Peithon
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Peithon or Pithon (
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 ...
: ''Πείθων'' or ''Πίθων'', 355 – 314 BC) was the son of Crateuas, a nobleman from
Eordaia Eordaia ( el, Εορδαία) is a municipality in the Kozani regional unit, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Ptolemaida. The municipality has an area of 708.807 km2. The population was 45,592 in 2011. Municipality The munici ...
in western
Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...
ia. He was famous for being one of the bodyguards of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
, becoming the later
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
Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
, and claiming to be one of the
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 ...
. Peithon was named one of the seven (later eight)
Somatophylakes ''Somatophylakes'' ( el, Σωματοφύλακες; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece. The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon a ...
"bodyguards" of Alexander in 335 BC. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Peithon was made the satrap of Media, the strategically important region that controlled all roads between east and west. The satrapy was too large for one man; Peithon would be very powerful, and could destabilize the entire empire. Therefore, he had to give up the northern part, which was given to
Atropates Atropates ( peo, *Ātr̥pātaʰ and Middle Persian ; grc, Ἀτροπάτης ; c. 370 BC - after 321 BC) was a Persian nobleman who served Darius III, then Alexander the Great, and eventually founded an independent kingdom and dynasty that wa ...
; from then on the region was known as
Media Atropatene Atropatene ( peo, Ātṛpātakāna; grc, Ἀτροπατηνή), also known as Media Atropatene, was an ancient Iranian kingdom established in by the Persian satrap Atropates. The kingdom, centered in present-day northern Iran, was ruled by A ...
. The soldiers who remained in the eastern part of Alexander's realm after his death grew agitated by their lengthy stay abroad, and began spontaneous revolts. The regent
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 ...
sent Peithon to subdue the revolts. He was given a contingent of
Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...
ians. Peithon easily defeated his opponents and accepted their capitulation. His men, however, having hoped to plunder, massacred their opponents. After Peithon returned to Media, Perdiccas began to distrust him. During 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 ...
, Perdiccas ordered Peithon to reinforce him and help him invade Ptolemaic Egypt and fight against
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 ...
. In summer 320 BC, Peithon, Seleucus, and Antigenes murdered Perdiccas and started negotiating with their opponents. Ptolemy suggested that Peithon be made the new regent, but the other diadochi would not accept this. Therefore, Antipater was chosen to be the new regent. After the death of Antipater (the Regent of the Empire), Peithon tried to expand his power over the eastern satrapies. He invaded the satrapy of
Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
, killed its Satrap
Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, and made his brother Eudemus the new satrap. The other satraps in inner Asia were quick to perceive their danger and united all their forces under
Peucestas Peucestas ( grc, Πευκέστας, ''Peukéstas''; lived 4th century BC) was a native of the town of Mieza, in Macedonia, and a distinguished officer in the service of Alexander the Great. His name is first mentioned as one of those appointed t ...
(also a former Somatophylax), the satrap of Persia, who defeated Peithon, and drove him from Parthia. Peithon returned to Media, and then went on to Babylon to try to persuade Seleucus to back him in an attempt to reassert his authority. While in Babylon
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 ...
and his army arrived from the west, Eumenes was gathering forces for a showdown with Antigonus Monopthalmus, the
Strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
of Asia. Peithon and Seleucus rejected Eumenes's request to join his cause (he claimed to be fighting for the kings Alexander IV and Philip III). Eumenes, then, went on to
Susiana Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo- Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...
, where he found the forces of the
upper satrapies The Upper Satrapies ( gr, ἄνω σατραπεῖαι, anō satrapeiai) is a collective term used in the Hellenistic period to refer to the eastern, Iranian-populated, provinces ("satrapies") of the empire of Alexander the Great, especially durin ...
under Peucestas. Peithon joined the army of Antigonus, who had come east in pursuit of Eumenes. During the battles of Paraitakene and Gabiene Peithon commanded the left flank of Antigonus's army. At Paraitakene he almost lost the battle by charging the enemy without orders, but he redeemed himself at Gabiene by winning the battle on the left flank. After the
Second War of the Diadochi The Second War of the Diadochi was the conflict between the coalition of Polyperchon (as Regent of the Empire), Olympias and Eumenes and the coalition of Cassander, Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus following the death of Cassander's father, An ...
, Peithon was among the most powerful diadochi in the eastern part of the empire and he started to build his power again. Antigonus felt threatened by Peithon's growing power so he tricked him into coming to his court, where he had him executed.Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica'', XIX 46,5-6; Polyainos, ''Strategemata'' 6,14.


References


External links


Peithon (1)
by Jona Lendering, at Livius.org {{MacedonKings 4th-century BC viceregal rulers Somatophylakes Ancient Macedonian generals Generals of Alexander the Great Regents of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Ancient Eordaeans Trierarchs of Nearchus' fleet Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire 4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC Macedonians 350s BC births 310s BC deaths