Editing Philip III of Macedon (section)

==Biography==

[[File:Théodule Devéria (French) - (Close-up of a Sculpture (Profile of a Head), Karnak) - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|Philip III as pharaoh on a relief in Karnak]]
Even though Arrhidaeus and Alexander were about the same age, Arrhidaeus appears never to have been a danger as an alternative choice for Alexander's succession to Philip II. Nevertheless, when the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] [[satrap]] of [[Caria]], [[Pixodarus]], proposed his daughter in marriage to Alexander, the king declined, offering his son Arrhidaeus as husband instead, and Alexander thought it prudent to block the dynastic union (which might have produced a possible future heir to Philip's domain before Alexander himself did), resulting in considerable irritation on the part of his father (337 BC).<ref name="Plutarch">{{cite book|author= Plutarch |title=''Alex.''|at= 10.2-3}}</ref>

Arrhidaeus's whereabouts during the reign of his brother Alexander are unclear from the extant sources; what is certain is that no civil or military command was given to him in those thirteen years (336–323 BC).

===Succession===
Arrhidaeus was in [[Babylon]] at the time of Alexander's death on 10 June 323 BC. A succession crisis ensued. Arrhidaeus was the most obvious candidate, but he was mentally disabled and thus unfit to rule.{{sfn|Habicht|1998|p=69}} A conflict then arose between [[Perdiccas]], leader of the [[Companion cavalry|cavalry]], and [[Meleager (general)|Meleager]], who commanded the [[phalanx]]: the first wanted to wait to see if [[Roxana]], Alexander's pregnant wife, would deliver a son {{Citation needed|date=January 2022}} while Meleager objected that Arrhidaeus should be chosen king.<ref>Anson, Edward M. (2014),p.19 </ref> A compromise was engineered in which Arrhidaeus would become king with the name of Philip III, and would be joined by Roxana's yet-unborn child as co-sovereign should that child prove to be a male.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Anson|first=Edward M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWdiAwAAQBAJ|title=Alexander's Heirs: The Age of the Successors|date=2014-07-14|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1-4443-3962-8|pages=20|language=en}}</ref> This eventuality did indeed arise and resulted in Roxana's son, [[Alexander IV of Macedon|Alexander]], becoming with his uncle Phillip co-sovereign on the throne of Macedon. It was immediately decided that Philip Arrhidaeus would reign, but not rule: this was to be the prerogative of the new [[regent]], Perdiccas.

When news arrived in Macedonia that Arrhidaeus had been chosen as king, [[Cynane]], a daughter of Philip II, developed a plan to travel to Asia and offer the new king her daughter [[Eurydice III of Macedon|Eurydice]] for his wife. This move was an obvious affront to the regent, whom Cynane had completely bypassed, and to prevent the marriage, Perdiccas sent his brother, [[Alcetas]], to kill Cynane. The reaction among the troops generated by this murder was such that the regent had to give up his opposition to the proposed match and accept the marriage. From that moment on, Philip Arrhidaeus was to be under the sway of his bride, a proud and determined woman bent on substantiating her husband's power.

===Regents===
[[File:Philip III Arrhidaios Babylon mint struck under Perdikkas circa 323 320 BC.jpg|thumb|350px|Coin of Philip III Arrhidaios. 323–317 BC. AR Tetradrachm (17.20 g, 1h). Babylon mint. Struck under [[Perdikkas]], circa 323–320 BC. Head of Herakles left, wearing lion skin headdress / [BASILEWS FILIPPOU], Zeus Aëtophoros seated right; wheel and monogram in left field, monogram below throne.]]
Eurydice's chance to increase her husband's power came when the first war of the [[Diadochi]] sealed the fate of Perdiccas, making a new settlement necessary. An agreement was made at [[Treaty of Triparadisus|Triparadisus]] in [[Syria]] in 321 BC. Eurydice moved deftly enough to achieve the removal of the first two designated regents, [[Peithon]] and [[Arrhidaeus]] (a namesake of her husband), but was powerless to block the aspirations of [[Antipater]], whose position proved too powerful, and the latter was made the new regent; Philip Arrhidaeus and Eurydice were forced to follow Antipater back to Macedonia.

The regent died of natural causes the following year, nominating as his successor not his son [[Cassander]], but his friend and lieutenant, [[Polyperchon]]. Cassander's refusal to accept his father's decision sparked the [[Second War of the Diadochi]], in which Eurydice saw once again a chance to free Philip from the control of the regent.

An opportunity presented itself in 317 BC when Cassander expelled Polyperchon from Macedonia. Eurydice immediately allied herself with Cassander and persuaded her husband to nominate him as the new regent. Cassander reciprocated by leaving her in full control of the country when he left to campaign in [[Hellenistic Greece|Greece]].

===Death===
That same year (317 BC), Polyperchon and [[Olympias]] allied with her cousin, [[Aeacides of Epirus|Aeacides]], king of [[Epirus]], and invaded Macedonia. The Macedonian troops refused to fight Olympias, the mother of Alexander. Philip and Eurydice had no choice but to escape, only to be captured at [[Amphipolis]] and thrown into prison.

It soon became clear that Philip was too dangerous to be left alive, as Olympias's many enemies saw him as a useful tool against her. She had him executed, while his wife was forced to commit suicide.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hammond |first=Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qpb3JdwuDQIC&pg=PA210 |title=A History of Macedonia: 336–167 B.C. |last2=Walbank |first2=Frank William |date=1988 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=9780198148159 |pages=140 |language=en}}</ref>