Ipsus : Stepping Stone of Seleucid Empire

Battle of Ipsus (301 BC) was the main and final battle of Fourth  Diadochi War between the successor kingdoms of Alexander the great's empire. This battle was the end of Antigonus I Monophthalmus's influence and life. After this battle the Antigonid dynasty survived but lost the dominance they had before. The battle was fought between Antigonus and his son Demetrius against the coalition forces of Cassander, Lysimachus and Seleucus.

Battle of Ipsus

Prelude : After Alexander's death his empire was divided between his generals. Soon the rulers started fighting each other for more territory. After three Diadochi wars, Antigonus became the most powerful. After a series of conflicts with other rulers he expanded his territories in Asia and Greece. His next target was Macedonia under the rule of Cassander. After some humiliating defeat by the hand of Demetrius, Antigonus's son, he feared about the fall of Macedon. So, he sought help from Lysimachus, who got Thrace as his share of the empire. They were afraid about the growing power of Antigonus. So, asked other rulers of the successor kingdoms to join in a coalition against Antigonus. Ptolemy and Seleucus were invited. Ptolemy accepted it and mobilized his troops. Lysimachus invaded Asia with his army and captured a vast territory in Syria. Cassender also sent a portion of his army with the invasion force. After getting the news of invasion Antigonus quickly mobilized his troops to face Lysimachus. Lysimachus avoided  the battle and was waiting for Seleucus's reply. Seleucus was in the eastern region of his kingdom fighting Chandragupta Maurya. The war didn't go well for him and he had to give up his Indian territories in exchange of 500 Indian war elephants. In his return path the messenger reached him and he marched towards Lysimachus to join him. Hearing the news of Seleucus's joining in the coalition, Antigonus called for his son Demetrius in Greece. Demetrius joined his father where as Seleucus joined Lysimachus and both armies retreated to their winter quarters. After the end of winter they met in battle near Ipsus (Near Phrygia).

Successor Kingdoms Before Ipsus

Armies : The Antigonid army was around 70000 infantry and 10000 cavalry with 70 war elephants. While the allied army had nearly 64000 infantry, 15000 cavalry, 100 Scythed chariots and the war elephants Seleucus brought with him.

The Battle : Both armies deployed their forces with infantry in middle and cavalry on the flanks. Antigonus deployed his all elephants in front of infantry line. Seleucus also did that but he kept the major portion of his elephants in reserve. The Antigonid army was much more experienced compared to the allied army. The battle started with the elephant charge from both sides. After that both armies advanced their infantry line to meet each other. Demetrius was on the right flank with his cavalry. He attacked the allied left flank. Soon the allied left flank was routed and Demetrius was in hot pursuit. Antigonus was on the left flank of his army and attacked by Lysimachus. The allied center was started to crumble under heavy pressure from more experienced Antigonid center. At that moment Seleucus played his masterstroke. He saw that Demetrius was returning after chasing the allied cavalry. He intercepted Demetrius with his reserve elephants. Demetrius failed to pass that barricade of elephants and was unable to return to the fight in center. Then Seleucus attacked the Antigonid center from the right side with his light ranged cavalry. The Antigonid line soon broke and the infantry routed after taking heavy losses. After that Seleucus attacked Antigonus who was still hoping that Demetrius would return and turn the tide of battle. Soon the remaining soldiers were killed including Antigonus himself at the age of 81.

Aftermath : This battle ended the Antigonid dominance but the Diadochi Wars continued. We can say this battle was the stepping stone of Seleucid empire. Seleucus soon expanded his territory in most of the Asian parts of Alexander's empire and the conflict with other rulers started again. Demetrius fled to Greece and still continued fighting and eventually took Macedon. I will cover the main battles of Diadochi Wars in my future posts.

Seleucus I Nicator