Chapter 9 - The Aftermath of Alexander’s Empire - Part 01

Chapter 9 - The Aftermath of Alexander’s Empire

Alexander’s sudden death in Babylon in June 323 BC came as an unexpected surprise and threw the empire into upheaval. Alexander had made himself irreplaceable but had never considered the idea of appointing a qualified successor should the tragically unexpected ever happen. After all, he was a soldier and soldiers do get killed. If Alexander had a weakness, this was it. There are those who say that it was Alexander himself who brought this tragedy upon his empire. Had he appointed a successor, his empire may have survived to endure the Roman onslaught. Better yet, had he not ventured into Asia and followed in his father’s footsteps he could have made Macedonia even greater. By not choosing a successor Alexander allowed his empire to be split, thus weakening Macedonia and letting her fall prey to the Romans. The stage was set for the Great Macedonian Empire to decline when the army failed to appoint a single strong leader. It was apparent from the start that Arrhidaeus, Philip II’s epileptic and dimwitted son and Alexander III’s unborn child were not chosen for their leadership skills but rather for their non-interference. Who then was truly going to rule the empire? Obviously Alexander had surrounded himself with men who were more interested in their own careers than the fate of the empire. For the next fifty years or so, the most powerful and influential military leaders fought each other for control of the empire. After fifty years of struggle and strife they partitioned the empire into three pieces. In the end, the Antigonids took Macedonia and the City States, the Ptolemies took Egypt and the Seleucids took Asia. Many died senselessly before the conflicts reached equilibrium and the partitioned lands assumed a sense of normalcy (see Arrian). There was one positive result from all this. Even though the empire was partitioned and ruled by different dynasties, it was always ruled by Macedonians. For centuries Macedonians ruled the empire and traveled freely throughout their world, which stretched from the Adriatic to the Punjab and from Tadzhikistan to Libya. They maintained contact with each other and with their homeland as many traveled back and forth to seek employment and visit family and friends. On their way back to Macedonia, Craterus and the discharged veterans received news of Alexander’s death and the army’s order for Antipater to remain general of Europe. Craterus in the meantime was to assume the position of protector of the kingdom of Arrhidaeus. Roxane gave birth to a boy who was named Alexander IV and both he and Arrhidaeus were summoned to Asia in the care of Perdiccas.

According to Diodorus, the most influential players remaining in Babylon after Alexander’s death were Perdiccas, the most senior cavalry officer, bearer of Alexander’s ring and guardian of the two kings, Meleager, the most senior phalanx leader, Ptolemy, Leonnatus, Lysimachus and Peucestas, all of whom held relatively important positions in the empire. Less important at the time but who later rose to the ranks of important players were Seleucus, commander of the crack guards’ regiment, Eumenes, Alexander’s secretary and only foreigner among the leading Macedonians, Antipater’s son Cassander and Antigonus the one-eyed, the influential satrap of Phrygia. Absent were Craterus and Antipater who were still in Macedonia. The struggle for control of the empire began right after Alexander’s death and lasted for more than fifty years. During the first few years Perdiccas was the first to make a serious attempt at gaining control of the empire. By offering a compromise settlement to the others he hoped to gain power for himself. Unfortunately he made too many diplomatic errors and his scheming got him into trouble. He was assassinated by his own men the day before he was planning to attack Ptolemy at the Nile Delta. Before continuing with Perdiccas’s story, I want to mention that Leonnatus had also met his demise. In the spring of 322 BC, while Antipater and Craterus were busy putting down City State rebellions, Leonnatus brought his army across the Hellespont hoping to lay claim to Macedonia by marriage. Alexander’s sister Cleopatra had written him with an offer of marriage. Unfortunately, Leonnatus was killed in battle and did not achieve his ambitions. Perdiccas’s decline began back in the palace of Babylon when he attempted to assert his own authority above the others by announcing a purification of the army after Alexander’s death. This was in response to Meleager who was attempting to assert Arrhidaeus’s authority over Perdiccas by force. A squabble broke out and Meleager’s supporters were rounded up and executed, on Perdiccas’s orders. Meleager was spared at the time only to be murdered later, no doubt by Perdiccas’s assassins. It was also at Perdiccas’s insistence that Antipater was left in charge of Europe and Craterus was given the administrative role of guardian of the kings. Perdiccas was well aware of Craterus’s popularity with the infantry and wanted him as far away from it as possible. Perdiccas was also secretly plotting to overthrow Antipater through intrigues and by attempts to marry into power. When all this was revealed, Antipater as well as Craterus, Lysimachus and Antigonus lined up against him. His problems did not end there. Macedonian custom decreed that to be king one had to bury the predecessor and Alexander was not yet buried. In fact, Perdiccas no longer had possession of Alexander’s body. To curb Perdiccas’s chances of becoming king, Ptolemy had bribed the commander of the funeral cortege to hide the body. It is still unknown where Alexander was buried. His body was neither taken home to the royal tombs at Aigai nor was it conveyed to the Siwah oasis. According to Peter Green, Ptolemy took the body first to Memphis for a pharaoh’s burial and then to Alexandria where it was put on permanent display in a gold coffin.

