Chapter XVI: Part III: , European Nations; of which only 1 volume, Greeks, has (8)

After the defeat of Argaeus, peace is purchased from Athens by a
momentary recognition of the freedom of Amphipolis, 360.--Removal
of Pausanias by means of an accommodation with Thrace.--By the
conquest of the Paeonians and Illyrians, 359, the boundaries of
Macedonia are extended to Thrace, and westward to the lake
Lychnitis.--As early as 360 Philip was proclaimed king.

9. Development of Philip's further plans of aggrandizement.--By the gradual subjection of the Macedo-Greek cities, he proposed, not only to make himself sole master in Macedonia, but also to remove the Athenians from his domain.--The first object of his policy against Greece was to get himself acknowledged as a Hellen, and Macedonia as a member of the Hellenic league. Hence the subsequent tutelage in which Macedonia held Greece was not converted into a formal subjection, a proceeding which would have savoured too much of barbarian origin.--The execution of all these plans was facilitated by the possession of the Thracian gold mines, which enabled Philip to create finances as well as the phalanx.

Capture of Amphipolis, 358; in the mean while Athens is amused
with promises, and Olynthus with the momentary cession of Potidaea,
which had likewise been captured: this event is followed by the
conquest of the mountainous districts, abounding in gold, which
extend from the Nestus to the Strymon, and furnished an annual
income of nearly 1,000 talents.

10. The interference of Philip in the affairs of Thessaly dates from the year 357; the possession of that country was an object equally important for the furtherance of his views upon Greece, as for the improvement of his finances. He first stepped forth as the deliverer of Thessaly, and ended in making it a province of Macedonia.

Expulsion of the tyrants from Pherae, at the request of the
Aleuadae, 356; the tyrants, however, receive support in the sacred
war from the Phocians under Onomarchus. The final defeat of
Onomarchus, 352, makes Philip master of Thessaly; he places
Macedonian garrisons in the three chief places, and thus supports
his authority in the country until he is pleased to make it
entirely a Macedonian province, 344.

11. The protraction of the sacred war in Greece furnished Philip with an excellent opportunity of promoting his views upon that country; although his first attempt at an irruption, too precipitately undertaken, was frustrated by the Athenians. The capture of Olynthus, notwithstanding the assistance afforded it by the Athenians, after a season of apparent inaction, insured the safety of the frontiers in his rear; and by a master stroke of policy, almost at the very moment in which he was driving the Athenians out of Euboea, he found means to enter with them into negotiations, which, after repeated embassies, were closed by a peace, opening to him the way through Thermopylae, and enabling him to raise a party favourable to himself within the very walls of Athens.

12. First descent of Philip into Greece, and termination of the sacred war by reducing the Phocians. The place which he now obtained in the Amphictyonic council, had been the height of his wishes; and the humility of Sparta proved how firmly his ascendancy over Greece was already established.

13. Brief view of the state of Greece, and more particularly of Athens, after the sacred war; description of the means by which Philip succeeded in creating and supporting parties favourable to his own interests in the Grecian states. Bribery was not his only instrument; what he gave he borrowed from others; the main feature of his policy was, that he seldom or ever recurred to the same means. Scheming and consistent even in his drunken revels, he hardly ever appears under the same form.

Dreadful consequences to the morals of the Greeks, resulting from
the spirit of party, the decline of religion, and the vast
increase in the circulating medium, produced by the treasures of
Delphi and Macedonia.--Estimate of the power of Athens during the
period of Demosthenes and Phocion. It seems that, unfortunately,
the eloquence and political acuteness of the former was not
accompanied with sufficient talents for negotiation; the latter,
perhaps, did not place confidence enough in his country, while
Demosthenes placed too much. In spite of public indolence and
effeminacy, Athens was still enabled to support her rank as a
maritime power, the navy of Philip not being equal to hers.

# A. G. BECKER, _Demosthenes as a Statesman and an Orator_. An
historico-critical introduction to his works: 1815. A very useful
work, both as a history and as an introduction to the political
orations of Demosthenes.

14. New conquests of Philip in Illyria and Thrace. The Adriatic sea and the Danube appear to have been the boundaries of his empire on this side. But the views of the Macedonian king were directed less against the Thracians, than against the Grecian settlements on the Hellespont; and the attack of the Athenian Diopithes furnished him a pretext for making war against them. The siege, however, of Perinthus and Byzantium, was frustrated by Phocion, to the great vexation of Philip; an event which aroused the Athenians, and even the Persians, from their lethargy.

15. Policy of Philip after this check.--At the very time that, engaged in a war against the barbarians on the Danube, he appears to have wholly lost sight of the affairs of Greece, his agents redouble their activity. Aeschines, richly paid for his services, proposes in the Amphictyonic council, that, to punish the sacrilegious insults of the Locrians to the Delphian oracle, he should be elected leader of the Greeks in this new sacred war. Following his usual maxim, Philip suffers himself to be entreated.

16. Second expedition of Philip into Greece. His appropriation of the important frontier town of Elatea soon showed that, for this time at least, he was not contending merely for the honour of Apollo.--Alliance between Athens and Thebes brought about by Demosthenes.--But the defeat of Chaeronea in the same year decided the dependence of Greece. Philip now found it easy to play the magnanimous character towards Athens.

17. Preparations for the execution of his plan against Persia, not as his own undertaking, but as a national war of the Hellenes against the barbarians. Thus, while Philip, by obtaining from the Amphictyons the appointment of generalissimo of Greece against the Persians, secured in an _honourable_ manner the dependence of the country, the splendour of the expedition flattered the nation at whose expense it was to be conducted. It is a question, indeed, whether Philip's own private views extended much further!

