Wars of Alexander's Successors (Diadochi)

B.C. 321 to 280

Macedonian Generals — versus — Macedonian Generals

Introduction : 

There is scarcely any series of wars more mind-boggling to follow than those of the Diadochi, or successors of Alexander. For twenty years after the death of Alexander his generals fought for control of his empire, and even after the critical Battle of Ipsus, which settled the division of much of the old Persian Empire, wars raged for control of Macedonia and Asia Minor for another generation. The principals involved in these wars were Macedonian Generals who served under Alexander, and their descendents. They were not fought between states or principalities, but between armies, sometimes composed of regional troops or mercenaries, but always officered by Greek and Macedonian officers. Also, the regions controlled by the various dynasties changed during the war years, so in several cases one cannot even form a permanent association of a particular dynasty with a fixed sphere of influence.

It is helpful, before discussing the course of the wars, to identify the surviving dynasties. There were dozens of generals involved in the fighting, some of whom controlled powerful territories, but later fell by the wayside. Of the original Generals who gained important territories at the time of the death of Alexander, only Ptolemy was able to maintain his kingdom over the course of the wars. The three major surviving dynasties, were therefore, the Ptolemies in Egypt (which fell to Rome in 47 B.C.), the Seleucid dynasty in old Persia (which gradually fell to the Parthian empire, starting around 250 B.C.), and the Antigonid Dynasty in Greece and Macedonia (which fell to Rome in 168 B.C.). A fourth empire, that of Lysimachus in Asia Minor, existed for the duration of the Diadochi wars, but fell to the Seleucids in 280 B.C.

The principal contenders involved in the Wars of the Diadochi were as follows:

Death of Alexander : 323 B.C.

Death of Alexander

Alexander the Great died suddenly in 323 B.C. at the age of 34. He did have an infant son and a brother, but neither was capable of ruling, so for almost ten years, the generals under him jockeyed for territory under the pretense of governing under a unified regency. Immediately after the Death of Alexander, the primary characters were Perdiccas, regent of the entire realm, Antipater, governor of Greece and Macedon, and Ptolemy, who was appointed Satrap of Egypt. Antipater was the most senior administrator, but Perdiccas had been with Alexander at his deathbed, and so had received his signet ring. Perdiccas intended to rule the empire himself, and had many jealous enemies, so several ambitious generals allied themselves with Antipater, including Craterus, Polyperchon, and Antigonus.

First War—Overthrow of Perdiccas : 321 B.C.

Eventually Ptolemy joined the rebellion and war broke out in both Asia Minor and Egypt. Eumenes, the most faithful ally of Perdiccas, won a great victory in Asia minor, but at the same time, Perdiccas himself was murdered by Seleucus, one of his own generals. After the death of Perdiccas, Antipater was made regent of the Empire, Ptolemy retained Egypt, Lysimachus retained Thrace, Seleucus was granted Babylon, and Antigonus was granted Asia Minor.

Second War—Macedonian Succession: Death of Antipater : 319-315 B.C.

The peace held until the death of Antipater. Instead of passing the regency onto his own son, Cassander, Antipater entrusted it to Polyperchon. This soon led to war between Polyperchon, allied with Eumenes in Asia, and Cassander, Antigonus, and Ptolemy, who refused to recognize Polyperchon as regent. Eventually Polyperchon was driven from Greece and fled to Epirus, while in Asia, Antigonus led a long campaign against Eumenes. Eventually, Antigonus defeated Eumenes, and had him killed. Antigonus was now in undisputed control of Asia, Cassander controlled Greece and Macedon, Lysimachus controlled Thrace as well as Asia Minor, and Ptolemy held Egypt and much of Syria.

Third War and Fourth Wars—Overthrow of Antigonus : 312-302 B.C.

Demetrius

The third Diadochi war broke out when Antigonus, who already controlled all of Asia, invaded Ptolemy's Syria. Cassander and Lysimachus allied themselves with Ptolemy, and Seleucus took the opportunity to win more territory in the East. Cassander's territory did not border that of Antiochus, but Polyperchon, who allied himself with Antiochus, tried to raise a rebellion in Greece. Eventually Antigonus and his son Demetrius made peace with Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander, but continued to fight with Seleucus in the East. Also during this war, the son of Alexander and most of Alexander's other relatives were murdered, so there was no longer even a pretense of regency, or a unified empire.

The fourth war of the Diadochi was just a continuation of the third. Antigonus and his son Demetrius were at war simultaneously with Ptolemy in the South, Seleucus in the East, and Lysimachus in the North. After many battles, Antigonus was utterly defeated at the battle of Ipsus (302 B.C.), and his territory split between Lysimachus and Seleucus. The four remaining generals all declared themselves King, and some stability settled onto the region.

Fifth War—Macedonian Succession: Death of Cassander : 298-285 B.C.

The Fifth war of the Diadochi involved the succession to the throne of Macedon and Greece, when Cassander died. Neither of his two sons was fit to rule, but they did manage to instigate a civil war. The younger son brought in Demetrius to assert his claim, but soon enough both Pyrrhus, and Lysimachus jumped into the fray. Eventually Demetrius was driven out, and then Lysimachus split with Pyrrhus, who was preoccupied elsewhere, and seized the Macedonian throne for himself.

More War—Lysimachus vs. Seleucus, Invasion of Gauls : 285-275 B.C.

So far, so good, but now things get really complicated:

As we begin the next chapter, there were only three Diadochi kingdoms: Ptolemy in Egypt, Seleucus in Asia, and Lysimachus in Macedonia. Demetrius and his dynasty were out of the picture in Asia Minor, but still held some territory on the Greek mainland. But now succession problems begin. In Egypt there was contention between two sons of Ptolemy, Philadelphia and Ceranus for the throne. Ceranus was bypassed and fled to Seleucus. In Asia Minor, the second wife of Lysimachus arranged for the murder of his eldest son to clear the way for her son. The wife of the murdered son then took refuge with Seleucus, and induced him to declare war on Lysimachus. After leaving his successor Antiochus Soter, on the throne in Asia, 81 year-old Seleucus marched to meet Lysimachus and defeated him at Corupedium. Lysimachus was killed in battle, but Seleucus was also murdered by Ptolemy Ceranus who then seized the throne of Macedonia. He did not hold it for long though, since he was soon killed by Gauls who had crossed the Danube and invaded Thrace.

After the breakup of the empire of Lysimachus, there was much confusion in Asia Minor. Philetaerus, a general of Lysimachus seized the region of Pergamon, and established the Attalid dynasty there that lasted until Roman time. His son Eumenes contended with Antiochus Soter for control of Asia Minor, and won a good deal of territory there, but the Gauls continued to wreak havoc for several years in the region. After five year of chaos, most of the Gauls were finally driven out of Thrace (although some settled done in the "Galatian" region of Asia Minor). The general who successfully drove the Gauls out of Macedonia was none other than Antigonus Gonatas, son of Demetrius. It was therefore, the Antigonid Dynasty, originally founded in Syria by Antigonus I, that ended up on the throne of Macedonia, and it was that family that ruled Greece until it fell to Rome in 146 B.C.

Finally, nearly fifty years after the death of Alexander, relatively stable dynasties ruled Alexander's kingdom. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt and Southern Judea until the Age of Cleopatra, the Attalids ruled in Asia Minor, became allies of Rome and eventually voluntarily became a Roman province, and the Seleucid Dynasty, ruled much of the old Persian empire until being gradually conquered by the Parthians in the East, and Rome in the west.