In the spring of 320 BC Perdiccas left Asia for Egypt to attack Ptolemy. However, Ptolemy was ready for him and sabotaged his chances of victory. A few days after Perdiccas’s death, word came that Eumenes fought a great battle against Craterus near the border of Cappadocia and won an overwhelming victory, which unfortunately left Craterus dead. Before leaving for Egypt, Perdiccas had appointed Eumenes in charge of Asia and now that Perdiccas was dead, Eumenes made a bid for Perdiccas’s portion of the empire. The army did not agree with Eumenes’s actions and, during an assembly in Egypt, formally condemned Eumenes and his supporters to death. It was now a matter of time before they were hunted down and executed. The power vacuum left by the loss of Craterus and Perdiccas created some concern for Alexander’s successors who in 320 BC again assembled the army, this time in Syria. After some deliberation the assembly decided to appoint Antipater guardian of the kings, with full powers. Antigonus was given command of the troops in Asia with a specific assignment to hunt down Eumenes. For the next twenty or so years, it was Antigonus who dominated the Asian front. He made a great effort to bring as much of the whole empire as possible under his control but he too unfortunately paid for his ventures with his life. Before his appointment, Antigonus had shown himself to be very ambitious and Antipater did not trust him with all that power. Antipater’s son Cassander, however, was comfortable with the choice and convinced his father to allow the appointment. To safeguard Antigonus’s loyalty Antipater married off his daughter Phila, Craterus’s widow, to Antigonus’s son Demetrius. As a further safeguard, Cassander attached himself to Antigonus’s staff as cavalry commander and remained in Asia. Antipater returned to Macedonia to resume his former duties and to bring the two kings back to their homeland. It took Antigonus about five years to catch up to Eumenes. It was not Antigonus who caused the death of Eumenes but his own soldiers who let him down in battle. Here is what Peter Green has to say. “He was destroyed in the end only by repeated betrayals (the price of reliance on over-independent and quasi-mercenary commanders), and by the fundamental greed-cum-xenophobia of Macedonian troops, who at heart resented being led by a smooth Greek intellectual, especially one who failed to bring them loot as well as victories. They may on one occasion have greeted him in Macedonian, as a kind of backhanded compliment, but they let him down badly during their first campaign against Antigonus in Cappadocia.” (Page 17, Peter Green, Alexander to Actium The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age) Being humiliated by his defeat, Eumenes and about six hundred of his followers fled to the fortress of Nora in the northern Taurus range. Antigonus at once took over both of Eumenes’s satrapies and his army and laid siege to Nora. Antigonus did not stop with Eumenes but continued to pursue his enemies with much success. It was during these campaigns that Antigonus began to seriously consider taking over the entire empire.

