Background: in October, 2026, I got interested in Alexander and read three books --
- Dividing the Spoils,
- Arrian's Alexander's Campaigns,
- The Cleopatras.
I'm pretty much complete with these three books ... and then, out of the blue, in my inbox -- a National Geographic article on Aristotle's school. Incredible coincidence. So, here's the link: Aristotle's school.
GEMINI's NOTES
Query:
Life is too short. There are too many books to read. I feel I am getting
bogged down in reading Dividing the Spoils: The War for Alexander the
Great's Empire, Robin Waterfield, c. 2011. I've read the book once
before but am now reading it again, much more closely. I'm trying to
sort out the six most important events around the time of Alexander's
death, for example: 1) the Babylon conference; 2) his death; .... then
the wars. What would you say are the six to ten main "events" during
those four decades.
Reply: link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/hoj4r2GUKL3SRwACY.
*************************************
MY NOTES
I have earlier entries with regard to this book back in 2019, but I've completely forgotten it. I forgot that I actually read it, so I'm starting again. As if this is the first time I've read this book.
Ten maps. Crucial.
Preface.
The Legacy of Alexander The Great.
Philip II (father) and Olympias (mother). Philip II had come to power in 359 BCE.
Children of Philip II & Olympis: son, Alexander and daughter Cleopatra (so, brother & sister).
"Cleopatra" -- the "fame" or the "glory" of her father.
Philip II, murdered by his bodyguard/lover, Pausanias, 336 BCE, 23 years on the throne.
Pausanias raised the ire of one of Philip II's principal generals, Attalus.
Supposesdly Attalus arranged for the gang-rape of Pausanias (the lover and bodyguard of Philip II), but Philip II did not punish Attalus for this. So, Pausinias turned on his lover, King Philip II and had the latter murdered. Philip's son Alexander becomes king and immediately moves out of Macedon, through Thrace, and across the Hellespont to take on Persia to "conquer" the known world.
Alexander himself had a lover: Hephaestion, who had died of excessive drinking.
Alexander himself died (possibly murdered, like his father): 3:30 p.m. June 11, 323 BCE (king for 13 years). Possibilities:
- murder
- excessive drinking (alcohol poisoning)
- malaria relapse
Back to Philip II. Closest confidant, general, etc: Antipater.
Olympias (Alexander's mother/Philip II's wife) in voluntary exile back to Epirus, southwest of Macedon. When Alexander departed for the east, Alexander/Philip II left Antipater in charge of Alexander's holdings. Olympias-Alexander were a team; there was a suggestion that Philip II was going to put Antipater in as king, instead of his son. That would have been reason enough for Olympias to kill Philip II. In any event, Philip was poisoned (actual killer not known for sure). Despite this anger with Antipater, Olympias left him in charge, but she wielded considerable power.
So, that's the family history up to that point.
But how did Macedon become the dominant power in that region? Read the history of Philip II. Link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/HhzaRj2RpC4WTvcYM.
Now the geography.
Macedone (northwest of "Greece" proper). Then Thrace. Then the Hellespont, the body of water, the Dardanelles. The peninsula to the west of the Dardanelles (aka Hellespont) was known as the Thracian Chersonese in antiquity, which is known today as the Gallipoli Peninsula, now a part of Turkey.
Alexander's troops embarked from two points on the peninsula. The main body of his troops crossed farther north, where he himself crossed at the southernmost trip of the peninsula to "land" him near the ancient city of Troy on the eastern shore (or the western shore of Turkey).
On page 5, in one short paragraph, the author lists the sequence of events when Alexander conquered Darius (for the first time).
Alexander retreats to Phoenicia and protects his rear by taking Egypt in 332 (p. 5 at the bottom).
Two years later, Alexander attacks Darius again (who had two years to raise a new army).
This time, Alexander finishes the job and defeats Persia for good (330?). It was the end of the Persian Empire -- it has been ruled by the Archaemenid house for 200. years. And then in one short page, the conquests of Alexander into Bactria, and then western India, modern-day Pakistan. His troops had had enough and the army pulled back to Susa. Alexander and all his generals took "eastern" wives, some more than one. Non-Greek (eastern0 wives were all considered inferior by the Macedonians / Greeks.
Then, a summary of Alexander the Great's empire.
The author notes that the empire was a patchwork. Five separate geographic areas:
- European territories, one such bloc: Macedon, Greece and Thrace;
- separated from Asia by the Hellespont;
- Asia Minor (essentially Turkey), is another bloc, bordered to the east and southeast by formidable mountains;
- Egypt, with natural defenses of desert and sea, Egypt always considered itself a separate unit, and
- even under Achaemenid rule often strove for independence;
- Syria, west of the Euphrates was caught between Asia and Egypt, was long a bone of contention;
- finally, east of the Euphrates the eastern satrapies stretched all the way to the Indus River in Pakistan.
