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| Cassander | |
|---|---|
 Bronze coin of Cassander. The reverse depicts a lion and an inscription in Ancient Greek reading "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΚΑΣΣΑΝΔΡΟΥ", [of] King Cassander. | |
| King of Macedonia | |
| Reign | 305 – 297 BC |
| Predecessor | Alexander IV |
| Successor | Philip IV |
| Born | 355 BC[1] |
| Died | 297 BC (aged 58) Pella |
| Spouse | Thessalonike of Macedon |
| Issue | |
| House | Antipatrid dynasty |
| Father | Antipater |
| Religion | Ancient Greek Religion |
Cassander (/kəˈsændər/;[2]Ancient Greek:Κάσσανδρος,romanized: Kássandros;c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of theAncient Greek kingdom ofMacedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, andde facto ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death.[3]
A son ofAntipater and a contemporary ofAlexander the Great, Cassander was one of theDiadochi who warred over Alexander's empire following the latter's death in 323 BC. Cassander later seized power by having Alexander's son and heirAlexander IV murdered.[4] While governing Macedonia from 317 BC until 297 BC, Cassander focused on strengthening the northern borders and economic development, while founding or restoring several cities (includingThessalonica,Cassandreia, andThebes); however, his ruthlessness in dealing with political enemies complicates assessments of his rule.[5][6][7]
In his youth, Cassander was taught by the philosopherAristotle at theLyceum inMacedonia. He was educated alongsideAlexander the Great in a group that includedHephaestion,Ptolemy andLysimachus.[8] His family were distant collateral relatives to theArgead dynasty.[9]
Cassander is first recorded as arriving at Alexander the Great's court inBabylon in 323 BC, where he had been sent by his father,Antipater, most likely to help uphold Antipater's regency in Macedon, although a later contemporary who was hostile to the Antipatrids suggested that Cassander had journeyed to the court to poison the King.[10] Cassander left Alexander's court either shortly before or after the king's death in June of 323 BC, playing no part in the immediate power struggles over the empire.[11] Cassander returned to Macedonia and assisted his father's governance, he was later assigned by Antipater toAntigonus as hischiliarch from 321 to 320, probably to monitor the latter's activities.[12][13][14]
As Antipater grew close to death in 319 BC, he transferred the regency of Macedon not to Cassander, but toPolyperchon, possibly so as not to alarm the other Diadochi through an apparent move towards dynastic ambition, but perhaps also because of Cassander's own ambitions.[15] Cassander rejected his father's decision, and immediately went to seek the support ofAntigonus,Ptolemy andLysimachus as his allies. Waging war on Polyperchon, Cassander destroyed his fleet, put Athens under the control ofDemetrius of Phaleron, and declared himself Regent in 317 BC. AfterOlympias’ successful move againstPhilip III later in the year, Cassander besieged her inPydna. When the city fell in the spring of 316, Olympias was killed, and Cassander had Alexander IV andRoxana confined atAmphipolis.[7]
That year, Cassander associated himself with theArgead dynasty by marrying Alexander's half-sister,Thessalonike, and overseeing the burial ofPhillip III andEurydice in the royal cemetery atAegae; he further cemented his authority by founding Thessalonica, Cassandreia, and rebuilding Thebes.[7] From 314 to 310, Cassander campaigned to the west and north, for a time extending Macedonian power as far asApollonia andEpidamus, but was driven out by local rulers likeGlaucius; his rule in Macedonia remained firm as he resettled defeated enemies in the tradition ofPhillip II and fostered trade in the regions around his new cities.[7][16] Cassander had Alexander IV andRoxana secretly poisoned in either 310 BC or the following year.[17]
By 309 BC, Polyperchon had begun to claim thatHeracles of Macedon was the true heir to the Macedonian inheritance, at which point Cassander bribed Polyperchon to kill the boy, promising him an alliance and the return of his Macedonian estates.[18][19] After this, Cassander's position in Greece and Macedonia was reasonably secure, and he proclaimed himself king in 305 BC.[20]Diodorus Siculus relates that Cassander, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus declared their kingships in response to the assumption of royal title by Antigonus, following his victory over Ptolemy atSalamis in 306.
