Diadochi
The term "Diadochi" refers to the successors of Alexander the Great, specifically his top generals and lieutenants who divided his vast empire following his death in 323 B.C.E. These leaders included notable figures such as Antipater, who was named regent of Macedonia, and others like Lysimachus, Antigonus I Monophthalmos, Seleucus I Nicator, and Ptolemy Soter, who governed various regions including Thrace, Phrygia, Babylon, and Egypt. Each of these generals eventually established themselves as independent monarchs and engaged in conflicts to attempt to reunify the fragmented empire. The Diadochi era saw the founding of several dynasties that persisted for centuries, with notable examples being the Antigonids in Macedonia and Greece, the Seleucid Empire in Syria and Mesopotamia, and the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt. However, despite their efforts, most of these leaders struggled to create long-lasting control, as illustrated by the eventual fall of their dynasties. The legacy of the Diadochi reshaped the political landscape of the ancient world, influencing subsequent historical developments in the regions they ruled.
Diadochi
Related civilizations: Hellenistic and Roman Greece.
Date: coined c. 323 b.c.e.
Locale: Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean
Diadochi
The Greek word diadochi (di-uh-DOH-chee; or diadochoi) means “successors” and refers to the lieutenants of Alexander the Great who partitioned his empire after his death in 323 b.c.e.Antipater was declared regent of Macedonia. Lysimachus, Antigonus I Monophthalmos, Seleucus I Nicator, and Ptolemy Soter were made satraps or governors of Thrace, Phrygia, Babylon, and Egypt, respectively. Macedonian by birth, all eventually ruled as independent monarchs and fought one another in a futile effort to reunify the empire. Several founded dynasties that lasted for several centuries.
A few years after Antipater’s death in 319 b.c.e., his son Cassander gained control of Macedonia and most of Greece, which he ruled until his death in 297 b.c.e. Cassander’s descendants, however, lost the kingdom to Demetrius Poliorcetes, the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmos. Their dynasty, the Antigonids, ruled Macedonia and Greece until 168 b.c.e. At his death in 281 b.c.e., Lysimachus had extended his rule of Thrace to include large portions of Asia Minor (Anatolia) and even Macedonia but had not managed to establish a lasting dynasty. Seleucus I founded the Seleucid Empire in Syria and Mesopotamia, which his descendants ruled until the Roman conquest of Syria in 64 b.c.e.Ptolemy Soter founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty, which ruled Egypt until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 b.c.e.
Bibliography
Billows, Richard A. Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.
Lund, Helen S. Lysimachus: A Study in Early Hellenistic Kingship. New York: Routledge, 1992.