After the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC), his generals immediately began squabbling over his empire. Soon it degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim the a portion of Alexander's vast kingdom. One of the most talented generals among the Diadochi was Antigonus Monophthalmos, so called because of an eye he lost in a siege. During the early years of warfare between the Successors, he faced Eumenes, a capable general who had already crushed Craterus. The two Diadochi fought a series of actions across Anatolia and Persia before finally meeting in what was to be the last clash at Gabiene ().