Can anyone enlighten me about the sequence of events following the point when Polyperchon heads with his army after Kassandros (who is camped at Dion), and the time when his men begin to desert and he goes off to Asia Minor to enlist help. Did he return first to Pella? Was this before or after Olympias and the royal household had taken refuge at Pynda? Or is this actually recorded. (ie: can I speculate on this?)
Thanks in advance.
Polyperchon's exodus to Asia Minor
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Can you give some more details on which events you mean? It is not clear to me, even after checking the articles 'Polyperchon' in the Realencyclopaedie and Heckel's Who is who.
Do you mean the desertion of Polyperchon's troops to Kassandros' general Kallas in Perrhaibia? If so, Diodorus (XIX 36.5-6) gives these events after he has said that Olympias retired to Pydna (XIX 35.5) but before the end of the siege (XIX 49-50). Given the length of the siege, the desertion will indeed have taken place before the end of the siege. The order of events in Diodorus is often incorrect, so the desertion might have happened before the beginning of the siege, or slightly later. I'm not sure whether that could be determined.
I do not know whether Polyperchon actually went off to Asia Minor.
Do you mean the desertion of Polyperchon's troops to Kassandros' general Kallas in Perrhaibia? If so, Diodorus (XIX 36.5-6) gives these events after he has said that Olympias retired to Pydna (XIX 35.5) but before the end of the siege (XIX 49-50). Given the length of the siege, the desertion will indeed have taken place before the end of the siege. The order of events in Diodorus is often incorrect, so the desertion might have happened before the beginning of the siege, or slightly later. I'm not sure whether that could be determined.
I do not know whether Polyperchon actually went off to Asia Minor.
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ruthaki
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Polyprchon's exodus
Thanks for this information. It's a bit confusing to work out the exact details but yes, it comes after his men started to mutiny. I have read in several sources (I have this info in my research files) that he went off to Asia Minor to try and get some help and during that time was when Kassandros moves in and seizes Pydna, kills Olympias, and imprisons Roxane and Alexader IV at Amphipolis. But the exact order of events wasn't clear. It makes more sense to me that he went during the time they were in Pydna and I suppose that as none of this is exactly clear in the Sources, I can use whatever plan works best for the novel.
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appietas
Pydna, winter 317-16
There are serious problems with the 318-15 BC chronology which go back to the 3rd century itself. In the modern tradition this is mainly due to Diodorus' omission from his narrative of Kassander's return to Makedonia and partnership with Queen Eurydike (extant only in Justinus), and the confusing series of participles with which he describes Nikanor's victorious return to Peiraieus from the Hellespont after the defeat and death of Kleitos ho Leukos.
As a result even the great man Christian Habicht (in Athen. Die Geschichte der Staadt in hellenistischer Zeit = Athens from Alexander to Antony) misdates events, putting Kleitos' death in 317 and dragging out the siege of Pydna from spring 316 to the following spring, thus delaying Olympias' capture and execution to spring 315, and perforce Kassander's reestablishment of Thebes to 315 also.
But in fact Thebes was resettled in 316, Olympias died in in spring 316 and the siege of Pydna was from late autumn 317 to early spring 316 only. The correct chronology can be retrieved from several crucial synchronisms in Diodorus' text re events in Makedonia and Asia, and from Chris Bennett's and my own recent work on Makedonian chronology.
The key latter points are that Philip III was executed on 1 Dios 317, after which
Antigonos and Ptolemy both continued to date fictitiously by Philip III, refusing to recognize Alexander IV as sole king (i.e. refusing to recognize the authority of Olympias).
But then by April 316 Ptolemy suddenly reversed his decision and Egyptian records begin to date by the years of Alexander IV; the reason must be that the wily Ptolemy switched to the living child king only after learning of Olympias' death, or at least of her capture by Kassander which amounted to the same thing.
As a result even the great man Christian Habicht (in Athen. Die Geschichte der Staadt in hellenistischer Zeit = Athens from Alexander to Antony) misdates events, putting Kleitos' death in 317 and dragging out the siege of Pydna from spring 316 to the following spring, thus delaying Olympias' capture and execution to spring 315, and perforce Kassander's reestablishment of Thebes to 315 also.
But in fact Thebes was resettled in 316, Olympias died in in spring 316 and the siege of Pydna was from late autumn 317 to early spring 316 only. The correct chronology can be retrieved from several crucial synchronisms in Diodorus' text re events in Makedonia and Asia, and from Chris Bennett's and my own recent work on Makedonian chronology.
The key latter points are that Philip III was executed on 1 Dios 317, after which
Antigonos and Ptolemy both continued to date fictitiously by Philip III, refusing to recognize Alexander IV as sole king (i.e. refusing to recognize the authority of Olympias).
But then by April 316 Ptolemy suddenly reversed his decision and Egyptian records begin to date by the years of Alexander IV; the reason must be that the wily Ptolemy switched to the living child king only after learning of Olympias' death, or at least of her capture by Kassander which amounted to the same thing.
Very interesting! Will this research be published somewhere?appietas wrote:The correct chronology can be retrieved from several crucial synchronisms in Diodorus' text re events in Makedonia and Asia, and from Chris Bennett's and my own recent work on Makedonian chronology.
