Alexander the Great / Makers of History
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The Outbreak of the Rebellion of Cyrus the Younger Jeffrey Rop
The Outbreak of the Rebellion of Cyrus the Younger Jeffrey Rop N THE ANABASIS, Xenophon asserts that the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger was falsely accused of plotting a coup I d’état against King Artaxerxes II shortly after his accession to the throne in 404 BCE. Spared from execution by the Queen Mother Parysatis, Cyrus returned to Lydia determined to seize the throne for himself. He secretly prepared his rebellion by securing access to thousands of Greek hoplites, winning over Persian officials and most of the Greek cities of Ionia, and continuing to send tribute and assurances of his loyalty to the unsuspecting King (1.1).1 In Xenophon’s timeline, the rebellion was not official until sometime between the muster of his army at Sardis in spring 401, which spurred his rival Tissaphernes to warn Artaxerxes (1.2.4–5), and his arrival several months later at Thapsacus on the Euphrates, where Cyrus first openly an- nounced his true intentions (1.4.11). Questioning the “strange blindness” of Artaxerxes in light of Cyrus’ seemingly obvious preparations for revolt, Pierre Briant proposed an alternative timeline placing the outbreak of the rebellion almost immediately after Cyrus’ return to Sardis in late 404 or early 403.2 In his reconstruction, the King allowed Cyrus 1 See also Ctesias FGrHist 688 F 16.59, Diod. 14.19, Plut. Artax. 3–4. 2 Pierre Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander (Winona Lake 2002) 617–620. J. K. Anderson, Xenophon (New York 1974) 80, expresses a similar skepticism. Briant concludes his discussion by stating that the rebellion officially (Briant does not define “official,” but I take it to mean when either the King or Cyrus declared it publicly) began in 401 with the muster of Cyrus’ army at Sardis, but it is nonetheless appropriate to characterize Briant’s position as dating the official outbreak of the revolt to 404/3. -
1-And-2 Kings
FROM DAVID TO EXILE 1 & 2 Kings by Daniel J. Lewis © copyright 2009 by Diakonos, Inc. Troy, Michigan United States of America 2 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Composition and Authorship ...................................................................................................................... 5 Structure ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Theological Motifs ..................................................................................................................................... 7 The Kingship of Solomon (1 Kings 1-11) .....................................................................................................13 Solomon Succeeds David as King (1:1—2:12) .........................................................................................13 The Purge (2:13-46) ..................................................................................................................................16 Solomon‟s Wisdom (3-4) ..........................................................................................................................17 Building the Temple and the Palace (5-7) .................................................................................................20 The Dedication of the Temple (8) .............................................................................................................26 -
Notes on Strabo
The Classical Quarterly http://journals.cambridge.org/CAQ Additional services for The Classical Quarterly: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here Notes on Strabo Horace L. Jones The Classical Quarterly / Volume 11 / Issue 03 / July 1917, pp 132 - 134 DOI: 10.1017/S0009838800011034, Published online: 11 February 2009 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0009838800011034 How to cite this article: Horace L. Jones (1917). Notes on Strabo. The Classical Quarterly, 11, pp 132-134 doi:10.1017/S0009838800011034 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/CAQ, IP address: 138.251.14.35 on 16 Apr 2015 NOTES ON STRABO. I. THE MEANING OF fj,ovoTpo<f>ea> (STRABO 3. 3. 6). THE word fiovorpo^io) is apparently an aira^ Xeyofievov, being cited by the dictionaries only for Strabo 3. 3. 6 : eviov; he ra>v trpoaoiKovvTaiv T(j> Aovpltp •jrorafio) Aa,K(ovcicoi)<; htdyeiv (pa&iv, d\enrTr)pi,oi<; xpa/ievov; hl<> ical irvplcu<; iic ~Kid<ov hiairvpwv, yjrv)£p6\ovTpovvTa<; icai /Movorpo<f>ovvTa<i Ka8apel(0<; ical \«TG)9. Stephanus' Thesaurus (Liddell and Scott) and Sophocles give only one meaning: ' to eat but one kind of food.' Madvig, whom A. Vogel follows, emended to Ko/j.orpo<povvra<;, obviously being led to do so, in part, because he took fiovorpo^>ovvTa<i in the meaning cited above. In 3- 3- 7 Strabo specifically asserts that the mountaineers—and this includes Lusitanians—eat goat-meat, bread made of acorn-flour, and butter; and that while water is their beverage, they also drink wine and beer. -
Mercenaries, Poleis, and Empires in the Fourth Century Bce
