Partition of Alexander's empire[edit]

Main article: Diadochi
Alexander, who quickly conquered the Persian Empire under its last Achaemenid dynast, Darius III,
died young in 323 BC, leaving an expansive empire of partly Hellenised culture without an adult heir.
The empire was put under the authority of a regent in the person of Perdiccas, and the territories
were divided among Alexander's generals, who thereby became satraps, at the Partition of Babylon,
all in that same year.

Rise of Seleucus[edit]
Alexander's generals (the Diadochi) jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire. Ptolemy, a
former general and the satrap of Egypt, was the first to challenge the new system; this led to the
demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemy's revolt led to a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of
Triparadisus in 320 BC. Seleucus, who had been "Commander-in-Chief of the Companion cavalry"
(hetairoi) and appointed first or court chiliarch (which made him the senior officer in the Royal Army
after the regent and commander-in-chief Perdiccas since 323 BC, though he helped to assassinate
him later) received Babylonia and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly.
Seleucus established himself in Babylon in 312 BC, the year used as the foundation date of the
Seleucid Empire.