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The Kingdom of Asia and the Persian Throne

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2015

N.G.L. Hammond
N.G.L. Hammond*
Affiliation:
University of Adelaide/Cambridge
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Extract

In order to appreciate the originality of Alexander in his policy in Asia, we may note that the actions of Philip in the Balkan area were described in terms of traditional Greek imperialism. ‘Philip made Macedonia mistress of many great tribes and city-states’, wrote Diodorus in a Proem which was probably an abbreviated form of the Proem of Ephorus XXVIII (Diod. 16.1.3 ). In 349 B.C. Demosthenes remarked that ‘the Paeonian, the Illyrian and in a word all those folk, it should be realised, would gladly be self-governing and free rather than be slaves ; for they are unaccustomed to being anyone’s subject’ (1.23). In addressing the Macedonians at Opis, Alexander pointed out that thanks to Philip the Macedonians had become masters and not slaves and subjects of those very barbarians who used to plunder their possessions and carry off their persons; and that Philip ‘added to Macedonia the greater part of Thrace’ (Arr. An. 7.9.3).

Type
Research Article
Information
Antichthon , Volume 20 , 1986 , pp. 73 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for Classical Studies 1986

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References

* The following abbreviations are used. Atkinson, C = Atkinson, J.E. A Commentary on Q. Curtius Rufus’ Historiae Alexandri Magni Books 3 and 4 (Amsterdam 1980).Google Scholar Bosworth, C = Bosworth, A.B. A Historical Commentary on Anion’s History of Alexander 1 (Oxford 1980).Google Scholar Brunt, L = Brunt, P.A. Loeb ed. of Arrian 1 (London 1976)Google Scholar and 2 (1983). Goukowsky, D = Goukowsky, P. Budè ed. of Diod. 17 (Paris 1976).Google Scholar Hamilton, C = Hamilton, J.R. Plutarch Alexander a Commentary (Oxford 1969).Google Scholar Hammond, AG = Hammond, N.G.L. Alexander the Great King, Commander and Statesman (New Jersey and London 1980).Google Scholar Hammond Sources = idem, ‘The sources of Diodorus Siculus XVF, CQ 31 (1937), 79 ff. and 32 (1938), 137 ff. Hammond THA = idem, Three Historians of Alexander the Great: the so-called Vulgate authors, Diodorus, Justin and Curtius (Cambridge 1983).

1 Hammond Sources 1937. 81 and 1938. 149. Ephorus was contemporary with Philip.

2 ‘Slaves’, i.e. subjects; cf. Thuc. 1.98.4 for the verb in this sense.

3 ‘The greater part’ is a rhetorical exaggeration, even though Thrace started east of the Axius river, Chalcidice being See Hammond, and Griffith, , A History of Macedonia 2 (Oxford 1979), 656 f.Google Scholar The speech probably contains the sense of the original. Contra BruntL, 2.532 ff.; his n.7 on p. 236 (cf. 533) is mistaken, since the main army’s ‘return to Susa’ through the lowlands (6.28.7) marked the end of the campaign of conquest which had started with the conquest of Persia. This ‘return to Susa’ does not mean the place of mutiny.

4 See Hammond, Sources 1937. 81 and 85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

5 Ibidem 90.

6 For the use of Diyllus of Athens see Hammond THA 31 ff. ; for his qualities 33 ff. and Sources 1937. 89 f.

7 See Justin 8.6.1; by contrast Athens simply ejected the Samians.

8 In Ep. 3.5 Isocrates wanted the barbarians reduced to serfdom to the Greeks:

9 Both passages were probably based on Diyllus Syntaxis II and Syntaxis III; see Hammond Sources 1937. 89 f. and 1938. 150 and THA 33.

10 So translated by Brunt L 2.259 with n.3 (differently in 1.49 and 231), rather than as in Bosworth C 100 ‘consensus’, which implies unanimity. BruntL 1.49 n.5 ‘ “Vulgate” to end of ch.’ overlooks the likelihood that ‘the majority’ included Ptolemy and Aristobulus. See Hammond THA for the argument that ‘Vulgate’ is a misleading umbrella-term.

