip V to reverse course and order his fleet to retreat, averting open conflict for
6200-605: The King of Epirus and the Molossians . This marriage would bear a son who would later rule as Alexander III (better known as Alexander the Great ) and claim descent from the legendary Achilles by way of his dynastic heritage from Epirus . It is unclear whether or not the Achaemenid Persian kings influenced Philip II's practice of polygamy, although his predecessor Amyntas III had three sons with
6355-836: The Macedonian Wars and the rise of Rome as the leading Mediterranean power. At the end of the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC, the Macedonian monarchy was abolished and replaced by Roman client states . A short-lived revival of the monarchy during the Fourth Macedonian War in 150–148 BC ended with the establishment of the Roman province of Macedonia . The Macedonian kings, who wielded absolute power and commanded state resources such as gold and silver, facilitated mining operations to mint currency , finance their armies and, by
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6510-817: The Pythian Games . Athens initially opposed his membership on the council and refused to attend the games in protest, but they eventually accepted these conditions, perhaps after some persuasion by Demosthenes in his oration On the Peace . Over the next few years, Philip II reformed local governments in Thessaly, campaigned against the Illyrian ruler Pleuratus I , deposed Arybbas in Epirus in favor of his brother-in-law Alexander I (through Philip II's marriage to Olympias), and defeated Cersebleptes in Thrace. This allowed him to extend Macedonian control over
6665-599: The Roman Republic negotiated the Treaty of Phoenice in 205 BC, ending the war and allowing the Macedonians to retain some captured settlements in Illyria. Although the Romans rejected an Aetolian request in 202 BC for Rome to declare war on Macedonia once again, the Roman Senate gave serious consideration to the similar offer made by Pergamon and its ally Rhodes in 201 BC. These states were concerned about Philip V's alliance with Antiochus III
6820-467: The Roman consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus managed to expel Philip V from Macedonia in 198 BC, forcing his men to take refuge in Thessaly. When the Achaean League switched their loyalties from Macedonia to Rome, the Macedonian king sued for peace, but the terms offered were considered too stringent, and so the war continued. In June 197 BC, the Macedonians were defeated at
6975-697: The Sassanid period. The founder of the Sassanid Empire is seen being handed the ring of kingship by Ohrmazd . The most famous of the Sassanid rock reliefs, and depicts the victory of Shapur I over two Roman emperors, Valerian and Philip the Arab . Behind the king stands Kirtir , the mūbadān mūbad ('high priest'), the most powerful of the Zoroastrian Magi during the history of Iran. In an inscription, Shapur I claims possession of
7130-545: The Seleucid Empire , and Lysimachus ( r. 306–281 BC ), King of Thrace , defeated the Antigonids at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, killing Antigonus and forcing Demetrius into flight. Cassander died in 297 BC, and his sickly son Philip IV died the same year, succeeded by Cassander's other sons Alexander V of Macedon ( r. 297–294 BC ) and Antipater II of Macedon ( r. 297–294 BC ), with their mother Thessalonike of Macedon acting as regent. While Demetrius fought against
7285-442: The Strymon River near the Kingdom of Macedonia, where the colonial city of Amphipolis was founded in 437/436 BC so that it could provide Athens with a steady supply of silver and gold as well as timber and pitch to support the Athenian navy . Initially Perdiccas II did not take any action and might have even welcomed the Athenians, as the Thracians were foes to both of them. This changed due to an Athenian alliance with
7440-414: The Susa weddings in 324 BC. Meanwhile, in Greece, the Spartan king Agis III attempted to lead a rebellion of the Greeks against Macedonia. He was defeated in 331 BC at the Battle of Megalopolis by Antipater, who was serving as regent of Macedonia and deputy hegemon of the League of Corinth in Alexander's stead. Before Antipater embarked on his campaign in the Peloponnese , Memnon,
7595-444: The Thracian Odrysian kingdom through conquest and diplomacy. With a reformed army containing phalanxes wielding the sarissa pike, Philip II defeated the old powers of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. Philip II's son Alexander the Great , leading a federation of Greek states , accomplished his father's objective of commanding the whole of Greece when he destroyed Thebes after
7750-517: The comitia centuriata finally voted in approval of the Roman Senate's declaration of war in 200 BC and handed their ultimatum to Philip V, demanding that a tribunal assess the damages owed to Rhodes and Pergamon, the Macedonian king rejected it. This marked the beginning of the Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC), with Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus spearheading military operations in Apollonia. The Macedonians successfully defended their territory for roughly two years, but
7905-506: The commander-in-chief ( strategos autokrator ) of a forthcoming campaign to invade the Achaemenid Empire. Philip's plan to punish the Persians for the suffering of the Greeks and to liberate the Greek cities of Asia Minor as well as perhaps the panhellenic fear of another Persian invasion of Greece, contributed to his decision to invade the Achaemenid Empire. The Persians offered aid to Perinthus and Byzantion in 341–340 BC, highlighting Macedonia's strategic need to secure Thrace and
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#17327659608798060-496: The diadochi were declared kings of their respective territories. The beginning of Hellenistic Greece was defined by the struggle between the Antipatrid dynasty , led first by Cassander ( r. 305–297 BC ), son of Antipater, and the Antigonid dynasty , led by the Macedonian general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( r. 306–301 BC ) and his son, the future king Demetrius I ( r. 294–288 BC ). Cassander besieged Athens in 303 BC, but