Late in 319 BC, Antipater, in his seventies, died of old age. His death gave Antigonus encouragement to pursue his dream but unfortunately, like Perdiccas before him, he began to make diplomatic blunders. During his last hours of life, Antipater passed on his authority to a loyal Macedonian officer named Polyperchon who was a good soldier but had very little experience in diplomatic matters. The new appointee’s first mistake was to bring back Alexander III’s mother Olympias from Epirus and appoint her royal guardian of young Alexander. The first to react to this appointment with outrage was Antipater’s son Cassander. Cassander was furious not only because Olympias was brought back but also because he believed his father’s position should have been given to him and not Polyperchon. Cassander immediately formed a coalition with Ptolemy of Egypt, Antigonus of Asia and Lysimachus of Thrace against Polyperchon. The alliance with Cassander had possibilities for Antigonus but first he had to conclude the siege of Nora. Not being able to take the impregnable fortress by force, Antigonus turned to diplomacy and offered Eumenes an alliance. Anxious to get out of his current predicament, Eumenes agreed to the terms of the alliance and swore allegiance to Antigonus. In early summer of 318 BC the siege was lifted. A few months later Eumenes received an offer of alliance from Polyperchon and Olympias, who at the time were enemies of Antigonus and Cassander. Eumenes accepted their offer and switched sides. Antigonus made a counter offer but it was rejected. Not long afterwards war broke out in Asia between Antigonus and Eumenes which lasted two years. In the fall of 316 BC, during the battle of Paraetacene, Eumenes was again betrayed by his men which resulted in Antigonus capturing and executing him. In Macedonia, meanwhile, Polyperchon made attempts to gain support of the City States against Cassander but without much success. Olympias, on the other hand, made matters worse for Polyperchon by invading Macedonia from Epirus. Bent on seeing her grandson on the throne, Olympias, in early 317 BC, invaded Macedonia with a small force. She was provoked by Philip Arrhidaeus’s wife, Eurydice, who had openly declared her support of Cassander as regent of Macedonia. With the threat of invasion, Eurydice came out in full armour at the head of her troops to meet Olympias at the Macedonian-Epirot frontier. However, seeing Alexander’s mother she backed off and laid down her arms. Unfortunately Olympias was not the forgiving type and got back at her by executing her husband Philip Arrhidaeus. Without her husband’s support Eurydice could not bear the pain of being a widow and committed suicide in the fall of 317 BC. Olympias’s revenge did not stop with the murder of Philip Arrhidaeus. Believing that her son Alexander III was poisoned by the cupbearer, Iolaus (Antipater’s son), she had his corpse exhumed from the grave and his ashes scattered. She also executed hundreds of supporters of Philip Arrhidaeus and Eurydice. Fortunately, her killing spree was short lived. After making amends with Athens, Cassander invaded Macedonia and had the Macedonian army pronounce a death sentence on Olympias, which drove her back to Pydna.

Starved of support she surrendered in the spring of 315 BC and was executed by stoning. Young Alexander was now left in Cassander’s custody, which itself may just as well have been a death sentence. In time Cassander began to act as king of Macedonia and had no intention of stepping down for anyone. He made his intentions clear by giving Philip Arrhidaeus and Eurydice a royal burial at Aigai and by marrying Philip II’s daughter Salonica. As mentioned earlier, Antigonus’s pursuit of Eumenes allowed him to exercise his influence over the vastness of Asia. With Eumenes out of the way, Antigonus was now in charge of all the lands from Asia Minor to the uplands of Iran. He exercised his powers like an independent monarch, appointing satraps at his own discretion and even taking money from the empire’s treasuries to shore up support and hire mercenaries for his army. He used bribery and favouritism to dispose of his enemies and those who did not agree with his policies. He even ordered an audit of Seleucus’s accounting, hoping to find indiscretions so he could get rid of him. Seleucus at the time was satrap of Babylonia. Sensing that his life was in danger he fled to Egypt leaving Antigonus in control of almost all of Alexander’s Asian Empire. Antigonus’s actions did not go unnoticed. In fact they created great alarm in his rivals. His pursuit of Alexander’s old officers was enough cause for concern prompting not only Seleucus, who lost his lucrative position, but also Ptolemy, Cassander and Lysimachus to serve him an ultimatum. While making his rounds raiding treasuries and collecting tributes, the envoys sent by Ptolemy, Cassander and Lysimachus met up with Antigonus in Syria. They served him notice ordering him to restore Seleucus to his former satrapy in Babylon, to surrender Syria to Ptolemy, Hellespontine Phrygia to Lysimachus and Lycia and Cappadocia to Cassander. Of course these were outrageous demands which Antigonus flatly rejected. But they were serious enough that if ignored would lead to war which Antigonus felt confident he could win. Antigonus had one weakness, he did not have a fleet but that could easily be remedied in the future because he