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The Diadochi were the rival generals,
families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his
empire after his death in 323
Successors An army on campaign changes its leadership at any level frequently
for replacement of casualties and distribution of talent to the current
operations. The institution of the companion cavalry or "Hetairoi"
(Ancient Greek: ?ta????) gave the ancient Macedonian army a flexible capability
in this regard. There were no fixed ranks of Hetairoi except as the term meant
a special unit of cavalry. The Hetairoi were simply a fixed pool of de facto
general officers, without any or with changing de jure rank, whom Alexander
could assign where needed. They were typically from the nobility, many related
to Alexander. A parallel flexible structure in the Achaemenid army facilitated
combined units. Staff meetings to adjust command structure were nearly a daily
event in Alexander's army. They created an ongoing expectation among the
Hetairoi of receiving an important and powerful command, if only for a short
term. At the moment of Alexander's death, all possibilities were suddenly
suspended. The Hetairoi vanished with Alexander, to be replaced instantaneously
by the Diadochi, men who knew where they had stood, but not where they would
stand now. As there had been no definite ranks or positions of Hetairoi, there
were no ranks of Diadochi. They expected appointments, but without Alexander
they would have to make their own. For purposes of this presentation, the
Diadochi are grouped by their rank and social standing at the time of
Alexander's death. These were their initial positions as Diadochi. They are not
necessarily significant or determinative of what happened next. Craterus Main
article: Craterus Craterus was an infantry and naval commander under Alexander
during his conquest of the Achaemenid Empire. After the revolt of his army at
Opis on the Tigris in 324, Alexander ordered Craterus to command the veterans
as they returned home to Macedonia. Antipater, commander of Alexander's forces
in Greece and regent of the Macedonian throne in Alexander's absence, would
lead a force of fresh troops back to Persia to join Alexander while Craterus
would become regent in his place. When Craterus arrived at Cilicia in 323 BCE,
news reached him of Alexander's death. Though his distance from Babylon
prevented him from participating in the distribution of power, Craterus
hastened to Macedonia to assume the protection of Alexander's family. The news
of Alexander's death caused the Greeks to rebel in the Lamian War. Craterus and
Antipater defeated the rebellion in 322 BCE. Despite his absence, the generals
gathered at Babylon confirmed Craterus as Guardian of the Royal Family.
However, with the royal family in Babylon, the Regent Perdiccas assumed this
responsibility until the royal household could return to Macedonia. Antipater
Main article: Antipater Antipater was an adviser to King Philip II, Alexander's
father, a role he continued under Alexander. When Alexander left Macedon to
conquer Persia in 334 BCE, Antipater was named Regent of Macedon and General of
Greece in Alexander's absence. In 323 BCE, Craterus was ordered by Alexander to
march his veterans back to Macedon and assume Antipater's position while
Antipater was to march to Persia with fresh troops. Alexander's death that
year, however, prevented the order from being carried out. When Alexander's
generals gathered at the Partition of Babylon to divide the empire between
themselves, Antipater was confirmed as General of Greece while the roles of
Regent of the Empire and Guardian of the Royal Family were given to Perdiccas
and Craterus, respectively. Together, the three men formed the top ruling group
of the empire. Somatophylakes Main article: Somatophylakes Further information:
Perdiccas, Ptolemy I Soter, Lysimachus, Peucestas, Peithon, and Leonnatus The
Somatophylakes were the seven bodyguards of Alexander. Macedonian satraps Main
article: Satrap Further information: Antigonus I Monophthalmus, Neoptolemus
(general), Seleucus I Nicator, and Polyperchon Satraps (Old Persian:
xša?rapawn) were the governors of the provinces in the Hellenistic
empires. Royal family Main articles: Philip III of Macedon, Alexander IV of
Macedon, Olympias, Eurydice II of Macedon, and Cleopatra of Macedon
Non-Macedonian satraps and generals Main articles: Eumenes, Pyrrhus of Epirus,
and Philetaerus The Epigoni were the sons of the Argive heroes who had fought
in the first Theban war.
