City and Empire in the Age of the Successors: Urbanization and Social Response in the Making of the Hellenistic Kingdoms

In the chaotic decades after the death of Alexander the Great, the world of the Greek city—state became deeply embroiled in the political struggles and unremitting violence of his successors’ contest for supremacy. As these presumptive rulers turned to the practical reality of administering the disparate territories under their control, they increasingly developed new cities by merging smaller settlements into large urban agglomerations. This practice of synoikism gave rise to many of the m...