Macedonia is a historical region that originates from the ancient period. The history of the ancient Macedonian kingdom begins with Caranus, who was the first known Macedonian King (808-778 BC). By the 5th century BC the Macedonians expanded and forged a unified kingdom under Alexander I (498-454 B.C.) The zenith of the Macedonian kingdom, its unity, independence and predominance---political, military and economic---reached its apogee in the 4th century BC when the famous Philip II (- 336 B.C.) and Alexander III (356 - 323 B.C.) ruled the prestigious Kingdom of Macedonia the Great. Alexander III is also known as Alexander the Great.

After the dissolution of the Empire, the territory of Macedonia fell first under Roman and later under Byzantine rule. The penetration of Slavic tribes towards the Balkans ended at the beginning of the seventh century and created a new situation-Macedonia's population mixed with the Slav newcomers but retained the Macedonian name, traditions and culture. At the beginning of this period the Macedonians were organized independently in their own tribal communities (sklavinas). Later, they fell under Byzantine and Bulgarian rule, alternatively.

After the death of Bulgarian czar Peter (969), an uprising started intended to overthrow central Bulgarian rule. In the period from 969 until 1018, a vast empire of the Macedonians emerged, second empire of the Macedonians after the empire of Alexander the Great, the Empire of King Samuel with its capital in Ohrid. Testimonies to this empire are the castles he built, of which the most well known is located above Ohrid, which exists even today. This Empire was destroyed by strong assaults of the Byzantine army headed by the emperor Basil II.

The period of expansion of medieval states on the Balkan and in Macedonia was followed by the occupation of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century. Macedonia remained a part of the Ottoman Empire for 500 years, i.e. until 1912.

By 1870, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia, with the help of their patrons France, Russia and Austro-Hungary, liberated themselves from the Ottoman Empire. In 1870, peace was declared between Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia on one side and Turkey on the other. In the period of the Eastern Crisis and the Berlin Congress (1878), Macedonia was left under the Ottomans although some concessions were granted to the people.

The greatest uprising in Macedonian history occurred on August 2, 1903, on St. Elias's Day, when Macedonian revolutionaries organized the Macedonians and the entire population to a rebellion against Ottoman rule. Large parts of Macedonia were liberated. The largest free territory was the town of Krushevo and the territory around it. The Krushevo Republic was declared, the first Republic on the Balkans with a President and Parliament with representatives of all ethnic communities. However, the Republic existed only 10 days, because the Ottoman Empire sent a large army that crushed the uprising and put an end to the Republic and demolished the town and the surrounding villages.

However, in 1912 and 1913 three Balkan states - Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece, waged the Balkan wars intending to conquer and divide Macedonia between them. The Balkan Wars between Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia ended with the treaty of Bucharest in 1913, with which, in spite of the protests of the ethnic Macedonians, Macedonia was divided into three parts. Accordingly, Greece maintained its lion's share of Macedonian territory: 35.169 square kilometres; the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes retained 25.774 square kilometres; and Bulgaria was allowed to take, after minor revision, 6.798 square kilometres.

During World War II (1941-1945), Macedonians took part in the anti-fascist coalition. On 11 October 1941 in the Vardar part of Macedonia there was simultaneous uprising against the fascist occupation in Prilep and Kumanovo, where as in 1942 there were uprisings in the Aegean part of Macedonia and in the Pirin part of Macedonia. However, only the people in the Vardar part managed to create a state in the face of the People's Republic of Macedonia within the framework of then Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia.

The Republic of Macedonia was proclaimed at the first session of the Antifascist Assembly for the People's Liberation of Macedonia (on St. Elias's Day - August 2, 1944). Later, by the provisions of the first Constitution (December 31, 1946), it became a constitutive part of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia.

In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations concerning self-determination and equal rights, the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia adopted the Declaration for International Recognition of the Republic of Macedonia on September 17th, 1991, which confirmed the will of the citizens to live in a sovereign and independent state. According to the Constitution adopted November 17th, 1991, the Republic of Macedonia is a sovereign, independent, democratic and social state. April 8, 1993, Macedonia becomes a UN member state.