Monthly Archives: December 2020

A short break from the main narrative here to dive into Indian history. At the time of Alexander the Great, there was no one united India, just a lot of squabbling kingdoms and states as in the majority of the world’s history. Although the north was dominated by the Nanda empire, there was no one state which had central control. However, after Alexander left again some in India started getting big ideas…

Sources for this episode: 1) Oltermann, P., et al., the Guardian (2010), The Ancient World booklet series Day seven: India. 2) Thapar, R. (2006), The Mauryan empire in early India. Historical Research 79(205): 287- 305. 3) Habib, I. and Habib, F. (1989). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 50: 57- 79. 4) Woolf, A., 2014 A Short History of the World, The Story of Mankind from Prehistory to the Modern Day. London: Arcturus Publishing Limited. 5) Author unknown, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Porus (online) [Accessed 28/12/2020] 6) Oltermann, P., et al., the Guardian (2010), The Guardian Ancient World booklet series day 2: Greece. 7) Author unknown, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mauryan Empire (online) [Accessed 29/12/2020]

Antipater’s regency would be as short as it was rich in foreshadowing. With the appointment of Antigonus to try and flush out the pro-Perdiccas outlaws in Anatolia led by Eumenes, the groundwork was set for an eventual showdown between the satraps, who are increasingly shouldering off the burdens of the state. After all, with the king a minor, who’s going to stop them?

Sources for this episode: 1) Kosmin, P. J. (2014), The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire. London: Harvard University Press. 2) Grainger, J. D., 2014, The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323- 223 BCE), Seleukos I to Seleukos III. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd.

With Perdiccas getting too close to power for the liking of several major figures, it should hardly be a surprise that the First War of the Successors is about to begin. However, the tensions which have been building will not erupt over some grand territorial dispute or even the threat of an unwanted kingship. Instead, we’re going to witness an ancient Greek version of a body-snatching…

Sources for this episode: 1) Erskine, A. (2002), Life After Death: Alexandria and the Body of Alexander. Greece and Rome 49: 163- 179. 2) Marín, A. I. M. (2018), Death on the Nile: The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia. Karanos 1: 87- 106. 3) Grainger, J. D., 2014, The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323- 223 BCE), Seleukos I to Seleukos III. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. 4) In60Learning, 2019, The Seleucid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Hellenistic State (available on eBook).

Welcome to After Alexander, the show that takes you through the Seleucid story from 323 BCE to the end of the Hellenistic kingdoms near the end of the Roman Republic. Hope you enjoy the show!