

ANCIENT HISTORY. 115 



world 3674, Alexander was declared king of 

 Afia ; when he made magnificent facrifices to his 

 gods, and diftributed to his friends, his riches, 

 cities and provinces, (till however referving to 

 himfelf the right of fovereignty. But he did 

 not enjoy thefe great profperities long, for on 

 May 22, 3681, he was taken off by a violent 

 fever, in the thirty third year of his age. 



XXIV. After the death of Alexander, thofe 

 great men who had afilded in founding the Gre- 

 cian or Macedonian monarchy, were the firft to 

 overthrow and demolifh that colofius. They 

 divided the whole monarchy into ten provin cs, 

 whole governors feemed to depend on four that 

 were principal i thefe were Ptolemy who had 

 Egypt ; Seleucus, who reigned in Babylon and 

 Syria ; Caflander, to whom fell Macedonia and 

 Greece , and Antigonus, whole portion was Alia 

 Minor. But this arrangement did not laft long, 

 for each of them aimed at independence ^ and at 

 length all the dates, kingdoms, and provinces, 

 that compofed the fuccefiion of Alexander, and 

 were governed by his fucceflTors, pafled, one after 

 the other, under the dominion of the Romans. 

 All thcle dreams, great and Imall, at lad fell 

 into the ocean of the Roman monarchy, and 

 were there lod. 



XXV. (6.) The hiftory of the Roman Monar- 

 chy. The annals or mankind prcient nothing 

 marc i^raiid than the Roman empire, as 



II .> with 



