The ancient Kingdom of Macedonia was mostly within the borders of present-day Greece.
808 BC Ancient Kingdom of Macedonia was established by Caranus
512/511-493 BC Darius I made Macedonia a vassal kingdom of the Persian Achaemenid Kingdom
492-479 BC Macedonia was a fully subordinate part of Persia
479 BC Macedonia gets back independence after the Persians withdrew from their European territories after the loss in the Second Persian invasion of Greece
356 BC Philip II of Macedonia annexed the regions of Upper Macedonia and the southern part of Paeonia into the Kingdom of Macedonia
338 BC Philip II conquered the Greek city states, that were having wars against each others and his son Alexander the Great created a huge Empire reaching to Far East, over Egypt and Persia until India
323 BC The kingdom was divided into three parts after the death of Alexander, but Macedonia remained the leading state in Greece until the Roman conquest
322-275 BC Wars of the Diadochi, which were a series of conflicts fought between Alexander the Great's generals over the rule of his vast empire, after his death
148 BC Macedonia became a Roman Province
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| Map of the Kingdom of Macedonia in 336BC |
2. Name Dispute between Macedonia and Greece
There is a dispute about the name of Macedonia. Greece prohibits Macedonia to use the name Macedonia alone. First Greece denied the country's name and flag. Then it demanded the term FYROM, Former Yugoslavic Republic of Macedonia to be used of the country.
Greece has also objected the use of the term "Macedonian" for the country's largest ethnic group and language. Millions of Greeks in the province of Macedonia in northern Greece identify themselves as Macedonians who are unrelated to the Slavic people in the Republic of Macedonia.
The reason is that according to Greece the name Macedonia belongs to the Greek Hellenistic culture. Both Greece and Serbia consider Macedonia to be historically their own land because of historical reasons.
The dispute between Greece and Republic of Macedonia has escalated to the highest level of international mediation, involving numerous failed attempts to achieve a resolution. There isn't a final agreement of the name yet.
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| Map of the Macedonian geographical region |
The Republic of Macedonia is the only country in the world, which hasn't been able to decide about its flag on its own. Greece has accused the Republic of Macedonia of using symbols and figures that are historically considered part of Greek culture such as the Vergina Sun and Alexander the Great.
Between 1992-1995 Republic of Macedonia used a flag, which had the Vergina Sun, the ancient Hellenic symbol used by the Macedonian kings Philip II and Alexander the Great. The Greeks thought they had the exclusive right to this symbol. The Greek province of Macedonia used the same symbol with a blue background.
Greek objections prevented the flag from being flown at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The blockade was lifted in October 1995 when the Republic of Macedonia agreed to modify the flag.
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| Republic of Macedonia flag 1992-1995 |
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| Flag of Greek Macedonia |
4. Albanian insurgency in 2001
Background
In 1999 the Kosovo war destabilized the border with Macedonia and a wave of 360,000 Albanian refugees arrived to Macedonia.
Conflict
In 2001 between February and August there was a conflict between the government and ethnic Albanian insurgents, mostly in north and west parts of the country.
Nato intervention
The insurgency ended with a Nato intervention and after that the Macedonian government agreed to devolve greater political power and cultural recognition to the Albanian minority. The Albanian side agreed to abandon separatist demands and to recognize all Macedonian institutions fully. They also handed over their weapons to a Nato force.
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| Conflict map |
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| Albanian insurgents hand over their weapons to U.S marines |
5. Rulers of Macedonia
Byzantium
After the division of Rome in 395, Macedonia remained under Byzantine rule
First Bulgarian Empire
In the 800s Macedonia was part of the First Bulgarian Empire
Byzantium
In 1014 Byzantium won Bulgaria and within four years the Byzantines restored control over the Balkans.
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire gained control of the area in the 1200s.
Byzantium and Serbian Empire
The region came under Byzantine rule again in the beginning of the 1300s and later a part of the Serbian Empire.
Ottoman Empire
In 1371 the Ottomans conquered the territory and ruled it for over 500 years.
Bulgarian Exarchate
In 1870 the bishoprics of Skopje, Debar, Bitola, Ohrid, Veles and Strumica voted to join the Bulgarian Exarchate.
Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria
After the Two Balkan Wars in 1912-1913, Macedonia was divided between Serbia and Greece, leaving a small slice to Bulgaria.
