Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Conspiracies can tell us quite a lot about how a court runs by highlighting the cracks. Both what caused them, and when they occurred. Alexander faced 3 major conspiracies. The first was just a few years after he took the throne, and was really a hold-over from the mess at Alexander's accession after his father Philip's murder. That's the one we'll look at here.
Who was Alexander of Lynkestis, why was he (maybe) involved in a plot with the Persian king Darius, and why did Alexander leave him alive for literally years after his arrest, hauling him across most of the modern Middle East, from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea all the way inland to ancient Baktria/modern Afghanistan?
This conspiracy tells us something about Macedonian inheritance, the role of the Argead/(Temenid) clan, and what power especially a new king had, and didn't have.
Next two videos in the series:
** Conspiracies at Alexander's Court, pt. 2: Philotas Affair
youtube.com/watch?v=HS9lfl9X01k
** Conspiracies at Alexander's Court, pt. 3: Page's Conspiracy
youtube.com/watch?v=2P2qofayVxo
Names of the players: Alexander of Lynkestis + two brothers Heromenes & Arrhibaios _ his father Airopos, Amyntas Perdikka (Alexander's cousin, son of prior king before Philip), Pausanias (fellow who stabbed Philip), Anyntas son of Antiochos, Antipatros (the regent), Parmenions + his two sons Philotas & Nikanor, Attalos, Krateros and his brother Amphoteros, Darius and his messenger Sisines. Also mention of Perdikkas II (Peloponnesian War period).
Ancient texts mentioned:
Arrian, Diodoros, Plutarch, (Curtius)
Prior YouTube videos mentioned:
** "Who Killed Philip of Macedon," Pt. 1
youtube.com/watch?v=V2eaI5iJ8XQ&list=PLaPddfnUwlDm9Eyq5bUp7pKWFZqmmRIhF&index=2&t=16s
** "Who Killed Philip of Macedon," Pt. 2
youtube.com/watch?v=X1hPymee8KA&list=PLaPddfnUwlDm9Eyq5bUp7pKWFZqmmRIhF&index=3&t=8s
** "Who Killed Philip of Macedon," Pt. 3
youtube.com/watch?v=MGv5djh-q-I&list=PLaPddfnUwlDm9Eyq5bUp7pKWFZqmmRIhF&index=4&t=11s
(Some) modern articles/chapters worth tracking down:
** Elizabeth D. Carney, "Alexander the Lynkestian: the Disloyal Opposition"
https://grbs.library.duke.edu/index.php/grbs/article/download/6951/5005/0
(This reappears with additional commentary in her recent KING AND COURT IN ANCIENT MACEDONIA.)
** Waldemar Heckel, "Alexander of Lynkestis" (et al.) in WHO'S WHO IN THE AGE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
** J. R. Ellis, "Amyntas Perikka, Philip II, and Alexander the Great: a study in conspiracy" (JHS 91):
scribd.com/document/678102489/Amyntas-Perdikka-Philip-II-and-Alexander-the-Great-J-R-Ellis-The-Journal-of-Hellenic-Studies-91-pages-15-24-1971-nov-Cambridge-10-2
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9780470757604
Conspiracies can tell us quite a lot about how a court runs by highlighting the cracks. Both what caused them, and when they occurred. Alexander faced 3 major conspiracies. The first was just a few years after he took the throne, and was really a hold-over from the mess at Alexander's accession after his father Philip's murder. That's the one we'll look at here.
Who was Alexander of Lynkestis, why was he (maybe) involved in a plot with the Persian king Darius, and why did Alexander leave him alive for literally years after his arrest, hauling him across most of the modern Middle East, from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea all the way inland to ancient Baktria/modern Afghanistan?
This conspiracy tells us something about Macedonian inheritance, the role of the Argead/(Temenid) clan, and what power especially a new king had, and didn't have.
Next two videos in the series:
** Conspiracies at Alexander's Court, pt. 2: Philotas Affair
youtube.com/watch?v=HS9lfl9X01k
** Conspiracies at Alexander's Court, pt. 3: Page's Conspiracy
youtube.com/watch?v=2P2qofayVxo
Names of the players: Alexander of Lynkestis + two brothers Heromenes & Arrhibaios _ his father Airopos, Amyntas Perdikka (Alexander's cousin, son of prior king before Philip), Pausanias (fellow who stabbed Philip), Anyntas son of Antiochos, Antipatros (the regent), Parmenions + his two sons Philotas & Nikanor, Attalos, Krateros and his brother Amphoteros, Darius and his messenger Sisines. Also mention of Perdikkas II (Peloponnesian War period).
Ancient texts mentioned:
Arrian, Diodoros, Plutarch, (Curtius)
Prior YouTube videos mentioned:
** "Who Killed Philip of Macedon," Pt. 1
youtube.com/watch?v=V2eaI5iJ8XQ&list=PLaPddfnUwlDm9Eyq5bUp7pKWFZqmmRIhF&index=2&t=16s
** "Who Killed Philip of Macedon," Pt. 2
youtube.com/watch?v=X1hPymee8KA&list=PLaPddfnUwlDm9Eyq5bUp7pKWFZqmmRIhF&index=3&t=8s
** "Who Killed Philip of Macedon," Pt. 3
youtube.com/watch?v=MGv5djh-q-I&list=PLaPddfnUwlDm9Eyq5bUp7pKWFZqmmRIhF&index=4&t=11s
(Some) modern articles/chapters worth tracking down:
** Elizabeth D. Carney, "Alexander the Lynkestian: the Disloyal Opposition"
https://grbs.library.duke.edu/index.php/grbs/article/download/6951/5005/0
(This reappears with additional commentary in her recent KING AND COURT IN ANCIENT MACEDONIA.)
** Waldemar Heckel, "Alexander of Lynkestis" (et al.) in WHO'S WHO IN THE AGE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
** J. R. Ellis, "Amyntas Perikka, Philip II, and Alexander the Great: a study in conspiracy" (JHS 91):
scribd.com/document/678102489/Amyntas-Perdikka-Philip-II-and-Alexander-the-Great-J-R-Ellis-The-Journal-of-Hellenic-Studies-91-pages-15-24-1971-nov-Cambridge-10-2
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9780470757604
