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176-543: Antioch was founded near the end of the fourth century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great 's generals, as one of the tetrapoleis of Seleucis of Syria . Seleucus encouraged Greeks from all over the Mediterranean to settle in the city. The city's location offered geographical, military, and economic benefits to its occupants; Antioch was heavily involved in the spice trade and lay within close reach of

352-419: A civitas libera . The Roman emperors favored the city from the first moments, seeing it as a more suitable capital for the eastern part of the empire than Alexandria could be, because of the isolated position of Egypt. To a certain extent they tried to make it an eastern Rome. Julius Caesar visited it in 47 BC, and confirmed its freedom. A great temple to Jupiter Capitolinus rose on Silpius, probably at

528-486: A Mission to Augustus . At Antioch Germanicus died in 19 AD, and his body was burnt in the forum. An earthquake that shook Antioch in AD 37 caused the emperor Caligula to send two senators to report on the condition of the city. Another quake followed in the next reign. In 115 AD, during Trajan 's travel there during his war against Parthia, the whole site was convulsed by a huge earthquake . The landscape altered, and

704-486: A Persian army under Ariobarzanes and then hurried to Persepolis before its garrison could loot the treasury. On entering Persepolis, Alexander allowed his troops to loot the city for several days. Alexander stayed in Persepolis for five months. During his stay, a fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes I and spread to the rest of the city. Possible causes include a drunken accident or deliberate revenge for

880-554: A body of Jews, punished his capital with fire and sword. In the last struggles of the Seleucid house, Antioch turned against its feeble rulers, invited Tigranes the Great to occupy the city in 83 BC, tried to unseat Antiochus XIII Asiaticus in 65 BC, and petitioned Rome against his restoration in the following year. Antioch's wish prevailed, and it passed with Syria to the Roman Republic in 64 BC, but remained

1056-477: A classroom. In return for teaching Alexander, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of Stageira , which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile. Mieza was like a boarding school for Alexander and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as Ptolemy , Hephaistion , and Cassander . Many of these students would become his friends and future generals, and are often known as

1232-416: A clear successor, Alexander's generals quickly began to dispute the rule of his empire. The two contenders were Alexander's half-brother Arrhidaeus and his unborn child with Roxana . Meleager and the infantry supported Arrhidaeus while Perdiccas and the cavalry supported waiting until the birth of Roxana's child. A compromise was arranged, with Arrhidaeus being crowned as Philip III. If Roxana's child

1408-492: 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. Philip 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

1584-561: A fleet of 120 ships with crews numbering 38,000 drawn from Macedon and various Greek city states, mercenaries, and feudally raised soldiers from Thrace , Paionia , and Illyria . He showed his intent to conquer the entirety of the Persian Empire by throwing a spear into Asian soil and saying he accepted Asia as a gift from the gods. This also showed Alexander's eagerness to fight, in contrast to his father's preference for diplomacy. After an initial victory against Persian forces at

1760-402: A lament for Adonis , the doomed lover of Aphrodite . Thus, Ammianus wrote, the emperor and his soldiers entered the city not to the sound of cheers but to wailing and screaming. After being advised that the bones of third-century martyred bishop Babylas were suppressing the oracle of Apollo at Daphne, he made a public-relations mistake in ordering the removal of the bones from the vicinity of

1936-576: 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,

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2112-495: A number of crises and challenges along the way. The reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator (221–203 BC)is marked by historians as the beginning of the decline of Ptolemaic Egypt. However, the kingdom would persist for another 200 years. The Ptolemaic rulers gradually embraced Egyptian traditions, such as sibling royal marriages, which the Ptolemaic dynasty frequently partook in. The cosmopolitan nature of Ptolemaic Egypt can be seen with

2288-411: 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

2464-502: A park of woods and waters, in the midst of which rose a great temple to the Pythian Apollo, also founded by Seleucus I and enriched with a cult-statue of the god, as Musagetes, by Bryaxis . A companion sanctuary of Hecate was constructed underground by Diocletian . The beauty and the lax morals of Daphne were celebrated all over the ancient world; and indeed Antioch as a whole shared in both these titles to fame. Antioch became

2640-698: A prophecy. During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria , which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death. Control of Egypt passed to Ptolemy I (son of Lagos), the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305–30 BC) after the death of Alexander. Leaving Egypt in 331 BC, Alexander marched eastward into Achaemenid Assyria in Upper Mesopotamia (now northern Iraq ) and defeated Darius again at

2816-603: A result of poisoning by Olympias. News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes north of Macedon. When news of the revolts reached Alexander, he responded quickly. Though advised to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered 3,000 Macedonian cavalry and rode south towards Thessaly. He found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa , and ordered his men to ride over Mount Ossa. When

2992-457: A role he continued under Alexander. When Alexander left Macedon to conquer Persia in 334 BC, Antipater was named Regent of Macedon and General of Greece in Alexander's absence. In 323 BC, 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

3168-454: A site chosen through ritual means. An eagle , the bird of Zeus, had been given a piece of sacrificial meat and the city was founded on the site to which the eagle carried the offering. Seleucus did this on the 22nd day of the month of Artemísios in the twelfth year of his reign, equivalent to May 300 BC. Antioch soon rose above Seleucia Pieria to become the Syrian capital. Xenaeus (Ξεναῖος)

3344-463: A special cavalry unit composed of general officers without fixed rank, whom Alexander could assign where needed. They were typically from the nobility; many were 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

3520-741: A strong emphasis on trade, which facilitated economic prosperity in Antioch. The city became known for its diverse markets, contributing to the flow of goods and ideas between the Islamic world and the Byzantine Empire. The decline of Arab rule in Antioch began in the late 9th century with increasing pressure from the Byzantine forces. The city changed hands several times during the Byzantine-Arab wars , Before finally, in 969 AD, under

3696-405: 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 . Soon, however, conflict broke out. Perdiccas ' marriage to Alexander's sister Cleopatra led Antipater, Craterus, Antigonus, and Ptolemy to join in rebellion. The actual outbreak of war

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3872-615: A usurper and set out to defeat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central Asia. Alexander founded a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including modern Kandahar in Afghanistan, and Alexandria Eschate ("The Furthest") in modern Tajikistan . The campaign took Alexander through Media , Parthia , Aria (West Afghanistan), Drangiana , Arachosia (South and Central Afghanistan), Bactria (North and Central Afghanistan), and Scythia . In 329 BC, Spitamenes , who held an undefined position in