11 Probaby Diyllus, whom I suggested for Diodorus here, whereas I made no suggestion for Justin. See Hammond THA 35 f., 91, 96 and 113.

12 These passages in Diodorus and Justin are overlooked by Brunt L l.lxiii ‘although Alexander was bent on conquest from the start, we have no evidence that he hoped to subdue “Asia” (n.64) before the incident at Gordium.’

13 So Goukowsky D 178 ‘il affirmait surtout le caractère strictement personnel des conquêtes à venir”. See also Instinsky, H.U. Alexander der Grosse am Hellespont (Godesberg 1949), 29 ff.Google Scholar

14 Arrian probably mentioned only one instance of what was Alexander’s general practice; see Curt. 3.12.13 and Plu. Alex. 21.4 for burial after Issus.

15 So too Pitane, which was besieged by Parmenio at the time he captured Gryneum, was probably pardoned by Alexander; for if there had been a destruction Strabo 614 would surely have mentioned it.

16 The terms are probably cited originally from a treaty; see my comments in CQ n.s. 30 (1980), 461 f. and Hammond AG 85. Bosworth C 1.168 does not comment on the payment. The alternative, that Arrian wrote ‘Macedonians’ mistakenly for ‘Alexander’, seems to me less likely.

17 See Hammond AG 1 and 295 f. and THA 5–10 for citations from The King’s Journal by Arrian, Plutarch and other writers (J. Moles’ remark in reviewing the latter, that the existence of a king’s journal ‘is little more than an assumption’ overlooks such citations), and for arguments that The King’s Journal which they used was not a fake, as most scholars maintain, but genuine.

18 It has been argued in Hammond THA 42, 45 and 122 that Arrian’s accounts of the negotiations are to be preferred to those of Diod. 17.39.1–2 and 54.1–6, which were derived probably from Cleitarchus. For a summary of the problems see Bosworth C 1.227 ff. His conclusion on p. 233 that‘the whole correspondence reads much better as contemporary propaganda than as an authentic extract from the archives’ overlooks the fact that Alexander’s missives were intended both to be propaganda and to go into the archival King’s Journal.

19 The Greek words are translated by Justin at the corresponding moment as Asiae imperium (11.14.6); cf. omne imperium Asiae ad se redegisse credidit in Alex. M. Macedonis epitomae r.g. (ed. P.H. Thomas 1966) 1.1.

20 Athena was the goddess to whose favour he ascribed his success — Athena Alcidemus in Macedonia and Athena of Troy in Asia — and it was the head of Athena which appeared on his first issue of gold coins after the battle of Issus (see Hammond AG 284 (a) ).

21 For the probable sources see Hammond THA 58 (being for Diod. Diyllus), 134 (for Curtius 6.4.1 being Diyllus), 141 (for Curt. 7.5.27 being Aristobulus), and 152 (for Curt. 9.1.1–3 being Diyllus); cf. 102 (no offer for Justin). Arrian did not mention these occasions; he had to cut a lot to keep his Anabasis to the length he wanted.

22 For Alexander’s geographical assumptions see my History of Greece to 322 B.C.2 (Oxford 1967), 627 and Fig. 33.

23 Described later by Bengtson, H. Die Strategie in der hellenistischen Zeit2 (Munich 1964), 18 and 89,Google Scholar ‘die gesamte asiatische Alexanders, wozu auch Ägypten gehórte.’

24 See Seltman, C. Greek Coins (London 1933), 207, 211 and Fig. 9.Google Scholar The mint at Amphipolis seems to have served both kingdoms; for some of its coins have ‘king’ and others do not.

25 By contrast the spoils sent to Athens after the battle of the Granicus river were dedicated by ‘Alexander, son of Philip’ (Arr. An. 1.16.7), not by King Alexander.