. Chronology Struggle for unity (323–319 BCE) Partition of Babylon Main
article: Partition of Babylon The distribution of satrapies in the Macedonian
Empire after the Settlement in Babylon (323 BCE). Without a chosen successor,
there was almost immediately a dispute among Alexander's generals as to who his
successor should be. Meleager and the infantry supported the candidacy of
Alexander's half-brother, Arrhidaeus, while Perdiccas, the leading cavalry
commander, supported waiting until the birth of Alexander's unborn child by
Roxana. A compromise was arranged – Arrhidaeus (as Philip III) should
become King, and should rule jointly with Roxana's child, assuming that it was
a boy (as it was, becoming Alexander IV). Perdiccas himself would become Regent
of the entire Empire, and Meleager his lieutenant. Soon, however, Perdiccas had
Meleager and the other infantry leaders murdered, and assumed full control. The
other cavalry generals who had supported Perdiccas were rewarded in the
partition of Babylon by becoming satraps of the various parts of the Empire.
Ptolemy received Egypt; Laomedon received Syria and Phoenicia; Philotas took
Cilicia; Peithon took Media; Antigonus received Phrygia, Lycia and Pamphylia;
Asander received Caria; Menander received Lydia; Lysimachus received Thrace;
Leonnatus received Hellespontine Phrygia; and Neoptolemus had Armenia[citation
needed]. Macedon and the rest of Greece were to be under the joint rule of
Antipater, who had governed them for Alexander, and Craterus, Alexander's most
able lieutenant, while Alexander's old secretary, Eumenes of Cardia, was to
receive Cappadocia and Paphlagonia. In the east, Perdiccas largely left
Alexander's arrangements intact – Taxiles and Porus governed over their
kingdoms in India; Alexander's father-in-law Oxyartes governed Gandara;
Sibyrtius governed Arachosia and Gedrosia; Stasanor governed Aria and
Drangiana; Philip governed Bactria and Sogdia; Phrataphernes governed Parthia
and Hyrcania; Peucestas governed Persis; Tlepolemus had charge over Carmania;
Atropates governed northern Media; Archon got Babylonia; and Arcesilaus
governed northern Mesopotamia. Revolt in Greece Main article: Lamian War
Meanwhile, the news of Alexander's death had inspired a revolt in Greece, known
as the Lamian War. Athens and other cities joined together, ultimately
besieging Antipater in the fortress of Lamia. Antipater was relieved by a force
sent by Leonnatus, who was killed in action, but the war did not come to an end
until Craterus's arrival with a fleet to defeat the Athenians at the Battle of
Crannon on September 5, 322 BCE. For a time, this brought an end to any
resistance to Macedonian domination. Meanwhile, Peithon suppressed a revolt of
Greek settlers in the eastern parts of the Empire, and Perdiccas and Eumenes
subdued Cappadocia. First War of the Diadochi (322–320 BCE) Paintings of
ancient Macedonian soldiers, arms, and armaments, from the tomb of Agios
Athanasios, Thessaloniki in Greece, 4th century BCE Soon, however, conflict
broke out. Perdiccas' marriage to Alexander's sister Cleopatra led Antipater,
Craterus, Antigonus, and Ptolemy to join together in rebellion. The actual
outbreak of war was initiated by Ptolemy's theft of Alexander's body and its
transfer to Egypt. Although Eumenes defeated the rebels in Asia Minor, in a
battle at which Craterus was killed, it was all for nought, as Perdiccas
himself was murdered by his own generals Peithon, Seleucus, and Antigenes
during an invasion of Egypt. Ptolemy came to terms with Perdiccas's murderers,
making Peithon and Arrhidaeus regents in his place, but soon these came to a
new agreement with Antipater at the Partition of Triparadisus. Antipater was
made regent of the Empire, and the two kings were moved to Macedon. Antigonus
remained in charge of Phrygia, Lycia, and Pamphylia, to which was added
