ABSTRACT
Kingship is the earliest attested political structure in ancient Macedonia. Legend has it firmly established before recorded history and it continued to be the political heart of Macedonia until the Roman settlement in 167. This much is understood from sources such as political treatises, narrative histories, speeches, inscriptions, and other material remains. However, by no means does the evidence give a comprehensive picture of how kingship functioned in relation to other identifiable political bodies. Even Aristotle, who was in a position to know the inner workings, in his extant writings refers to the Macedonians and their kingship only in general terms. A dearth of sources for some periods and for others ambiguous accounts have led to much theorizing, with no consensus among scholars on the overall structure of the state. Close examination of the evidence, encumbered as it is by difficulties of interpretation, may leave as many questions as answers. Those questions, however, can and should be pointed and informed.
