Demetrius Poliorketes rises as the brightest figure amid Alexander's successors, shaping Macedon's fate through explosive sieges and shifting empires.Of the many vivid characters who shine in the wars of Alexander the Great's successors, Demetrius Poliorketes' light burns brighter than any other. Later famed for his siege prowess, the son of Antigonus Monopthalmus was raised knowing at some stage he could inherit Alexander's entire empire, such was his father's initial success. He was a true celebrity in his day, fighting with his father in the Second War of the Diadochi against the cunning Eumenes, and later against Hellenistic all-comers in the Third and Fourth Wars of the Diadochi. Often seen as the culprit when Antiochus died at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC (Demetrius' victorious cavalry chasing their opponents off the field of battle, leaving his father to his fate), he later made a power play for the Macedonian throne, becoming its first Antigonid king. Sadly for Demetrius he...

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