Lycaonia. Ptolemy retained Egypt, Lysimachus retained Thrace, while the three
murderers of Perdiccas—Seleucus, Peithon, and Antigenes—were given
the provinces of Babylonia, Media, and Susiana respectively. Arrhidaeus, the
former Regent, received Hellespontine Phrygia. Antigonus was charged with the
task of rooting out Perdiccas's former supporter, Eumenes. In effect, Antipater
retained for himself control of Europe, while Antigonus, as leader of the
largest army east of the Hellespont, held a similar position in Asia. Partition
of Triparadisus Main article: Partition of Triparadisus Death of Antipater Soon
after the second partition, in 319 BCE, Antipater died. Antipater had been one
of the few remaining individuals with enough prestige to hold the empire
together. After his death, war soon broke out again and the fragmentation of
the empire began in earnest. Passing over his own son, Cassander, Antipater had
declared Polyperchon his successor as Regent. A civil war soon broke out in
Macedon and Greece between Polyperchon and Cassander, with the latter supported
by Antigonus and Ptolemy. Polyperchon allied himself to Eumenes in Asia, but
was driven from Macedonia by Cassander, and fled to Epirus with the infant king
Alexander IV and his mother Roxana. In Epirus he joined forces with Olympias,
Alexander's mother, and together they invaded Macedon again. They were met by
an army commanded by King Philip Arrhidaeus and his wife Eurydice, which
immediately defected, leaving the king and Eurydice to Olympias's not so tender
mercies, and they were killed (317 BCE). Soon after, though, the tide turned,
and Cassander was victorious, capturing and killing Olympias, and attaining
control of Macedon, the boy king, and his mother. Wars of the Diadochi
(319–275 BCE) Main article: Wars of the Diadochi The Wars of the Diadochi
were a series of conflicts, fought between 322 and 275 BCE, over the rule of
Alexander's empire after his death. In 310 BCE Cassander secretly murdered
Alexander IV and Roxana. The Battle of Ipsus (301 BCE) The Battle of Ipsus at
the end of the Fourth War of the Diadochi finalized the breakup of the unified
Empire of Alexander. Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius I of
Macedon were pitted against the coalition of three other companions of
Alexander: Cassander, ruler of Macedon; Lysimachus, ruler of Thrace; and
Seleucus I Nicator, ruler of Babylonia and Persia. Antigonus was killed, but
his son Demetrius took a large part of Macedonia and continued his father's
dynasty. After the death of Cassander and Lysimachus, following one another in
fairly rapid succession, the Ptolemies and Seleucids controlled the vast
majority of Alexander's former empire, with a much smaller segment controlled
by the Antigonid dynasty until the 1st century. The Epigoni Kingdoms of the
Diadochi (275–30 BCE) Main article: Hellenistic period Decline and fall
Main article: Hellenistic period This division was to last for a century,
before the Antigonid Kingdom finally fell to Rome, and the Seleucids were
harried from Persia by the Parthians and forced by the Romans to relinquish
control in Asia Minor. A rump Seleucid kingdom limped on in Syria until finally
put to rest by Pompey in 64 BCE. The Ptolemies lasted longer in Alexandria,
though as a client under Rome. Egypt was finally annexed to Rome in 30 BCE.
Background Ancient role In ancient Greek, diadochos[2] is a noun (substantive
or adjective) formed from the verb, diadechesthai, "succeed to,"[3] a
compound of dia- and dechesthai, "receive."[4] The word-set descends
straightforwardly from Indo-European *dek-, "receive", the
substantive forms being from the o-grade, *dok-.[5] Some important English
reflexes are dogma, "a received teaching," decent, "fit to be
received," paradox, "against that which is received." The prefix
dia- changes the meaning slightly to add a social expectation to the received.
