In Memoriam
Edward M. Anson III
In Dedicationem
Lucy Dorothy Meyer Anson
This edition first published 2014
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anson, Edward.
Alexander's heirs : the age of the successors / Edward M. Anson. - First edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4443-3962-8 (hardback)
1. Alexander, the Great, 356 B.C.-323 B.C. 2. Alexander, the Great, 356 B.C.-323 B.C.-Sources.
3. Greece-History-Macedonian Expansion, 359-323 B.C. 4. Greece-History-Macedonian Expansion, 359-323 B.C.-Sources. 5. Greece-History-Macedonian Hegemony, 323-281 B.C. 6. Greece-History-Macedonian Hegemony, 323-281 B.C.-Sources. 7. Greece-Kings and rulers-Biography. 8. Greece-Kings and rulers-Biography-Sources. 9. Macedonia-History-Diadochi, 323-276 B.C. 10. Macedonia-History-Diadochi, 323-276 B.C.-Sources. 11. Generals-Greece-Biography. 12. Generals-Greece-Biography-Sources. I. Title.
DF234.A673 2014
938'.07-dc23
2014003069
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover image: Engraving of coin with head of Demetrius Poliorcetes, King of Macedonia.
| Ael. | Aelian, Varia Historia (VH) |
| Aeschin. | Aeschines, 2 (On the Embassy); 3 (Against Ctesiphon) |
| App. | Appian, Mithridatic Wars (Mith.); Syrian Wars (Syr.) |
| Arist. | Aristotle, Rhetoric (Rhet.) |
| Aristid. | Aristides, Orations (Or.) |
| Arr. | Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri (Anab.); Indica (Ind.); Successors (Succ.) |
| Astronomical Diaries | Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia, ed. H. Hunder, vol. V: Lunar and Planetary Texts (Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenshaften, 2001) |
| Athen. | Athenaeus, The Banqueteers |
| BCHP | Babylonian Chronicles of the Hellenistic Period |
| BM | British Museum |
| Curt. | Curtius, The History of Alexander the Great of Macedon |
| Dem. | Demosthenes, 15 (On the Liberty of the Rhodians); 17 (On the Accession of Alexander); 18 (On the Crown); 19 (On the False Embassy) |
| Din. | Dinarchus, 1 (Against Demosthenes) |
| Diod. | Diodorus, Library of History |
| Ditt. Syll. | Wilhelm Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum |
| Euseb. | Eusebius [Porphyry], Chronica (Chron.) |
| FGrH | Jacoby, Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker |
| Hdts. | Herodotus, Histories |
| Hom. | Homer, Iliad (Il.) |
| Hyp. | Hyperides, 4 (In Defense of Euxenippus); 5 (Against Demosthenes); 6 (Funeral Oration) |
| IG | Inscriptiones Graecae |
| Isoc. | Isocrates, 4 (Panegyricus); 15 (Antidosis) |
| Joseph. | Josephus, Jewish Antiquities (AJ) |
| Just. | Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus |
| Liv. | Livy, From the Founding of the City |
| LM | Liber de Morte |
| Memn. | Memnon of Heracleia’s History of Heracleia Pontica (FGrH 434 F-5.7) |
| Nep. | Nepos, Life of Eumenes (Eum.); Life of Phocion (Phoc.) |
| OGIS | Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae |
| Paus. | Pausanias, Description of Greece |
| Phot. | Photius, Bibliotheca (Bibl.) |
| Pliny | Natural History (NH) |
| Plut. | Plutarch, Life of Agesilaus (Ages.); Life of Alexander (Alex.); Life of Antony (Ant.); Life of Camillus (Cam.); Comparison of the Lives of Eumenes and Sertorius (Comp. Eum. et Sert.); Life of Demetrius (Demetr.); Life of Dion (Dion); Life of Eumenes (Eum.); Life of Lucullus (Luc.); Life of Lysander (Lys.); Moralia (Mor.); Life of Phocion (Phoc.); Life of Pyrrhus (Pyrrh.); Life of Sertorius (Ser.) |
| Polyaen. | Polyaenus, Stratagems |
| Polyb. | Polybius, Histories |
| P. Oxy. | Oxyrhynchus Papyri |
| Schol. | Demosthenes: Scholia Graeca ex codicibus aucta et emendata (New York: Arno Press, 1983) |
