Zusammenfassung der Ressource
The World of the Hellenistic Kingdoms
- Alexander dies and monarchy becomes the dominant form of ruling in the areas his empire gets split into
- Successors (Diadochoi) copy his ruling style - aspire to be likened to him - and Macedon had a king
- Empire still needs consolidation
- No heir - empire goes to generals and comrades
- Confusion and conflict - who leads?
- He had made no provision for succession
- Half brother Arrhidaeus (Philip III) becomes king (mental disability)
- Killed by Olympias (Alexander's mother) in 317 BC
- Ruled 323 - 317 BC
- Figurehead, reigned but didn't rule -
Perdiccas is regent of the empire
- Very important general of Alexander
- Provision made for his unborn child if male
(Alexander IV) to be co-regent with Philip III when
he came of age
- Killed by Cassander in 310/309 BC - Cassander was
meant to protect him but didn't want a challenger
for power and people had begun to put faith in
Alexander's son
- Successors of Alexander
- Babylon Settlement 323 BC
- Half-brother Arrhidaeus made figurehead king of
Macedon and provision made for male heir
Alexander IV to be co-regent when he came of age
- Perdiccas becomes regent of the
empire - de facto master of the empire
- 3 years until 320 BC
- Fights Ptolemy after Ptolemy conquers
beyond his satrapy and hijacks
Alexander's funeral and buries the body
in Egypt
- Whoever buries the body is the successor
- Ptolemy supported by Antipater and Craterus
- Loses a lot of troops - poor
tactics, harsh leadership -
and is assassinated by his
own soldiers
- Ptolemy is popular and fair and is
offered regency - he refuses - not
over ambitious or arrogant
- Craterus becomes "protector of kings" - nominal, little power
- Antipater is viceroy in
Europe, master of Macedon
and Greece
- Appointed regent after Perdiccas dies and Ptolemy refuses
- Appoints Antigonus to be
royal general in Asia and
wipe out Perdiccas
supporters
- Appoints son, Cassander, to be Antigonus 2nd in command to control power
- Dies in 319 BC and Polyperchon is made regent
- Cassander rebels and allies with Antigonus
- Antigonus defeats and kills Eumenes; expels Seleucus from Babylon
- Ptolemy takes Seleucus in and
sponsors him to retake Babylonia; both
defeat Antigonus sons' at Gaza
- Seleucus retakes Babylon and
Upper Satrapies 311 - 306 BC
- Demetrius (son) and Antigonus
beat Ptolemy in Cyprus at Salamis
306 BC - declare themselves kings
- Thereafter all
successors
declare kingship -
separate from
Macedonian royal
house
- Gains upper hand in Greece and Macedon
- Peace of dynasts 311 BC
- Cassander, Ptolemy, Lysimarchus and Antigonus come to terms;
Cassander is general of Europe and looks after Alex IV, the kings retain
their respective lands and Antigonus is first in Asia - none keep their terms
- Cassander kills Alexander IV and his
mother - no longer a threat as blood relative
to Alexander
- Allies with Eumemes (friend of Perdiccas)
and Olympias
- Olympias kills Arrhidaeus and his wife
- Satrapies distributed - Persian
method - all eventually become
king
- Ptolemy (Egypt)
- Lysimachus (Thrace)
- Antigonus (Phrygia)
- Seleucus (Babylonia)
- Key features of Hellenistic monarchy
- Diadem - headband - used from start to end of Hellenistic age
- Symbol of kingship - marked them out as kings
- Definitions of monarchy changed
- Not based on traditional ideas of
descent and legitimacy (until later) but
the ability to handle an army and affairs
- Reciprocal relationship between kings and cities
- Freedom and democracy did not die
out - negotiated in different ways
- Kings could not just
impose their will -
needed support of cities
- Cities also needed things - military
protection, financial benefaction, help with conflicts - conciliatory not dominated
- Formal framework of leadership over Greek cities
- Title: Basileus
- All early Hellenistic kings founded new cities
- New centres of royal control
- Imprinting a royal identity on
their new landscape of empire
- Narrative 306-301 BC and aftermath
- Antigonus' and Demetrius' failed invasion of Egypt 306 BC
- Demetrius' failed invasion of
Rhodes 305 BC
- Antigonus and Demetrius reform Hellenic League 302 BC
- Battle of Ipsus 301 BC - Cassander, Lysimarchus
and Seleucus converge on Asia Minor
- Antigonus dies, Demetrius flees, victors share Asia Minor
- Demetrius retakes Athens and
Macedon in 294 BC but is
captured by Seleucus 285 BC
and dies in captivity 282 BC
- Cassander dies 297
BC - sons fight over
succession and
destroy dynasty
- Lysimarchus and Pyrrhus take Macedon and divide it
- Lysimarchus dies fighting Seleucus 281 BC
- Seleucus assassinated in 281 BC by Ptolemy Keraunos, son of Ptolemy I,
succeeded by son Antiochus I
- Antiochus takes Macedon and has power over Greece 276 BC
- Ptolemy dies 282 BC of
natural causes - dynasty
lasts until 30 BC
- Post 276 BC; Attalids rise in late 3rd century in Asia Minor; King/city
relationships remain pivotal; kingdoms are international centres of
power - diverse and multicultural; major powers in Eastern Med
until the rise of Rome in the 2nd century