8215-476: The legend that the Macedonian kings of the Argead dynasty were descendants of Temenus , king of Argos , and could therefore claim the mythical Heracles as one of their ancestors as well as a direct lineage from Zeus , chief god of the Greek pantheon . Contradictory legends state that either Perdiccas I of Macedon or Caranus of Macedon were the founders of the Argead dynasty, with either five or eight kings before Amyntas I. The assertion that
8370-415: The region of Macedonia in modern Greece . It gradually expanded into the region of Upper Macedonia , inhabited by the Greek Lyncestae and Elimiotae tribes, and into regions of Emathia , Eordaia , Bottiaea , Mygdonia , Crestonia , and Almopia , which were inhabited by various peoples such as Thracians and Phrygians . Macedonia's non-Greek neighbors included Thracians, inhabiting territories to
8525-463: The rise of Rome because Greek cities in southern Italy such as Tarentum now became Roman allies. Pyrrhus invaded Macedonia in 274 BC, defeating the largely mercenary army of Antigonus II at the 274 BC Battle of Aous and driving him out of Macedonia, forcing him to seek refuge with his naval fleet in the Aegean. Pyrrhus lost much of his support among the Macedonians in 273 BC when his unruly Gallic mercenaries plundered
8680-404: The tomb of Darius I ( c. 522–486 BC). The other three tombs are believed to be those of Xerxes I ( c. 486–465 BC), Artaxerxes I ( c. 465–424 BC), and Darius II ( c. 423–404 BC) respectively. The order of the tombs in Naqsh-e Rostam follows (left to right): Darius II, Artaxerxes I, Darius I, Xerxes I. The matching of the other kings to tombs is somewhat speculative;
8835-489: The tyrannies installed in Greece were to be abolished and Greek freedom was to be restored. When Alexander the Great died at Babylon in 323 BC, his mother Olympias immediately accused Antipater and his faction of poisoning him, although there is no evidence to confirm this. With no official heir apparent , the Macedonian military command split, with one side proclaiming Alexander's half-brother Philip III Arrhidaeus ( r. 323–317 BC ) as king and
8990-474: The war elephants of King Porus of the Pauravas threatened Alexander's troops, he had them form open ranks to surround the elephants and dislodge their handlers by using their sarissa pikes. When his Macedonian troops threatened mutiny in 324 BC at Opis , Babylonia (near modern Baghdad , Iraq ), Alexander offered Macedonian military titles and greater responsibilities to Persian officers and units instead, forcing his troops to seek forgiveness at
9145-443: The Aegean Sea against increasing Achaemenid encroachment, as the Persian king Artaxerxes III further consolidated his control over satrapies in western Anatolia . The latter region, yielding far more wealth and valuable resources than the Balkans, was also coveted by the Macedonian king for its sheer economic potential. When Philip II married Cleopatra Eurydice , niece of general Attalus , talk of providing new potential heirs at
9300-457: The Antipatrid forces in Greece, Antipater II killed his own mother to obtain power. His desperate brother Alexander V then requested aid from Pyrrhus of Epirus ( r. 297–272 BC ), who had fought alongside Demetrius at the Battle of Ipsus, but was sent to Egypt as a hostage as part of an agreement between Demetrius and Ptolemy I. In exchange for defeating the forces of Antipater II and forcing him to flee to
9455-444: The Argeads descended from Temenus was accepted by the Hellanodikai authorities of the Ancient Olympic Games , permitting Alexander I of Macedon ( r. 498–454 BC ) to enter the competitions owing to his perceived Greek heritage. Little is known about the kingdom before the reign of Alexander I's father Amyntas I of Macedon ( r. 547–498 BC ) during the Archaic period . The kingdom of Macedonia
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#17327659608799610-433: The Athenian and Spartan -led coalition of Greek city-states. His successor Perdiccas II ( r. 454–413 BC ) led the Macedonians to war in four separate conflicts against Athens, leader of the Delian League , while incursions by the Thracian ruler Sitalces of the Odrysian kingdom threatened Macedonia's territorial integrity in the northeast. The Athenian statesman Pericles promoted colonization of
9765-465: The Babylonian version): [Personal Name, Pati]schorian, invokes blessing upon Darius the King. Ka'ba-ye Zartosht (meaning the "Cube of Zoroaster") is a 5th-century B.C Achaemenid square tower. The structure is a copy of a sister building at Pasargadae , the "Prison of Solomon" ( Zendān-e Solaymān ). Several theories exist regarding the purpose of the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht structure. Seven over-life sized rock reliefs at Naqsh-e Rostam depict monarchs of
9920-419: The Black in 328 BC is described as "vengeful and reckless" by Dawn L. Gilley and Ian Worthington. Continuing the polygamous habits of his father, Alexander encouraged his men to marry native women in Asia, leading by example when he wed Roxana , a Sogdian princess of Bactria. He then married Stateira II , eldest daughter of Darius III, and Parysatis II , youngest daughter of Artaxerxes III , at
10075-442: The Chalcidice, and Amphipolis in return for the release of the enslaved Athenians as well as guarantees that Philip II would not attack Athenian settlements in the Thracian Chersonese . Meanwhile, Phocis and Thermopylae were captured by Macedonian forces, the Delphic temple robbers were executed, and Philip II was awarded the two Phocian seats on the Amphictyonic Council and the position of master of ceremonies over
10230-407: The Diadochi (319–315 BC). Given a string of military failures by Polyperchon, in 317 BC, Philip III, by way of his politically engaged wife Eurydice II of Macedon , officially replaced him as regent with Cassander. Afterwards, Polyperchon desperately sought the aid of Olympias in Epirus. A joint force of Epirotes, Aetolians, and Polyperchon's troops invaded Macedonia and forced
10385-402: The Great and his son, Xerxes . This site is of great significance to the history of Iran and to Iranians , as it contains various archeological sites carved into the rock wall through time for more than a millennium from the Elamites and Achaemenids to Sassanians . It lies a few hundred meters from Naqsh-e Rajab , with a further four Sassanid rock reliefs, three celebrating kings and one
