Antipater I of Macedon
| Antipater I of Macedon | |
|---|---|
| Spouse | Eurydice, daughter of Lysimachus |
Antipater I of Macedon (Greek: Αντίπατρος Α' της Μακεδονίας), more commonly simply known as Antipater, was briefly a king of Macedon and died sometime after 294 BC. Antipater was a Macedonian prince of the Antipatrid dynasty, and nephew of Alexander the Great; being the son of Cassander and Thessalonice (a daughter of Philip II of Macedon and half-sister of Alexander). Antipater is traditionally assigned a reign from 297 to 294 BC, although the chronology of the succession following his father's death is disputed.
He seized the Macedonian throne after murdering his mother, but was subsequently driven from the kingdom by Pyrrhus of Epirus and Demetrius I Poliorcetes. He was eventually put to death by his father-in-law, Lysimachus.[1][2]
Family and succession
Antipater was the elder of the two surviving sons of Cassander and Thessalonice. His mother was a daughter of Philip II, giving Antipater a connection to the former Argead royal house and making him a nephew of Alexander the Great. His father, Cassander, had established himself as king of Macedon during the wars of the successors of Alexander.
Cassander died in 297 B.C. His eldest son, Philip IV, succeeded him but died after a short reign. Antipater and his younger brother, Alexander V of Macedon, were then involved in a struggle over the succession. The traditional chronology lists both brothers as kings between 297 and 294 B.C.; however, the precise constitutional arrangement during this period is not certain.
Helen S. Lund argues that, following Philip IV's death, the kingdom was governed by Cassander's widow, Thessalonice, acting as regent. Her royal ancestry as the daughter of Philip II appears to have helped make her authority acceptable to the Macedonians. Lund places Antipater's seizure of sole power in the spring or summer of 294 B.C., rather than treating him as an uncontested king from 297 B.C.[1]
The marriages of the two brothers were also politically significant. Antipater married Eurydice, a daughter of Lysimachus, while Alexander married Lysandra, a daughter of Ptolemy I Soter. These alliances connected the Macedonian princes to two of the most powerful successor kingdoms established after Alexander's death. The marriages may also have been intended to strengthen the respective brothers' claims to the Macedonian throne.[1]
Murder of Thessalonice and seizure of the throne
The ancient accounts agree that Antipater murdered his mother, Thessalonice, during the succession dispute. Plutarch and Justin both associate the murder with Antipater's belief that she favored his brother Alexander in the division of the kingdom.[3][4]
Lund's reconstruction gives a more specific explanation for the immediate crisis. According to her account, Thessalonice proposed that Antipater's claim as heir should be set aside and that the kingdom should be divided between her two sons. Antipater, angered by this proposed arrangement, committed matricide and seized the whole kingdom in the spring or summer of 294 B.C.[1] The precise motives cannot be independently established, but the murder marked the collapse of the regency and the beginning of Antipater's short-lived personal rule.
Alexander appealed for assistance to Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, and Demetrius I Poliorcetes, who was then occupied in the Peloponnese. Pyrrhus arrived first. He expelled Antipater from Macedon and restored Alexander to the throne, receiving western Macedonian territories in return for his intervention.[3][1]
Antipater sought assistance from his father-in-law Lysimachus. Despite the family connection, Lysimachus did not immediately intervene militarily on his behalf. Instead, he attempted to reconcile the brothers and encouraged Antipater to negotiate with Pyrrhus for his withdrawal from Macedon. Lund notes that Lysimachus's reluctance to commit himself to war was also connected with his other military and political obligations in Thrace and Asia Minor.[1]
Overthrow and death
The settlement did not last. By the autumn of 294 B.C., Demetrius had completed his campaign in the Peloponnese and returned to Macedonia. Antipater was expelled from the kingdom for a second time. Alexander, whose position had become precarious following Demetrius's arrival, was murdered at Larissa in Thessaly on Demetrius's orders. Demetrius subsequently assumed the Macedonian kingship.[3][1]
Antipater escaped with his life and sought refuge with Lysimachus. His father-in-law, however, ultimately turned against him. Justin records that Lysimachus put Antipater to death after he complained that he had been deprived of the Macedonian throne through his father-in-law's actions. Justin also states that Lysimachus imprisoned his own daughter Eurydice, Antipater's wife, after she joined in her husband's complaints.[4]
The exact date of Antipater's death is uncertain. Porphyry's chronology places his death soon after his flight to Lysimachus in 294 B.C., but Lund considers this likely to be a compression of events. Justin's account places the killing later, after Lysimachus had acquired eastern Macedonia. A later proposed date of 286/285 B.C. has also been suggested, although it is not certain.[5]
Historical significance
Antipater's brief struggle for the Macedonian throne illustrates the instability of the successor kingdoms following the death of Alexander the Great. The dynastic marriages of the Macedonian royal family connected Antipater and Alexander to the kingdoms of Lysimachus and Ptolemy, but these alliances did not prevent the collapse of the succession settlement.
The murder of Thessalonice and the rivalry between her sons provided an opportunity for foreign rulers to intervene in Macedonian affairs. Pyrrhus first expelled Antipater and restored Alexander, while Demetrius subsequently removed both brothers from power and established himself as king. Antipater's eventual execution by Lysimachus demonstrated how dynastic relationships could be subordinated to the territorial ambitions of the successor kings.[2][1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Helen Sarah Lund, Bridging the Hellespont: The Successor Lysimachus – A Study in Early Hellenistic Kingship (Ph.D. thesis, University College London, 1992), pp. 198–201.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pat Wheatley and Charlotte Dunn, "The Acquisition of Macedonia," in Demetrius the Besieger (Oxford University Press, 2020), chapter 20, pp. 321–332.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Plutarch, Life of Demetrius, 36–37, translated by Bernadotte Perrin.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus, 16.1–2, translated by J. S. Watson (1853), online text.
- ↑ Lund, Bridging the Hellespont, pp. 211–212, especially note 195.
See also
- Cassander
- Antipatrid dynasty
- Alexander V of Macedon
- Demetrius I Poliorcetes
- Pyrrhus of Epirus
- Lysimachus
- Diadochi
- Wars of the Diadochi
External links
- Helen S. Lund, Bridging the Hellespont, University College London, 1992.
- Plutarch, Life of Demetrius, chapter 36, translated by Bernadotte Perrin.