Before reading this article, please click "Follow", which is convenient for you to discuss and share, and brings you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support.
Alexander's empire, conquered and created by force, quickly collapsed with Alexander's sudden death, and the huge empire was divided among his generals. In this bloody struggle for power, the Antigonal family seized the opportunity and stood out, not only establishing the Antigonal dynasty, ruling the heart of Alexander's empire, but also under the banner of "avenging ancient Greece"...
Succession Tournament: The Establishment of the Antigonus Dynasty
The founder of the Antigonus dynasty was the general Antigonus under Alexander, who followed Philip II in his early years on his crusades and lost an eye on the battlefield, so some people called him the one-eyed Antigonus. Later, he followed Alexander the Great in his conquest of Asia Minor, was appointed governor of Phrygia the Great, Lydia, and Pamphelia, and controlled most of Asia Minor.
After Alexander's death, Perdiccas became regent of the empire. Antigonus continued to serve as governor because of his exploits. However , instead of attacking Cappadocia , he disobeyed Perdicas 's orders and , fearing punishment , Antigonus fled Asia Minor with his son Demetrius and went to Macedonia to join Antipater ( who had stayed in Macedonia during Alexander's crusade ) and Clatlus .
Antigonus used this to accuse Perdiccas of having the intention of seizing the throne, inciting Antipater and Craterus to invade Asia Minor and form an alliance with the Egyptian governor Ptolemy. Antigonus allied himself with Ptolemy because Ptolemy stole the body of Alexander the Great, who was bound for Macedonia, halfway to his possession of Egypt, which was a great provocation to Perdiccas.
The First Succession War broke out
In 320 BC, Perdiccas personally went to Egypt, and the First War of Successors broke out. Due to the unfavorable situation in the war, Perdiccas' generals Perdiccas, Pezon , Seleucid , and Antijanis rebelled and killed him. After the death of Perdiccas, Antipater became regent of the empire. Antigonus was deeply trusted by Antipater and was reinstated.
Second Battle of Succession
Antigonus and Ptolemy supported Cassander in the Second Battle of the Successors with Polybocon. Antigonus defeated his rival Eumenes in 317 BC and took control of the empire's territory in Asia. As for the governor of the eastern provinces of the empire, he continued to serve those who submitted to him; Those who stubbornly disobeyed, such as the Medean governor Pesong, were eliminated by him. The governor of Babylonia, Seleucius, fled to Egypt for fear of his strength, because of his disagreements. At this time, Antigonus became the most powerful of its successors.
The Third Succession War broke out
Antigonus' strength unnerved the other successors, and Seleucid, who had fled to Egypt, succeeded in convincing the Egyptian governor Ptolemy to make an enemy of Antigonus. Ptolemy then contacted Cassander, Thracian governor Lisimachus, and others to form an anti-Antigonal coalition. The Third War of the Successors breaks out. Although Antigonus was strong, he was unable to fight on multiple fronts, and finally the two sides negotiated peace, and it was also during this period that Cassander secretly murdered Alexander IV's mother and son.
Alexander's successor
In deciding on the successor, Alexander the Great's generals were divided into two factions, the infantry regiment represented by Mele Aglos supporting his half-brother Philip III , and the cavalry regiment represented by Perdiccas supporting him and Roxanne's widow (who was not yet born at the time), and finally the two factions reached a compromise.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Colossus of the Sun God
In 305 BC, Dmitry I led an army to attack the city of Rhodes, because the walls of Rhodes were very strong, Dmitry I invented a very powerful siege weapon: a 38-meter-high giant siege tower that could be propelled by wheels, and it was said that the battering ram used for siege was 55 meters long and required 1,000 people to operate. For this reason Dmitry I received the nickname "The Besieger". However, even so, Rhodes City was not breached. After the war, the inhabitants of Rhodes celebrated this victory by building a bronze colossus of the sun god Helios, which the ancient Greek philosopher Philon included in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in 225 BC and was later destroyed by an earthquake.
