Page:A General Sketch of Political History from the Earlist Times.djvu/78

 66 THE GLORY OF GREECE AND RISE OF ROME northern part of which a great king named Chandragupta was setting up a powerful empire. He contented himself, however, by making a treaty with that monarch, since he was more anxious to secure his dominion in Western Asia. He was the founder of the famous town of Antioch, which he named after his father Antiochus ; a city which became the real capital of the Syrian dominion. Antiochus was one of the favourite names of this dynasty. Antiochus Hi., sur- named the Great, was unsuccessful in a war with Egypt, but carried his arms far to the east, and renewed the friendship of Seleucus and the Indian Emperor Chandra- gupta with Chandragupta's successor Subhagasena, about the beginning of the second century B.C. But from this point the history of Western Asia comes into the current of Roman history. We return then to Europe at the death of Alexander the Great. Alexander had left behind as regent in Macedonia a general named Antipater. While the king was winning an empire, attempts were made by various Greek states to shake off the Macedonian yoke, but without success. Macedon. J The Conqueror's death led to a renewal of these attempts known as the Lamian War, but again they were unsuccessful. The death of Antipater led to a long contest for the kingdom of Macedon. The most famous of the competitors was Demetrius Poliorcetes, the 'besieger/ who won the crown for a time but was driven out again. Then for a time the celebrated soldier Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, shared the monarchy, which was divided, but he was turned out again after six months. Soon afterwards a member of the house of Ptolemy got himself acknowledged as King of Macedon. During his exceedingly brief rule the Celts or Gauls made their incursion into Greece, after which they retired eastwards and established themselves in Galatia. Finally, Antigonus Gonatas secured the throne for himself, and his dynasty reigned in Macedon until its final overthrow by the Romans. All this time, whoever was King of Macedonia, none of the Greek states was able to break away. None in fact was