The last blog was
loosely inspired by the shock decision by Theresa May to hold a
General Election, since voted for by Parliament, and this one has a
similar theme.
There have been some
calls from people like Nicola Sturgeon for, in her words, a
progressive alliance between Labour, the SNP, Lib Dems and so on, in
order to oppose a Conservative Party which appears to be electorally
formidable.
Of course, this
wouldn’t be the first time a seemingly predominant power caused an
alliance of rivals to oppose it.
After Alexander the
Great died, there was a period of phony peace for about three years.
Perdiccas was regent, but ended up getting killed by his own men
after a failed invasion of Egypt, to punish Ptolemy for stealing
Alexander’s corpse.
Theoretically, the
remaining Diadochi (Successors) were still loyal to the two kings:
Philip Arrhidaeus (Alexander’s mentally disabled half-brother) and
Alexander IV (Alexander’s young son). In practice, they were all
jockeying for position.
Ptolemy retained Egypt,
wealthy and defensible land that it was. Antigonus Monopthalmus
acquired substantial power, from modern day Syria to (roughly) the western
border of Iran. Lysimachus got Thrace (Romania), strategically
vital but also not the easiest land to tame. Antipater, the ageing
viceroy who had held the reins in Macedon whilst Alexander conquered
the world, retained his place there and became regent.
It wouldn’t last.
Antipater died a few
years later and his chosen successor Polyperchon was not recognised
by the other Diadochi. Cassander, Antipater’s overlooked son, toppled Polyperchon and taking Macedon, which ended up having
terminal consequences for Alexander IV (Philip Arrhidaeus had already
been murdered by Alexander’s mother Olympias).
Antigonus had steadily
expanded his power, taking even more territory and becoming dominant
on the seas, surpassing Ptolemy’s Egypt which had previously held
sway. Then came a critical turn. Antigonus’ young son Demetrius
(later nicknamed Poliorcetes – the Besieger) fought Ptolemy at the
Battle of Gaza. Demetrius lost. It wasn’t catastrophic in itself,
but for the ultimate consequence.
Ptolemy had been
sheltering Seleucus, another of Alexander’s former generals. After
the death of Perdiccas, he had been made satrap (regional king) of
Babylonia, but Antigonus had wrested the large and wealthy satrapy
from him. Following victory at Gaza, Ptolemy gave money and some
troops to Seleucus, who returned to Babylonia, surprisingly managed
to defeat Antigonus’ forces, and was welcomed by the local
population. From there, he expanded east, and entered into marriage
with the daughter of the Indian ruler Chandragupta, which included a
wedding present to Seleucus of several hundred elephants.
All the kings, as they
now openly titled themselves, held great power. Cassander in Macedon
had the critical resource of top notch Macedonian infantry. Ptolemy’s
Egypt was brimming with wealth and very hard to invade. Lysimachus
held the gateway between Europe and Asia. Seleucus ruled vast lands
and had more elephants than the rest combined.
But it was Antigonus
Monopthalmus and Demetrius Poliorcetes, co-ruling now that Antigonus
was in his eighties, who were still predominant. If anyone could
reunite the whole Macedonian empire, it was them.
And the others knew it.
At certain times in
history, it’s remarkable just how idiotic leaders can be, or how
one-sided a war can seem. This was not one of those times. All
Alexander’s generals were ruthless, bold, cunning and extremely
capable. And the other kings realised their salvation only lay in
alliance.
Cassander, Lysimachus
and Seleucus agreed to face Antigonus together, at the Battle of
Ipsus. Ptolemy himself did not take part, perhaps preferring to keep
his forces fresh to take advantage of the situation afterwards.
Demetrius was
campaigning in Greece and was rapidly called back by his elderly father.
Had Antigonus been younger, he probably would’ve destroyed
Lysimachus’ forces, the first to arrive, but they managed to slip
away from under his nose. Later, foot soldiers from Cassander and
Seleucus’ men (as well as 400 elephants) completed the alliance
army.
Even so, it was only an
even match for Antigonus and Demetrius’ forces. The two armies
lined up, and battle commenced. Demetrius led a strong cavalry attack
and drove back the opposing horsemen (he was accompanied in this by
Pyrrhus, a cousin of Alexander). But it was a trap. The retreating
horsemen led Demetrius far from the battle, and when he tried to
return, he founded Seleucus’ elephants arrayed against him.
Cavalry, quite understandable, won’t charge elephants. Demetrius
tried to find a way through as his father, on the other side of the
battlefield, kept faith that his son would return to rescue the
situation.
He couldn’t.
Antigonus Monopthalmus died under a hail of javelins, and his son was
forced to flee the field. Territory was carved up between Lysimachus
and Seleucus, with Cassander regaining the parts of Greece that had
succumbed to Demetrius previously.
Demetrius himself was
eventually captured by Seleucus, and treated well, but ended up
drinking himself to death. Unusually for this period, he had a very
good relationship with his father, and it’s not hard to imagine how
terrible he felt after the Battle of Ipsus. His descendants would go
on to rule Macedon for generations to come, but the dream of
reuniting Alexander’s empire had gone.
Antigonus, in his pomp,
had almost all the advantages imaginable. Yet it wasn’t sufficient
for victory. He didn’t make severe mistakes, and came very close to
ultimate victory. But it was his very strength that led to his defeat
because it forced his rivals, individually weaker by far, to unite
against him.
To return to British
politics, in 1997 Tony Blair won a historic landslide for Labour, and
got a second in 2001. In 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was
contemplating a snap election and there was genuine speculation that
the Conservative Party could not withstand another defeat. He did not
call one. Now, the Conservatives are (if polling is accurate, and we
know, from the 2015 election, the British public aren’t above
fibbing for six months...) on the brink of increasing their majority
and Labour look down and out.
Whether that makes you
gleeful or despondent, it won’t last. Things can change quickly in
politics, and they have.
If you liked the sound
of the Diadochi era, I can recommend two books on the subject (links
to reviews):
Thaddeus
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