Alexander’s posthumous son was called king, but he was killed while still a child, in the struggle between the generals over the actual rule of the empire.

Thus there was no descendant of Alexander who ruled.

 Alexander left no one in his immediate family who could be expected to hold together the territories he had won. Some of the leading generals tried, for a number of years, to hold the empire intact in the name of Alexander’s half brother and his posthumous son (both under regents), but in less than 25 years after Alexander’s death, a coalition of four generals had defeated Antigonus, the last aspirant to the control of the whole empire, and Alexander’s territory was divided into four kingdoms (later reduced to three). For this division, see on chs. 7:7; 8:22; see also maps on pp. 824, 825.

 Alexander had scarcely reached the pinnacle of his power when he was cut down. In 323 B.C. this king who ruled from the Adriatic to the Indus suddenly fell ill, and 11 days later was dead (see on ch. 7:6).

 Representing the four quarters of the compass. The same division is represented by the four heads of the leopard (see on ch. 7:6) and by the four horns of the goat (see on ch. 8:8, 22).