ANTIGONID
(HELLENIC)
306
- 277 BC :
The
Hellenic empire was created by Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia,
in his conquests between 334-326 BC. Essentially it encompassed
all of the territory that was now under Macedonian control, from
Greece to India, and was the largest empire that the world had seen
at the time. Alexander rarely paused in extending its borders, especially
eastwards even though his army felt that enough was enough and forced
an about-turn. The unexpected death of Alexander in 323 BC changed
the situation dramatically.
Immediately
his generals divided the empire between them, all the while paying
nominal allegiance to the regent and Alexander's puppet successor.
Antigonus was already satrap (governor) of Lycia and Pamphylia upon
Alexander's death, but lost Greater Phrygia at the settlement of
territories in 323-322 BC. A new agreement in 320 BC kept him in
command of Lycia and Pamphylia, to which was added overlordship
of Lycaonia, Syria and Phoenicia, making him commander of the Asian
section. His main task was to defeat Eumenes as the successional
Wars of the Diadochi (the 'successors, Alexander's generals) opened
up, with Eumenes and the regent, Perdiccas, being part of the opposition
at that point. Ptolemy was unassailable in Egypt, Lysimachus retained
Phrygia and Thrace, while the three subsequent murderers of Perdiccas
- Seleucus, Peithon, and Antigenes - were given the former Persian
provinces of Babylonia, Media, and Susiana respectively. Arrhidaeus,
the former regent, received Hellespontine Phrygia. Paphlagonia was
added to Antigonus' holdings in 316 BC.
Although
he survived the first two Wars of the Diadochi, the third in 314
BC resulted because Antigonus himself had grown too powerful in
the eyes of the other generals, having grabbed Babylonia, Bactria,
and Northern Indus, plus everything in between. Clearly he was attempting
to rebuild Alexander's empire in his own image, and the others felt
they deserved to be that man. He was attacked by Ptolemy from his
stronghold in Egypt, Lysimachus from Phrygia and Thrace, Cassander
from Macedonia, and Seleucus who was temporarily exiled in Egypt.
They came to terms in 311 BC after Antigonus had lost Babylonia
to Seleucus. The fourth war ended in the death of Antigonus in 301
BC, but by then he had already established an independent Antigonid
kingdom (in 306 BC). The other generals responded by proclaiming
themselves kings in the following year.
In
some ways the Greeks were their own worst enemy. Their culture bore
some similarities with that of their Indo-European cousins, the
Celts, in that they would seemingly fight anyone, especially each
other. Partially symptomatic of a culture that did not especially
set out laws and which did not especially respect any laws that
were set out, Greek history is rife with rebellions, pretenders,
and civil wars, so much so that towards the end of the Hellenic
period they essentially self-destructed their surviving empires,
effectively handing them over to Rome to replace them as the dominant
force in the ancient world.
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson,
from Jewish War & Jewish Antiquities, Flavius Josephus, from
Alexander the Great: A Reader, Ian Worthington (Routledge, 2012),
from Bibliotheca Historica, Diodorus Siculus, from Historiae Alexandri
Magni, Quintus Curtius Rufus, from Anabasis Alexandri, Arrian of
Nicomedia, from The Generalship of Alexander the Great, J F C Fuller,
from the Historical Dictionary of Ancient Greek Warfare, J Woronoff
& I Spence, from Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great:
Prosopography of Alexander's Empire, Waldemar Heckel (Ed), from
The Histories, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), from The Persian Empire,
J M Cook (1983), and from External Links: Encyclopædia Britannica,
and Diodorus of Sicily at the Library of World History (dead link).)
Argead
Dynasty in Asia Minor (Antigonids) :
The
Argead were the ruling family and founders of Macedonia who reached
their greatest extent under Alexander the Great and his two successors
before the kingdom broke up into several Hellenic sections. Following
Alexander's conquest of central and eastern Persia in 331-328 BC,
the Greek empire ruled the region until Alexander's death in 323
BC and the subsequent regency period which ended in 310 BC. Alexander's
successors held no real power, being mere figureheads for the generals
who really held control of Alexander's empire. Following that latter
period and during the course of several wars, much of Asia Minor
(Anatolia) and the Near East was left in the hands of the Antigonid
empire from 319 BC.
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (meaning 'one-eye' following the loss of an eye in
combat) was a companion of King Philip II of Macedonia. Before the
king's assassination and during the stellar career of Alexander
the Great he provided solid and faithful service to the kingdom
and subsequent empire. In 334 BC, ages about forty-eight, he was
part of the invasion of Asia Minor (Anatolia), commanding the Greek
hoplites. His reward was to be made satrap of Greater Phrygia, and
then Lycia and Pamphylia in 331 BC. Nearchus is also claimed as
satrap of the latter two until 329 BC so perhaps Antigonus initially
oversaw those regions from Phrygia without having a direct hand
in administration. It is often hard to be certain of smaller details
at such a distance from events. Following the death of Alexander
in 323 BC, various wars saw an array of territory fall into the
hands of Antigonus, often to be taken away again at the next battle.
