Editing Alexander the Great (section)

===Division of the Macedonian Empire===
{{Main|Partition of Babylon|Diadochi}}
[[File:Diadochi EN.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Kingdoms of the [[Diadochi]] in 301&nbsp;BC: the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]] (dark blue), the [[Seleucid Empire]] (yellow), [[Lysimachus|Kingdom of Lysimachus]] (orange), and [[Kingdom of Macedon]] (green). Also shown are the [[Roman Republic]] (light blue), the [[Carthaginian Republic]] (purple), and the [[Kingdom of Epirus]] (red).]]

Alexander's death was so sudden that when reports of his death reached Greece, they were not immediately believed.<ref name="Roisman 2010 199" /> Alexander had no obvious or legitimate heir, his son Alexander IV by Roxane being born after Alexander's death.{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=24–26}} According to Diodorus, Alexander's companions asked him on his deathbed to whom he bequeathed his kingdom; his laconic reply was "tôi kratistôi"—"to the strongest".<ref name="DSXVII117" /> Another theory is that his successors wilfully or erroneously misheard "tôi Kraterôi"—"to Craterus", the general leading his Macedonian troops home and newly entrusted with the regency of Macedonia.<ref name=Shipley>{{cite book |title=The Greek World After Alexander 323–30 BC |author=Graham Shipley |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sAoiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |isbn=978-1-134-06531-8 |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref> Arrian and Plutarch claimed that Alexander was speechless by this time, implying that this was an apocryphal story.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2007|p=20}}</ref> Diodorus, Curtius and Justin offered the more plausible story that Alexander passed his [[Seal (emblem)|signet ring]] to [[Perdiccas]], a bodyguard and leader of the companion cavalry, in front of witnesses, thereby nominating him.<ref name="DSXVII117" />{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=24–26}}

Perdiccas initially did not claim power, instead suggesting that Roxane's baby would be king, if male, with himself, [[Craterus]], Leonnatus, and Antipater as guardians. However, the infantry, under the command of [[Meleager (general)|Meleager]], rejected this arrangement since they had been excluded from the discussion. Instead, they supported Alexander's half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Eventually, the two sides reconciled, and after the birth of Alexander IV, he and Philip III were appointed joint kings, albeit in name only.{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=26–29}} Dissension and rivalry soon affected the Macedonians. The satrapies handed out by Perdiccas at the [[Partition of Babylon]] became power bases each general used to bid for power. After the assassination of Perdiccas in 321&nbsp;BC, Macedonian unity collapsed, and 40&nbsp;years of war between "The Successors" (''[[Diadochi]]'') ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into three stable power blocs: [[Ptolemaic Egypt]], [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid Syria and East]], and [[Antigonid dynasty|Antigonid Macedonia]]. In the process, both Alexander IV and Philip III were murdered.{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=29–34}}