18. The internal government of Macedonia, under so skilful and successful a conqueror, must necessarily have been absolute. No pretender would dare to rise up against such a ruler, and the body guard ([Greek: doryphoroi]) established by him at the beginning of his reign, and taken from the Macedonian nobility, contributed much to keep up a proper understanding between the prince and the nobles. The court became a military staff, while the people, from a nation of herdsmen, was converted into a nation of warriors.--Philip was unfortunate only in his own family; but the blame is not to be attributed to him if he could not agree with Olympias.

19. Philip murdered by Pausanias at Aegae, probably at the instigation of the Persians, while celebrating the marriage of his daughter.

20. The reign of ALEXANDER the GREAT, in the eyes of the historical inquirer, derives its great interest, not only from the extent, but from the permanence, of the revolution which he effected in the world. To appreciate properly the character of this prince, who died just as he was about to carry his mighty projects into execution, is no easy task; but it is totally repugnant to common sense to suppose that the pupil of Aristotle was nothing more than a wild and reckless conqueror, unguided by any plan.

ST. CROIX, _Examen critique des anciens historiens
d'Alexandre-le-grand_, 2nd. edition, _considerablement augmentee_.
Paris, 1804, 4to. The new edition of this, which is the principal
work on the history of Alexander, and important in more respects
than one, contains more than the title implies, though by no means
a strictly impartial estimate of that prince's character.

21. Violent commotions at court, in the conquered countries, and in Greece, after the death of Philip. Great as his power appeared to be, the preservation of it depended entirely on the first display of character in his successor. Alexander showed himself worthy to inherit the sceptre by his victorious expedition against the Thracians; (to whom, and more especially to his alliance with the Agrians, he was afterwards indebted for his light horse;) and by the example which he exhibited to Greece in his treatment of Thebes.

22. Appointment of Alexander in the assembly at Corinth to be generalissimo of the Greeks. Yet what his father would probably have turned to a very different account, he allowed to remain a mere nominal office.--Development of his plan of attack upon Persia.--The want of a navy, soon experienced by Alexander, would probably have frustrated his whole project, had not Memnon's counterplan of an inroad into Macedonia been thwarted by the celerity of the Macedonian king.

23. Passage over the Hellespont, and commencement of the war. The tranquillity of his kingdom and of Greece appeared to be secured, Antipater being left at the head of affairs.--The victory on the Granicus opens to Alexander a path into Asia Minor; but the death of Memnon, which soon after followed, was perhaps a greater advantage than a victory.

24. The victory of Issus, gained over Darius in person, appears to have given Alexander the first idea of completely overturning the Persian throne, as was proved by the rejection of Darius's offers of peace. When indeed have not the plans of conquerors been dependent on the course of events? Yet Alexander must have been pretty certain of his future victory, since he permitted Darius to escape, while he sat down seven months before Tyre, in order to make himself master of the sea; and, after the conquest of Egypt without a battle, to which the possession of Tyre opened the way, to build Alexandria, and erect to himself a monument more lasting than all his victories.

Although Alexandria perhaps in the end may have surpassed the
expectations of the founder, yet the selection of the site,
favourable only for navigation and commerce, shows that an eye was
originally had to those objects.

25. Invasion of Inner Asia, facilitated by the tacit submission of the ruling tribes, and by the state of cultivation in which the country was found. On the plains of Arbela the Macedonian tactics were completely triumphant. It might now be said that the throne of Persia was overturned; and the unexpectedly easy capture of Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, was surely of more importance for the moment than the pursuit of a flying king.

Insurrection of the Greeks quelled by Antipater; Alexander himself
falls in with the malcontent envoys to Darius in the interior of
Asia.

26. The subjection of the north-eastern provinces of the Persian empire would perhaps have been attended with the greatest difficulties, had not the astonishing activity of the conqueror crushed in their birth the schemes of the treacherous Bessus, who, after the assassination of Darius, wished to erect a separate kingdom in Bactria. The Jaxartes was now the northern boundary of the Macedonian monarchy, as it had hitherto been that of the Persian. Besides, the possession of the rich trading countries, Bactria and Sogdiana, was in itself an object of vast importance.

During this expedition, the execution of Philotas and his father
Parmenio took place, though both were, probably, guiltless of the
conspiracy laid to their charge, 330. After the death of Darius,
Alexander met with almost constant opposition in his own army: the
majority of the troops fancying that that event precluded the
necessity of any further exertions. Cautious as Alexander was in
his treatment of the Macedonian nobles, we may discern, not
however by the mere example of Clitus, how difficult they found it
to banish from their memory the relations in which they had
formerly stood to their kings.

27. Alexander's expedition against India had, no doubt, its origin in that propensity to romantic enterprise which constituted a main feature in his character. Yet what could be more natural than that a close view of Persian splendour, the conquest of such wealthy countries, and the desire of prosecuting his vast commercial designs, should gradually mature in the mind of the Macedonian king the plan of subjecting a country which was represented as the golden land of Asia. To this likewise the scantiness of geographic information must have greatly contributed; if he pressed forward to the eastern seas, the circle of his dominion would, it was supposed, be complete.--It appears very certain that Alexander was destitute of a sufficient knowledge of the country when he entered upon this expedition.

Alexander's invasion was directed against Northern India, or the
Panjab; in those days a populous and highly cultivated country;
now the seat of the Seiks and Mahrattas; and then, as now,
inhabited by warlike races. He crossed the Indus at Taxila
(Attock,) passed the Hydaspes (Behut or Chelum,) and, availing
himself of the quarrels between the Indian princes, defeated the
king, Porus. He then proceeded across the Acesines (Jenaub) and
Hydraotes (Rauvee). The eastern verge reached in this expedition
was the river Hyphasis (Beyah;) here, having already proceeded
half way to the Ganges, the conqueror was, by a mutiny in his
army, compelled to retreat. His return was through the country of
the Malli (Multan) as far as the Hydaspes, when the majority of
his troops took ship, and were floated along that stream into the
Acesines, and from thence into the Indus, which they followed down
to its mouth.

