History

The Diadochi Assume the Royal Title

Demetrius' victory over Ptolemy at Salamis in 306 gave him and his fatherAntigonus Monophthalmus so much credit, that it was widely believed that they would reunite the empire of Alexander the Great. With some justification, the two men accepted the royal title; after all, the descendants of Alexander were by now all dead. The other Diadochi follow...

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Plutarch - Life of Pompey

Towards Pompey the Roman people must have had, from the very beginning, the feeling which the Prometheus of Aeschylus has towards Heracles, when, having been saved by him, he says: "I hate the sire, but dearly love this child of his."1 For never have the Romans manifested so strong and fierce a hatred towards a general as they did towards Strabo, t...

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The Diadochi: Antigonus Proclaims the Freedom of the Greeks

In the spring of 314, the Third War of the Diadochi broke out. Antigonus Monophthalmus, who ruled great parts of Asia between the Hellespont and the Hindu Kush, had to fight against a coalition of Cassander of Macedonia,Lysimachus of Thrace, Ptolemy of Egypt, and Seleucus, who had once beensatrap of Babylonia but had been expelled by Antigonus. One...

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The Diadochi: The Siege of Rhodes

In 305, Antigonus Monophthalmus, one of the Diadochi (successors ofAlexander the Great), sent out his son Demetrius to capture the city and island of Rhodes. It controlled the entrance to the Aegean Sea, and its capture was necessary if Antigonus wanted to liberate Greece andMacedonia. Diodorus of Sicily tells about the siege in his World History20...

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History of Hannukah

The holiday originated when Judah the Maccabee and his followers reclaimed the temple in the village of Modi'in from Syrian King Antiochus IV. The temple was cleansed and prepared for rededication. The Hebrew word Hanukkah means "dedication." When the sacred temple Menorah (candelabra) was relit, there was only enough sacred oil to burn for one day...

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The Diadochi: The end of the Macedonian Royal House

In 311, the Diadochi concluded a peace treaty. Ptolemy and Lysimachuswere confirmed in their territories, Egypt and Thrace; Cassander andAntigonus Monophthalmus remained supreme commanders of theMacedonian forces in Europe and Asia; the Greek towns were recognized by all parties as 'free and autonomous' (but Cassander kept garrisons at several plac...

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The Diadochi: The Greek League

n 338 BCE, king Philip II of Macedonia defeated the army of the Greek towns at Chaeronea (text) and went to Corinth, where he founded the Greek League. The Greek towns were to stop fighting each other and share the burdens of a common war against Persia, in which Philip was to be their general (text; Eventually, Alexander the Great was the commande...

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The Hasmonean Dynasty

The Silent Centuries. The Hasmonean Dynasty Growth and Decay (135 "" 63 BC) by Al Maxey. For the first several years of his rule, John Hyrcanus was little more than a pawn in the hands of Antiochus VII. With the death of Antiochus VII in 128 BC, however, the people of Judea again proclaimed -- and managed to achieve -- their independence. Thus bega...

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Ptolemy Kings and Queens

The House of Ptolemy: Kings, Queens and the Rest of the Royal Ptolemies. Chronological List of Ptolemaic rulers...

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Chapter 30: The Hasmonean Dynasty

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) WITH Simon (141-135) a new era dawned for the Jews, and for the first time since the Babylonian conquest, they breathed the pure air of freedom. The atmosphere was charged with expectation. Simon seized the important port city of Gaza, providing Judah with a direct outlet to the Mediterranean world. Treaties...

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