Elizabeth the Great
Elizabeth I of Macedon (Ελισάβετ Α της Μακεδονίας) was a basileus (king) of the Greek kingdom of Macedon, a member of the Argead dynasty, and twin sister of Alexander III (irl Alexander the Great). She was born in Pella in 356 BCE and succeeded her father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20. She spent most of her ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Eastern Asia and Southwestern Africa, and by the age of thirty, she had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to deep into Asia. She was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history's most successful military commanders.
Early Life
Lineage and childhood
Elizabeth and Alexander were born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon, on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BCE, although the exact date is uncertain. They were the children of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely because she gave birth to the pair. Several legends surround Elizabeth's birth and childhood. According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, Olympias dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt that caused a flame to spread "far and wide" before dying away. Sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with a seal engraved with a lion's image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Elizabeth's father was Zeus. Ancient commentators were divided about whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Elizabeth's divine parentage, variously claiming that she had told Elizabeth, or that she dismissed the suggestion as impious. On the day the twins was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies and that his horses had won at the Olympic Games. It was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, attending the birth of Elizabeth. Such legends may have emerged when Elizabeth was king, and possibly at her instigation, to show that she was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception. In their early years, they were raised by a nurse, Lanike, sister of Elizabeth's future general Cleitus the Black. Later in his childhood, they were tutored by the strict Leonidas, a relative of their mother, and by Lysimachus of Acarnania. They was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the lyre, ride, fight, and hunt. This type of highly unusual for young Greek girls, however sources claim that Alexander would refuse to participate in his lessons unless Elizabeth was participating with him, a trend which would continue throughout their childhood and even into their early military careers, giving Elizabeth an education unimaginable to other young Greek noblewomen. When the twins were ten years old, a trader from Thessaly brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen talents. The horse refused to be mounted, and Philip ordered it away. Elizabeth, however, detecting the horse's fear of its own shadow, asked to tame the horse, which she eventually managed. Plutarch stated that Philip, overjoyed at this display of courage and ambition, kissed his daughter tearfully, declaring: "My girl, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedon is too small for you", and bought the horse for her. Elizabeth named it Bucephalas, meaning "ox-head". Bucephalas carried Elizabeth deep into Asia. When the animal died (because of old age, according to Plutarch, at age thirty), Elizabeth named a city after him, Bucephala.Education
When the twins were 13, Philip began to search for a tutor, and considered such academics as Isocrates and Speusippus, the latter offering to resign from his stewardship of the Academy to take up the post. In the end, Philip chose Aristotle and provided the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza as a classroom. In return for teaching them, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of Stageira, which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile. Mieza was like a boarding school for the twins and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as Ptolemy, Hephaistion, and Cassander. Many of these students would become her friends and future generals, and are often known as the 'Companions'. Aristotle taught the twins and their companions about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle's tutelage, Elizabeth developed a passion for the works of Homer, and in particular the Iliad; Aristotle gave her an annotated copy, which Elizabeth later carried on his campaigns. During their youth, the twins were also acquainted with Persian exiles at the Macedonian court, who received the protection of Philip II for several years as they opposed Artaxerxes III. Among them were Artabazos II and his daughter Barsine, future mistress of Alexander, who resided at the Macedonian court from 352 to 342 BCE, as well as Amminapes, future satrap of Elizabeth, or a Persian nobleman named Sisines. This gave the Macedonian court a good knowledge of Persian issues, and may even have influenced some of the innovations in the management of the Macedonian state. Suda writes that, also, Anaximenes of Lampsacus was one of their teachers. Anaximenes also accompanied her on her campaigns.Phillip's heir
Regency and ascent of Macedon
