History
macedonia history, history of macedonia, alexander the great, macedonia independence
Macedonia has long been a crossroads for traders and conquerors traveling between Asia and Europe. The area was long inhabited by tribes and city-states. In 356 BC Philip II of Macedon united much of the area under one rule. His son, Alexander the Great, would create a huge empire encompassing much of Asia Minor, Egypt, and the Mediterranean. After the Greeks, the Romans would control the area followed by the Byzantine Empire. In the 15th century the Ottoman Empire took over and ruled until 1912.
After World War I, Macedonia became part of Yugoslavia. It gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. In the following years there were many disagreements with the country of Greece as it objected to Macedonia’s use of Hellenic (Ancient Greek) names and symbols.