had the money to build one. To bolster his power at sea, Antigonus built shipyards at various port cities including Tripolis, Byblos and Sidon. He also secured alliances with Cyprus and sent troops to guard the Hellespont against a possible crossing by Cassander. He even tried to buy help from Polyperchon in the Peloponnesus encouraging him to start a war with Cassander. To rally their support, Antigonus even made a pitch to his troops accusing Cassander of the murder of Olympias, of marrying Salonica by force and of trying to make a bid for the Macedonian throne. In his propaganda communiqué, in a bid to gain more support, Antigonus offered the City States a number of concessions including freedom, autonomy and the removal of the Macedonian garrisons. The actual communiqué that was handed down to the City States by Polyperchon, however, was revised and the words “freedom” and “autonomy” were removed. In 311 BC war did break out and Antigonus found himself fighting on two fronts, one in Syria and the other at the Hellespont. A war also broke out in Susa, which involved Antigonus’s son Demetrius and his army on one side against

Ptolemy’s superior forces reinforced with elephants, on the other. In battle Demetrius was no match for Ptolemy and was easily defeated. Ptolemy’s victory opened the door for Seleucus to regain his satrapy. With borrowed troops (from Ptolemy), Seleucus marched in and recaptured Babylon, Media and Susiana, thus restoring himself to his former position. The conflict with Ptolemy drew Antigonus to Syria but in view of Ptolemy’s victory Antigonus decided now was not the right time to pursue matters further. Antigonus’s withdrawal signaled an end to the aggressions. Terms of a peace agreement were renegotiated and each of the players was reconfirmed. Cassander was to remain general of Europe until young Alexander came of age, Lycimachus was to remain in Thrace, Ptolemy in Egypt and Antigonus was to be first in rank in Asia. Seleucus and Polyperchon were not present at the peace talks and therefore were not included in any of the agreements. So, technically, Antigonus was still at war with Seleucus. Of all the promises made to the City States, even though a great deal of discussion took place about them, nothing concrete materialized. In 311 BC, after the conclusion of the peace treaty, Alexander’s empire still remained intact but was now controlled by Ptolemy, Antigonus, Lycimachus, Seleucus and Cassander, all of them Macedonians. As it turned out, however, the 311 BC peace agreement was nothing more than a temporary truce, a break in the never-ending struggle for power. Antigonus, Lycimachus and Seleucus each still possessed ambitions to unite Alexander’s empire but under their own rule. Just as the details of the peace agreement were worked out, each of the protagonists wasted no time in preparing for the next round of conflict. Ptolemy’s wish was to recover the satrapy of Syria and Phoenicia. Demetrius busied himself rebuilding his base of power and Antigonus could not wait to deal with Seleucus. By 310 BC a new round of conflict was about to erupt, propagated by Ptolemy’s accusations of Antigonus’s infringements on the freedom of the Cilicians. Not to be outdone, rumours were coming out of Macedonia that young Alexander and his mother Roxane were dead, executed by Cassander. It is unknown whether Cassander carried out the executions immediately or later but their deaths were confirmed in 306 BC. While this was going on Antigonus and Polyperchon were spreading rumours that Alexander III had an illegitimate son named Heracles, born to a woman named Barsine. Heracles at the time was sixteen years old. Armed with this new information, Polyperchon was ready to march on Macedonia and claim the throne for Heracles. When confronted by Cassander, however, all Polyperchon wanted was to be re-confirmed general of Peloponnesus. Cassander was more than willing to oblige him in return for the murder of Heracles. After that nothing more was heard of Polyperchon until his death in 302 BC. With Heracles out of the way, the only remaining living descendant of the Argead line was Alexander III’s sister Cleopatra, who at the time was living in Sardis looking for a husband. Unfortunately she too was murdered around 309

BC, no doubt by Antigonus’s henchmen, which brought the Argead line of Philip II and Alexander III to an end. Having lost his chances at making gains in Macedonia, Antigonus turned his attention to Seleucus. Around 309 BC he sent general Nicanor to attack Seleucus at his home base but instead of victory Nicanor met with defeat and soon afterwards Antigonus agreed to sign a non-aggression pact with Seleucus. The struggle between Antigonus and Ptolemy over control of the Mediterranean waters continued until around 308 BC when Ptolemy invaded a small region of coastal Peloponnesus. Demetrius, in 307 BC, was dispatched by Antigonus to free Athens from Cassander. Conflict between Antigonus and Ptolemy broke out in Cyprus and the victorious Demetrius was once again dispatched, pushing Ptolemy back to Egypt in 306 BC. To celebrate his victory in Cyprus, Antigonus took the title of king for himself and his son Demetrius. Antigonus was the first of Alexander’s old marshals to declare himself king and establish the idea of forming a new dynasty. By 305/304 BC, both Ptolemy and Seleucus followed suit and they too bestowed the title