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Hellenistic World - Alexander and his Aftermath (Historiography (Arrian …
Hellenistic World - Alexander and his Aftermath
Macedon - Philip II
Hellenistic - periodisation of history, Alexander and aftermath
Not a one-way road - Middle Eastern influences on Greece as well as Hellenistic influences elsewhere
Evidence - Greek papyri mostly gone bc climate - Egyptian papyri survived so more evidence for Ptolemaic Egypt than elsewhere
Macedon
Large territory, lots of arable land and natural resources eg timber
Good for raising horses, large plains - reliance on cavalry
Potential not developed pre-Philip - not involved with Greek affairs
-- Attacked by N Balkan neighbours - Illyrians, Thracians, Paeonians
-- Eight kings in a decade - deaths in battle, infighting, inability to unite kingdom
Country viewed as backwards and uncivilised by Greeks - not urbanised
Philip II
Became king 359 BC after brother died fighting Illyrians
Implemented changes - broke power of northern aristocracy and absorbed their people into his army
Improved army - new tactics and drills - sarissa/18' pike held with both hands prevented Greek hoplites from reaching lines (from experimental Theban tactics? spent time as hostage in Thebes)
Exploited mineral wealth - conquered W Thrace and gold mines of Mt Pangaion - used wealth to hire mercenaries, buy allies, bribe enemies
Marital diplomacy - 7 wives (polygamy) all from different poleis - Illyria (Audata), Elimeia (Philia), Thessaly/Pherae (Nicesipolis), Epirus (Olympias), Thessaly/Larissa (Philinna), Thrace (Meda), Macedonia (Cleopatra)
Used Third Sacred War (356-346) to increase power in N Greece - became king of Thessaly
338 - Battle of Chaeronea - Philip vs Greek alliance - Philip won and formed the League of Corinth
336 - Plan for League to invade Persian Empire with Philip as general - but Philip assassinated summer of 336
Assassinated by one of his bodyguards, Pausanias
--
Aristotle
- Pausanias angered by followers of Attalus, uncle of Philip's wife Cleopatra
--
Cleitarchus
- Pausanias a lover of Philip, Philip turned his attention to a younger man that Pausanias taunted into suicide, Attalus a friend of the younger man so got Pausanias drunk and raped him, Philip wouldn't punish Attalus and married his niece instead so Pausanias killed Philip
--
Justin
- Orchestrated by Olympias and/or Alexander
Buried at Vergina - found grave goods suggesting it's his grave - bones of middle-aged man and younger woman (one of his wives who died shortly afterwards?)
Alexander III/the Great
No surviving contemporary source - polarised opinions - philosopher king? narcissistic youth? blood-thirsty tyrant?
Invasion of Persia
Led League of Corinth invasion that Philip had been elected general of
Spring 334 - Entered Anatolia with 40,000 men
-- 15,000 Macedonians, 25,000 Greeks (excluding Spartans)
Ideological purposes - revenge on Persia
May 334 - Battle of the Granicus River
Most closely contested battle
Alexander took part in/led the battle - leading by example
Alexander almost killed by Persian satrap, saved by cavalry commander
Greek casualties - 300-400 dead
Persian casualties - 1000 cavalry and 3000 infantry dead, mostly killed in retreat
Led to occupation of whole of Asia Minor (some sieges during 334)
Opposing views of battle from
Diodorus Siculus
(camped overnight and attacked at dawn the next day) and
Arrian
(advised to attack at dawn by Parmenion but ignored advice) - most historians prefer Arrian
--
Peter Green
- revisionist historian, reconciles views with the fact that Alexander couldn't admit any temporary defeats and Parmenion later disgraced - tried to attack previous day but failed so attacked at dawn the next day instead
November 333 - Battle of Issus
Alexander hugely outnumbered
-- Hellenic army - around 40,000 men
-- Persian army -
Arrian
says 600,000 and
Diodorus
and
Justin
say 400,000 but unlikely bc can't field that many soldiers,
Peter Green
plus others say about 100,000,
Hans Delbrück
says 25,000
Darius III led Persian forces
