Alexanders Heirs Read online

  EDWARD M. ANSON is Professor of

  Anson

  History at the University of Arkansas at

  A

  Little Rock, USA. He is the author of

  l

  Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues

  e

  Alexander’s Alexander’s

  Heirs

  (2013) and Eumenes of Cardia: A Greek

  x

  Among Macedonians (2004), and co-editor

  a

  the age of the successors

  of After Alexander: The Time of the Diadochi

  n

  (323–281 BC) (with V. Alonso Troncoso,

  d

  Heirs

  Edward M. Anson

  2013).

  “Alexander’s Heirs is a concise but thoroughly documented study of the

  er

  formative years (323–281 BCE) of the Hellenistic age by an insightful and

  the age of the successors

  ’

  highly respected scholar. Students, teachers, and researchers will find it an

  s Heir

  Alexander the Great is one of the most

  mercurial and transformational figures

  indispensable and infallible guide to one of the most complex and exciting

  in world history. His empire was vast,

  periods of ancient history.”

  Edward M. Anson

  stretching across the ancient world from

  Waldemar Heckel, University of Calgary

  s

  Greece and Egypt to India. In the wake

  of his death, his generals – the Diadochi

  – once tenuously united, turned on

  one another, each in pursuit of what he

  believed was his rightful role as ruler.

  In this narrative history, Edward M.

  Anson explores the period of time

  known as the Age of the Successors – the

  approximately forty years following the

  death of Alexander the Great. It is a story

  of ambition, power, and war, but at its

  core it is a story of transition – of how

  one man’s empire ultimately became the

  Hellenistic world.

  9 781444

  339628

  Alexander’s Heirs

  In Memoriam

  Edward M. Anson III

  In Dedicationem

  Lucy Dorothy Meyer Anson

  Alexander’s Heirs

  The Age of the Successors

  Edward M. Anson

  This edition first published 2014

  © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available for this book

  Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4443-3962-8

  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.

  © The Print Collector, London / Scala, Florence

  Set in 10/12pt Minion by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India

  1 2014

  0002094457.INDD 4

  4/16/2014 12:11:27 PM

  Contents

  List of Abbreviations

  vii

  Chronology ix

  Preface xvii

  Maps

  Regions of Macedonia

  xix

  Greece and Asia Minor

  xx

  The Hellenistic world

  xxi

  1 Introduction

  1

  2 The Death of a Conqueror

  11

  3 The Funeral Games Begin

  47

  4 The End of a Dynasty

  83

  Chronology from Spring 318 to Spring 315

  116

  5 “War, both the King and Father of Al ”

  125

  Chronology from 314 to 306

  157

  6 The End of the Diadochi

  165

  Chronology from 306 to 281

  184

  7 Epilogue: The New World

  189

  Bibliography 197

  Index 215

  Abbreviations

  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 Hel enistic 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. Syl .

  Wilhelm Dittenberger, Syl oge 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

  viii Abbreviations

  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 Lucul us ( 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

  Syl .

  Syl oge inscriptionum graecarum, 3rd edn., 4 vols.

  (New York: Hildesheim, and Olms, 1982 [1915–24])

  Syncellus

  Georgius Syncel us, 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.)

  Chronology

  323

  June 11

  Death of Alexander the Great

  Summer

  Philip III and Alexander IV proclaimed kings; revolt

  of the Greeks in the upper satrapies

  Fal

  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/Fal 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; cal s 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

  x Chronology

  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

  Fal

  Nicanor made garrison commander in Munychia

  319/18

  Winter

  Flight of Cassander to Antigonus; Polyperchon’s

  “Freedom of the Greeks” decree

  318

  Late Winter/

  Arrhidaeus’ attack on Cyzicus; Eumenes released from

  Early Spring

  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”

  Fal

  Polyperchon returns to Macedonia, orders Cleitus

  to the Hellespont

  Fall/Winter

  Eumenes moves into Phoenicia

  Chronology

  xi

  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

  Fal

  Eurydic
e 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 vil ages”;

  Antigonus winters in Mesopotamia

  316

  Spring

  Eumenes joins with the forces of the satraps of the upper

  provinces

  Summer

  Cassander successful y 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/

  Battle of Paraetacene

  Early November

  December

  Battle of Gabene

  315

  January

  Death of Eumenes; Antigonus winters in Media;

  death of Pithon

  “Approach

  End of siege of Pydna

  of Spring”

  Spring

  Death of Olympias; imprisonment of Roxane and Alexander

  IV; Cassander marries Thessalonice

  Spring/Early

  Peucestas replaced as satrap of Persis; flight of Seleucus

  Summer

  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 Mal us

  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

  xii Chronology

  Fal

  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 fal s

  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/Fal Alexander deserts Antigonus and allies with Cassander,