The Battle of Orkynia was a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in the wars of the successors of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

(see

Diadochi The Diadochi (; singular: Diadochus; from grc-gre, Διάδοχοι, Diádochoi, Successors, ) were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The War ...

) between Antigonus I Monophthalmus and

Eumenes Eumenes (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης; c. 362316 BC) was a Greek general and satrap. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as both Alexander's personal secretary and as a battlefield commander. He later was a participant in t ...

. It was fought near Orkynia in

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...

in 319 BC and resulted in a stunning Antigonid victory.

Background

After the death of

in 323 BC, his generals immediately began squabbling over his huge empire. Soon it degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim a portion of Alexander's vast empire. One of the most talented successor generals (Diadochi) was Antigonus Monophthalmus, so called because of an eye he lost in a siege. During the early years of warfare between the Diadochi, he faced

, a capable general who had already crushed

Craterus Craterus or Krateros ( el, Κρατερός; c. 370 BC – 321 BC) was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. Throughout his life he was a loyal royalist and supporter of Alexander the Great.Anson, Edward M. (20 ...

. After the

First War of the Diadochi The Wars of the Diadochi ( grc, Πόλεμοι τῶν Διαδόχων, '), or Wars of Alexander's Successors, were a series of conflicts that were fought between the generals of Alexander the Great, known as the Diadochi, over who would rule h ...

, the war against

Perdiccas Perdiccas ( el, Περδίκκας, ''Perdikkas''; 355 BC – 321/320 BC) was a general of Alexander the Great. He took part in the Macedonian campaign against the Achaemenid Empire, and, following Alexander's death in 323 BC, rose to beco ...

, ended in 321 BC, the second partition of the Empire, the

Partition of Triparadisus The Partition of Triparadisus was a power-sharing agreement passed at Triparadisus in 321 BC between the generals (''Diadochi'') of Alexander the Great, in which they named a new regent and arranged the repartition of the satrapies of Alexander's e ...

, took place. It stipulated that Antipater became the new regent of the Empire and Antigonus strategos of Asia charged him with hunting down and defeating the remnants of the Perdiccan faction. Antigonus took command of the Royal Army and after being reinforced with more reliable troops from Antipater's European army he moved against their enemies in Asia Minor. He first marched against Eumenes in Cappadocia but had to leave a substantial force to watch Alketas who was in Pisidia in his rear. Therefore, Antigonos was only able to take 10,000 infantry (half of them Macedonians), 2,000 cavalry and thirty elephants against Eumenes, who had some 20,000 infantry and 5,000 horse.

Prelude

Eumenes outnumbered Antigonus in infantry and cavalry, despite this Antigonus adopted a bold, attacking strategy. Eumenes was encamped on a plain well-suited for cavalry fighting near Orkynia when Antigonus suddenly arrived and camped on a hill overlooking the plain. Because of his position, Antigonus could give or refuse battle at will. Unbeknownst to Eumenes, Antigonus got in touch with his cavalry officer Apollonides, who was willing to change sides.

Battle

One day Antigonus drew up his phalanx twice as long as usual, hereby tricked his opponent into thinking he had twice as much infantry as he in fact had, this was combined with the treachery of Apollonides' cavalry. In this way Eumenes' army was put to flight. Not content with this, Antigonus sent his cavalry to capture Eumenes' baggage. There were thus three elements in Antigonus's battle tactics, and the result was a brilliant victory, in which his smaller army slew about 8,000 of the enemy and most of the rest went over to him.

Aftermath

Eumenes escaped with a substantial body of troops, he captured and killed the traitor Apollonides, evaded the pursuit of Antigonus's forces, and doubled back to the battlefield, where he buried his dead. Eventually Antigonus caught up with Eumenes, who was forced to take refuge in a stronghold called Nora with his closest followers, some 600–700 in number. There Antigonus invested him closely, but the fortress was well stocked and virtually impregnable. Antigonus left the siege of Nora to a subordinate and marched with the bulk of his army to deal with the remaining Perdiccans: Alketas, Polemon, Dokimos and Attalos.Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica'', XVIII 44, 1–2.

References

{{coord missing, Turkey 319 BC Orkynia Orkynia 319 BC Antigonus I Monophthalmus