Partition of Babylon

The Partition of Babylon designates the attribution of the territories of Alexander the Great between his generals after his death in 323 BC. The phrase is a proper name formulated by scholars in English in the late 19th century. For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1885 presents it as one of a trio occurring sequentially in the period: “The list of satrapies at this period is known from the records of the partitions of Babylon (323), Triparadisus (321), and Persepolis (315).” “Partition” as presented by the name does not mean that Babylon was politically partitioned, but rather the same convention is applied as in the naming of a treaty, after the location where the agreement was reached. It was reached at Babylon, Triparadisus, or Persepolis.

Territorial boundaries were to remain in question for the rest of the century, until 300BC. The two main sources on the “Partition of Babylon” use equivocal language concerning it. According to Diodorus Siculus, a coalition of factions in the army "established" (kathestesan) that Arridaeus, son of Philip, should be king, and his name changed to Philip.Perdiccas, “to whom the dying king had given his finger-ring,” was to be "caretaker" (epimeletes). The most worthy of the companions were to "succeed" (paralabein) to the satrapies, and obey the king and Perdiccas. Alexander and Philip before him had not merely been kings, they were "leaders" (hegemones) in the League of Corinth. Perdiccas was not merely to be the king’s manager, he was to succeed to the Hegemony, which apparently the king did not. "Holding a council" (sunedreusas) as Hegemon, he assigned the various satrapies.

A catalogue of assignments follows. To this point it appears to be a list of successions, or promotions. Then Diodorus says: “the satrapies were partitioned (emeristhesan) in this way.” The word is based on “part” (meros). It isn’t the Companions who are being promoted to Satraps, but the satrapies that are being divided and distributed to the Companions, which is a different concept. Satraps who own their satrapies do not need a king. Quintus Curtius Rufus, who wrote more extensively about the transition, says much the same thing. Holding a “council of the chief men” (consilium principum virorum); that is, the sunedrion, Perdiccas divides the imperium, or “Empire,” between the top rank (summa) held by the king and the satrapes. He clarifies, “the empire having been divided into parts” (divisis imperii partibus), or partitioned between individuals who could defend or choose to expand them. He points out that those who a little before had been ministri under the king now fought to expand their own “kingdoms” (regna) under the mask of fighting for the empire.

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