soon as she could get him into her power. She had
always hated Antipater, and now took part with Polysperchon against
Cassander; but this was the losing side. Polysperchon was beaten, and
driven out of Macedon: and she, with her grandson and his mother, the
Persian princess Roxana, shut themselves up in Pydna, where Cassander
besieged them till he had starved them out, and Olympias surrendered on
condition that her life was spared; but Cassander did not keep his word,
and sent soldiers to put her to death. The young king and his mother
were kept at Amphipolis till the boy was sixteen years old; and then,
growing afraid that he would try to win his father's throne, Cassander
had them both slain.

So the great empire of Alexander was broken up among four chief powers,
Cassander in Macedon, Lysimachus in Thrace, Seleucus in Syria, Ptolemy in
Egypt.

[Picture: Greek women]

CHAP. XXXII.--THE FOUR NEW KINGDOMS. B.C. 311-287.

[Picture: Decorative chapter heading]

There was a mighty power coming up against Cassander. One of Alexander's
old generals, named Antigonus, the "One-eyed," had received some Asiatic
provinces for his share in the break-up of the empire, and when Perdiccas
set out on his return was appointed commander in his stead in the East;
and again, when Antipater died, Polysperchon renewed his appointment;
while Eumenes, an honest and good man, was the regent upheld by
Cassander's party. In 316 a battle was fought at Gabiene, in which
Eumenes was defeated. He was given up to Antigonus by his own troops,
and as the victor could not bear to kill his old comrade, he left him in
prison to be starved to death.

Then Antigonus took possession of all the treasures in Ecbatana and
Babylon, and began to call Seleucus in Syria to account for his dealings
with the revenues of the empire. Seleucus fled into Egypt; and all the
four chiefs, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Cassander joined together
to put down Antigonus and his brave and able son, Demetrius. There was
war everywhere, until in 311 peace was made, on condition that the Greek
cities should be set free, and that Antigonus should have the whole
government of Asia Minor, Seleucus of Syria, Ptolemy of Egypt, Cassander
of Macedon, and Lysimachus of Thrace, till the young Alexander was old
enough to govern; but, as we have seen, Cassander murdered him when he
was only sixteen, and the old family of