Alexander the Great’s Son and the Succession of the Throne

 

Alexander the Great had a son, Alexander IV. Image: Illustration showing Alexander in the battle of Issus (333 BC) Credit: Ronald Slabke / Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

When Alexander the Great passed away, his son, Alexander IV, was still in his mother’s womb, making the possibility of his succession to the throne a web of intrigue.

Alexander the Great's first and only legitimate son was Alexander IV, born to Alexander's wife, the Sogdian (or Bactrian) princess Roxana. His marriage to her was part of his strategy to integrate diverse peoples and cultures within his empire. This was also to gain the loyalty of the Sogdian army so that they would not rebel against him.

This was a move that found his generals in silent disagreement. They would prefer the wife of the Emperor to be Greek.

After Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 BC, it took months for his son to be born. Therefore, it was Alexander's half-brother, Philip III Arrhidaeus, who was to temporarily ascend the throne. This was despite his cognitive disability.

However, there was also Heracles of Macedon, an alleged son of Alexander the Great. He was born to Alexander’s mistress, Barsine, daughter of Satrap Artabazus of Phrygia. It was never proven that he was indeed the son of the King of Macedon.

Nevertheless, the possibility that Heracles was the son of Alexander and therefore an heir to the throne was enough to generate a stir among the generals, each of whom was eyeing the throne for himself. Alexander’s generals were called diadochi (Greek: διάδοχοι), meaning successors to the throne.

Given that his mother, Barsine, was of low social status and a non-Greek, he was not a true contender, according to the diadochi.

Part of Alexander’s court and his generals considered people who were not Greek as racially and culturally inferior. The idea of having a king who was not Greek was out of the question. The generals were the first to deny Heracles eligibility.

Meanwhile, the generals had divided up the satrapies of his Empire. A feud began between the diadochi over the succession to the throne. The Macedonian army was split in two. The infantry was in favor of Philip III, and General Perdiccas, commander of the Companion cavalry, was also in favor of him. Perdiccas thus convinced the others to allow him to serve as regent until the birth of Roxana’s infant. At that time, they would find out if the infant was male.

It took a few months to resolve the issue of whom the rightful heir to the throne was. When Roxana’s baby was born, however, things became even more complicated.

The Son of Alexander the Great: Alexander IV

Alexander IV was born at the end of 323 or early 322 BC. Naturally, the infant could not take the throne, so it was up to the generals to rule yet again.

The infant was placed on the throne along with his half-brother, Philip III Arrhidaeus, yet the Empire was ruled by the generals. Perdiccas was the protector of both the infant and Roxana.

In 321 BC, the satrapies were assigned among the generals: Ptolemy had Egypt, Seleucus got Babylonia, and Lysimachus had Thrace. Antigonus ruled much of Asia Minor. Lastly, Antipater retained his regency over Macedonia and Greece.

For decades following his death, Alexander’s Empire was consumed by war and conflict. The diadochi fought amongst themselves as to who would sit on the throne of Macedon or control the largest chunks of the Empire.

Alexander IV was not being raised in a peaceful environment. The Greek generals did not fully accept him, as he was the son of Roxana, a woman they considered to be a barbarian since she was Asian rather than Greek.

Both the son Alexander IV and Arrhidaeus became co-rulers of the Empire. However, both were mouthpieces and puppets of Alexander’s remaining generals, each of whom longed to sit on the throne himself.

Some historians claim the mother of Alexander the Great, Olympias, played an important role in raising Alexander IV and running day-to-day life in the Empire. In 317 BC, after a failed invasion of Macedon, Olympias was killed by General Cassander, the son of General Antipater.

Upon Olympias’ death, both Alexander IV and Roxana were captured by Cassander and kept as prisoners for another six years in the citadel of Amphipolis under the supervision of Glaucias. Cassander became king of Macedon. When Alexander IV grew into a teen, Cassander began feeling even more threatened by the young legitimate heir to the throne.

To ensure that the young heir, who was then fourteen years old, would not pose a threat to his regency, he ordered the execution of the son of Alexander the Great and his wife, Roxana. The orders were carried out, and they were both poisoned.

Cassander was clever enough to spread a rumor about Alexander’s IV death throughout the kingdom rather than admit it. Since no one was certain, no reactions such as an uprising occurred. When his death was finally confirmed, the crowd was already familiar with the idea and did not get upset, so Cassander continued to rule undisturbed.

Despite having the clever Olympias by his side as a protector and guardian, Alexander IV could not save his life. The empire that Alexander the Great dreamed of did not last long after his death. It survived for a few centuries, but it was neither intact nor complete.

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