Landscape limited Persian ability to take advantage of forces
Stratikis
- Darius' formations trying to imitate Hellenic formations at Granicus
Darius fled Alexander's direct charge, Alexander didn't pursue but Persian army broke up when they saw he had fled
Followed coast rather than following Darius, took port cities inc. Tyre, went south into Egypt and founded Alexandria after the satrap in Egypt surrendered
Captured Darius' wife, harem, mother, daughters - treated them well even though other captured Persian women weren't - Alexander later married Darius' daughter as his second wife
October 331 - Battle of Gaugamela
Final decisive battle
Darius had regrouped at Babylon - tried to negotiate
-- Attempt 1 - Wrote to Alexander following Battle of Issus, demanded he release prisoners and leave Asia -
Arrian
says tone 'offensive'
-- Attempt 2 - After taking of Tyre, offered land west of the Halys River, ransom for captives, treaty of friendship (
Arrian
mentions marriage to daughter Alexander later marries but
Diodorus
doesn't)
-- Attempt 3 - After Alexander leaves Egypt, thanks him for treatment of his mother, offers co-rulership of the empire, territory west of the Euphrates, one of his daughters, and money (
Arrian
says 10,000,
Diodorus
says 30,000)
Hellenic army - 31,000 heavy infantry, 9,000 light infantry, 7,000 cavalry
Persian army -
Arrian
says 1,000,000 infantry and 40,000 cavalry;
Diodorus
says 800,000 infantry and 200,000 cavalry;
Peter Green
says total of 100,000;
Hans Delbrück
says 12,000 cavalry and other groups smaller than Hellenic equivalent
Darius chose location - flat floodplains good for chariots
Decisive win for Hellenic forces, Darius fled and was murdered by satrap Bessus - Bessus captured and executed by Alexander for murdering Darius
Secret of success
Macedonian/Hellene success - Philip's military reforms, Alexander's tactics and skill as general, his leadership, loyalty of the troops
Persian weakness - Loss/surrender of Egypt, revolts by governors (eg Babylonia 480s), weak kings (not as strong as Xerxes etc), palace coups
Persepolis
Persepolis palace complex set alight
Arrian
- Alexander burnt it as retribution for burning of Athens by Persians
Diodorus
- During a drunken victory party, Alexander was encouraged to burn it by Thais, an Athenian courtesan, who wanted women to destroy the pride of the Persians in revenge
Plutarch
- Thais was the mistress of Ptolemy, at the party as the lover of Ptolemy, and encouraged Alexander to burn it
Disagreement between versions - Arrian drew on Ptolemy's version and Ptolemy wouldn't want to attribute things to his mistress - Thais lived with Ptolemy in Egypt and bore him children
Rest of campaign
Most Greeks returned home, had already been away for years - Alexander persuaded Macedonians to carry on east
Said needed to suppress Bactrian revolts otherwise victory would be in vain, and that needed to ensure whole of empire not just part
Led campaigns into the Indian sub-continent - 326 Battle of the Hydaspes etc - turned back at Ganges because troops getting tired of campaigning
325 - Alexander injured (arrow in chest/lung) and almost killed during the siege of Multan in the Mallian campaign
324 - Hephaestion dies - poison? typhoid? - honoured as a divine hero by Alexander, evidence the cult spread
Death
June 323 at the palace in Babylon aged 32
Plutarch
- Developed a fever about two weeks before death after spending two days drinking/entertaining
Diodorus
- Downed a bowl of unwatered wine in honour of Hercules, suffered weakness (no fever) for 11 days - mentioned as an alternative by
Arrian
, denied by
Plutarch
Justin
- poisoned by his wine-pourer Iollas, son of Antipater, on Antipater's orders because Alexander had removed him from power in Macedon and had summoned him to Babylon - mentioned as an unlikely theory by
Diodorus
and
Arrian
, dismissed by
Plutarch
-- Dismissed by some historians eg
Robin Fox
because no twelve-day acting poison -
Leo Schep
says could be white hellebore
Natural causes suggested by historians - malaria, typhoid (
1988 New England Journal of Medicine