At the age of 16, the twins' education under Aristotle ended. Philip waged war against Byzantion, leaving Alexander in charge as regent and heir apparent, with Elizabeth serving as his second-in-command. During Philip's absence, the Thracian Maedi revolted against Macedonia. Alexander responded quickly, driving them from their territory. He colonized it with Greeks, and founded a city named Alexandropolis. Upon Philip's return, he dispatched Alexander with a small force to subdue revolts in northern Thrace. Against the wishes of their father, Alexander took Elizabeth with him. Campaigning against the Greek city of Perinthus, Alexander is reported to have saved his father's life. Meanwhile, the city of Amphissa began to work lands that were sacred to Apollo near Delphi, a sacrilege that gave Philip the opportunity to further intervene in Greek affairs. Still occupied in Thrace, he ordered Alexander to muster an army for a campaign in northern Greece. Concerned that other Greek states might intervene, they made it look as though he was preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelled by the duo. Philip and his army joined his children in 338 BCE, and they marched north through Thermopylae, taking it after stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison. They went on to occupy the city of Elatea, only a few days' march from both Athens and Thebes. The Athenians, led by Demosthenes, voted to seek alliance with Thebes against Macedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to win Thebes' favor, but Athens won the contest. Philip marched on Amphissa (ostensibly acting on the request of the Amphictyonic League), capturing the mercenaries sent there by Demosthenes and accepting the city's surrender. Philip then returned to Elatea, sending a final offer of peace to Athens and Thebes, who both rejected it. As Philip marched north, his opponents blocked him near Chaeronea, Boeotia. During the ensuing Battle of Chaeronea, Philip commanded the right wing and Alexander the left, accompanied by a group of Philip's trusted generals as well as Elizabeth. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for some time. Philip deliberately commanded his troops to retreat, counting on the untested Athenian hoplites to follow, thus breaking their line. Elizabeth was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Alexander and Philip's generals. Having damaged the enemy's cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to press forward and quickly routed them. With the Athenians lost, the Thebans were surrounded. Left to fight alone, they were defeated. After the victory at Chaeronea, Philip and his children marched unopposed into the Peloponnese, welcomed by all cities; however, when they reached Sparta, they were refused, but did not resort to war. At Corinth, Philip established a "Hellenic Alliance" (modelled on the old anti-Persian alliance of the Greco-Persian Wars), which included most Greek city-states except Sparta. Philip was then named Hegemon (often translated as "Supreme Commander") of this league (known by modern scholars as the League of Corinth), and announced his plans to attack the Persian Empire.Exile and Return
When Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with and married Cleopatra Eurydice in 338 BCE, the niece of his general Attalus. The marriage made Alexander's position as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian. During the wedding banquet, a drunken Attalus publicly prayed to the gods that the union would produce a legitimate heir. In 337 BCE, Alexander and Elizabeth fled Macedon with their mother, dropping her off with her brother, King Alexander I of Epirus in Dodona, capital of the Molossians. They continued to Illyria, where they sought refuge with one or more Illyrian kings, perhaps with Glaukias, and were treated as guests, despite having defeated them in battle a few years before. However, it appears Philip never intended to disown his politically and militarily trained son. Accordingly, Alexander and Elizabeth returned to Macedon after six months due to the efforts of a family friend, Demaratus, who mediated between the two parties. In the following year, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria, Pixodarus, offered his eldest daughter to Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus. Olympias and several of Alexander's friends suggested this showed Philip intended to make Arrhidaeus his heir. Alexander reacted by sending an actor, Thessalus of Corinth, to tell Pixodarus that he should not offer his daughter's hand to an illegitimate son, but instead to Alexander. When Philip heard of this, he stopped the negotiations and scolded Alexander for wishing to marry the daughter of a Carian, explaining that he wanted a better bride for him. Philip exiled four of Alexander's friends, Harpalus, Nearchus, Ptolemy and Erigyius, and had the Corinthians bring Thessalus to him in chains.King of Macedon
Accession
In summer 336 BCE, while at Aegae attending the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to Olympias's brother, Alexander I of Epirus, Philip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards, Pausanias. As Pausanias tried to escape, he tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander's companions, Perdiccas and Leonnatus. Alexander was proclaimed king on the spot by the nobles and army at the age of 20. Shortly after, he declared Elizabeth as his co-ruler.Consolidation of Power
