ABSTRACTS

ISSUE 1: MACEDONES, PERSIA ET ULTIMA ORIENTIS

Franca Landucci (Catholic University of Milan, Italy)

ALEXANDER, THE CROWN PRINCE

Keywords: Alexander the Great, Philip II, Macedonian kingship, youth, upbringing

Abstract

The Life of Alexander by Plutarch and the Alexander Romance by Ps.-Callisthenes are the only two sources that deal with Alexander’s birth, childhood and youth. Both works deliver a large number of anectodes: but only in the case of Plutarch’s biography do these anecdotes maintain a firm connection with reality. In the Alexander Romance, the author offers the reader a story full of plot twists. Alexander’s youth ended abruptly in the autumn of 336, when his father Philip II was murdered in Aigai, during the ceremonies organized to celebrate the wedding between Cleopatra, Philip’s daughter and Alexander’s sister, and the king of Epirus, Alexander called Molossos: the crown prince became king in a sudden and most unexpected way.

Sabine Müller (University of Marburg, Germany)

ALEXANDER AND MACEDONIAN RELATIONS WITH THEBES – A REASSESSMENT

Keywords: Alexander III, Macedonia, Thebes, Theban Hegemony, Attic Orators

Abstract

A complex number of reasons and motives led to the punishment of rebellious Thebes in 335 BC. Of course, it was a clear warning to potential rebels against the Macedonian hegemony over Greece. However, the idea that it was mainly an example meant to produce fear, intimidation, and submission out of fright, falls short. Another key element determining the punishment was the Macedonian attempt to gain sympathy and acceptance by those Greeks who had suffered from Theban politics. The Macedonians probably hoped to be seen as their liberators. Argead Macedonia had also experienced Theban pressure during her supremacy. In addition, Thebes had repeatedly unmasked herself as Macedonia’s unreliable enemy. Many Greek contemporaries seemed to have approved of the destruction of Thebes. At that time, such a punishment was a common practice of warfare anyway. The later reports on Thebes’ fall are in parts misleading and biased by a literary layer of mythmaking concerning Thebes.

Luisa Prandi (University of Verona, Italy)

BYZANTIUM AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT: A CONVERGENCE OF INTERESTS

Keywords: Alexander the Great, Byzantium, Arrian, Thracian campaign, ships

Abstract

The present paper focuses on a small detail in Arrian’s narrative concerning the Balkan campaign of Alexander (335 BC). The presence of a fleet leaving Byzantium to meet the king along the river Istros suggests a coherent frame to better understand the politics of the Greek city, which was concerned with the menace of the barbarians, and had to face strategic plans of Alexander. The alliance between the Macedonian king and Byzantium cannot be regarded as an episodic phenomenon.

Nicholas Victor Sekunda (University of Gdańsk, Poland)

ALEXANDER AND DEMARATUS OF CORINTH AT THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER GRANICUS

Keywords: Alexander of Macedon, Battle of Granicus, Ancient Sicily, Ancient Macedonia

Abstract

The concept Peter Green first suggested in 1974 that the battle of the River Granicus in 334 BC was a two phase battle, with an unsuccessful cavalry charge across the river on the afternoon of the first day, followed by a night march crossing the river, with a successful battle on the second day, should be revived. Demaratus of Corinth is attested at Granicus in fighting at the side of Alexander of Macedon. A few years earlier, at the battle of the River Damurias in Sicily, he was very probably a witness to a charge across a steep-banked river, against Greek mercenary opponents by the cavalry of Timoleon. Probably, the idea that a cavalry charge across the river against Granicus against a formation of hoplites, could have been successful was suggested to Alexander by Demaratus of Corinth.

Silvia Panichi (University of Perugia, Italy)

ALEXANDER AND CAPPADOCIA

Keywords: Ariarathes, Antigonus Monophtalmus, Persian counteroffensive, Iranians

Abstract

According to the opinio communis Cappadocia, on the eve of Alexander’s expedition, was divided into two satrapies. The southern part went to Sabictas, the satrap chosen by Alexander, while the northern part remained with Ariarathes, who later took control over all of Cappadocia. Moreover, in this common view, Cappadocia came under Macedonian control only in 322 B.C., when Perdiccas defeated and killed Ariarathes. In this paper, however, I formulate the hypothesis that Sabictas kept the all of Cappadocia for a short time, but after that the satrapy did not escape the Macedonian control. Cappadocia remained under Macedonian control during Alexander’s expedition, since Antigonus Monophtalmus, at the time of the Persian counteroffensive following Issus (333 B.C.), assigned it to Ariarathes in exchange for his neutrality.

