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The Greek was an outstanding leader and general. He was a key player in the first two wars of the successors of Alexander. His brilliant victory over Craterus meant that the cause of Perdicas was not lost, even after his assassination. His continued defiance in Asia Minor of Antigonus meant that the War of the First Diadochi was to be prolonged even after the death of Perdicas. Moreover, his defeat of Craterus, perhaps one of the most popular Macedonian generals removed someone who could have become a major player in the events of the time. The former private secretary of Alexander was to play an even greater role in the Second Diadochi War. His decision to break with Antigonus and to become the ally of Polyperchon and the Macedonian royal family lead to the overthrow of the Triparadisus settlement (320 BC). In effect Eumenes made another round of civil wars inevitable. His decision to throw in his lot with the Regent and the relatives of Alexander was one of the sparks that ignited the second war of the successors. The Greek was arguably someone who helped to destabilize the territories that were conquered by the phalanxes of Alexander.
==Eumenes and the fate of the Empire==
Crucial to understanding the Cardian was his desire to maintain the unity of the Empire. Many believe that he was the only successor who believed in Alexander’s desire to unite east and west. Because he was not a Macedonian he did not believe in the exclusion of the conquered peoples from the army and government. This was not shared by the other successors and they firmly believed that the Macedonians should form a ruling military elite. The death of Eumenes ensured that the states that emerged after the fragmentation of the Empire were not pluralistic societies but rather they were to be dominated by a small Greek-Macedonian elite who largely excluded the natives and monopolized power in their own hands <ref> Waterfield, p 156</ref>. Eumenes had been raised in the court of Phillip II and did seem to be genuinely loyal to the Argead dynasty. His campaigns and even his break with Antignous, can be seen as an attempt to protect the rights and the interests of the Argeads and the sons of Alexander the Great. The various successors claimed to be only holding their territories until one of the sons of Alexander was crowned, but in reality they had no such intention <ref> Anson, p 67</ref>. Eumenes was the last hope of the Argead dynasty and his defeat meant that no Macedonian monarch would once again ever rule the lands won by the son of Phillip II. If Eumenes had won it is possible that one of the descendants of the conqueror of the Persians could have united the lands that conquered by Alexander had conquered. Instead soon after the defeat of Greek, the last Argead king Alexander IV was murdered, even though he was only a boy, and this effectively ended the almost 500-year-old dynasty.
[[File: Eumenes one.png|200px|thumb|left|A coin of Phillip IV the last Argead king]]
==Conclusion==
Eumenes was a brilliant man and he was regarded in antiquity as one of the most brilliant men in the early Hellenistic World. Despite his limited military experience, he proved to be a brilliant leader and military tactician. However, he ultimately failed in his projects and his impact on the development of the Hellenistic World was negligible. His determination and strategy helped only to prolong the First War of the Diadochi. His was also a very significant factor in the Second Diadochi War and this was to lead to a civil war from Asia Minor to Iran and only further added to the fragmentation of the Empire that had been won by Alexander. The Greek attempted to keep alive the vision of Alexander of a great and unified Empire that would enable the unification of European and non-European, but he failed. Moreover, with his defeat, which marked the end of the Second Diadochi War, the fate of the Argead dynasty was sealed and soon passed into history.