His declaration of kingly status in 306 BC truly signalled the end
of Alexander's empire.
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Jewish War &
Jewish Antiquities, Flavius Josephus, from The Persian Empire, J
M Cook (1983), from The Histories, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), from
the Cyropaedia & Anabasis, Xenophon of Athens, from The Cambridge
Ancient History, John Boardman, N G L Hammond, D M Lewis, &
M Ostwald (Eds), from Ancient and Modern Assyrians: A Scientific
Analysis, George V Yana (Xlibris Corporation, 2008), from Brill's
Companion to Alexander the Great, Joseph Roisman (BRILL, 2002),
and from External Links: Encyclopædia Britannica, and Appian's
History of Rome: The Syrian Wars at Livius.org, and Diodorus of
Sicily at the Library of World History (dead link), and Encyclopaedia
Iranica, and the Nabonidus Chronicle, contained within Assyrian
and Babylonian Chronicles, A K Grayson (Translation, 1975 &
2000, and now available via Livius in an improved version).)
334
- 323 BC :
Alexander III the Great : King of Macedonia. Conquered
Persia.
323 - 317 BC :
Philip III Arrhidaeus : Feeble-minded half-brother of Alexander
the Great.
317 - 310 BC :
Alexander IV of Macedonia : Infant son of Alexander the
Great and Roxana.
334
- 329 BC :
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Greek satrap of Greater Phrygia.
331 BC :
Despite the attempts by Alexander the Great's Greek empire to rule
the region through its own military commanders, the long-serving
Ariarathes (formerly as the Persian-era satrap of Katpatuka) seizes
this opportunity to go it alone. He declares his independence as
king of Katpatuka, although it is far more recognisably known by
the Greek form of its name - Cappadocia. Antigonus does battle against
him but he remains on the throne until 323 BC.
![Map of Central Asia & Eastern Mediterranean 334-323 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-334-324BC_full.jpg)
This
map shows the route of Alexander's ongoing campaigns, leading him
from Europe to Egypt, into Persia, and across the vastness of eastern
Iran as far as the Pamir mountain range
329 BC :
Nearchus, satrap of Lycia and Pamphylia, is recalled to Alexander's
side. He brings with him reinforcements for the campaign in Persia
and is accompanied by Asander, who becomes satrap of Caria in 323
BC. Nearchus' replacement as satrap is Antigonus Monophthalmus.
Sources show his assignment there from 331 BC, but perhaps initially
he oversees these regions from Greater Phrygia without having a
direct hand in administration.
329
- 316 BC :
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Satrap of Greater Phrygia (to
323 BC), Lycia & Pamphylia.
323 - 322 BC :
Following
the death of Alexander the Great, Antigonus is confirmed in his
territories while Alexander's former secretary, Eumenes of Cardia,
commands Cappadocia, Mysia, and Paphlagonia. He is confirmed in
322 BC by the Greek regent, Perdiccas. The regent underlines his
choice of ruler by defeating the deposed Ariarathes of Cappadocia,
and then having him and many of his relations crucified. Eumenes
soon finds his rule opposed by Nikanor, a Macedonian officer who
serves first Cassander, would-be regent and king of Greece, and
then Antigonus.
322 - 320 BC :
Immediately following Alexander's untimely death, Susiana is presumably
governed by Archon, who holds Babylonia in the name of the titular
successors to the empire. The First War of the Diadochi (the
successors - the generals of Alexander's army) between 322-320 BC
sees civil war break out between the generals as two factions become
apparent, one of which supports the regency.
Antigonus has already refused to side with Perdiccas and Eumenes
in their successful fight against Ariarathes of Cappadocia. Instead
he has fled to seek refuge with Antipater in Macedonia. Now Antipater,
Antigonus, Ptolemy Soter (in Egypt), and Craterus (soon killed)
team up to oppose Perdiccas and Eumenes. Perdiccas is murdered by
his own generals during an invasion of Egypt. Alexander's successor,
Philip III, agrees terms with the murdering generals and appoints
them as regents.
![Eumenes of Cardia](Macedonia_Eumenes01_full.jpg)
Eumenes
of Cardia, Macedonian general and one of Alexander the Great's 'successors'
between whom a series of wars were fought
A
new agreement with Antipater in 320 BC makes him regent of the Macedonian
empire and commander of the European section. Antigonus remains
in charge of Lycia and Pamphylia, to which is added overlordship
of Lycaonia, Syria, and Phoenicia, making him commander of the Asian
section. His main task is to defeat Eumenes. Ptolemy retains Egypt,
Lysimachus retains Phrygia and Thrace, while the three murderers
of Perdiccas - Seleucus, Peithon, and Antigenes - are given the
former Persian provinces of Babylonia, Media, and Susiana respectively.
