History of Hellenism

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Coin of Alexander the Great, shows the young Heracles with a lion skin

This article deals with the history of Hellenism and thus covers the history of the Greek world between 323 BC. BC and 30 BC General information about this epoch can be found in the article Hellenism , for the early days of the Diadochian empires see Diadochi .

The starting position after Alexander's death

Timeline

  • 323 Alexander dies in Babylon
  • 323/22 Lamish War
  • 322 Perdiccas conquers Cappadocia, Eumenes becomes satrap

Alexander the Great died on June 10, 323 BC. In Babylon , after he had given his signet ring to his friend and general Perdiccas and allegedly let it be known that he would hand over his kingdom to the “strongest”. Even if this and another, very ambiguous statement (“that his friends will hold great funeral games for him”, testifies to Diodorus 17,117) were never made, they still got to the heart of the question that each of the combat-experienced generals had to ask himself : Who would succeed Alexander?

The world empire that arose during Alexander's move and that he gave his successors in 323 BC. Left behind

Perdiccas and other officers wanted to wait and see if Roxane , Alexander's heavily pregnant wife, would give birth to a son. The Macedonian army assembly, which according to old law was responsible for the election, called Alexander's feeble half-brother Philip III. Arrhidaios as king. Perdiccas was a proponent of the idea of ​​imperial unity: he wanted Alexander's son to be able to inherit from his father, with the support of the cavalry of the army, in which the nobility predominated. On the other hand, the phalanx arose from the infantry , and it was soon broken. When Roxane gave birth to a son, Alexander IV. Aigos , shortly afterwards , he was under pressure from Perdiccas and the leading commanders and in agreement with Philip III. also proclaimed king.

Perdiccas now began to reoccupy the satrapies, being careful to keep the generals away from Babylon as much as possible. Antipater , who gained influence over Perdiccas, would continue to rule in Macedonia and Greece . Krateros - who was Antipater's theoretical superior - was initially ignored, but later appointed "representative" of both kings.

Ptolemy received Egypt , Thrace fell to Lysimachus , the Hellespontic Phrygia went to Leonnatus , while Eumenes received Cappadocia and Lycia , Pamphylia and Pisidia went to Antigonus . The Persian landscape media was shared between Peithon and Perdiccas' father-in-law Atropates . Lydia went to Menandros , Caria to Asandros , while Laomedon , a friend of Alexander, received Syria and Seleucus became the commander of the elite cavalry of the Hetaires .

The empire of Alexander was by no means divided, but remained a unit, whereby Perdiccas continued to hold the important post of a Chiliarch . It must have been clear to some generals that this apparent compensation would not last long. First of all, calm had to be ensured: a revolt by Greek soldiers in Bactria was suppressed as was the revolt of Athens in Greece (Lamish war). The defeat of Athens also made one thing clear: the age of the polis was over, the future should belong to the territorial states and (in Greece) the federal states.

The collapse of the Alexander Empire

Timeline

  • 320 Conference of Triparadeisos and reorganization among the remaining Diadochi
  • 317 Polyperchon proclaims the "freedom of the Greeks", assassination of Philip III. Arrhidaios
  • 310 Alexander IV. Aigos is murdered by Kassandros, end of the old Macedonian royal house
  • 306 Antigonus and his son Demetrios assume the title of king
  • 301 Battle of Ipsos
  • 281 Battle of Kurupedion, end of the Diadoch period

Soon after the distribution of the satrapies by Perdiccas, the laboriously suppressed conflicts emerged openly. Perdiccas faced a coalition consisting of Antipater, Krateros, Antigonus and Ptolemy, who refused to accept his supremacy, especially since Ptolemy was speculating more than anyone else on a separation of his domain from the empire. 320 BC BC Perdiccas, supported by Eumenes , attacked Egypt, but failed at the Nile crossing and was then murdered by his own officers (including Seleucus ). Seleucus received the satrapy of Babylonia for his services at the subsequent conference of Triparadeisus from Antipater, who was appointed guardian of the young king. Antigonus was appointed general in Asia and tasked with eliminating Eumenes, who had defeated and killed Krateros.