Colossus of the sun god
The Fourth Succession War breaks out
Soon the war resumed, and the Fourth War of Successors broke out. In 307 BC, Antigonus sent his son Demetrius to Greece, and Dmetrius succeeded in liberating Athens from the tyrant of Cassand, Demetrius of Falerrum, freeing Athens. In 306 BC, Demetrius led an army to attack Ptolemy-occupied Cyprus and defeated Ptolemy's fleet at the Battle of Salamis, which was destroyed and its combat forces reduced by almost two-thirds.
With this great victory, Antigonus and his son Demetrius both became kings and established the Antigonus dynasty, known as Antigonus I and Demetrius I. Later, other powerful governors also became kings one after another. For example, Ptolemy established the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt called Ptolemy I, Seleucid established the Seleucid dynasty called Seleucid I, and Cassander established the Antipatian dynasty.
Starting a business is hard, keeping a business is even harder: the successor of the dynasty
In 303 BC, Cassander invaded Greece while Demetrius I was besieging the city of Rhodes. The following year, Dmitry I, who had ended the siege of Rhodes, returned to Greece with his army and drove out Kassander. Cassander attempted peace talks , but Antigonus I ( Dmitry 's father ) refused. In desperation, Cassander contacted Lysimachus of Thrace and Seleucid I of Babylon to re-form an anti-Antigonal alliance. In 301 BC, fierce fighting took place near Asia Minor (Phrygian village of Ipsus). It was the largest war since the War of the Lords, with 160,000 troops on both sides and four kings at the same time. As a result, Antigonus I was killed in battle, and Dmitry I fled with the remnants of his army. In the end, Antigonus I's territory in Asia Minor was divided among the victors.
Regroup: Regain control
After the defeat, Dmitry I had only a few cities left, and because he was too weak at this time, the other successors were too busy with mutual suspicion to pay attention to him, which is why Dmitry I had the opportunity to regroup and make a comeback. Demetrius spent six years recruiting troops to reorganize his army, and in 295 BC, he sensed the time was ripe to lead his army to conquer Athens and regain control of many Greek city-states.
Macedonian soldier with spear. The Macedonian spear is the longest spear body used on a large scale in the ancient world, up to 7 meters long, which can effectively restrain infantry and cavalry, and is invincible on the road of Alexander the Great's crusade.
Unpaid ambition: Died under house arrest
In 294 BC , Demetrius took advantage of the civil strife in Macedonia ( Cassander died in 298 BC , and his successors Antipater I and Alexander V fought over the throne ) , led an army into Macedonia , killed Alexander V , took control of Macedonia , and became king of Macedonia. At all satisfied with the present state of affairs, Dmitry I was bent on restoring his father's former territory, and in order to realize this wish, he frantically expanded his army and built ships, and this large-scale military preparation aroused the alarm of other successors, who not only reformed an anti-Dmitri alliance, but also persuaded Dmitrius I's ally against King Pyrrhus of Merosia (Dmitrius I's brother-in-law).
After the formation of the anti-Dmitri alliance, Pyrrhus and Lysimachus led heavy troops to attack Macedonia, seeing that the other side was menacing, Dmetrius I had to leave Macedonia, but he still wanted to recover his father's lost territory, so he desperately led his troops to attack Asia Minor, and before leaving for the expedition, he left his son Antigonus II in Greece.
In 286 BC, after being besieged by the forces of Seleucid I and forced to surrender, Dmetry I was placed under house arrest in Syria and died under house arrest in 283 BC.
Creation of the dynasty: centered on Macedonia
After Dmitry I was captured, Antigonus II wrote to Seleucid I, saying that he was willing to give up all his possessions and even take him hostage in exchange for his father's freedom, but he was unsuccessful. In 283 BC, after his father's death, Antigonus II became the third king of the Antigonal dynasty.
