Argead dynasty

The Argead dynasty (Greek: Ἀργεάδαι, romanized: Argeádai), also known as the Temenid dynasty (Greek: Τημενίδαι, Tēmenídai) was an ancient Macedonian royal house of Dorian Greek provenance. They were the founders and the ruling dynasty of the ancient kingdom of Macedon from about 700 to 310 BC. Their tradition, as described in Greek historiography, traced their origins to Argos, in the Peloponnese region of Southern Greece. They were known as Argeads or Argives. Initially, the Argeadae were the rulers of the tribe of the same name, (Argead Macedonians) who prevailed in early Emathia, later Lower Macedonia, with their capital at Aigai. By the time of Philip II of Macedon, they had expanded their reign further, to include under the rule of Macedonia, now governed from Pella, all the Upper Macedonian states. The family's most celebrated members were Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, under whose leadership the kingdom of Macedonia gradually gained predominance throughout Greece, established the Hellenic League, defeated the Achaemenid Empire and expanded as far as Egypt and India. The mythical founder of the Argead dynasty is King Caranus. The Argeads claimed descent from Heracles through his great-great-grandson Temenus, also king of Argos.