RENNEL, _Memoir of a Map of Hindostan_. London, 1793, (3d. edit.)
and

ST. CROIX, _Examen_, etc. (see p. 216.) furnish all the necessary
historical and geographical explanations relative to the Persian
and Indian campaigns of Alexander.

28. Although Alexander was obliged to give up the project of conquering India, yet the connection between Europe and the east, which has continued from that time, was the work of his hands. While the communication on land was secured by the establishment of various settlements, the communication by sea was opened by the voyage of his admiral, Nearchus, from the Indus to the Euphrates. In the mean time Alexander himself proceeded to Persis and Babylon, across the desert, and the unexplored provinces of Gedrosia and Carmania.

Nearchus's voyage (our knowledge of which is derived from his own
journal, preserved in Arrian's _Indica_) lasted from the
beginning of October, 326, to the end of February, 325: nearly
the same time was occupied in the almost incredible land march of
the king.

VINCENT, _The Voyage of Nearchus from the Indus to the Euphrates_.
London, 1797, 4to. Exhibiting the most learned researches, and
illustrated with excellent charts.

29. After the abandonment of India, the whole circuit of Alexander's conquests was precisely that of the former Persian empire; his later projects were probably directed against Arabia alone. However easy it had been to make these conquests, it was a more difficult task to retain them; for Macedonia, exhausted by continual levies of men, could not furnish efficient garrisons. Alexander removed this difficulty, by protecting the conquered from oppression; by showing proper respect to their religion; by leaving the civil government in the hands of the native rulers who had hitherto possessed it; and by confiding to Macedonians the command only of the garrisons left in the chief places, and in the newly established colonies. To alter as little as possible in the internal organization of countries was his fundamental principle.

30. Simple as Alexander's plans were in the outset, their simplicity was more than compensated by the magnitude and importance of their results. Babylon was to be the capital of his empire, and consequently of the world. The union of the east and the west was to be brought about by the amalgamation of the dominant races by intermarriage, by education, and, more than all, by the ties of commerce, the importance of which much ruder conquerors, in Asia itself, soon learnt to appreciate. In nothing probably is the superiority of his genius more brilliantly displayed, than in his exemption from all national prejudice, particularly when we consider that none of his countrymen were in this respect to be compared with him. To refuse him this merit is impossible, whatever judgment we may form of his general character.

31. Sudden death of Alexander at Babylon by fever; under the peculiar circumstances of the time, the greatest loss mankind could experience. From the Indus to the Nile the world lay in ruins; and where was now the architect to be found, that could gather up the scattered fragments and restore the edifice?

Alexander's disorder may be easily accounted for by the hardships
he had undergone, and the impure air to which he exposed himself
in cleaning out the canals about Babylon. He certainly was not
poisoned; and in the charge of immoderate drunkenness brought
against him, we must take into account the manners of the
Macedonian and Persian courts. Was it not the same with Peter the
Great? In estimating his moral character we must bear in mind the
natural vehemence of his passions, ever inclined to the most rapid
transitions; nor should we forget the unavoidable influence of
constant success upon mankind.

SECOND PERIOD.

_History of the Macedonian monarchy, from the death of Alexander the Great to the battle of Ipsus, B. C. 323-301._

To enable the reader to take a general view, the history of the
European events is resumed below, under the head of the history
of Macedonia Proper.

SOURCES. Diodorus, lib. xviii-xx. is the great authority for this
portion of history. He compiled mostly, for this period, from a
contemporary historian, Hieronymus of Cardia. He is followed by
Plutarch in the Lives of Eumenes, Demetrius, and Phocion; and by
Justin, lib. xiii, etc. Of Arrian's history of Alexander's
successors, nothing unfortunately remains but a few fragments in
Photius.

# MANNERT, _History of Alexander's successors_. Nuremberg, 1787.
Composed with the usual judgment and learning of that author.

1. The very first measure adopted after the death of Alexander contained within itself the seeds of all the dire revolutions that afterwards ensued. Not only were the jealousy and ambition of the nobles aroused, but even the interference of the army was exhibited in the most terrific manner. Although the idea of the supremacy of the royal family was cast off only by degrees, yet the dreadfully disturbed state in which that family stood, rendered its fall unavoidable.

State of the royal family at the death of Alexander. He left his
wife Roxana pregnant, who at the end of three months brought into
the world the rightful heir to the sceptre, Alexander; he left
likewise an illegitimate son, Hercules; a bastard half-brother,
Arrhidaeus; his mother, the haughty and cruel Olympias, and a
sister, Cleopatra, both widows; the artful Eurydice, (daughter to
Cyane, one of Philip's sisters,) subsequently married to the king,
Arrhidaeus; and Thessalonica, Philip's daughter, afterwards united
to Cassander of Macedonia.

2. The weak Arrhidaeus, under the name of Philip, and the infant Alexander were at last proclaimed kings, the _regency_ being placed in the hands of Perdiccas, Leonnatus, and Meleager; the last of whom was quickly cut off at the instigation of Perdiccas. Meanwhile Antipater, with whom Craterus had been joined as civil ruler, had the management of affairs in Europe.

3. The sequel of the history becomes naturally that of satraps, who fell out among themselves, all being ambitious to rule, and none willing to obey. Twenty-two years elapsed ere any massy edifice arose out of the ruins of the Macedonian monarchy. In few periods of history are the revolutions of affairs so violent, in few periods, therefore, is it so difficult to unravel the maze of events. For this purpose the most convenient division of the history is into _three_ periods: the first extending to the death of Perdiccas, 321: the second to the death of Eumenes, 315: the third to the defeat and death of Antigonus at the battle of Ipsus, 301.

4. First grant of the provinces made by Perdiccas. The vanity of this man seems to have induced him to select the office of regent, in order that no separate province might fall to his share; he placed his whole reliance on having the command of the royal army, although it had already given so many proofs of its determination to command rather than to obey.

