Classical Studies 2902B

Purges and Return to Susa

(December, 325 to March, 324)

In the previous lecture we saw A. arrive in Carmania and the arrest and execution (perhaps at the capital, Salmous) of the Satrap Astaspes. Thereafter the slightly strange business of the four senior Maced. officers (Cleander, Sitalces, Agathon and Heracon), summoned from Ecbatana (in Media) to Carmania along with their troops (6,000 men) to answer serious complaints about their conduct. Cleander and Sitalces were quickly executed, and Heracon later for offences in Susa. (We don’t hear about Agathon, which does not mean, of course, that he got off.) These executions seem to have been popular with the army, since these officers had been involved in the murder of Parmenion—and A., by these executions, was warning all satraps and senior army officers to behave properly.

While he was in Carmania A. issued an order to all Satraps and generals in Asia to dismiss immediately all mercenaries in their employ. Bosworth suggests that A. wanted to hire all these mercenaries for his own army (he was already formulating plans for further conquests—Arabia was to be his first objective), but not all mercenaries wanted service of this sort; and soon wandering bands of under- or un-employed mercenaries became a major nuisance in Asia—and, to some degree, this problem spread to mainland Greece. It was in pursuit of this policy, then, that A. (perhaps from India) had ordered his army commanders in Media (Ecbatana) and Babylonia to bring their troops to become part of the main army. Eventually, it would seem, all Satraps and army commanders in Asia received very similar orders—and, as we shall see, even Antipater (not a Satrap, but in command of the “Generalship of Europe”) was ordered to bring his army from Macedonia to replace time-expired veterans in Asia. There was by now “an atmosphere of fear and suspicion throughout the empire”.

This, it would seem, triggered the flight of the imperial treasurer, Harpalus, prince of Elimiotis, from Babylon (perhaps he too had been summoned to A.’s presence). He had much to be worried about, since Ecbatana had been part of his financial admin. activities (and Cleander was also from Elimiotis, and possibly a relative); in addition, he had behaved as a quasi-monarch in Babylon, with his Athenian mistress, Glycera, acting as Queen. He fled west to the Medit. coast with 5,000 talents from A.s treasury and 6,000 mercenaries, and, eventually arriving in the Aegean, he went to Athens where he had honorary citizenship and hoped to be welcomed. (We shall return to this matter later.) A. replaced him as imperial treasurer by an undistinguished Rhodian accountant—Antimenes, a “competent nonentity” (Green).

In December, 325 Craterus arrived in Carmania with all his forces in good shape; and then news came of Nearchus’ arrival at Harmoza: but when A. first saw him (looking weather-beaten and messy) he thought that N. and his five companions were all that had survived from the fleet—and was delighted to learn that the entire fleet (almost) was undergoing repairs at Harmoza. When A. set out for Pasargadae (and Persepolis) in January, 324), he put Hephaestion in charge of the main bulk of the army to proceed by a long, easy road, while he himself, with more rapidly moving troops and cavalry (and Craterus, probably—why?) went by a more direct route. A very odd situation had occurred in Persis: the satrap had died and a rich Iranian noble, Orxines, descended from Cyrus the Great and commander of the Persian army group at Gaugamela had simply usurped the position of Satrap. A. had no intention of accepting this situation, but when he approached Pasargadae, he and his officers received an extravagant welcome from Orxines. However, he insulted A.’s favourite eunuch (!) Bagoas and was soon accused of having pillaged the tomb of Cyrus the Great and was then arrested, convicted, and hanged—when A. got to Persepolis. There he appointed as Satrap of Persis Peucestas (who?), loyal and undistinguished, and owing everything to A.: he adopted Persian dress and learned to speak Persian fluently and won over his subjects, who thought the world of him.

Early in March, 324, A. after travelling for 24 days, arrived in Susa, just after having met Nearchus who had sailed the length of the Persian Gulf and had reached a spot v. close to Susa. There he remained for some time; first, he executed the Satrap Abulites (and his son, who may have been Satrap in a small territory in the east)…