10540-424: The Great of the Seleucid Empire, which invaded the war-weary and financially exhausted Ptolemaic Empire in the Fifth Syrian War (202–195 BC) as Philip V captured Ptolemaic settlements in the Aegean Sea. Although Rome's envoys played a critical role in convincing Athens to join the anti-Macedonian alliance with Pergamon and Rhodes in 200 BC, the comitia centuriata (people's assembly) rejected
10695-454: The Greeks ( Yauna ), the Scythians across the sea ( Sakâ ), Thrace , the petasos -wearing Greeks [Yaunâ], the Libyans , the Nubians , the men of Maka and the Carians . King Darius says: Ahuramazda, when he saw this earth in commotion, thereafter bestowed it upon me, made me king; I am king. By the favor of Ahuramazda I put it down in its place; what I said to them, that they did, as was my desire. If now you shall think that "How many are
10850-481: The Illyrian Dardani and Aetolian League. Philip V and his allies were successful against the Aetolians and their allies in the Social War (220–217 BC) , yet he made peace with the Aetolians once he heard of incursions by the Dardani in the north and the Carthaginian victory over the Romans at the Battle of Lake Trasimene in 217 BC. Demetrius of Pharos is alleged to have convinced Philip V to first secure Illyria in advance of an invasion of
11005-528: The Illyrians in the north and the Aetolians in Thessaly. Aratus sent an embassy to Antigonus III in 226 BC seeking an unexpected alliance now that the reformist king Cleomenes III of Sparta was threatening the rest of Greece in the Cleomenean War (229–222 BC). In exchange for military aid, Antigonus III demanded the return of Corinth to Macedonian control, which Aratus finally agreed to in 225 BC. In 224 BC, Antigonus III's forces took Arcadia from Sparta. After forming
11160-739: The Indo-Scythians, but pursued them into Arachosia and the Punjab , this event probably representing interitus Saraucarum ( the perishing of the Sacaraucae) of Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus (Prologue 42). Echoes of these events are preserved in the legends of the Sistān cycle, partly incorporated in the Shahnameh , but once also surviving as independent epics, such as the Garšāspnāma mentioned in
11315-515: The Indus Valley . A great god is Ahura Mazda , who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many. I am Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries containing all kinds of men, king in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid, a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan , having Aryan lineage. King Darius says: By
11470-460: The Macedonian throne. Amyntas III was forced to flee his kingdom in either 393 or 383 BC (based on conflicting accounts), owing to a massive invasion by the Illyrians led by Bardylis . The pretender to the throne Argaeus ruled in his absence, yet Amyntas III eventually returned to his kingdom with the aid of Thessalian allies. Amyntas III was also nearly overthrown by
11625-567: The Macedonians. Demetrius II also lost an ally in Epirus when the monarchy was toppled in a republican revolution . Demetrius II enlisted the aid of the Illyrian king Agron to defend Acarnania against Aetolia, and in 229 BC, they managed to defeat the combined navies of the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues at the Battle of Paxos . Another Illyrian ruler, Longarus of
11780-423: The Persian kings was rejected as religious blasphemy by his Macedonian and Greek subjects after his court historian Callisthenes refused to perform this ritual. When Alexander had Parmenion murdered at Ecbatana (near modern Hamadan , Iran ) in 330 BC, this was "symptomatic of the growing gulf between the king's interests and those of his country and people", according to Errington. His murder of Cleitus
11935-531: The Persians in Asia Minor at the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC used a small cavalry contingent as a distraction to allow his infantry to cross the river followed by a cavalry charge from his companion cavalry . Alexander led the cavalry charge at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, forcing the Persian king Darius III and his army to flee. Darius III, despite having superior numbers,
12090-537: The Roman Senate decided in 184/183 BC to force Philip V to abandon Aenus and Maronea , since these had been declared free cities in the Treaty of Apamea. This assuaged the fear of Eumenes II that Macedonia could pose a threat to his lands in the Hellespont. Perseus of Macedon ( r. 179–168 BC ) succeeded Philip V and executed his brother Demetrius , who had been favored by
12245-415: The Roman Senate's proposal for a declaration of war on Macedonia. Meanwhile, Philip V conquered territories in the Hellespont and Bosporus as well as Ptolemaic Samos , which led Rhodes to form an alliance with Pergamon , Byzantium , Cyzicus , and Chios against Macedonia. Despite Philip V's nominal alliance with the Seleucid king, he lost the naval Battle of Chios in 201 BC and
12400-620: The Romans but was charged by Perseus with high treason . Perseus then attempted to form marriage alliances with Prusias II of Bithynia and Seleucus IV Philopator of the Seleucid Empire, along with renewed relations with Rhodes that greatly unsettled Eumenes II. Although Eumenes II attempted to undermine these diplomatic relationships, Perseus fostered an alliance with the Boeotian League , extended his authority into Illyria and Thrace , and in 174 BC, won
12555-690: The Scythians along the Danube and Macedonia's involvement in the Fourth Sacred War against Amphissa in 339 BC. Thebes ejected a Macedonian garrison from Nicaea (near Thermopylae) , leading Thebes to join Athens, Megara , Corinth, Achaea , and Euboea in a final confrontation against Macedonia at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. After the Macedonian victory at Chaeronea, Philip II installed an oligarchy in Thebes, yet
12710-765: The Seleucids in the 191 BC Battle of Thermopylae as well as the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, forcing the Seleucids to pay a war indemnity , dismantle most of its navy, and abandon its claims to any territories north or west of the Taurus Mountains in the 188 BC Treaty of Apamea . With Rome's acceptance, Philip V was able to capture some cities in central Greece in 191–189 BC that had been allied to Antiochus III, while Rhodes and Eumenes II ( r. 197–159 BC ) of Pergamon gained territories in Asia Minor. Failing to please all sides in various territorial disputes,