In this division Ptolemy son of Lagus received Egypt; Leonnatus,
Mysia; Antigonus, Phrygia, Lycia, and Pamphylia; Lysymachus,
Macedonian Thrace; Antipater and Craterus remained in possession
of Macedonia.--The foreigner, Eumenes, would hardly have received
Cappadocia, although yet to be conquered, had Perdiccas been able
to dispense with his services. The remaining provinces either did
not come under the new division, or else their governors are
unworthy of notice.

5. The first acts of Perdiccas's government showed how little dependence he could place on the obedience of men who hitherto had been his colleagues. The general insurrection among the mercenaries who had been settled by Alexander in Upper Asia, and now wished to return to their homes, was, no doubt, quelled by Python's destruction of the rebels; but it was not Python's fault that he did not make himself independent master of the scene of mutiny.

6. Still more refractory was the behaviour of Leonnatus and Antigonus, when they received orders to put Eumenes in possession of his province. Antigonus was too haughty to obey; and Leonnatus preferred going over into Europe to marry Cleopatra; there, however, he almost immediately met with his death in the Lamian war. (See below, book iv. period iii. parag. 2.) Perdiccas, therefore, was himself obliged to undertake the expedition with the royal army; he succeeded by the defeat of Ariarathes.

7. Ambitious views of Perdiccas, who, in order to ascend the throne by a marriage with Cleopatra, repudiates Nicaea, the daughter of Antipater. Cleopatra actually came over to Asia; but Perdiccas, being obliged, at the request of the army, to marry Eurydice, Philip's niece, after the murder of her mother Cyane, to the king Arrhidaeus, found her a troublesome rival and opponent in the government.

8. Attempts of Perdiccas to overthrow Antigonus and Ptolemy, by accusing them before the army. Antigonus passes over to Antipater in Macedonia; and gives rise to the league between Antipater, Craterus, and Ptolemy, against Perdiccas and Eumenes.

9. Commencement and termination of the first war. Perdiccas himself marches against Egypt, leaving his friend Eumenes to command in Asia Minor: meanwhile Antipater and Craterus fall upon Asia; the former advances towards Syria against Perdiccas; the latter is defeated and slain by Eumenes. Before the arrival, however, of Antipater, Perdiccas, after repeated and vain attempts to cross the Nile, falls a victim to the insurrection of his own troops.--Thus three of the principal personages, Perdiccas, Craterus, Leonnatus, were already removed from the theatre of action; and the victorious Eumenes, now master of Asia Minor, had to maintain, unaided, the struggle against the confederates.

10. Second period, from the death of Perdiccas to that of Eumenes.--Python and Arrhidaeus quickly resigning the regency, it is assumed by Antipater.--New division of the provinces at Trisparadisus in Syria. Seleucus receives Babylon; Antigonus is promised, besides his former possessions, all those of the outlawed Eumenes.

11. War of Antigonus with Eumenes. The latter, defeated by treachery, shuts himself up in the mountain fastness of Nora, there to await more favourable times; and Antigonus remains master of all Asia Minor: in the mean time Ptolemy ventures to take possession of Syria and Phoenicia.

12. Death of the regent Antipater, in the same year, (320;) he bequeaths the regency to his friend, the aged Polysperchon, to the exclusion of his own son Cassander. Antigonus now begins to unfold his ambitious plans; he endeavours vainly to win over Eumenes, who deceives him in the negotiations, and seizes the opportunity of leaving his mountain fastness.

13. Eumenes's plan to strengthen himself in Upper Asia; as he is on the way he receives tidings of his being appointed generalissimo of the royal troops. What better man could Polysperchon have selected for the office than he who in his conduct towards Antigonus exhibited so striking an example of attachment to the royal house?

14. Exertions of Eumenes to maintain himself in Lower Asia, ineffectual, the naval victory won by Antigonus over the royal fleet, commanded by Clitus, depriving him of the empire of the sea. He bursts into Upper Asia; where, in the spring, he unites with the satraps, who had taken arms against the powerful Seleucus of Babylon.

15. Antigonus following up the royal general, Upper Asia becomes the theatre of war. Victorious as was at first the stand made by Eumenes, neither valour nor talent were of any avail against the insubordination of the royal troops, and the jealousy of the other commanders. Attacked in winter quarters by Antigonus, he was, after the battle, delivered into the hands of his enemy by the mutinous Argyraspidae, who had lost their baggage: he was put to death, and in him the king's family lost its only loyal supporter.

16. Great changes had also taken place in the royal family. Her enemy Antipater having deceased, Olympias, invited by Polysperchon, who wished to strengthen himself against Cassander, had returned from Epirus, and put to death Arrhidaeus together with his wife, Eurydice: in the year following she was besieged in Pydna by Cassander, and being obliged to surrender, was in her turn executed; meanwhile Cassander held Roxana and the young king in his own power.

17. Third period, from the death of Eumenes to that of Antigonus.--The rout of Eumenes seemed to have established for ever the power of Antigonus in Asia; still animated with the fire of youth, though full of years, he saw himself revived in his son Demetrius, fond of boisterous revelry, but gallant and talented.--Even Seleucus thought it time to consult his safety by flying from Babylon into Egypt.

18. Changes introduced by Antigonus into the upper provinces; return to Asia Minor, where his presence seemed indispensable, by reason of the aggrandizement of Ptolemy in Syria and Phoenicia, of the Macedonian Cassander in Europe, of Lysimachus in Mysia, and the Carian Cassander in Asia Minor.--He repossesses himself of Phoenicia, a country of the first importance for the construction of a fleet.

Siege of Tyre, 314-313: it lasts fourteen months; a proof that the
city was certainly not razed by Alexander.

19. The fugitive Seleucus forms a league against Antigonus and Demetrius, between Ptolemy, the two Cassanders, and Lysimachus. But Antigonus frustrates their combination, himself driving out the Carian Cassander, and his son marching against Ptolemy.

