Alexander the Great was surrounded by close friends who served as his generals in his Calvary (which Alexander commanded personally) as well as in his regular army. His generals were as follows, Cassander, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Seleucus, and Lysimachus. Cassander knew Alexander for the longest time, many historians say that they knew each other since practically birth. They studied under Aristotle at the same time, and Cassander’s father even served under Alexander’s father as regent of Greece. Despite this long relationship, they were not close friends, however despite them not being friends Alexander couldn’t deny Cassander’s military knowledge and military prowess. Ptolemy was officially son of Lagos; however, it was rumored that he was actually Philip’s half son, which would have made him Alexander the Greats half-brother. Despite being much older than Alexander and most of the other generals, he still became one of Alexander’s best friends and one of his seven bodyguards. Antigonus was one of the older generals that Alexander had, he was a great general. He was a part of all of Alexanders campaigns and was given territory during Alexanders reign. Lysimachus was one of Alexander the Great’s trusted bodyguards and a member of his Companion Cavalry, he was not originally a citizen of Macedonia but after gaining citizenship he showed unwavering loyalty to Alexander the Great, and followed him into every battle.

Having an heir is one of the keys to ruling a successful empire in ancient times, all great legacies are carried on by the heirs of great kings and queens.  Alexander father (Philip II), and his Grandfather (Amyntas IV) were both kings of Macedonia. An heir was the top priority of new ruling king, kings would go to extreme lengths to have an heir to carry on the family legacy and rule for all time. Macedonia was no different, an heir was important to Alexander the Great however many historians believe that it wasn’t the top priority on his list. When Alexander took over as king of Macedonia, his father was killed as a result of an assassination. An assassination was bad news for Alexander because he was one of many that wanted to assume control of the kingdom. Thanks to his experience as the leader of the cavalry since he was 17, he automatically had the support of the men he fought with. He quickly suppressed all other claims to the throne by killing the leader of the assassination, and then having his mother kill his half-sister. This course of events leads to alexander having a conquering mood to his reign. Once he consolidated power he was always on the move, he was constantly conquering small areas at a time starting with places surrounding Macedonia in Greece and across the black sea.

After Alexanders death, his empire was up for grabs, he died after saying “the empire goes to the strongest”. Historians say that he might have said this because he was obsessed with conquest, and he wanted his heir to continue on in his path. He wanted his best general to rule because he knew that other empires were coming for his spoils. He couldn’t have expected that his empire was going to fracture into so many pieces that it did. Alexander officially died in Babylon in June of 328 BCE, four of his close generals/ body guards took control of his lands they were Lysimachus, Cassander, Ptolemy and Seleucus. Lysimachus took Thrace and much of Asia Minor; Cassander in joint rule with his father, took Macedonia and Greece; Ptolemy seized Egypt, Palestine, Cilicia, Petra, and Cyprus (thus beginnng the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt which lasted until the death of Cleopatra VII in 31 BCE) while Seleucus took control of the rest of Asia (so founding the Seleucid Empire which was comprised of Syria, Babylon, Persia, and India).