After Alexander

After Alexander

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After Alexander episodes

  • 12- Ipsus Part II: Aftershock

    The Battle of Ipsus in 301 BCE, which saw the death of Antigonus I, was a gamechanger. Demetrius was still alive, but the power of their dynasty was momentarily in tatters. In Part 2 of our discussion of Ipsus, we're going to analyse what it meant for both the victors and the losers. A brief spoiler here- it's not going to mean the dawning of a new age of peace and mutual trust. Far from it, in fact...


    Sources for this episode:

    • Grainger, J. D., 2014, The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323- 223 BCE), Seleukos I to Seleukos III. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. (eBook) [Accessed 04/01/2021].
    • Lendering, J., Livius (2002, modified 2020), Diadochi 9: Demetrius (online) [Accessed 18/01/2021].
    • Siebert, J., Encyclopaedia Britannica (2019), Seleucus I Nicator (online) [Accessed 10/01/2021].
    • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Apama (online) [Accessed 18/01/2021].
    • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Nahr al-Kabir (online, used to find the location of the Eleutheros river) [Accessed 19/01/2021].
    • The Wikipedia pages for Stratornice and Seleucus can be accessed for their ages in 298 used in this episode.

      • Quick notice from me: there's going to be a few updates coming up soon, so regular content will resume in two weeks time on the 13th of March.

      10 min
    • 11- Ipsus Part I: A Showdown Beckons

      Ipsus was a decisive turning point in the fate of the Antigonids, and indeed their opponents, but it didn't come out of nothing. In this episode, which I'm artificially going to dub Part 1, we're going to discuss the manoeuvring leading up to the battle, before getting stuck into the action. Then in Part 2, we'll get to the aftershocks and implications of the battle.


      Sources for the episode:

      • Bevan, E. R. (1902), the House of Seleucus, Vol. I. London: Edward Arnold.
      • Lendering, J., Livius (2002, modified 2020), Diadochi 7: The Fourth Diadoch War (1) (online) [Accessed 13/01/2021].
      • Lendering, J., Livius (2002, modified 2020), Diadochi 8: The Fourth Diadoch War (2) (online) [Accessed 13/01/2021].
        • 16 min
      • 10- A Crowning Achievement

        With the deaths of both Alexander IV in 311 at the hands of Cassander and Heracles (possibly the illegitimate son of Alexander the Great by Barsine) in 309 due to Polyperchon, the Argead royal line is dead. So, in 306 and 305, the generals and successors to Alexander take that final step on the road to the destruction of the empire- taking up the diadem of kinship.


        Sources for this episode:

        • Bevan, E. R. (1902), the House of Seleucus, Vol. I. London: Edward Arnold.
        • Lendering, J., Livius (2002, modified 2020), Diadochi 7: The Fourth Diadoch War (1) (online) [Accessed 13/01/2021].
        • Oltermann, P. et al. (2010), The Ancient World (booklets) Day two: Greece. Produced by the Guardian.
        • Oltermann, P. et al. (2010), The Ancient World (booklets), Day five: Mesapotamia. Produced by the Guardian.
        • Walbank, F. W., Encylopaedia Britannica (2020), Alexander the Great (online) [Accessed 16/01/2021].
        • Author unknown, Livius (date unknown), Alexander IV (online) [Accessed 16/01/2021].
        • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Alexander IV of Macedon (online) [Accessed 16/01/2021].
        • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), League of the Islanders (online) [Accessed 16/01/2021].
        • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Seleucus I Nicator (online) [Accessed 10/01/2021].
          • 15 min
        • 9- The Next Generation

          Sadly for Seleucus, we can't send him off to the west again just yet, because we're going to have to pause and pay a bit of attention to the second generation of Successors. Given that Seleucus' son Antiochus is pushing nineteen by the time his father receives the diadem (spoiler alert!) in 305 as I once claimed- he and his siblings are going to become increasingly relevant on the world stage. It's time to turn the spotlight away from the father and look to his family. At least, what we know of them...


          Sources for this episode:

          • The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020), Antiochus I Soter (online) [Accessed 10/01/2021].
          • Tarn, W. W. (1966), The Greeks in Bactria and India. New York: Cambridge University Press.
          • Author unknown, Wikipedia, date unknown, Seleucus I Nicator (online) [Accessed 10/01/2021].
          • There are also a variety of genealogy sites where I have seen claims of Achaeus’ birth year as 320, but this is not mentioned elsewhere so I have ignored it here. Also, bear in mind a limitation that exists when researching this question in that, to the casually interested, there is not an awful lot of source material readily available.
            • 8 min
          • 8- The Land of Dionysus

            After rampaging his way around the closer eastern provinces, Seleucus' peace deal with Antigonus allowed him to gaze further east and start greedily dreaming about conquest further afield. On the podcast today, we will see Seleucus copy both Alexander the Great and the Persians by invading India. But, as we saw in episode 4, he doesn't face the disunited political scene that they did. It's time for the Seleucids and the Maurya to butt heads...


