Cleomenes of Naucratis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cleomenes (
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Kλεoμένης ''Kleoménes''; died 322 BC), a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
of
Naucratis Naucratis or Naukratis (Ancient Greek: , "Naval Command"; Egyptian: , , , Coptic: ) was a city and trading-post in ancient Egypt, located on the Canopic (western-most) branch of the Nile river, south-east of the Mediterranean sea and the city o ...
in Ancient Egypt, was appointed by Alexander III of Macedon as
nomarch A nomarch ( grc, νομάρχης, egy, ḥrj tp ꜥꜣ Great Chief) was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called nomes (singular , plural ). A nomarch was the government official responsib ...
of the Arabian Nome (''νoμoς'') of Egypt and receiver of the tributes from all the nomes (districts) of ancient Egypt and the neighbouring part of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
(331 BC).


Life

Some of the ancient writers say that Alexander made Cleomenes
satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
of Egypt, but
Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
expressly states that the other nomarchs were independent of him, except that they had to pay to him the tributes of their districts. It would, however, appear that he had no difficulty in extending his depredations over all Egypt, and it is possible that he would have taken the title of satrap. It is told that his rapacity knew no bounds, that he exercised his office solely for his own advantage. When there was a scarcity of
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
, which was less severe in Egypt than in the neighbouring countries, he at first forbade its export from Egypt. But when the nomarchs represented to him that this measure prevented them from raising the proper amount of tribute, he permitted the export of grain, but placed a heavy export duty on it. On another occasion, when the price of grain was ten
drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...
s, Cleomenes bought it up and sold it at 32 drachmas; and in other ways he interfered with the markets for his own gain.Aristotle, ''Economics'' 1352 a-b Alexander had entrusted him to build the new city of
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
. Cleomenes informed the people of
Canopus Canopus is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina (constellation), Carina and the list of brightest stars, second-brightest star in the night sky. It is also Bayer designation, designated α Carinae, which is Lat ...
, then the chief emporium of Egypt, that he must move them to the new city. To avert such an evil they provided him with a large sum of money. But, as the building of Alexandria advanced, he again demanded that the people of Canopus pay him a large sum of money, which they could not pay. So this provided him with the excuse for removing them. He also made money out of the superstitions of the people. After one of his boys had been killed by a
crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
, he ordered the crocodiles be destroyed. But, in return for all the money which the priests gathered to save their sacred animals, he revoked his order. On another occasion he sent for the priests, and informed them that the religious establishment was too expensive and must be reduced. So the priests handed over to him the treasures of their temples. So he then left them undisturbed. Alexander was informed of Cleomenes' actions, but found it convenient to take no notice of them. But after his return to
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
in 323 BC, he wrote to Cleomenes, commanding him to erect at Alexandria a splendid monument to
Hephaestion Hephaestion ( grc, Ἡφαιστίων ''Hephaistíon''; c. 356 BC  –  October 324 BC), son of Amyntor, was an ancient Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great. He was "by far the dearest of all the ...
, and promised that if this work was zealously performed, he would overlook his misconduct. In the distribution of Alexander's empire after his death (323 BC), Cleomenes remained in Egypt as satrap under
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
, who put him to death on the suspicion of his favouring
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 becom ...
. The effect, if not also a cause, of this act was that Ptolemy was then able to take possession of Cleomenes' accumulated wealth, which amounted to 8000 gold talents.Arrian, ''
Anabasis Alexandri ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἀνάβασις, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; la, Anabasis Alexandri) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The ...
''
iii. 5vii. 23
Photius Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...
, ''Bibliotheca''
cod. 82
Justin, ''Epitome of Pompeius Trogus''
xiii. 4
Curtius Rufus Curtius Rufus () was a Roman professional magistrate of senatorial rank mentioned by Tacitus and Pliny the Younger for life events occurring during the reigns of the emperors Tiberius and Claudius. In all probability, he is to be equated with the ...
, ''Historiae Alexandri Magni''
iv.8.5
Pseudo-Aristotle Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as ps ...
, '' Oeconomica''
ii. 13521353
Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...
, ''Against Dionysodorus''
7
Pausanias, ''Description of Greece''
i. 6
Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ;  1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...
, ''Bibliotheca'', xviii. 14


Notes


References

* Bevan, Edwyn R.;
The House of Ptolemy
',
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, (1927)
ch. 1
* Smith, William (editor); ''
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...
''
"Cleomenes"
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, (1867) {{SmithDGRBM, title=Cleomenes of Naucratis Naucratians Nomarchs 4th-century BC Egyptian people 322 BC deaths Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire Hellenistic Egypt Executed ancient Egyptian people People executed by ancient Egypt Year of birth unknown