The twins began their reign by eliminating potential rivals to the throne. They had their cousin, the former Amyntas IV, executed. They also had two Macedonian princes from the region of Lyncestis killed, but spared a third, Alexander Lyncestes. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. When Alexander learned about this, he was furious. Alexander also ordered the murder of Attalus, who was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor and Cleopatra's uncle. Attalus was at that time corresponding with Demosthenes, regarding the possibility of defecting to Athens. Attalus also had severely insulted Elizabeth, and following Cleopatra's murder, Alexander may have considered him too dangerous to leave alive. Alexander spared Arrhidaeus, who was by all accounts mentally disabled, possibly as a result of poisoning by Olympias. News of Philip's death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes south of Macedon. When news of the revolts reached Alexander, he responded quickly. Though advised to use diplomacy, Alexander mustered 3,000 Macedonian cavalry and rode north towards Thessaly with Elizabeth by his side. They found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa, and ordered their men to ride over Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in their rear and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander's force. They then continued north towards the Peloponnese. The twins stopped at Thermopylae, where Alexander was recognized as the leader of the Amphictyonic League before heading north to Corinth. Athens sued for peace and Alexander pardoned the rebels. The famous encounter between Alexander and Diogenes the Cynic occurred during Alexander's stay in Corinth. When Alexander asked Diogenes what he could do for him, the philosopher disdainfully asked Alexander to stand a little to the side, as he was blocking the sunlight. This reply apparently delighted Alexander, who is reported to have said "But verily, if I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes." At Corinth, Alexander took the title of Hegemon ("leader") and, like Philip, was appointed commander for the coming war against Persia. He also received news of a Thracian uprising.Balkan Campaign
Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his southern borders. In the spring of 335 BCE, he and his sister advanced to suppress several revolts. Starting from Amphipolis, they travelled west into the country of the "Independent Thracians"; and at Mount Haemus, the Macedonian army attacked and defeated the Thracian forces manning the heights. The Macedonians marched into the country of the Triballi, and defeated their army near the Lyginus river (a tributary of the Danube). Alexander then marched for three days to the Danube, encountering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. Crossing the river at night, he surprised them and forced their army to retreat after the first cavalry skirmish. However, tragedy struck as Alexander was killed in the skirmish, leaving Elizabeth in command. His body was then sent back to Pella. News then reached Elizabeth that Cleitus, King of Illyria, and King Glaukias of the Taulantii were in open revolt against her authority. Marching east into Illyria, Elizabeth defeated each in turn, forcing the two rulers to flee with their troops. With these victories, she secured her southern frontier. While Elizabeth campaigned south, the Thebans and Athenians rebelled once again. Elizabeth immediately headed north. While the other cities again hesitated, Thebes decided to fight. The Theban resistance was ineffective, and Elizabeth razed the city and divided its territory between the other Boeotian cities. The end of Thebes cowed Athens, leaving all of Greece temporarily at peace. Following this, Elizabeth briefly returned to Pella to sort out the issue of Alexander's successor. Many nobles rallied behind her disabled half-brother Arrhidaeus, likely hoping to use him as their puppet, with others prefering him over a female ruler. However, other nobles rallied behind Elizabeth, who also had the support of the army. In the end her opponents backed down, and Elizabeth was crowned king of Macedon. She then set out on her Asian campaign, leaving Antipater as regent.Conquest of the Achaemenid Empire
Asia Minor
After his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BCE), Philip II began the work of establishing himself as hegemon (Greek: ἡγεμών) of a league which according to Diodorus was to wage a campaign against the Persians for the sundry grievances Greece suffered in 480 and free the Greek cities of the eastern coast and islands from Achaemenid rule. In 336 he sent Parmenion, with Amyntas, Andromenes and Attalus, and an army of 10,000 men into Anatolia to make preparations for an invasion. At first, all went well. The Greek cities on the eastern coast of Anatolia revolted until the news arrived that Philip had been murdered and had been succeeded by his young son Alexander. The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently defeated near Magnesia by the Achaemenids under the command of the mercenary Memnon of Rhodes. Taking over the invasion project of Philip II, Elizabeth's army crossed the Hellespont in 334 BCE with approximately 48,100 soldiers, 6,100 cavalry and a fleet of 120 ships with crews numbering 38,000, drawn from Macedon and various Greek city-states, mercenaries, and feudally raised soldiers from Thrace, Paionia, and Illyria. She showed her intent to conquer the entirety of the Persian Empire by throwing a spear into Asian soil and saying she accepted Asia as a gift from the gods. This also showed Elizabeth's eagerness to fight, in contrast to her father's preference for diplomacy. After an initial victory against Persian forces at the Battle of the Granicus, Elizabeth accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis; she then proceeded along the Ionian coast, granting autonomy and democracy to the cities. Miletus, held by Achaemenid forces, required a