4048-841: A vast swath of territory between the Adriatic Sea and the Indus River . Alexander endeavored to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea" and invaded India in 326 BC, achieving an important victory over Porus , an ancient Indian king of present-day Punjab , at the Battle of the Hydaspes . Due to the mutiny of his homesick troops, he eventually turned back at the Beas River and later died in 323 BC in Babylon ,

4224-455: A word which would ordinarily mean all human beings of any age, sex, or social status , seemingly indicating a decline in the population since the first century. Chrysostom also says in one of his homilies on the Gospel of Matthew , which were delivered between 386 and 393, that in his own time there were 100,000 Christians in Antioch, a figure which may refer to orthodox Christians who belonged to

4400-399: Is a noun (substantive or adjective) formed from the verb, diadechesthai , "succeed to," a compound of dia- and dechesthai , "receive." The word-set descends straightforwardly from Indo-European *dek-, "receive", the substantive forms being from the o-grade, *dok-. Some important English reflexes are dogma, "a received teaching," decent, "fit to be received," paradox, "against that which

4576-445: 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

4752-466: Is received." The prefix dia- changes the meaning slightly to add a social expectation to the received. The diadochos , being a successor in command or any other office, expects to receive that office. It was exactly this expectation that contributed to strife in the Alexandrine and Hellenistic Ages, beginning with Alexander. Philip had married a woman who changed her name to Olympias to honor

4928-496: Is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with a seal engraved with a lion's image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations for these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was Zeus . Ancient commentators were divided about whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, variously claiming that she had told Alexander, or that she dismissed

5104-714: Is somewhat analogous to the manner in which several popes, heads of the Roman Catholic Church remained "Bishop of Rome" even while residing in Avignon , in present-day France, in the fourteenth century. The Maronite Church, which has also moved the seat away to Bkerké , Lebanon, continues the Antiochene liturgical tradition and the use of the Syro-Aramaic language in their liturgies. Emperor Constantine who had decriminalised Christianity in 313 , begun

5280-616: The Achaemenid Persian Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted for 10 years. Following his conquest of Asia Minor , Alexander broke the power of Achaemenid Persia in a series of decisive battles, including those at Issus and Gaugamela ; he subsequently overthrew Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety. After the fall of Persia, the Macedonian Empire held

5456-825: 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 survived in Syria until finally conquered by Pompey in 64 BC. The Ptolemies lasted longer in Alexandria , though as a client under Rome. Egypt was finally annexed to Rome in 30 BC. In the formal "court" titulature of

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5632-524: The Battle of Antioch , after which the city fell to the Sassanians, together with much of Syria and eastern Anatolia. Antioch gave its name to a certain school of Christian thought, distinguished by literal interpretation of the Scriptures and insistence on the human limitations of Jesus . Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia were the leaders of this school. The principal local saint

5808-428: The Battle of Gaugamela . Darius once more fled the field, and Alexander chased him as far as Arbela . Gaugamela would be the final and decisive encounter between the two. Darius fled over the mountains to Ecbatana (modern Hamadan ) while Alexander captured Babylon . Babylonian astronomical diaries say that "the king of the world, Alexander" sent his scouts with a message to the people of Babylon before entering

5984-677: The Battle of the Granicus , Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis ; he then proceeded along the Ionian coast, granting autonomy and democracy to the cities. Miletus , held by Achaemenid forces, required a delicate siege operation, with Persian naval forces nearby. Further south, at Halicarnassus , in Caria , Alexander successfully waged his first large-scale siege , eventually forcing his opponents,

6160-619: The Circus Maximus in Rome and other circus buildings throughout the empire. Measuring more than 490 metres (1,610 feet) in length and 30 metres (98 feet) of width, the Circus could house up to 80,000 spectators. Zarmanochegas (Zarmarus) a monk of the Sramana tradition of India, according to Strabo and Dio Cassius , met Nicholas of Damascus in Antioch around 13 AD as part of

6336-543: The Diadochi , divided up the territory he had conquered. After the Battle of Ipsos in 301 BC, Seleucus I Nicator won the territory of Syria, and he proceeded to found four "sister cities" in northwestern Syria, one of which was Antioch, a city named in honor of his father Antiochus ; according to the Suda , it might be named after his son Antiochus . He is reputed to have built sixteen Antiochs. Seleucus founded Antioch on

6512-624: The Great Church as opposed to members of other groups such as Arians and Apollinarians , or to all Christians of any persuasion. When the emperor Julian visited in 362 on a detour to the Sasanian Empire , he had high hopes for Antioch, regarding it as a rival to the imperial capital of Constantinople . Antioch had a mixed pagan and Christian population, which Ammianus Marcellinus implies lived quite harmoniously together. However, Julian's visit began ominously as it coincided with

6688-670: 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 . The hetairoi ( Ancient Greek : ἑταῖροι ), or companion cavalry , added flexibility to the ancient Macedonian army . The hetairoi were

6864-726: The Indian subcontinent . The Hellenistic period developed through the Roman Empire into modern Western culture ; the Greek language became the lingua franca of the region and was the predominant language of the Byzantine Empire until its collapse in the mid-15th century AD. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mould of Achilles , featuring prominently in the historical and mythical traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. His military achievements and unprecedented enduring successes in battle made him

7040-732: The Middle Ages due to warfare, repeated earthquakes, and a change in trade routes . The city still lends its name to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch , one of the most important modern churches of the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean. The city also attracts Muslim pilgrims who visit the Habib-i Najjar Mosque , which they believe to contain the tomb of Habib the Carpenter , mentioned in

7216-471: 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." Grote cites no references for

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7392-469: The Rosetta Stone , an edict ordered by Ptolemy V Epiphanes (204–180 BC), would be written in three languages: Egyptian hieroglyphs , Coptic , and Greek . However, the Ptolemaic rulers' insistence on the incorporation of Greek influences into Egyptian society led to many peasant revolts and uprisings throughout the course of the kingdom's existence. This division was to last for a century, before

7568-559: The Seven Wonders of the World , burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, attending the birth of Alexander. Such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception. In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse, Lanike , sister of Alexander's future general Cleitus

7744-656: The Silk Road and the Royal Road . The city was the capital of the Seleucid Empire from 240 BC until 63 BC, when the Romans took control, making it the capital of the province of Syria and later of Coele Syria . During the late Hellenistic and Roman Principate periods, Antioch's population may have reached a peak of over 500,000 inhabitants (most generally estimate between 200,000 and 250,000), making

