Lysimachus (c. 361-281 BCE) was one of Alexander the Great's trusted bodyguards and a member of his Companion Cavalry. Although he obtained Macedonian citizenship, his father was a Thessalian named Agathocles. After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, Lysimachus benefitted from his loyalty to the king by being rewarded with the strategically important province of Thrace, an area northeast of Macedon along the Black Sea coast. While he initially remained relatively uninvolved in the series of wars that immediately followed Alexander's death, he eventually sought to expand his land holdings and ultimately joined his fellow commanders in a war against Antigonus Monophthalmus (the One-Eyed) and his son Demetrius I of Macedon. Success would follow but at a hefty price.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 361 BCE - 281 BCELife of Lysimachus.
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328 BCELysimachus becomes one of Alexander's bodyguards.
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323 BCEDeath of Alexander the Great.
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321 BCELysimachus marries Antipater's daughter Nicaea.
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c. 320 BCEEphesos renamed Arsineia by Lysimachus following Alexander the Great's death.
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309 BCELysimachus founds the city of Lysimachia to secure the Dardanelles.
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305 BCELysimachus assumes the title of king.
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301 BCEThe Battle of Ipsus in central Phrygia where Lysimachus and Seleucos I defeat Antigonus I and Demetrius I of Macedon.
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c. 300 BCELysimachus marries Arsinoe II, the daughter of Ptolemy I.
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292 BCELysimachus is captured by Dromichaites, the king of Getae and forced to surrender Trans-Danubian territories.
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284 BCELysimachus drives Pyrrhus out of Macedon.
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281 BCELysimachus is defeated by Seleucus I Nicator at Corupedium.