| Str. | Strabo, Geography |
| Suda | Antipater, Basileia, Craterus, Leonnatus, Deinarchus, Demetrius, Ophellas |
| Syll. | Sylloge inscriptionum graecarum, 3rd edn., 4 vols. (New York: Hildesheim, and Olms, 1982 [1915–24]) |
| Syncellus | Georgius Syncellus, Ecloga Chronographica, ed. A.A. Mosshammer (Leipzig: Teubner, 1984) (Chron.) |
| Tac. | Tacitus, Annals (Ann.) |
| Thuc. | Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War |
| Trog. | Trogus, Prologues (Prol.) |
| Val. Max. | Valerius Maximus, Memorable Words and Deeds |
| Vitr. | Vitruvius, De architectura |
| Xen. | Xenophon, Anabasis (Anab.); Constitution of the Spartans (Resp. Lac.) |
| 323 | |
| June 11 | Death of Alexander the Great |
| Summer | Philip III and Alexander IV proclaimed kings; revolt of the Greeks in the upper satrapies |
| Fall | Start of the Lamian War; Thibron attacks Cyrene |
| 323/22 | |
| Fall/Winter | Battle of Abydus; crossing of Leonnatus to Europe; death of Leonnatus |
| 322 | |
| Late Spring | Craterus crosses to Europe |
| June | Battle of Amorgus |
| July | Perdiccas and Eumenes arrive in Cappadocia; defeat Ariarathes in two battles |
| Late July/August | Battle of Crannon; Antipater arranges affairs in Peloponnesus and Athens |
| Late Summer/Fall | Eumenes organizes Cappadocia; Perdiccas moves to Cilicia; Neoptolemus moves to Armenia; annexation of Cyrene by Ptolemy |
| 322/21 | |
| Late Fall/Winter | Eumenes sent to Armenia; Perdiccas winters in Cilicia; return of Antipater and Craterus to Macedonia; Craterus marries Phila |
| 321 | |
| Spring | Perdiccas campaigns in Pisidia; calls for Antigonus to answer charges; arrival of Nicaea and Cleopatra with marriage proposals; marriage of Perdiccas and Nicaea; marriage of Ptolemy and Eurydice; invasion of Aetolia by Antipater and Craterus |
| Summer | Cynnane arrives in Asia and is murdered; marriage of Adea (Eurydice) and Philip III; Perdiccas determines to seize the monarchy; Alexander the Great’s body begins its journey west |
| 321/20 | |
| Late Fall/Winter | Antigonus flees to Macedonia; end of Aetolian campaign; diversion of Alexander’s body to Egypt |
| 320 | |
| Spring | First Diadoch War begins. Perdiccas marches to Egypt; Eumenes to the Hellespont; desertion of Cleitus and the fleet to Antipater; crossing of Antipater and Craterus to Asia; Antigonus attempts to intercept Eumenes, then to Cyprus |
| Late Spring | Eumenes defeats Neoptolemus; later Neoptolemus and Craterus; deaths of Neoptolemus and Craterus |
| Early Summer | Death of Perdiccas; condemnation of Perdiccans by royal army; Pithon and Arrhidaeus new regents for the kings |
| Late Summer | Triparadeisus; Antipater regent; marriage of Demetrius and Phila |
| Fall/Winter | Alcetas defeats Asander; Eumenes winters in Celaenae; failed negotiations among the surviving Perdiccan leaders |
| 319 | |
| Winter | Antipater crosses back to Europe with the kings |
| Spring | Eumenes defeated by Antigonus and enters Nora |
| Summer | Antigonus defeats Alcetas; death of Alcetas |
| Late Summer | Death of Antipater; Polyperchon new regent, Cassander chiliarch |
| Fall | Nicanor made garrison commander in Munychia |
| 319/18 | |
| Winter | Flight of Cassander to Antigonus; Polyperchon’s “Freedom of the Greeks” decree |
| 318 | |
| Late Winter/Early Spring | Arrhidaeus’ attack on Cyzicus; Eumenes released from Nora and allies with Antigonus; Antigonus takes Ephesus and Cleitus flees |
| Spring | Nicanor seizes Piraeus; Ptolemy occupies Phoenicia and Syria; Alexander, the son of Polyperchon, arrives in Athens, followed later by Polyperchon |
| May | Death of Phocion; Cassander arrives in Piraeus |