7920-748: The Surah Yā-Sīn of the Quran . Two routes from the Mediterranean Sea , lying through the Orontes river gorge and the Belen Pass , converge in the plain of the Antioch Lake, now called Lake Amik , and are met there by: A settlement called "Meroe" pre-dated Antioch. A shrine of the goddess Anat , called by Herodotus the " Persian Artemis ", was located here. This site was included in

8096-465: The Taurus into Cilicia . After a long pause due to an illness, he marched on towards Syria. Though outmanoeuvered by Darius's significantly larger army, he marched back to Cilicia, where he defeated Darius at Issus . Darius fled the battle, causing his army to collapse, and left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother Sisygambis , and a fabulous treasure. He offered a peace treaty that included

8272-627: The Treaty of Deabolis Bohemond died, and Tancred remained regent of Antioch until his death during a typhoid epidemic in 1112. After the death of Tancred, the principality passed to Roger of Salerno , who helped rebuild Antioch after an earthquake destroyed its foundations in 1114. With the death of Roger at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis in 1119, the role of regent was assumed by Baldwin II of Jerusalem , lasting until 1126. In 1126 Bohemond II arrived from Apulia to gain regency over Antioch. In 1130 Bohemond

8448-459: The "Companions". Aristotle taught Alexander and his companions about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle's tutelage, Alexander developed a passion for the works of Homer , and in particular the Iliad ; Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns. Alexander was able to quote Euripides from memory. In his youth, Alexander

8624-557: The Achaemenid throne. The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with Darius. However, as basic forms of community life and the general structure of government were maintained and resuscitated by Alexander under his own rule, he, in the words of the Iranologist Pierre Briant "may therefore be considered to have acted in many ways as the last of the Achaemenids ." Alexander viewed Bessus as

8800-475: The Battle of Gabai. After the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace. During this time, Alexander adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of proskynesis , either a symbolic kissing of the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians showed to their social superiors. This was one aspect of Alexander's broad strategy aimed at securing

8976-541: The Black . Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict Leonidas , a relative of his mother, and by Lysimachus of Acarnania . Alexander was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the lyre , ride, fight, and hunt. When Alexander was ten years old, a trader from Thessaly brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen talents . The horse refused to be mounted, and Philip ordered it away. Alexander, however, detecting

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9152-625: The Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas , the city was captured after the siege of Antioch (968–969) by the Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes and the stratopedarches Peter . It soon became the seat of a doux , the civil governor of the homonymous theme , but also the seat of the somewhat more important Domestic of the Schools of the Orient , the supreme military commander of the imperial forces on

9328-446: 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. In 336 BC Philip was assassinated, and the 20-year-old Alexander "received the kingship" ( parelabe ten basileian ). In the same year Darius succeeded to the throne of Persia as Šâhe Šâhân , "King of Kings," which

9504-441: The Cynic occurred during Alexander's stay in Corinth. When Alexander asked Diogenes what he could do for him, the philosopher disdainfully asked Alexander to stand a little to the side, as he was blocking the sunlight. This reply apparently delighted Alexander who is reported to have said, "But verily, if I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes." At Corinth, Alexander took the title of Hegemon ("leader") and, like Philip,

9680-425: The Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River Valley . The most notable Diadochi include Ptolemy , Antigonus , Cassander , and Seleucus as the last remaining at the end of the Wars of the Successors , ruling in Egypt , Asia-Minor , Macedon and Persia respectively, all forging dynasties lasting several centuries. In ancient Greek, diadochos

9856-485: The Diadochi and Epigoni as "powerful individuals." 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

10032-472: The Diadochi are grouped by their rank and social standing at the time of Alexander's death. These were their initial positions as Diadochi. 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

10208-435: 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

10384-441: 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 BC, and the "Epigoni Period" ( Epigonenzeit ), which ran to about 220 BC. 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

10560-412: The Great ), erected a long stoa on the east, and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa ( c.  63 –12 BC) encouraged the growth of a new suburb south of this. One of the most famous Roman additions to the city was its hippodrome , the Circus of Antioch . This chariot racing venue was probably built in the reign of Augustus, when the city had more than half a million inhabitants; it was modelled on

10736-461: The Great . A fourth and last quarter was added by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BC); thenceforth Antioch was known as Tetrapolis . From west to east the whole was about 6 kilometres (4 miles) in diameter and a little less from north to south. This area included many large gardens. The new city was populated by a mix of local settlers that Athenians brought from the nearby city of Antigonia, Macedonians, and Jews (who were given full status from

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10912-457: The Greek city of Perinthus , Alexander reportedly saved his father's life. Meanwhile, the city of Amphissa began to work lands that were sacred to Apollo near Delphi , a sacrilege that gave Philip the opportunity to further intervene in Greek affairs. While Philip was occupied in Thrace, Alexander was ordered to muster an army for a campaign in southern Greece. Concerned that other Greek states might intervene, Alexander made it look as though he

11088-418: The Greeks to rebel in the Lamian War . Craterus and Antipater defeated the rebellion in 322 BC. 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 was an adviser to King Philip II , Alexander's father,

11264-485: 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. When Alexander the Great died on June 10, 323 BC, he left behind a huge empire which comprised many essentially independent territories. Alexander's empire stretched from his homeland of Macedon itself, along with

11440-416: 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

11616-408: The Illyrian chieftain Cleitus and King Glaukias of the Taulantii were in open revolt against his authority. Marching west into Illyria, Alexander defeated each in turn, forcing the two rulers to flee with their troops. With these victories, he secured his northern frontier. While Alexander campaigned north, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once again. Alexander immediately headed south. While

11792-520: The Islamic world. After the Bible , it was the most popular form of European literature. Alexander III was born in Pella , the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon , on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion , which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC (although the exact date is uncertain). He was the son of the erstwhile king of Macedon, Philip II , and his fourth wife, Olympias (daughter of Neoptolemus I , king of Epirus ). Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias

11968-415: The Macedonian court a good knowledge of Persian issues, and may even have influenced some of the innovations in the management of the Macedonian state. Suda writes that Anaximenes of Lampsacus was one of Alexander's teachers, and that Anaximenes also accompanied Alexander on his campaigns. At the age of 16, Alexander's education under Aristotle ended. Philip II had waged war against the Thracians to

12144-461: 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 BC, 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

12320-584: 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 and drawing his sword to defend Attalus, 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

12496-436: The Macedonians would implore the gods to give them a lawful successor to the kingdom by his niece. This so irritated Alexander that throwing one of the cups at his head, "You villain," said he, "what, am I then a bastard?" Then Philip, taking Attalus's part, rose up and would have run his son through; but by good fortune for them both, either his over-hasty rage, or the wine he had drunk, made his foot slip, so that he fell down on