In arranging his succession, Antipater passed on to his son Kassandros and had appointed a general named Polyperchon . Kassandros then joined the alliance of Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus, who were dissatisfied with the arrangement. The subsequent battles, in the course of which the two "loyal to the king" generals Polyperchon and Eumenes cooperated, dragged on for years. At the end of the first phase of the very changeable fighting, 316 v. Chr. Most of the Macedonian royal family was wiped out and Kassandros conquered Macedonia. 310 BC BC Kassandros also had Alexander IV killed:

“But Kassandros saw that Alexander, the son of Roxane, was growing up and that speeches were being spread by some in Macedonia that it was right to release the boy from custody and give him the paternal kingship. He feared (because of this) for his own position and instructed Glaukias, who commanded the guards for the boy, to murder Roxane and the king and to hide the corpses, but not to tell anyone else about what had happened. Glaukias carried out the commission, and this freed Kassandros, Lysimachus, Ptolemaios and also Antigonus from the supposed fear for the king. Since from now on there was no one who could have taken over the rule, everyone who ruled over peoples or cities had hopes for the rule of kings and controlled the territory under his rule as if it were a kingdom with the spear was acquired "

- Diodorus 19.105

Eumenes - one of the last representatives of imperial unity alongside Polyperchon - was ultimately unable to hold out, although he acted quite skillfully. For example, when the soldiers of the elite unit of the Silver Shields (Argyraspiden) doubted whether the fight still had any meaning, he encountered this problem with the memory of Alexander:

“Against their ambition and their lust for domination [...] he introduced religion ( deisidaimonia ) into play. He claimed that Alexander had appeared to him in a dream and had shown him a royally prepared tent and a throne standing in it and then said that if they held advice there and conducted their business, he himself would be present and with every advice and every act that they begin in his name "

- Plutarch : Eumenes 13 : 4-6

Eumenes, who had withdrawn more and more, was later betrayed by the silver shields and handed over to Antigonus, who had him executed shortly afterwards (316 BC). The fate of Eumenes also illustrates the new circumstances: the standing Macedonian army had in fact become mercenary units , which were only bound to the commander by an oath. The boundaries of the respective spheres of power outside Egypt were also still in flux; they were not to solidify until decades later. Meanwhile, in Greece, Polyperchon had acted as the liberator of the poleis , but soon lost power. He died at an unknown time (after the peace agreement between Antigonus and the other Diadochi in 311 BC, which of course did not last long).

Antigonus now openly sought sole rule. He secured his position in Asia and sold 315 BC. Seleucus, who fled to Ptolemy. 312 BC They defeated Antigonus near Gaza , whereupon Seleucus returned to Babylon and in the following years secured his power base and expanded into the east of the empire. The theater of war for the ensuing fighting between the Diadochi again extended over large parts of the Alexander empire , which was now breaking apart , but they did not bring any real decision. Meanwhile, the power of the Antigonids continued to grow.

The Diadochin empires and their neighbors after the Battle of Ipsos in 301 BC Chr.

Demetrios , the son of Antigonus, fought for a good position of power at Salamis in Greece and Macedonia through the expulsion of the Macedonians from Athens, the restoration of Attic democracy and the destruction of the Ptolemaic fleet . 306 BC He and his father assumed the title of king of Macedonia, which meant a clear claim to leadership over the entire empire (which theoretically still existed). In the following year, the other diadochi also each assumed their own royal titles. In the meantime, a completely different development began, which would soon become a typical feature of the Hellenistic ruler's ideology: cults in honor of the monarchs were established in several poles, some of which were later declared to be gods.

In order to increase his clout, Demetrios renewed on behalf of his father 302 BC. The Corinthian Covenant and took over its leadership. The two Antigonids now faced a coalition consisting of Kassandros , Lysimachus and Seleucus , while Ptolemy waited for the course of events. The fighting broke out again, which began with the Battle of Ipsos in 301 BC. When Antigonus fell, ended. Thus, in fact, the idea of ​​imperial unity was also buried, since none of the other rulers had the power to unite the empire by force.

In the period that followed, a status quo appeared to have been found. This was followed by a peace that lasted several years, admittedly unstable, in 288 BC. Came to an end. Demetrios continued to try to gain his father's position of power. Lysimachus and Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Macedonia, forced Demetrios to flee and divided Macedonia among themselves, whereby Lysimachus was soon able to assert himself as sole ruler. Demetrios later died in Seleucid captivity.