Marek Jan Olbrycht (Rzeszów University, Poland)

ALEXANDER THE GREAT IN SITTAKENE AND THE REORGANIZATION OF HIS ARMY (331 B.C.)

Keywords: Alexander the Great, Iran, military, Sittakene, infantry, Persis, Uxian land, Babylonia

Abstract

Following the subjugation of Babylonia, Alexander’s next major target was Susa, one of the Achaemenid metropolises on the plains of Khuzestan, located at the gateway to the Iranian Plateau. Iran was a separate theatre of war with huge mountains, deserts and long, vulnerable communication routes. The new conditions and challenges of the planned campaign in Iran required the creation of a deeply modified armed force. Alexander urgently needed new missile troops, light infantry javelineers, and a stronger cavalry. He also had to reorganize the army to better coordinate his actions, and flexibly divide and combine strike units. To achieve these goals, Alexander decided to introduce military reforms in Sittakene, located between Babylonia and Susiana.

Waldemar Heckel (Calgary, Canada)

ARTABAZOS IN THE LANDS BEYOND THE CASPIAN

Keywords: Artabazos, Persia, Alexander the Great, Persian aristocracy, Curtius Rufus, Arrian

Abstract

Artabazos, one of the best known Persian leaders in the final decades of the Achaimenid Empire and under Alexander, warrants closer study. He was the son of the famous satrap of Daskyleion, Pharnabazos, and Apame, a daughter of Artaxerxes II. When Alexander’s army landed in Asia Minor, two of the leaders of the resistance on the Aegean coast were members of Artabazos’ family: his son-in-law Memnon and his own son Pharnabazos. Although Artabazos’ activities in 330-328 are reasonably well documented by Arrian, it is largely from the work of Q. Curtius Rufus that we can construct a better picture of his career and of Persian factional rivalry.

Jeffrey D. Lerner (Wake Forest University, USA)

ALEXANDER’S SETTLEMENT OF THE UPPER SATRAPIES IN POLICY AND PRACTICE

Keywords: Alexander the Great, Central Asia, settlement policy, foundations

Abstract

The paper examines the policy of urbanism in Central Asia as it was enacted by Alexander the Great during his anabsis in the region, as it is presented by ancient Greek and Latin authors. The analysis is two-fold: a concise historical reconstruction of the campaign, followed by the settlement policy as it was enacted. The most important conclusion raised by the investigation is that the majority of foundations attributed to Alexander were in fact little more than fortresses and garrisons in cities, or cities renamed for him, while the real work of establishing a policy of urbanism was left to his successors.

Eduard V. Rtveladze (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)

ALEXANDER THE GREAT’S CAMPAIGN IN BASAND (BAISUN)

Keywords: Bactria, Alexander the Great, Basand/Baisun, Kurganzol, Hellenistic history

Abstract

At the end of the episode in Curtius Rufus detailing the capture of the Rock of Sisimithres there is an intriguing event which deserves special attention (Curt. 8.2.33–40). This event in Alexander’s campaign in Central Asia, marred by great difficulties and fierce fighting, has never been the subject of a special study, although it was this march that led to the tragic death of two Macedonian heroes – Philippus, the brother of Alexander’s personal bodyguard Lysimachus, and Erigyius, one of the “illustrious generals” of the Macedonian army. They died during a campaign in Basand (Baisun). In the first period of its existence (late 4th–early 3rd century BC) Kurganzol was a tholos intended for the burial with splendor and honor of Philippus and Erigyius.