12672-537: The Mongol conquests of the 13th century altered the main trade routes from the far east, as they encouraged merchants to take the overland route through Mongol territory to the Black Sea, reducing the prosperity of Antioch. Surrounding the city were a number of Greek, Syrian, Georgian, Armenian, and Latin monasteries. In 1100, Tancred became the regent of Antioch after his uncle and predecessor Bohemond I of Antioch

12848-471: The Persian sack in 538, by Chosroes . In 387 AD, there was a great sedition caused by a new tax levied by order of Theodosius I , and the city was punished by the loss of its metropolitan status. Theodosius placed Antioch under Constantinople's rule when he divided the Roman Empire. Antioch and its port, Seleucia Pieria , were severely damaged by the great earthquake of 526 . Seleucia Pieria, which

13024-482: 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." 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. He describes

13200-451: The Stoic, and one Phoebus, a writer on dreams. The nicknames which they gave to their later kings were Aramaic ; and, except Apollo and Daphne , the great divinities of north Syria seem to have remained essentially native, such as the "Persian Artemis" of Meroe and Atargatis of Hierapolis Bambyce . The epithet "Golden" suggests that the external appearance of Antioch was impressive, but

13376-626: The Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in their rear and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander's force. He then continued south towards the Peloponnese . Alexander stopped at Thermopylae where he was recognized as the leader of the Amphictyonic League before heading south to Corinth . Athens sued for peace and Alexander pardoned the rebels. The famous encounter between Alexander and Diogenes

13552-707: The Thracian forces manning the heights. The Macedonians marched into the country of the Triballi and defeated their army near the Lyginus river (a tributary of the Danube ). Alexander then marched for three days to the Danube , encountering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. Crossing the river at night, he surprised them and forced their army to retreat after the first cavalry skirmish . News then reached Alexander that

13728-572: The age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle . In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he campaigned in the Balkans and reasserted control over Thrace and parts of Illyria before marching on the city of Thebes , which was subsequently destroyed in battle . Alexander then led the League of Corinth , and used his authority to launch the pan-Hellenic project envisaged by his father, assuming leadership over all Greeks in their conquest of Persia . In 334 BC, he invaded

13904-476: The aid and support of the Iranian upper classes. The Greeks however regarded the gesture of proskynesis as the province of deities and believed that Alexander meant to deify himself by requiring it. This cost him the sympathies of many of his countrymen, and he eventually abandoned it. During the long rule of the Achaemenids, the elite positions in many segments of the empire including the central government,

14080-583: The animal died (because of old age, according to Plutarch, at age 30), Alexander named a city after him, Bucephala . When Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for a tutor , and considered such academics as Isocrates and Speusippus , the latter offering to resign from his stewardship of the Academy to take up the post. In the end, Philip chose Aristotle and provided the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza as

14256-613: The area of Rome within the Aurelian Walls . The city was also the main center of Hellenistic Judaism at the end of the Second Temple period . As one of the cities of the pentarchy , Antioch was called "the cradle of Christianity " as a result of its longevity and the pivotal role that it played in the emergence of early Christianity . The Christian New Testament asserts that the name "Christian" first emerged in Antioch. The city declined to relative insignificance during

14432-475: The army, and the many satrapies were specifically reserved for Iranians and to a major degree, Persian noblemen. The latter were in many cases additionally connected through marriage alliances with the royal Achaemenid family. This created a problem for Alexander as to whether he had to make use of the various segments and people that had given the empire its solidity and unity for a lengthy period of time. Pierre Briant explains that Alexander realized that it

14608-466: The avenger of Darius III". Diadochi The Diadochi ( / d aɪ ˈ æ d ə k aɪ / dy- AD -ə-ky ; singular: Diadochos ; from ‹See Tfd› Greek : Διάδοχοι , translit.   Diádochoi , lit.  "Successors", Koinē Greek pronunciation: [diˈadokʰy] ) were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Wars of

14784-418: The beginning). According to ancient tradition, Antioch was settled by 5,500 Athenians and Macedonians, together with an unknown number of native Syrians. This number probably refers to free adult citizens, so that the total number of free Greek settlers including women and children was probably between 17,000 and 25,000. About 6 kilometres (4 miles) west and beyond the suburb Heraclea lay the paradise of Daphne,

14960-510: The building of the Domus Aurea or Great Church in 327 which served for the next two centuries as the leading church of Antioch. John Chrysostom writes that when Ignatius of Antioch was bishop in the city, the dêmos, probably meaning the number of free adult men and women without counting children and slaves, numbered 200,000. In a letter written in 363, Libanius says the city contains 150,000 anthrôpoi (plural of anthropos, human )

15136-598: The burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Persian War by Xerxes; Plutarch and Diodorus allege that Alexander's companion, the hetaera Thaïs , instigated and started the fire. Even as he watched the city burn, Alexander immediately began to regret his decision. Plutarch claims that he ordered his men to put out the fires but the flames had already spread to most of the city. Curtius claims that Alexander did not regret his decision until

15312-512: The capital and court-city of the western Seleucid Empire under Antiochus I, its counterpart in the east being Seleucia ; but its paramount importance dates from the battle of Ancyra (240 BC), which shifted the Seleucid centre of gravity from Anatolia, and led indirectly to the rise of Pergamon . The Seleucids reigned from Antioch. We know little of it in the Hellenistic period , apart from Syria, all our information coming from authors of

15488-523: The centre. Shortly afterwards a second quarter was laid out, probably on the east and by Antiochus I Soter , which, from an expression of Strabo , appears to have been the native, as contrasted with the Greek, town. It was enclosed by a wall of its own. In the Orontes, north of the city, lay a large island, and on this Seleucus II Callinicus began a third walled "city", which was finished by Antiochus III

15664-731: The city into the Seljuk Empire . Yagisiyan was appointed governor. He became increasingly independent within the tumultuous years following Malik-Shah's death in 1092. The Crusaders' Siege of Antioch conquered the city in June 1098 after a siege lasting eight months on their way to Jerusalem. At this time, the bulk of far eastern trade traveled through Egypt, but in the second half of the 12th century Nur ed-Din and later Saladin brought order to Muslim Syria, opening up long-distance trade routes, including to Antioch and on to its new port, St Symeon , which had replaced Seleucia Pieria. However,