The diadochos expects to receive it, hence a successor in command or any other
office, or a succeeding work gang on work being performed by relays of work
gangs, or metaphorically light being the successor of sleep. Basileus It was
exactly this expectation that contributed to strife in the Alexandrine and
Hellenistic Ages, beginning with Alexander. Philip had made a state marriage to
a woman who changed her name to Olympias to honor the coincidence of Philip's
victory in the Olympic Games and Alexander's birth, an act that suggests love
may have been a motive as well. Macedon was then an obscure state. Its chief
office was the basileia, or monarchy, the chief officer being the basileus, now
the signatory title of Philip. Their son and heir, Alexander, was raised with
care, being educated by select prominent philosophers. Philip is said to have
wept for joy when Alexander performed a feat of which no one else was capable,
taming the wild horse, Bucephalus, at his first attempt in front of a skeptical
audience including the king. Amidst the cheering onlookers Philip swore that
Macedonia was not large enough for Alexander.[6] When Philip was on campaign
Alexander would lament at the report of each victory that his father would
leave him nothing of note to do. And yet the faithless king fell in love with a
young woman, Cleopatra. He married her apparently for love when he was too old
for marriage, having divorced Olympias. By that time Philip had built Macedonia
into the leading military state of the Balkans. He had acquired his expertise
fighting for Thebes and Greek freedom under his patron, Epaminondas. When
Alexander was a teen-ager, Philip was planning a military solution to the
contention with the Persian Empire. In the opening campaign against Byzantium
he made Alexander "regent" (kurios) in his absence. Alexander used
every opportunity to further his father's victories, expecting that he would be
a part of them. There was a source of disaffection, however. Plutarch reports
that Alexander and his mother bitterly reproached him for his numerous affairs
among the women of his court.[7] Alexander was at the wedding banquet when
Attalus, Cleopatra's uncle, made a remark that seemed inappropriate to him. He
asked the Macedonians to pray for an "heir to the kingship"
(diadochon tes basileias). Rising to his feet Alexander shouted, using the
royal "we," "Do we seem like bastards (nothoi) to you,
evil-minded man?" and threw a cup at him. The inebriated Philip, rising to
his feet, drawing his sword, presumably to defend his wife's uncle, promptly
fell. Making a comment that the man who was preparing to cross from Europe to
Asia could not cross from one couch to another, Alexander departed, to escort
his mother to her native Epirus and to wait himself in Illyria. Not long after,
prompted by Demaratus the Corinthian to mend the dissension in his house,
Philip sent Demaratus to bring Alexander home. The expectation by virtue of
which Alexander was diadochos was that as the son of Philip, he would inherit
Philip's throne. After a time the king was assassinated. In 336 BCE, at the age
of 20, Alexander "received the kingship" (parelabe ten basileian).[8]
In the same year Darius succeeded to the throne of Persia as Šâhe
Šâhân, "King of Kings," which the Greeks understood
as "Great King." The role of the Macedonian basileus was changing
fast. Alexander's army was already multinational. Alexander was acquiring
dominion over state after state. His presence on the battlefield seemed to
ensure immediate victory. Hegemon Main article: Wars of Alexander the Great
When Alexander the Great died on June 10, 323 BCE, he left behind a huge empire
which comprised many essentially independent territories. Alexander's empire
stretched from his homeland of Macedon itself, along with the Greek city-states
that his father had subdued, to Bactria and parts of India in the east. It
included parts of the present day Balkans, Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt,
Babylonia, and most of the former Achaemenid Empire, except for some lands the
Achaemenids formerly held in Central Asia. Historical uses as a title Aulic In
the formal "court" titulature of the Hellenistic empires ruled by
dynasties we know as Diadochs, the title was not customary for the Monarch, but
has actually been proven to be the lowest in a system of official rank titles,
known as Aulic titulature, conferred – ex officio or nominatim – to
actual courtiers and as an honorary rank (for protocol) to various military and
civilian officials. Notably in the Ptolemaic Kingdom, it was reported as the
lowest aulic rank, under Philos, during the reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes.
