| Summary: | <p>Urbanization has long been recognized as one of main structural developments of Macedonian social life. Despite extensive research into urban development in the lands conquered by Alexander the Great and the old city-state centres of Southern Greece, Macedonia still lacks a systematic study of the phenomenon. In its absence, various views have been advanced that ultimately depend on assumptions about the nature of Macedonian urbanism.</p>
<p>A major rethinking now underway of Greek urban development and its local variation makes reconsideration of Hellenistic Macedonia’s role within it especially pressing. As in earlier research, the main focus of this thesis is the public and political centres of cities. In common with leading new research on Greek urbanization, however, the main evidence considered is concrete material detail for the functioning of public institutions. Equally, reconsideration of the relationship of major centres to federal regions, allows a closer understanding of Macedonian political space within its Northern Greek context.</p>
<p>The evidence from Macedonia is uneven, mostly unpublished, and not oriented toward what is traditionally classified as civic architecture. Despite the limitations, a certain amount of data has accumulated from the duration of excavations at key sites. I consider Aigai, Mieza, Dion, Pella, Amphipolis, and Kassandreia, which afford an initial reconstruction of public space and its relationship to overall layout, with sufficient detail to appreciate local context.</p>
<p>My research aims to show that major centres in Macedonia developed a public architecture reflecting the political constitution of Macedon, where power depended on a relationship to the king. It also considers how political space reflected the local history, customs, and function of each city within the larger Macedonian state and its national territory. This archaeological account of Macedonian cities provides new insights for reading the well-studied epigraphic and numismatic record of the region.</p>
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