king upon themselves and began their own dynasties. Not to be outdone Lysimachus and Cassander did the same. With Demetrius delivering victory after victory, Antigonus was growing stronger and bolder. In 302 BC, he refused Cassander’s peace offer and dispatched Demetrius to finish him off. Facing a call for an unconditional surrender or all out war, Cassander turned to the other Macedonian marshals Ptolemy, Seleucus and Lysimachus for assistance. By now just about everyone had had enough of Antigonus and welcomed the idea of forming a coalition against him. They developed a plan together and put it into action. They needed to draw both Antigonus and Demetrius to Asia Minor. Ptolemy struck first with a diversionary invasion of Syria. This prompted Antigonus to abandon his campaign in Europe and quickly dispatch Demetrius to Syria. But soon after Demetrius arrived in Asia he and his father were drawn into a battle in Phrygia. Lysimachus, Seleucus and Cassander were waiting for them at Ipsus. Sensing a victory, Demetrius charged with his cavalry and broke through the enemy battle lines. His immediate success gave him confidence to pursue his fleeing opponents beyond the battleground. Seleucus then sought the chance to plug up the gap with his Indian elephants, virtually cutting off Demetrius’s chances of returning to the battle. Antigonus fought vigorously but, without Demetrius, was no match for his opponents. To make matters worse, Antigonus himself was mortally wounded and died while the battle raged on. Without Antigonus or Demetrius to lead, Antigonus’s army was easily defeated. Demetrius, with about 9,000 of his troops, managed to escape and flee to Ephesus but the humiliating defeat left him without much of an army. Demetrius did not lose everything however. He had his father’s navy and was still in control of Cyprus and some scattered coastal cities nearby. The victorious allies, on the other hand, now possessed the vastness of Asia and all its wealth. In 301 BC, at the dawn of the 2nd century, after twenty years of struggling to rebuild Alexander’s empire, another great Macedonian marshal came to pass. Antigonus was dead and his share of the empire went to his surviving colleagues

who showed no hesitation in carving it up for themselves. Lysimachus, with the exception of parts of Lycia, Pamphylia and Pisidia, took most of Asia Minor up to the Taurus Mountains. Ptolemy’s diversionary invasion won him all of Syria and Phoenicia. Seleucus received the eastern portion of Asia but was not quite satisfied and also asked for Coele-Syria. Ptolemy who was in control of it at the time refused to give it up. Cassander made no claims in Asia but expected to be given full concessions in Europe. Before continuing with the main story, I would like to take a small diversion and talk a little bit about one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It has been said that the so-called Colossus of Rhodes, which stood at the entrance of the harbour, was a statue of Helios built by the people of Rhodes. The story begins with Antigonus’s desire to control and dominate the sea-lanes in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean waters. In order to achieve this, Antigonus had to take control of all ports including the neutral and fiercely independent port of Rhodes Island. The traders of Rhodes, who at the time were allowed to do business throughout the Mediterranean waters, were exceptionally wealthy and even though they were neutral had leanings towards Ptolemy because most of their business was done in places under his control. Knowing the situation that they would be in, at first, the Rhodians refused to surrender. But the threat of war caused them to reconsider and surrender without a fight. Unfortunately, Antigonus did not trust them and wanted one hundred of their noblest citizens as hostages. The Rhodians refused to part with their noblest citizens and thus rescinded the offer to surrender. Antigonus immediately began the siege by dispatching Demetrius with a strong force of four hundred ships and great siege engines. After fighting for a year with no result a compromise was reached. The hostages were surrendered and in return the Rhodians received autonomy and were allowed possession of their own revenues. The agreement forced the Rhodians to ally themselves with Antigonus except in campaigns against Ptolemy. In gratitude for Ptolemy’s unwavering military and economic support during the siege, the Rhodians established the cult of Ptolemy the Saviour. To commemorate their struggles during the siege they commissioned a giant 105 foot high statue of Helios which took 12 years to complete and which was later recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. What is remarkable is that with the exception of some minor battles between Seleucus and the Indians, in the twenty years after Alexander’s death, no power rose to challenge the Macedonians. The battle of Ipsus was a turning point for the Macedonian protagonists who by their rivalry had pushed away any real chance of reuniting the empire. What was even worse is that with each new generation assuming power, the chances of reuniting the empire became more remote. In the next twenty-five years the protagonists would be facing different challenges but their rivalries would be a constant. The old guard would pass on but the empire would still remain in Macedonian hands. Demetrius may have been down but he was not out. In the next fourteen years or so between 301 and 286 BC, he tried to restore his power but without

