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===The Assassination Theory===
[[File: Kassander.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Silver Coin of Cassander of Macedon]]
The case for Alexander being assassinated is supported by two notable ancient historians, the second century AD Greek historian Arrian and the first century BC Greek historian Diodorus Siculus. Both accounts state that the assassination originated with Antipater and his family. Antipater was a Macedonian general and confidant of Philip II and then Alexander the Great. He was a scholar who is credited for having written the no longer extant, <i>On the Deeds of Perdicass in Illyira</i> and was one of the first generals to support Alexander after Philip was assassinated. <iref> King, p. 178</ref> It would therefore seem most unlikely that an assassination plot would come from Antipater or his family, but the close relationship the men had in Alexander’s youth appears to have soured after he became king.
When Alexander left to conquer the Achaemenid Empire, Antipater stayed behind in Macedon but his sons Cassander and Iollas were by the king’s side. They were said to have openly laughed when the Persians prostrated themselves before Alexander and rejected the king’s claims to divinity. <ref> King, p. 184</ref> Antipater’s sons were not alone, though, in their questioning of Alexander’s acquired Asian styles, as most of the Macedonians also rejected seeing him as divine. The rift apparently widened when Alexander charged Antipater with sending fresh Macedonian troops to Babylon. By 323, just before Alexander died, the contingent had not left, which led to complaints against Antipater. <ref> King, p. 183</ref> According to Arrian, these events are what led to Antipater and his family assassinating Alexander.
