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The Ancients

Successors of Alexander the Great

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.73.5K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What happened after Alexander the Great died?

On June 11, 323 BC, at just 32 years old, Alexander left an empire without a clear heir, sparking chaos among his generals. Tristan Hughes and Dr. Graham Wrightson explore the immediate aftermath of his death, the power struggles among his top generals, and the rise of new kingdoms from the fractured empire.

The fascinating and brutal Wars of the Successors is a real life Games of Thrones with multiple family sagas, broken allegiances and murders, as the generals battle it out to become Alexander the Great's sole successor.


MORE

Alexander the Great:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0z8hT2mn3bV4QCFSkoyk4A

Alexander the Great's Sex Life:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3CYOYc97yU9Y9rdQelirJ9?si=f821a2f87f7a40e4&nd=1&dlsi=ab1ef58e265748bf


Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Nick Thomson, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi, I'm Tristan Hughes, and if you would like the ancient ad-free, get early access and bonus episodes, sign up to History Hit.

0:08.1

With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, including my recent documentary all about Petra and the Nabatans, and enjoy a new release every week.

0:19.3

Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe.

0:39.0

Those were the immortalised, fabled last words of Alexander the Great.

0:45.1

When he died in Babylon after a short and sudden illness on the 11th of June 323 BC, aged just 32.

0:55.1

In his 13-year reign, he had conquered the mighty Persian Empire and forged one of the largest

1:01.2

empires the world had yet seen, stretching from Greece to the Indian subcontinent.

1:08.0

His achievements have been the talk of countless books and podcast episodes, but the story of

1:12.9

the chaos that erupted after his death is even more fascinating.

1:18.6

This chaos is epitomized by those fabled last words themselves to the strongest.

1:24.1

These words were an answer, an answer by Alexander to one of his generals who had approached his deathbed.

1:30.3

The general had asked to whom Alexander left his empire.

1:34.3

Alexander had simply replied,

1:36.3

To cratistow to the strongest.

1:40.3

Now unfortunately, it's very likely that Alexander did not pass from this world with those legendary final words.

1:47.8

However, fictional or not, they have come to epitomize the Titanic struggle for power that followed his death.

1:56.8

Alexander's death was unexpected.

1:59.6

Aged just 32, he left no clear heir to the throne.

2:03.7

His only son was illegitimate. His wife, a Bactrian princess called Roxana,

2:08.7

was pregnant at the time of Alexander's death and she would ultimately give birth to a son.

2:14.8

But that sum, although Alexander's sole legitimate heir, would be incapable of ruling

2:20.6

for years. Alexander also had a brother, an elder half-brother, in fact, called Aridaeus. But Aridaeus had a

...

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