success. He still possessed the strongest fleet in the Aegean and held Cyprus, Tyre and Sidon. After establishing himself in Corinth around 295 BC he managed to take Athens. His gains, however, did not go unnoticed. If Demetrius were to take the City States and Macedonia he could build his power base in Europe and then invade Asia; at least that was the idea. Unfortunately, Demetrius’s rivals did not agree with his ideas so while he was busy playing politics in Athens, they stripped him of most of his few possessions. Lysimachus took the Ionian ports, Seleucus took Cilicia and Ptolemy took Cyprus. In Macedonia Cassander died in 298/297 BC, succeeded by his eldest son Philip IV who also died soon afterwards. Cassander had two younger sons named Antipater and Alexander who, under Salonica’s (their mother, Philip II’s daughter) guidance, became rivals. Salonica favoured her younger son Alexander and insisted that her sons equally divide up their father’s empire so that each could have his own place to rule. Antipater, however, insisted that, according to Macedonian law, being the oldest male he had priority over all others and it was his right alone to rule his father’s empire. His disagreements with his mother caused him to resent her so much that he had her murdered. He then appealed to Lysimachus for assistance against his brother. The younger Alexander did not take the situation well and decided to oppose his brother by forming alliances with their two closest neighbours, Demetrius and Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus was a new player in the Macedonian games, installed by Ptolemy as king of Epirus. Before his installation as king, young Pyrrhus was Ptolemy’s hostage, given to him by Demetrius. Ptolemy took a liking to Pyrrhus and made him his protégé. After Cassander’s death, Ptolemy supplied Pyrrhus with an army and restored him to the Epirot throne. While Demetrius was busy in Athens, Pyrrhus quickly acted on Alexander’s appeal and began to acquire lands on his western frontiers. Demetrius, who at the time was fighting battles in the Peloponnesus, abandoned his immediate plans and began to move northward. Demetrius came to Alexander’s aid too late. Pyrrhus had already done the job and convinced Alexander to inform Demetrius that his services were no longer required. Demetrius did not take Alexander’s high and mighty attitude lightly and had him murdered when the opportunity arose. Demetrius lost no time in having his supporters in the Macedonian army proclaim him king of Macedonia. In 293 BC he turned southwards and conquered Thessaly, establishing a new port city which he named Demetrias, today’s Volos. Around 292/291 BC he made some gains in the City States and destroyed Thebes twice. By 291 BC he again came into contact with Pyrrhus and a new round of conflicts were about to erupt. All the while Demetrius was campaigning, Pyrrhus was not sitting idle. Sensing Demetrius’s growing strength and influence, Pyrrhus decided to bolster himself by forming his own alliances. By 290 BC he had allied himself with the Aetolians, seized the Phocis and banned Demetrius and his allies, including Athens, from participating in the Pythian games at Delphi. It was now a matter of time before another conflict would break out. Pyrrhus was not the only threat

to Demetrius. Ptolemy, Seleucus and Lysimachus were also unhappy with Demetrius’s gains and wanted him out of the way. Less than two years later in the spring of 288 BC Lysimachus and Pyrrhus launched an attack from the east and west catching Demetrius off guard. Even though Demetrius possessed the strongest fleet and had in excess of 100,000 soldiers, his support quickly crumbled and by mid-summer of the same year he lost everything. When it was over, Macedonia went to Pyrrhus while the region around the Strumitsa Valley, including Amphipolis, went to Lysimachus. Demetrius himself escaped and went into hiding at Cassandra in the Chalcidic Peninsula. Once again Demetrius was down but not out. While in hiding he continued to campaign for support and got it. It was not too long before he whipped up enough support to build an army to invade the Peloponnesus. His appearance at the gates of Athens prompted the Athenians to act but they were no match for Demetrius’s formidable army so they called Pyrrhus for help. When Pyrrhus arrived, along with Ptolemy’s powerful fleet, neither Pyrrhus nor Demetrius wanted war so a settlement was reached. By mid 287 BC a peace agreement was signed removing Demetrius from Athens but allowing him to keep the fortress of Corinth, Chalcis and a few other regions around Attica. With the loss of Athens, Demetrius for the moment had lost his appetite for conquests in the City States and left for Asia Minor, leaving his son Antigonus Gonatas in charge. Demetrius unfortunately could not sit still and started causing trouble for Lysimachus. By the spring of 286 BC, Demetrius built an army and was attacking cities in Asia Minor and taking them by force. After capturing Sardis he got Lysimachus’s attention. Lysimachus then sent his son Agathocles in pursuit of Demetrius. In the meantime, Lysimachus invaded Demetrius’s rear, cut him off from his fleet and blocked his communication lines. Demetrius was literally trapped