Modern concept Diadochi (???d????) is an ancient Greek word that currently
modern scholars use to refer primarily to persons acting a role that existed
only for a limited time period and within a limited geographic range. As there
are no modern equivalents, it has been necessary to reconstruct the role from
the ancient sources. There is no uniform agreement concerning exactly which
historical persons fit the description, or the territorial range over which the
role was in effect, or the calendar dates of the period. A certain basic
meaning is included in all definitions, however. The New Latin terminology was
introduced by the historians of universal Greek history of the 19th century.
Their comprehensive histories of ancient Greece typically covering from
prehistory to the Roman Empire ran into many volumes. For example, George Grote
in the first edition of History of Greece, 1846–1856, hardly mentions the
Diadochi, except to say that they were kings who came after Alexander and
Hellenized Asia. In the edition of 1869 he defines them as "great officers
of Alexander, who after his death carved kingdoms for themselves out of his
conquests."[9] Grote cites no references for the use of Diadochi but his
criticism of Johann Gustav Droysen gives him away. Droysen, "the modern
inventor of Hellenistic history,"[10] not only defined "Hellenistic
period" (hellenistische ... Zeit),[11] but in a further study of the
"successors of Alexander" (nachfolger Alexanders) dated 1836, after
Grote had begun work on his history, but ten years before publication of the
first volume, divided it into two periods, "the age of the Diadochi,"
or "Diadochi Period" (die Zeit der Diodochen or Diadochenzeit), which
ran from the death of Alexander to the end of the "Diadochi Wars"
(Diadochenkämpfe, his term), about 278 BCE, and the "Epigoni
Period" (Epigonenzeit), which ran to about 220 BCE.[12] He also called the
Diadochi Period "the Diadochi War Period" (Zeit der
Diadochenkämpfe). The Epigoni he defined as "Sons of the
Diadochi" (Diadochensöhne). These were the second generation of
Diadochi rulers.[13] In an 1843 work, "History of the Epigoni"
(Geschichte der Epigonen) he details the kingdoms of the Epigoni, 280-239 BCE.
The only precise date is the first, the date of Alexander's death, June, 323
BCE. It has never been in question. Grote uses Droysen's terminology but gives
him no credit for it. Instead he attacks Droysen's concept of Alexander
planting Hellenism in eastern colonies:[14] "Plutarch states that
Alexander founded more than seventy new cities in Asia. So large a number of
them is neither verifiable nor probable, unless we either reckon up simple
military posts or borrow from the list of foundations really established by his
successors." He avoids Droysen's term in favor of the traditional
"successor". In a long note he attacks Droysen's thesis as
"altogether slender and unsatisfactory." Grote may have been right,
but he ignores entirely Droysen's main thesis, that the concepts of
"successors" and "sons of successors" were innovated and
perpetuated by historians writing contemporaneously or nearly so with the
period. Not enough evidence survives to prove it conclusively, but enough
survives to win acceptance for Droysen as the founding father of Hellenistic
history. M. M. Austin localizes what he considers to be a problem with Grote's
view. To Grote's assertion in the Preface to his work that the period "is
of no interest in itself," but serves only to elucidate "the
preceding centuries," Austin comments "Few nowadays would subscribe
to this view."[10] If Grote was hoping to minimize Droysen by not giving
him credit, he was mistaken, as Droysen's gradually became the majority model.