320
- 318 BC :
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Oversaw Syria (& Phoenicia).
Forced to relinquish them.
319 - 315 BC :
The death of Antipater leads to the Second War of the Diadochi.
Philip III is killed by his stepmother, Olympias, in 317 BC with
her being killed by Cassander the following year. Cassander also
captures Alexander IV and Roxana and installs a governor in Athens,
subsuming its democratic system.
Antigonus besieges Eumenes at Nora in the Taurus Mountains alongside
Cappadocia throughout much of 319 BC. By 315 BC, having escaped
his confines, Eumenes is defeated in Asia and is murdered by his
own troops. Seleucus is forced to flee Babylon by Antigonus. In
anger at that escape, Antigonus deposes Blitor, satrap of Mesopotamia
(showing that the offices of Babylon and Mesopotamia have been detached
from one another).
![Assyrian kings](Assyria_Kings01_full.jpg)
Even
in the early days of the Assyrian rise to power, in the second millennium
BC, northern Mesopotamia had largely been dominated by Babylonia,
and the Argead period saw that situation being reinforced
The
result is that Cassander controls the European territories (including
Macedonia), while Antigonus controls those in Asia (Asia Minor,
centred around Lycia and Pamphylia and extending as far as Susiana).
He also holds Paphlagonia (from 316 BC). Polyperchon remains in
control of part of the Peloponnese.
316
- 306 BC :
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Satrap of Lycia, Pamphylia, &
Paphlagonia.
315
- 312 BC :
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Captured Babylonia. Surrendered
the region.
314 - 311 BC :
The Third War of the Diadochi results because Antigonus has
grown too powerful in the eyes of the other generals, so he is attacked
by Ptolemy (of Egypt), Lysimachus (of Phrygia and Thrace), Cassander
(of Macedonia), and Seleucus (who is hoping to regain Babylonia).
313
- 312 BC :
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Recaptured Syria (& Phoenicia).
Forced to withdraw.
312
- 311 BC :
A cuneiform inscription records the defeat of a Syrian army by the
Nabataeans. Under the command of Demetrius, son of Antigonus, troops
attempt to attack and plunder Nabataeans living in Edom on two occasions,
but on one of those occasions the Nabataeans choose to buy him off
with expensive gifts.
![Cuneiform tablet recording the Nabataeans](Nabataea_Cuneiform01_full.jpg)
The
cuneiform tablet records the existence of the Nabataeans, one of
the few mentions of them as later records were largely paper/papyrus-based,
written in Aramaic or Greek
In
the same year, Seleucus defeats Demetrius at the Battle of Gaza
which briefly allows Ptolemy to reoccupy Coele-Syria. Following
a reversal in battle fortunes he pulls out again as Antigonus invades
Syria in strength to occupy it for the remainder of his lifetime.
Seleucus does indeed secure Babylon though, and the others conclude
peace terms with Antigonus in 311 BC. Antigonus' appointment as
satrap of Media, Nicanor, is removed from his post by Seleucus,
and it seems likely that the same happens in northern Mesopotamia.
312
- 306 BC :
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Restored control of Syria (&
Phoenicia).
308 - 306 BC :
The Fourth War of the Diadochi soon breaks out, although
Seleucus has already dealt Antigonus a decisive defeat in 309 BC
to fully secure his hold on Babylonia. Ptolemy (from Egypt) and
Cassander (from Macedonia) face Antigonus and Demetrius in this
conflict, with Syria being the prize that Ptolemy especially desires.
306
- 301 BC :
Antigonus
Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Declared himself Antigonid king.
306 - 301 BC :
Demetrius I Poliorcetes : Son and co-ruler. Inherited Antigonid
empire in 301 BC.
306 BC :
Demetrius is able to defeat Ptolemy in a naval battle off Salamis,
cutting off another attempt to snatch territory from them. Probably
seeing the obvious conclusion that any semblance of maintaining
the Greek empire is now truly dead, Antigonus proclaims himself
king of his Antigonid empire. In the following year the other generals
do the same in their domains.
Antigonid
Dynasty (in Asia Minor) :
306 - 277 BC :
Antigonus Monophthalmus fought a number of wars as the Greek empire
fragmented in order to secure his own hold on power. In 315 BC he
seized Babylon from Seleucus Nicator until a unified attack by the
other generals saw it returned to Seleucus in 312 BC. The last of
these wars was the Fourth War of the Diadochi ('successors', these
being Alexander the Great's generals), which followed the murder
of Alexander IV (son of Alexander) and helped to stave off any real
advances by Antigonus.