The key latter points are that Philip III was executed on 1 Dios 317, after which
Antigonos and Ptolemy both continued to date fictitiously by Philip III, refusing to recognize Alexander IV as sole king (i.e. refusing to recognize the authority of Olympias).
How can one arrive at such a precise date for the death of Philip?
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appietas
Makedonian regnal years
Hi abm,
Eventually, somewhere; the main stumbling block for now is that I can't get Chris to agree that Ptolemy adopted the year of Alexander IV like Seleukos. But the Egyptian evidence is less straightforward than the Babylonian/Seleukid; such things happen when a guy thinks for himself (and most of the argumentation is Chris' work rather than mine, so I don't want to write anything independent of him).
1 Dios isn't directly attested for Philip III's death; it's part of a whole thesis about the development of Makedonic time-keeping (regnal years aspect) and in that context it seems unavoidable and is nicely supported by the attested sequence of events; i.e. Olympias and Polyperchon certainly returned to Makedonia and imprisoned king and queen about late summer 317, the news of their maltreatment and deaths reached Kassander in Peloponnese in the autumn, and he returned to Makedonia and besieged Olympias in Pydna about late autumn. The main chronologic anchor here is Diodorus' explicit testimony re the rotten winter weather during the siege of Pydna, and several references to the news of Eumenes' capture and death in Asia not yet having reached Europe, and influencing events in consequence.
The other main points are that the Makedonian year changed with each reign until the introduction of the Seleukid Era, with the accession date of each new king doing the duty of new year's day. It was the creation of the Seleukid Era (by Antiochos I continuing his father's regnal year count) which first embedded 1 Dios as a permanent new year's day in the Seleukid dominions, and contemporary and historical cuneiform texts from Babylonia make it abundantly clear that when Seleukos returned to Babylonia in 312-311 BC and retook the place from the Antigonids (who refused to recognize Alexander IV and Olympias), he began dating by the regnal years of Alexander IV with which he equated his own years as de facto strategos autokrator (or viceroy); the initial equation being year 6 of King Alexander = year 1 of Seleukos the strategos. Since Seleukos was officially (albeit nominally) subordinating himself to the authority of Alexander IV, it follows that his own year beginning 1 Dios (his eventual regnal years were a rechristening of his original strategos years) was the same as that of Alexander IV, who would have succeeded as sole king on the day of Philip III's death.
Furthermore it can be shown exactly by converging Roman, Greek and Babylonian evidence that Philip II was murdered and Alexander III succeeded on 1 Dios 336 BC, and this would be a fitting motivation for Olympias (who had Philip III and Eurydike in her power) to arrange for the succession of her grandson to the hated Philip III on the same day as her son had succeeded the hated Philip II.
Eventually, somewhere; the main stumbling block for now is that I can't get Chris to agree that Ptolemy adopted the year of Alexander IV like Seleukos. But the Egyptian evidence is less straightforward than the Babylonian/Seleukid; such things happen when a guy thinks for himself (and most of the argumentation is Chris' work rather than mine, so I don't want to write anything independent of him).
1 Dios isn't directly attested for Philip III's death; it's part of a whole thesis about the development of Makedonic time-keeping (regnal years aspect) and in that context it seems unavoidable and is nicely supported by the attested sequence of events; i.e. Olympias and Polyperchon certainly returned to Makedonia and imprisoned king and queen about late summer 317, the news of their maltreatment and deaths reached Kassander in Peloponnese in the autumn, and he returned to Makedonia and besieged Olympias in Pydna about late autumn. The main chronologic anchor here is Diodorus' explicit testimony re the rotten winter weather during the siege of Pydna, and several references to the news of Eumenes' capture and death in Asia not yet having reached Europe, and influencing events in consequence.
The other main points are that the Makedonian year changed with each reign until the introduction of the Seleukid Era, with the accession date of each new king doing the duty of new year's day. It was the creation of the Seleukid Era (by Antiochos I continuing his father's regnal year count) which first embedded 1 Dios as a permanent new year's day in the Seleukid dominions, and contemporary and historical cuneiform texts from Babylonia make it abundantly clear that when Seleukos returned to Babylonia in 312-311 BC and retook the place from the Antigonids (who refused to recognize Alexander IV and Olympias), he began dating by the regnal years of Alexander IV with which he equated his own years as de facto strategos autokrator (or viceroy); the initial equation being year 6 of King Alexander = year 1 of Seleukos the strategos. Since Seleukos was officially (albeit nominally) subordinating himself to the authority of Alexander IV, it follows that his own year beginning 1 Dios (his eventual regnal years were a rechristening of his original strategos years) was the same as that of Alexander IV, who would have succeeded as sole king on the day of Philip III's death.
Furthermore it can be shown exactly by converging Roman, Greek and Babylonian evidence that Philip II was murdered and Alexander III succeeded on 1 Dios 336 BC, and this would be a fitting motivation for Olympias (who had Philip III and Eurydike in her power) to arrange for the succession of her grandson to the hated Philip III on the same day as her son had succeeded the hated Philip II.