), meningitis, West Nile virus, poor health after drinking and battles
Aftermath of Alexander
Immediate Aftermath
Second-in-commands ignored many final instructions - monuments to Hephaestion (died 8 months previously), build quadriremes to fight Carthaginians, keep extending empire into India and West Med
Bequeathed his empire 'to the strongest' (according to
Diodorus
), or passed his signet ring to Perdiccas (according to
Justin
and
QCR
) but
Arrian
and
Plutarch
say he was speechless by the time he died
Diodochi
Originally the Hetairoi - group of general officers who were assigned ranks by Alexander - after his death no-one knew where they stood
Included Craeterus (hastened to Macedon to protect Alexander's family when received the news), Antipater (had been ordered by Alexander to give his role as Regent to Craeterus but not carried out), plus satraps, bodyguards/Somatophylakes, royal family
Partition of Babylon
Meleager and infantry supported Alexander's half-brother Arrhidaeus (didn't want Alexander's half-Persian children), Perdiccas supported Roxana's unborn child if it was a son
Compromise - Arrhidaeus/Philip III rule jointly with Alexander IV with Perdiccas as Regent and Meleager as lieutenant
Meleager murdered shortly afterwards by Perdiccas who became regent and divided the satrapies between his supporters inc. Macedon and Greece to Craeterus and Antipater
First War of the Diadochi - 321-320
Perdiccas' marriage to Alexander's sister Cleopatra made him increasingly unpopular with the other Diadochi as it gave him a claim to be Alexander's true successor
War was actually initiated by Ptolemy's theft of Alexander's body - burying the body of the previous king was a royal prerogative, conferred authority on them - was on its way to Macedon when it was seized and taken to Memphis then Alexandria
Antipater, Craeterus, Antigonus and Ptolemy joined in rebellion - defeated by Eumenes in Asia Minor and Craeterus killed
Perdiccas killed shortly after - mutiny among troops, assassinated by officers late 321/320 - Peithon, Antigenes, Seleucus
Ptolemy made Peithon and Arrhidaeus (one of Ptolemy's generals) regents
321 Treaty of Triparadisus - was agreed that Peithon and Arrhidaeus would be in Macedon and that Antipater would be regent
Second War of the Diadochi - 319-315
319 - Antipater dies, no-one else is strong enough/has enough prestige to hold the empire together
Antipater had declared Polyperchon (a general) his successor rather than his son Cassander
Antigonus and Ptolemy supported Cassander who controlled Philip III, Polyperchon fled to Epirus with Alexander IV and Roxana and allied with Olympias to invade Macedon
317 - The invading army were met by an army commanded by Philip III and his wife Eurydice, which defected and handed the king and queen over to Olympias, who had them killed
316 - Cassander captured and killed Olympias and had Roxana and Alexander IV confined
315 - Eumenes executed by Antigonus, leaving Antigonus in sole control of the Asian territories
Third War of the Diadochi - 314-311
Antigonus became too powerful for the liking of other rulers - he invaded Ptolemy's Syrian territory and besieged Tyre for a year and allied himself to Polyperchon who controlled territory in the Peloponnese
Ptolemy invaded Syria (eg 312 Battle of Gaza) and Seleucus secured Babylon and the eastern parts of the empire
Antigonus reached a compromise with Ptolemy and Cassander but continued the war with Seleucus
The Babylonian War 311-309 ended with Antigonus' defeat and ended the chances of restoring Alexander's original empire
310 - Cassander had Roxana and Alexander IV killed but didn't publicly announce their deaths
Fourth War of the Diadochi - 308-301
Ptolemy was expanding his power into the Aegean and to Cyprus and Seleucus was east consolidating his territory
Antigonus resumed the war with his son Demetrius, who took Athens in 307 and defeated Ptolemy's fleet at Salamis in 306
Both Antigonus and Demetrius claimed the throne, followed by Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus (Black Sea satrap/king) and Cassander