Luis Ballesteros Pastor (Universidad de Sevilla, Spain)

ZOPYRION’S SCYTHIAN CAMPAIGN: HISTORICAL AND HISTORIOGRAPHICAL PROBLEMS

Keywords: Zopyrion, Macedonia, Scythians, Olbia, Alexander the Great

Abstract

As related by Quintus Curtius and Macrobius, Zopyrion, who was appointed by Alexander as episkopos of Thrace, attacked Olbia in c. 326 BC. He was annihilated along with his army by the resistance of the city and a storm. The defeat provoked an uprising in Thrace, which had to be subdued. The event, however, occurs in Justin’s Epitome earlier than it had taken place, and coincides with Antipater’s campaign against Agis III of Sparta. This mistaken chronology can be blamed on Justin’s manipulation of Trogus’ Philippic Histories. Justin, who was a native of the Western Black Sea coast, aimed to highlight this debacle of Alexander’s army and to extol the bravery of the Scythians. Therefore, this author makes no reference to the Thracians and the Olbiopolitans. This interest in the deeds of the Western Scythians appears in other passages of Justin’s Epitome. Trogus’ source might have also been influenced by local traditions from the Black Sea area which would explain why the Zopyrion affair occurred at the conclusion of the Book XII of the Philippic Histories.

Tomasz Ślęczka (University of Wrocław, Poland)

AN AMBIGUOUS HERO: ALEXANDER OF MACEDON IN OLD POLISH LITERATURE: SELECTED ASPECTS

Keywords: Alexander the Great, old Polish Literature, exemplum historicum, Mikołaj Rej, Wacław Potocki

Abstract

The paper focuses on the specific usage of the personage of Alexander the Great in old Polish literature. The author has decided to limit its scope to particular motifs only, originating in the biography of the king of Macedon that functioned in the body of argumentative topoi as a historical exemplum. This means that no historical works have been included here that present the history of Macedon, just as literary works dedicated entirely to Alexander and collections or fragments of collections of examples that do not form a complete story. The analysis of the compiled material leads to the conclusion that Alexander’s biography was basically used in two ways: first, as a source of positive examples, focused around the praise of the king’s commanding skills, his courage, methods of building trust of his soldiers, magnanimity towards the defeated, in particular women. The positive image of the ruler was also shaped by Alexander’s interactions with philosophers (especially Aristotle). Secondly, however, the figure of Alexander is characteristic in that it is equally associated with a negative vision, composed by pride, desire for conquest, drunkenness, anger and debauchery. Characteristically, the work of the very same author may depict Alexander as positive and negative at the same time (Mikołaj Rej, Wacław Potocki), and it is the balanced coexistence of both representations that makes literary Alexander truly unique. The serious examples present in old Polish literature are accompanied by a smaller group of works where the episodes from Alexander’s biography are employed in a humorous concept (Baroque poems by Daniel Naborowski and Jan Andrzej Morsztyn).

ISSUE 1: VARIA ASIATICA

Altay Coşkun (Canada)

THE LIBERATION OF JUDAEA AND EARLY MACCABAEAN DIPLOMACY WITH ROME

ACCORDING TO JUSTIN (36.3.9), DIODORUS (40.2/4) AND CAESAR (JOS. ANT. JUD. 14.10.6 [205])

Keywords: Judaea, Roman Diplomacy, Judas Maccabee, John Hyrcanus I, John Hyrcanus II, Demetrius I Soter, Demetrius II Nicator, Justin, Diodorus, Caesar

Abstract

Justin (36.3.9), Diodorus (40.2/4) and Julius Caesar (quoted by Josephus, Ant. Jud. 14.10.6 [205]) are the only non-Jewish sources to mention Roman-Judaean diplomacy in the 2nd century BCE. Some scholars have adduced them to reject the claim of 1 Macc 8 that Judas Maccabee established friendship and alliance with Rome in 161 BCE – unduly so, as this article sets to argue. Justin has often been misunderstood as attesting only a grant of freedom to Judaea rather than a treaty, but this would be misreading the anti-Roman rhetoric. What is more, Justin mentions that amicitia began under King Demetrius, and different to previous interpretations, the context compels us to identify him with Demetrius II Nicator during his second tenure (129–125 BCE). Diodorus has been read as evidence for freedom under Demetrius I Soter (162–150 BCE), but the transmitted text does not speak of a Demetrius or a revolt from the Seleucids; what it does is alluding to Judaean diplomacy

with Rome under John Hyrcanus I (135–105 BCE). Caesar states that Joppa was a possession of the Judaeans before the Romans first made a treaty with them. Since the city was taken by Jonathan and Simon for the first time in 150 BCE, Caesar reflects the same unawareness of the first Judaean-Roman treaty of friendship and alliance made under Judas. Rather than providing independent evidence against the claim of 1 Macc 8, the three sources under examination seem to be traces of one now-lost Graeco-Roman tradition (most likely Posidonius) that let Judaean-Roman amicitia begin under John Hyrcanus I in ca. 128 BCE.