12865-518: The Seleucids by divorcing Stratonice of Macedon . Although the Aetolians formed an alliance with the Achaean League as a result, Demetrius II was able to invade Boeotia and capture it from the Aetolians by 236 BC. The Achaean League managed to capture Megalopolis in 235 BC, and by the end of Demetrius II's reign most of the Peloponnese except Argos was taken from
13020-528: The Upper Macedonian aristocracy as well as the Illyrian princess Audata to ensure a marriage alliance. To establish an alliance with Larissa in Thessaly, he married the Thessalian noblewoman Philinna in 358 BC, who bore him a son who would later rule as Philip III Arrhidaeus ( r. 323–317 BC ). In 357 BC, he married Olympias to secure an alliance with Arybbas ,
13175-603: The behest of Larissa ended in two disastrous defeats by the Phocian general Onomarchus . Philip II in turn defeated Onomarchus in 352 BC at the Battle of Crocus Field , which led to Philip II's election as leader ( archon ) of the Thessalian League, provided him a seat on the Amphictyonic Council, and allowed for a marriage alliance with Pherae by wedding Nicesipolis , niece of
13330-802: The city and treated the inhabitants cordially, unlike the Potidaeans, who had been enslaved. Philip II then involved Macedonia in the Third Sacred War (356–346 BC). It began when Phocis captured and plundered the temple of Apollo at Delphi instead of submitting unpaid fines, causing the Amphictyonic League to declare war on Phocis and a civil war among the members of the Thessalian League aligned with either Phocis or Thebes. Philip II's initial campaign against Pherae in Thessaly in 353 BC at
13485-476: The city revolted. During Alexander's subsequent campaign of conquest , he overthrew the Achaemenid Empire and conquered territory that stretched as far as the Indus River . For a brief period, his Macedonian Empire was the most powerful in the world – the definitive Hellenistic state, inaugurating the transition to a new period of Ancient Greek civilization . Greek arts and literature flourished in
13640-469: The countries which King Darius held?" look at the sculptures [of those] who bear the throne, then shall you know, then shall it become known to you: the spear of a Persian man has gone forth far; then shall it become known to you: a Persian man has delivered battle far indeed from Persia. Darius the King says: This which has been done, all that by the will of Ahuramazda I did. Ahuramazda bore me aid, until I did
13795-541: The court of Lysimachus in Thrace, Pyrrhus was awarded the westernmost portions of the Macedonian kingdom. Demetrius had his nephew Alexander V assassinated and was then proclaimed king of Macedonia, but his subjects protested against his aloof, Eastern-style autocracy . War broke out between Pyrrhus and Demetrius in 290 BC when Lanassa, wife of Pyrrhus , daughter of Agathocles of Syracuse , left him for Demetrius and offered him her dowry of Corcyra . The war dragged on until 288 BC, when Demetrius lost
13950-547: The dead Emperor Gordian III , killed in battle, lies beneath it (other identifications have been suggested). This commemorates the Battle of Edessa in AD 260, when Valerian became the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, a lasting humiliation for the Romans. The placing of these reliefs clearly suggests the Sassanid intention to link themselves with the glories of the earlier Achaemenid Empire . The oldest relief at Naqsh-e Rostam dates back to c. 1000BC. Though it
14105-553: The extent to which his ideas were influenced by his adolescent years of captivity in Thebes as a political hostage during the Theban hegemony , especially after meeting with the general Epaminondas . The Macedonians, like the other Greeks, traditionally practiced monogamy , but Philip II practiced polygamy and married seven wives with perhaps only one that did not involve the loyalty of his aristocratic subjects or new allies. His first marriages were to Phila of Elimeia of
14260-479: The favor of Ahuramazda these are the countries which I seized outside of Persia; I ruled over them; they bore tribute to me; they did what was said to them by me; they held my law firmly; Media , Elam , Parthia , Aria , Bactria , Sogdia , Chorasmia , Drangiana , Arachosia , Sattagydia , Gandara [Gadâra], India [Hiduš], the haoma -drinking Scythians , the Scythians with pointed caps, Babylonia , Assyria , Arabia , Egypt , Armenia , Cappadocia , Lydia ,
14415-469: The following year recaptured Pydna and Potidaea, the latter of which he handed over to the Chalcidian League as promised in a treaty. In 356 BC, he took Crenides , refounding it as Philippi , while his general Parmenion defeated the Illyrian king Grabos II of the Grabaei . During the 355–354 BC siege of Methone, Philip II lost his right eye to an arrow wound, but managed to capture
14570-462: The forces of the Chalcidian city of Olynthos , but with the aid of Teleutias , brother of the Spartan king Agesilaus II , the Macedonians forced Olynthos to surrender and dissolve their Chalcidian League in 379 BC. Alexander II ( r. 370–368 BC ), son of Eurydice I and Amyntas III, succeeded his father and immediately invaded Thessaly to wage war against
14725-617: The formation of the Achaean League in 251 BC pushed Macedonian forces out of much of the Peloponnese and at times incorporated Athens and Sparta. While the Seleucid Empire aligned with Antigonid Macedonia against Ptolemaic Egypt during the Syrian Wars , the Ptolemaic navy heavily disrupted Antigonus II's efforts to control mainland Greece. With the aid of the Ptolemaic navy, the Athenian statesman Chremonides led
14880-484: The governor of Thrace, was dissuaded from rebellion by use of diplomacy. Antipater deferred the punishment of Sparta to the League of Corinth headed by Alexander, who ultimately pardoned the Spartans on the condition that they submit fifty nobles as hostages. Antipater's hegemony was somewhat unpopular in Greece due to his practice (perhaps by order of Alexander) of exiling malcontents and garrisoning cities with Macedonian troops, yet in 330 BC, Alexander declared that
15035-664: The hereditary right of commanding the royal armies , and placing the crown on the king's head at the coronation. Probably when around 129 BCE, nomad peoples, especially the Indo-Scythians ( Sacaraucae , Old Persian Sakaravaka "nomadic Saka ” or Saraucae) and the Tocharians attacked the eastern frontier of Parthia , defense was entrusted by the Parthian emperors to the Surens; and the latter eventually not only repelled
