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Polyperchon
Polyperchon (sometimes written Polysperchon; el, Πολυπέρχων; b. between 390–380 BCafter 382 BC according to Billows, R., 'Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State' (1990), p. 172, n. 20 – d. after 304 BC,Heckel, W., 'The Marshals of Alexander's Empire' (1992), p. 204 possibly into 3rd century BC),Billows, R., 'Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State' (1990), p. 172, n. 20 was a Macedonian Greek general who served both Philip II and Alexander the Great and then played an active role in the ensuing battles for control between Alexander's generals. Early career Polyperchon was a son of Simmias from Tymphaia in Epirus. He served under Philip II and Alexander the Great, accompanying Alexander throughout his long journeys. After the Battle of Issus in 333, Polyperchon was given command of the Tymphaean battalion of the phalanx which he retained until 324. After his return to Babylon, Polyperchon (along with other veter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Megalopolis
The siege of Megalopolis was a siege battle during the Second War of the Diadochi between Polyperchon, the Regent of the Macedonian Empire, and the people of Megalopolis who supported Polyperchon's rival Cassander. The siege failed and Polyperchon lost a lot of prestige, which was capitalized on by Cassander and his ally Antigonus.Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica'', Book XVIII 68,2-72,1. Background After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his generals immediately began squabbling over his huge empire. Soon it degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim a portion of Alexander's vast empire for himself. These wars were called the Wars of the Diadochi and would last for decades (321-281 BCE). At the end of the First War, at the partition of the empire at Triparadeisos, Antipater had been made Regent of the Empire, he would represent the kings: Philip III (Alexander's mentally defective half-brother) and Alexander IV (Alexander's son by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wars Of The Diadochi
The Wars of the Diadochi ( grc, Πόλεμοι τῶν Διαδόχων, '), or Wars of Alexander's Successors, were a series of conflicts that were fought between the generals of Alexander the Great, known as the Diadochi, over who would rule his Macedonia (ancient kingdom)#Empire, empire following his death. The fighting occurred between 322 and 281 BC. Background Alexander the Great died on June 10, 323 BC, leaving behind an empire that stretched from Macedon and the rest of Hellenistic Greece, Greece in Europe to the Indus valley in South Asia. The empire had no clear successor, with the Argead dynasty, Argead family, at this point, consisting of Alexander's mentally disabled half-brother, Philip III of Macedon, Arrhidaeus; his unborn son Alexander IV of Macedon, Alexander IV; his reputed illegitimate son Heracles, son of Alexander, Heracles; his mother Olympias; his sister Cleopatra of Macedon, Cleopatra; and his half-sisters Thessalonike of Macedon, Thessalonike and Cynan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First War Of The Diadochi
The Wars of the Diadochi ( grc, Πόλεμοι τῶν Διαδόχων, '), or Wars of Alexander's Successors, were a series of conflicts that were fought between the generals of Alexander the Great, known as the Diadochi, over who would rule his empire following his death. The fighting occurred between 322 and 281 BC. Background Alexander the Great died on June 10, 323 BC, leaving behind an empire that stretched from Macedon and the rest of Greece in Europe to the Indus valley in South Asia. The empire had no clear successor, with the Argead family, at this point, consisting of Alexander's mentally disabled half-brother, Arrhidaeus; his unborn son Alexander IV; his reputed illegitimate son Heracles; his mother Olympias; his sister Cleopatra; and his half-sisters Thessalonike and Cynane. Alexander's death was the catalyst for the disagreements that ensued between his former generals resulting in a succession crisis. Two main factions formed after the death of Alexander. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander IV Of Macedon
Alexander IV (Greek: ; 323/322– 309 BC), sometimes erroneously called Aegus in modern times, was the son of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) and Princess Roxana of Bactria. Birth Alexander IV was the son of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian Greek) and Alexander's wife Roxana (a Sogdian). He was the grandson of Philip II of Macedon. Because Roxana was pregnant when Alexander the Great died on 11 June 323 BC and the sex of the baby was unknown, there was dissension in the Macedonian army regarding the order of succession. While the infantry supported Alexander the Great's half-brother Philip III (who had some unknown cognitive disability present throughout his life), the chiliarch Perdiccas, commander of the elite Companion cavalry, persuaded them to wait in the hope that Roxana's child would be male. The factions compromised, deciding that Perdiccas would rule the Empire as regent while Philip would reign, but only as a figurehead with no real power. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( grc-gre, Ἀντίγονος Μονόφθαλμος , 'the One-Eyed'; 382 – 301 BC), son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian Greek nobleman, general, satrap, and king. During the first half of his life he served under Philip II; after Philip's death in 336 BC, he served Philip's son Alexander. He was a major figure in the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death in 323 BC, declaring himself king in 306 BC and establishing the Antigonid dynasty. Early career Not much is known about Antigonus' early career. He must have been an important figure in the Macedonian Army because when he emerges in historical sources he is in command of a large part of Alexander's army (Antigonus commanded Alexander's 7,000 allied Greek infantry). There is a story in Plutarch about an Antigonus who lost an eye at the Siege of Perinthos (340 BC) when he was struck by a catapult bolt. Since Antigonus was of the same age as Philip, and a nobleman, he almost certain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antipater
Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander would eventually come to rule Macedonia as a king in his own right. In 320 BC, Antipater was elected regent of all of Alexander the Great's Empire but died the following year. In a perplexing turn of events, he chose an infantry officer named Polyperchon as his successor instead of his son Cassander, and a two-year-long power struggle ( the Second War of the Diadochi) ensued. Career under Philip and Alexander Nothing is known of his early career until 342 BC, when he was appointed by Philip to govern Macedon as his regent while the former left for three years of hard and successful campaigning against Thracian and Scythian tribes, which extended Macedonian rule as far as the Hellespont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Byzantium
The Battle of Byzantium (Byzantion) was a battle in the wars of the successors of Alexander the Great (see Diadochi) between the generals Antigonus Monopthalmus and Cleitus the White. It was a two-day-battle fought near Byzantium at the Hellespont in 317 BC and resulted in a stunning Antigonid victory. Background After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his generals immediately began squabbling over his huge empire. Soon the squabbling degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim a portion of Alexander's vast Empire. One of the most talented successor generals (Diadochi) was Antigonus Monophthalmus, so called because of an eye he lost in a siege. After the First War of the Diadochi in 321 BC, the second partition of the Empire took place, the Partition of Triparadisus; Antipater became the new regent of the empire and Antigonus strategos of Asia (charged him with hunting down and defeating the remnants of the Perdiccan faction). Antigonus took co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eumenes
Eumenes (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης; c. 362316 BC) was a Greek general and satrap. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as both Alexander's personal secretary and as a battlefield commander. He later was a participant in the Wars of the Diadochi as a supporter of the Macedonian Argead royal house. He was executed after the Battle of Gabiene in 316 BC. Early career Eumenes was a native of Cardia in the Thracian Chersonese. At a very early age, he was employed as a private secretary by Philip II of Macedon and after Philip's death (336 BC) by Alexander the Great, whom he accompanied into Asia. After Alexander's death (323 BC), Eumenes took command of a large body of Macedonian and other Greek soldiers fighting in support of Alexander's son, Alexander IV. Satrap of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia (323-319 BC) In the ensuing division of the empire in the Partition of Babylon (323 BC), Cappadocia and Paphlagonia were assigned to Eumenes; but as they were not ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassander
Cassander ( el, Κάσσανδρος ; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and ''de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the Great, Cassander was one of the Diadochi who warred over Alexander's empire following the latter's death in 323 BC. Cassander later seized the crown by having Alexander's son and heir Alexander IV murdered. In governing Macedonia from 317 BC until 297 BC, Cassander restored peace and prosperity to the kingdom, while founding or restoring numerous cities (including Thessalonica, Cassandreia, and Thebes, Greece, Thebes); however, his ruthlessness in dealing with political enemies complicates assessments of his rule.Beckett, ''Universal Biography'', Vol. 1, p. 688 Early history In his youth, Cassander was taught by the philosopher Aristotle at the Lyceum in Macedonia. He was educated alongside Alexander the Great i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olympias
Olympias ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιάς; c. 375–316 BC) was a Greek princess of the Molossians, and the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip II, the king of Macedonia and the mother of Alexander the Great. She was extremely influential in Alexander's life and was recognized as de facto leader of Macedon during Alexander's conquests. After her son's death, she fought on behalf of Alexander's son Alexander IV, successfully defeating Adea Eurydice. After she was finally defeated by Cassander, his armies refused to execute her, and he finally had to summon family members of those Olympias had previously killed to end her life. According to the 1st century AD biographer, Plutarch, she was a devout member of the orgiastic snake-worshiping cult of Dionysus, and he suggests that she slept with snakes in her bed. Origin Olympias was the eldest daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of the Molossians, an ancient Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip III Of Macedon
Philip III Arrhidaeus ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος Ἀρριδαῖος ; c. 359 BC – 25 December 317 BC) reigned as king of Macedonia an Ancient Greek Kingdom in northern Greece from after 11 June 323 BC until his death. He was a son of King Philip II of Macedon by Philinna of Larissa, and thus an elder half-brother of Alexander the Great. Named Arrhidaeus at birth, he assumed the name Philip when he ascended to the throne. As Arrhidaeus grew older it became apparent that he had mild learning difficulties. Plutarch was of the view that he became disabled by means of an attempt on his life by Philip II's wife, Queen Olympias, who wanted to eliminate a possible rival to her son, Alexander, through the employment of ''pharmaka'' (drugs/spells); however, most modern authorities doubt the truth of this claim. Alexander was fond of Arrhidaeus and took him on his campaigns, both to protect his life and to prevent his use as a pawn in any prospective challenge for the throne. After ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurydice III Of Macedon
Eurydice (Greek: Εὐρυδίκη ''Eurydike''; died 317 BC) was the Queen of Macedon, wife of Philip III, daughter of Amyntas IV, son of Perdiccas III, and Cynane, daughter of Philip II and his first wife Audata. Biography Early life Eurydice's birth name appears to have been Adea; the sources are silent on when it was changed to Eurydice. She was brought up by her mother Cynane, and seems to have been trained by her mother in masculine and martial exercises. She accompanied her mother on her daring expedition to Asia; and when Cynane was put to death by Alcetas, the discontent expressed by the troops, and the respect with which they looked on Eurydice as one of the surviving members of the royal house, induced the imperial regent, Perdiccas, not only to spare her life, but to give her in marriage to King Philip Arrhidaeus, Alexander the Great's half-brother and successor to the throne of Macedon, as had been Cynane's plan. Sources hint that this was an unequal marriage, becau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