Page 7.
Felt he was divine; incredibly upset when his troops mutinied in 325 in India and his will was thwarted.
He came to eliminate the hated Persian rulers not simply to replace them.
Adopted Persian customs, p. 7.
Page 8: Alexander -- moving from Macedonian king to eastern king.
Page 8: legacy as a god. Saw himself as a god and many of his subjects saw him as a god.
Page 9: at this death -- three centers of gravity --
- Macedon itself
- Cicilia; 10,000 experienced soldiers; huge amount of silver (location unknown)
- Babylon: rivaled Macedon
Alexander's second-in-command: Perdiccas.
Loyal and intelligent secretary: Eumenes of Cardia (Greek).
Had Alexander not died, his next plan was to travel across northern Africa, from Egypt to Carthage.
And then across the sea to take Sicily, Italy and Spain.
Ruling as a Persian king -- autocratic. no democracy as had developed in Greece in the 5th century.
He had founded a number of cities; Alexandria was the most important. He would move citizens from the east to any city he founded in the west, and vice versa -- p. 11.
Most disruptive of the new acts: Exiles Decree. All Greek exiles must return home. Page 12.
Exiles Decree.
At least two states severely affected; their Greek citizens had to return and in so doing, that Greek state would lose a valuable geographical location:
- Aetolia: would lose Oeiadeae, which belonged to their Acarnanian neighbors; and,
- Athens: would lose the island of Samos.
Greeks were very upset and unrest / revolt was in the cards. Page 13.
Antipater not showing any interest in supporting / enforcing the Exiles Decree and that's probably why Alexander became displeased with Anipater.
Craterus was supposed to have replaced Antipater, per Alexander's decree, but Alexander died before that could happen: Craterus was to ensure the freedom of all Greeks, including the returning Greeks. Craterus and Antipater actually became allies.
Alexander's (and Macedon's way of protecting the king): Companions or "Friends" as they were later called. Mostly Macedonians; some Greeks; very, very few easterners.
Most divisive issue: Alexander's increasing orientalization.
Craterus: Alexander's favorite following death of Hephaestion.
Cassander: a son of Antipater and still in favor with Alexander. Cassander was in Babylon with Alexander.
The Purge: twenty (20) satrapies in the empire. Of the 20, fourteen were removed -- some killed; some replaced. Page 14.
By the end of the purge, only three satrapies were left with long-standing governors: Egypt, Lydia and Phrygia. [Lydia, western Anatolia, capital, Sardis; Phrygia, west-central Anagolia, around the Sangarius (Sakarya) River.
Once in Babylon, every satrap was required to return to Babylon for a conference with Alexander.
At his death, open warfare was all but expected.
Chapter 2: The Babylon Conferences
First page of that chapter -- eight satraps / eight satrapies -- eventually:
- five would strive to become kings in their own right;
- two would succeed;
- one would establish a dynasty.
So, from five --> two kingdoms and one dynasty.
The Bodyguards: each of them was the head of his clan, and therefore a powerful dynast. All bodyguards were in Babylon: 1) Hephaestion (murdered), 2) Aristonous, 3) Leonnatus (cavalry / elephants), 4) Lysimachus, 5) Peithon, 6) Peridiccas, 7) Peucestas (honorary member), and 8) Ptolemy.
- Leonnatus and Perdiccas; royal in their own right; cantons of Upper Macedon.
- Ptolemy: brought up alongside Alexander in Philip II's court, childhood friend.
- Perdiccas: second-in-command to Alexander after death of Hephaestion.
Senior men but not Bodyguards: Seleucus (commander of the crack infantry regiment, the Shield-Bearers); Eumenes of Cardia (Alexander's secretary and archivist) joined as a Greek, by Nearchus of Crete, the admiral of Alexander's Indian feet, based in Babylon.
So, this was seven Bodyguards and three senior men, and other players: Antipater/Craterus; Cleopatra; mother Olympias. Plus second-in-command to many of these who we will learn of later.
Page 22: Perdiccas's Chance
Perdiccas was looking for sole power with various schemes. Remember, he was Alexander's second in command.
Infantry (Seleucus) vs Cavalry (Leonnatus). Cavalry committed to Rhoxane's unborn child.
Leonnatus led the cavalry units and the war elephants and stationed themselves outside the city.
