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Achaemenid Persian Empire and Alexander the Great: sources. Krzysztof Nawotka. Alexander the Great: overview. Born: July 356, son of Philip II of Macedonia and Olympias King: October 336 Conquered the Persian Empire: 334-327 Passage to India: 327-325 Proclaimed god: 324 Died: 11 June 323. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Achaemenid Persian Empire and Alexander the
Great: sources
Krzysztof Nawotka
Alexander the Great: overview
Born: July 356, son of Philip II of Macedonia and Olympias
King: October 336
Conquered the Persian Empire: 334-327
Passage to India: 327-325
Proclaimed god: 324
Died: 11 June 323
Empire of Alexander
Alexander between different worlds:• Macedonian
• Greek
• Persian
• Indian
• Egyptian
• Babylonian
Alexander: sources
Sources (information from antiquity) and secondary literature (modern interpretation)
Various categories:
Written vs. Archaeological, iconographic, numismatic, topographic
Literary vs. Documentary
Classical (Greek and Latin) vs. Oriental
Contemporary (primary) vs. Later (secondary)
Primary classical sources - literary
Alexander’s companions:Ptolemy – bodyguard and king of EgyptAristobulos – army engineerOnesicritus – helmsmenNearchus – admiralChares – chamberlainCallisthenes – court historianCleitarchus – 4th/3rd c. author
ALL GONE
Secondary classical sources - literary
• Much later than Alexander• Written on the basis of primary sources• Flavius Arrianus (Arrian):- Roman consul and historian (c. 86-140 AD)- Works:- Anabasis of Alexander (Ptolemy, Aristobulos,
Cleitarchus),- Indica (Nearchus)
Secondary classical sources - literary
• Vulgate authores – based mostly on Cleitarchus:
• Diodorus of Sicily (1st c. BC)
• Q. Curtius Rufus (1st c. AD)
• Iunius Iustinus (Justin) (2-4th c. AD?) – after Pompeius Trogus (1st c.BC/1st c. AD)
Secondary classical sources - literary
• Plutarch (c. 50-120 AD) – philosopher and erudite
- Works:- Life of Alexander- On fortune or virtue of Alexander- Used dozens of primary sources• Military authors: Frontinus• Anecdotes: Lucian, Aelian
Literary sources
• Continuous narrative of events
• Interpretations
• Narrative of motives, thoughts, words
• Reconstruction of chain of events a.k.a. historical processes
Primary classical sources - documentary
GONE:
Ephemerides – King’s journal
Bematists – army surveyors
Accounts
Alexander’s letters: to Olympias, to Antipater (viceroy in the Balkans), to Phocion (Athenian general and politician)
Primary classical sources - documentary
EXTANT:
Aristotle’s letter to Aristotle (in Arabic translation)
Alleged diplomatic letters between Alexander and Darius
Spurious last will of Alexander (Liber de morte testamentoque Alexandri Magni – LDM)
Primary classical sources - documentary
• Greek inscriptions:
- Alexander’s letters to Greek states, e.g. to Chios
- Decrees of Greeks states bestowing honors on Macedonians
- Sources to learn constitutional history
Primary Persian sources
Monumental Achaemenid inscriptions (DB1: Bisitun)
\ adam \ Dârayavauš \ xšâyathiya \ vazraka \ xšâyatha \ xšâyathiy
• ânâm \ xšâyathiya \ Pârsaiy \ xšâyathiya \ dahyûnâm \ Višt
• âspahyâ \ puça \ Aršâmahyâ napâ \ Haxâmanišiya \ thâtiy \
• Dârayavauš \ xšâyathiya \ manâ \ pitâ \ Vištâspa \ Vištâspahyâ \ pitâ \ Arš
• âma \ Aršâmahyâ \ pitâ \ Ariyâramna \ Ariyâramnahyâ \ pitâ\ Cišpiš \ Cišp
• âiš \ pitâ \ Haxâmaniš \ thâtiy \ Dârayavauš \ xšâthiya \ avahyarâ
• diy \ vayam \ Haxâmanišiyâ \ thahyâmahy \ hacâ \ paruviyata \ âmâtâ \ ama
• hy hacâ \ paruviyata \hyâ \amâxam \ taumâ \ xšâyathiyâ \ âha \ th
• 1) I am Darius, the great king, king of kings, the king of Persia, the king of countries, the son of Hystaspes, the grandson of Arsames, the Achaemenid. (2) King Darius says: My father is Hystaspes; the father of Hystaspes was Arsames; the father of Arsames was Ariaramnes; the father of Ariaramnes was Teispes; the father of Teispes was Achaemenes.