15840-531: The city needed constant restoration owing to the seismic disturbances to which the district has always been subjected. The first great earthquake in recorded history was related by the native chronicler John Malalas . It occurred in 148 BC and did immense damage. Local politics were turbulent. In the many dissensions of the Seleucid house the population took sides, and frequently rose in rebellion, for example against Alexander Balas in 147 BC, and Demetrius II Nicator in 129 BC. The latter, enlisting

16016-507: The city of Mesopotamia that he had planned to establish as his empire's capital. Alexander's death left unexecuted an additional series of planned military and mercantile campaigns that would have begun with a Greek invasion of Arabia . In the years following his death, a series of civil wars broke out across the Macedonian Empire, eventually leading to its disintegration at the hands of the Diadochi . With his death marking

16192-594: The city the third largest in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria and one of the most important cities in the eastern Mediterranean . From the early fourth century, Antioch was the seat of the Count of the Orient , head of the Diocese of the East . The Romans provided the city with walls that encompassed almost 450 hectares (1,100 acres), of which one quarter was mountainous, leaving 300 ha (750 acres) – about one-fifth

16368-719: The city went into a precipitous decline. During the Abbasid period (750–969 AD), Antioch continued to thrive as a hub of commerce and culture. Under the Abbasids , closer relations were developed with Byzantium, but it was not until the Fatimids opened up the Mediterranean for shipping from the end of the fourth/tenth century that the affairs of western Europe and the Near East began to interact once again. The Abbasids placed

16544-558: The city's annual feast of Apollo the only Antiochene present was an old priest clutching a goose, showing the decay of paganism in the town. The Antiochenes in turn hated Julian for worsening the food shortage with the burden of his billeted troops, wrote Ammianus . The soldiers were often to be found gorged on sacrificial meat, making a drunken nuisance of themselves on the streets while Antioch's hungry citizens looked on in disgust. The Christian Antiochenes and Julian's pagan Gallic soldiers also never quite saw eye to eye. Julian's piety

16720-568: The city: "I shall not enter your houses". From Babylon, Alexander went to Susa , one of the Achaemenid capitals, and captured its treasury. He sent the bulk of his army to the Persian ceremonial capital of Persepolis via the Persian Royal Road . Alexander himself took selected troops on the direct route to the city. He then stormed the pass of the Persian Gates (in the modern Zagros Mountains ) which had been blocked by

16896-509: The coast held no major ports and Alexander moved inland. At Termessos , Alexander humbled and did not storm the Pisidian city. At the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordium , Alexander "undid" the hitherto unsolvable Gordian Knot , a feat said to await the future "king of Asia ". According to the story, Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone, and hacked it apart with his sword. In spring 333 BC, Alexander crossed

17072-499: 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's 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

17248-408: 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

17424-512: The contest. Philip marched on Amphissa (ostensibly acting on the request of the Amphictyonic League ), capturing the mercenaries sent there by Demosthenes and accepting the city's surrender. Philip then returned to Elatea, sending a final offer of peace to Athens and Thebes, who both rejected it. As Philip marched south, his opponents blocked him near Chaeronea , Boeotia . During the ensuing Battle of Chaeronea , Philip commanded

17600-611: 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. Under the rule of its first three monarchs Ptolemy I Soter , Ptolemy II Philadelphus , and Ptolemy III Euergetes , Ptolemaic Egypt reached its zenith of power and prestige in its first eighty years of existence, while heading off

17776-663: The dominant population up to the Crusades. As the empire disintegrated rapidly before the Komnenian restoration , Dux of Antioch & Domestic of the Schools of the East Philaretos Brachamios held the city until Suleiman ibn Qutalmish , the emir of Rum , captured it from him in 1084. Two years later, Suleiman was killed fighting against Tutush , the brother of the Seljuk Sultan , who annexed

17952-548: The earliest missionaries. Evangelized by, among others, Peter himself, according to the tradition upon which the Patriarchate of Antioch still rests its claim for primacy, its converts were the first to be called Christians. This is not to be confused with Antioch in Pisidia , to which Barnabas and Paul of Tarsus later travelled. Between 252 and 300 AD, ten assemblies of the church were held at Antioch and it became

18128-544: The eastern frontier. Sometimes both offices were held by the same person, usually military officers such as Nikephoros Ouranos , or Philaretos Brachamios , who managed to retain the integrity of the eastern borderline after the Seljuk conquest of Anatolia. The size of the Melkite community increased during that time due to immigration from Christians from Fatimid Egypt but also other parts of the Near East and Christians remained

18304-567: The eastern suburbs of Antioch. There was a village on the spur of Mount Silpius named Io , or Iopolis . This name was always adduced as evidence by Antiochenes ( e.g. Libanius ) eager to affiliate themselves to the Attic Ionians —an eagerness which is illustrated by the Athenian types used on the city's coins. Io may have been a small early colony of trading Greeks ( Javan ). John Malalas also mentions an archaic village, Bottia , in

18480-470: The emperor himself was forced to take shelter in the circus for several days. He and his successor restored the city, but the population was reduced to less than 400,000 inhabitants and many sections of the city were abandoned. Commodus (r. 177–192 AD) had Olympic games celebrated at Antioch. In 256 AD, the town was suddenly raided by the Persians under Shapur I , and many of the people were slain in

18656-512: 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

18832-433: The empire's cities to be more self-managing, as they had been some 200 years before . However, Antioch's city councilmen showed themselves unwilling to shore up Antioch's food shortage with their own resources, so dependent were they on the emperor. Ammianus wrote that the councilmen shirked their duties by bribing unwitting men in the marketplace to do the job for them. Further, Julian was surprised and dismayed when at

19008-657: The enemy's cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to press forward and quickly routed them. With the Athenians lost, the Thebans were surrounded. Left to fight alone, they were defeated. After the victory at Chaeronea, Philip and Alexander marched unopposed into the Peloponnese, devastating much of Laconia and ejecting the Spartans from various parts of it. At Corinth , Philip established a "Hellenic Alliance" (modelled on

19184-573: The famous oracle of Amun-Ra at the Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert, at which he was pronounced the son of the deity Amun . Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after his death, currency depicted him adorned with horns , using the Horns of Ammon as a symbol of his divinity. The Greeks interpreted this message – one that the gods addressed to all pharaohs – as

19360-572: The floor, at which Alexander reproachfully insulted him: "See there," said he, "the man who makes preparations to pass out of Europe into Asia, overturned in passing from one seat to another." In 337 BC, Alexander fled Macedon with his mother, dropping her off with her brother, King Alexander I of Epirus in Dodona , capital of the Molossians . He continued to Illyria where he sought refuge with one or more Illyrian kings, perhaps with Glaucias , and