15190-403: The historical names may be repeated in succeeding generations. Mughal era manuscripts depicting Rostam's seven labours and other feats: The word 'Rustam' is synonymous with physical prowess, especially for wrestlers in Persian, Urdu, Hindi and Persianate cultures generally. For example, The Great Gama was popularly referred to as Rustam-e-Hind , or "Rustam of India". Rustam remains
15345-572: The induction of Corinth into the Achaean League. Antigonus II made peace with the Achaean League in 240 BC, ceding the territories that he had lost in Greece. Antigonus II died in 239 BC and was succeeded by his son Demetrius II of Macedon ( r. 239–229 BC ). Seeking an alliance with Macedonia to defend against the Aetolians, the queen mother and regent of Epirus, Olympias II , offered her daughter Phthia of Macedon to Demetrius II in marriage. Demetrius II accepted her proposal, but he damaged relations with
15500-484: The institution of the army, while a few municipalities within the Macedonian commonwealth enjoyed a high degree of autonomy and even had democratic governments with popular assemblies . The name Macedonia ( Greek : Μακεδονία , Makedonía ) comes from the ethnonym Μακεδόνες ( Makedónes ), which itself is derived from the ancient Greek adjective μακεδνός ( makednós ), meaning "tall, slim", also
15655-459: The king Manuchehr with just one blow of the mace owned by his grandfather Sam, son of Nariman . He then tames his legendary stallion, Rakhsh . The etymology of Rostam's name is from Common Iranian "*rautas-taxma-, "'river-strong', i.e. 'as strong as a river', Rostam's mother is Rūdāba "(she) of the River Water", and his father is Zāl , who has white hair. Rostam's mother Rudaba,
15810-413: The king, who is depicted with an oversized sword, figures face the king. The first equestrian relief, located immediately below the fourth tomb (perhaps that of Darius II), depicts the king battling a mounted Roman enemy. The second equestrian relief, located immediately below the tomb of Darius I, is divided into two registers, an upper and a lower one. In the upper register, the king appears to be forcing
15965-751: The name of a people related to the Dorians ( Herodotus ), and possibly descriptive of Ancient Macedonians . It is most likely cognate with the adjective μακρός ( makrós ), meaning "long" or "tall" in Ancient Greek . The name is believed to have originally meant either "highlanders", "the tall ones", or "high grown men". Linguist Robert S. P. Beekes claims that both terms are of Pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be explained in terms of Indo-European morphology, however Filip De Decker rejects Beekesʼ arguments as insufficient. The Classical Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides reported
16120-476: The new conquered lands and advances in philosophy , engineering , and science spread across the empire and beyond. Of particular importance were the contributions of Aristotle , tutor to Alexander, whose writings became a keystone of Western philosophy . After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the ensuing wars of the Diadochi , and the partitioning of Alexander's short-lived empire, Macedonia remained
16275-461: The northeast, Illyrians to the northwest, and Paeonians to the north, while the lands of Thessaly to the south and Epirus to the west were inhabited by Greeks with similar cultures to that of the Macedonians. A year after Darius I of Persia ( r. 522–486 BC ) launched an invasion into Europe against the Scythians , Paeonians , Thracians , and several Greek city-states of
16430-661: The other siding with the infant son of Alexander and Roxana, Alexander IV ( r. 323–309 BC ). Except for the Euboeans and Boeotians, the Greeks also immediately rose up in a rebellion against Antipater known as the Lamian War (323–322 BC). When Antipater was defeated at the 323 BC Battle of Thermopylae , he fled to Lamia where he was besieged by the Athenian commander Leosthenes . A Macedonian army led by Leonnatus rescued Antipater by lifting
16585-458: The outcome of the 321 BC Partition of Triparadisus in Syria where the victorious coalition settled the issue of a new regency and territorial rights. Antipater was appointed as regent over the two kings. Before Antipater died in 319 BC, he named the staunch Argead loyalist Polyperchon as his successor, passing over his own son Cassander and ignoring the right of the king to choose
16740-467: The possible role of Alexander III "the Great" and his mother Olympias in the assassination of Philip II, noting the latter's choice to exclude Alexander from his planned invasion of Asia, choosing instead for him to act as regent of Greece and deputy hegemon of the League of Corinth, and the potential bearing of another male heir between Philip II and his new wife, Cleopatra Eurydice. Alexander III ( r. 336–323 BC )
16895-471: The princess of Kabul, was known for her peerless beauty, and Rostam's father was Zāl. Zāl was one of Persia's most powerful warriors and a great general who conquered many rebellious tribes and ruled over Zabulistan. Zāl was known for his wisdom and was unparalleled in riding and fighting on horseback. He once demonstrated his skills to Emperor Manuchehr to seek his approval to marry his lover Rudaba. In Persian mythology, Rudaba's labour in giving birth to Rostam
17050-466: The reign of Philip II, a Macedonian navy. Unlike the other diadochi successor states , the imperial cult fostered by Alexander was never adopted in Macedonia, yet Macedonian rulers nevertheless assumed roles as high priests of the kingdom and leading patrons of domestic and international cults of the Hellenistic religion . The authority of Macedonian kings was theoretically limited by
17205-475: The reign of four different monarchs: Orestes , son of Archelaus I; Aeropus II , uncle, regent , and murderer of Orestes; Pausanias , son of Aeropus II; and Amyntas II , who was married to the youngest daughter of Archelaus I. Very little is known about this turbulent period; it came to an end when Amyntas III ( r. 393–370 BC ), son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of Amyntas I, killed Pausanias and claimed
