Immigration and integration : the augmentation of Macedon's military population under Philip II and Alexander III
Date
1990
Authors
Ross, Richard Steven
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Abstract
This thesis is an examination of the conventional wisdom and methodological approaches that underly a particular part of the scholarly debate surrounding the rise of Macedon in the latter half of the fourth century B.C. The wider debate needs to be intimately connected with an appreciation of Macedon's military strength, which was, in a pre-technological age, largely dependent upon the number of men that could be conscripted into the army. While this relationship has been acknowledged in modern works it has rarely received more than a cursory treatment and even then has been done in such a manner as reveals a simplistic approach to the evidence. Theories have been based upon imperfectly understood evidence - the results have been predictable.
As a result of this the first three chapters examine the varying methods that have been employed in an attempt to ennumerate the number of Macedonian soldiers that fought for Alexander III and for his father, Philip II. Chapter 1, "Evidence, Problems and Approaches", aims to create a model that assesses the possible number of Macedonian casualties throughout Alexander's reign.
Chapter 2, "The Human Resources of Macedonia", attempts to calculate a total for the Macedonians that fought for both Philip and Alexander and to which the model created in the previous chapter can be applied. Chapter 3, "Demography and Ancient Macedonia", seeks to establish whether the large numbers of Macedonians that, it is argued, fought for their kings, can be accounted for by an internal population boom, generally assumed to be the result of the "peace and prosperity'' established under Philip. As modern historiography has focused almost exclusively on Alexander's military reserves, and rarely on both his and his father's, it is argued throughout that credible results can only be attained if both reigns are examined in tandem.
The fourth chapter, "Immigration and Integration within Macedonia 360-323B.C.", presents an argument for substantial immigration of non-Macedonians into Macedonia under Philip. Thus Macedonia is considered to have exploited the worsening social and economic conditions prevalent in Greece during the fourth century B.C. It is suggested that only through such a mechanism, external of Macedonian demographic realities, can the size of Macedonian armies under Alexander be accounted for. The conclusion contains a brief restatement of the various methodological approaches of modern historiography and contrasts it with that employed herein. While the dearth of evidence means that no models can be considered to provide any absolute answer it is to be hoped that those suggested here help represent an advance on previous work.