19536-514: 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. Soon after the second partition, in 319 BC, Antipater died. Antipater had been one of the few remaining individuals with enough prestige to hold

19712-539: 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,

19888-438: The horse's fear of its own shadow, asked to tame the horse, which he eventually managed. Plutarch stated that Philip, overjoyed at this display of courage and ambition, kissed his son tearfully, declaring: "My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedon is too small for you", and bought the horse for him. Alexander named it Bucephalas , meaning "ox-head". Bucephalas carried Alexander as far as India . When

20064-460: The insistence of Octavian , whose cause the city had espoused. A forum of Roman type was laid out. Tiberius built two long colonnades on the south towards Silpius. Strabo , writing in the reign of Augustus and the first years of Tiberius, states that Antioch is not much smaller than Seleucia and Alexandria; Alexandria had been said by Diodorus Siculus in the mid-first century BC to have 300,000 free inhabitants, which would mean that Antioch

20240-443: The lands he had already lost, and a ransom of 10,000 talents for his family. Alexander replied that since he was now king of Asia, it was he alone who decided territorial divisions. Alexander proceeded to take possession of Syria , and most of the coast of the Levant . In the following year, 332 BC, he was forced to attack Tyre , which he captured after a long and difficult siege . The men of military age were massacred and

20416-439: The late Roman time. Among its great Greek buildings we hear only of the theatre, of which substructures still remain on the flank of Silpius, and of the royal palace, probably situated on the island. It enjoyed a reputation for being "a populous city, full of most erudite men and rich in the most liberal studies", but the only names of distinction in these pursuits during the Seleucid period that have come down to us are Apollophanes,

20592-440: The measure against which many later military leaders would compare themselves, and his tactics remain a significant subject of study in military academies worldwide. Legends of Alexander's exploits coalesced into the third-century Alexander Romance which, in the premodern period, went through over one hundred recensions, translations, and derivations and was translated into almost every European vernacular and every language of

20768-640: The mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates , to withdraw by sea. Alexander left the government of Caria to a member of the Hecatomnid dynasty, Ada , who adopted Alexander. From Halicarnassus, Alexander proceeded into mountainous Lycia and the Pamphylian plain, asserting control over all coastal cities to deny the Persians naval bases. From Pamphylia onwards,

20944-450: The more to make the attempt". After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Alexander had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword, and the women and children were sold into slavery. Egypt was only one of a large number of territories taken by Alexander from the Persians. After his trip to Siwa, Alexander was crowned in

21120-534: The negotiations and scolded Alexander for wishing to marry the daughter of a Carian, explaining that he wanted a better bride for him. Philip exiled four of Alexander's friends, Harpalus , Nearchus , Ptolemy and Erigyius , and had the Corinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains. In the 24th day of the Macedonian month Dios, which probably corresponds to 25 October 336 BC, while at Aegae attending

21296-529: The news of Alexander's death had inspired a revolt in Greece, known as the Lamian War . Athens and other cities joined, 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 BC. For

21472-457: The next morning. Plutarch recounts an anecdote in which Alexander pauses and talks to a fallen statue of Xerxes as if it were a live person: Shall I pass by and leave you lying there because of the expeditions you led against Greece, or shall I set you up again because of your magnanimity and your virtues in other respects? Alexander then chased Darius, first into Media, and then Parthia. The Persian king no longer controlled his own destiny, and

21648-424: The nickname axeman , wrote Ammianus. The emperor's high-handed, severe methods and his rigid administration prompted Antiochene lampoons about, among other things, Julian's unfashionably pointed beard . Julian's successor Valens endowed Antioch with a new forum, including a statue of his brother and co-emperor Valentinian I on a central column, and reopened the great church of Constantine, which stood until

21824-481: The niece of his general Attalus . The marriage made Alexander's position as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian. During the wedding banquet , a drunken Attalus publicly prayed to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir. At the wedding of Cleopatra, whom Philip fell in love with and married, she being much too young for him, her uncle Attalus in his drink desired

22000-434: The north, which left Alexander in charge as regent and heir apparent . During Philip's absence, the Thracian tribe of Maedi revolted against Macedonia. Alexander responded quickly and drove them from their territory. The territory was colonized, and a city, named Alexandropolis , was founded. Upon Philip's return, Alexander was dispatched with a small force to subdue the revolts in southern Thrace . Campaigning against

22176-547: The old anti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars ), which included most Greek city-states except Sparta. Philip was then named Hegemon (often translated as "Supreme Commander") of this league (known by modern scholars as the League of Corinth ), and announced his plans to attack the Persian Empire . When Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with and married Cleopatra Eurydice in 338 BC,

22352-467: 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. The Somatophylakes were

22528-420: The other cities again hesitated, Thebes decided to fight. The Theban resistance was ineffective and Alexander razed the city and divided its territory between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens, leaving all of Greece temporarily at peace. Alexander then set out on his Asian campaign, leaving Antipater as regent. After his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC) , Philip II began

22704-430: The plain by the river. Alexander the Great is said to have camped on the site of Antioch and dedicated an altar to Zeus Bottiaeus; it lay in the northwest of the future city. This account is found only in the writings of Libanius , a fourth-century orator from Antioch, and may be legend intended to enhance Antioch's status. But the story is not unlikely in itself. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, his generals,

22880-508: The previous. Each published an assortment of papers read at the symposium. The 2010 symposium, entitled "The Time of the Diadochi (323-281 BC)," 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

23056-530: The region. The city remained an important urban center, with its multicultural population including Christians, Muslims, and Jews living together, although there were periods of tension and conflict. However, since the Umayyad dynasty was unable to penetrate the Anatolian Plateau , Antioch found itself on the frontline of the conflicts between two hostile empires during the next 350 years, so that

23232-790: The rest of Greece were to be jointly ruled by Antipater and Craterus , while Alexander's former secretary, Eumenes of Cardia , was to receive Cappadocia and Paphlagonia . Alexander's arrangements in the east were left 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 . Meanwhile,

23408-455: The right wing and Alexander the left, accompanied by a group of Philip's trusted generals. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for some time. Philip deliberately commanded his troops to retreat, counting on the untested Athenian hoplites to follow, thus breaking their line. Alexander was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Philip's generals. Having damaged

23584-529: The satrapy of Sogdiana, betrayed Bessus to Ptolemy , one of Alexander's trusted companions, and Bessus was executed. However, at some point later when Alexander was on the Jaxartes dealing with an incursion by a horse nomad army, Spitamenes raised Sogdiana in revolt. Alexander personally defeated the Scythians at the Battle of Jaxartes and immediately launched a campaign against Spitamenes, defeating him in