The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts ALL THE KING’S GREEKS: MERCENARIES, POLEIS, AND EMPIRES IN THE FOURTH CENTURY BCE A Dissertation in History and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies by Jeffrey Rop © 2013 Jeffrey Rop Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2013 ii The dissertation of Jeffrey Rop was reviewed and approved* by the following: Mark Munn Professor of Ancient Greek History and Greek Archaeology, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Gary N. Knoppers Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Religious Studies, and Jewish Studies Garrett G. Fagan Professor of Ancient History and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Kenneth Hirth Professor of Anthropology Carol Reardon George Winfree Professor of American History David Atwill Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies Graduate Program Director for the Department of History *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines Greek mercenary service in the Near East from 401- 330 BCE. Traditionally, the employment of Greek soldiers by the Persian Achaemenid Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt during this period has been understood to indicate the military weakness of these polities and the superiority of Greek hoplites over their Near Eastern counterparts. I demonstrate that the purported superiority of Greek heavy infantry has been exaggerated by Greco-Roman authors. Furthermore, close examination of Greek mercenary service reveals that the recruitment of Greek soldiers was not the purpose of Achaemenid foreign policy in Greece and the Aegean, but was instead an indication of the political subordination of prominent Greek citizens and poleis, conducted through the social institution of xenia, to Persian satraps and kings. -
Zeugma's Military History in Light of the Rescue Excavations
. chapter nine . Zeugma’s Military History in Light of the Rescue Excavations Hugh Elton The rescue excavations at Zeugma in 2000 provided an ment has recently been published. This was a large assem- unusual opportunity to examine a city in the Roman Near blage, including about 75 edged weapons and perhaps as East with late 20th-century archaeological techniques. many as 50 shields, and provides the best parallels for the The site at Zeugma is remarkable for the excellent state of Zeugma materials.5 From the mid-1980s, there have been preservation. Its position at the base of Belkis Tepe meant some renewed excavations.6 that most of the city was covered with colluvium, rather At Apamea in north Syria, also an open-field site, long- than being exposed for stone-robbing. In its potential for running Belgian excavations provide useful comparisons.7 archaeological research, its frontier situation on a river Like Zeugma and Dura-Europos, Apamea was founded by crossing, and its use as a Roman legionary base, Zeugma Seleucus I, though its role as the major western Seleucid thus offers opportunities similar to few classical sites in the army base means that its character may have been differ- ancient Near East. The majority of the areas excavated in ent. Under the Romans, it also served as an assembly area 2000 contained domestic housing, limiting the conclusions for military expeditions, a function it had in common with that can be drawn about Zeugma’s military history. None- Zeugma. And as at Dura-Europos and Zeugma, the Sasa- theless, a large quantity of military equipment has been re- nian invasion of the 250s had a great impact on the city. -
1 XENOPHON's PARASANGS* Abstract
1 XENOPHON’S PARASANGS* Abstract: This paper analyses one aspect of Xenophon’s representation of space, focussing on the famous stages-and-parasangs formula employed by Xenophon in the Anabasis. It starts by discussing the meaning of his terms, and then explores patterns of repetition and variation in his account of the march, split into three section (the marches upcountry, to the sea, and along the coast). Rather than explaining Xenophon’s usage in terms of sources, it suggests that variations in the marching formula elaborate the successive stages of the Greeks’ encounter with the spaces of the Achaemenid empire. ‘From there Cyrus progresses two stages, ten parasangs, to the river Psarus, which was three plethra in breadth. From there he progresses one stage, five parasangs, to the river Pyramus, which was a stade in breadth. From there he progresses two stages, fifteen parasangs, to Issi, the last city of Cilicia, settled on the sea, large and prosperous. There they remained three days.’ (Xenophon, Anabasis) ‘I have done my best with the orthography of this place, though it is not important, consisting of one house, and that only a farsakh from Maragha. The farsakh (Xenophon’s parasang) will be of interest to us now. It has been ‘stabilized’ at four miles, but in common parlance varies from three to seven.’ (Robert Byron, Tasr Kand, 17 October 1933)1 * * * 2 Xenophon’s parasangs have not been of much interest to most readers of the Anabasis - no matter whether they have read it in the Penguin translation of Rex Warner (who explains that he has ‘got rid of the “parasang”, so familiar to beginners in Greek, and turned it, rather inaccurately, into miles’), or progressed through the Greek text at school.2 Parasangs have even inspired a certain hostility: historians moan about the ‘too recurrent parasang’, while the editor of one of the standard nineteenth-century school editions asked ‘whether, in its absolute lack of interest, a parallel could be found for the above extract [1.4.1] in the writings of any other historian, ancient or modern’. -
