Alexander's Heirs E-Book

Edward M. Anson

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 594

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Alexander’s Heirs offers a narrative account of the approximately forty years following the death of Alexander the Great, during which his generals vied for control of his vast empire, and through their conflicts and politics ultimately created the Hellenistic Age.

• Offers an account of the power struggles between Alexander’s rival generals in the forty  year period following his death
• Discusses how Alexander’s vast empire ultimately became the Hellenistic World
• Makes full use of primary and secondary sources
• Accessible to a broad audience of students, university scholars, and the educated general reader
• Explores important scholarly debates on the Diadochi

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Cover

Dedication

Title page

Copyright page

Abbreviations

Chronology

Preface

Maps

1 Introduction

2 The Death of a Conqueror

3 The Funeral Games Begin

4 The End of a Dynasty

Chronology from Spring 318 to Spring 315

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

Chronology from 314 to 306

6 The End of the Diadochi

Chronology from 306 to 281

7 Epilogue

Bibliography

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Maps

Map 1 Regions of Macedonia

Map 2 Greece and Asia Minor

Map 3 The Hellenistic world

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Pages

ii

iii

iv

vii

viii

ix

x

xi

xii

xiii

xiv

xv

xvii

xix

xx

xxi

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

156

157

158

159

160

161

162

163

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

176

177

178

179

180

181

182

183

184

185

186

187

189

190

191

192

193

194

195

197

198

199

200

201

202

203

204

205

206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221

222

223

224

In MemoriamEdward M. Anson III

In DedicationemLucy Dorothy Meyer Anson

Alexander's Heirs

The Age of the Successors

Edward M. Anson

This edition first published 2014© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Registered OfficeJohn Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

Editorial Offices350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK

The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.

The right of Edward M. Anson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

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

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 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

.)

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

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

Preface

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

1Introduction

Any history of the Diadochi, the Successors, the generals who inherited the empire of Alexander the Great, will of necessity be an adventure story of larger-than-life characters pursuing glory and empire. This was an age that arose directly out of the conquests of one of the most mercurial figures in world history. It is only by comparison to the great Conqueror himself that these individuals’ exploits pale. After all, they were fighting over an empire, stretching from Greece to Egypt to India, that he had created, and that ultimately none of them singularly could hold. Yet it is in their struggles with each other over what might be called Alexander’s estate that the Hellenistic world was created. This estate over which they contended was both material and mythical. On the one hand, there was the physical, territorial, empire, but on the other was the legend of Alexander himself. This myth that grew with each passing year was often the exemplar by which supporters of the various Diadochi would measure their generals and rulers. Alexander, however, himself was but a catalyst in the creation of this new age (Anson 2013b: 181–8). He set the stage; he conquered the old Persian nemesis that had haunted Greek affairs since the sixth century bc, but then he left that stage. In his leaving, he is supposed to have said, when asked to whom he left his empire, “to the strongest.” He certainly had done little to ensure the empire’s survival. In the words of Ernst Badian (1964a: 203), “Alexander was, essentially, not interested in a future without himself.” He left a legacy of tremendous potential, but also one of administrative ambiguity and a world wedded to warfare as the means to virtually every end.