The Partition of Babylon established the framework for dividing Alexander the Great's empire among his successors, initiating the Wars of the Diadochi.
Key Facts
- Date
- June 323 BC
- Alexander's age at death
- 32 years
- Regent appointed
- Perdiccas
- Joint kings designated
- Philip Arrhidaeus and Alexander's unborn child
- Empire extent
- Greece to Pakistan
- Subsequent agreements
- Triparadisus and Persepolis
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Alexander the Great died in June 323 BC at the age of 32, leaving a vast empire stretching from Greece to Pakistan without a clear heir. Competing claims arose from supporters of his half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus and the as-yet-unborn child of Alexander and Roxana, creating an urgent succession crisis among the Macedonian army's senior officers.
At Babylon in June 323 BC, Macedonian commanders convened to resolve the succession. They designated Philip Arrhidaeus and Alexander's unborn child as joint kings, with Perdiccas appointed as regent. The empire's territories were then distributed as satrapies among senior Macedonian officers and existing local governors and rulers.
The settlement initiated further negotiations at Triparadisus and Persepolis in subsequent years, gradually solidifying the territorial division. These arrangements failed to produce lasting stability and instead triggered the Wars of the Diadochi, a prolonged series of conflicts among Alexander's successors that ultimately fragmented the unified empire into separate Hellenistic kingdoms.
Political Outcome
Philip Arrhidaeus and Alexander's unborn child named joint kings; Perdiccas appointed regent; empire divided into satrapies among Macedonian officers and local rulers.
Unified empire under Alexander the Great
Empire divided into satrapies under joint kings with Perdiccas as regent