Alexander the Great's Lost Succession Crisis

Ancient Greece: Philosophy, Democracy, and Endless War — Fexingo History · Oct 28, 2026 · 8m · transcript

When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 BCE, he left no clear heir and no written will. The resulting power vacuum triggered a decade of violent conflict known as the Wars of the Diadochi, or Successors. This episode explores the chaotic months immediately following his death at the Banquets of Babylon, where generals like Perdiccas, Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus vied for control of an empire that stretched from Greece to India. We examine how the absence of a strong central authority led to the fragmentation of Alexander’s conquests into separate Hellenistic kingdoms. By focusing…