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     The Hellenistic Kingdoms

The Hellenistic Kingdoms

Although Alexander's generals at first attempted to maintain a unified continuance of the Greek empire, Alexander's empires was soon divided into smaller governable regions. The more important of Alexanders successors were Antipater and his son Cassander, who gained control of Macedonia; Lysimachus who ruled in Thrace; Ptolemy I who secured Egypt; and Antigonus I whose base of operations was Asia. By 280, three of the dynasties were well established: the Ptolemaic in Egypt, the Seleucid from Persia across Syria to Asia, and the Antigonid now controlling Macedonia. By the end of the third century BC the shadow of Rome was falling across the eastern Mediterranean. Rome fought its First Macedonian War in 215. The last of the Hellenistic kingdoms to be absorbed by Rome was Egypt in 30 BC, at which time the Hellenistic Age passed into the Roman