“To the
strongest” are the last words Alexander
pronounced on his deathbed in
Ever since he became king in 336 BC Alexander had shown his commanders the way and led his men by example. He certainly did not expect to die at the age of 33 and not in his bed. How could he have foreseen to be incapacitated and unable to be his own self?
The only person who had always been at his side and enjoyed his full confidence had died the previous year. Hephaistion had been officially appointed as his Chiliarch, his second in command. The sudden death of his dearest friend left him in total disarray and maddened by grief. He was truly alone at a time when he had to make the hardest decision of his life and elect a successor. “Who, Alexander? Tell us who!” are the words Oliver Stone put in the mouth of Ptolemy. How appropriate!
“To
the strongest” has often been understood as a weak and evading statement although, in
reality, Alexander’s last words are one final proof of his genius! Had he
not been so much afflicted by his illness and impaired by the high fever, he
would have found the strength to elaborate a solution to the Succession with
his close Companions. He would likely have appointed Perdiccas. Even so, Alexander’s decision may have lost its power two years onward and
the commanders would have taken the matter into their own hands anyway.
Of
course, everyone around the king’s deathbed still hoped to be appointed and hear his
name called out. However, matters were not as straightforward as one might
think. On the one hand, he had to name an heir since as King he needed a
successor, and on the other hand, as commander in chief of his army, he had to
appoint a capable military leader.
At
this point, his most experienced generals were Craterus and Perdiccas.
Yet, Craterus was in Cilicia taking 10,000 veterans back to
Roxane was pregnant but the
child was not born yet and there was no guarantee it would be a boy. Alexander had
never recognized Heracles,
his son by Barsine. In any case, Roxane’s son
and Heracles were too young to rule and the generals would
have to choose a Regent pending their coming of age. The next best option was
to push Arrhideus forward. He was Alexander’s simple-minded
half-brother and not capable of becoming the de facto ruler.
As a result, Perdiccas was
elected Regent at the Partition of
This
implied, however, that he would rule over Alexander’s Companions
and generals. Perdiccas’ success was short-lived though and in 321 BC
he was side-lined at Triparadeisus as the commanders decided
to divide the kingdom among themselves. When Perdiccas escorted Alexander’s remains
to be buried in
None of the great men who fought alongside Alexander for almost twelve years emerged as the strongest. They all had learned a lot but none could come close to Alexander’s charisma and exceptional genius.
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