In 279 BC, a group of Celts who had migrated from northern Gaul invaded Macedonia when the Macedonian king Ptolemy Clonos (son of Ptolemy I) was killed in battle, and Macedonia fell into anarchy that lasted for two years. The Gauls continued south into Greece, where Antigonus II and the Aetolian League in central Greece combined to inflict heavy damage on the Gauls. During this period, Antigonus II married the Seleucid princess Phila, and relations with the Seleucid Empire became friendly through political marriage.
Sculpture of the Dying Gaul: now in the Capitoly Museum of Fine Arts, Rome, circa 2nd century BC (author unknown). The work depicts the defeat of the Gauls, a wounded Gallic warrior, sitting on the ground in grief, leaning forward, his left knee bent, his right hand supported on the ground, although he was seriously injured and physically exhausted, he still struggled to try to get up...
In 277 BC, Antigonus II defeated the Gauls in the Dardanelles and then led his army straight into Macedonia, becoming the new king of Macedonia. This also established the Macedonia-centered rule of the Antigonal dynasty, and Antigonus II is therefore considered the true founder of the Antigonal dynasty.
Antigonus II: Relying on force is the last word
In 274 BC, King Pyrrhus of Epirus, a neighboring nation to the west of Macedonia, lost the battlefield in Italy and returned to his homeland. In order to replenish his salaries, the following year, he led his troops to invade Macedonia, which caused Antigonus II to lose a lot of Macedonian territory, and under the strong attack of the other side, Antigonus II could only take advantage of the naval advantage to retreat to the port city. In 272 BC, Pyrrhus moved to the Peloponnese, and after an unsuccessful siege of the city of Sparta, he led an army to invade the city of Argos. Antigonus II, an ally of the Argos, immediately sent troops to help, and together with the Spartans and the Argos, defeated the army of Pyrrhus, and Pyrrhus was killed. Antigonus II also took the opportunity to reclaim the territories occupied by Pyrrhus, and thereafter he firmly held power in Macedonia and Greece.
The Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt also wanted to invade the Greek peninsula, and in 267 BC, Ptolemy II encouraged the two main Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta, to unite against Macedonia, which led to the outbreak of the Cremonidean War. In response, Antigonus II dealt a devastating blow to both cities. At this time, the Ptolemaic dynasty was unable to aid Athens because it was contained by the Seleucid dynasty. In the end, Athens and Sparta were forced to make peace, and the situation on the Greek peninsula stabilized. Later, in the Second Syrian War, Antigonus II formed an alliance with the Seleucid Empire and defeated the fleet of the Ptolemaic dynasty in the Battle of Kos, which can be said to be the rout of Ptolemy, which solved the military threat of Antigonus II from the outside.
However, the backyard of the Antigonus dynasty was not peaceful, and the freedom-loving Greeks constantly caused him trouble. In 251 BC, the Greek city-state of Sicoon, led by the young nobleman Aratto, expelled the pro-Macedonian tyrants and declared independence. In order to prevent Antigonus II's reprisals, Sicoon joined the Achaean League in the Peloponnese to resist Macedonia. As the Achaean League continued to grow, the city-states of Corinth, Argos and other cities joined in. The existence of this alliance made the political situation of the Antigonus dynasty very unstable.
Imperial Evening Scene with Internal and External Troubles: The Demise of the Dynasty
In 239 BC, Antigonus II died at the age of 80 and was succeeded by his son Demetrius II. At this time, he was facing a country with internal and external troubles and turmoil.
Internally, he had to guard against the attack of the two major allies of Greece itself, the Aetolian League and the Achaean League, two rival allies that had turned their enemies against Macedonia and formed an alliance. Demetrius II initially captured Bootia in the center of Greece in a battle with the two allies, separating the two alliances, which weakened the union of the two alliances.