Victory won by Ptolemy over Demetrius at Gaza, 312; after which
Seleucus marches back to Babylon, and, although subsequently
followed up by Demetrius, permanently maintains his footing in
Upper Asia.--On the other hand, Ptolemy, at the first approach of
Antigonus with the main body, surrenders back Syria and Phoenicia,
312.

20. A general peace concluded between Antigonus and his enemies, Seleucus only excepted, from whom Upper Asia is to be again wrested. The first article, that each should retain what he had, demonstrates pretty evidently that the treaty was dictated solely by Antigonus; the second, that the Greek cities should be free, was pregnant with the seeds of a new war, ready to burst forth at every favourable opportunity; the third, that the young Alexander should be raised to the throne upon attaining his majority, was probably the death warrant of the hapless prince, who, that same year, together with his mother, was murdered by Cassander.--Shortly after, at the instigation of Antigonus, Cleopatra was put to death, in order that Ptolemy might be thwarted in his object, which depended on a matrimonial connection with that princess.

21. Even the execution of the articles must have given rise to hostilities; Ptolemy wishing to force Antigonus, and he, on his side, to compel Cassander, to withdraw the garrisons from the Grecian towns; a condition which neither party felt inclined to fulfil. Grecian freedom was now but a name; this, however, is not the only example history furnishes of political ideas making the greatest stir long after they have survived their own existence; for then they become excellent tools in the hands of artful designers.

Expedition of Demetrius to liberate Athens, 308. The day when he
announced freedom to the Athenians, must have been the happiest of
his life! Few portions of history present such a scope for the
contemplation of human nature as the twofold sojourn of Demetrius
at Athens.

22. The growing power of Ptolemy on the sea, and the capture of Cyprus, determines Antigonus to an open rupture: he commands his son to drive Ptolemy out of the island.

Naval victory of Demetrius off Cyprus, 307, perhaps the greatest
and most bloody in history; nevertheless, as little decisive to
the general question as are most naval battles. The assumption of
the royal title, first by the conqueror, afterwards by the
conquered, and ultimately by all the rest, was but a mere form now
that the royal family was extirpated.

23. The conquerors having failed in their project of subduing Egypt, made the wealthy republic of the Rhodians, as an ally of that country, the victim of their fury. But though in the renowned siege of their capital, Demetrius earned his title of Poliorcetes, the noble defence of the Rhodians afforded an illustrious example of the power of discipline in conjunction with well-guided patriotism. The invitation of the Athenians came seasonably to Demetrius; he raised the blockade and proceeded to complete the liberation of Greece, the necessity of which became every day more pressing.

24. Second sojourn of Demetrius in Greece. The expulsion of Cassander's garrisons from the Grecian cities, and more particularly from those in Peloponnesus; the appointment of Demetrius as generalissimo of Greece, for the conquest of Macedonia and Thrace; proved not only to Cassander, but also to the other princes, that their common interest loudly called upon them to resist the over-powerful Antigonus.

25. Third grand league of Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucus, against Antigonus and his son; brought about by Cassander. How easily, even after the violent irruption of Lysimachus into Asia Minor, might Antigonus have dispersed the gathering storms, had not his presumption led him to place an overweening reliance on his own good fortune!

26. Junction of Seleucus of Babylon and Lysimachus, in Phrygia. Antigonus, to concentrate his forces, recalls his son, who had pushed on to the borders of Macedonia. The cautious Ptolemy, on the other hand, is afraid to invade Syria; and, in consequence of a false report, that Lysimachus had been defeated, retires full of alarm, into Egypt.

27. Great and decisive battle fought at Ipsus in Phrygia, in the spring of 301, which costs Antigonus his life, and annihilates his empire, as the two conquerors divide it between themselves, without taking any account of the absent confederates. Asia Minor, as far as mount Taurus, falls to the share of Lysimachus; and all the rest, with the exception of Cilicia, which is given to Plisthenes, Cassander's brother, is left to Seleucus.--Demetrius, by the help of his navy, escapes into Greece.

28. The almost unbroken series of wars which had raged from the time of Alexander, must have precluded the possibility of much being effected with respect to domestic organization. It appears to have been nearly, if not wholly, military. Yet were the numerous devastations in some measure compensated by the erection of new cities, in which these princes vied with one another, impelled partly by vanity to immortalize their names, partly by policy to support their dominion, most of the new settlements being military colonies. Nevertheless this was but a sorry reparation for the manifold oppressions to which the natives were exposed by the practice of quartering the army upon them. The spread of the language and civilization of the Greeks deprived them of all national distinction; their own languages sinking into mere provincial dialects. Alexander's monarchy affords a striking example of the little that can be expected from a forced amalgamation of races, when the price of that amalgamation is the obliteration of national character in the individuals.

HEYNE, _Opum regni Macedonici auctarum, attritarum et eversarum,
causae probabiles; in Opusc._ t. iv. This collection contains
several other treatises on Grecian and Macedonian history, which
cannot be all separately enumerated.

THIRD PERIOD.

_History of the kingdoms and states which arose upon the dismemberment of the Macedonian Monarchy after the battle of Ipsus._

I. HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN EMPIRE UNDER THE SELEUCIDAE, B. C. 312-64.

SOURCES. Neither for the history of the Syrian, nor for that of
the Egyptian and Macedonian kingdoms, has any eminent writer been
preserved. The fragments of the lost books of Diodorus, and, from
the time that these kingdoms became allies of Rome, those of
Polybius, several narratives of Livy, the Syriaca of Appian, and a
few of Plutarch's Lives, are the principal authorities; too
frequently we are obliged to rely upon the extracts of Justin. For
the history of the Seleucidae, in consequence of the political
connection between these princes and the Jews, the Antiquities of
Josephus and the book of Maccabees become of importance. Besides
these authorities, the many coins that have been preserved of
these kings, afford much information respecting their genealogy
and chronology.