17360-460: The relief figures are not intended as individualized portraits. An inscription by Darius I , from c. 490 BCE, generally referred to as the "DNa inscription" in scholarly works, appears in the top left corner of the facade of his tomb. It mentions the conquests of Darius I and his various achievements during his life. Its exact date is not known, but it can be assumed to be from the last decade of his reign. Like several other inscriptions by Darius,
17515-418: The roots of the narrative date much earlier. In the Shahnameh , Rostam and his predecessors are Marzbans of Sistan (present-day Iran and Afghanistan ). Rostam is best known for his tragic fight with Esfandiyār , the other legendary Iranian hero; for his expedition to Mazandaran (not to be confused with the modern Mazandaran Province ). He is also known for the story of his Seven Labours . Rostam
17670-565: The royal cemetery of Aigai. Pyrrhus pursued Antigonus II in the Peloponnese, yet Antigonus II was ultimately able to recapture Macedonia. Pyrrhus was killed while besieging Argos in 272 BC, allowing Antigonus II to reclaim the rest of Greece. He then restored the Argead dynastic graves at Aigai and annexed the Kingdom of Paeonia . The Aetolian League hampered Antigonus II's control over central Greece , and
17825-494: The royal family, King Alexander IV and the queen mother Roxana. The conflict that followed lasted until the winter of 312/311 BC, when a new peace settlement recognized Cassander as general of Europe, Antigonus as "first in Asia", Ptolemy as general of Egypt, and Lysimachus as general of Thrace. Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxana put to death in the winter of 311/310 BC, and between 306 and 305 BC
17980-805: The seventh century in Pars and originated much earlier, likely in Eastern Iranian-speaking territories. He famously wears the zīn-i palang or "panther-skin garment": The material surveyed so far proves that the Rustam legend was fully formed and well known in Western Iran by the seventh century AD at the latest and in the Eastern Iranian lands by the early eighth century. In some recent publications Frantz Grenet has attempted to find pictorial allusions several centuries earlier, in
18135-533: The siege. Antipater defeated the rebellion, yet his death in 319 BC left a power vacuum wherein the two proclaimed kings of Macedonia became pawns in a power struggle between the diadochi , the former generals of Alexander's army. A council of the army convened in Babylon immediately after Alexander's death, naming Philip III as king and the chiliarch Perdiccas as his regent. Antipater, Antigonus Monophthalmus , Craterus , and Ptolemy formed
18290-430: The southwest, Illyria to the northwest, Paeonia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the great city-states of Athens , Sparta and Thebes , and briefly subordinate to Achaemenid Persia . During the reign of the Argead king Philip II (359–336 BC), Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and
18445-524: The support of the Macedonians and fled the country. Macedonia was then divided between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus, the former taking western Macedonia and the latter eastern Macedonia. By 286 BC, Lysimachus had expelled Pyrrhus and his forces from Macedonia. In 282 BC, a new war erupted between Seleucus I and Lysimachus; the latter was killed in the Battle of Corupedion , allowing Seleucus I to take control of Thrace and Macedonia. In two dramatic reversals of fortune, Seleucus I
18600-538: The surrender of Philip III and Eurydice's army, allowing Olympias to execute the king and force his queen to commit suicide. Olympias then had Nicanor and dozens of other Macedonian nobles killed, but by the spring of 316 BC, Cassander had defeated her forces, captured her, and placed her on trial for murder before sentencing her to death. Cassander married Philip II's daughter Thessalonike and briefly extended Macedonian control into Illyria as far as Epidamnos (modern Durrës , Albania). By 313 BC, it
18755-771: The territories controlled by the Achaemenid Empire are specifically listed, which formed the largest empire during antiquity . His empire encompassed Macedon and Thrace in Europe, Egypt in North Africa, Babylon and Assyria in Mesopotamia , the steppes of Eurasia , Bactria in Central Asia, up to Gandhara and the Indus in the Indian Subcontinent which were annexed during the Achaemenid conquest of
18910-808: The territory of the Kushans (Kūšān šahr) as far as "Purushapura" ( Peshawar ), suggesting he controlled Bactria and areas as far as the Hindu-Kush or even south of it: I, the Mazda-worshipping lord, Shapur, king of kings of Iran and An-Iran… (I) am the Master of the Domain of Iran (Ērānšahr) and possess the territory of Persis, Parthian… Hindestan, the Domain of the Kushan up to the limits of Paškabur and up to Kash, Sughd, and Chachestan. On each side of
19065-651: The time being. In 215 BC, at the height of the Second Punic War with the Carthaginian Empire , Roman authorities intercepted a ship off the Calabrian coast holding a Macedonian envoy and a Carthaginian ambassador in possession of a treaty composed by Hannibal declaring an alliance with Philip V. The treaty stipulated that Carthage had the sole right to negotiate the terms of Rome's hypothetical surrender and promised mutual aid if
19220-399: The tyrant Jason of Pherae . Philip II had some early involvement with the Achaemenid Empire, especially by supporting satraps and mercenaries who rebelled against the central authority of the Achaemenid king. The satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia Artabazos II , who was in rebellion against Artaxerxes III , was able to take refuge as an exile at the Macedonian court from 352 to 342 BC. He
19375-436: The wedding altogether and exiled Alexander's advisors Ptolemy , Nearchus , and Harpalus . To reconcile with Olympias, Philip II had their daughter Cleopatra marry Olympias' brother (and Cleopatra's uncle) Alexander I of Epirus, but Philip II was assassinated by his bodyguard, Pausanias of Orestis , during their wedding feast and succeeded by Alexander in 336 BC. Modern scholars have argued over
19530-502: The wedding feast infuriated Philip II's son Alexander, a veteran of the Battle of Chaeronea, and his mother Olympias. They fled together to Epirus before Alexander was recalled to Pella by Philip II. When Philip II arranged a marriage between his son Arrhidaeus and Ada of Caria , daughter of Pixodarus , the Persian satrap of Caria , Alexander intervened and proposed to marry Ada instead. Philip II then cancelled