23760-742: The seat of one of the five original patriarchates , along with Constantinople , Jerusalem , Alexandria , and Rome (see Pentarchy ). Today five churches use the title of patriarch of Antioch for their prime bishops: one Oriental Orthodox (the Syriac Orthodox Church ); three Eastern Catholic (the Maronite , Syriac Catholic , and Melkite Greek Catholic Churches ); and one Eastern Orthodox (the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch ). This title has been maintained though most of them have moved their seat to Damascus . This

23936-576: The second generation of Diadochi rulers. In an 1843 work, "History of the Epigoni" ( Geschichte der Epigonen ) he details the kingdoms of the Epigoni, 280-239 BC. The only precise date is the first, the date of Alexander's death, June, 323 BC. 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: "Plutarch states that Alexander founded more than seventy new cities in Asia. So large

24112-567: The seven bodyguards of Alexander. Satraps (Old Persian: xšaθrapāwn ) were the governors of the provinces in the Hellenistic empires. Originally the Epigoni (/ɪˈpɪɡənaɪ/; from Ancient Greek: Ἐπίγονοι "offspring") were the sons of the Argive heroes who had fought in the first Theban war. In the 19th century the term was used to refer to the second generation of Diadochi rulers. Without

24288-475: The start of the Hellenistic period , Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion and syncretism that his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism and Hellenistic Judaism . He founded more than twenty cities , with the most prominent being the city of Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture led to the overwhelming dominance of Hellenistic civilization and influence as far east as

24464-512: The suggestion as impious. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice . That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies and that his horses had won at the Olympic Games . It was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus , one of

24640-406: The taxation system on the Greek models and organized the military occupation of the country, but in early 331 BC he left for Asia in pursuit of the Persians. Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC where he was regarded as a liberator. To legitimize taking power and be recognized as the descendant of the long line of pharaohs, Alexander made sacrifices to the gods at Memphis and went to consult

24816-461: The temple of Ptah at Memphis. It appears that the Egyptian people did not find it disturbing that he was a foreigner – nor that he was absent for virtually his entire reign. Alexander restored the temples neglected by the Persians and dedicated new monuments to the Egyptian gods. In the temple of Luxor, near Karnak, he built a chapel for the sacred barge. During his brief months in Egypt, he reformed

24992-462: The temple. The result was a massive Christian procession. Shortly after that, when the temple was destroyed by fire, Julian suspected the Christians and ordered stricter investigations than usual. He also shut up Constantine's Great Church, before the investigations proved that the fire was the result of an accident. Julian found much else about which to criticize the Antiochene; Julian had wanted

25168-507: The theatre. The city was burned and some 100,000 inhabitants were killed while the rest were deported to Shapur‘s newly built city of Gundeshapur It was recaptured by the Roman emperor Valerian the following year. Antioch was a chief center of early Christianity during Roman times. The city had a large population of Jewish origin in a quarter called the Kerateion , and so attracted

25344-557: The theme of the king who protects the lands and the peasants". Alexander wrote a letter in 332 BC to Darius III, wherein he argued that he was worthier than Darius "to succeed to the Achaemenid throne". However, Alexander's eventual decision to burn the Achaemenid palace at Persepolis in conjunction with the major rejection and opposition of the "entire Persian people" made it impracticable for him to pose himself as Darius' legitimate successor. Against Bessus (Artaxerxes V) however, Briant adds, Alexander reasserted "his claim to legitimacy as

25520-454: The throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia , Central Asia , parts of South Asia , and Egypt . By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India . He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until

25696-423: The throne. He had his cousin, the former Amyntas IV , executed. He also had two Macedonian princes from the region of Lyncestis killed for having been involved in his father's assassination, but spared a third, Alexander Lyncestes . Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice, and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. When Alexander learned about this, he was furious. Alexander also ordered the murder of Attalus, who

25872-461: The tide turned, and Cassander was victorious, capturing and killing Olympias, and attaining control of Macedon, the boy king, and his mother. The Wars of the Diadochi were a series of conflicts, fought between 322 and 275 BC, over the rule of Alexander's empire after his death. In 310 BC Cassander secretly murdered Alexander IV and Roxana. The Battle of Ipsus at the end of the Fourth War of

26048-439: The use of Diadochi but his criticism of Johann Gustav Droysen gives him away. Droysen, "the modern inventor of Hellenistic history," not only defined " Hellenistic period " ( hellenistische ... Zeit ), 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

26224-435: The walls; but its glory was past. Another earthquake in 588 destroyed the Domus Aureus of Constantine, whereafter the church of Cassian became the most important church of Antioch. During the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , the Emperor Heraclius confronted the invading Persian army of Khosrow II outside Antioch in 613. The Byzantines were defeated by forces under the generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin Vahmanzadegan at

26400-467: The wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to Olympias's brother, Alexander I of Epirus , Philip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards , Pausanias . As Pausanias tried to escape, he tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander's companions, Perdiccas and Leonnatus . Alexander was proclaimed king on the spot by the nobles and army at the age of 20. Alexander began his reign by eliminating potential rivals to

26576-477: The western coast of Anatolia revolted until the news arrived that Philip had been murdered and had been succeeded by his young son Alexander. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated near Magnesia by the Achaemenids under the command of the mercenary Memnon of Rhodes . Taking over the invasion project of Philip II, Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont in 334 BC with approximately 48,100 soldiers, 6,100 cavalry, and

26752-406: The women and children sold into slavery . When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated. However, Alexander was met with resistance at Gaza . The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. When "his engineers pointed out to him that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible... this encouraged Alexander all

26928-445: The work of establishing himself as hēgemṓn ( Greek : ἡγεμών ) of a league which according to Diodorus was to wage a campaign against the Persians for the sundry grievances Greece suffered in 480 and free the Greek cities of the western coast and islands from Achaemenid rule. In 336 he sent Parmenion , Amyntas , Andromenes, Attalus, and an army of 10,000 men into Anatolia to make preparations for an invasion. The Greek cities on

27104-422: Was Simeon Stylites , who lived an extremely ascetic life atop a pillar for 40 years some 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of Antioch . His body was brought to the city and buried in a building erected under the emperor Leo . During the Byzantine era, great bathhouses were built in Byzantine centers such as Constantinople and Antioch. In 637, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius , Antioch