Of modern publications on the subject, the principal work is

VAILLANT, _Imperium Seleucidarum sive historia regum Syriae_, 1681,
4to. The enquiry is principally grounded on coins, as is the case
with

FROELICH, _Annales rerum et regum Syriae_. Viennae, 1754.

1. The kingdom of the Seleucidae was founded in Upper Asia by Seleucus Nicator. It was an extensive empire; but, being composed of various countries united only by conquest, it could possess but little internal stability except what it derived from the power of its rulers. That power fell with the founder; and the transfer of the seat of empire from the banks of the Tigris to Syria, entangled the Seleucidae in all the political disputes of the western world, and facilitated the insurrection of the upper provinces. The history of this kingdom divides itself into the periods before and after the war with Rome; although at the breaking out of this war the seeds of its decline and fall had already been sown.

Seleucus received, 321, Babylon as his province; but after the
defeat of Eumenes was obliged to take to flight, 315, in order to
avoid subjection to the conqueror Antigonus. But his moderate
government had rendered him so popular, that after the victory won
by Ptolemy over Demetrius at Gaza, 312, he could safely venture to
return with only a few adherents to Babylon. In this year
commences the kingdom of the Seleucidae.

2. In the ten following years, and while Antigonus was busied in Asia Minor, Seleucus laid the foundation of his power over all Upper Asia, with a facility to which the detestation excited by the rigid government of Antigonus mainly contributed. After his victory over Nicanor of Media, all in that quarter declared spontaneously for him; and the unsuccessful expedition of Demetrius taught Antigonus himself, that it would no longer be prudent to assert his claims. As early as 307, Seleucus was in possession of all the countries between the Euphrates, Indus, and Oxus.

3. Great campaign in India undertaken by Seleucus against king Sandracottus. He penetrated as far as the Ganges, and the close alliance he formed with the Indian sovereign lasted a long time after, and was kept up by embassies. The great number of elephants which he brought back with him was not the only advantage accruing from this expedition; the intercourse with the east seems to have been permanently reestablished.

4. By the battle of Ipsus Seleucus added to his dominions the greater part of the territories of Antigonus;--Syria, Cappadocia, Mesopotamia, and Armenia. Unfortunately Syria now became the head province, notwithstanding Coele-Syria and Phoenicia were left in the hands of Ptolemy. How widely different would have been the course of historic events, had the seat of empire remained at Seleucia on the Tigris, and the Euphrates continued to be the western boundary of the Seleucidae!

5. Reciprocal relations between the several kings, who now combine in forming a kind of political system, in which continued exertions to maintain a balance of power by alliance and marriage are plainly discernible.

Connection between Seleucus and Demetrius Poliorcetes, by the
marriage of the former with the beautiful Stratonice, daughter of
the latter; made with the view of counterbalancing a similar
connection between Ptolemy and Lysimachus; Lysimachus and his son
Agathocles having united themselves with two daughters of Ptolemy.

6. The eighteen years of tranquillity enjoyed by Asia after the battle of Ipsus, prove that Seleucus was one of the few followers of Alexander who had any genius for the arts of peace. He either founded or embellished a vast number of cities, the most important of which were the capital, Antiochia in Syria, and the two Seleucias, one on the Tigris, the other on the Orontes: the flourishing prosperity of several of these places was the result of the restoration of eastern trade; new channels for which appear to have been opened at this period on the main streams of Asia, and more particularly on the Oxus.

7. The home department of his empire was organized into satrapies, of which there were seventy-two. But Alexander's maxim, "to give the satrapies to natives," was wholly forgotten by his followers; and the Seleucidae were not long before they experienced the evil consequences of swerving from that practice. Under such a prince as Seleucus scarce any kingdom could of itself fall to pieces; but the king himself paved the way for the dismemberment of his empire, by ceding Upper Asia, together with his consort Stratonice, to his son Antiochus; not, however, without the previous approbation of the army.

8. War with Lysimachus, kindled by ancient jealousy, and now fomented by family feuds. The battle of Curopedion cost Lysimachus his throne and his life; and Asia Minor became a part of the Syrian realm. But as Seleucus was crossing over to Europe, to add Macedonia to his dominions, he fell by the hand of an assassin, Ptolemy Ceraunus, and with him the splendour of his kingdom was extinguished.

9. The reign of his son, Antiochus I. surnamed Soter, seemed not unprosperous, inasmuch as the empire preserved its former extension; but in any state founded upon conquest, the failure of new attempts at an increase of territory is a sure token of approaching ruin; and this was the case here.--In such a state, the more immediately all depends on the person of the ruler, the more rapid and sensible are the effects of degeneration in a family like that of the Seleucidae.

The late conquests of his father in Asia Minor entangled Antiochus
in new wars; although, by the marriage of his stepdaughter Phila
with Antigonus Gonatas, he ceded his claims on Macedonia,
277.--Fruitless attempt at subjecting Bithynia, 279; the king of
that country, Nicomedes, calls in the Gauls, who had invaded
Macedonia, and gives them a settlement in Galatia, 277, where they
keep their footing, even after the victory won over them by
Antiochus, 275, and by their participation in the wars, as
mercenaries, become of importance.--The newly risen state of
Pergamus likewise thrives, at the expense of the Syrian empire, in
spite of Antiochus's attack, 263; and the inroad into Egypt, for
the purpose of supporting the rebel Magas, is anticipated by
Ptolemy II. 264.

10. Antiochus II. surnamed [Greek: Theos]. During his reign the sway was in the hands of women; and the diseased state of the interior of the empire became palpable by the secession of various eastern provinces, out of which arose the Parthian and Bactrian kingdoms. The boundless luxury of the court hurried on the decline of the ruling family; having once begun to sink, it could not without difficulty have retrieved its virtue independently of the matrimonial connections now constantly formed from within itself.

