ALEXANDER'S GREAT MILITARY AND POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT WAS NATURALLY PUT TO A MOST SEVERE TEST AFTER HIS DEATH. HE HAD CREATED AN EMPIRE CONSIDERABLY GREATER THAN THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, AND HAD UNITED LANDS EXTENDING OVER THREE CONTINENTS.

NO RELATIVE COULD SUCCEED ALEXANDER, AND IN THE NATURAL COURSE OF EVENTS THE GENERALS BECAME HIS SUCCESSORS. "DIODORUS SICULUS" HAVE TOLD US THAT ALEXANDER FORESAW THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS WOULD INEVITABLY LEAD TO WARFARE AMONG THESE LIEUTENANTS. HIS WORDS PROVED PROPHETIC. AFTER MUCH FIGHTING, SEVERAL OF ALEXANDER'S GENERALS DIVIDED THE EMPIRE AMONG THEMSELVES. THEY FOUNDED A NUMBER OF STATES IN, WHICH GREEK CULTURE FLOURISHED FOR A LONG TIME. ROMAN MIGHT OVERTHREW THEM FINALLY IN THE 3RD CENTURIES BC.

THE THREE CENTURIES EXTENDING FROM 323 BC, WHEN ALEXANDER DIED, TO 31 BC WHEN ROME COMPETED THE CONQUEST OF THE ENTIRED CIVILIZED WORLD. THIS PERIOD HAS BEEN KNOWN AS HELLENISTIC PERIOD. HELLENIC CIVILIZATION THOSE YEARS SPREAD FAR AND WIDE BEYOND GREECE.

IN GREECE ITSELF, DIVISIONS AND CIVIL WARS PERSISTED, WITH THE RESULT THAT THE COUNTRY PROVED UNABLE TO RESIST THE ROMANS. BUT THE SUCCESSOR STATES IN ASIA AND EGYPT ALSO ENGAGED IN CONSTANT WARFARE AMONG THEMSELVES, AND THIS FACT DECISIVELY CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR FINAL DOWNFALL.

IN THE INITIAL FIGHT FOR ALEXANDER'S SUCCESSION, PERDIKKAS CONSIDERED AS THE GENERAL CLOSEST TO ALEXANDER'S FAMILY, GOT THE UPPER HAND AT FIRST. BUT HIS COLLEAGUES UNITED AGAINST HIM, DEFEATED HIM AND KILLED HIM. ANTIGONOS HE APPEARED TO BE THE STRONGEST OF THE CHALLENGERS. HIS SON DEMETRIOS, SURNAMED POLLORKETES (THE BESIEGER) DEFEATED PTOLEMY AT SALAMIS IN CYPRUS. ANTIGONOS (Gonatas) AND MEMETRIOS THEN PROCLAIMED THEMSELVES JOINT KINGS IN 306 BC. BUT OTHER CHALLENGERS, SUCH PTOLEMY WERE FOLLOWING THEIR EXAMPLE.

ANTIGONOS (Gonatas) TRIED TO FOLLOW UP HIS SON'S SUCCESS IN CYPRUS WITH ATTACK AGAINST EGYPT, WHERE PTOLEMY HAD HIS MAIN BASE, BUT HIS EFFORT PROVED UNSUCCESSFUL. THUS ANITGONOS' ENDEAVOR TO DEFEAT ALL HIS OPPONENTS AND BECOME SOLE RULER OF ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE WAS FOILED. IN 304 BC DEMETRIOS RETURNED TO GREECE. HE DEFEATED KASSANDROS AT THERMOPYLE. A GREAT BATTLE WAS FOUGHT AGAIN IN 301 BC. AT IPSOS, (IN FHRYGIA) SELEUKOS RULER OF SYRIA, LYSIMACHOS WHO HELD IN THRACE, KASSANDROS, KING OF MACEDONIA AND PTOLEMY THE RULER OF EGYPT, GATHERED AGAINST ANTIGONOS (Gonatas) AND DEMETRIOS BOTH WERE DEFEATED. DEMETRIOS MANAGED TO ESCAPE TO EHPESOS AND LATER TO ATHENS, BUT ANTIGONOS WAS KILLED.

1. The Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt: Founded by Ptolemy, son of Lagos, it lasted until 30 BC. When the Romans defeated its Queen, Cleopatra, and Egypt became a Roman province.

2. The Seleukidian Kingdom, of which Syria was the heart: For considerable time it covered the greater part of the former Persian Empire, but proved unable to resist blows rained from east and west by Parthians and Romans.

3. The Attalid Kingdom of Pergamos in Western Asia Minor: It was founded in 281 BC., by general Philhetairos. Attalos I was the first of its rulers to assume the title of monarch. Attalos III ceded his kingdom in 129 BC to the Romans who transformed it into a Roman province.

4. The Kingdom of Macedonia: Following Kassandro's death in 297 BC. His sons fought for the succession, but finally the crown went to Demetrios Poliorketes. Pyrrhus and Lysimachos captured Macedonia in 283 BC. And divided it amongst themselves, but very quickly the Antigons' took over. Macedonia was divided to Pyrrhus and Lysimachos, and in 280 BC, Ptolemy seized the Kingdom. Later ascend to the throne by succession Antigonos (Gonatas), and his son Demetrios B, Antigonos of Doson, Filippos E. (son of Perseus) and Pilippos (Psudofilippos). The Macedonian Kings fought tenaciously against the Romans, but finally succumbed to them in 148 BC. Macedonia thereafter became a Roman province.