Alexander IV

Preceded by: Philip III	Pharaoh of Egypt Argead Dynasty	Succeeded by: Ptolemy I
Alexander IV of Macedon
Koine Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος Romanized: Alexandros Latin: Alexander
Alexander IV as pharaoh offering to Khnum at Elephantine. (©Khaemwaset)
Reign
317–309/305 BC (8 or 12 years)
Royal Titulary Praenomen Haaibre-Setepenamun The Heart of Re Rejoices, Chosen of Amun Nomen Alexandros Horus name Hunu-Userpehty Youthful One, Powerful of Strength Nebty name Merynetjeru-Redjienefiautenitef Beloved of the Gods, to whom the Office of His Father was given Golden Horus Heqanakhtemtaerdjedef Victorious Ruler of the Entire Land
Legacy
Father	Alexander III of Macedon
Mother	Roxana of Bactria
Born	323 or 322 BC, Babylon
Died	Late summer 309 BC or 305 BC, Amphipolis (aged 13-18)
Burial	Tomb III, Vergina
Monuments	Temple of Khnum at Elephantine

For other pages by this name, see Alexander.

Alexander IV (Koine Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος, Romanized: Alexandros), sometimes erroneously called Aegus (Άιγος, Aigos) in modern times, reigned as king of Macedon and Persia and Pharaoh of Egypt from after 25 December 317 BC until his death in either 309 or 305 BC. He was a son of King Alexander III of Macedon by Roxana of Bactria.

Birth

Alexander IV had not yet been born when Alexander the Great died on 11 June 323 BC. As a result, there was dissension in the Macedonian army regarding the order of succession. While the infantry supported Alexander the Great's feeble-minded half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Perdiccas, commander of the elite Companion cavalry, persuaded them to wait in the hope that Roxana's child would be male. The factions compromised, deciding that Philip III would be king with Perdiccas ruling the Empire as his regent. If the child was male, then he would be king. Alexander IV was born in late 323 or early 322 BC.

Reign

During his short life, Alexander (and his mother) became pawns in the various schemes of his father's would-be heirs during the Wars of the Diadochi.

First War of the Diadochi

Perdiccas was unable to fully establish his authority as regent. Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt, openly undermined Perdiccas' authority when he stole the body of Alexander the Great when it was on its way to Macedon from Babylon. Perdiccas then started, what became, the First War of the Diadochi by invading Egypt, which resulted in a disastrous military failure and lead to mutiny in the army and the assassination of Perdiccas by his senior officers in May or June 321 or 320 BC. Antipater was subsequently made regent at the Partition of Triparadisus. He brought with him to the Macedonian court Roxana and the two kings to Macedon and gave up the pretence of ruling Alexander's Empire, leaving former provinces in Egypt and Asia under independent control of the satraps.

Second War of the Diadochi

Coin depicting Alexander IV wearing an elephant-scalp helmet, which symbolizes the conquests in India. (CC0)

When Antipater died in 319 BC he left Polyperchon, a Macedonian general who had served under Philip II and Alexander the Great, as his successor, passing over his own son, Cassander. This resulted in war between the coalition of Cassander, Antigonus, Lysimachus and Ptolemy against Polyperchon, Olympias and Eumenes.

Although Polyperchon was successful at first, taking control of the Greek cities, his fleet was destroyed by Antigonus in 318 BC. When, after the battle, Cassander assumed full control of Macedon, Polyperchon was forced to flee to Epirus, followed by Roxana and the young Alexander. A few months later, Olympias was able to persuade her relative Aeacides of Epirus to invade Macedon with Polyperchon. When Olympias took the field, Eurydice's army refused to fight against the mother of Alexander and defected to Olympias, after which Polyperchon and Aeacides retook Macedon. Philip and Eurydice were captured and executed on December 25, 317 BC, leaving Alexander IV king, and Olympias in effective control, as she was his regent.

Cassander returned in the following year (316 BC), conquering Macedon once again. Olympias was immediately executed, while the king and his mother were taken prisoner and held in the citadel of Amphipolis, under the supervision of the official Glaucias.

Third War of the Diadochi

While Cassander became as regent of Macedon, Antigonus defeated his rival Eumenes in Asia Minor and in doing so shifted the balance of power to such a degree that he could pose a threat to any or all of the other Diadochi. New coalisions were formed and war erupted once again, which ultimately resulted in Seleucus establishing himself as ruler over the eastern satrapies. A peacy treaty was concluded which put an end to the Third War of the Diadochi in 311 BC, which recognized Alexander IV's rights and explicitly stated that Cassander would hand over the regency when the king came of age.

Cassander, however, unwilling to hand over power while the other Diadochi continued to rule their parts of the empire effectively unchecked, had Glaucias poison Alexander and Roxana to death, thereby securing his own control over Macedon. This act also ended the Argead dynasty, which had ruled Macedon for several centuries. There is controversy about the exact year of Alexander IV's death because of conflicting sources. He is traditionally thought to have been murdered before turning 14 years old, since by then he would have acquired legal age and no longer needed Cassander as regent. Although, more recent evidence indicates that he probably lived into 305 BC and thus up to 18 years of age when he was murdered.

If the traditional dating of the murders of Alexander and Roxana in the late summer of 309 BC is followed, Cassander must have not publicly announced their deaths since all the military governors of the empire continued to recognize Alexander IV as king. Both Antigonus and Demetrius assumed the title of king in 306 BC. In early 305 BC, when news began to spread that Alexander IV had died, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and eventually Cassander himself, followed in declaring themselves kings and officially devided the empire.

Attestation in Egypt

Under Ptolemy as ruling satrap of Egypt, a large temple to the Egyptian god Khnum was built on Elephantine and dedicated to the nominal king Alexander IV. Merely parts of the temple still remain on the island's open air museum.

Burial

Tomb III in the "Great Tumulus" at Vergina, which probably belonged to Alexander IV. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tomb III, one of the royal tombs discovered by the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos in 1977/8 in the so-called "Great Tumulus" at Vergina (ancient: Aegae), is now unanimously agreed to belong to Alexander IV. The tomb contained the skeletal remains of its original occupant. An age of 14–17 is derived from osteological examination of fusing in the bones, matching Alexander IV.

Bibliography

• Andronikos, M., 1984: Vergina: The Royal Tombs and the Ancient City. Ekdotike Athenon.
• Anson, E.M., 2014: Alexander's Heirs: The Age of the Successors. John Wiley & Sons.
• Bartsiokas, A./Arsuaga, J.L./Brandmeir, N., 2023: The identification of the Royal Tombs in the Great Tumulus at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece: A comprehensive review. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Vol. 52.
• Tolley, H., 2019: The End of the Satrapies: The Date of Alexander IV’s Death. Athens Journal of History, Vol. 5, I. 4, pp. 259-278.
• Xirotiris, N./Langenscheidt, F., 1981: The Cremations from the Royal Macedonian Tombs of Vergina. Archaiologike Ephemeris, pp. 142-60.

Predecessor: Philip III

Pharaoh of Egypt Argead Dynasty

Successor: Ptolemy I