Ascendancy of his stepsister and wife Laodice, and of his sister
Apame, relict of Magas; the latter involves him in war with
Ptolemy II. to vindicate her claims upon Cyrene; it ends by
Antiochus's marriage with Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy, and his
repudiation of Laodice, 260-252. Having, after the death of
Ptolemy, 247, put away Berenice and taken back Laodice; the
latter, distrusting his motives, cuts him off by poison.--The
secession of Parthia happened in consequence of the expulsion of
the Macedonian governor by Arsaces, founder of the house of the
Arsacidae: that of Bactria, on the other hand, was brought about by
the Macedonian governor himself, Theodotus, who asserted his
independence. (Concerning these two kingdoms, see below, book iv.
period iii. Dist. Kingdoms iv. parag. 4, 5.) At first, the former
of these kingdoms comprised but a part of Parthia; the latter only
Bactria, and, perhaps, Sogdiana; both, however, were soon enlarged
at the expense of the Seleucidae.

11. Seleucus II. surnamed Callinicus. His reign, twenty years in duration, is one unbroken series of wars; in which the kingdom, already enfeebled, was subverted, partly by the struggle with Egypt, caused by the hatred between Laodice and Berenice; partly by the jealousy of his brother Antiochus Hierax; and partly by vain attempts at recovering the upper provinces.

Assassination of Berenice, and most unfortunate war thereby
kindled with Ptolemy Evergetes of Egypt, 247-244. The assistance
which Seleucus obtains from his junior brother, Antiochus,
governor of Asia Minor, induces Ptolemy to a truce, 243; but
another war ensues between the two brothers, in which Antiochus,
at first conqueror, is himself soon afterwards conquered in his
turn, 243-240; and during this contest, Eumenes of Pergamus
greatly increases his territory at the expense of Syria, 242.--His
first campaign against Arsaces, who had formed an alliance with
the Bactrian king, ended in a defeat, 238, regarded by the
Parthians as the real epoch of the foundation of their kingdom. In
the second campaign, 236, he himself fell into the hands of the
Parthians, and remained a prisoner till the day of his death, 227.

12. His elder son Seleucus III. surnamed Ceraunus, on the point of taking the field against Attalus king of Pergamus, was removed by poison. But the dominion of the Seleucidae was reestablished in Asia Minor by his mother's fraternal nephew, Achaeus; and the crown ensured to the younger brother Antiochus, governor of Babylon.

13. The long reign of Antiochus III. surnamed the Great, is not only the most eventful in Syrian history, but likewise marks an epoch, by the relations now commencing between Syria and Rome.--To earn the title of _great_ was a task of no extreme difficulty in such a line of princes.

14. Great power of Hermias the Carian, who soon became so formidable to the young monarch, that he was obliged to rid himself of him by murder. The great stand made by the brothers, Molo and Alexander, satraps of Media and Persia, who probably had an understanding with Hermias, threatened the king with the loss of all the upper provinces: it ended in the defeat of Molo, Hermias being at last no longer able to hinder the king from marching against him in person.

15. The intrigues of Hermias excited Achaeus to rebellion in Asia Minor: but Antiochus held more important, first to execute the plan he had previously traced, of ejecting the Ptolemies from their possessions in Syria; great as the success which at first attended this expedition, it was completely traversed by the battle of Raphia.--Combining with Attalus of Pergamus, Antiochus then defeated Achaeus, who, being shut up in the citadel of Sardes, was treacherously delivered into his hands.

16. Great campaign of Antiochus in the upper provinces, in consequence of the seizure of Media by Arsaces III.--Hostilities ended in a compact, by which Antiochus agreed formerly to cede Parthia and Hyrcania; Arsaces, on his side, pledging himself to furnish assistance against Bactria.--But the war with Bactria was also followed by a peace, leaving the king, Euthydemus, in possession of his crown and dominions.--The expedition now undertaken by Antiochus, in company with Demetrius of Bactriana, against India, extended, probably far up the country, and was attended with important consequences to Bactriana. (See below, history of Bactria, book iv. per. iii. Dist. Kingdoms iv. parag. 5.)

The result of these great expeditions was the establishment of the supremacy of the Seleucidae in Upper Asia; those countries excepted which had been formally resigned.

On his return through Arachotus and Carmania, where he wintered,
he likewise undertook a naval expedition on the Persian gulf: here
Gerrha, in possession of its freedom, appears a flourishing place
of trade.

17. Resumption of the plan against Egypt, after the death of Ptolemy Philopator; and alliance with Philip of Macedonia, then carrying on war in Asia. Antiochus, it is true, attained his end in the expulsion of the Ptolemies from their possessions in Syria, Coele-Syria, and Phoenicia; but then, his success brought him in contact with Rome, an event of decisive importance to himself and his successors.

18. Growth of the disputes between the king and Rome, proceeding from the conquest of the major part of Asia Minor and the Thracian Chersonesus; meanwhile Hannibal had taken refuge at the Syrian court, and the probability daily increased of a great league being formed against Rome, although that power, after conquering Carthage, 201, and Macedonia, 197, had succeeded in winning over Greece even, by the magic spell of _freedom_. But Antiochus ruined all: instead of following Hannibal's advice, and attacking the Romans on their own ground, he stood on the defensive, and suffered himself to be invaded by them in Asia. His defeat at Magnesia near Mount Sipylus compelled him to accede to such conditions as Rome chose to dictate, and the power of the Syrian empire was for ever broken.

For the history of this war, see below in the Roman history. Book
v. per. ii. parag. 10, 11.

