Editing Macedonia (ancient kingdom) (section)

===Division of power===
{{further|Ancient Greek law}}
[[File:Phillip Museum.jpg|thumb|The [[Vergina Sun]], the 16-ray star covering the royal burial [[larnax]] of [[Philip II of Macedon]] ({{reign|359|336|era=BC}}), discovered in the tomb of [[Vergina]], formerly ancient [[Aegae (Macedonia)|Aigai]]]]
At the head of [[Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia's government]] was [[List of Macedonian kings|the king]] (''[[basileus]]'').<ref group="note">Written evidence about Macedonian governmental institutions made before [[Philip II of Macedon]]'s reign is both rare and non-Macedonian in origin. The main sources of early Macedonian historiography are the works of [[Herodotus]], [[Thucydides]], [[Diodorus Siculus]], and [[Justin (historian)|Justin]]. Contemporary accounts given by those such as [[Demosthenes]] were often hostile and unreliable; even [[Aristotle]], who lived in Macedonia, provides us with terse accounts of its governing institutions. [[Polybius]] was a contemporary historian who wrote about Macedonia; later historians include [[Livy]], [[Quintus Curtius Rufus]], [[Plutarch]], and [[Arrian]]. The works of these historians affirm Macedonia's [[hereditary monarchy]] and basic institutions, yet it remains unclear if there was an established [[constitution]] for Macedonian government. See: {{harvnb|King|2010|pp=373–374}}. <br />However, [[N. G. L. Hammond]] and [[F. W. Walbank]] write with apparent certainty and conviction when describing the Macedonian constitutional government restricting [[Kings of Macedon|the king]] and involving a [[popular assembly]] of the army. See: {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|pp=12–13}}. <br />The main textual primary sources for the organization of [[Ancient Macedonian army|Macedonia's military]] as it existed under Alexander the Great include Arrian, Curtis, Diodorus, and Plutarch; modern historians rely mostly on Polybius and [[Livy]] for understanding detailed aspects of [[Antigonid Macedonian army|the Antigonid-period military]]. On this, {{harvnb|Sekunda|2010|pp=446–447}} writes: "...&nbsp;to this we can add the evidence provided by two magnificent archaeological monuments, the '[[Alexander Sarcophagus]]' in particular and the '[[Alexander Mosaic]]'...&nbsp;In the case of the [[Antigonid Macedonian army|Antigonid army]]&nbsp;... valuable additional details are occasionally supplied by [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]] and [[Plutarch]], and by a series of inscriptions preserving sections of two sets of army regulations issued by [[Philip V of Macedon|Philip V]]."</ref> From at least the reign of Philip{{nbsp}}II, the king was assisted by the [[royal page]]s (''basilikoi paides''), bodyguards (''[[somatophylakes]]''), companions (''[[hetairoi]]''), friends (''[[philoi]]''), an assembly that included members of the military, and (during the Hellenistic period) [[magistrate]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|King|2010|p=374}}; see also {{harvnb|Errington|1990|pp=220–221}} for further details.</ref> Evidence is lacking regarding the extent to which each of these groups shared authority with the king or if their existence had a basis in a formal constitutional framework.<ref group="note">{{harvnb|King|2010|p=374}}; for an argument about the [[absolute monarchy|absolutism]] of the Macedonian monarchy, see {{harvnb|Errington|1990|pp=220–222}}. <br />However, [[N. G. L. Hammond]] and [[F. W. Walbank]] write with apparent certainty and conviction when describing the Macedonian constitutional government restricting [[Kings of Macedon|the king]] and involving a [[popular assembly]] of the army. {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|pp=12–13}}.</ref> Before the reign of Philip{{nbsp}}II, the only institution supported by textual evidence is the monarchy.<ref group="note">{{harvnb|King|2010|p=375}}. <br />In 1931 Friedrich Granier was the first to propose that by the time of Philip&nbsp;II's reign, Macedonia had a constitutional government with laws that delegated rights and [[Uncodified constitution|customary privileges]] to certain groups, especially to its citizen soldiers, although the majority of evidence for the army's alleged right to [[Elective monarchy|appoint a new king]] and judge cases of [[treason]] stems from the reign of [[Alexander III of Macedon]]. See {{harvnb|Granier|1931|pp=4–28, 48–57}} and {{harvnb|King|2010|pp=374–375}}. <br />[[Pietro De Francisci]] was the first to refute Granier's ideas and advance the theory that the Macedonian government was an [[autocracy]] ruled by the whim of the monarch, although this issue of kingship and governance is still unresolved in academia. See: {{harvnb|de Francisci|1948|pp=345–435}} as well as {{harvnb|King|2010|p=375}} and {{harvnb|Errington|1990|p=220}} for further details.</ref>