By 1898 Adolf Holm incorporated a footnote describing and evaluating Droysen's
arguments.[15] He describes the Diadochi and Epigoni as "powerful
individuals."[16] The title of the volume on the topic, however, is The
Graeco-Macedonian Age..., not Droysen's "Hellenistic". Droysen's
"Hellenistic" and "Diadochi Periods" are canonical today. A
series of six (as of 2014) international symposia held at different
universities 1997–2010 on the topics of the imperial Macedonians and their
Diadochi have to a large degree solidified and internationalized Droysen's
concepts. Each one grew out of the previous. Each published an assortment of
papers read at the symposium.[17] The 2010 symposium, entitled "The Time
of the Diadochi (323-281 BCE)," held at the University of A Coruña,
Spain, represents the current concepts and investigations. The term Diadochi as
an adjective is being extended beyond its original use, such as "Diadochi
Chronicle," which is nowhere identified as such, or Diadochi kingdoms,
"the kingdoms that emerged," even past the Age of the Epigoni.[18]
The Wars of the Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River ValleyThe Diadochi Main articles:
Diadochi, Wars of the Diadochi, and Partition of Babylon Further information:
History of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) The distribution of satrapies in the
Macedonian Empire after the Settlement in Babylon (323 BC). When Alexander the
Great died (10 June 323 BC), he left behind a huge empire which was composed of
many essentially autonomous territories called satraps. Without a chosen
successor there were immediate disputes among his generals as to who should be
king of Macedon. These generals became known as the Diadochi (Greek: ???d????,
Diadokhoi, meaning "Successors"). Meleager and the infantry supported
the candidacy of Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus, while Perdiccas,
the leading cavalry commander, supported waiting until the birth of Alexander's
child by Roxana. After the infantry stormed the palace of Babylon, a compromise
was arranged – Arrhidaeus (as Philip III) should become king, and should
rule jointly with Roxana's child, assuming that it was a boy (as it was,
becoming Alexander IV). Perdiccas himself would become regent (epimeletes) of
the empire, and Meleager his lieutenant. Soon, however, Perdiccas had Meleager
and the other infantry leaders murdered, and assumed full control.[15] The
generals who had supported Perdiccas were rewarded in the partition of Babylon
by becoming satraps of the various parts of the empire, but Perdiccas' position
was shaky, because, as Arrian writes, "everyone was suspicious of him, and
he of them".[16] The first of the Diadochi wars broke out when Perdiccas
planned to marry Alexander's sister Cleopatra and began to question Antigonus I
Monophthalmus' leadership in Asia Minor. Antigonus fled for Greece, and then,
together with Antipater and Craterus (the satrap of Cilicia who had been in
Greece fighting the Lamian war) invaded Anatolia. The rebels were supported by
Lysimachus, the satrap of Thrace and Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt. Although
Eumenes, satrap of Cappadocia, defeated the rebels in Asia Minor, Perdiccas
himself was murdered by his own generals Peithon, Seleucus, and Antigenes
(possibly with Ptolemy's aid) during his invasion of Egypt (c.?21 May to 19
June, 320 BC).[17] Ptolemy came to terms with Perdiccas's murderers, making
Peithon and Arrhidaeus regents in his place, but soon these came to a new
agreement with Antipater at the Treaty of Triparadisus. Antipater was made
regent of the Empire, and the two kings were moved to Macedon. Antigonus
remained in charge of Asia Minor, Ptolemy retained Egypt, Lysimachus retained
Thrace and Seleucus I controlled Babylon. The second Diadochi war began
following the death of Antipater in 319 BC. Passing over his own son,
Cassander, Antipater had declared Polyperchon his successor as Regent.
