Cassander (?–287 b.c.), Seleucus Nicator (ca. 358–281
b.c.), Ptolemy Soter, Eumenes of Cardia (ca. 361–316
b.c.), and Lysimachus (ca. 355–281 b.c.)—were col-
lectively known as Diadochi (Greek for “successors”).
Antigonus Monophthalmus, also known as Antogo-
nus Cyclops, was a one-eyed general who named him-
self king of Macedon, but he was defeated by Seleucus
Nicator at Ipsus (306 b.c.). Alexander’s son, Alexander
Aegus, was eventually captured by Cassander, the son
of Antipater and king of Macedonia, and put to death.
Within 20 years of Alexander’s death, his empire had
completely fallen apart. But the remarkable conquest of
such a vast area in such a short time, from Greece in the
west to north India in the east, from the Black Sea to the
Arabian gulf, is still a feat to be wondered at.
Historian David Rooney writes of Alexander’s im-
pact on history: “Alexander, with his belief in his link
to Zeus, the Father of the Gods, constantly attempted
to match the achievements of antiquity. He is justly re-
garded as an outstanding and inspiring military leader in
every aspect of war. As a tactician he was unrivaled—in
direct leadership in battle, in the development of new
weapons both for sieges and for battles, of the direct
control of troops in battle, and in the speed of move-
ment. All these attributes would have come to nothing
if he had not organized the most remarkable logistic sys-
tem to support his armies across most of the then known
world.”
References: Hogarth, David George, Philip and Alexander
of Macedon. Two Essays in Biography (London: J. Murray,
1897); “Philip (II) of Macedon,” in The Hutchinson Dic-
tionary of Ancient and Medieval Warfare (Oxford, U.K.:
Helicon Publishing, Ltd., 1998), 251; “Alexander the
Great and Heroic Leadership,” in John Keegan, The Mask
of Command (New York: Viking/Elisabeth Sifton Books,
1987), 13–91; Lanning, Michael Lee, “Alexander the
Great,” in The Military 100: A Ranking of the Most Influ-
ential Military Leaders of All Time (New York: Barnes and
Noble Books, 1996), 14–17; Bruce, George, “Granicus”
in Collins Dictionary of Wars (Glasgow, Scotland: Harp-
erCollins Publishers, 1995), 101; “Alexander the Great,”
in Command: From Alexander the Great to Zhukov—The
Greatest Commanders of World History, edited by James
Lucas (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 1988), 30–31;
Rooney, David, “Alexander the Great,” in Military Maver-
icks: Extraordinary Men of Battle (London: Cassell & Co.,
1999), 31–33.
Alfred the Great (Ælfred) (849–899) Anglo-
Saxon king
Known for his lifelong struggle to defend southern En-
gland against Danish incursions and for his efforts to
lay the foundations of an English nation, Alfred the
Great was born Ælfred sometime in 849. He was the
fourth son of Æthelwulf, the king of Wessex, and his
wife, Queen Osburh. Æthelwulf died in 858 and was
succeeded in turn by his three eldest sons: Æthelbald,
Æthelbert, and Æthelred (or Ethelred). On the accession
of Æthelred in 866, Alfred began his public life when
he was formally appointed as Æthelred’s heir. In 871,
at the age of 22, Alfred succeeded Æthelred as king of
Wessex. In the years before he became king, he married
and also fought the invading Danish forces alongside the
West Saxons and Mercians. He fought battles at Engel-
field (31 December 870), which ended in victory, and
at Reading (4 January 871), which was a defeat. On 8
January 871, he fought at Ashdown, followed by battles
on 22 January at Boring on Basing and finally on 22
March 871 at Marton, where Alfred was defeated by
the combined English-Danish forces to end what has
been dubbed by historians as “Alfred’s year of battles.”
In April 871, Æthelred died, leaving Alfred in control of
Wessex, and this part of England enjoyed relative calm
until 875, when the Danes again invaded England. Al-
fred led forces against this and similar invasions in 876
and 877, repelling all of them until the great invasion of
878, when the Danes were led by Guthrum.
In January 878, when the Danes swept secretly into
Chippenham soon after the new year, Alfred was cel-
ebrating Christmas. His forces were surprised by the at-
tack, and as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles stated, “most of
the people they reduced except the King Alfred, and he
with a little band made his way... by wood and swamp,
and after Easter he... made a fort at Athelney, and from
that fort kept fighting against the foe.” In May 878, Al-
fred and his renewed forces swept out of Athelney and
defeated the Danes at Edington in Wiltshire. Guthrum
and 29 of his chiefs accepted Christian baptism as well
as Alfred’s rule in what has been called the Peace of Wed-
more (878), establishing theoretical English authority
over an area called the Danelaw and placing Wessex and
Mercia under Alfred’s control.
Content to allow the Danelaw borders to remain in
place, Alfred set about to construct a series of fortifica-
tions at this border called “burhs” to defend his king-
dom. At least 33 of these were completed, accordingAlFReD the gReAt