Against the now formed empire of Lysimachus (which also included large parts of Asia Minor ), Seleucus moved in 281 BC. In the war. Although he was able to prevail against Lysimachus in the battle of Kurupedion , he was murdered shortly afterwards by Ptolemy Keraunos , who himself aspired to the Macedonian royal dignity. These events mark the end of the Diadochian Age.

As a result of the fighting, three successor states had formed, which until the invasion of Rome in the 2nd century BC. The Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt, the Seleucid Empire in Asia and the Antigonid Empire in Greece.

The heyday of the diadochin kingdoms

Timeline

  • 256 The Graeco-Bactrian Empire is founded
  • 221 The Antigonids put down the last Spartan uprising
  • 192-188 Antiochus III. like Philip V in 197, was subject to the Romans
  • 168 The Romans smash Macedonia

Macedonia could under the descendants of Antigonos Monophthalmos, the 276 BC. BC came back to power there, maintained the hegemony over Greece and at times also extended to the islands of the Aegean . The long-standing Greek supremacy Athens became after the defeat in the Lamian War 322 BC. In the Chremonideischen War 261 BC. Again defeated. Athens' arch-rival Sparta was defeated in 222 BC. At Sellasia the Antigonids. Even with the support of the Ptolemaic Empire, the Greek Poleis could not secure their independence. Macedonia remained a great power, not least thanks to its powerful army, despite its relatively small area. Inside, little changed.

The richest diadochian empire was and remained Egypt under the Ptolemies. The empire of Ptolemy was considered a Hellenistic model state and is best researched through the rich papyrus finds . Like the other great Hellenistic empires, the Ptolemies pursued the goal of hegemony over the former Alexander empire . With the Antigonids they fought for power and influence in Greece and the Aegean Sea, with the Seleucids for the south of Asia Minor , Cyprus and Palestine . The ongoing wars, which were quite changeable (see for example the battle of Raphia in 217 BC between the Seleucids and Ptolemies), but in the long run drained the strength of the powers involved, did not produce a clear winner.

From the defeat of Antigonus in the battle of Ipsos one can speak of a Seleucid Empire in the strict sense. Since then, Seleukos Nikator has ruled over the largest, but also most inconsistent, Diadochian kingdom. While the Seleucids had the Syrian tetrapolis Antioch , Seleukia , Laodikeia and Apamea fairly well under control in the center of their empire, an erosion process began shortly afterwards in the peripheral areas. Bithynia , Pontus and Pergamon soon became independent in Asia Minor. The eastern possessions became from the middle of the 3rd century BC. Conquered by the Parthians : Under Mithridates I went around the middle of the 2nd century BC. BC also lost Mesopotamia including Seleukeia on the Tigris , although Antiochus VII faced the invaders again. But the Parthians also followed on from Hellenistic traditions.

Silver coin of the Bactrian ruler Demetrios I with elephant skull symbolism and Hercules

The extreme east of the Seleucid Empire, which no longer had any land connection to the Seleucid heartland, formed the Graeco-Bactrian Empire , about whose history we are only fragmentarily informed, mainly due to problematic coin finds. After the end of the Maurya Empire , the Greeks spread from Bactria to northwest India and established the Indo-Greek Kingdom there . The Kingdom of Bactria succumbed around 130 BC. The onslaught of various steppe peoples (including the Tocharer ), but persisted until the end of the 1st century BC. Various Greek dynasties in India.

None of the three great Diadochian empires were successful with their hegemony efforts because the other states formed rapidly changing alliances against the aggressor and there was no compromise between the states. In addition, there were structural weaknesses that could only be concealed by short-term successes, but not eliminated.

The Diadochian empires before the beginning of the fighting with Rome around 200 BC Chr.

