Argead dynasty

The Argead dynasty (Greek: Ἀργεάδαι, romanized: Argeádai), also known as the Temenid dynasty (Greek: Τημενίδαι, Tēmenídai) was an ancient Macedonian royal house of Dorian Greek provenance. They were the founders and the ruling dynasty of the kingdom of Macedon from about 700 to 310 BC.

Their tradition, as described in ancient Greek historiography, traced their origins to Argos, of Peloponnese in Southern Greece, hence the name Argeads or Argives. Initially, the Argeadae were the rulers of the tribe of the same name, (Argead Macedonians) who prevailed in early Emathia. By the time of Philip II they had expanded their reign further, to include under the rule of Macedonia all Upper Macedonian states.

The family's most celebrated members were Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, under whose leadership the kingdom of Macedonia gradually gained predominance throughout Greece, established the Hellenic League, defeated the Achaemenid Empire and expanded as far as Egypt and India. The mythical founder of the Argead dynasty is King Caranus. The Argeads claimed descent from Heracles through his great-great-grandson Temenus, also king of Argos.

Origin

The Argead dynasty was an ancient royal family from Macedonia, a land in what is now Greece. The name "Argead" comes from Argos, a city in southern Greece, because the kings claimed they were descendants of people from there. They believed they were related to a legendary hero named Temenus.

According to stories, three brothers from this family left Argos and traveled to a place called Upper Macedonia. They were invited to leave because a king thought an omen predicted something big would happen to one of them, Perdiccas. The brothers settled near a garden belonging to a king named Midas and gradually built their own kingdom there.

Later, one of these kings, Alexander I, wanted to compete in the Olympic Games. Some people argued he wasn’t Greek, but officials agreed that the Macedonian kings were Greek and let him join. Historians have different ideas about where exactly the Argeads came from and how they became rulers of Macedonia.

History

When a king of the Argead dynasty died, there were often fights over who would be the next ruler. These fights caused trouble and made the kingdom unstable. Some of these disputes turned into wars.

For example:

• After King Archelaus died in 399 BCE, there was a six-year fight for power between Orestes, Aeropus II, Amyntas II, and Pausanias.
• After King Pausanias died in 393 BCE, Amyntas III and Argaeus II fought over the throne.
• After King Amyntas III died in 369 BCE, Ptolemy of Aloros and Alexander II of Macedon fought for control.
• After King Perdiccas III died in 360 BCE, several people, including Philip II, Argeus, Pausanias, and Archelaus, all claimed to be the rightful king.
• After Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE, his generals, known as the Diadochi, fought in wars over who would rule.

Sometimes, even a well-respected king could face challenges from family members if their rule seemed weak. For instance, Philip rebelled against his older brother, King Perdiccas II, before the Peloponnesian War began in 433 BCE.

Argead Rulers

Image	Reign	Monarch Name	Comments
	c. 808-778 BC	Karanos	Founder of the Argead dynasty and the first king of Macedon. (Possibly Fictional)
	c. 778-750 BC	Koinos	(Possibly Fictional)
	c. 750-700 BC	Tyrimmas	(Possibly Fictional)
	c. 700-678 BC	Perdiccas I
	c. 678-640 BC	Argaeus I
	c. 640-602 BC	Philip I
	c. 602-576 BC	Aeropus I
	576-547 BC	Alcetas
	547-498 BC	Amyntas I	Vassal of the Achaemenid Empire in 512/511 BC. Historians recognize Amyntas as the first Macedonian monarch of historical importance.
	497-454 BC	Alexander I	Fully subordinate part of the Achaemenid Empire after 492 BC, then full Independence after 479 BC following the withdrawal of the Achaemenid army.
	454-413 BC	Perdiccas II
	413-399 BC	Archelaus
	399-396 BC	Orestes	Ruled jointly with Aeropus II, until he was murdered by Aeropus II
	399-394/393 BC	Aeropus II	Joint rule with Orestes until 396 BC, then sole rule
	393 BC	Amyntas II	Very brief reign ended with his assassination by an Elimieotan nobleman named Derdas
	393 BC	Pausanias	Assassinated by, Amyntas III in the year of his accession
	393 BC	Amyntas III (First Reign)
	393-392 BC	Argaeus II	Usurped throne from Amyntas III for about a year with the aid of the Illyrians
	392-370 BC	Amyntas III (Second Reign)	Restored to the throne after around one year
	370-368 BC	Alexander II	Assassinated by his maternal uncle Ptolemy of Aloros
	368-359 BC	Perdiccas III	Ptolemy of Aloros was his regent from 368-365 BC, until he was murdered by Perdiccas III
	359 BC	Amyntas IV	Young son of Perdiccas III, throne usurped by Philip II
	359-336 BC	Philip II	Expanded Macedonian territory and influence to achieve a dominant position in the Balkans, confederated most of the Greek city-states in the League of Corinth under his hegemony.
	336-323 BC	Alexander III the Great	The most notable Macedonian king and one of the most celebrated kings and military strategists of all time. By the end of his reign, Alexander was simultaneously King of Macedonia, Pharaoh of Egypt and King of Persia, and had conquered the entire former Achaemenid Empire as well as parts of the western Indus Valley.
	323-317 BC	Philip III Arrhidaeus	Half-Brother of Alexander the Great, Titular figurehead king of the Macedonian Empire, during the early Wars of the Diadochi; was mentally disabled to at least some degree. Executed by Olympias.
	323/317-309 BC	Alexander IV	Son of Alexander the Great and Roxana of Bactria, who was yet unborn at the time of his father's death. A pretender upon his birth, from 317 BC the titular figurehead king of the Macedonian Empire, during the early-middle Wars of the Diadochi. Executed by Cassander.

Family tree

Historians today have different ideas about the family ties of the Argead dynasty. For example, Robin Lane Fox disagrees with Nicholas Hammond's idea that Ptolemy of Aloros was the son of Amyntas II, saying Ptolemy was not his son and not part of the Argead family. Because of these differences, the family charts here show one common way historians like Hammond, Elizabeth Carney, and Joseph Roisman think the Argead family might have looked.