home : index : ancient Persia : ancient Greece : Alexander | ||
The Settlement at Babylon |
||
After the death of Alexander
the Great in 323 BCE, his brother Arridaeus
and his posthumous son Alexander
were made kings; but because Philip was considered mentally deficient and
Alexander was still a baby, Perdiccas
was made their regent. The satrapies
were given to Alexander's generals during a conference at Babylon.
Soon, they started to behave independently.
The results of the conference are described by the Greek author Arrian of Nicomedia in the sequel to his better known Anabasis, the Events after Alexander. This work, which covered the events between 323 and 320, is now lost, but a Byzantine excerpt made by patriarch Photius (820-897) survives. Section 34-38 can be read below in the translation by M.M. Austin. |
|
|
|
Arrian also wrote an account in ten books of what happened after Alexander. They comprise the sedition in the army and the proclamation of Arridaeus, a son of Philip, Alexander's father, from the Thessalian Philine, on the condition that the throne would be shared between him and Alexander, who was about to be born to Roxane from Alexander (the Great); and that is what happened when the child saw the light of day. They proclaimed Arridaeus king and changed his name to Philip. Strife broke out between the infantry and the cavalry; the most eminent of the cavalry and of the commanders were Perdiccas son of Orontes, Leonnatus son of Anteas and Ptolemy son of Lagus, after them Lysimachus son of Agathocles, Aristonous son of Pisaeus, Peithon son of Crateuas, Seleucus son of Antiochus and Eumenes of Cardia. These were the commanders of the cavalry, while Meleager commanded the infantry. They then sent numerous embassies to each other, and in the end the infantry who had proclaimed the king and the commanders of the cavalry came to an agreement, to the effect that Antipater should be general of Europe, Craterus protector of the kingdom of Arridaeus, Perdiccas should hold the office of 'chiliarch' which Hephaestion had held (this made him supervisor of the whole kingdom), while Meleager should be Perdiccas' lieutenant. |
|
|
On the pretext of purging the army Perdiccas arrested the most conspicuous leaders of the sedition, and had them put to death in his presence, alleging orders from Arridaeus; this struck terror in the rest of the army. Not long after he also put Meleager to death. As a result mutual suspicions were rife between Perdiccas and all the others. Nonetheless Perdiccas, pretending to act under the orders of Arridaeus, decided to appoint to the satrapies men who were suspected by him.
Such was the distribution of provinces [1]; but many parts remained unassigned, under the control of native rulers, as organized by Alexander. Arrian also wrote an account in ten books of what happened after Alexander. |
|
Note 1:
Arrian ignores the eastern satrapies, but from other sources we know that Perdiccas decided not to change too much.
|
||
|
||