Meleager: brief moment -- king's right-hand man; he controlled Babylon; had possession of Alexander's talismanic corpse. Tried to seize power after Alexander's death but Perdicca killed him and did not replace him immediately -- later he did -- with Seleucus -- second-in-command to Perdiccas.
Eumenes: had stayed in Babylon; as a Greek, he was ble to steer a course among the opposing Macedonian factions. Alexander's secretary.
The compromise: p. 24. Perdiccas agreed on the compromise only to buy time.
Punishment of those who mutinied: trampled to death by elephants. First this punishment ever used in the Greek world.
A day or two later, Pediccas summoned Meleager and Meleager somehow died.
Then, Perdiccas' s supremacy was ratified when the Bodyguards and other senior officers met again, this time without interfering with Perdiccas.
He promoted Seleucus to second-in-command, the post left empty by Meleager's death, and commander for the elite Companion Cavalry, the main strike force of the army. Leonnatus was abandoned.
Antipater was confirmed as regent in Macedon.
Craterus demoted -- joint generalship of Europe. (I guess that would be with Antipater.) Antipater was very old, soon to die. Craterus was isolated in Cilicia.
Page 26: Consequences
At the end: unequal triumvirate of Perdiccas, Antipater and Craterus. Really, only two at the top since Antipater would soon die.
Perdiccas: all of Asia for himself.
Perdiccas and Antipater reconciled. A win-win for both.
So, two kings and twenty-something satrapies.
Leonnatus given the wealthy satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia -- controlled waterway between Aegean Sea and Black Sea. [Black, Red, Blue, White seas -- link here.]
Hellespontine Phrygia was made smaller and Paphlagonia, previously part of Phrygia, was given to Eumenes.
Eumenes was given trouble spots. He received an enormous chunk of Asia Minor -- Paphlagonia and also Cappadocia. Eumenes was given the help of Loennatus and Antigonus to help Eumenes open the Royal Road between Sardis and Mesopotamia.
Ptolemy got Egypt. It was a huge, huge, huge gift -- see page 27.
The rest:
- Antigonus: western Anatolia
- Menander: retained in Lydia -- had been satrap since 331.
- Peucestas: Persis
- Peithon: wealthy Media.
Persis (Greek: Περσίς) was the ancient Greek name for Persia and specifically for Pārsa (modern-day Fars province in southwestern Iran), which was the heartland of the Achaemenid Empire.
Others:
Lysimachus: Thrace (northern Greeks) (Antipater had the southern Greeks to keep in control). Buffer between Europe and Asia.
Only Perdiccas and his yes-man Aristonous remained in Babylon. He kept his underlings fighting among themsleves; he would begin the process of consolidation from the inside out.
So, two kings (Perdiccas and Antipater) when Rhoxane's and Alexander's son Alexander IV born. Rhoxane killed the other two wives/concubines of Alexander III. It was her lineage.
Body-Guards vs Companions and who got what, link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/ZXCryJe8j0dTkbbV3.
Chapter 3: Rebellion
Once word went out regarding who had which satrap it seemed rebellions were everywhere.
Two Greek rebellions the most concerning.
The Greek rebellion in the East
Bactria: from Afghanistan to bordering regions of modern Pakistan; lasted 150 years.
Cross the mountains of the Hindu Kush to get in Bactria.
Bactria, or Bactriana, was an ancient civilization in Central Asia,
located in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north
of the Hindu Kush mountains, within modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan.
Bactria was strategically located south of Sogdia
and west of the Pamir Mountains. These mountain ranges acted as "walls"
protecting Bactria from three sides, with the Pamir mountains to the
north and the Hindu Kush to the south forming a junction, and the
Karakoram range towards the east.
Called "beautiful Bactria, crowned with flags" in the Avesta, the region
is considered, in the Zoroastrian faith, to be one of the "sixteen
perfect Iranian lands" that the supreme deity, Ahura Mazda, had
created.
It was once a small and independent kingdom struggling
to survive against nomadic Turanians. One of the early centres of
Zoroastrianism, and capital of the legendary Kayanian dynasty, Bactria
is mentioned in the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great as one of
the satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire; it was a special satrapy, ruled
by a crown prince or an intended heir.
Bactria was the centre of
Iranian resistance against the Greek Macedonian invaders after the fall
of the Achaemenid Empire in the 4th century BC, but eventually fell to
Alexander the Great.
The Greek rebels in Bactria headed back home.
The former bodyguard Peithon, newly appointed satrapy of Media was sent east to intercept them.
Perdiccas ordered his Macedonian troops to massacre the Greeks on both sides.