26 Seltman, op. cit. 211.

27 Air. An. 2.14.9 and FGrH 532 F 1.38.

28 The appeal to the martial spirit of the Macedonian soldiers is a constant theme of the speeches in Arrian and other historians, and their record especially in siege warfare shows that they responded. It is only for rhetorical effect that Alexander is made to speak of ‘your empire’ and ‘your possessions’ at Arr. An. 7.9–10.

29 That this did happen is clear from the honours which many of these city-states paid to Alexander; see Hammond AG 250 and 253.

30 This passage seems to have been missed by those who have written standard works on Alexander.

31 For instance, Cambyses in Egypt (Hdt. 3.29) and Xerxes in Babylonia (Arr. An. 7.17.2), at least in popular belief.

32 Bury 785 and 794, and Meiggs-Bury 472 and 477. W.W. Tarn in CAH 6.387 ‘Alexander was now Great King’. U. Wilcken tr. G.C. Richards, Alexander the Great 149 ‘Alexander regarded himself as his (Darius’) heir and lawful successor on the Persian throne’. Brunt£ 2.515 ‘the role Alexander was about to assume as the rightful successor of Darius’. Bosworth C 270 ‘Alexander’s claims to be the legitimate King of Persia’. Schachermeyr, F. Alexanderder Grosse (Vienna 1949), 247 Google Scholar ‘da war er selbst gleichsam zum Grosskönig, zum Achaimeniden, zum Perser gewesen’. Bamm, P. Alexander (Zurich 1965), 317 Google Scholar ‘Erben des Thrones der Grosskönige’.

33 The King of the Medes too had claimed to be King of Asia (Arr. An. 5.4.5), before Cyrus acquired the title for the Persians (Arr. An. 6.29.8). To be King of a country and Lord of Asia were separate offices. They could be and sometimes were combined as in the case of Darius. For instance in Arr. An. 4.20.1–3, related as a logos, and Curt. 4.10.34 Darius speaks of‘his rule over the Medes and Persians’ (his regnum in Curt.) and of his being ‘King of Asia’ (Asiae rex in Curt.). The common source behind the two passages was not Ptolemy or Aristobulus; see Atkinson C 395. Hammond THA 100 and 122 suggested that the source was Cleitarchus. The contest which Alexander stressed was not for the throne of Persia but for the rule of Asia, claimed unjustly by ‘the kings of the Medes and Persians’ (Arr. An. 7.1.3) and justly by himself (Arr. An. 2.12.5).

34 So Tarn in CAH 6.386.

35 The phrase is so understood by Goukowsky D 79.

36 See Hammond THA 130 f., for instance.

37 Goukowsky D 208 ff.

38 Goukowsky D 209 notes that the source is ‘vraisemblablement Clitarque’ and that the change of timing to early summer 331 B.C. may have been due to his desire for dramatic effect. Contra Bosworth C 1.256, invoking ‘the vulgate tradition’, which is here, in my opinion, a euphemism for the notoriously unreliable Cleitarchus. See Hammond AG 120 and THA 26. In this context I am concerned only with the substance of the reply. Alexander’s orders to the Great King had been foreshadowed by Isocrates, Ep. 3.5

39 Arrian gave the logos concerning Parmenio but put the offer and the reply in narrative verbs, that is, from his main sources; see Hammond THA 100 for the source of Justin.

40 Arr. An. 2.12.5, citing Ptolemy and Aristobulus as well as others unnamed as his authorities, is clearly trustworthy. Court and retinue also are in Curt. 3.12.12, Diod. 17.38.1, and Plu. Alex 21.4; the title ‘queens’ appears in them and in Justin 11.9.15. As the sexual restraint of Alexander is the main interest of the sources, the son and heir came in for less attention; but the statement in Diod. is important: ‘Alexander promised that he would bring the boy up as his own son and he would hold him worthy of royal status ()’. For discussion see Atkinson C 252 ff., Bosworth C 220 ff. and Hamilton C 54, who pay little or no attention to the son of Darius.

