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However, most scholars and medical experts argue that he died of either the complications of a wound, he had received in India or from typhoid fever. The sudden death of the greatest monarch of his time left a power vacuum in his state. There was no central authority, and this was very destabilizing. Alexander had ruled as an autocrat, and anyone who opposed him could technically be executed. He was the absolute ruler of his territories and had controlled both his army and satraps very tightly despite his constant campaigning.<ref>Plutarch, xi, x</ref>

The sudden removal of this pivotal figure allowed ambitious individuals to pursue their interests. The death of Alexander meant that the army did not have a single leader. Rival generals ignored their superiors and followed their interests, and this was to the detriment of the unity of the Empire. Immediately after the death of Alexander, at the Compromise of Babylon, which prevented a civil war, the generals divided the conquests into their respective spheres of influence.<ref>Shipley, Graham. The Greek World After Alexander. Routledge History of the Ancient World. (Routledge, New York, 2000), p 113</ref>