The Nature of the Macedonian State

[Ptolemy]

Firstly we have to mention how the Greeks themselves understood and called their own political formations.The Greeks consistently distinguished between two kinds of states:

1. Poleis

2. Ethne or Ethnic states

Now as we all know that whatever the legends about the beginings of the Temenid kingdom, the Macedonians themselves, as well the rest of Greeks viewed the Macedonian State as "Ethnos" or better as an ethnic state. As such it was a member of the Hellenic League along other ethnic states such as Thessalians, Epeirotes, Achaians, Boeotians, Akarnanians, etc.

The next question raised should be is whether Macedonia was a unitary or a federal state. There was no constitutional limitation to the powers of the central authority or constitutional protection against their interventions. In reality the Epeirotes and Thessalians were just as powerless vis-a-vis their kings or Tagoi and like the Macedonians they had no means of imposing their will or of bringing their heads of state to account rather than to depose them, which they repeatedly did. The Macedonian king wasnt the only head of state to make all decisions in foreign policy. Pyrrhus in Epirus, could wage wars without apparently consulting any legally consistuted body and even more interesting he could conclude treaties in his own name. Jason of Pherai and other Thessalian tagoi seem to have done the same. A good example is Jason's as well together with Alketas of Molossia, participation on the charter of the Second Athenian Confederacy instead and on behalf of their reseptive ethne. Furthermore the characteristic formula "Âáóéëåýò êáé ÌáêåäüÃ*åò" has its exact counterpart in the "Âáóéëåýò êáé Çðåéñþôáé"!!! Even in Thessaly the official formula to describe the state was "Üñ÷ùÃ* êáé ôï êïéÃ*ü èåóóáëþÃ*".

Therefore the Southern Greek Ethnic states like Aitolia, Achaia, Boiotia, etc as opposed to the Northern Greek Ethnic states like Macedonia, Epirus and Thessalia had created an organ of representative government in which the local communities could make their voice heard while the "Monarchical" states lacked. That was the 'federal' synedrion.

[Truth Bearer]

Another Macedono Bulgar with so much philosophy.......