ABSTRACT
The idea of partitioning the Empire cannot have occurred to any of the great leaders who deliberated in Babylon after Alexander’s death. Keen as were the ambitions of each one, they were Macedonians, and cannot have thought of undoing the work of Macedonia. Moreover, Alexander had heirs, and loyalty to the royal family was strong, if not in the generals, at least in the soldiers. Lastly, there was about the idea of a single Empire a grandeur which still exercised its attraction, and we shall see that idea holding its ground for a score of years, amidst the bitterest conflicts, against all the forces of dissolution. Even when the Empire was dismembered, the memory of it remained alive, and the feeling that every kingdom was part of a larger whole compelled the kings, through all their quarrels, to have a sense of mutual duty and to treat each other with a certain consideration. 2