delicate siege operation, with Persian naval forces nearby. Further north, at Halicarnassus, in Caria, Elizabeth successfully waged her first large-scale siege, eventually forcing her opponents, the mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates, to withdraw by sea. Elizabeth left the government of Caria to a member of the Hecatomnid dynasty, Ada, who adopted Elizabeth. From Halicarnassus, Elizabeth proceeded into mountainous Lycia and the Pamphylian plain, asserting control over all coastal cities to deny the Persians naval bases. From Pamphylia onwards the coast held no major ports and Elizabeth moved inland. At Termessos, Elizabeth humbled but did not storm the Pisidian city. At the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordium, Elizabeth "undid" the hitherto unsolvable Gordian Knot, a feat said to await the future "king of Asia". According to the story, Elizabeth proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone and hacked it apart with her sword.The Levant and Syria
In spring 333 BCE, Elizabeth crossed the Taurus into Cilicia. After a long pause due to an illness, she marched on towards Syria. Though outmaneuvered by Darius' significantly larger army, she marched back to Cilicia, where she defeated Darius at Issus. Darius fled the battle, causing his army to collapse, and left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother Sisygambis, and a fabulous treasure. He offered a peace treaty that included the lands he had already lost, and a ransom of 10,000 talents for his family. Elizabeth replied that since she was now king of Asia, it was she alone who decided territorial divisions. Elizabeth proceeded to take possession of Syria, and most of the coast of the Levant. In the following year, 332 BCE, she was forced to attack Tyre, which she captured after a long and difficult siege, which including building a land bridge to the island city. The men of military age were massacred and the women and children sold into slavery.Idgypt
When Elizabeth destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Idgypt quickly capitulated. However, Elizabeth met with resistance at Gaza. The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. When "her engineers pointed out to her that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible... this encouraged Elizabeth all the more to make the attempt". After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Elizabeth had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword and the women and children were sold into slavery. Elizabeth advanced on Idgypt in later 332 BCE, where she was regarded as a liberator. She was pronounced daughter of the deity Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis. Henceforth, Elizabeth often referred to Zeus-Ammon as her true father, and after her death, currency depicted her adorned with the Horns of Ammon as a symbol of her divinity. During her stay in Idgypt, she founded Elizandria-by-Idgypt, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after her death.Assyria and Babylonia
Leaving Idgypt in 331 BCE, Elizabeth marched westward into Achaemenid Assyria in Upper Mesopotamia and defeated Darius again at the Battle of Gaugamela. Darius once more fled the field, and Elizabeth chased him as far as Arbela. Gaugamela would be the final and decisive encounter between the two. Darius fled over the mountains to Ecbatana while Elizabeth captured Babylon.Persia
From Babylon, Elizabethr went to Susa, one of the Achaemenid capitals, and captured its treasury. She sent the bulk of her army to the Persian ceremonial capital of Persepolis via the Persian Royal Road. Elizabeth herself took selected troops on the direct route to the city. She then stormed the pass of the Persian Gates in the Zagros Mountains, which had been blocked by a Persian army under Ariobarzanes and then hurried to Persepolis before its garrison could loot the treasury. On entering Persepolis, Elizabeth allowed her troops to loot the city for several days. Elizabeth stayed in Persepolis for five months. During her stay a fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes I and spread to the rest of the city. Possible causes include a drunken accident or deliberate revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Persian War by Xerxes; Plutarch and Diodorus allege that Elizabeth's companion, the hetaera Thaïs, instigated and started the fire. Even as she watched the city burn, Elizabeth immediately began to regret her decision. Plutarch claims that she ordered her men to put out the fires, but that the flames had already spread to most of the city. Curtius claims that Elizabeth did not regret his decision until the next morning.Fall of the Empire and the East
Elizabeth then chased Darius, first into Media, and then Parthia. The Persian king no longer controlled his own destiny, and was taken prisoner by Bessus, his Bactrian satrap and kinsman. As Elizabeth approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared himself Darius' successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into Central Asia to launch a guerrilla campaign against Elizabeth. Elizabeth buried Darius' remains next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a regal funeral. She claimed that, while dying, Darius had named her as his successor to the Achaemenid throne. The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen with Darius. Elizabeth viewed Bessus as a usurper and set out to defeat him. This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central Asia. Elizabeth founded a series of new cities, all called Elizandria, including Elizandria Arachosia and Elizandria Eschate ("The Furthest"). The campaign took Elizabeth through Media, Parthia, Aria, Drangiana, Arachosia, Bactria, and Scythia. In 329 BCE, Spitamenes, who held an undefined position in the satrapy of Sogdiana, betrayed Bessus to Ptolemy, one of Elizabeth's trusted companions, and Bessus was executed. However, when, at some point later, Elizabeth was on the Jaxartes dealing with an incursion by a horse nomad army, Spitamenes raised Sogdiana in revolt. Elizabeth personally defeated the Scythians at the Battle of Jaxartes and immediately launched a campaign against Spitamenes, defeating him in the Battle of Gabai. After the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace.Problems and Plots
