Editing Perdiccas (section)

{{Short description|Macedonian general and regent (355 – 321/320 BC)}}
{{other uses|Perdiccas (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Perdiccas
| native_name         = Περδίκκας
| native_name_lang    = grc
| image               = Philip III Arrhidaios Babylon mint struck under Perdikkas circa 323 320 BC.jpg
| image_size          = 250
| alt                 = 
| caption             = [[Silver]] [[tetradrachm]] of [[Philip III Arrhidaeus]] struck under Perdiccas in [[Babylon]], circa 323-320 BC.<ref>Head of [[Heracles]] left, wearing lion skin headdress / [BASILEWS FILIPPOU]. [[Zeus]] Aëtophoros seated right; wheel and monogram in left field, monogram below throne.</ref>
| office              = Regent of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]]
| term_start          = 323{{nbsp}}BC
| term_end            = 320{{nbsp}}BC
| monarch             = [[Alexander IV of Macedon|Alexander IV]] and [[Philip III Arrhidaeus|Philip III]]
| predecessor         = Last held by [[Ptolemy of Aloros]] (368–365{{nbsp}}BC)
| successor           = [[Peithon]] and [[Arrhidaeus]]
| birth_date          = {{circa}} 355{{nbsp}}BC
| birth_place         = 
| death_date          = 320{{nbsp}}BC (aged 34–36)
| death_place         = 
| death_cause         = Killed by his own soldiers
| occupation          = [[General]] <br>
[[Regent]]
| allegiance          = [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]]
| spouse              = Daughter of [[Atropates]]<br> [[Nicaea of Macedon]]
| parents             = Orontes (father)
| serviceyears        = 335 – 320{{nbsp}}BC
| battles             = {{tree list}}
* [[Wars of Alexander the Great]]
**[[Battle of Thebes]]
**[[Battle of Gaugamela]]
**[[Battle of Hydaspes]]
* [[First War of the Diadochi]]{{assassinated}}
{{tree list/end}}|
}}

'''Perdiccas''' ({{langx|el|Περδίκκας}}, ''Perdikkas''; {{circa}} 355{{Nbsp}}BC &ndash; 320{{Nbsp}}BC) was a [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonian]] general, [[Diadochi|successor]] of [[Alexander the Great]], and the [[regent]] of Alexander's empire after his death. When Alexander was dying, he entrusted his [[signet ring]] to Perdiccas. Initially the most pre-eminent of the successors,{{sfn|Heckel|2016|p=153. "Perdiccas deserves to be considered the first of the Diadochoi. To him Alexander had given his signet ring and, with it, all the uncompleted projects, all the unresolved and festering problems of an empire too quickly subdued and ruled, primarily, by force...  In order to continue Alexander's work Perdiccas would have to be another Alexander, and this he was not... Confounded in every undertaking by the jealousy of his colleagues and maligned after his death in the memoirs of an enemy, Perdiccas is remembered as a man of far-reaching ambition, ruined by his own incompetence and abrasive personality"}} Perdiccas effectively ruled Alexander's increasingly unstable empire<ref>Besides Macedon and Greece, which were held by [[Antipater]].</ref> from [[Babylon]] for three years until his assassination, as the kings he ruled for were incapable.{{sfnm|Anson|2014|1p=59|Diod.|2loc=18.36.7}}

Perdiccas was born to [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian]] nobility. A supporter, {{Transliteration|grc|[[Somatophylakes|somatophylax]]}} (bodyguard) and {{Transliteration|grc|[[Hetairoi|hetairos]]}} (elite cavalry commander) of Alexander, he took part in [[Wars of Alexander the Great|Alexander's campaign]] against the [[Achaemenid Persian Empire]], distinguishing himself in [[Battle of Thebes|Thebes]] and [[Battle of Gaugamela|Gaugamela]], and followed Alexander into [[Indian campaign of Alexander the Great|India]]. When [[Death of Alexander the Great|Alexander died]] in 323{{Nbsp}}BC, Perdiccas rose to become supreme commander of the imperial army, as well as regent for Alexander's vast empire, ruling on behalf of Alexander's intellectually disabled heir, King [[Philip III of Macedon|Philip III Arrhidaeus]] and his infant son, King [[Alexander IV of Macedon]].

Perdiccas gained supreme power but also inherited the problems of Alexander's quickly conquered and unstable empire. To consolidate power and retain authority, Perdiccas crushed numerous revolts, like that of [[Ariarathes I of Cappadocia|Ariarathes]], and assassinated rivals, like [[Meleager (general)|Meleager]]. Perdiccas' position as regent was never fully secure, however, and his authority was repeatedly contested by other generals. His attempt to marry [[Cleopatra of Macedon]], Alexander's sister, which would have given him claim to the Macedonian throne, angered critical generals—including [[Antipater]], [[Craterus]] and [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus|Antigonus]]—who decided to revolt against the regent in the [[First War of the Diadochi]]. In response to this formidable coalition and a provocation from another general, [[Ptolemy I Soter|Ptolemy]], Perdiccas invaded Egypt, but his soldiers [[mutiny|mutinied]] and [[assassination|killed him]] in 321/320{{Nbsp}}BC when the invasion foundered.