| Summer | Antigonus captures all of Lydia; Eumenes allies with Polyperchon; Polyperchon invades Peloponnesus, besieges Megalopolis; Eumenes moves into Cilicia, joined by argyraspids; Menander occupies Cappadocia; Eumenes creates “Alexander Tent” |
| Fall | Polyperchon returns to Macedonia, orders Cleitus to the Hellespont |
| Fall/Winter | Eumenes moves into Phoenicia |
| 317 | |
| Summer | Sea battles in the Hellespont; defeat of Cleitus |
| July | Demetrius of Phalerum in charge of Athens |
| Late Summer | Death of Nicanor; Cassander’s first invasion of Macedonia |
| September | Eumenes leaves Phoenicia for the east |
| Fall | Eurydice claims the regency; Olympias returns to Macedonia |
| Fall/Winter | Philip III Arrhidaeus and Eurydice murdered; Eumenes in Babylonia; revolt of citadel commander in Babylon; Eumenes moves into winter quarters in the “Carian villages”; Antigonus winters in Mesopotamia |
| 316 | |
| Spring | Eumenes joins with the forces of the satraps of the upper provinces |
| Summer | Cassander successfully invades Macedonia; siege of Pydna begins; deposition and exile of Aeacides |
| July | Eumenes and Antigonus battle on Coprates |
| August | Antigonus retreats into Media |
| Late October/Early November | Battle of Paraetacene |
| December | Battle of Gabene |
| 315 | |
| January | Death of Eumenes; Antigonus winters in Media; death of Pithon |
| “Approach of Spring” | End of siege of Pydna |
| Spring | Death of Olympias; imprisonment of Roxane and Alexander IV; Cassander marries Thessalonice |
| Spring/Early Summer | Peucestas replaced as satrap of Persis; flight of Seleucus from Babylon; Cassander founds Cassandreia and Thessalonica |
| Summer | Cassander refounds Thebes, invades Peloponnesus; Cassander's army invades Asia Minor; [alliance between Asander and Cassander?] |
| November | Antigonus at Mallus |
| 314 | |
| Spring | Ultimatum to Antigonus; start of the Third Diadoch War; Agesilaus to Cyprus; Polemaeus to Cappadocia; Aristodemus to Greece, forms an alliance with Polyperchon; siege of Tyre begins |
| Late Spring | Antigonus’ capture of Joppa and Gaza |
| Summer | Polemaeus relieves siege of Erythrae; Cassander moves into Peloponnesus |
| Fall | Alexander to Tyre; Tyre Proclamation; number of Aegean islands including Samos and Lemnos revolt from Athens |
| Winter 314/13 | Antigonus winters near Tyre; Cassander winters in Arcadia; Alliance between Asander and Ptolemy; Athenian expedition against Samos |
| 313 | |
| February | Miletus falls |
| Spring | Cassander invades Messenia; Acrotatus in northwest Greece |
| Summer | Siege of Tyre ends; creation of the “League of the Islanders”; Cassander presides over Nemean Games (August), then returns to Macedonia; Aristodemus in Aetolia; Ptolemy sends Menelaus to Cyprus; Polycleitus’ successful campaign in the Aegean |
| Late Summer/Fall | Alexander deserts Antigonus and allies with Cassander, then is slain; Cassander campaigns in Aetolia and Illyria; Polemaeus invades Caria; Seleucus and the Athenian admiral Aristotle unsuccessfully attack Lemnos |
| Early Winter | Cassander sends an army to Caria; Antigonus leaves Demetrius in Syria and moves to Phrygia |
| Winter 313/12 | Antigonus in Celaenae; Asander briefly allies with Antigonus; revolt of Pontic cities |
| 312 | |
| February | Antigonus gains control of Carian cities |
| Late Spring/Early Summer | Telesphorus to Greece |
| Summer | Polemaeus sent to Greece; revolt of Cyrene |
| Summer/Fall | Polemaeus’ operations in Greece; Cassander in Epirus and Euboea |
| Fall | Ptolemy to Cyprus: Telesphorus deserts Antigonid cause and attacks Elis; Elis freed and Telesphorus returns to allegiance; Battle of Gaza; Ptolemy occupies Phoenicia |
