WI: Alexander the Molossian survives?

[SunKing105]

For a bit of info, Alexander the Molossian was a king of Epirus who ruled from around 343/342 BC-331 BC, the brother of Olympias, son of Neoptolemus I, and uncle to Pyrrhus of Epirus. He was initially sent as a hostage to the Macedonian court, and was restored after the dethroning of his uncle Arybbas. He agreed to cement the alliance with Macedon through marrying the daughter of Philip II, Cleopatra Eurydice, but that was the wedding at which Philip II got assassinated. He went into Italy in 334 BC, agreeing to "help" the Greek cities of Italy against the Italian tribes. IOTL, he was killed in 332 BC at the Battle of Pandosia, for which he supposedly realized as the fulfillment of an oracle after previously thinking of the river in Epirus. What if the Lucanian deserters were caught, and Alexander was able to win a crushing victory at Pandosia? What impacts would an Epirote Italy have? How does this affect Rome? How does this affect the wars of the Diadochi?

 

[isabella]

For a bit of info, Alexander the Molossian was a king of Epirus who ruled from around 343/342 BC-331 BC, the brother of Olympias, son of Neoptolemus I, and uncle to Pyrrhus of Epirus. He was initially sent as a hostage to the Macedonian court, and was restored after the dethroning of his uncle Arybbas. He agreed to cement the alliance with Macedon through marrying the daughter of Philip II, Cleopatra Eurydice, but that was the wedding at which Philip II got assassinated. He went into Italy in 334 BC, agreeing to "help" the Greek cities of Italy against the Italian tribes. IOTL, he was killed in 332 BC at the Battle of Pandosia, for which he supposedly realized as the fulfillment of an oracle after previously thinking of the river in Epirus. What if the Lucanian deserters were caught, and Alexander was able to win a crushing victory at Pandosia? What impacts would an Epirote Italy have? How does this affect Rome? How does this affect the wars of the Diadochi?

Well, that would have an huge impact on both Epirus and Macedonia, both before the death of Alexander (as Alexander still alive and ruling Epirus would have likely a big impact in the conflict between Olympias and Antipater) and after if. I find pretty unlikely who with Alexander in Epirus, Olympias and Antipater’s conflict would exasperate at the point to force Alexander to send back Craterus as replacement as regent for Antipater (if the situation still go at hell I can see Alexander of Epirus taking Macedonian’s government in name of his nephew as, while he is NOT Macedonian, he is Alexander’s uncle and brother-in-law and the only son-in-law of Philip II still alive) so Craterus would be either in Babylon with Alexander or in another city of the Empire (likely Susa or whatever Queen Stateira and her grandmother Sisygambis were based) instead of being in the midlle of the transfer between Asia and Macedonia if Alexander and Hephaestion still die as OTL. That would mean who Craterus will be able to take the regency for Alexander III’s heir (at that point either an unborn child of Stateira, OTL Alexander IV or Neoptolemus of Epirus (who married to his cousin Adea would be likely proposed and accepted over his uncle Arridhaeus)