Antigonus(3)

Extract

Antigonus (3) (c. 263–221 bce), nicknamed ‘Doson’, ‘the man who will give’, regent and king of Macedonia 229–221. Son of *Demetrius (5) ‘the Fair’, who was half-brother of *Antigonus (2) Gonatas, Antigonus ruled at first as regent for *Demetrius (6) II's young son Philip (later *Philip (3) V), but after some initial military successes against invading Dardanians and Aetolians and rebellious Thessalians he was granted the royal title. He had already married Philip's mother Chryseis and adopted the boy, so dispelling suspicions that he might wish to usurp Philip's ultimate claim to succeed. Doson's reign is characterized by careful restorative diplomacy, in *Thessaly, where he allowed the Thessalian League to be reconstituted, but especially in the Peloponnese, leading to the restoration of Macedonian influence, which had largely vanished during Demetrius II's reign. He also visited *Caria around 227 and constructed a position of influence in the area around *Mylasa—his reasons are obscure—which Philip V could inherit.