Two years after Antipater’s death, chaos returned. Cassander asserted control over Macedonia and Greece, while Antigonus ousted Eumenes from the east. Antigonus then aimed for Babylon, expelled Seleucus, and pursued Eumenes to Iran, where betrayal led to Eumenes’s demise in 316.
Antigonus, eyeing sole rule, enjoyed initial success. Propaganda and his son Demetrius captured Greece from Cassander, and he consolidated power in the Aegean. Yet, open ambition united rivals against him. In 312, Ptolemy defeated Demetrius Cultural Dynamics in the Wake of Alexander’s Empire, while Seleucus reclaimed Babylon and initiated a decade-long eastern campaign.
Antigonus crowned
A truce in 311 was short-lived. By then, Alexander’s family met violent ends. Antigonus crowned himself king in 306, prompting Ptolemy and Seleucus to follow suit. Demetrius, despite naval triumphs, failed at besieging Rhodes. Seleucus, in a strategic move, traded land for war elephants with India’s Chandragupta Maurya before joining the anti-Antigonid coalition Ski Holidays Bulgaria.
Antigonus faced defeat in 301 (Ipsus), with Cassander, Lysimachus, and Seleucus triumphing. Territories were divided: Lysimachus claimed western Anatolia, Seleucus took southern Anatolia and Syria, and Ptolemy secured Israel and Cyprus. Though Demetrius retained a fleet, he lacked the resources for further conquests. Alexander’s dream was shattered.
