MACEDONIA măs ə dō’ nĭ ə (Μακεδονία, G3423). In NT times a Rom. senatorial province encompassing much of northern Greece.

1. Geography. A land of high mountains, broad rivers and fertile valleys in the center of the Balkan peninsula, it was bounded in antiquity by Illyria on the W, Moesia to the N and Thrace to the E. It was separated from Thessaly to the S by the Pindus mountains. Four important river basins mark the terrain, the Haliacmon, Axius, Strymon and Nestus. The three-pronged Chalcidice peninsula, which projects into the northern Aegean Sea, is one of the significant geographic features. The region boasted of rich farm land and timber, extensive deposits of silver and gold, a long seacoast of good harbors and a hardy population of mixed non-Indo-European, Thracian, Illyrian and Macedonian origin.

2. History. The kingdom of Macedonia was established in the 7th cent. b.c., but the first two hundred years of its history are almost unknown. It was founded by Perdikkas I. His successors, known only by name, include Philip I, Alexander I, Perdikkas II and Archelaus (c. 413-399). Thucydides (2:100) remarks that Archelaus did more than his predecessors to build up the military might of the nation. Under Philip II (359-336) the power of Macedonia began to influence both Greece and the E. At this time the Pers. threat to the Gr. city-states was great. Philip by bribery, persuasion and force managed to rally Greece against the Persians. After the battle of Chaeronea, he was named στρατηγὸ̀ς αὐτοκράτωρ at the synod of Corinth. However, he was assassinated by a Macedonian noble in 336 before he could embark upon his long-planned campaign against Persia.

Philip’s successor was his son, Alexander III (the Great). Though only a young man of eighteen, he embarked upon a campaign of conquest such as the world has seldom seen. In twelve years he conquered Egypt, the Near E., Persia, Babylonia and parts of India, only to die of a fever at the age of thirty-three.

The success of the small kingdom of Macedonia can be accounted for in the military genius of Philip and Alexander. Philip, while a hostage at Thebes, had opportunity to study the tactics of the Gr. military genius Epaminondas. The latter had begun to use a flexible mode of attack rather than the rigid phalanx of four to eight men deep. He employed an oblique order of attack which used the central phalanx to stabilize the line. Because each man was individually less protected on the right side, Gr. armies tended to bear to the right when they attacked. This left them open to attack on the exposed flank. Epaminondas grasped this and successfully used cavalry on one flank to concentrate the attack. Philip also learned at Thebes the importance of patriotism which too often was lacking in the mercenary soldiers customarily employed by the Gr. city-states.

Philip continued scientific analysis in military maneuvers. He developed a sophisticated attack force which consisted of the phalanx at the center, now equipped with much longer poles and cavalry on both flanks. The light cavalry on the left was merely defensive. The heavy cavalry was on the right, protected on its left by heavily armed but mobile infantry, and on the right by light cavalry. When the enemy was confronted, the phalanx held the center while the cavalry on the right attacked in echelon. This basic style of attack was successful in encircling and routing the enemy on every occasion it was employed by Philip and Alexander.

Alexander’s premature death in 323 introduced a tremendous struggle for power throughout the empire. In Greece proper his regent, Antipater, ruled for a short time and selected Polyperchon as his successor. However, Antipater’s son Cassander soon gained control. He and his son Alexander were then recognized as kings of Macedonia until 294. Thereafter the Antigonids, descendants of one of Alexander’s generals, assumed control of the Gr. mainland until the Rom. intervention. The period from 294-197 was marked by internal disorders and an invasion of migrating Gauls.

In other parts of the empire two dynasties were established by Alexander’s generals, the Seleucid empire in Syria and the Ptolemaic in Egypt. A fourth kingdom, Thrace, disappeared when Lysimachus, one of Alexander’s generals, died childless.