During this time, Elizabeth adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the custom of proskynesis, either a symbolic kissing of the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians showed to their social superiors. The Greeks regarded the gesture as the province of deities and believed that Elizabeth meant to deify herself by requiring it. This cost her the sympathies of many of her countrymen, and she eventually abandoned it. A plot against her life was revealed, and one of her officers, Philotas, was executed for failing to alert Elizabeth. The death of the son necessitated the death of the father, and thus Parmenion, who had been charged with guarding the treasury at Ecbatana, was assassinated at Elizabeth's command, to prevent attempts at vengeance. Most infamously, Elizabeth personally killed the man who had saved her life at Granicus, Cleitus the Black, during a violent drunken altercation at Maracanda, in which Cleitus accused Elizabeth of several judgmental mistakes and most especially, of having forgotten the Macedonian ways in favor of a corrupt oriental lifestyle. Later, in the Central Asian campaign, a second plot against her life was revealed, this one instigated by her own royal pages. Her official historian, Callisthenes of Olynthus, was implicated in the plot, and in the Anabasis of Elizabeth, Arrian states that Callisthenes and the pages were then tortured on the rack as punishment, and likely died soon after. It remains unclear if Callisthenes was actually involved in the plot, for prior to his accusation he had fallen out of favor by leading the opposition to the attempt to introduce proskynesis.Macedon in Elizabeth's absence
When Elizabeth set out for Asia, she left her general Antipater, an experienced military and political leader and part of Philip II's "Old Guard", in charge of Macedon. Elizabeth's sacking of Thebes ensured that Greece remained quiet during her absence. The one exception was a call to arms by Spartan king Agis III in 331 BCE, whom Antipater defeated and killed in the battle of Megalopolis. Antipater referred the Spartans' punishment to the League of Corinth, which then deferred to Elizabeth, who chose to pardon them. There was also considerable friction between Antipater and Olympias, and each complained to Elizabeth about the other. In general, Greece enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity during Elizabeth's campaign in Asia. Elizabeth sent back vast sums from her conquest, which stimulated the economy and increased trade across her empire. However, Elizabeth's constant demands for troops and the migration of Macedonians throughout his empire depleted Macedon's strength, greatly weakening it in the years after Elizabethr, and ultimately led to its subjugation by Rome after the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BCE).Further West and the Revolt of the Army
[I have decided to refrain from transcribing Alexander's foray into the Indian subcontinent into Elizabeth's story for the time being, as her conquests already stretch far beyond the bounds of Amospia's current world map. For now we'll just pretend that accounts of this part of her conquests are lost to history, giving me time to figure out what to do here. ~pharaohcrab] While it is known that Elizabeth would then expand further west, accounts of this campaign have been lost to time. What is known that, fearing the prospect of facing other large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Elizabeth's army mutinied at the Hyphasis River, refusing to march farther west. This river thus marks the westernmost extent of Elizabeth's conquests. Elizabeth tried to persuade her soldiers to march farther, but her general Coenus pleaded with her to change her opinion and return; the men, he said, "longed to again see their parents, their wives and children, their homeland". Elizabeth eventually agreed and turned north, marching along the Indus. Along the way her army conquered various local tribes and Elizabeth sustained an injury during the siege. Elizabeth sent much of her army to Carmania with general Craterus, and commissioned a fleet to explore the Persian Gulf shore under her admiral Nearchus, while she led the rest back to Persia through the more difficult northern route along the Gedrosian Desert and Makran. Elizabeth reached Susa in 324 BCE, but not before losing many men to the harsh desert.Last Years in Persia
