15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
====Eumenes and the fate of the Empire====
[[File: Eumenes one.png|200px|thumb|left|A coin of Phillip IV the last Argead king]]
Crucial to understanding Eumenes 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 and he did not believe in the exclusion of the conquered peoples from the army and government. This belief 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 ever rule the lands won by the son of Phillip II. If Eumenes had won it is possible that one of the descendants of Alexander could have united the Empire. Instead, soon after the defeat of Eumenes, the last Argead king Alexander IV was murdered, even though he was only a boy which effectively ended the almost 500-year-old dynasty.
====Conclusion====
Eumenes was a brilliant an extraordinary 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 to accomplish his projects goals and his protect Alexander's legacy. 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 Alexander's Empire that had been won by Alexander. The Greek He 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, which led to the fate destruction of the Argead dynasty was sealed and soon passed into history.
====Further Reading====
* Bosworth, A. "History and artifice in Plutarch’s Eumenes." <i>In Plutarch and the historical tradition</i>, pp. 64-97 (London, Routledge, 2002).* Meeus, Alexander. "Alexander’s Image in the Age of the Successors." <i>Alexander the Great: A New History</i> (2009): 235-250.* Holt, Frank L. & Richard A. Billows. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520208803/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0520208803&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=9f4da9c281929fad7036a1f19e192db3 Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State]</i>. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991)* Jouguet, Pierre. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415868017/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415868017&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=57070b9023167e622b902ea166b0a134 Macedonian Imperialism] </i> (New York and London, Routledge, 2013)