• (3) King Darius says: That is why we are called Achaemenids; from antiquity we have been noble; from antiquity has our dynasty been royal.
Primary Persian sources
Persepolis tablets:PTT: 139 (492-458)PFT: c. 30,000 (6th/5th c.)Clay, mostly Elamaite, also Aramaic and one
GreekAccounts from central administration, e.g.:130 liters of barley from the possessions of Amavrta
have been received by Barîk-'El as his rations. Given in the town of Ithema, in the twenty-first year [of Darius] in the month Shibar [November/December 501]. [PFT 798]
Primary Persian sources
Documents:
- on parchemnet, papyrus, leather
- found in Egypt, Bactria
- Aramaic
- Business letters written by officials, private documents (sales, marriage, divorce)
Persian archaeological sources: Cyrus’ tomb Pasargadae
Persian archaeological sources: Persepolis
Primary Babylonian sources
• On clay tablets• Akkadian, cuneiform• Astronomical diaries: records of observation of
sky every night, miscellaneous economic data (prices), religious and political history
• Business documents, e.g. archive of Murašu of Nippur
• Rare historical, e.g.: Alexander chronicle, Successors chronicle
Gaugamela in astronomical diary
Astronomical diaries
• Extremely precise dates (Babylonian dates can precisely be ‘translated’ to ours):
- Battle of Gaugamela: 1 October 331
- Surrounder of Babylon: 21 October 331
- Death of Alexander: 28 Daisios (Plutarch) = ?, diary: 29 Aiaru = 11 June 323
Alexander chronicle
Alexander chronicle
• [MU ... ITI ŠU? .. .. .. .. .. ina gišG]U.ZA-šú id-de-ku-šú mbi-/e\-[es?-su?],4' [šámAr-tak-šat-su (?)] MU-šú MU-’u u m{DIŠ (over erasure)}a-lik-sa u ERÍN-[MEŠ-šú]' [.. .. .. .. .. ERÍN]-MEŠ-šú i-u-tu TA lúERÍN.ME[Š ..]6' [.. .. .. .. x x i]d-duk lúERÍN ha-ni-e lúERÍN.MEŠ-šú š[á .. ..][(...) ...............]7' [.. .. .. ..] AN /RA?\ [..] m/da-ri\-ia-a-muš LUGAL GIN [MEŠ?]
• Year 330? month IV? …… from] his [thr]one they removed him. Be[ssos?],[whom Artaxerxes?] as his name they named, ?][and Alexa(nder) and his troops' [.. .. .. .. .. [ ....... with] his few [troop]s from the troops [...... (...)]6' he killed/defeated. The Hanaean troops, his troops wh[ich ......]7' [.. .. .. ..] from] /Babylon?\ [to?] Darius, the king, went.
Oriental religious sources
• Representing politics and history in religious terms
• Prophecies ex post, e.g. Dynastic Prophecy written after Gaugamela
• Alexander in Zoroastrian literature: guzastag (like Ahriman), leader of demons from the land of wrath
Sources: fundamental problems
• No significant contemporary literary sources – hence image of Alexander filtered through preceptions of later generations
• Lack of significant oriental sources: one-sided view (Greek, western)