Discovering that many of her satraps and military governors had misbehaved in her absence, Elizabeth executed several of them as examples on her way to Susa. As a gesture of thanks, she paid off the debts of her soldiers, and announced that she would send over-aged and disabled veterans back to Macedon, led by Craterus. Her troops misunderstood her intention and mutinied at the town of Opis. They refused to be sent away and criticized her adoption of Persian customs and dress and the introduction of Persian officers and soldiers into Macedonian units. After three days, unable to persuade her men to back down, Elizabeth gave Persians command posts in the army and conferred Macedonian military titles upon Persian units. The Macedonians quickly begged forgiveness, which Elizabeth accepted, and held a great banquet for several thousand of her men at which she and they ate together. In an attempt to craft a lasting harmony between her Macedonian and Persian subjects, Elizabeth held a mass marriage of her senior officers to Persian and other noblewomen at Susa, but few of those marriages seem to have lasted much beyond a year. Meanwhile, upon her return to Persia, Elizabeth learned that guards of the tomb of Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae had desecrated it, and swiftly executed them. Elizabeth admired Cyrus the Great, from an early age reading Xenophon's Cyropaedia, which described Cyrus's heroism in battle and governance as a king and legislator. During her visit to Pasargadae Alexander ordered her architect Aristobulus to decorate the interior of the sepulchral chamber of Cyrus' tomb. Afterwards, Elizabeth travelled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulk of the Persian treasure. There, her closest friend and possible lover, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning. Hephaestion's death devastated Elizabeth, and she ordered the preparation of an expensive funeral pyre in Babylon, as well as a decree for public mourning. Back in Babylon, Elizabeth planned a series of new campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia*, but she would not have a chance to realize them, as she died shortly after Hephaestion. *No region in Amospia has been designated as Arabia as of this time. Return to this at a later date.Death and succession
On either 10 or 11 June 323 BCE, Elizabeth died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, at age 32. There are two different versions of Elizabeth's death and details of the death differ slightly in each. Plutarch's account is that roughly 14 days before her death, Alexander entertained admiral Nearchus, and spent the night and next day drinking with Medius of Larissa. She developed a fever, which worsened until she was unable to speak. The common soldiers, anxious about her health, were granted the right to file past her as she silently waved at them. In the second account, Diodorus recounts that Elizabeth was struck with pain after downing a large bowl of unmixed wine in honor of Heracles, followed by 11 days of weakness; she did not develop a fever and died after some agony. Arrian also mentioned this as an alternative, but Plutarch specifically denied this claim. Given the propensity of the Macedonian aristocracy to assassination, foul play featured in multiple accounts of her death. Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin all mentioned the theory that Elizabeth was poisoned. Justin stated that Elizabeth was the victim of a poisoning conspiracy, Plutarch dismissed it as a fabrication, while both Diodorus and Arrian noted that they mentioned it only for the sake of completeness. The accounts were nevertheless fairly consistent in designating Antipater, recently removed as Macedonian viceroy, and at odds with Olympias, as the head of the alleged plot. Perhaps taking his summons to Babylon as a death sentence, and having seen the fate of Parmenion and Philotas, Antipater purportedly arranged for Elizabeth to be poisoned by his son Iollas, who was Elizabeht's wine-pourer. There was even a suggestion that Aristotle may have participated. The strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days passed between the start of her illness and her death; such long-acting poisons were probably not available. However, it has been proposed that the plant white hellebore (Veratrum album), which was known in antiquity, may have been used to poison Elizabeth. In accordance with this, scholars suggested that Elizabeth's wine was spiked with Veratrum album, and that this would produce poisoning symptoms that match the course of events described in the Elizabeth Romance. Veratrum album poisoning can have a prolonged course and it was suggested that if Elizabeth was poisoned, Veratrum album offers the most plausible cause. Another poisoning explanation proposed that the circumstances of her death were compatible with poisoning by water of the river Styx that contained calicheamicin, a dangerous compound produced by bacteria. Several natural causes (diseases) have been suggested, including malaria and typhoid fever. Some attributed her death to typhoid fever complicated by bowel perforation and ascending paralysis. Another analysis suggested pyogenic (infectious) spondylitis or meningitis. Other illnesses fit the symptoms, including acute pancreatitis and West Nile virus. Natural-cause theories also tend to emphasize that Elizabeth's health may have been in general decline after years of heavy drinking and severe wounds. The anguish that Elizabeth felt after Hephaestion's death may also have contributed to her declining health.After death