301 - Battle of Ipsus - Antigonus killed, Demetrius fled to Greece, Lysimachus and Seleucus divided Antigonus' Asian possessions
Struggle in Macedon - 298-285
298 - Cassander died and his sons Antipater II and Alexander V were weak
294 - Demetrius killed Alexander and seized Macedon and Greece but Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy invaded/captured/regained his outlying territories
Lysimachus and Pyrrhus king of Epirus retook Macedon
287 - Demetrius left Greece to his son Antigonus Gonatus and launched an invasion to the east
286 - Demetrius captured by Seleucus and drank himself to death two years later
286-275
Macedon - Lysimachus betrayed Pyrrhus and drove him out of Macedon after they had driven out Antigonus Gonatus from Greece
Egypt - Ptolemy made his younger son Ptolemy Philadelphus his heir rather than his elder Ptolemy Ceraunus - Ceraunus fled to Seleucus and Ptolemy died in 282
282 - Lysimachus had his son Agathocles murdered on the advice of his second wife Arsinoe (Ptolemy's daughter) - Agathacles' widow Lysandra fled to Seleucus
281 - Seleucus defeated and killed Lysimachus and was killed in turn by Ptolemy Ceraunus
Gauls invaded Macedon, Greece and Asia Minor after the death of Lysimachus left the Danube border open
279 - Ptolemy Ceraunus was killed by Gallic invaders and Antigonus Gonatus became ruler of Macedon
Final Order
Ptolemy ruled Egypt, southern Syria and territories on the southern coast of Asia Minor (Ptolemaic dynasty)
Antiochus ruled the Asian territories (Seleucid empire)
Antigonus ruled Macedon and Greece (Antigonid dynasty)
Ptolemaic Egypt
Egypt
Low rainfall - Alexandria 190mm/yr, Thebes 1mm/yr
Inundation of the Nile September/October to 9m - low point May/June 1m
Cultivable land - Delta 16,000km, Faiyum Oasis 1,300km, Nile Valley - 10,000km
Legitimising Ptolemaic Regime
Taking Alexander's body
-- Had died in Babylon, funeral cortege headed back to Macedonia, tricked them in into bringing him to Egypt
Develops Alexandria
-- Access to Egyptian interior via Nile and Med basin
-- Connects Pharos Island to mainland - creates Great Harbour and Pharos Lighthouse, subsidiary harbours and canal connecting it to Lake Mareotis and the Nile
-- Patron of the arts - library/research centre/mouseion
-- Pharos Lighthouse - on coins, mosaics, in medieval art - collapsed by earthquake in 1300 AD, stone taken 1400 AD
Dynasty
305-283 - Ptolemy I Soter
283-246 - Ptolemy II Philadelphus
246-222 - Ptolemy III Euergetes
222-204 - Ptolemy IV Philopator (start of the decline of the dynasty)
204-180 - Ptolemy V Epiphanes
180-145 - Ptolemy VI Philometor
Papyri as Evidence
Singular: papyrus
Plural - papyri
Papyrology - study of papyri
In references p. means papyrus, following letters show where found and kept
Most evidence of all Hellenistic dynasties
Papyri used all across Hellenistic world but most in Greece, Rome etc rotted - preserved in hot and dry Egypt
Lots of evidence for governance, taxes etc
Grenfell and Hunt, dig at Oxyrhynchus 1897
-- Came back with 500,000 papyri - the Oxyrhynchus historian, Menander poetry, religious texts including early Xtianity, administration
Ptolemaic Society
Administration
-- dioiketes - senior financial official
-- oikonomos - head of nome
-- nome - administrative district - 30 nomes in Egypt
-- kleros (plural kleroi) - parcels of land
Temples already embedded in Egyptian culture - economically important
Pharaohs tried to limit power of priesthood in C3 - taxed lands, increased administration
204-200 - southern part of Egypt in revolt over oppression of the priests, lost Syria to Seleucids, Ptolemy V only 5-9 years old
-- Background to creation of Rosetta Stone - agreeing to give temples concessions
Historiography
Arrian
86-160 AD
Prominent Greek family, got Roman citizenship as equites
Studied under Epictetus
Appointed to Senate as Governor of Cappadocia
Settled in Athens
Wrote
Anabasis
of Alexander
-- Anabasis - march/campaign - took from Xenophon's Anabasis of the march of the 10,000
Plutarch
50-120 AD
