After Alexander: Two Chiliarchs Are Not Enough

This is great. I'm waiting for things to end in disaster. :D

Yeah, something tells me this is just bound to backfire on Hephaestion...Craterus still controls a sizable amount of troops in Cilicia and could well choose to turn on Hephaestion....the soldiers love him too and might not be too happy about Persians being appointed to strong positions of power.

It will be interesting to see how this develops. Great start Velasco.
 
A well written and interesting start. Subscribed, and hellenistophilically hoping this tl isn't too overshadowed.

Thank you :) How do you mean overshadowed - by the Persian influence?

Great start, I'll be reading this. Subscribed.

Hephaestion definitely has been more heavy-handed in power than Perdiccas was IOTL.

Hephaestion is certainly being heavy-handed... and I doubt the Macedonians are pleased with all the Persians being so close to power...

Thank you! And yes - being a skilled strategist he knows better than to be coy or shy about flexing his political muscles and imposing his will. The sharks are circling and bold demonstrations of power are one way of fending them off...perhaps... :cool::eek:

Naturally expediency will dictate how strict his adherence to Alexander's policies (fantasies?) will be - for now, a Persian kinsman makes more sense as satrap of Egypt than one of the would-be diadochi.

Uh, the entire problem is that it's unfriendly barbarian Roxana who's had the boy and noble civilized Stateira (also Hephaestion's sister-in-law) who's had the useless girl. Things would be going much more smoothly for Hephaestion if only Roxana had died in childbirth or something.

Yeah for whatever reason I misread it as Roxana having a girl (as a POD) and Stateira having the boy, I think because I assumed that would happen ITTL. Roxana having a daughter would be less threatening and less useless for Hephaestion.

Roxana having a girl, or dying, seemed like a fairly obvious "safe" way to tie things up, which actually made me decide against it :D Here she is the young, single, attractive mother of Alexander's only definite blood heir. Stateira on the other hand produced a girl - yet another female Argead for Hephaestion to worry about, being that whoever kidnaps-rapes-impregnates any one of them (Alexander had three single sisters and two nieces) can lay claim both to the throne or to the Regency.

Good work , Hephaiston (at least by OTL standards) and take courage. I have hopes that useless princess will be important later.

Can't help wondering if Cassander is lurking under a trap door TTL?

Cassander has just arrived at court and isn't much of a major player, other than the local representative of his mighty father. Hephaestion has just confirmed Antipater in his position, so for now there ought to be no animosity between them. How long this state of affairs will last is anyone's guess :p

This is great. I'm waiting for things to end in disaster. :D

Another Alexander Timeline! Make me proud! :D

Also less exciting for us readers! Who wants a Hephaestnian Empire with no hurdles, raise your hands!
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*crickets*

:D :D :D :D :D

Yeah, something tells me this is just bound to backfire on Hephaestion...Craterus still controls a sizable amount of troops in Cilicia and could well choose to turn on Hephaestion....the soldiers love him too and might not be too happy about Persians being appointed to strong positions of power.

It will be interesting to see how this develops. Great start Velasco.

Thank you!

For whatever undocumented reason Craterus wasn't the one sent westward with Polyperchon to unseat Antipater - Seleucus went instead (although he has now been recalled and replaced with Nearchus). Nearchus, being the son-in-law of Barsine, has every reason to court Hephaestion's good graces, in the hope of seeing his brother-in-law Herakles seated on the throne and profit accordingly.
 
Thank you!

For whatever undocumented reason Craterus wasn't the one sent westward with Polyperchon to unseat Antipater - Seleucus went instead (although he has now been recalled and replaced with Nearchus). Nearchus, being the son-in-law of Barsine, has every reason to court Hephaestion's good graces, in the hope of seeing his brother-in-law Herakles seated on the throne and profit accordingly.

Hmmm. It will still be interesting to see what Craterus does-hes both in a less advantageous position and a more advantageous position at the same time-less advantageous because he isnt far away controlling a veteran army, and more advantageous because hes right in the thick of things...


Seleukus might also make a power play too....or he may play nice with Hephaestion for the time being and bide his time....This is why I love this period so much-there's so much creative freedom and so many variables that literally anything is possible once Alexander bites the dust.
 
Chapter II. - Babylon Weddings 322BC

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The Chiliarch had soon conceived the notion of heading west and securing the eastern Mediterranean seaboard from Egypt to Macedon. While later writers would romanticize the project, conjuring up sentimental images of the grieving Chiliarch seeking solace in the icy embrace of the queen mother Olympias, Hephaestion’s motivations were indubitably political first and foremost. Far-flung Macedon was still the putative heart of the Empire: the regent Antipater's authority in Greece had grown obnoxiously strong even for Alexander, how much more so for mere Hephaestion. Alexander’s sisters and nieces were also a liability: any enterprising adventurer could annex any one of them, obtaining a claim to the Regency and throne and providing Hephaestion’s enemies with a figure to rally around. Unrest and dissension had broken out upon Alexander’s death, and while circumstances - namely, the royal pregnancies - had kept Hephaestion some months in Babylon, the birth of the royal prince and princess had left him free to set out for whichever province required attention.

More importantly, however, the birth of the royal prince had compelled Hephaestion to reevaluate the security of his own position as Chiliarch and prostates (guardian) of the King. The baby boy’s mere existence was sufficient for any mediocre oratorian to whip up the army into a dangerous frenzy - the boy’s mother sufficiently nubile to ally herself with such a man and wield him, together with her father and the other satraps of the East, with enough force to shatter Hephaestion’s regency and drive him and his out of Persia altogether. It was not a threat to be taken lightly - certainly not one he could coexist with for any length of time. Roxana had grown accustomed to power; no sooner had she borne her babe than she set about seeking a suitable match for herself with one of Alexander's generals.