| Winter 312/11 | Demetrius defeats Cilles; Antigonus in Syria |
| 311 | |
| April | Seleucus retakes Babylon |
| Spring/Summer | Demetrius’ Nabataean campaign |
| Fall | Seleucus occupies Media and Susiane; Demetrius’ raid on Babylonia |
| Winter 311/10 | Peace between Antigonus, Cassander, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus |
| 310 | |
| Spring | Murders of Roxane and Alexander IV |
| Late Spring/Summer | Antigonus invades Babylonia |
| 309 | |
| Late Spring/Early Summer | Polemaeus revolts from Antigonus; Ptolemy’s operations in Cilicia; death of Polemaeus |
| Summer | Death of Heracles, son of Alexander the Great |
| Fall/Winter | Founding of Lysimacheia |
| 308 | |
| Spring | Ptolemy’s operations in Lycia; his acquisition of Sicyon and Corinth |
| Summer | Ophellas’ campaign in North Africa; return of Antigonus from the east; murder of Cleopatra, sister of Alexander the Great; Seleucus occupies upper satrapies, makes treaty with Chandragupta |
| 307 | |
| Spring | Ptolemy’s operations in the Aegean and Greece; Demetrius “frees” Athens |
| Fall | Pyrrhus becomes king of Epirus |
| 306 | |
| Spring | Demetrius’ operations in Cyprus begin; founding of Antigoneia-on-the-Orontes |
| June | Battle of Salamis; Antigonus and Demetrius proclaimed kings |
| Summer | Surrender of Cyprus to Demetrius; death of Philip, son of Antigonus |
| November | Antigonus and Demetrius’ failed invasion of Egypt |
| 305 | |
| Spring | Demetrius launches attack on Rhodes |
| 304 | |
| Spring | Cassander captures island of Salamis, besieging Athens; Demetrius abandons siege of Rhodes, and returns to Athens; other Diadochs proclaim themselves kings |
| Summer | Demetrius’ advance into Boeotia and Euboea |
| 303 | |
| Spring | Demetrius invades the Peloponnesus, captures Sicyon and Corinth; new Hellenic league |
| Summer | Cleonymus captures Corcyra |
| Late Summer/Fall | Demetrius secures Achaea, all of Arcadia, except Mantinea, and Argos; marries Deidameia and forms as alliance with Epirus |
| Winter 303/2 | Failed attempt by Cassander to make peace with Antigonus |
| 302 | |
| Winter | Alliance of Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus against Antigonus |
| Spring | Start of Fourth Diadoch War; formation of new League of Corinth; Demetrius initiated into Eleusinian Mysteries |
| April/May | Lysimachus and Cassander’s general Prepelaus cross to Asia |
| Summer | Antigonus moves into Asia Minor |
| Summer/Fall | Demetrius campaigning in Thessaly |
| Fall | Antigonus and Lysimachus campaigning in Phrygia; Pyrrhus forced from the throne of Epirus and joins Demetrius |
| Winter 302/1 | Demetrius recalled from Greece; Ptolemy seizes Phoenicia and returns to Egypt; Corcyra independent |
| 301 | |
| Late Spring | Battle of Ipsus; death of Antigonus |
| 300 | |
| Spring | New alliance between Ptolemy, Cassander, and Lysimachus; alliance between Seleucus and Demetrius; Demetrius takes possession of Cilicia; Lachares takes control of Athens |
| Late Spring/Summer | Alliance between Demetrius and Ptolemy; Pyrrhus to Egypt as a hostage for Demetrius’ good behavior |
| 298? | Demetrius’ failed attempt to “liberate” Athens |
| 298/97 | |
| Winter | Death of Cassander, succeeded by son Philip (IV) |
| 297 | |
| Spring | Death of Philip IV, ruler of Macedonia; Macedonia divided among Cassander’s surviving sons, Alexander and Antipater |
| Early Summer | Pyrrhus returns to Epirus |
| Summer | Demetrius in Peloponnesus |
| 295 | |
| Spring? | Demetrius begins siege of Athens |
| 294 | |
| Spring | Demetrius “liberates” Athens |