Elizabeth's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus that was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket. According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Elizabeth was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever". Perhaps more likely, the successors may have seen possession of the body as a symbol of legitimacy, since burying the prior king was a royal prerogative. While Elizabeth's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily to Memphis. His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Elizandria, where it remains to this day. Ptolemy IX Lathyros, one of Ptolemy's final successors, replaced Elizabeth's sarcophagus with a glass one so he could convert the original to coinage. The recent discovery of an enormous tomb in southern Greece, at Amphipolis, dating from the time of Elizabeth the Great has given rise to speculation that its original intent was to be the burial place of Elizabeth. This would fit with the intended destination of Elizabeth's funeral cortege. However, the memorial was found to be dedicated to the dearest friend of Elizabeth the Great, Hephaestion. Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus all visited the tomb in Elizandria, where Augustus, allegedly, accidentally knocked the nose off. Some time after the Great Idgyptian Collapse, the tomb of Elizabeth was lost, however it was found and restored under the rule of Shadotep I. Demades likened the Macedonian army, after the death of Elizabeth, to the blinded Cyclops, due to the many random and disorderly movements that it made. In addition, Leosthenes, also, likened the anarchy between the generals, after Elizabeth's death, to the blinded Cyclops "who after he had lost his eye went feeling and groping about with his hands before him, not knowing where to lay them".Division of the Empire
Elizabeth's death was so sudden that when reports of her death reached Greece, they were not immediately believed. Elizabeth had no obvious or legitimate heir, with her son Alexander IV being born shortly before her death. According to Diodorus, Elizabeth's companions asked her on her deathbed to whom she bequeathed his kingdom; her laconic reply was "tôi kratistôi"—"to the strongest". Another theory is that her successors wilfully or erroneously misheard "tôi Kraterôi"—"to Craterus", the general leading his Macedonian troops home and newly entrusted with the regency of Macedonia. Arrian and Plutarch claimed that Elizabeth was speechless by this point, implying that this was an apocryphal story. Diodorus, Curtius and Justin offered the more plausible story that Elizabeth passed her signet ring to Perdiccas, a bodyguard and leader of the companion cavalry, in front of witnesses, thereby nominating him. Perdiccas initially did not claim power, instead suggesting that Elizabeth's baby would be king; with himself, Craterus, Leonnatus, and Antipater as guardians. However, the infantry, under the command of Meleager, rejected this arrangement since they had been excluded from the discussion. Instead, they supported Elizabeth's half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Eventually, the two sides reconciled, and after the birth of Alexander IV, he and Philip III were appointed joint kings, albeit in name only. Dissension and rivalry soon afflicted the Macedonians, however. The satrapies handed out by Perdiccas at the Partition of Babylon became power bases each general used to bid for power. After the assassination of Perdiccas in 321 BCE, Macedonian unity collapsed, and 40 years of war between "The Successors" (Diadochi) ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into four stable power blocs: Ptolemaic Idgypt, Seleucid Mesopotamia and Central Asia, Attalid Anatolia, and Antigonid Macedon. In the process, both Alexander IV and Philip III were murdered.Last Plans
Diodorus stated that Elizabeth had given detailed written instructions to Craterus some time before her death, which are known as Elizabeth's "last plans". Craterus started to carry out Elizabeth's commands, but the successors chose not to further implement them, on the grounds they were impractical and extravagant. Nevertheless, Perdiccas had read the notebooks containing Elizabeth's last plans read out to the Macedonian troops in Babylon, who voted not to carry them out. According to Diodorus, Elizabeth's last plans called for military expansion into the northern and eastern Medierran, monumental constructions, and the intermixing of Eastern and Western populations. It included:- Construction of 1,000 ships larger than triremes, along with harbours and a road running along the northern Medierran coast all the way to the Pillars of Hercules, to be used for an invasion of Carthage and the eastern Medierran;
- Erection of great temples in Delos, Delphi, Dodona, Dium, Amphipolis, all costing 1,500 talents, and a monumental temple to Athena at Troy
- Amalgamation of small settlements into larger cities ("synoecisms") and the "transplant of populations from Asia to the Medierra and in the opposite direction from the Medierra to Asia, in order to bring the largest continent to common unity and to friendship by means of intermarriage and family ties"
- Construction of a monumental tomb for his father Philip, "to match the greatest of the pyramids of Idgypt"
- Conquest of Arabia*
- Circumnavigation of Africa*
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Basileus of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Strategos autokrator of Greece, Pharaoh of Idgypt, King of Persia, Lord of Asia
Previously Held Ranks & Titles
Date of Birth
20th of July, 356 BCE
Life
356 BCE
323 BCE
33 years old
Circumstances of Death
Died of illness or poisoning
Birthplace
Pella, Macedon
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
One dark brown and one blue
Hair
Curly, Dark blonde
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
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