Drachm - Philip III Arrhidaios Magnesia ad Meandrum

Philip III Arrhidaios was Alexander the Great's half-brother — intellectually disabled, likely from birth or possibly poisoned in childhood — and was elevated to king by the Macedonian infantry immediately after Alexander's death in 323 BC, serving as a figurehead while the Diadochi fought over real power. Coins struck in his name at Magnesia ad Meandrum continued Alexander's established types without modification, a deliberate political signal that dynastic continuity, however nominal, was being maintained. Antipater and later Polyperchon effectively controlled him. He was executed on Olympias's orders in 319 BC, ending a reign that was kingship in name only.