Demetrius Poliorcetes: The Besieger Who Lost an Empire

The Strange Afterlife of Alexander's Body

When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 BC, his body became a prize almost as coveted as his empire. This episode follows the remarkable journey of Alexander's mummified corpse from Babylon to Memphis to Alexandria, and the political maneuvering that surrounded it. We explore how Ptolemy I Soter hijacked the funeral cortege, the legendary gold sarcophagus later melted down by a Seleucid king, and the mysterious fate of the tomb itself — lost for centuries and rumored to lie beneath a mosque in Alexandria. Along the way, we consider what Alexander's posthumous journey tells us about the Diadochi's claim to his legacy and the creation of the Ptolemaic cult of Alexander. Join Lucas and Luna for a story of ambition, reverence, and one very well-traveled dead body. #AlexanderTheGreat #PtolemyISoter #Diadochi #TombOfAlexander #HellenisticPeriod #AncientEgypt #Alexandria #Memphis #Soter #Perdiccas #Arrhidaeus #SeleucusINicator #PtolemaicCult #Soma #AncientHistory #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Antipater's Regency: The Man Who Held Alexander's Empire Together After Babylon

In the chaos following Alexander the Great's death in 323 BCE, one man emerged as the unlikely glue holding the Macedonian empire together: Antipater. While the Diadochi generals carved up territories at the Partition of Babylon, Antipater stayed behind in Macedon as regent, facing down a Greek rebellion in the Lamian War, managing the volatile Athenian orator Demosthenes, and navigating the treacherous politics of Alexander's mother Olympias and his widow Roxana. This episode follows Antipater's ruthless consolidation of power, his brutal sack of Athens, and his ultimate decision to hand the regency to the aging general Polyperchon rather than his own son Cassander—a choice that triggered decades of civil war. We also explore the contrast between Alexander's grand eastern ambitions and Antipater's pragmatic, old-school Macedonian focus on keeping Greece and Macedon stable. How did a man who never fought in Asia end up shaping the Hellenistic world more than any Diadochi general? #Antipater #LamianWar #Demosthenes #PartitionOfBabylon #Diadochi #Macedon #Hellenistic #AlexanderTheGreat #Polyperchon #Cassander #Olympias #Roxana #Athens #Crannon #Leosthenes #FexingoHistory #History #AncientHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Fall of Agathocles: Tyrant of Syracuse Who Fought Carthage

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the career of Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse who waged a brutal war against Carthage in the late 4th century BC. They discuss his rise from a potter's son to ruler of Syracuse, his shocking decision to transport an army across the Mediterranean to attack Carthage's homeland, and his use of scorched earth tactics and mercenaries. The episode covers the siege of Carthage, the betrayal of his son, and the eventual collapse of his empire after his death. Listeners will learn about the Battle of the Himera River, the role of Ophellas of Cyrene, and the legacy of Agathocles as a model for later Hellenistic tyrants. The conversation also touches on the historical debate over his cruelty versus his strategic genius, and how his actions destabilized the Greek cities of Sicily, paving the way for Pyrrhus and Rome. #Agathocles #Syracuse #Carthage #HellenisticHistory #Sicily #AncientGreece #Tyrants #SiegeOfCarthage #Ophellas #Mercenaries #HimeraRiver #Pyrrhus #Diadochi #MagnaGraecia #AncientWarfare #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Battle of Ipsus: The Fight That Ended Alexander's Empire

In 301 BC, the fate of Alexander the Great's empire was decided on a dusty plain in central Anatolia. The Battle of Ipsus pitted Antigonus Monophthalmos and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes against a coalition of Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Cassander. It was the largest Hellenistic battle ever fought, with over 150,000 men and hundreds of war elephants. The battle turned on a single dramatic moment: Demetrius's reckless cavalry charge left Antigonus exposed, and Seleucus's elephants sealed the old king's fate. Antigonus died in battle at age 81, and his kingdom was carved up by the victors. This episode unpacks the tactics, the personalities, and the legacy of a conflict that reshaped the Hellenistic world. We also explore the controversial role of Seleucus's war elephants, the death of a one-eyed giant, and how Ipsus set the stage for the next forty years of Diadochi warfare. #BattleOfIpsus #AntigonusMonophthalmos #DemetriusPoliorcetes #SeleucusINicator #Lysimachus #Cassander #Diadochi #Hellenistic #WarElephants #Anatolia #301BC #AlexanderTheGreat #MacedonianPhalanx #CavalryCharge #AncientWarfare #History #FexingoHistory #MilitaryHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Partition of Babylon: How Alexander's Empire Was Divided

When Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 BC, his empire—the largest the world had yet seen—fell apart almost overnight. In this episode, Lucas and Luna walk through the chaotic weeks following Alexander's death: the tense negotiations among his generals, the fragile compromise known as the Partition of Babylon, and the seeds it sowed for forty years of war. They examine the key figures at the center of the deal—Perdiccas, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Antipater, and Craterus—and the impossible challenge of holding together an empire that stretched from Greece to India. The episode explores the murder of Alexander's wife Roxana and their son Alexander IV, the role of the Macedonian army in kingmaking, and the revealing quarrel over the royal treasury. Why did the generals agree to share power when they all wanted it for themselves? And how did a temporary settlement become the foundation for the Hellenistic kingdoms that would dominate the Mediterranean for centuries? This is the story of a deal that was never meant to last—but that reshaped the world anyway. #PartitionOfBabylon #AlexanderTheGreat #Diadochi #Perdiccas #Ptolemy #Seleucus #Antipater #Craterus #Hellenistic #Macedonian #Babylon #Successors #Empire #Roxana #AlexanderIV #AncientHistory #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]