Spitamenes
Encyclopedia
Spitamenes Sogdian warlord, leader of the uprising in Sogdiana and Bactria against Alexander of Macedon 329 BC.
When Alexander was founding the new city of Alexandria Eschate
on the Jaxartes river, news came that Spitamenes had roused Sogdiana
against him and was besieging the Macedon
ian garrison in Maracanda
. Too occupied at the moment to personally confront Spitamenes he sent an army under the command of Pharnuches
which was promptly annihilated with a loss of no less than 2000 infantry and 300 cavalry.
The uprising now posed a direct threat to his army, and Alexander moved personally to relieve Maracanda, only to learn that Spitamenes had left Sogdiana, attacking now Bactra
, from where he was repulsed with great difficulty by the satrap
of Bactria
Artabazus
(328 BC).
The decisive point came in December 328 BC when Spitamenes was defeated by Alexander's general Coenus at the Battle of Gabai. Spitamenes' wife killed him and sent his head to Alexander, suing for peace and effectively dissolving Spitamenes' army.
Spitamenes had a daughter, Apama, who was married to one of Alexander's most important generals and an eventual Diadochi
(successor), Seleucus I Nicator
(February 324 BC). The couple had a son, Antiochus I Soter
, eventually a ruler of the successor Seleucid Empire
. Several towns were named Apamea in her honour.
's novel The Afghan Campaign. In it, Spitamenes is described as a cunning military commander of natural talent. The novel is largely the description of the campaign which destroyed Spitamenes' Sogdian uprising.
When Alexander was founding the new city of Alexandria Eschate
Alexandria Eschate
Alexandria Eschate or Alexandria Eskhata was founded by Alexander the Great in August 329 BCE as his most northerly base in Central Asia...
on the Jaxartes river, news came that Spitamenes had roused Sogdiana
Sogdiana
Sogdiana or Sogdia was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great . Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created...
against him and was besieging the Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ian garrison in Maracanda
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
. Too occupied at the moment to personally confront Spitamenes he sent an army under the command of Pharnuches
Pharnuches of Lycia
Pharnuches was a Lycian appointed by Alexander the Great to command the force sent into Sogdiana against Spitamenes in 329 BC. The result of the expedition was disastrous, with the destruction of the whole army...
which was promptly annihilated with a loss of no less than 2000 infantry and 300 cavalry.
The uprising now posed a direct threat to his army, and Alexander moved personally to relieve Maracanda, only to learn that Spitamenes had left Sogdiana, attacking now Bactra
Balkh
Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
, from where he was repulsed with great difficulty by the satrap
Satrap
Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....
of Bactria
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
Artabazus
Artabazus
Artabazus was the name of a satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia , under the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia....
(328 BC).
The decisive point came in December 328 BC when Spitamenes was defeated by Alexander's general Coenus at the Battle of Gabai. Spitamenes' wife killed him and sent his head to Alexander, suing for peace and effectively dissolving Spitamenes' army.
Spitamenes had a daughter, Apama, who was married to one of Alexander's most important generals and an eventual Diadochi
Diadochi
The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...
(successor), Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire...
(February 324 BC). The couple had a son, Antiochus I Soter
Antiochus I Soter
Antiochus I Soter , was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. He reigned from 281 BC - 261 BC....
, eventually a ruler of the successor Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
. Several towns were named Apamea in her honour.
In fiction
Spitamenes is a central, but indirect character in Steven PressfieldSteven Pressfield
Steven Pressfield is an American novelist and author of screenplays, principally of military historical fiction set in classical antiquity...
's novel The Afghan Campaign. In it, Spitamenes is described as a cunning military commander of natural talent. The novel is largely the description of the campaign which destroyed Spitamenes' Sogdian uprising.
External links
- Livius, "Spitamenes", by Jona Lendering
- Wiki Classical Dictionary: Spitamenes