Siege of Megalopolis

Siege of Megalopolis
	Part of Second War of the Diadochi
Date	317 BCE
Location	Megalopolis, Greece
Result	The siege failed
Belligerents
Polyperchon representing the Macedonian kings	The people of Megalopolis
Commanders and leaders
Polyperchon	Damis
Strength
24,000 infantry (20,000 Macedonians, 4,000 Greek allies); 1,000 cavalry; 65 elephants	15,000 militia

Last updated July 11, 2024

The siege of Megalopolis was a siege battle during the Second War of the Diadochi between Polyperchon, the Regent of the Macedonian Empire, and the people of Megalopolis who supported Polyperchon's rival Cassander. The siege failed and Polyperchon lost a lot of prestige, which was capitalized on by Cassander and his ally Antigonus.^[1]

Background

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his generals immediately began squabbling over his huge empire. Soon it degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim a portion of Alexander's vast empire for himself. These wars were called the Wars of the Diadochi and would last for decades (321-281 BCE). At the end of the First War, at the partition of the empire at Triparadeisos, Antipater had been made Regent of the Empire, he would represent the kings: Philip III (Alexander's mentally defective half-brother) and Alexander IV (Alexander's son by Roxane). Antipater died in 319 BCE, but just before he died he had nominated Polyperchon to be his replacement as regent. Antipater's son Cassander, enraged at not having been made his father's successor, soon fell out with Polyperchon, fled to Asia Minor and got the backing of Antigonus Monophthalmus, the strategos of Asia. Cassander also had a lot of support in Greece, through the Macedonian garrison commanders and the Greek tyrants and oligarchs placed in control of the Greek city-states by his father. Polyperchon decided to go to Greece himself and try and weaken Cassander's position.

Prelude

Polyperchon first marched on Athens, where he tried to get control of the fortress of Munychia and the harbor of Pireaus. In this he was thwarted by Nicanor, the commander of the Macedonian garrison, and Cassander, who had just arrived with reinforcements from Asia Minor. A long siege was inevitable. Polyperchon left the siege of Munychia and Pireaus to a subordinate and marched his main army into the Peloponnese. Although most cities on the Peloponnese had sided with him, the influential city of Megalopolis had sided with Cassander.^[2]

Siege

At that time Megalopolis was ruled by an oligarchy under Damis (a veteran of Alexander's campaigns). Damis did not recognize Polyperchon as the new regent and had joined Cassander's coalition. When Polyperchon arrived at Megalopolis he established two camps in front of the city, one for his Macedonian troops, one for his allies. He had wooden siege towers constructed and had his engineers dig tunnels under the walls to bring them down.^[1]

Eventually three towers and part of the wall came down. Polyperchon then ordered his men to attack the city through the breaches. The defenders were able to hold the breaches and after a lot of hard fighting the attackers withdrew with heavy losses. During the night the defenders build stockades in the breaches and stationed archers and catapults on them to keep the enemy at bay.^[1]

Polyperchon's casualties rose and he decided to use extreme measures, by sending his war elephants against the stockades. Damis must have had some intelligence on this because during the night he had iron spikes, hooks and nails attached to the stockades. The next day, when Polyperchon's elephant assault began, Damis had his men retreat from the stockades and had them fire their bows and catapults from the adjacent walls (he did not want his men to face a direct assault by elephants because of the psychological effect). When the elephants reached the stockades they tried to rip them down, but because of the spikes, hooks and nails they hurt their trunks, then panicked and fled. The elephant stampede caused further casualties and took the fight from Polyperchon's army. After a few weeks Polyperchon ended the siege and marched back to Athens.^[1]

Aftermath

The failed siege of Megalopolis damaged Polyperchon's reputation and several Greek cities went over to Cassander. Their cause strengthened because Cassander and Antigonus went on the offensive. Antigonus defeated Polyperchon's fleet at Byzantium. Eventually Cassander was able to drive Polyperchon from Macedon and became the dominant power in the European part of the Macedonian Empire. Polyperchon was reduced to a minor contender in the Wars of the Diadochi.

Related Research Articles

This article concerns the period 319 BC – 310 BC.

This article concerns the period 309 BC – 300 BC.

Year 319 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cursor and Cerretanus. The denomination 319 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Antigonus I Monophthalmus was a Macedonian Greek general and successor of Alexander the Great. A prominent military leader in Alexander's army, he went on to control large parts of Alexander's former empire. He assumed the title of basileus (king) in 306 BC and reigned until his death. He was the founder of the Antigonid dynasty, which ruled over Macedonia until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 168 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassander</span> King of Macedonia, Antipatrid dynasty

Cassander was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and de facto ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death.