but instead of turning back he decided to go deeper into Asia past the Taurus Range and into the hands of Seleucus. Unable to take on Seleucus, Demetrius, in the spring of 285 BC, surrendered and was taken to Apamea on the Orontes and left there to live in luxury. Unfortunately confined in luxury did not agree with Demetrius’s lifestyle and by late summer 283 BC, at age fifty-four he died of drunkenness and boredom. Without his father Demetrius, Antigonus Gonatas was not a threat to anyone and for the time being kept to himself. Unfortunately, that was not the case with Lysimachus who, in the power vacuum left by Demetrius, sought the opportunity to enlarge his own domain but at the expense of Pyrrhus. In 285 BC Lysimachus proceeded to seize both western Macedonia and Thessaly. Pyrrhus, the weaker of the two rivals, retreated to Epirus. With Pyrrhus out of the way, Cassander’s son Antipater had great expectations of finally being restored to his father’s throne. That unfortunately did not happen since Lysimachus, who was now in control of Macedonia, convinced his loyal supporters in the Macedonian army to proclaim him king instead of Antipater. As king of Macedonia Lysimachus’s first act was to execute

young Antipater for opposing him. Antipater’s death literally ended Cassander’s dynasty. Being in possession of meager assets, Antigonus Gonatas did not have the funds to support his father’s navy so along with his western port cities, he surrendered it to Ptolemy. With Pyrrhus and Antigonus Gonatus out of the way, the winners of this bout, at least for the moment, were Ptolemy, Lysimachus and Seleucus. Ptolemy was a clever man who knew that too much ambition was dangerous. He practiced what he preached and managed to stay out of trouble gaining just as much from sitting on the sidelines as the others did from being in the limelight. Ptolemy was getting old and, unlike his rivals, he appointed an heir to replace him. Two years before his death, in 285 BC, Ptolemy appointed Ptolemy II as his co-ruler and successor. Unfortunately his appointment did not go well with another son named Ptolemy Keraunos, from a different wife. Immediately after Ptolemy II’s appointment, Keraunos took his grievance to Seleucus. Seleucus recommended that he wait until Ptolemy senior died before taking any action. Unfortunately that was not what Keraunos wanted to hear so he left Seleucus and went to Lysimachus for help. Lysimachus did offer him advice but advice was not what Keraunos wanted. After Ptolemy’s death in 283 BC, Lysimachus abandoned Keraunos and sought an alliance with his rival, Ptolemy II by offering him one of his daughters in marriage. Even though he was disappointed by Lysimachus’s move, having no other options for the moment, Keraunos decided to stay with him as one of his lieutenants and carry on his agitation from there. Lysimachus was now over eighty years old and it was a matter of time before he died but he had yet to appoint an heir. So before things could be settled, Seleucus, in 282 BC, decided to attack him and strip him of his domain. The attack was not only successful, but it encouraged some of Lysimachus’s governors to switch alliances voluntarily. By 281 BC most of Anatolia was surrendering to Seleucus. Lysimachus retaliated with a counter attack giving everything he had, gambling that he would win a decisive victory in a single battle. A great battle was fought at Curapedion. Like his old rival Antigonus before him, Lysimachus lost everything including his life. Keraunos was captured but was not harmed and Seleucus continued to ignore his pleas for assistance to regain the Egyptian throne. Victorious, Seleucus set out for Europe so he could lay claim to his homeland, Macedonia. But on his way, during a heated argument with Ptolemy Keraunos, he was stabbed to death. Raging with anger Keraunos instantly killed the old Seleucus. With Seleucus’s demise so ended the line of all of Alexander III’s marshals. Unfortunately their legacy and rivalry continued to live on in their offspring. From the cheerful reception Ptolemy Keraunos received in Macedonia, it would have appeared that either Lysimachus was missed by the Macedonians or Seleucus was not at all popular. Soon after his arrival, Lysimachus’s veteran soldiers acclaimed Keraunos king of Macedonia. Keraunos’s first act as king was to marry Lysimachus’s wife

and adopt his children as his own. Ptolemy, one of those children refused to be part of the marriage and fled to Illyria and with good reason. Soon after the wedding his siblings were murdered and his mother barely escaped Keraunos’s henchmen with her life and fled into hiding in Samothrace. Not being satisfied with Macedonia alone, Keraunos attacked Antigonus Gonatas and, except for Demetrias (port of Volos), took all his possessions. But as luck would have it, being the miserable man he was, Keraunos was attacked by the Gauls. Earlier, when Lysimachus was defeated by Seleucus the frontier defenses were abandoned and left undefended. The undefended border allowed the Gauls an opportunity to invade and sack Macedonia, killing Keraunos in the process. It has been said that the Gauls cut off Keraunos’s head, impaled it on a stake and carried it wherever they went. The Gauls continued to plunder Macedonia, especially the countryside, until there was no more left to plunder. After that they moved on to the south until it was plundered