Alexander IV of Macedon
Alexander IV of Macedon, (lived 323 - 309 BC; titular King of Macedon, 323 - 309 BC), the posthumous son of
Alexander the Great by his wife
Roxana, a princess of
Bactria, was born in
323 BC, a few months after his father's death and was immediately declared King as co-ruler with his uncle
Philip III of Macedon. Neither King wielded any political influence: Philip was considered retarded and Alexander was just a infant. This resulted in the nomination of Regents ruling on their behalf and a number of his father's generals, now Satraps of major provinces, gaining enough power to act independently from the crown.
During his nominal reign between 323 BC and 309 BC, four Regents acted in Alexander's name:
- Perdiccas, between 323 BC and his murder in June, 321 BC.
- Antipater, between the summer of 321 BC and the summer of 319 BC when he died of illness.
- Polyperchon, between 319 BC and 316 BC, a heir chosen by Antipater himself. Olympias, Alexander's grandmother, exerted considerable influence over Polyperchon and ordered the execution of Philip III in 317 BC.
- Cassander, Antipater's son, defeated Polyperchon's armies and captured and executed Olympias. Between 316 BC and 309 BC the Regent Cassander held the young King Alexander as a prisoner.
By
309 BC Cassander had established his power over
Macedonia, but as Alexander came closer to adulthood, some people loyal to the Royal house still looked forward to his becoming King in more than name. To avoid a possible threat to his own power Cassander ordered the murder of the 14-year-old. The Royalists still supported the claim of Alexander's half-brother
Heracles to the throne against Cassander.
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