19685-435: The work. May Ahuramazda protect me from harm, and my royal house, and this land: this I pray of Ahuramazda, this may Ahuramazda give to me! O man, that which is the command of Ahuramazda, let this not seem repugnant to you; do not leave the right path; do not rise in rebellion! DNf inscription . There are various and contradictory reports about how this inscription was discovered. According to Mrs. Khadija Totunchi, she took
19840-452: The “sīmurgh” depicted on the buckle of Shapur I (AD 240–272) on the Rag-i Bībī rock relief in northern Afghanistan, and in the scene of a prince breaking in a foal depicted on an Eastern Sasanian silver dish attributed to the first half of the fourth century. Nicholas Sims-Williams has referred to the personal name Purlang-zin, spelt πορλαγγοζινο in Greek script, in a Bactrian document which
19995-478: Was a princess of Kabul . Rostam is the champion of champions and is involved in numerous stories, constituting some of the most popular (and arguably some of most masterfully created) parts of the Shahnameh . In Shahnameh , Rostam—like his grandfather Sam—works as both a faithful military general as well as king-maker for the Kayanian dynasty of Persia. As a young child, he slays the maddened white elephant of
20150-570: Was able to put down Arrhabaeus's revolt. Brasidas died in 422 BC, the year Athens and Sparta struck an accord, the Peace of Nicias , that freed Macedonia from its obligations as an Athenian ally. Following the 418 BC Battle of Mantinea , the victorious Spartans formed an alliance with Argos , a military pact Perdiccas II was keen to join given the threat of Spartan allies remaining in Chalcidice. When Argos suddenly switched sides as
20305-538: Was accompanied in exile by his family and by his mercenary general Memnon of Rhodes . Barsine , daughter of Artabazos, and future wife of Alexander the Great, grew up at the Macedonian court. After campaigning against the Thracian ruler Cersobleptes , in 349 BC, Philip II began his war against the Chalcidian League, which had been reestablished in 375 BC following a temporary disbandment. Despite an Athenian intervention by Charidemus , Olynthos
20460-464: Was again forced to flee the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. The Persian king was later captured and executed by his own satrap of Bactria and kinsman, Bessus , in 330 BC. The Macedonian king subsequently hunted down and executed Bessus in what is now Afghanistan , securing the region of Sogdia in the process. At the 326 BC Battle of the Hydaspes (modern-day Punjab ), when
20615-533: Was almost certainly written in the fourth century under Sasanian rule, claiming that this may be translated as “the man with the panther’s skin” and that it represents “a clear reference to the zīn-i palang of Rustam.” [...] the first element of this name, is the Bactrian word for “panther” or “leopard”. In the Shahnameh , Rostam is a native of Zabulistan , a historical region roughly corresponding to today's Zabul Province , southern Afghanistan . His mother Rudaba
20770-569: Was also able to make peace with the Illyrians who had threatened his borders . Philip II spent his initial years radically transforming the Macedonian army . A reform of its organization, equipment, and training, including the introduction of the Macedonian phalanx armed with long pikes (i.e. the sarissa ), proved immediately successful when tested against his Illyrian and Paeonian enemies. Confusing accounts in ancient sources have led modern scholars to debate how much Philip II's royal predecessors may have contributed to these reforms and
20925-559: Was always represented as the mightiest of Iranian paladins (holy warriors), and the atmosphere of the episodes in which he features is strongly reminiscent of the Parthian Empire . He rides the legendary stallion Rakhsh and wears a special suit named Babr-e Bayan in battles. While the narrative of the Shahname is the definitive work on Rostam, Ferdowsi did not invent the character; Rostam stories were popular as far back as
21080-495: Was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece , which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece . The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal Argead dynasty , which was followed by the Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient Macedonians , the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula , and bordered by Epirus to
21235-631: Was assassinated by his brother-in-law Ptolemy of Aloros , the latter acted as an overbearing regent for Perdiccas III ( r. 368–359 BC ), younger brother of Alexander II, who eventually had Ptolemy executed when reaching the age of majority in 365 BC. The remainder of Perdiccas III's reign was marked by political stability and financial recovery. However, an Athenian invasion led by Timotheus , son of Conon , managed to capture Methone and Pydna, and an Illyrian invasion led by Bardylis succeeded in killing Perdiccas III and 4,000 Macedonian troops in battle. Philip II
21390-400: Was assassinated in 281 BC by his officer Ptolemy Keraunos , son of Ptolemy I and grandson of Antipater, who was then proclaimed king of Macedonia before being killed in battle in 279 BC by Celtic invaders in the Gallic invasion of Greece . The Macedonian army proclaimed the general Sosthenes of Macedon as king, although he apparently refused the title. After defeating
21545-568: Was assaulted along with Apollonia by Macedonian forces. When the Macedonians captured Lissus in 212 BC, the Roman Senate responded by inciting the Aetolian League, Sparta, Elis , Messenia , and Attalus I ( r. 241–197 BC ) of Pergamon to wage war against Philip V, keeping him occupied and away from Italy. The Aetolian League concluded a peace agreement with Philip V in 206 BC, and
21700-509: Was blockaded at Bargylia by the Rhodian and Pergamene navies. While Philip V was busy fighting Rome's Greek allies, Rome viewed this as an opportunity to punish this former ally of Hannibal with a war that they hoped would supply a victory and require few resources. The Roman Senate demanded that Philip V cease hostilities against neighboring Greek powers and defer to an international arbitration committee for settling grievances. When
