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Alexander, Seleucus, and Antiochus I sought to establish their rule in foreign lands by bringing in a significant number of Greeks, estimated at around 100,000 families. However, their ambition for complete cultural fusion fell short, contributing to the eventual disintegration of the kingdom. Nevertheless, western civilization found a lasting presence in Syria, particularly in the cities of Antioch, Laodicea, and Apamea, which became the pride and nerve center of the Seleucid kingdom.

Antioch rapidly expanded Fragmentation and the Spread of Hellenism, boasting a population between 90,000 and 150,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city globally, surpassed only by Alexandria in Egypt. Seleucia on the Tigris River replaced Babylon as the largest city in Iraq and served as the empire’s second capital, influencing commerce and dominating the economy of a vast region due to its strategic geographic location

The battle of Ipsus, in line with the prophecy in Daniel 8, saw Greece conquering Persia only to fragment into four secondary kingdoms. Another generation of conflict was needed to reduce the number to three.

Greece and Macedonia

After Cassander’s death, Demetrius briefly seized Greece and Macedonia, only to be ousted by Lysimachus and Pyrrhus. Demetrius surrendered to Seleucus and spent his last days imprisoned. Ptolemy, remarkably, died of natural causes in 283 Wars Among the Diadochi. Lysimachus and Seleucus later turned against each other, with Lysimachus killed in single combat at Corupedium. As Seleucus crossed to Europe for Macedonia, he was assassinated upon disembarking. Antigonus II, Demetrius’s son, later took Macedonia, bringing a semblance of peace, as all of Alexander’s successors were deceased.

Amid the discord, the diffusion of Greek culture, known as Hellenism, emerged as a success stor

Two years after Antipater’s death, chaos returned. Cassander asserted control over Macedonia and Greece, while Antigonus ousted Eumenes from the east. Antigonus then aimed for Babylon, expelled Seleucus, and pursued Eumenes to Iran, where betrayal led to Eumenes’s demise in 316.

Antigonus, eyeing sole rule, enjoyed initial success. Propaganda and his son Demetrius captured Greece from Cassander, and he consolidated power in the Aegean. Yet, open ambition united rivals against him. In 312, Ptolemy defeated Demetrius Cultural Dynamics in the Wake of Alexander’s Empire, while Seleucus reclaimed Babylon and initiated a decade-long eastern campaign.

Antigonus crowned

A truce in 311 was short-lived. By then, Alexander’s family met violent ends. Antigonus crowned himself king in 306, prompting Ptolemy and Seleucus to follow suit. Demetrius, despite naval triumphs, failed at bes