MACEDONIAN KINGDOM

The early coinage of Macedonia is fairly complex and can be divided into two parts. The first are those coins issued under the Macedonian cities, making no reference to any particular king. The second are the coins issued in the name of Macedonian Kings, often not naming any particular city.

The Kingdom was first established by Alexander I in 495 BC, and lasted until the death of Perseus in 168 BC. At first it was a relatively minor kingdom, but under Philip II (359-336 BC) it became much more powerful with the borders expanding to include most of Greece. Under Philip II's son Alexander III (the Great), the Macedonian Kingdom became the most powerful that the world had seen to that point, expanding the borders east into India and south to Egypt, including most of the Middle East. Unfortunately, with Alexander's death the kingdom quickly disintegrated, again becoming a relatively minor power in the region.

Philip III

Philip III was the feeble-minded half-brother of Alexander the Great, who on Alexander's death, Alexander's general thrust onto the throne as a puppet ruler they could control while they figured out how to divide up the Empire. After six years on the throne, Olympias (Alexander's mother) murdered him.

KINGDOM OF THRACE

LYSIMACHOS I

Lysimachos was one of Alexander the Great's body guards. During the confusion that followed Alexander's death he was appointed governor of Thrace and in 305 BC assumed the title of King and began a military expansion extending from Thrace into much of Asia Minor. A harsh and unpopular ruler, he was probably not greatly missed when he was killed at the battle of Korupendion in 281 BC, and his kingdom was absorbed into the Seleukid Empire.

SELEUKID KINGDOM

Soon after the death of Alexander the Great, Seleukid I (one of Alexander's generals) was given the governorship of "Babylon" (probably everything between Syria and India). About 316 BC he lost control to Antigonos the One-eyed but escaped to Egypt. In 312 BC he regained control and in 305 BC declared himself King, establishing the Seleukid Empire. In 281 BC he defeated Lysimachos, extending his territory to include all of Alexander's realm except for Egypt.

Following an extended period of civil war, the Seleukids called upon the Armenian King Tigranes to help them restore order, which he did by defeating Philip Philadelphos in 83 BC. Once order was restored he stayed to rule Syria for 14 years, until he was defeated by the Roman general Lucullus, in 69 BC.

The Seleukid empire was to last for almost 250 years but gradually declined in power. Baktria and Parthia broke away during the mid-3rd century BC and in 190 BC the Seleukids suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Romans, losing control of Asia Minor, leaving them only with Syria and the surrounding area. The Empire came to an end in 64 BC when it was defeated by a Roman army under the command of Pompey the Great.

PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM

Following Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC, general Ptolemy was appointed as satrap of Egypt where he served as an able ruler and consolidated his power. In 305 BC he took the title of King, establishing a Dynasty that lasted for 275 years and at its height control all of Egypt as well as parts of Palestine, Syria, Phonecia, and the island of Cyprus. Ptolemain's rule ended when Cleopatra VII allied herself with Mark Antony and committed suicide following their loss at the battle of Actium in 31 BC.

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