21855-536: Was captured by Philip II in 348 BC, and its inhabitants were sold into slavery , including some Athenian citizens . The Athenians, especially in a series of speeches by Demosthenes known as the Olynthiacs , were unsuccessful in persuading their allies to counterattack and in 346 BC concluded a treaty with Macedonia known as the Peace of Philocrates . The treaty stipulated that Athens would relinquish claims to Macedonian coastal territories,
22010-559: Was delayed by negotiations with the Spartan king Nabis , who had meanwhile captured Argos, yet Roman forces evacuated Greece in 194 BC. Encouraged by the Aetolian League and their calls to liberate Greece from the Romans, the Seleucid king Antiochus III landed with his army at Demetrias , Thessaly, in 192 BC, and was elected strategos by the Aetolians. Macedonia, the Achaean League, and other Greek city-states maintained their alliance with Rome. The Romans defeated
22165-732: Was excavated for several seasons between 1936 and 1939 by a team from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago , led by Erich Schmidt. Rostam Rostam or Rustam ( Persian : رستم [rosˈtæm] ) is a legendary hero in Persian mythology , the son of Zāl and Rudaba , whose life and work was immortalized by the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi in the Shahnameh , or Epic of Kings , which contains pre-Islamic Iranian folklore and history. However,
22320-411: Was faced with some internal revolts and had to fend off an invasion of Illyrians led by Sirras of Lynkestis, he was able to project Macedonian power into Thessaly where he sent military aid to his allies. Although he retained Aigai as a ceremonial and religious center, Archelaus I moved the capital of the kingdom north to Pella , which was then positioned by a lake with a river connecting it to
22475-446: Was finally struck in 255 BC. In 251 BC, Aratus of Sicyon led a rebellion against Antigonus II, and in 250 BC, Ptolemy II declared his support for the self-proclaimed King Alexander of Corinth . Although Alexander died in 246 BC and Antigonus was able to score a naval victory against the Ptolemies at Andros , the Macedonians lost the Acrocorinth to the forces of Aratus in 243 BC, followed by
22630-417: Was forced to retreat to Macedonia when Demetrius invaded Boeotia to his rear, attempting to sever his path of retreat. While Antigonus and Demetrius attempted to recreate Philip II's Hellenic league with themselves as dual hegemons, a revived coalition of Cassander, Ptolemy I Soter ( r. 305–283 BC ) of Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty , Seleucus I Nicator ( r. 305–281 BC ) of
22785-424: Was immediately proclaimed king by an assembly of the army and leading aristocrats, chief among them being Antipater and Parmenion. By the end of his reign and military career in 323 BC, Alexander would rule over an empire consisting of mainland Greece , Asia Minor , the Levant , ancient Egypt , Mesopotamia , Persia , and much of Central and South Asia (i.e. modern Pakistan ). Among his first acts
22940-420: Was lenient toward Athens, wishing to utilize their navy in a planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire. He was then chiefly responsible for the formation of the League of Corinth that included the major Greek city-states except Sparta. Despite the Kingdom of Macedonia's official exclusion from the league, in 337 BC, Philip II was elected as the leader ( hegemon ) of its council ( synedrion ) and
23095-481: Was overjoyed. Rostam was brought up and trained by Zāl in warfare. When Rostam single-handedly slew a mad elephant, his father sent him on his first military assignment. Rostam's task was to conquer the fortress on the summit of Mt Sipand where his great grandfather, Nariman, once besieged it and was slain in the battle. Rostam breached the fortress, defeated the enemy, ransacked its treasury and reported his success to his father, Zāl, and grandfather, Sam. He undertakes
23250-445: Was prolonged due to the extraordinary size of her baby - so much so that Zāl , her lover and husband, felt sure that his wife would die in labour. Rudaba was indeed near death when Zāl decided to summon the Simurgh , which duly appeared and instructed him upon how to perform a Rostamzad , a Caesarean section , thus saving both Rudaba and the child. After Zāl's father, Sam, learned of his grandchild's birth, he rushed to see Rostam and
23405-536: Was retaken by the Illyrian king Glaucias of Taulantii . By 316 BC, Antigonus had taken the territory of Eumenes and managed to eject Seleucus Nicator from his Babylonian satrapy, leading Cassander, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus to issue a joint ultimatum to Antigonus in 315 BC for him to surrender various territories in Asia. Antigonus promptly allied with Polyperchon, now based in Corinth, and issued an ultimatum of his own to Cassander, charging him with murder for executing Olympias and demanding that he hand over
23560-409: Was returned to Macedonia and much of Chalcidice to Athens in a peace treaty brokered by Sitalces, who provided Athens with military aid in exchange for acquiring new Thracian allies. Perdiccas II sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) between Athens and Sparta, and in 429 BC Athens retaliated by persuading Sitalces to invade Macedonia, but he was forced to retreat owing to
23715-401: Was situated along the Haliacmon and Axius rivers in Lower Macedonia , north of Mount Olympus . Historian Robert Malcolm Errington suggests that one of the earliest Argead kings established Aigai (modern Vergina ) as their capital in the mid-7th century BC. Before the 4th century BC, the kingdom covered a region corresponding roughly to the western and central parts of
23870-405: Was the burial of his father at Aigai. The members of the League of Corinth revolted at the news of Philip II's death, but were soon quelled by military force alongside persuasive diplomacy, electing Alexander as hegemon of the league to carry out the planned invasion of Achaemenid Persia. In 335 BC, Alexander fought against the Thracian tribe of the Triballi at Haemus Mons and along
24025-453: Was twenty-four years old when he acceded to the throne in 359 BC. Through the use of deft diplomacy, he was able to convince the Thracians under Berisades to cease their support of Pausanias , a pretender to the throne, and the Athenians to halt their support of another pretender . He achieved these by bribing the Thracians and their Paeonian allies and establishing a treaty with Athens that relinquished his claims to Amphipolis. He
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