19. The conditions of the peace were: 1st. That Antiochus should evacuate Asia Minor; (Asia cis Taurum.) 2nd. That he should pay down 15,000 talents; and to Eumenes of Pergamus four hundred. 3rd. That Hannibal and some others should be delivered up, and the king's younger son Antiochus, be given as an hostage.--The loss of the surrendered countries was a consequence of this peace, less disadvantageous to the Syrian kings, than the use made of it by the conquerors. By adding the greatest part of the ceded territories to those of the kings of Pergamus, the Romans raised up alongside of their enemy a rival, whom they might at their own will use as a political engine against him.--Rome took care likewise that the stipulated sum should be paid by instalments in twelve years, to the end that Syria might be kept in a permanent state of dependence.

20. Murder of the king, 187. The reign of his elder son, Seleucus IV. surnamed Philopator, was a period of tranquillity; peace arising from weakness.--Though once he unsheathed his sword in defence of Pharnaces king of Pontus, against Eumenes, his fear of Rome soon compelled him to restore it to the scabbard. He exchanged his son for his brother at Rome; but fell a victim to the ambition of his minister Heliodorus.

21. Antiochus IV. surnamed Epiphanes. Educated at Rome, he sought to combine the popular manners of a Roman with the ostentatious luxury of a Syrian; and thereby became an object of universal hatred and contempt. Our information respecting his history is too meagre to allow of our deciding whether most of the evil reported of him, in the Jewish accounts especially, may not be exaggerated. At any rate, among all his faults, we may still discern in him the germs of good qualities.

22. War with Egypt, springing out of Ptolemy Philometor's claims upon Coele-Syria and Palestine. Obscure as many parts are in the history of this war yet it is evident that success attended the arms of Antiochus, and that he would have become master of Egypt had not Rome interfered.

The pretext for war, on the Egyptian side, was, that those
provinces had by Antiochus III. been promised as a dowry to
Cleopatra, sister of Antiochus and the mother of Philometor:
Antiochus Epiphanes, on his side, laid claim to the regency of
Egypt, as uncle to the young king, who, however, was soon declared
of age.--Opening of the war, and victory won by Antiochus at
Pelusium, 171; in consequence of which Cyprus is betrayed into his
hands.--Pelusium is fortified with a view of insuring the
possession of Coele-Syria, and of facilitating an irruption into
Egypt.--Another victory, 170, and Egypt subdued as far as
Alexandria. Philometor driven by a sedition out of Alexandria,
where his brother Physcon is seated on the throne, falls into the
hands of Antiochus, who concludes with him a most advantageous
peace, and takes his part against Physcon. Hence siege is laid to
Alexandria, 169; attended with no success. Upon the retreat of
Antiochus, Philometor, concluding a separate peace with his
brother, according to which both are to rule in conjunction, is
admitted into Alexandria. Antiochus, bitterly enraged, now
declares war against both brothers, who crave assistance from
Rome: he once more penetrates into Egypt, 168; where the Roman
ambassador, Popillius, assumes so lofty a tone, that the Syrian
king is glad to purchase peace by the surrender of Cyprus and
Pelusium.

23. The religious intolerance of Epiphanes, exhibited in his wish to introduce the Grecian worship everywhere among the subjects of his empire, is the more remarkable, as such instances were less frequent in those times. This intolerance seems to have taken its rise, not only in the love of pomp, but in the cupidity of the king, who by that means was enabled to appropriate to himself the treasures of the temples, no longer inviolate, since the defeat of his father by Rome. The consequent sedition of the Jews, under the Maccabees, laid the foundation of the future independence of that people, and contributed not a little to weaken the Syrian kingdom.

See below; History of the Jews, book iv. per. iv; Small states
Jews, parag. 6. The deep decay of the finances of the Seleucidae,
palpable from the latter days of Antiochus the Great, may be
accounted for well enough, by the falling off of the revenue,
accompanied with increased luxury in the kings, (an instance of
which is furnished in the festivals celebrated by Antiochus
Epiphanes at Daphne, 166,) and in the vast presents constantly
sent to Rome, in addition to the tribute, for the purpose of
keeping up a party there.

24. His expedition also into Upper Asia, Persis especially, where great disorders were likewise excited by the introduction of the Grecian religion, had for its object not only the recovery of Armenia, but the rifling of the temples. He died, however, on his way to Babylon.

25. The real heir to the throne, Demetrius, being detained at Rome as an hostage, Epiphanes was first succeeded by his son Antiochus V. surnamed Eupator, a child nine years old. During his short reign, the quarrels of his guardians, the despotism of the Romans, the protracted war with the Jews, and the commencing conquests of the Parthians, reduced the kingdom of the Seleucidae to a powerless state.

Contest between Lysias, regent in the absence of Epiphanes, and
Philip, appointed by the king, previously to his death, as
guardian of the young prince, terminated by the defeat of Philip,
162.--Eupator's right acknowledged at Rome, in order that the
guardianship might fall into the hands of the senate, who
administer the government by means of a commission sent over into
Syria, and completely deprive the king of all power of resistance.
Octavius, head of the commission, put to death, probably at the
instigation of Lysias.--While the Parthian king, Mithridates I. is
prosecuting his conquests at the expense of the Syrian kingdom in
Upper Asia, Demetrius secretly escapes out of Rome, takes
possession of the throne, and causes Eupator and Lysias to be put
to death, 161.

26. Demetrius I. surnamed Soter. He succeeded in getting himself acknowledged at Rome, on which all now depended. The attempts to extend his power, by supporting Orofernes, the pretender to the crown of Cappadocia, against the king Ariarathes, had their origin partly in family relations, but still more, as was the case with almost all political transactions of those times, in bribery. By this act he only drew upon himself the enmity of the kings of Egypt and Pergamus; as, moreover, he was hated by his subjects on account of his intemperance, the chances of success were greatly in favour of the shameful usurpation of Alexander Balas, brought about by Heraclidas the expelled governor of Babylon, and backed by the yet more shameful conduct of the Roman senate, who acknowledged his title to the throne. The Syrian kingdom was now fallen so low, that both king and usurper were obliged to court the favour of the Jews under Jonathan, hitherto regarded as rebels. In the second battle Demetrius lost his life.