Macedonian Stability

Assume that Alexander the great lives a few decades longer, has competent heirs, and competent rulers for the empire. How far and how long would his empire be? And what would be the cultural impacts
 
Probably Alexander's empire will not last many generations. Leastly it can't expand anymore what it was on its zenith in OTL. There will be much internal rebels during next decades and Macedonia hardly is able handle situation. And rising Rome and Carthage might be pretty nervous with Macedonian Empire.
 
We already had some threads about this question. Some people speculated, that Alexander would conquer Arabia next, as perhaps already planned. And from there go to Africa and Italy.

I doubt, Alexander would even conquer Arabia. He would be immediately busy to really administrate this huge empire he had established provisorily, and fight with all the issues, intrigues, local riots and usurpations. The real hard work for an emperor started exactly now, when he was back to Babylon. As the history of the Seleucids, the Asarcids and the Sassanids shows clearly. And I doubt, Alexander was willing to face this challenge and commit himself to this hard job.

If Alexander ignores the need to actually rule his empire and prefers to hurl himself into the next adventure, his empire would break into pieces sooner or later and he is enforced to go back and deal with it. Hence, he would never see Carthago or Rome. Perhaps even not Arabia Felix.

Alexander had the mercy of an early death. He never had to prove, that he is not just a genious and brave general, but also a competent ruler. Even if he proves to be a competent ruler, stays in Babylon and faces the challenge, he and his hopefully also competent descendants would have a very hard time to keep this empire together.
 
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Only five more years of life for Alexader will change without any doubt all our world: Alexander wanted integration between his Greeks/Magedonians and the Persians and many of his action in the latest period of his life had this goal.
If Alexander live longer then his generlas and officers will have children from the Persian brides he gave them at Susa and that will force the integration of the two aristocracies and Alexander himself will likely have an heir able to keep the most of Empire intact... Roxane was not of so high rank to have the support and the power base who Alexander's other two brides had: a son of Stateira, likely Alexander's intended Queen, or Parysatis will be a descendent of the Persian Emperors who maybe will lose the Greece and Macedonia (to his half-uncle) but will be likely to have the support for not being a puppet in the hands of the Diadochi.
 
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