Yugoslavia
In 1918 Macedonia became a part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later was renamed as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after the Second World War the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Independence of Republic of Macedonia
In 1991 Macedonia was peacefully declared independent, unlike many other constituent states of Yugoslavia, which entered a war against each other.
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| Division of the region Macedonia after the Balkan Wars |
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| Macedonia in Yugoslavia |
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| Mount Korab in Macedonia |
Timeline
808 BC Kingdom of Macedonia was established
500s BC Achaemenid Persians under Darius the Great conquered the Paeonians
479 BC The Persians withdrew from their European territories after the loss in the Second Persian invasion of Greece
356 BC Philip II of Macedonia annexed the regions of Upper Macedonia and the southern part of Paeonia into the Kingdom of Macedonia
338 BC Philip II conquered the Greek city states, that were having wars against each others and his son Alexander the Great created a huge Empire reaching to Far East, over Egypt and Persia until India
323 The kingdom was divided into three parts after the death of Alexander, but Macedonia remained the leading state in Greece until the Romans defeated it in the four Macedonian Wars
148 BC Rome made Macedonia into a Roman Province
395 Macedonia remained under Byzantine rule after the division of Rome
500s Slavic peoples settled in the Balkan region
500s Slavic peoples settled in the Balkan region
800s Macedonia was part of the First Bulgarian Empire
1014 Byzantium won Bulgaria and within four years the Byzantines restored control over the Balkans
1200s A revived Bulgarian Empire gained control of the area
1300s The region came under Byzantine rule again in the beginning of the century and later a part of the Serbian Empire
1371 The Ottomans conquered the territory and ruled it for over 500 years
1800s Ottoman rule in the Balkan started to erode and several movements arose in Macedonia, which had the aim of establishing an autonomous Macedonia
1870 The bishoprics of Skopje, Debar, Bitola, Ohrid, Veles and Strumica voted to join the Bulgarian Exarchate
1903 Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization organized the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottomans, which after some initial success was crushed violently
1912-1913 After the Two Balkan Wars, Macedonia was divided between Serbia and Greece leaving a small slice to Bulgaria
1915 Macedonia joined the Central Powers in World War I
1014 Byzantium won Bulgaria and within four years the Byzantines restored control over the Balkans
1200s A revived Bulgarian Empire gained control of the area
1300s The region came under Byzantine rule again in the beginning of the century and later a part of the Serbian Empire
1371 The Ottomans conquered the territory and ruled it for over 500 years
1800s Ottoman rule in the Balkan started to erode and several movements arose in Macedonia, which had the aim of establishing an autonomous Macedonia
1870 The bishoprics of Skopje, Debar, Bitola, Ohrid, Veles and Strumica voted to join the Bulgarian Exarchate
1903 Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization organized the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottomans, which after some initial success was crushed violently
1912-1913 After the Two Balkan Wars, Macedonia was divided between Serbia and Greece leaving a small slice to Bulgaria
1915 Macedonia joined the Central Powers in World War I
1918 Macedonia became a part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
1929 The Kingdom was renamed as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
1941-1945 Yugoslavia was occupied by Axis Powers during the World War I
1944 Socialist Republic of Macedonia became one of the six constituent countries of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
1946-1949 Macedonian communist insurgents supported the Greek communists during the Greek civil war
1929 The Kingdom was renamed as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
1941-1945 Yugoslavia was occupied by Axis Powers during the World War I
1944 Socialist Republic of Macedonia became one of the six constituent countries of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
1946-1949 Macedonian communist insurgents supported the Greek communists during the Greek civil war
1991 Macedonia was peacefully declared independent, unlike many other countries in Yugoslavia
1994 Greece declared a trade embargo on Macedonia, because the country used the name Macedonia, which Greece regards to belong to the Greek Hellenistic culture
1999 Kosovo war destabilized the border with Macedonia and a wave of 360,000 Albanian refugees arrived to Macedonia
1994 Greece declared a trade embargo on Macedonia, because the country used the name Macedonia, which Greece regards to belong to the Greek Hellenistic culture
1999 Kosovo war destabilized the border with Macedonia and a wave of 360,000 Albanian refugees arrived to Macedonia
2001 Albanian insurgency, which ended with a Nato intervention and after that the Macedonian government agreed to devolve greater political power and cultural recognition to the Albanian minority
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_(ancient_kingdom)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_naming_dispute
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Macedonia
"Maailman maat - liput ja historia" by Kimmo Kiljunen
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