Andrea F. Gatzke (SUNY New Paltz, USA)

BILINGUALISM AND THE MONUMENTAL LANDSCAPE IN THE TRIODOS OF EPHESOS

Keywords: Ephesos, epigraphy, inscriptions, bilingualism, Roman period

Abstract

This paper concerns the bilingual monuments in the city center of Roman Ephesos, an area often called ‘Triodos’ because of the three intersecting roads there. The author argues that the concentration of bilingualism in this part of the city reveals its deeper nature as a cultural center. Further, the author explains how the bilingual inscriptions affected the linguistic landscape of Ephesos, suggesting that these monuments were built to target traffic from certain parts of the city.

Eduard Rung (Kazan Federal University, Russia)

Aleksandr Sapogov (Saratov, Gymnasium No 34, Russia)

THE AFTERMATH OF THE PEACE OF CALLIAS

Keywords: Persia, Achaemenids, Sparta, Athens, Greece

Abstract

The paper discusses the history of Greco-Persian relations from the Peace of Callias to the Peace of Antalcidas in the light of recently published book by John Hyland, Persian Interventions: The Achaemenid Empire, Athens, and Sparta, 450–386 BCE (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018). This is an outstanding work, suggesting some reflections on how ideological doctrines exerted a direct influence on foreign policy and international relations. Of course, one can agree with the book’s author that the imperial ideology of the Achaemenids was inherent in both the period of the great Persian conquests from Cyrus the Great to Xerxes, and the period when the conquering activity of the Persians was declining. However, it is hardly possible to support the author in the opinion that the Persians were not interested in balancing Greeks, and their interferences in interstate relations in Greece were not determined by the desire to support a weaker party against a stronger one. Besides, Hyland does not take into account the obvious fact that the Greeks themselves were ready to deliberately allow the Persians to interfere in their affairs according to their own interests, and, at last, he considers “Greek interventions” as simple interferences in the affairs of Persia.

Jeffrey D. Lerner (Wake Forest University, USA)

DIE STUDIES OF SIX GREEK BAKTRIAN AND INDO-GREEK KINGS

Keywords: Baktria, Hellenistic Central Asian numismatics, Diodotos, Euthydemos, Eukratides

Abstract

Olivier Bordeaux has successfully produced a significant contribution to the field of Hellenistic Central Asian numismatics, Les Grecs en Inde. The work stems from the author’s thesis written under the direction of Osmund Bopearachchi. In some respects, the book under review acts as a welcomed revision to Bopearachchi’s 1991 opus. There is little doubt that this work will be regarded as foundational and a standard reference for years to come.

THE HISTORY OF SCHOLARSHIP

Joanna Pisulińska (Rzeszów University, Poland)

HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AND FAR EAST IN THE STUDIES OF SCHOLARS IN LWÓW (1918–1939)

Keywords: University of Lwów (Lviv), history of the Middle and Far East, Oriental Studies

Abstract

During the period between the wars (1918-1939), the historians at John Casimir University in Lwów contributed significantly to Polish studies of the Orient, especially to antiquity. The most influential Orientalists in Lwów were Andrzej Gawroński, Zygmunt Smogorzewski, Władysław Kotwicz, and Stefan Stasiak. They created the Institute of Oriental Studies at the University of Lwów, which was open to historians, biblical scholars and archaeologists; they established the Polish Society of Oriental Studies; and they began the first specialized journal on the subject. Their academic output was outstanding, especially in the area of Indian and Mongolian studies, and was appreciated worldwide. Moreover, they inspired and encouraged historians, like Franciszek Bujak and Olgierd Górka, to conduct research into the field. Taken together the older genearation of scholars who studied ancient history (Moses Schorr, Konstanty Chyliński, Aleksy Klawek, Józef Poplicha) and the next (Eugeniusz Słuszkiewicz, Stefan Przeworski, Kazimierz Zakrzewski, Atanazy Fic) expanded the scope of research on the subject, as it is reflected in the curricula offered to the students at the University.