| Spring/Summer | Demetrius invades Laconia, defeats Spartans twice |
| Summer | Civil war between the brothers in Macedonia; intervention of Pyrrhus |
| Late Summer/Early Fall | Demetrius arrives in response to invitation from Alexander |
| Fall | Murder of Alexander IV; Demetrius (I) king of Macedonia |
| Winter 294/3 | Foundation of Demetrias |
| 293 | Marriage of Antiochus and Stratonice |
| 291 | Demetrius marries Lanassa |
| 288 | |
| Spring | With Demetrius preparing to invade Asia Minor, new coalition of Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Pyrrhus is formed against him |
| Fall | Lysimachus and Pyrrhus invade Macedonia; Macedonia divided between Lysimachus and Pyrrhus; Demetrius flees to Cassandreia; death of Phila |
| Winter | Murder of Antipater |
| 287 | |
| Spring | Reestablishment of Athenian democracy; Ptolemy new patron of Nesiotic League |
| Summer | Ptolemy repudiates Eurydice and Ceraunus; Ptolemy regains Cyprus; Demetrius returns to Asia |
| 286 | Demetrius campaigning in Asia Minor |
| 285 | |
| Spring | Seleucus captures Demetrius; Lysimachus subverts Pyrrhus’ army and becomes sole king of Macedonia |
| 284 | |
| Summer? | Ptolemy Philadelphus made co-ruler of Egypt |
| 283 | |
| Winter 283/2 | Lysimachus murders his son Agathocles |
| 282 | |
| February? | Death of Demetrius |
| Spring? | Death of Ptolemy I; Ptolemy (II) Philadelphus, sole ruler of Egypt |
| 282/81 Winter | Seleucus invades Lysimachus’ possessions in Asia Minor |
| 281 | |
| February/March | Battle of Corrupedium; death of Lysimachus |
| Summer | Seleucus crosses to Macedonia; Seleucus murdered by Ceraunus (September); Ceraunus, king of Macedonia |
| 280 | Death of Ceraunus |
| 276 | Antigonus Gonatas king of Macedonia |
This work is not a history of the Hellenistic Age, only those slightly more than forty years that followed Alexander the Great’s death. Its purpose is to look critically at the events which, and the personalities who, set the path upon which the Hellenistic world would proceed, not to examine the resulting journey. It is designed both for scholars and also for the general reader. While presenting a narrative of events, this narrative will be interspersed with the more important scholarly debates that affect so completely this history of the events that occurred more than twenty-three centuries ago. Many of these debates on some of the finer points have been either ignored or relegated to footnotes, so as not to disrupt the flow of the narrative. However, the more important ones will be set forth in their appropriate place in the narrative. Only in the case of certain chronological controversies will the debates appear in a separate section at the end of particular chapters. The ultimate goal is to present a readable and reasoned account of Alexander’s Successors, the Diadochi.
As with all my works, I wish to thank my wife Jeanne for putting up with me in general, and more particularly I am most grateful for her aid in reading and commenting on what I have written. I also wish to thank my colleagues in the field of Alexander and Hellenistic studies, and especially those affectionately known as the “Alexander Group.” To them all goes my appreciation for their support and insights over these many years. I would also like to thank the editors at Wiley Blackwell, Haze Humbert for suggesting the project and working with the prospectus, Allison Kostka for shepherding it to completion, and Janet Moth for proofing the final manuscript. For all of their assistance I am very grateful.
Map 1 Regions of Macedonia
Map 2 Greece and Asia Minor
Map 3 The Hellenistic world