All of the Gr. mainland came under Rom. rule in the middle of the 2nd cent. b.c. After the Romans under L. Aemilius Paulus defeated its forces in 168 at Pydna, Macedonia was organized as a semi-independent republican federation which was modeled on the Achaean and Aetolian Leagues. It was divided into four districts: (1) the region between the Strymon and Nestus Rivers; (2) the region between the Strymon and Axius Rivers including the Chalcidice; (3) the region from the Axius River to the Peneius River in Thessaly; (4) the mountainous lands to the NW. The capitals of these regions were respectively Amphipolis, Thessalonica, Pella and Pelagonia. However, the independent status was short lived. Andriscus, who claimed to be the son of Perseus, tried to reconstitute the Macedonian monarchy in 149. A Rom. army under Q. Caecilius Metellus put down the revolt and in 146 Macedonia was reorganized as a Rom. province. The new province included portions of Illyria and Thessaly. Thessalonica became the seat of the Rom. government, although the four capital districts were still recognized.

The senatorial province was administered by a propraetor with the title of proconsul. The province of Achaia, which comprised central Greece and the Peloponnesus, was associated with it. It was usually administered by a legate from Macedonia. Several times the two are mentioned together in the NT, but Macedonia always was given priority (Acts 19:21; Rom 15:26; 2 Cor 9:2; 1 Thess 1:7). From a.d. 15-44 Macedonia was combined with Achaia and Moesia into a large, imperial province. Macedonia was then ruled by a legate from Moesia. In a.d 44 it reverted back to its original status as a senatorial province.

The province was strategically and commercially important because of the famous Via Egnatia which extended across its territory from the Adriatic to Thrace. The highway started at the seaports of Dyrracium and Apollonia, which were opposite southern Italy; extended across the mountains to the port of Thessalonica; and from there to a second Apollonia on the N Aegean, Amphipolis, Philippi and Neapolis. According to the geographer Strabo, it terminated beyond the Hebrus River at Kypsela in Thrace. In all it was 535 Rom. m. long. The Apostle Paul no doubt traveled on it from Neapolis to Philippi and Thessalonica (Acts 16:11, 12; 17:1).

3. Biblical and extra-Biblical references. Macedonia is mentioned in 1 and 2 Maccabees and in the Book of Daniel. First Maccabees begins with a description of the exploits of Alexander and the division of the empire upon his death (1:1-9). In 1:1 he is said to have come from the land of Chittim (Kittim) (Χαττιείμ). In 8:2 an account is given of the way in which the Romans overcame Philip V and Perseus, who was called the king of Chittim. In 2 Maccabees 8:20 the name Macedonians is applied to mercenary soldiers in the service of the Seleucid kings.

Daniel described the kingdom of Macedonia as a kingdom of bronze (Dan 2:39) and as a rough he-goat (8:5). The goat has one horn between his eyes which was broken and from which came four horns. From one of the four horns came a king who became very powerful and troubled the people of God. This is interpreted as referring to Alexander who was succeeded by his four generals. A descendant of one of them was the notorious Antiochus Epiphanes (175-163), who laid waste the sanctuary of the Jews at Jerusalem.

In Daniel 11 a description is given of the conflicts between the Ptolemies and Seleucids. Prediction was made of the marriage of Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus, to Antiochus Theos, which brought a temporary respite in their struggle for power. Further prophecies were made regarding conflicts between the two houses which lasted until the Rom. intervention.

Numerous references are made to the cities of Macedonia in Acts and the Pauline epistles. Flourishing churches were established by Paul in the important cities of Philippi, Thessalonica and Beroea (Acts 16:8-17:15). When Paul departed from the region, Silas and Timothy continued the work (17:14, 15; 18:5). Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Macedonians, were Paul’s traveling companions in the E. Because of their association with him, they faced danger during the riot at Ephesus (19:29). Secundus, also a Macedonian, waited for Paul at Troas, when the latter left Philippi for the last time on his way to Jerusalem (20:4). Paul’s converts in Macedonia made a collection for the poor at Jerusalem (Rom 15:26). They also ministered to the needs of Paul himself (2 Cor 8:1-5; Phil 4:15).

In epistles addressed to the churches at Thessalonica and Philippi, Paul warmly commended them for their faith and love.

Bibliography S. Casson, Macedonia, Thrace and Illyria (1926); U. Wilcken, Alexander the Great (1932); W. A. Heurtley, Prehistoric Macedonia (1939); Geyer and Hoffman in Pauly Wissowa, RE, s.v. “Makedonia.”