Paraitakene

[?], 317 BC
Strategic Context
As Alexander the Great lays dying in 323 BC, he is asked who should inherit his vast empire to which he
reportedly answers: “the strongest.” Alexander’s chief of staff, Perdiccas, assumes the role of interim ruler as
he attempts to hold the Macedonian Empire together until Alexander’s young son is old enough to rule. This

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arrangement quickly falls apart when many of Alexander’s former generals, now satraps (the Diadochi) rebel,
including Craterus, Antipater, Ptolemy, and Antigonus. Perdiccas orders Eumenes, chancellor and also one of
Alexander’s former generals, to guard Anatolia while he attacks Ptolemy in Egypt. Eumenes defeats and kills
Craterus at the Battle of Hellespont in 321 BC, but Perdiccas is assassinated by Peithon, Seleucus, and

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Antipater. The Diadochi declare Eumenes an outlaw and send Antigonus to destroy him and the regime’s
remaining power base. Eumenes retreats to Mesopotamia, hoping to draw on the resources and support of
satraps in the east still loyal to the regime.

Stakes
+ An Antigonid victory would further
destabilize Eumenes’ tenuous hold on the No Image
eastern satraps of Alexander’s former
empire. Available
+ A Eumenid victory would solidify his
command while provoking dissent in the
Diadochi alliances and territories.

By Jonathan Webb, 2015

 Paraitakene, 317 BC
Strength

 Antigonids  Eumenids

 Antigonus I  Eumenes

 28,000 heavy infantry  17,000 heavy

 10,000 light infantry  18,000
infantry light infantry
 8,500 cavalry  6,300 cavalry
 65 war elephants  114 war elephants

 Well  Well

By Jonathan Webb, 2015

Western Asia c. 318 BC
The battlefield consists of a gradually sloping open plain with rough hills on two sides.

Antigonids
(Antigonus)

Eumenids
(Eumenes)
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Antigonus
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Antigonids Peithon
(Antigonus)
Antigonus

Antigonids Eumenids
Heavy infantry Heavy infantry
Light infantry Light infantry
Cavalry Cavalry
Light cavalry Light cavalry
Eumenids
Antigonids
War elephants War elephants
(Eumenes)
(Antigonus) Eumenes
Antigenes
17,000 heavy infantry
28,000 Eudamos

18,000 light infantry

10,000
6,300 cavalry
8,500 Symbol guide

114war
65 warelephants
elephants Eumenids
(Eumenes)
 Paraitakene, 317 BC
Casualties & Aftermath
Antigonids: Eumenids:

7,700 1,540
or or
17% 4%
Both sides went into winter quarters after this battle, waiting until the following year for the decisive Battle of
Gabiene, in which Eumenes was defeated and killed by the treachery of his own men. The Diadochi then
agreed to rule their respective domains until Alexander’s son came of age. Antigonus’ victory in 316 BC left him
as the most powerful Diadochi in control of much of the former Macedonian Empire’s troops and resources,
leading the other Diadochi to form an alliance against him. In 310 BC, Alexander’s son and remaining wife are
assassinated, leading to a fierce struggle for control among the Diadochi. In 301 BC, Seleucus and
Lysimachos defeated Antigonus and Demetrius at the Battle of Ipsus but even this massive battle decided very
little. The last clash among the Diadochi occured in 283 BC between Seleucus and Lysimachos, which left
Seleucus ruler of Alexander’s empire for a brief three years before he too was killed.

By Jonathan Webb, 2015

 The Art of Battle:
Animated Battle Maps
http://www.theartofbattle.com

By Jonathan Webb, 2015