Hi there. You're listening to the Hellenistic Age podcast.

Episode 15, to the strongest, the first and second wars of the Diodohoi.

In our last episode, we covered the immediate aftermath of Alexander the Great's death.

Though the Macedonian Empire was still united on paper,

open insurrection from the Greeks and political intrigue by the

successors of Alexander had begun to tarotent at the seams. Two main groups now

vied for control of the Empire. An alliance of Antipaterus, Antigonus in Macedon, and Ptolemy

in Egypt had formed against the ambitious Perticus, who had control of the heartland of the Asian satrapies

in Babylon, and it is here where the first war of the Diodohoi will begin. Antipater and

Cratorus had already begun their preparations for war. They had decided to strike first in Asia,

at the head of a fresh Macedonian army crossing the Hellespont into Asia Minor in 320 BC.

And before even stepping on to Asian soil, the satrapies of Caria and Lydia had defected to Antigonus.

Ptolemy would himself attempt to shore up the defenses of Egypt, with the expectation that an invasion of the satrapy was inevitable. The army of Perticus was not entirely under his command,

as was made clear with the rioting it did in Boulon upon finding out about the murder of Sinai,

a member of the Argiate House.

It seems that the odds were stacked against Perticus.

Despite everything, Perticus was not alone. Standing by him was Eumines of

Cardia, that plucky little Greek secretary turn general. It was he who had gained the trust of

Perticus and was raised to a position of high regard. With his blessing, Perticus made Eumines the head of

an army, numbering around 20,000 to halt the progress of Craterus,

who had split from Antipater to enter Cappadocia in Eastern Asia Minor.

He also provided two lieutenants to assist, Alcatus, a brother of Perdicus, and a man named Neoptolemus, a former officer of Alexander.

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