The Macedonian army as a vehicle for change? Military presence in western Asia Minor during the early Hellenistic period: topography, agency and identity

Alexander the Great’s expedition and the Wars of the Successors after his death saw a great number of armies deployed in Asia Minor, many of which were key to the development of the political powers that emerged during the Hellenistic period. The territorial establishment of these armies, first as garrisons and later as settlements, has led to questions about the social, political, cultural and economic impact that they had on the communities with which they came into contact. The aim of this thesis is to understand the extent of this impact and analyse the role that specifically the Macedonian components of the army had in their relationship with their surroundings in western Asia Minor during the Hellenistic period, with a special focus on the third and second centuries BC. To this aim, I will analyse several characteristics which can be considered unequivocally Macedonian and upon which the Macedonian character of the soldiers and settlers was built; I will next discuss the military presence in western Asia Minor through topography and the physicality of the settlements; land tenure and other activities in the settlements; and the relationship between the dynasts and kings and their men. For this I will employ mainly epigraphic sources and will reassess the context and relationship between many inscriptions, aiming to provide a more holistic view of the military presence in Hellenistic western Asia Minor