Christopher Kegerreis, Setting a Royal Pace: Achaemenid Kingship and the Origin of Alexander the Great’S Bematistai
The Ancient History Bulletin VOLUME THIRTY-ONE: 2017 NUMBERS 1-2 Edited by: Edward Anson ò Michael Fronda òDavid Hollander Timothy Howe òJoseph Roisman ò John Vanderspoel Pat Wheatley ò Sabine Müller ISSN 0835-3638 ANCIENT HISTORY BULLETIN Volume 31 (2017) Numbers 1-2 Edited by: Edward Anson, Michael Fronda, David Hollander, Sabine Müller, Joseph Roisman, John Vanderspoel, Pat Wheatley Senior Editor: Timothy Howe Assistant Editor: Charlotte Dunn Editorial correspondents Elizabeth Baynham, Hugh Bowden, Franca Landucci Gattinoni, Alexander Meeus, Kurt Raaflaub, P.J. Rhodes, Robert Rollinger, Victor Alonso Troncoso Contents of volume thirty-one Numbers 1-2 1 Paul Johstono, Rumor, Rage, and Reversal: Tragic Patterns in Polybius’ Account of Agathocles at Alexandria 21 Frances Pownall, Dionysius I and the Creation of a New-Style Macedonian Monarchy 39 Christopher Kegerreis, Setting a Royal Pace: Achaemenid Kingship and the Origin of Alexander the Great’s Bematistai 65 Waldemar Heckel, Dareios III’s Military Reforms Before Gaugamela and the Alexander Mosaic: A Note NOTES TO CONTRIBUTORS AND SUBSCRIBERS The Ancient History Bulletin was founded in 1987 by Waldemar Heckel, Brian Lavelle, and John Vanderspoel. The board of editorial correspondents consists of Elizabeth Baynham (University of Newcastle), Hugh Bowden (Kings College, London), Franca Landucci Gattinoni (Università Cattolica, Milan), Alexander Meeus (University of Leuven), Kurt Raaflaub (Brown University), P.J. Rhodes (Durham University), Robert Rollinger (Universität Innsbruck), Victor Alonso Troncoso (Universidade da Coruña) AHB is currently edited by: Timothy Howe (Senior Editor: [email protected]), Edward Anson, Michael Fronda, David Hollander, Sabine Müller, Joseph Roisman, John Vanderspoel and Pat Wheatley. AHB promotes scholarly discussion in Ancient History and ancillary fields (such as epigraphy, papyrology, and numismatics) by publishing articles and notes on any aspect of the ancient world from the Near East to Late Antiquity. -
Identity and Material Culture in Seleucid Jebel Khalid
Identity and Material Culture in Seleucid Jebel Khalid A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Classics of the College of Arts and Sciences 2015 by SABINA ADRIANA ION B.A. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2012 Committee Chair: Professor Barbara Burrell Ph.D. Abstract This thesis examines the archaeological evidence for the formation of identity within new colonial foundations in Seleucid Syria from the early third century to the first century B.C. Although this topic has been addressed relating to other Hellenistic Kingdoms, within the Seleucid Kingdom the dearth of undisturbed occupational levels has limited the scope of discussion. Owing to its remarkable levels of preservation and subsequent publication, this thesis uses the site of Jebel Khalid, located on the Euphrates River in modern Syria, as a case study to address this gap. Where available, I draw on other settlements to establish a broader perspective of how cultural preferences manifested themselves throughout the breadth of the Seleucid Kingdom. To examine how the Greco-Macedonian settlers constructed their identities in Jebel Khalid, I examine the available architectural and material evidence from the site. During the initial phase of occupation (Phase A, early third century B.C. to 150 B.C.) the settlement’s nature as a Seleucid foundation heavily influenced the architectural choices in both the public and domestic spheres. Simultaneously, the presence of a new fortified town in the area made a declarative statement of Seleucid strength to the local people. -
R^,^>>V,Y*J*G*Iga^'*WIW*W? Msmmfm ZEUGMA: ARMAGEDDON
^-r^^>>V, y*J*g*iga^'*WIW*W, ? msmmfm ZEUGMA: ARMAGEDDON ON THE EUPHRATES? Mark Wilson Oral Roberts University Tulsa, OK INTRODUCTION Above Zeugma, the Euphrates flows through a narrow valley with steep sides; below the site (fig. 4), No archaeological site in the world has gathered the river spreads out as the valley broadens and the more attention in 2000 than that of Zeugma in Turkey. plateau (fig. 5) disappears. This deep river trough to Zeugma has been featured in such diverse media as the north has hindered east-west traffic throughout the New York Times, U. S. News & World Report, and history. In antiquity, the only two major river cross ABC World News Tonight, as well as archaeological ings above Zeugma were at Tomisa near Melitene, publications such as Archaeology and Archaeology and at Samosata, the capital of the Commagenian Odyssey. Global interest has been generated because Empire.2 The matter of river crossings relates direct of the spectacular finds discovered shortly before the ly to the route of the Persian Royal Road that ran from site was flooded by the Birecik Dam (fig. 1), located Sardis to Susa. Some advocates of the northern route just downstream.' proposed a crossing near Melitene.3 Others, such as William Ramsay (1890: 27-29), as well as proponents Geographical Location of the southern route plotted its course through the Cilician Gates. This would put the crossing at Zeugma is located in southeastern Turkey (fig. 2) Zeugma (Yamauchi, 1996: 175-76). George M. A. on the Euphrates River (Fyrat Nehri), approximately Hanfmann (1972: 19), the excavator of Sardis, sug five miles northeast of Nizip in the province of gests a hybrid route from Caesarea Mazaca to Gaziantep. -