27280-774: Was a son, they would rule jointly. Perdiccas was named Regent and Meleager as his lieutenant. Eventually, Roxana did give birth to Alexander's son, Alexander IV . However, Perdiccas had Meleager and the other infantry leaders murdered and assumed full control. Perdiccas, summoned a council of the great men of Alexander's court to appoint satraps for the parts of the Empire in the partition of Babylon . 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 . Macedon and

27456-446: 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. Philip then fell in love and married a young woman, Cleopatra , when he was too old for marriage. (Macedonian kings traditionally had multiple wives.) Alexander was at the wedding banquet when Attalus , Cleopatra's uncle, made a remark that seemed inappropriate to him. He asked

27632-448: Was a teenager, 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. At the report of each of Philip's victories, Alexander was said to lament that his father would leave him nothing of note to do. There

27808-422: Was about this size in Strabo's time. Agrippa and Tiberius enlarged the theatre, and Trajan finished their work. Antoninus Pius paved the great east to west artery with granite. A circus , other colonnades and great numbers of baths were built, and new aqueducts to supply them bore the names of Caesars, the finest being the work of Hadrian . The Roman client, King Herod (most likely the great builder Herod

27984-528: Was already fighting a losing battle against continual silting, never recovered. A second earthquake affected Antioch in 528. Justinian I renamed Antioch Theopolis ("City of God") and restored many of its public buildings, but the destructive work was completed in 540 by the Persian king, Khosrau I , who deported the population to a newly built city in Persian Mesopotamia, Weh Antiok Khosrow . Antioch lost as many as 300,000 people. Justinian I made an effort to revive it, and Procopius describes his repairing of

28160-421: Was also acquainted with Persian exiles at the Macedonian court, who received the protection of Philip II for several years as they opposed Artaxerxes III . Among them were Artabazos II and his daughter Barsine , possible future mistress of Alexander, who resided at the Macedonian court from 352 to 342 BC, as well as Amminapes , future satrap of Alexander, or a Persian nobleman named Sisines . This gave

28336-415: Was appointed commander for the coming war against Persia. He also received news of a Thracian uprising. Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders. In the spring of 335 BC, he advanced to suppress several revolts. Starting from Amphipolis , he travelled east into the country of the "Independent Thracians", and at Mount Haemus , the Macedonian army attacked and defeated

28512-417: Was conquered by Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah of the Rashidun Caliphate during the Battle of the Iron Bridge , marking the beginning of Islamic influence in the region. The city became known in Arabic as أنطاكية Anṭākiyah . Under the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 AD), Antioch served as a significant military and administrative center. The Umayyads fortified the city, utilizing it as a base for operations in

28688-402: Was distasteful to the Antiochenes, even to those who kept the old religion. Julian's brand of paganism was very much unique to himself, with little support outside the most educated Neoplatonist circles. The irony of Julian's enthusiasm for large scale animal sacrifice could not have escaped the hungry Antiochenes. Julian gained no admiration for his personal involvement in the sacrifices, only

28864-461: 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 BC). Soon after, though,

29040-429: Was forced to accede to a peace accord, the Treaty of Devol which stipulated that Bohemond was to hold Antioch for the remainder of his life as the emperor's subject and the Greek patriarch was to be restored to power in the city. However, Tancred refused to honor the Treaty of Deabolis in which Bohemond swore an oath, and it is not until 1156 that it truly became a vassal state of the Byzantine Empire . Six months after

29216-414: Was his principal wife for some time, likely because she gave birth to Alexander. Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood. According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch , on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, Olympias dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt that caused a flame to spread "far and wide" before dying away. Sometime after the wedding, Philip

29392-425: Was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor and Cleopatra's uncle. Attalus was at that time corresponding with Demosthenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens. Attalus also had severely insulted Alexander, and following Cleopatra's murder, Alexander may have considered him too dangerous to be left alive. Alexander spared Arrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as

29568-448: 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

29744-407: Was insufficient to merely exploit the internal contradictions within the imperial system as in Asia Minor, Babylonia or Egypt; he also had to (re)create a central government with or without the support of the Iranians. As early as 334 BC he demonstrated awareness of this, when he challenged incumbent King Darius III "by appropriating the main elements of the Achaemenid monarchy's ideology, particularly

29920-466: Was lured into an ambush by Leo I, Prince of Armenia who allied with the Danishmend Gazi Gümüshtigin , and was killed in the subsequent battle. Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( Ancient Greek : Ἀλέξανδρος , romanized :  Alexandros ; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great , was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon . He succeeded his father Philip II to

30096-556: Was preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelled by Alexander. Philip and his army joined his son in 338 BC, and they marched south through Thermopylae , taking it after stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison. They went on to occupy the city of Elatea , only a few days' march from both Athens and Thebes . The Athenians, led by Demosthenes , voted to seek alliance with Thebes against Macedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to win Thebes's favour, but Athens won

30272-418: Was reported as the lowest aulic rank, under Philos, during the reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes . Diadochi (Διάδοχοι) 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

30448-452: Was taken prisoner by Bessus , his Bactrian satrap and kinsman. As Alexander approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared himself Darius's successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into Central Asia to launch a guerrilla campaign against Alexander. Alexander buried Darius's remains next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a regal funeral. He claimed that, while dying, Darius had named him as his successor to

30624-483: Was taken prisoner for three years (1100–03) by Gazi Gümüshtigin of the Danishmends at the Battle of Melitene . Tancred expanded the territory of Antioch by conquering Byzantine Cilicia , Tarsus , and Adana in 1101. In 1107 Bohemond enraged by an earlier defeat, renamed Tancred as the regent of Antioch so he could sail for Europe with the intent of gaining support for an attack against the Greeks. Bohemond laid siege to Dyrrachium but capitulated in September 1108 and

30800-441: Was the architect who built the walls of Antioch during Seleucus I reign. The original city of Seleucus was laid out in imitation of the grid plan of Alexandria by the architect Xenarius . Libanius describes the first building and arrangement of this city (i. p. 300. 17). The citadel was on Mount Silpius and the city lay mainly on the low ground to the north, fringing the river. Two great colonnaded streets intersected in

30976-818: Was treated as a guest, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before. However, it appears Philip never intended to disown his politically and militarily trained son. Accordingly, Alexander returned to Macedon after six months due to the efforts of a family friend, Demaratus , who mediated between the two parties. In the following year, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria , Pixodarus , offered his eldest daughter to Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus . Olympias and several of Alexander's friends suggested this showed Philip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir. Alexander reacted by sending an actor, Thessalus of Corinth, to tell Pixodarus that he should not offer his daughter's hand to an illegitimate son, but instead to Alexander. When Philip heard of this, he stopped

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