Polyperchon

Polyperchon was a Macedonian general and statesman who played a significant role in the Wars of the Diadochi following the death of Alexander the Great. After the death of Antipater, Polyperchon was appointed regent of the Macedonian Empire, ruling in the name of the infant king Alexander IV and his mother Roxane. He sought to preserve the Argead line and to reassert central control over the empire, extending his influence into Greece and attempting to mobilize support for the captive royal pair.

Polyperchon pursued alliances with various factions, including Olympias, Alexander’s mother, who supported renewed claims for the throne for Alexander IV. His efforts brought him into conflict with other leading Diadochi, especially Cassander, who controlled Macedon and challenged Polyperchon’s authority in Greece. The rivalry among these generals fractured the empire and signaled the unraveling of Alexander’s unified realm.

By about 316 BCE, Polyperchon’s effectiveness declined as Cassander consolidated power in Macedon and the western provinces. Polyperchon withdrew from the center of action, and the fortunes of the Argead dynasty remained precarious for years. The outcome of his regency highlighted the fragmentation that characterized the early Diadochi period and contributed to the long-term division of Alexander’s empire into successor kingdoms.

Polyperchon’s precise later life and death are not well documented in ancient sources, but his regency is cited as a key episode illustrating the rapid disintegration of central authority after Alexander’s death and the intense competition among the empire’s Macedonian generals.