The Murder of Perdiccas and the River Crossing in Ancient Macedonia*
Karanos 1, 2018 87-106 Death on the Nile: The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia* by Antonio Ignacio Molina Marín Universidad de Alcalá de Henares [email protected] ABSTRACT The death of Perdiccas, son of Orontes, during his invasion of Egypt is a fact hardly understandable, so that we can find different explanations for this event. The main goal of this paper is to establish a connection between Perdiccas’ death and the importance, meaning of rivers and its crossing for the ancient Macedonians. Indeed, rivers were related to kingship. This fact is reflected in its relationship with kings of the Balkan geographical area (Polyaen. 4.12.3). Thus, we can find passages in which some of most important mythical characters were begotten by a god-river (Asteropaios, Rhesus, Orpheus, etc). Besides, sometimes even the majesty comes from the river, because the kings were crowned into the river or near one (App. Syr. 56; Justin 15. 4.2- 7). In fact, the founder of the Argead royal house, Perdiccas I, became king after being saved by a river (Hdt. 8. 138). The strong connection between kings and rivers can be perceived during the crossing, because the Macedonian monarchs, especially Alexander the Great, were responsible of this act. In other words, a true king was able to protect his soldiers during the crossing, given his close link with the water. Perdiccas son of Orontes wanted to become king, therefore the disaster of Nile could be understood like ordeal which showed the will of the river. Perdiccas was not considered a true king, while Ptolemy should become one. -
The Tactical Response of Alexander to Guerilla Warfare and Fighting in Difficult Terrain
South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange History, Political Science, Philosophy, and Religion Department of History, Political Science, Faculty Publications Philosophy, and Religion 12-2015 ‘Surprise, surprise:’ The aT ctical Response of Alexander to Guerilla Warfare and Fighting in Difficult Terrain Graham Wrightson South Dakota State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/hppr_pubs Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons Recommended Citation Wrightson, Graham, "‘Surprise, surprise:’ The aT ctical Response of Alexander to Guerilla Warfare and Fighting in Difficult Terrain" (2015). History, Political Science, Philosophy, and Religion Faculty Publications. 10. http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/hppr_pubs/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History, Political Science, Philosophy, and Religion at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in History, Political Science, Philosophy, and Religion Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ‘Surprise, surprise:’ The tactical response of Alexander to guerilla warfare and fighting in difficult terrain Graham Wrightson South Dakota State University Alexander the Great is most famous as the undefeated general who conquered the Persian Empire only to die suddenly in his mid-thirties. Most works on his leadership focus on his strategic brilliance or on his pitched battles and sieges. But perhaps the most striking part of Alexander’s generalship was his effective responses to irregular warfare throughout his campaigns. -
Xenophon's Anabasis Y Book VI
Xenophon's Anabasis Y Book VI. Ea'ìfcdfm fke Use of Schooh, with Nolcs, Infrductiom, and Vocabulbry by G. H. Nall, M.A. Assistant Master at Westminster School London a Macmillan and Co., Limited New York : Tbe Macmillan Company ' I 902 .. A ...G. PREFACE. THIS Volume, like my editions of Books III. and V. in the series, hm been prepared for eomewhatmore advanced students than those for whom the editions of Boob. I. and II. in the saries were intended. I have therefore provided it with B lengthy Intre j duction, reprintad .from my formereditions, mnch : of whichwould be unsuited for very young boys. I I haveendeavoured, at the erne time, to' make it a neeful book for comparative' beginners, by giving , a great deal of help in the. notes, and by a very full vbcabulary, which containe translations of many of the difficult phrases. I believe that the introductmy notes on the Amy, . .1 which are abundantly illustrated, will be interesting * and instructive to the youngeet boys : and that I g: i portions of the Life of Xenophon-selectedby the 7 Maeter-might be read with advantage by beginners. .msi "he section on the Works of Xenophon i~ of course intended for older bop. V vi PREFACE. PREFACE vii The text is Arnold Hug‘e, far the best text that editions of Vollbrecht and Rehdante. For the we poaaeea I have,however, altogether omitted . eketcheaof Military Manœuvres Í amresponsible, the word0 bracketed by him,and split up Hug‘s A but I have obtsined much help from Köchly and long paragraphs into ehort ones,less formidable to B;iistow’e t3rkhische Kldegsschriftsteller and Vollbrecht the beginner’s eye.