41 Curtius gave his name in two speeches at 4.11.6 and 4.14.22. He was left at Susa according to Diod. 17.67.1 and Curt. 5.2.18. It was the capital of the Persian kingdom.

42 Arr. An. 3.18.11 and 4.18.3. Before Darius’ death he had appointed a man hostile to Darius (Arr. An. 3.20.3); but he soon removed him and adopted his new policy.

43 In Curt. 10.5.18 ‘the region nearest to Babylon’ was clearly Persia, and the grandson is mentioned at 10.5.24. He disappeared thereafter from the record.

44 Arr. An. 4.7.3. The numbers are not known. ‘Meeting’ rather than ‘council’ or ‘assembly’, both of which Brunt L uses in translating this section.

45 Plu. Alex. 45.2 with Hamilton C 120, and Plu. Mor. 329 f ‘ 330 d. Alexander wanted the loyalty (ενoιαν in Mor. 330 a) not only of the governing class but also of the military elements; for in 323 B.C. he had more than 50,000 Asian infantrymen under arms (Arr. An. 7.6.1 and 7.23.1) and thousands of cavalry. 'The upright tiara' or kidaris was the special mark of Persian kingship. When the pretenders Bessus and Baryaxes wore it, they ‘assumed the title of the King of the Medes and Persians’ (Arr. An. 3.25.3 and 6.29.3). Bessus went on to claim to be ‘King of Asia’ in Arr. An. 3.25.3.

46 See Hammond THA 59 and 136.

47 The source, being other than Ptolemy and Aristobulus, was very probably Cleitarchus; see Hammond THA 136. Arrian was probably recalling this ‘story’ when he censured Alexander for wearing the Persian kidaris and proposed reasons for Alexander wearing Persian dress (An. 4.1.4 and 7.29.4); in each case he was giving his own ideas, not those of any source.

48 See Hammond THA 26, 59, 102 and 135 f. for ancient estimates of Cleitarchus.

49 Res is an emendation for vires. The ring occurs also at Curt. 10.5.4, Diod. 17.117.3 and Justin 12.15.12, always in the singular. Curtius may use imperii here for the Kingdom of Asia; cf. Justin 11.14.6 Asiae imperium.

50 50 Wilcken (above, n. 32) 246, where he is far from clear in his deductions. Darius had only one seal at Curt. 6.6.6.

51 ‘Alexander the Great and the Persian lion-gryphon’, JHS 43 (1923), 156 ff.

52 See Hammond/IG 156 f., 284 (a) and Fig. 35. A different interpretation in M.J. Price, Coins of the Macedonians (London 1974), 24 f. with PI. 11, 60. CAH Plates 2.8 o shows a coin with the lion-gryphon.

53 That other explanations may be possible is clear from the gryphons which appear to have different heads including that of a lion, on the fringe of the frescoes in the first (plundered) tomb at Vergina. See Andronikos, M. The Royal Graves at Vergina (Athens 1978) 8.Google Scholar

54 See Hamilton C 191.

55 Alexander gave gifts to the Arimaspians as Cyrus had done (Diod. 17.81.1–2), and he was thought to have wished to outdo Cyrus in crossing the Jaxartes river and the Gedrosian desert.

56 The source of both passages was probably Diyllus; see Hammond THA 55 and 130. Curtius himself may have added the offence against the hospitales deos.

57 Also in his Ages. 15.4 and at Mor. 329 d. See Hamilton C 99.

58 The variations in the timing of Stateira’s death and in its relation to an offer by Darius do not inspire confidence; see Hamilton C 78.

59 When acting as a judge in an Asian court as opposed to a Macedonian court of justice, Alexander was attended by very large numbers of élite Macedonian troops and élite Asian (mainly Persian) troops ‘in Bactria, Hyrcania and India’ (Polyaen. 4.3.24).

60 An early form of this paper was given to seminars at the Australian National University and the University of Queensland in autumn 1984. I am most grateful for comments then, and for the comments of Mr. G.T. Griffith and Prof. F.W. Walbank, who have read and improved the final version.