Macedonians (Greek)
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| est. 3,000,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Greece
|
est. 2,500,000 |
 Australia
|
over 100,000 (est. 1965) |
 United States
|
over 100,000 (est. 1965) |
| Languages | |
| Greek, also English among the diaspora | |
| Religion | |
| Orthodox Christianity | |
Macedonians (Greek: Μακεδόνες, Makedónes) are a regional and historical population group of ethnic Greeks, inhabiting or originating from the Greek region of Macedonia, in Northern Greece. Today, most Macedonians live in or around the regional capital city of Thessaloniki and other cities and towns in Greek Macedonia, while many have spread across Greece and in the diaspora. The indigenous Greek Macedonians are descendants of the Ancient and Byzantine Greek Macedonians and they have a heritage and identity distinct from that of the Slav Macedonians, who now mainly inhabit the neighboring Republic of Macedonia.
The name Macedonia (Greek: Μακεδονία, Makedonía) comes from the ancient Greek word μακεδνός (Makednos). It is commonly explained as having originally meant "a tall one" or "highlander", possibly descriptive of the people. The shorter English name variant Macedon developed in Middle English, based on a borrowing from the French form of the name, Macédoine.
Greek populations have inhabited the region of Macedonia since ancient times. The rise of Macedon, from a small kingdom at the periphery of Classical Greek affairs, to one which came to dominate the entire Hellenic world, occurred under the reign of Philip II. Philip's son, Alexander the Great (356–323 BC), managed to briefly extend Macedonian power not only over the central Greek city-states, but also over the entire Persian empire which he toppled, including Egypt, and later went on towards lands as far east as the fringes of India today Pakistan. Alexander's adoption of the styles of government of the conquered territories was accompanied by the spread of Greek culture and learning through his vast empire. Although the empire fractured into multiple Hellenic regimes shortly after his death, his conquests left a lasting legacy, not least in the new Greek-speaking cities founded across Persia's western territories, heralding the Hellenistic period. In the partition of Alexander's empire among the Diadochi, Macedonia fell to the Antipatrid dynasty, which was overthrown by the Antigonid dynasty after only a few years, in 294 BC. The ancient Macedonian language, whether it was a Greek dialect or a sibling language to Greek, was gradually replaced by Attic Greek; the latter came in use from the times of Philip II of Macedon and later evolved into Koine Greek.
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