Babylon was the great prize, but Antigonus was defeated in a last
attempt to recapture it in 309 BC. When he proclaimed himself king
in 306 BC, all the other surviving generals followed suit in the
following year, confirming the dismantling of the empire into various
regional domains. The stage was set for the final showdown at the
Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, which saw defeat for Antigonus (as well
as his death at about eighty-one years of age) and Lysimachus (who
already had his own Lysimachian empire), Cassander in firm control
of Macedonia and much of Greece, and Seleucus virtually unchallenged
between Anatolia and Central Asia in his newly-formed Seleucid empire.
Antigonus' own empire was divided between the victors so that within
a few more years it would cease to exist entirely.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward
Dawson, from The Marshals of Alexander's Empire, Waldemar
Heckel, from Jewish War & Jewish Antiquities,
Flavius Josephus, from Revised Chronology for the Late Seleucids
at Antioch, O Hoover, and from External Links: University
of Leicester, and Listverse, and Virtual Religion: Into His Own,
and Encyclopędia Britannica, and Appian's History of Rome: The
Syrian Wars at Livius.org, and Diodorus of Sicily at the Library
of World History.)
306
- 301 BC :
Antigonus Monophthalmus (One Eye) : Former Greek general.
Declared himself king.
306 - 301 BC :
Demetrius I Poliorcetes : Son and co-ruler. Inherited the
empire in 301 BC.
306 BC :
At the start of his reign as co-ruler alongside his father, the
able Demetrius I frees Athens from the rule of Cassander of Macedonia
and Ptolemy of the Lysimachian empire. Governor Demetrius Phalereus
is expelled and the city's democratic system is restored. It is
also Demetrius who forces Pleistarchus out of Cilicia and Lycia,
seemingly without subsequently controlling these regions himself.
![Coin depicting Antigonus Monophthalmus](Macedonia_Coins02_full.jpg)
Shown
here are both sides of a silver coin bearing the ANT monogram as
a handy way of determining the fact that it was minted by Antigonus
during his period as an independent king who was contesting control
of Alexander the Great's former empire
305
- 304 BC :
Demetrius is unable to capture the powerful island state of Rhodes,
but the attempt does earn him the nickname 'Poliorcetes', meaning
'besieger of cities'. Instead he returns to Greece and attacks Cassander
of Macedonia in Thessaly.
301
- 285 BC :
Demetrius I Poliorcetes : Sole ruler from 301 BC. Captured
Athens.
301 BC :
Following the death of Antigonus at the decisive Battle of Ipsus,
Lysimachus of Thrace gains much of his territory in western Asia
Minor, including Caria, and Seleucus gains more of it in the east.
Antigonus' son and joint ruler escapes from Ipsus with 9,000 men
and manages to retain the remaining territories for himself, thanks
to jealousy between the four conquering kings. He is helped in this
after allying himself to Seleucus (who marries his mother, Stratonice).
294
- 288 BC :
After ousting Antipater of Macedonia, and subsequently having his
brother, Alexander, assassinated, Demetrius seizes the kingdom and
rules his newly extended empire from there. During that time, he
besieges Thebes and conquers it at great cost to his men. Equally
careless of his own life, he suffers serious injury when a bolt
pierces his neck.
![Battle of Ipsus](Macedonia_Ipsus01_full.jpg)
The
Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC ended the drawn-out and destructive Wars
of the Diadochi which decided how Alexander's empire would be divided
285 - 283 BC :
After attempting to re-unify Alexander the Great's empire himself,
Demetrius is chased into Asia by his rivals, the other of Alexander's
generals who are united in their opposition to him, and he surrenders
to Seleucus in Babylonia. He dies two years after being imprisoned.
His son, Antigonus II, controls no territory at all for two years
afterwards, other than the capital in which he is trapped. He marches
against Ptolemy II Ceraunus of Macedonia in 283 BC but is defeated.
The shock death of Ptolemy at the hands of invading proto- Galatian
Celts in 279 BC and a subsequent victory over the same Celts by
Antigonus suddenly confirms his own control of this territory, and
now quite possibly a fair swathe of his father's former kingdom
outside of Syria.
283
- 239 BC :
Antigonus II Gonatas (Antikini) : Son. Defeated Celts.
Occupied Macedonia 277 BC.
277
BC :
Greece is still suffering under the invasion by Galatian Celts.
Following a victory at Thermopylae, they are defeated by a force
led by the Aetolians at Delphi in 278 BC, and then suffer a crushing
defeat at the hands of Antigonus II in 277 BC. They retreat from
Greece and pass through Thrace to enter into Asia Minor, forming
a kingdom to the north-east of Phrygia. Antigonus is able to claim
the throne of Macedonia, combining Thrace of the former Lysimachian
empire with the kingdom, which he is able to pass onto his son when
he dies at the grand old age of eighty.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/AnatoliaPhrygia
Antigonids.htm#Argeads