and eventually invaded Asia Minor. After Keraunos’s death, Cassander’s young nephew Antipater made another attempt to retake the Macedonian crown but without success. To fill the power vacuum in Macedonia two new rivals appeared. The first was Seleucus’s son and successor, Antiochus I. Opposing him was Antigonus Gonatas. Both wanted the Macedonian crown and could not reach a peaceful agreement so their personal rivalries eventually escalated into a full-scale war. While Seleucus and Antigonus were fighting each other, a general who won a victory against the Gauls invaded Macedonia, deposed young Antipater and took the crown but not for himself. Antigonus’s popularity began to rise after he defeated the Gauls in a single decisive battle. It was only by accident that his forces ran into a vast column of over eighteen thousand Gauls marching through Thrace towards the coastal city of Chersonese. By a clever move, Antigonus outmaneuvered, trapped and massacred the Gauls, winning a bloody but decisive victory. This gave him the recognition he needed to reassert himself in the power game and win the Macedonian throne he so desired. It didn’t take him too long to drive young Antipater and the other rivals out. But before he could sit contentedly on the Macedonian throne he had yet to face Pyrrhus. By 276 BC the old rivalries of who was going to replace Alexander III as supreme ruler of the whole Macedonian empire no longer mattered and the Antigonids, Seleucids and Ptolemies had reached a balance of power. While Antigonus was basking in his glory in Macedonia, Pyrrhus had some matters to attend to in Italy, but by late 275 BC he was back again. It took him a good part of the winter to prepare and by early spring he invaded Macedonia. His reasons for the invasion were personal and a matter of necessity. Pyrrhus wanted to pay back Antigonus for refusing him assistance during his war with Rome. His campaigns in Italy had reduced Pyrrhus to a pauper and he needed loot to pay his soldiers and what better place to get it than from his old rival Antigonus. Most importantly, however, Pyrrhus wanted Macedonia for himself.

Antigonus Gonatas’s forces were attacked and defeated. Antigonus himself fled with some of his cavalry to Solun. The rest of his army surrendered to Pyrrhus. Like his father before him, Antigonus was down but not out. He still had some coastal cities and a powerful fleet in his possession. And most importantly he was still a king. Pyrrhus managed to recover Macedonia and Thessaly but was not popular with the Macedonian people, especially since he allied himself with the Gauls and let them plunder the Royal tombs at Aigai. When Pyrrhus completely lost his popularity with the Macedonians he left Macedonia to do some campaigning in the City States. While away his son Ptolemaeus was left in charge. In his preoccupation campaigning against the City States, Pyrrhus failed to notice Antigonus’s return and occupation of Macedonia. With Macedonia firmly in his hands, Antigonus, during the summer of 272 BC, dispatched his fleet to the City States and went in pursuit of Pyrrhus. When the opposing armies met a battle ensued and Pyrrhus was knocked unconscious. While lying down an enemy soldier recognized him, lopped his head off and took it to Antigonus. Soon after Pyrrhus’s death, the battle was over and there was no further resistance from Pyrrhus’s allies. With Pyrrhus out of the way, Antigonus had an opportunity to retake all of the City States and bring them under his control. Like Ptolemy before him, he exercised caution and did not allow his ambitions to get hold of him. From here on, with minor clashes at the frontiers, Alexander’s empire was to be ruled by three dynasties, the Antigonids, the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. Fifty years after his death, Alexander’s empire remained intact and was still ruled by Macedonians. By 268 BC, things were stirring up again as Ptolemy II incited the Athenians into ejecting the Macedonians and declaring war on Antigonus. Antigonus was planning to bolster his naval power in the Aegean, which would have become a direct threat to Ptolemy’s naval trade. Ptolemy had no intention of helping the City States but their desire to free themselves from Macedonian rule was so great that many of them, including Sparta, ignored the risks and began preparations for war. The situation escalated and Antigonus decided to take action. He met the Spartan army outside Corinth where a battle ensued and the Spartans lost. To quell the situation completely Antigonus put Athens, the main instigator, under siege. Ptolemy’s promise of naval assistance never materialized and Athens was left to starve into surrender. After its surrender, Athens lost its autonomy and Macedonians were once again put in control of its affairs. With the City States put down, Antigonus, in 261 BC, attacked Ptolemy’s navy in the Aegean and scored a major victory. To reinforce his positions, Antigonus also placed strategic defensive posts along the Attic coastline. In Asia, meanwhile, Antiochus I of the Seleucid Dynasty was having problems of his own. Unable, sometimes unwilling to hold his empire together Antiochus I began to lose some of his frontiers to secession. He had lost Cappadocia, Pontus and Bithynia and the satrapies of Bactria and Sogdiana were about to become independent. Then in 261BC as things began to slide Antiochus