            Sources for this episode:

            • Bevan, E. R. (1902), the House of Seleucus, Vol. I. London: Edward Arnold.
            • Cooke, F., Dingle, H., Hutchinson, S., McKay, G., Schodde, R., Tait, R. and Vogt, R. (2008), The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide. Sydney: Weldon Own Pty Ltd.
            • Hirst, K. K., ThoughtCo (updated 2018), The Mauryan Empire Was the First Dynasty to Rule Most of India (online) [Accessed 13/01/2021].
            • Komnene, A. (c.1148), the Alexiad. Translated by Sewter, E. R. A. (1969). London: Penguin Classics, Penguin Books Ltd.
            • Kosmin, P. J. (2014), The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. (eBook) [Accessed 03/04/2021].
            • Szczepanski, K., ThoughtCo (updated 2019), Biography of Chandragupta Maurya, Founder of the Mauryan Empire (online) [Accessed 13/01/2021].
            • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Megasthenes' Herakles (online) [Accessed 14/01/2021].
            • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Seleucus I Nicator (online) [Accessed 10/01/2021].




              • 13 min
            • 7- The Prize

              With Seleucus back in Babylon, it appears that he is back in the game. However, not everyone is so keen on this new development as Seleucus himself. From pretty much 311 to 310, Seleucus is going to have to fight to keep his hard-won prize…


              Sources for this episode:

              • Lendering, J., Livius, (2002, modified 2020), Diadochoi 6: The Babylonian War [Accessed 10/01/2021].
              • Lendering, J., Livius, (2006, modified 2020), Seleucus I Nicator (online) [Accessed 19/12/2020].
              • Seibert, J., Encyclopaedia Britannica (2019), Seleucus I Nicator (online) [Accessed 10/01/2021].
              • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Seleucus I Nicator (online) [Accessed 10/01/2021].
                • 15 min
              • Bonus- Alexander the Great Poll
                Poll time! In this episode, I'm going to present three options for how to view Alexander the Great based on what I know about Alexander (as well as a bit of a speculation)- which I've named 'Hero', 'Careless' and 'Vain'. To take part, email one of these options (or another one I've missed)- and a reason if you feel like it- to '[email protected]'. You have until the 10th of June 2021 to take part. Alternatively, you should if all goes according to plan be able to vote at: https://strawpoll.com/h3sswuw87 . I'll be interested to see what you all think!
                6 min
              • 6- The House of Argos

                Ever since the death of his father, Alexander IV had technically been king of Macedon. However, that would abruptly end in 309 BCE, when both he and his mother Roxane were assassinated on the orders of Cassander. You might think that this pretty much extinguished any Argead claims, but there are still a few loose ends flapping about. On the podcast today, we recap a bit of the Argead family and the potential claimants from a dynasty point of view to be the heir of Alexander…

                Sources for this episode are articles from Encyclopaedia Britannica ('Philip II' and 'Argead Dynasty'), Wikipedia (for Philip II and his children) and Livius (for Cleopatra of Macedon), all accessed 07/01/2021. NOTE: The list of children of Philip II was found in the 'quick facts' section of Philip's Wikipedia page, so I don't know if it's exhaustive or not.

                10 min
              • 5- Third Time Lucky

                Seleucus, now decidedly province-less, flees to Egypt and holes up with Ptolemy. There, he gets himself appointed as commander in chief of Ptolemy’s fleet in the eastern Mediterranean, cooperating with Ptolemy's brother Menelaus who was appointed as commander to forces dispatched to Cyprus. With the Third War of the Diadochoi going on in the background and with a bit of a foray into Egypt’s situation and the Seleucid era calendar, it’s time to get nautical….


                Sources for this episode:

                • Anson, E. M. (2006), The Chronology of the Third Diadoch War. Phoenix 60(3/4): 226, 235.
                • Grainger, J. D., 2014, The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323- 223 BCE), Seleukos I to Seleukos III. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. (eBook) [Accessed 04/01/2021].
                • Kosmin, P. J. (2014), The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire. London: Harvard University Press. (eBook) [Accessed 03/04/2021].
                • Lendering, J., Livius (2002, modified 2020), Diadochoi 5: The Third Diadoch War (online). [Accessed 03/01/2021].
                • The central position of Babylon with the former empire can be seen at the Wikipedia page of the Diadochoi.
                • For more on the life of Menelaus, see his Wikipedia page [Accessed 27/03/2021].
                  • 18 min
                • 4- Androcottus

                  A short break from the main narrative here to dive into Indian history. At the time of Alexander the Great, there was no one united India, just a lot of squabbling kingdoms and states as in the majority of the world’s history. Although the north was dominated by the Nanda empire, there was no one state which had central control. However, after Alexander left again some in India started getting big ideas…


                  Sources for this episode:

                  • The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mauryan Empire (online) [Accessed 29/12/2020].
                  • The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Porus (online)  [Accessed 28/12/2020].
                  • Habib, I. and Habib, F. (1989), Mapping the Mauryan empire. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 50: 57- 79.
                  • Oltermann, P., et al., the Guardian (2010), The Guardian Ancient World booklet series day 2: Greece.
                  • Oltermann, P., et al., the Guardian (2010), The Ancient World booklet series day 7: India.
                  • Thapar, R. (2006), The Mauryan empire in early India. Historical Research 79(205): 287- 305.
                  • Woolf, A., 2014 A Short History of the World, The Story of Mankind from Prehistory to the Modern Day. London: Arcturus Publishing Limited.
                    • 13 min

                  About After Alexander

                  From the publisher's feed

                  This podcast explores what happened after Alexander the Great, with a specific focus on the story of the Seleucids- a dynasty which descended from one of Alexander's generals and came to rule an…

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