Mobility and the Spread of Hellenism --page 32
Time to review the difference between Hellenism and Hellenistic.
Author suggests that the Macedonians were now Greek -- having lived among them so long - p. 33. Guild of Dionysis came into existence about this time -- first in Athens. "Successors" mentioned on page 33 -- near the bottom.
The Greek rebellion in the west -- page 36. At the time, referred to as the Hellenic War, the war for Greek freedom, but it has come be known as the Lamian War after the site of it most critical phase.
Macedonians (Antipater) vs the Greeks, led by Athens. Macedonian Leonnatus killed by the Thessalian cavalry, p. 39. Antipater's navy prevailed at the Hellespont. That allowed Craterus to complete his trek back to Macedon. Craterus marries Antipater's daughter Phila sealed their new alliance. Meanwhile, Perdiccas marries another of Antipater's daughters, Eurydice. The first of the interdyastic and often polygamous marriages by which the Successors created a comple network of blood relationships among themselves "bedroom diplomacy." Antipater/Craterus opposed Perdiccas, page 41. Endogamic: inbreeding, the Macedonians, page 41. The hope: Antipater, king of the west; and, Craterus, king of the east, with Perdiccas retaining his nongeographical commission as regent for both kings -- this was the original plan of the Babylon Conference. Fond dreams!!!!
Chapter 4: Perdiccas, Ptolemy, and Alexander's Corpse -- page 43
Perdicca's Choice -- page 45.
The ethos of individualism -- page 51.
Chapter 5: the First Was of the Successors -- page 57
Asia Minor -- page 57
Land Battle -- page 60
The Invasion of Egypt -- page 64
Chapter 6: Polyperchon's Moment -- page 69
The defeat of the Perdiccans -- page 71
The regency of Polperchon -- page 73
The freedom of the Greek cities -- page 76
Chapter 7: The Triumph of Cassander -- page 81
The opening campaigns of the second war of the successors -- page 81.
Sea Battle -- page 83
Athens and Early Hellenistic Culture -- page 84
Macedon in Turmoil
So far: link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/FZc8Mtf56kXA6P0uy.
Cassandra takes control -- page 90.
Chapter 8: Hunting Eumenes in Iran -- page 93.
Turmoil in the Eastern Satrapies -- page 94.
Preparations for the showdown -- page 96.
The Final Battles - page 98
Housekeeping -- p. 102
Chandragupta Maurya -- p. 103
Lord of Asia -- p. 104
CHAPTER 9: Antigonus, Lord of Asia -- p. 107
Security Measures -- p. 109
Antigonus's Resources -- p. 111
The proclamation of Tyre -- p. 112
The Carian Threater -- p. 116
Chapter 10: the Restoration of Seleucus -- p 118
The Battle of Gaza -- page 120
The Return of Seleucus -- page 122
The Babylonian War - page 125
Chapter 11: Warfare in Greece -- p. 128
Ptolemy's Opportunity -- p. 131
Demetrius on the Offensive Athens - p. 134
The Museum of Alexandria -- p. 136
Chapter 12: The End of Antigonus -- p. 140
Demetrius on the Offensive: Cyprus -- p. 140
The Assumption of Kingship -- p. 142
Antigonus on the Offensive: Egypt -- p. 146
Demetrius on the Offensive: Rhodes -- p. 147
The End of the Four-Year War -- p. 150
The Battle of Ipus -- p. 151
Chapter 13: The Kingdoms of Ptolemy and Seleucus -- p. 135
The Macedonian Background -- p 157
Security, Economic Exploitation, and Appeasement -- p. 159
Taxation -- p. 165
Plus Ça Change ... -- p. 169
Chapter 14: Demetrius Resurgent -- p. 171
After Ipsus -- p. 172
Demetrius's Situation -- p. 174
The Development of Seleucis -- p. 175
Marriage Alliances -- p. 177
An Uneasy Peace -- p. 178
Instability in Greece and Macedon -- p 179
Athenian Higher Education -- p. 181
Chapter 15: The Fall of Demetrius -- p. 184
Demetrius I, King of Macedon -- p. 187
Demetrius's Pride -- p. 189
Early Hellenistic Religions -- p. 191
Demetrius's Downfall -- p. 193
Chapter 16: The Last Successors -- page 197
Lysimachus at his Peak -- p 198
A Divided Court -- p 200
Last Man Standing -- p. 202
The Cult of Living Rulers -- p. 203
Ptolemy Ceraunus -- p. 206
Antigonus Gonatus -- p. 209
Epilogue -- page 210
