Battle of Corupedium

Overview

The Battle of Corupedium, also called Koroupedion, Corupedion or Curupedion was the last battle between the Diadochi, the rival successors to Alexander the Great. It was fought in 281 BC between the armies of Lysimachus and Seleucus I Nicator. Lysimachus had ruled Thrace for decades and parts of western Asia Minor ever since the Battle of Ipsus. Recently he had finally gained control over Macedon. Seleucus ruled the Seleucid Empire, including lands currently covered by modern eastern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, and Iran. Almost nothing is known about the battle itself save that Seleucus won the battle. Lysimachus died during the fighting. According to Memnon of Heraclea's History of Heraclea Pontica, Lysimachus was killed by a javelin thrown by Malacon, a Heracleian soldier serving under Seleucus.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Corupedium, fought in 281 BC, was the last engagement between the Diadochi — the rival successors of Alexander the Great — and brought the Wars of the Diadochi to a close. Lysimachus, who had ruled Thrace for decades, controlled parts of western Asia Minor since the Battle of Ipsus, and had more recently consolidated power over Macedon, was killed during the fighting, reportedly by a javelin thrown by Malacon, a Heracleian soldier serving under Seleucus. His death ended the Lysimachid Kingdom as a contending power. Seleucus I Nicator, already ruler of an empire stretching across lands corresponding to modern eastern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, and Iran, emerged as the last surviving major successor, briefly leaving him without a peer among Alexander's former generals. The battle thus marked the end of the generation-long contest over Alexander's inheritance, consolidating the post-Alexandrian world under Seleucid dominance — at least momentarily, before further fragmentation set in.

Commanders (2)