Early Macedonian military?

[Old King Coal]

I'm wondering if anybody knows anything about the eearly military history of Macedonia, like before Philip II

I'm especially wondering what kinds of weapons, armor and unit types they used.

I'm pretty sure they'd have used some auxiliaries or mercenaries, like maybe some Paionian cavalry, but what else?

[hoplite14gr]

The place was not United before king Archelaos little before the Pelopenesian War.
Kings seem to have a hoplite style bodyguard (The illyric helmet seem to predominate as archeological finds show.)

The aristokrats fought as cavalry with their retinues that would probably be peltasts and light troops.
That type of army could repel Thrakians and Illyrians whou were often raid their territory and were armed in similar fashion.

They would have problem agians a steady phalanx and that explains the stabilityof the colonies that Southern Greeks build on the Macedonian coastline.

Kind regards

[Old King Coal]

ya thanks, but do u happen to know what sort of auxiliaries or mercenaries they'd use?

[hoplite14gr]

Speculative, but before Philip II (and in absence of better evidence) probably mostly Greeks from the Chalkidiki colonies or washed out Atheninas from Pieria.
Kind regards

[Dutchhoplite]

[url:3ea9htfw]http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/armies/I54/index.html[/url]

Not perfect but could be interesting.