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Cassander Cassander (c. 355-297 B.C.) as son of Antipater did not accompany the Macedonian army on its invasion of Asia, but remained in Europe during his father's regency over Macedonia and Greece. Displeased at his father's choice of Polyperchon for his successor, he set himself to oust his rival from the regency and sought help from Antigonus in Asia Minor. In 318 following the defeat of Polyperchon's fleet by that of Antigonus off the Bosphorus, Cassander returned to Macedonia, where he persuaded King Philip III to depose Polyperchon. From this point his control of Macedon remained secure. In 316 he had Olympias executed for the murder of King Philip III and of his brother. Her grandson, the young Alexander IV and his mother Roxane he imprisoned and some years later executed. Alarmed by the growth of Antigonus' power in Asia and Greece, Cassander proclaimed himself King of Macedonia and joined the coalition of Ptolemy, Seleucus and Lysimachus against Antigonus. In mainland Greece Cassander continued the policy pursued by his father Antipater of treating the city-states as subjects rather than allies, in contrast to the policy, of Antigonus and Demetrius. With the death of Antigonus in 301, Cassander secured his kingship over Macedonia. He had married the sister of Alexander the Great Thessalonica, and in her honor founded the Thessalonica, which centuries later turned into the greatest Macedonian city.
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