The solution readily presented itself: forestalling any potential rivals, Hephaestion wed Roxana himself, thus securing the unwavering loyalty of her Sogdian and Bactrian kin and the undisputed right to her infant son. Roxana was thus rendered harmless and deprived of any aid she might have expected from her father or his people.

It was simultaneously expedient to bolster Arrhidaios' legitimacy as King: Hephaestion gave him the throne name Philip and united him in marriage with Stateira II, sister of Hephaestion's first wife and another widow of Alexander. Arrhidaios’ idiocy bestowed his consort with far greater power than was customarily inherent to the position - Stateira was loyal to Hephaestion and grateful for a marriage that assured her comfort, security and preeminence. As Stateira's closest male kinsman, Hephaestion obtained a double claim to the Regency. Now no one could attempt to usurp power by manoeuvring some pliable wench into Arrhidaios' side; nor could anyone deny the Regency to the step-father of the royal heir. Shortly afterward Hephaestion also took Barsine into his household, securing the guardianship of her child and seeking thus the good will of her powerful relations in Asia Minor; as a precautionary measure the remaining widow of Alexander, Parysatis II, kept her place at court and was also nominally united to Arrhidaios.

Thinking his own position now secured, Hephaestion set about organizing the latest recruits from Persia and preparing for the coming march. If at all possible he hoped to show up in Europe unexpected and unopposed, to set both Olympias and Antipater under his thumb and settle affairs as seemed best to him. Several pretexts presented themselves for his westward progress - the intended conquest of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia, or otherwise of Carthage; even the burial of Alexander in the traditional resting place of the Argead kings, should the Chiliarch venture so far as to contravene the late King’s expressed desire to be buried at his divine father Ammon’s oracle at Siwa in the desert. Events were soon to overtake these preparations however.

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Reaction to the Babylon weddings was far more negative than Hephaestion had anticipated. Neither Antipater nor Olympias were pleased. The same officers who had insisted he take the throne now chaffed at his brazen and untoward usurpation of basileia. Some among the Macedonian host took to sarcastically calling him Eutychus ("fortunate"), a biting commentary on how he had seemingly profited from the death of his former beloved.

His detractors in Babylon were led by the capable and ambitious Craterus, an older and more experienced general whose unwavering loyalty to Alexander had seen the late King dub him Philobasileus ("friend of the King" or "the King-loving"). While Hephaestion had been simultaneously nicknamed Philalexandros ("friend of Alexander" or "the Alexander-loving"), Craterus maintained his own individual claim to a special bond of trust with Alexander. Indeed, he had originally been chosen by Alexander to replace Antipater as the ruler of Greece, Macedon and Thrace; it was only his ill health that had resulted in the nomination of Seleucus to the office. Craterus opted to understand this substitution as a temporary state of affairs - Hephaestion's confirmation of Antipater's rule was, to him, nothing more than a direct offense on his person and honour.

Craterus therefore lead the charge of Alexander's generals and officers who encumbered Hephaestion daily with supplications for a redistribution of satrapies amongst them. They were sour that Hephaestion had advanced several Orientals, all the while keeping them in the tedious and rather humiliating service of the idiot Arrhidaios. They expressed their outrage by hounding Histanes, brother of Roxana, whom Hephaestion had promoted to a position of command over the elite Persian units, and demanding the execution of Ochus, the young son of Darius whom Alexander had seen fit to spare[1]. Histanes for his part did little to meliorate the situation - emboldened by his sister's marriage and his nephew's birth, he went to great pains in order to ingratiate himself with Hephaestion, hoping that once the latter inevitably seized the throne he might have the Chiliarchy himself. His efforts paid off when Hephaestion named him satrap of Babylonia and charged him with the planned reconstruction of the Esagila temple complex.

Things reached boiling point when a drunken Histanes publicly accused Iollas and Cassander, the sons of Antipater, as well as Medius (the lover of Iollas and the man at whose banquet Alexander had fallen fatally ill) of poisoning the late King. Hephaestion dismissed the accusations as drunken words spoken late into a banquet and Histanes suffered no punishment. When Craterus' demands for punishment were not met, the army erupted into a great clamour - some baying for the blood of Iollas and Cassander, others for that of Histanes.​

Notes:
[1] According to Curtius a grandson of Sisygambis outlived Alexander long enough to try (unsuccessfully) to console her upon Alexander's death.
 
Hephaestion has overreached- and Craterus seems poised to lead a Macedonian coup against the Chiliarch. If there's anything After Actium has taught us, it's that just marrying these women is no guarantee of safety, especially since they can remarry (like, oh, let's say, Cleopatra.)

Good update!
 
Hephaestion has overreached- and Craterus seems poised to lead a Macedonian coup against the Chiliarch. If there's anything After Actium has taught us, it's that just marrying these women is no guarantee of safety, especially since they can remarry (like, oh, let's say, Cleopatra.)

Good update!

Thanks! And indeed. Especially when there's so many marriageable women bearing the oh-so-precious aura of basileia spread out over 2 continents...
 
They expressed their outrage by hounding Histanes, brother of Roxana, whom Hephaestion had promoted to a position of command over the elite Persian units, and demanding the execution of Ochus, the young son of Darius whom Alexander had seen fit to spare.

So they might be said to be anti-Ochus?
 
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