Antigonus I Monophthalmus

Antigonus I Monophthalmus, meaning "the One-Eyed," lived from 382 to 301 BC. He was a Macedonian Greek general and one of Alexander the Great's successors, and he established the Antigonid dynasty. This dynasty controlled Macedonia until the Roman Republic conquered it in 168 BC. A notable commander in Alexander's army, Antigonus later came to dominate much of Alexander's former empire. He took the title of basileus, or king, in 306 BC and ruled until his death.

He probably served under Philip II of Macedon and joined Alexander's campaign against the Achaemenid Persian Empire, becoming satrap of Phrygia. After Alexander died in 323 BC, the Partition of Babylon also gave him Pamphylia and Lycia. But he fell out with Perdiccas, the empire's regent, who forced him out of Phrygia. Antigonus fled to Greece and allied with Antipater, later joined by Ptolemy, against Perdiccas. Perdiccas was killed by his own officers in 320 BC, and Antipater became the new regent.

In the wars among Alexander's successors, Antigonus briefly became the strongest of the Diadochi, ruling Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, and northern Mesopotamia. Cassander, Seleucus, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus formed a coalition against him. This led to his decisive defeat and death at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. Lysimachus and Seleucus divided his kingdom, but his son Demetrius survived and later seized control of Macedonia in 294 BC.

Antigonus was born in Macedonia around 382 BC to a nobleman named Philip and an unnamed mother. Some sources claim he came from peasant stock, others that his family was linked to the Macedonian royal house, but both seem unlikely. In all probability, his family was socially prominent and part of the Macedonian nobility. Little is known of his early career. He must have been important in the Macedonian Army, because when he appears in historical sources, he commands a large part of Alexander's army, with responsibility for about 7,000 allied Greek infantry. Plutarch records an anecdote about an Antigonus who lost an eye at the Siege of Perinthus in 340 BC when a catapult bolt struck him. Historian Richard Billows says this story fits Antigonus better than anyone else. Since Antigonus was the same age as Philip and a nobleman, he almost certainly served in Philip's campaigns, possibly under Philip's brothers, Alexander II and Perdiccas III. His importance at Philip's court is shown by his friendships with Antipater and Eumenes, two of Philip's chief lieutenants.

In 334 BC, Antigonus commanded the allied Greek infantry in Alexander's invasion of the Persian Empire. Alexander did not trust these Greek troops and left them behind when he marched to confront the Western Satraps, so Antigonus did not fight at the Battle of the Granicus. When Alexander moved east, he made Antigonus satrap of Phrygia. In that role, Antigonus besieged a Persian garrison of 1,000 Carians and 100 Greeks. After they surrendered, he enrolled them in his service and sent his own 1,500 Greek mercenaries to reinforce Alexander for the coming Battle of Issus. After that battle, he succeeded the Achaemenid satrap of Greater Phrygia, Atizyes, who had died in the fighting. Antigonus successfully defended Alexander's supply and communication lines during the long campaign against the Persian Empire. After the victory at Issus, part of the Persian army regrouped in Cappadocia and tried to cut Alexander's lines through central Asia Minor, but Antigonus defeated them in three separate battles. He then focused on conquering the rest of Phrygia and maintaining Alexander's communications and supply.

After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the Partition of Babylon gave Antigonus authority over Phrygia, Lycaonia, Pamphylia, Lycia, and western Pisidia, confirmed by the regent Perdiccas. But he angered Perdiccas by refusing to help Eumenes take control of the provinces allotted to him—Paphlagonia and Cappadocia. Leonnatus had left with his army for Greece, leaving Antigonus alone to deal with Cappadocia, a task he could not or would not complete without more help. Perdiccas saw this as a direct challenge to his authority and led the royal army to conquer the area. From there, he turned west toward Phrygia to provoke Antigonus, who fled with his son Demetrius to Greece. There he gained the favor of Antipater, the viceroy of Macedonia, and Craterus, a top general of Alexander. In the First War of the Diadochi, Antigonus formed a coalition with Antipater, Craterus, and Ptolemy. In 320 BC, he sailed to and secured Cyprus. The war ended that same year when Perdiccas was murdered by his own disgruntled officers, Seleucus and Antigenes, while unsuccessfully trying to invade Ptolemy's satrapy of Egypt.

With Perdiccas dead in 321 BC, a new division of the empire took place at Triparadisus. Antipater became the new regent, and Antigonus was made Strategos of Asia. He was entrusted with commanding the war against the former members of the Perdiccan faction who had been condemned at Triparadisus.