Antigonus I Monophthalmus in the context of "Stratonice (wife of Antigonus)"

The Antigonid dynasty (/ænˈtɪɡoʊnɪd/; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγονίδαι) was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the kingdom of Macedon during the Hellenistic period. Founded by Antigonus I Monophthalmus, a general and successor of Alexander the Great, the dynasty first came to power after the Battle of Salamis in 306 BC and ruled much of Hellenistic Greece from 294 until their defeat at the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC (Third Macedonian War), after which Macedon came under the control of the Roman Republic.

The wars of the Diadochi witnessed the fall of the Argead dynasty in Macedon resulting in a power vacuum, which the Antigonid and Antipatrid dynasties sought to occupy. The Antigonid family first rose to power when Demetrius I Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I, ousted Cassander's governor of Athens in 306 BC giving his father control over a land spanning from the Aegean Sea to the Middle East. Despite the subsequent instability and loss of the Asian territory, the family managed to maintain its power in mainland Greece and the islands, with Antigonus II Gonatas ultimately solidifying Antigonid rule over Hellenistic Macedon –a territory also known as the Antigonid Empire. Antigonus III Doson further expanded Macedonian influence in southern Greece reestablishing the Hellenic Alliance with himself as the president. Under Philip V, Antigonid Macedon first came into conflict with Rome, which had become a decisive power in the eastern Mediterranean. In the second century BC, the last Antigonid king, Perseus, became known as the champion of Greek resistance against Rome, albeit Rome's control over Antigonid Greece began to steadily expand, culminating in the fall of the dynasty in 168.

The Diadochi were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Wars of the Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River Valley.

The most notable Diadochi include Ptolemy, Antigonus, Cassander, and Seleucus as the last remaining at the end of the Wars of the Successors, ruling in Egypt, Asia-Minor, Macedon and Persia respectively, with Ptolemaic, Antigonid and Seleucid dynasties lasting several centuries.

Demetrius I Poliorcetes (/dɪˈmiːtriəs pɒliɔːrˈsiːtiːz/; Greek: Δημήτριος Πολιορκητής, Dēmḗtrios Poliorkētḗs, lit. 'the Besieger of Cities'; 337 – 283 BC) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, and his wife Stratonice, as well as the first member of the family to rule Macedon in Hellenistic Greece.

In 307 BC, Demetrius successfully ousted Cassander's governor of Athens and after defeating Ptolemy I at the Battle of Salamis (306 BC) he gave his father the title of basileus ("king") over a land spanning from the Aegean Sea to the Middle East. He acquired the title Poliorcetes ("the besieger") after the unsuccessful siege of Rhodes in 305. While Antigonus I and Demetrius planned a revival of the Hellenic League with themselves as dual hegemons, a coalition of the diadochi; Cassander, Seleucus I, Ptolemy I, and Lysimachus defeated the two at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, in which Antigonus I was killed and the Asian territory of his empire was lost. In 294, Demetrius managed to successfully seize control of Athens and establish himself as king of Macedon. He ruled until 288 when he was eventually driven out by Pyrrhus and Lysimachus and later surrendered to Seleucus I in Cilicia, dying there in 283. After a long period of instability, Demetrius's son, Antigonus II Gonatas, managed to solidify the dynasty in the kingdom and establish its hegemony over much of Hellenistic Greece.

The Battle of Salamis in 306 BC took place off Salamis, Cyprus between the fleets of Ptolemy I of Egypt and Antigonus I Monophthalmus, two of the Diadochi, the generals who, after the death of Alexander the Great, fought each other for control of his empire.

Cyprus had been seized by Ptolemy, and was used as a base for operations against the Antigonid territories in Asia Minor and the Levant. In 306 BC, Antigonus sent his son Demetrius to invade the island, which was defended by Ptolemy's brother Menelaus. After landing on the northeastern part of the island, Demetrius marched to Salamis, defeated Menelaus in a battle, and laid siege to the city. This was the first time where Demetrius demonstrated his flair for siege warfare, which would later earn him the sobriquet Poliorcetes, "the Besieger". Nevertheless, Menelaus held off Demetrius' attacks until the arrival of reinforcements. Ptolemy led a large-scale rescue expedition in person, hoping to catch Demetrius between his own forces and those of Menelaus, sallying forth from Salamis. Demetrius took a calculated risk by leaving only a small force to impede Menelaus, and focusing the bulk of his forces against Ptolemy. The ensuing battle was a complete victory for Demetrius, who destroyed or captured much of Ptolemy's fleet and army. After the battle, Menelaus and his men surrendered, and the rest of Cyprus was captured by Demetrius. In the wake of this victory, Antigonus assumed the royal title that had been vacant since the murder of Alexander's underage son. This act influenced the other Diadochi to follow and imitate Antigonus and Demetrius. Soon after the battle, most Diadochi officially assumed the kingship.

Seleucus I Nicator (/sɪˈluːkəs/; Greek: Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ, Séleukos Nikátōr, "Seleucus the Victorious"; c. 358 BC – 281 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the eponymous Seleucid Empire, led by the Seleucid dynasty. Initially a secondary player in the power struggles following Alexander's death, Seleucus rose to become the total ruler of Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Iranian plateau, assuming the title of basileus (king). The Seleucid Empire was one of the major powers of the Hellenistic world, until it was overcome by the Roman Republic and Parthian Empire in the late second and early first centuries BC.

While serving under Alexander, Seleucus was commander of the Hypaspistai, an elite Macedonian infantry unit. After the death of Alexander in June 323 BC, Seleucus initially supported Perdiccas, the regent of Alexander's empire, and was appointed Commander of the Companions and chiliarch at the Partition of Babylon in 323 BC. However, after the outbreak of the Wars of the Diadochi in 322, Perdiccas' military failures against Ptolemy in Egypt led to the mutiny of his troops in Pelusium. Perdiccas was betrayed and assassinated in a conspiracy by Seleucus, Peithon and Antigenes in Pelusium sometime in either 321 or 320 BC. At the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC, Seleucus was appointed Satrap of Babylon under the new regent Antipater. But almost immediately, the wars between the Diadochi resumed and one of the most powerful of the Diadochi, Antigonus, forced Seleucus to flee Babylon. Seleucus was only able to return to Babylon in 312 BC with the support of Ptolemy. From 312 BC, Seleucus ruthlessly expanded his dominions and eventually conquered the Persian and Median lands. Seleucus ruled not only Babylonia, but the entire eastern part of Alexander's empire.

The Battle of Ipsus (Ancient Greek: Ἱψός) was fought between some of the Diadochi (the successors of Alexander the Great) in 301 BC near the town of Ipsus in Phrygia. Antigonus I Monophthalmus, the Macedonian ruler of large parts of Asia, and his son Demetrius were pitted against the coalition of three other successors of Alexander: Cassander, ruler of Macedon; Lysimachus, ruler of Thrace; and Seleucus I Nicator, ruler of Babylonia and Persia.