In 307–304 BC he fought the so-called Four–Years' War against Athens.[21] In 304 BC, his rivalAntigonus Monophthalmus sent his sonDemetrius Poliorcetes to aid Athens against Cassander.[22] Demetrius succeeded in driving Cassander from central Greece and created a Hellenic League,the League of Corinth, against him.[23] In the winter of 303–302 BC, Cassander opened negotiations with Antigonus with a view to establish peace, but Antigonus refused.[24] At this Cassander turned to Lysimachus, Ptolemy, andSeleucus and convinced them to reform the coalition of 314–311 against Antigonus.[24] In early 302 BC, Cassander sent one of his generals,Prepelaus, with an army from Macedon to joinLysimachus in an invasion of Antigonus's territory in Asia-Minor.[24] Cassander himself marched with the main Macedonian field army intoThessaly to stop Demetrius from advancing into Macedon.[24] Demetrius invaded Thessaly with a numerically superior force, Cassander stopped his advance by refusing to give battle and fortifying his positions.[25] Lysimachus and Prepalaus had been very successful in Asia-Minor and Seleucus was marching with an army to join them.[26] In the spring of 302 BC, Antigonus marched with an army from Syria into Asia-Minor to confront his enemies; he confronted Lysimachus and drove him fromPhrygia.[27] Antigonus realizing that the war would probably have to be decided in a major battle in Asia-Minor recalled Demetrius from Thessaly.[28] With Demetrius gone Cassander sent part of his army with his brother,Pleistarchus, to join Prepalaus, Lysimachus and Seleucus in Asia-Minor.[28] In 301 BC, the combined armies of Lysimachus, Seleucus, Prepalaus and Pleistarchus faced the combined armies of Antigonus and Demetrius at Ipsus. After theBattle of Ipsus in which Antigonus was killed, Cassander was undisputed in his control of Macedon; however, he had little time to savour the fact, dying ofdropsy in 297 BC.[29]
Cassander's dynasty did not live much beyond his death, with his sonPhilip dying of natural causes, and his other sonsAlexander andAntipater becoming involved in a destructive dynastic struggle along with their mother. When Alexander was ousted as joint king by his brother,Demetrius I took up Alexander's appeal for aid and ousted Antipater, killed Alexander V and established theAntigonid dynasty. The remaining Antipatrids, such asAntipater II Etesias, were unable to re-establish the Antipatrids on the throne.
Cassander stood out amongst theDiadochi in his hostility to Alexander's memory.[10]Arrian later reported that he could not pass a statue of Alexander without feeling faint.[30] Cassander has been perceived to be ambitious and unscrupulous, and even members of his own family were estranged from him.[31] However, historians like John D. Grainger argue this characterization owes much to stories spread by his rivals.[32]
Cassander was responsible for the deaths of more Argeads than other Diadochi, (Alexander IV,Roxana, and Alexander's supposed illegitimate sonHeracles, as well as allowingOlympias to be killed by a Macedonian assembly), he was not the only one willing to kill Alexander's relatives: Polyperchon and Antigonus were just as willing to do the same when it benefitted them.[33][34] Fromnumismatic evidence, Evan Pitt argues that Cassander's actions until 311 BC were motivated more by self-preservation and maintenance of his own power rather than royal ambition and rivalry to Alexander the Great.[35] Cassander's decision to restoreThebes, which had been destroyed by Alexander, was perceived at the time to be a snub to the deceased king, though it also had therealpolitik effect of providing a power base for Cassander inBoeotia.[36][37]
Like the other Diodochoi, Cassander participated in the appropriation of regal iconography which linked him to Alexander the Great.[35] Other Diadochi depicted themselves and Alexander on their coins in profile with varying attributes, such as elephant-hide headdresses or horns; Cassander followed Alexander'sown precedent and had himself or the dead king wearing a lion-skin cloak stamped on one side of his coins.[38][39] These royal iconographies established by Alexander and continued by his immediate successors set patterns for royal coinage which were influential and enduring across the Mediterranean and West Asia.[40] Also of lasting significance was Cassander's refoundation ofTherma intoThessalonica, naming the city after his wife. Cassander also foundedCassandreia upon the ruins ofPotidaea, as well as the city ofAntipatreia in the Aspros Valley.[41]
Cassander Born: c. 355 BC Died: 297 BC | ||
| Preceded by | Regent of Macedon 317–305 BC | Succeeded by Assumed Kingship |
| Preceded by | King of Macedon 305–297 BC | Succeeded by |
| Legendary |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Argead dynasty | ||
| Antipatrid dynasty | ||
| Dynastic conflict | ||
| Antigonid dynasty | ||
| Post-Conquest Rebel Kings |
| |
Debatable or disputed rulers are initalics. | ||