Externally, the Antigonal dynasty faced the crisis of barbarian invasion from the north. In 229 BC, Demetrius II died in battle against the barbarians, leaving behind his young son Philip V. Demetrius II's cousin Antigonus III took control of Macedonia as regent and became the powerful king of Macedonia. Antigonus III, in order to break up the Greek alliance, extended an olive branch to the Achaean League. At this time, the new king of Sparta in the Peloponnese (Creonmenes III), in order to consolidate his position, tried to get rid of Macedonian control, in order to resolve internal conflicts, he continued to use foreign troops, and repeatedly attacked the Achaean League, which led to the gradual fall of the Achaean League to Macedonia. In 222 BC, Antigonus III defeated Sparta, and after abolishing Sparta's political reforms, he re-established the pro-Macedonian nobility to power, which brought Sparta and even the Achaean League back to Macedonia.
Battle of the Confederates: A 4-year tug-of-war
In 221 BC, Antigonus III died in a war, and the 17-year-old Philip V became pro-government. The Aetolian League believed that the 17-year-old new monarch would not be able to set foot in Greek affairs for the time being, so it seized the opportunity to attack the southern territory of the Achaean League - and the Confederate War broke out. Philip V fought a four-year war with the Achaean and Aetolian Leagues, but without a decisive victory, the two sides finally negotiated an armistice in 217 BC, and with the signing of the peace treaty, the Greek mainland power remained basically the status quo.
Macedonia became a vassal state: a symbol of decline
After compromising with the Aetolian League, Philip V decided to concentrate on dealing with the Roman Republic, which had infiltrated Illyria. In 215 BC, Philip V made an alliance with Hannibal of Carthage against Rome—the First Macedonian War broke out. Through the war, Macedonia finally captured Illyria. In 200 BC, Rome took the initiative to attack Macedonia - the Second Macedonian War broke out. In order to gain a greater chance of victory, Rome united with the Aetolian League and the Achaean League to attack Macedonia, and under the strategic alliance led by Rome, they defeated Philip V's Macedonian phalanx in 197 BC, and Philip V was forced to sign a peace treaty, he not only lost his right to rule the Greek city-state, but also retained only a small army, and in order to reassure the other side, he sent his son to Rome as a hostage. At this point, Macedonia lost its status as a great power and became a vassal of Rome.
The disintegration of Macedonia: signs of destruction
In 197 BC, Philip V died and his son Perseus became King of Macedonia (he was the seventh and last king of the Antigonus dynasty). Perseus was ambitious and intent on restoring the Antigonus dynasty, expanding his army, marrying a princess of the Seleucid Empire, intervening in neighboring countries, infiltrating Thrace and Illyria, and inspecting the Greek shrine of Delphi, causing panic in Greece. All these actions aroused the displeasure of Rome. In 171 BC, Rome sends troops to Macedonia - the Third Macedonian War begins.
At the beginning of the war, Macedonia gained the upper hand and won several battles, but in 168 BC, at the crucial Battle of Petna, the Macedonian phalanx was defeated by the Roman legions, and Perseus himself was captured. Since then, the Antigonal dynasty, which had existed for 124 years, collapsed, and the post-war Macedonian kingdom was divided into four small republican states by Rome. During this period, three people who claimed to be the sons of Perseus proclaimed themselves kings and openly rebelled against Roman rule, but were eventually annihilated by Rome. In 146 BC, the four republics of Macedonia were dissolved, and Macedonia officially became a province of the Roman Empire.
Roman chariot: Although this chariot is very handsome, it has high requirements for the geographical environment, such as the bumpy mountains cannot be used, so at that time only in local areas this chariot, its combat method is mainly based on cavalry. On the two-wheeled two-horse chariot pictured here, the chariot driver wears armor, helmets, and a red cloak that floats in the wind, making it extremely majestic from afar or up close.
bibliography
[1] Long Pei. On the inheritance, development and decline of Macedonian military system in Hellenistic state[J].Western Journal,2018(10):46-51.DOI:10.16721/j.cnki.cn61-1487/c.2018.10.014.)
[2] Han Xiang. Research on foreign relations in the era of Ptolemy II[D].Shanghai Normal University,2012.
[3] Shao Dalu. Research on new cities in the Hellenistic period[D].Nankai University,2017.DOI:10.27254/d.cnki.gnkau.2017.000003.