Achaemenid Persian Empire and Alexander the Great: sources

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Achaemenid Persian Empire and Alexander the Great: sources Krzysztof Nawotka

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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

Transcript of Achaemenid Persian Empire and Alexander the Great: sources

Page 1: Achaemenid Persian Empire and Alexander the Great: sources

Achaemenid Persian Empire and Alexander the

Great: sources

Krzysztof Nawotka

Page 2: Achaemenid Persian Empire and Alexander the Great: sources

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

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Empire of Alexander

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Alexander between different worlds:• Macedonian

• Greek

• Persian

• Indian

• Egyptian

• Babylonian

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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)

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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

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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)

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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)

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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

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Literary sources

• Continuous narrative of events

• Interpretations

• Narrative of motives, thoughts, words

• Reconstruction of chain of events a.k.a. historical processes

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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)

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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)

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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

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Primary Persian sources

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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.

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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]

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Primary Persian sources

Documents:

- on parchemnet, papyrus, leather

- found in Egypt, Bactria

- Aramaic

- Business letters written by officials, private documents (sales, marriage, divorce)

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Persian archaeological sources: Cyrus’ tomb Pasargadae

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Persian archaeological sources: Persepolis

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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

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Gaugamela in astronomical diary

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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

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Alexander chronicle

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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.

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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

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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)