Cassander rose in revolt against Polyperchon (who was joined by Eumenes) and
was supported by Antigonus, Lysimachus and Ptolemy. In 317 BC, Cassander
invaded Macedonia, attaining control of Macedon, sentencing Olympias to death
and capturing the boy king Alexander IV, and his mother. In Asia, Eumenes was
betrayed by his own men after years of campaign and was given up to Antigonus
who had him executed. The Kingdoms of Antigonos and his rivals c.?303 BC. The
third war of the Diadochi broke out because of the growing power and ambition
of Antigonus. He began removing and appointing satraps as if he were king and
also raided the royal treasuries in Ecbatana, Persepolis and Susa, making off
with 25,000 talents.[18] Seleucus was forced to flee to Egypt and Antigonus was
soon at war with Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander. He then invaded Phoenicia,
laid siege to Tyre, stormed Gaza and began building a fleet. Ptolemy invaded
Syria and defeated Antigonus' son, Demetrius Poliorcetes, in the Battle of Gaza
of 312 BC which allowed Seleucus to secure control of Babylonia, and the
eastern satrapies. In 310 BC, Cassander had young King Alexander IV and his
mother Roxana murdered, ending the Argead Dynasty which had ruled Macedon for
several centuries. Antigonus then sent his son Demetrius to regain control of
Greece. In 307 BC he took Athens, expelling Demetrius of Phaleron, Cassander's
governor, and proclaiming the city free again. Demetrius now turned his
attention to Ptolemy, defeating his fleet at the Battle of Salamis and taking
control of Cyprus. In the aftermath of this victory, Antigonus took the title
of king (basileus) and bestowed it on his son Demetrius Poliorcetes, the rest
of the Diadochi soon followed suit.[19] Demetrius continued his campaigns by
laying siege to Rhodes and conquering most of Greece in 302 BC, creating a
league against Cassander's Macedon. The decisive engagement of the war came
when Lysimachus invaded and overran much of western Anatolia, but was soon
isolated by Antigonus and Demetrius near Ipsus in Phrygia. Seleucus arrived in
time to save Lysimachus and utterly crushed Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in
301 BC. Seleucus' war elephants proved decisive, Antigonus was killed, and
Demetrius fled back to Greece to attempt to preserve the remnants of his rule
there by recapturing a rebellious Athens. Meanwhile, Lysimachus took over
Ionia, Seleucus took Cilicia, and Ptolemy captured Cyprus. Kingdoms of the
Diadochi after the battle of Ipsus, c.?301 BC. Kingdom of Ptolemy I Soter
Kingdom of Cassander Kingdom of Lysimachus Kingdom of Seleucus I Nicator After
Cassander's death in c.?298 BC, however, Demetrius, who still maintained a
sizable loyal army and fleet, invaded Macedon, seized the Macedonian throne
(294 BC) and conquered Thessaly and most of central Greece (293–291
BC).[20] He was defeated in 288 BC when Lysimachus of Thrace and Pyrrhus of
Epirus invaded Macedon on two fronts, and quickly carved up the kingdom for
themselves. Demetrius fled to central Greece with his mercenaries and began to
build support there and in the northern Peloponnese. He once again laid siege
to Athens after they turned on him, but then struck a treaty with the Athenians
and Ptolemy, which allowed him to cross over to Asia Minor and wage war on
Lysimachus' holdings in Ionia, leaving his son Antigonus Gonatas in Greece.
After initial successes, he was forced to surrender to Seleucus in 285 BC and
later died in captivity.[21] Lysimachus, who had seized Macedon and Thessaly
for himself, was forced into war when Seleucus invaded his territories in Asia
Minor and was defeated and killed in 281 BC at the Battle of Corupedium, near
Sardis. Seleucus then attempted to conquer Lysimachus' European territories in
Thrace and Macedon, but he was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus ("the
thunderbolt"), who had taken refuge at the Seleucid court and then had
himself acclaimed as king of Macedon. Ptolemy was killed when Macedon was
invaded by Gauls in 279 BC—his head stuck on a spear—and the country
fell into anarchy. Antigonus II Gonatas invaded Thrace in the summer of 277 and
defeated a large force of 18,000 Gauls. He was quickly hailed as king of
Macedon and went on to rule for 35 years.[22] At this point the tripartite
territorial division of the Hellenistic age was in place, with the main
Hellenistic powers being Macedon under Demetrius's son Antigonus II Gonatas,
the Ptolemaic kingdom under the aged Ptolemy I and the Seleucid empire under
Seleucus' son Antiochus I Soter.
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