Antipater was a Macedonian general and statesman under the successive kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander would eventually come to rule Macedonia as a king in his own right.

The Battle of Ipsus was fought between some of the Diadochi in 301 BC near the town of Ipsus in Phrygia. Antigonus I Monophthalmus, the Macedonian ruler of large parts of Asia, and his son Demetrius were pitted against the coalition of three other successors of Alexander: Cassander, ruler of Macedon; Lysimachus, ruler of Thrace; and Seleucus I Nicator, ruler of Babylonia and Persia. Only one of these leaders, Lysimachus, had actually been one of Alexander's somatophylakes.

The Diadochi were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Wars of the Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River Valley.

The Wars of the Diadochi, or Wars of Alexander's Successors, were a series of conflicts fought between the generals of Alexander the Great, known as the Diadochi, over who would rule his empire following his death. The fighting occurred between 322 and 281 BC.

Polyperchon, was a Macedonian Greek general who served both Philip II and Alexander the Great and then played an active role in the ensuing battles for control between Alexander's generals.

Battle of Gabiene was the second great battle between Antigonus Monophthalmus and Eumenes, two of Alexander the Great's successors. The battle was fought near Gabiene in Persia in the winter of 316-315 BC and ended the Second War of the Diadochi. It established Antigonus as the most powerful of the successors.

Telesphorus was a nephew and a general in the service of Antigonus Monophthalmus, the ruler and later king of the Asian half of the empire conquered by Alexander the Great, who was sent by him in 312 BC, with a fleet of fifty ships and a considerable army to the Peloponnese, to oppose the forces of Polyperchon and Cassander. At first he was very successful; he drove Polyperchon’s garrisons from all the cities of the peninsula, except Sicyon and Corinth, which were held by Polyperchon himself; but having joined with Antigonid admiral Medius in an attempt to relieve Oreus on Euboea, to which Cassander had laid siege, he was beaten back, with the loss of several ships. The following summer, Antigonus having conferred the chief direction of the war in the Peloponnese upon his other nephew Ptolemy, Telesphorus was so indignant that he shook off his allegiance, and having induced some of his soldiers to follow him, established himself in Elis on his own account, and even plundered the sacred treasures at Olympia. He was, however, soon after, induced by Ptolemy to submit. Antigonus must have forgiven him because a few years later Telesphorus was on the staff of Demetrius, Antigonus’ son.

Cleitus (Clitus) the White was an officer of Alexander the Great surnamed "White" to distinguish him from Cleitus the Black. He is noted by Athenaeus and Aelian for his pomp and luxury, and is probably the same who is mentioned by Justin among the veterans sent home to Macedonia under Craterus in 324 BC.

Nicanor was a Macedonian officer who served the Diadochus Cassander and the son in law of Aristotle. He campaigned on Cassander's behalf in Attica and Hellespont during the early Wars of the Diadochi, but was executed by Cassander after the latter suspected him of plotting a coup.

Alexander was a son of Polyperchon, the regent of Macedonia, and an important general in the Wars of the Diadochi.

Aristodemus of Miletus was one of the oldest and most trusted friends of Antigonus Monophthalmus. He is described by Plutarch as an arch-flatterer of Antigonus. Antigonus frequently used him on important diplomatic missions and occasionally entrusted him with military commands as well.

The Partition of Triparadisus was a power-sharing agreement passed at Triparadisus in 321 BC between the generals (Diadochi) of Alexander the Great, in which they named a new regent and arranged the repartition of the satrapies of Alexander's empire among themselves. It followed and modified the Partition of Babylon made in 323 BC upon Alexander's death.

The Second War of the Diadochi was the conflict between the coalition of Polyperchon, Olympias and Eumenes and the coalition of Cassander, Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus following the death of Cassander's father, Antipater.

The Battle of Orkynia was fought in 319 BCE near Orkynia in Cappadocia. It was one of first battles of the wars between the successors to Alexander the Great, the so called Diadochi. At Orkynia the armies of Antigonus Monophthalmus and Eumenes the Cardian met; the battle resulted in a stunning Antigonid victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Byzantium</span> Battle during Second War of the Diadochi

The Battle of Byzantium (Byzantion) took place during the wars of the successors of Alexander the Great between the generals Antigonus Monopthalmus and Cleitus the White. It was a two-day-battle fought near Byzantium at the Hellespont in 317 BC and resulted in a stunning Antigonid victory.

References

1 2 3 4 Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica , Book XVIII 68,2-72,1.
↑ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Book XVIII 64,1-68,1; Plutarch, Parallel Lives , Life of Phocion 31-33.