Successor Kings of Alexander

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How did the Successor Kings attempt to legitimise their monarchies in the century following the death of Alexander the Great? After the unexpected and youthful death of King Alexander the Great in 323BC, the successor Kings that followed his reign only disjointed the once vast and resilient empire. The immediate successors after Alexander were called the Diadochi, and they were the first generation of military and political leaders after the death of the Macedonian king and conqueror, Alexander the Great in 323 (Botdford and Robinson). The six successors that are mentioned in this essay all took on the monarchy with different ideas, strategies, boundaries and goals. Legitimising their monarchies seemed extremely difficult after Alexander’s death, and after the standard he had set for the successors that followed his legacy. Phillip II Arrhidaeus, Cassander, Demetrius, Lysiamachus, Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arisone II Philadelphus are the successors discussed in relation to legitimising their monarchies in this essay. After Alexander the Great’s death, his half-brother, Philip III Arrhidaeus (359 BC – December 25, 317 BC), became king of Macedonia. At the time of Alexander's death, Roxane, one of Alexander’s two wives, was pregnant with Alexander’s son, Alexander IV, who later collectively shared rule over the Macedonians with Philip. When Philip was subsequently murdered in 317 B.C., and young Alexander was killed about seven years later, Alexander’s once vast empire was to change dramatically from the death of the king. Alexander’s leading generals became regents of various areas after fighting amongst themselves for control of the empire. By 300 B.C., Alexander's empire had split into a number of independent states. The three most powerful states were led by Alexander's generals Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. In order to legitimise their monarchies
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