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Alexander IV of Macedon, (lived 323 - 309 BC; titular King of Macedon, 323 - 309 BC), the posthumous son of Alexander the Great by his wife Roxana, a princess of Bactria, was born in 323 BC, a few months after his father's death and was immediately declared King as co-ruler with his uncle Philip III of Macedon. Neither King wielded any political influence: Philip was considered retarded and Alexander was just a infant. This resulted in the nomination of Regents ruling on their behalf and a number of his father's generals, now Satraps of major provinces, gaining enough power to act independently from the crown.During his nominal reign between 323 BC and 309 BC, four Regents acted in Alexander's name:
- Perdiccas, between 323 BC and his murder in June, 321 BC.
- Antipater, between the summer of 321 BC and the summer of 319 BC when he died of illness.
- Polyperchon, between 319 BC and 316 BC, an heir chosen by Antipater himself. OlympiasOlympias (Greek: ) (d. 316 BC) was an Epirote princess, a wife of Philip II of Macedon and the mother of Alexander the Great. According to several legends, Olympias was impregnated not by Philip, who was afraid of her and her affinity for sleeping in the, Alexander's grandmother, exerted considerable influence over Polyperchon and ordered the execution of Philip III in 317 BCCenturies: 5th century BC 4th century BC 3rd century BC Decades: 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 322 BC 321 BC 320 BC 319 BC 318 BC 317 BC 316 BC 315 BC 314 BC 313 BC 312 BC Events Battle of Paraetak.
- CassanderCassander (c. 350 297 BC), king of Macedonia ( 302 297 BC), eldest son of Antipater, first appears at the court of Alexander III at Babylon, where he defended his father against the accusations of his enemies. Having been passed over by his father in favo, Antipater's son, defeated Polyperchon's armies and captured and executed Olympias. Between 316 BC and 309 BC the Regent Cassander held the young King Alexander as a prisoner.
By 309 BC Cassander had established his power over Macedonia, but as Alexander came closer to adulthood, some people loyal to the Royal house still looked forward to his becoming King in more than name. To avoid a possible threat to his own power Cassander ordered the murder of the 14-year-old. The Royalists still supported the claim of Alexander's half-brother Heracles to the throne against Cassander.
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