Since around 250, several small states have gained in importance through skilful navigation between the three major powers, making Rhodes temporarily the largest sea power. In Greece, the federal states formed there (see koinon ) were able to successfully assert themselves against the Hellenistic great powers, even if only partly with outside help (see below). Bithynia and Pergamon maintained their independence for a long time with skilful diplomacy and finally, like the Diadochian empires, they rose up in the Roman Empire : Already after the defeat of Philip V , who fell to the Romans in 197 BC. After he had pursued an expansive policy in Greece, Rome had appeared as a “liberator” and had proclaimed the (old propaganda slogan) “freedom of the Greeks” through Titus Quinctius Flamininus . Apparently Rome initially had no interest in including the East in the empire and was instead content with a sphere of interest. 168 BC After the defeat of the son of Philip V, Perseus , who had tried to renew Macedonian power, Macedonia was divided into four districts by the Romans and in 148 BC. Chr. Finally transformed into a Roman province. As a result of the Perseus War, the Romans also took a hardened position: only unconditional supporters of Roman hegemony could benefit from the victory, self-mediating positions were punished, as in the case of Rhodes by the creation of a new free port on Delos .

Similar to the Antigonids fared the Seleucids, who under Antiochus III. suffered a defeat in the Roman-Syrian War . Antiochus had previously built up an incredible reputation through his so-called anabasis (his eastern campaign against the Parthians), which he now wanted to use in his favor. 192 BC He crossed to Greece, where dissatisfied allies of Rome like the Aitolians had become active and had called him; 189 BC But Antiochus was defeated in the battle of Magnesia . Rome curtailed the Seleucid sphere of influence to the west in the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC. Chr. Sensitive and secured this through the preference of some "Central Powers" like Pergamon and Rhodes.

Fall of the Diadochin Empire

Timeline

  • 141 The Parthians take possession of Mesopotamia
  • 133 Attalus III. bequeaths Pergamon to the Romans in his will
  • 088 Vespers at Ephesus: Assassination of around 80,000 Romans and Italians in Asia Minor
  • 064 The Roman general Pompey conquers Syria
  • 030 Egypt becomes a Roman province ( Aegyptus )

In the following years, Rome intervened again and again when the Senate believed that the balance of power was in danger, as in the case of the 6th Syrian War, when the Romans threatened to invade Ptolemaic Egypt, which in the 2nd century BC was threatened. Chr. Repeatedly suffered from internal unrest, prevented by Antiochus IV. Only by a word of power (see Day of Eleusis ). From this point in time at the latest, Egypt was nothing more than a Roman protectorate, and Rome itself had become the undisputed hegemonic power in the eastern Mediterranean.

Due to the special understanding of rule of the Diadochian empires, the last king of Pergamon was able to do so in 133 BC Chr. Even bequeath his kingdom to the Romans in his will. The hostility towards Rome that existed in large parts of the Greek East was sometimes also articulated in acts of violence, as in the famous Vespers of Ephesus in 88 BC. BC, in which around 80,000 Romans and Italians were murdered; Of course, this did not break Rome's position of power. 64 BC With the conquest of Syria by Pompey and the establishment of the province of Syria, the remnants of the Seleucid Empire were eliminated. By this time the Seleucids had long lost their eastern territories to the Parthians . Egypt, which was repeatedly shaken by internal power struggles, was able to maintain its at least formal independence for a few decades. 30 BC BC, however, with the capture of Alexandria by Octavian , the rule of the Ptolemies ended, whose last queen, Cleopatra VII , could only stabilize her power through affairs with Roman generals (such as Caesar and Mark Antony ).

Nevertheless, the Greek culture lived on for centuries in the east even after the end of the Hellenistic period (see Byzantine Empire ). Alexander's work was ultimately only eradicated by the onset of Islam in the 7th century AD (see Islamic expansion ).

Additional information on this topic: Hellenism

literature

For more literature on Hellenism and its history, see the article Hellenism .

Remarks

  1. ^ Translation taken from http://www.gnomon.ku-eichstaett.de/LAG/quellen/qvl99_303.html .
  2. ^ Translation taken from http://www.gnomon.ku-eichstaett.de/LAG/quellen/qvl99_302.html .
  3. ↑ See Peter Green: Alexander to Actium . London 1990, ISBN 0-520-05611-6 , pp. 402 ff .
  4. ↑ Werner Widmer: Hellas am Hindukusch. Greek culture in the far east of the ancient world . Frankfurt am Main 2015, ISBN 978-3-8301-1661-5 .