Well-travelled, based in Chaeronea
Held local office eg Priest of Delphi
Gained Roman citizenship
Wrote over 230 texts - mostly philosophical and historiographical/biographical
Best known for
Parallel Lives
- Alexander and Caesar - biography not history, more interested in person than achievments
Diodorus Siculus
1BC
Author of
Bibliotheke
/library - universal history from myths to Caesar in 40 books
Books 1-5 and 11-20 survive
-- 16 - Philip's reign
-- 17 - Alexander's reign
-- 18-20 - only surviving continuous narrative/history of Diadochi
Concept from Ephorus of Cyme but used multiple sources
Quintus Curtius Rufus
1C or early 2C AD
History of Alexander in 10 books - 3-10 survive with gaps
Multiple 'Quintus Curtius Rufus' - don't know which is author
Problems with Historiography
Huge gaps - 300 years between Alexander's death and first extant work
No surviving contemporary or closer works
Surviving texts rely on/refer to non-surviving sources
Sources Behind the Sources
Quellenforschung - looking behind sources
Quellenkritik - critique of sources
Evidence vs interpretation - not primary vs secondary
If sources aren't contemporary, look at the sources they use
Being in past ≠ contemporary - hundreds of years separating
Ptolemy
323-282 - wrote history of Alexander during reign
Macedonian aristocrat, childhood friend of Alexander
Took Egypt during wars of Diadochi
Aristobulus
Presumed to be a minor officer in Alexander's army
Wrote history in his old age - 200s
Used own recollections and earlier accounts
Apologetic stance - highly moral Alexander - portents and miracles
Arrian's Sources
Used Ptolemy and Aristobulus - open about sources
If gave same account used it without question - if different gave more interesting and more probable - but not the same thing
Claims Ptolemy is a king so wouldn't lie
Callisthenes of Olynthus
Great-nephew of Aristotle, met Alexander when Aristotle tutored him
Went with Alexander on his Asiatic expedition as official historian
Initially praised Alexander but started criticising him for adopting Persian customs
Died 328 - implicated in a plot to assassinate Alexander - arrested and died 7 months later - Aristobulus says natural causes in prison, Ptolemy says tortured
Plutarch
says
Chares
, Alexander's chamberlain, says natural causes but doubtful - taken on campaign rather than sent to Greece to be imprisoned, chronology with India doesn't match - apologist for Alexander against outcry over death
Only wrote up to 330 - work no longer survives
Used by
Ptolemy
and
Aristobulus
in their histories, and therefore by
Arrian, Plutarch etc
Cleitarchus
Source of the vulgate tradition
Likely from around 310 BC and based on first-hand information
Supplements and corrects court-based accounts
Used by
Plutarch, Curtius, Diodorus
Problems with Sources
Perdiccas
Arrian says Ptolemy wouldn't lie because he's a king - but at time of writing Ptolemy at war with Diadochi including Perdiccas
-- eg Perdiccas invaded Egypt 321 and defeated
Affected Ptolemy's retelling
331 Gaugamela - Diodorus and Curtius list Perdiccas as one of the injured generals but Ptolemy doesn't - doesn't want to show him as a war hero
335 Siege of Thebes - year after Philip's assassination, teenage Alexander in charge
-- Diodorus - Perdiccas is instrumental in victory, ordered by Alexander to head the troops seizing a gate
-- Arrian - uses Ptolemy, has Perdiccas attacking of own accord and not waiting for Alexander's orders
Aristonous a friend and ally of Perdiccas - vulgate sources have him as with Alexander at Malli, Ptolemy/Arrian excludes him
Parmenio
Successful general under Philip, held crucial commands under Alexander , son Philotas commander of the Companion cavalry
Philotas implicated in conspiracy against Alexander in 330, tried and executed
-- Implicated Parmenio under torture
Troops dispatched to Ecbatana and murder Parmenio - not enough evidence for a trial
Arrian portrays him as intelligents but cowardly, shamed by Alexander for wanting to attack at night - running theme of Alexander ignoring Parmenio's advice and getting it right