Eumenes

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Eumenes

Eumenes of Cardia (ca. 362 BC—316 BC) was a Greek

Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
general and scholar. He participated in the wars of the Diadochi

Diadochi

The Diadochi were the rival successors of Alexander the Great, and their Wars of the Diadochi followed Alexander's death. This was the beginning of the Hellenistic period of Greek history, the time when many people who were not Greek themselves adopted Greek philosophy and styles, Greek urban life, and aspects of the Greek religion....
as a supporter of the Macedon

Macedon

Macedon or Macedonia was the name of a monarchy centred in the northernmost part of ancient Greece. The homeland of the ancient Macedonians, it was bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east....
ian Argead

Argead dynasty

The Argead dynasty was the ancient Greeks ruling house of Macedon from about 700 BC to 310 BC. Their tradition, as described in ancient Greek historiography, traced their origins to Argos, in southern Greece ....
royal house.

He was a native of Cardia

Cardia (Thrace)

Cardia , anciently the chief town of the Thracian Chersonese , was situated at the head of the gulf of Melas . It was originally a colony of the Miletus and Clazomenae; but subsequently, in the time of Miltiades , the place also received Athens colonists, as proved by Miltiades tyranny ....
in the Thracian Chersonese

Thracian Chersonese

The Thracian Chersonese was the ancient name of the Gallipoli peninsula, in the part of historic Thrace that is now part of modern Turkey.The peninsula runs in a south-westerly direction into the Aegean Sea, between the Hellespont and the bay of Melas ....
. At a very early age he was employed as private secretary by Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon,...
, and, after the death of Philip II, by Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III of Macedon was an ancient Greeks King of Macedon . He was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and is presumed undefeated in battle....
, whom he accompanied into Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
. After Alexander's death (323 BC), Eumenes took command of a large body of Macedonian and Greek soldiers fighting in support of Alexander's son, Alexander IV

Alexander IV of Macedon

Alexander IV Aegus was the son of Alexander the Great and the princess Roxana, of Bactria....
.

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Eumenes of Cardia (ca. 362 BC—316 BC) was a Greek

Ancient Greece

Diadochi

Macedon

Argead dynasty

Cardia (Thrace)

Thracian Chersonese

Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon,...
, and, after the death of Philip II, by Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Asia

Alexander IV of Macedon

Alexander IV Aegus was the son of Alexander the Great and the princess Roxana, of Bactria....
. In the ensuing division of the empire, Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Cappadocia, Wikipedia:IPA for English /k?p?'do???/ , was an extensive inland district of Asia Minor . The name continued to be used in western sources and in the Christianity tradition throughout history and is still widely used as an international Tourism in Turkey concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders characterized by...
and Paphlagonia

Paphlagonia

Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus....
were assigned to Eumenes; but as they were not yet subdued, Leonnatus

Leonnatus

Leonnatus , Macedon officer of Alexander the Great and one of the diadochi.He was a member of the royal house of Lyncestis, a small kingdom that had been included in Macedonia by King Philip II of Macedon....
and Antigonus

Antigonus I Monophthalmus

Antigonus I Monophthalmus son of Philip from Elimiotis, was a Macedonian nobleman, general, and satrap under Alexander the Great. He was a major figure in the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death, declaring himself king in 306 BC and establishing the Antigonid dynasty....
were charged by Perdiccas

Perdiccas

Perdiccas was one of Alexander the Great's generals. After Alexander's death in 323 BC he became regent of all Alexander's empire.Arrian tells us he was son of Orontes, a descendant of the independent princes of the province of Orestis ....
with securing them for him. Antigonus, however, ignored the order, and Leonnatus vainly attempted to induce Eumenes to accompany him to Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
and share in his far-reaching designs.

Eumenes joined Perdiccas, who installed him in Cappadocia. When Craterus

Craterus

For other uses , see Craterus Craterus was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi.He was the son of a Macedonian nobleman named Alexander from Orestis and brother of admiral Amphoterus....
and Antipater

Antipater

Antipater was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became regent of all of Alexander's empire....
, having subdued Greece in the Lamian War

Lamian War

The ?Lamian War?, also referred to as the ?Hellenic War? and the ?War against Antipater? , was fought by the Athenians and their Aetolian, Locrian, and Phocian allies against the Macedonians in Thessaly during the winter of ....
, determined to pass into Asia and overthrow the power of Perdiccas, their first blow was aimed at Cappadocia. Craterus and Neoptolemus

Neoptolemus (general)

Neoptolemus was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great. As we are told by Arrian that he belonged to the race of the Aeacidae, he was probably related to the family of the kings of Epirus ....
, satrap

Satrap

Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of ancient Medes and Persian Empire empires, including the Achaemenid Empire and in several of their heirs, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic civilization empires....
of Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in South Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea....
, were completely defeated by Eumenes in a battle somewhere near the Hellespont

Hellespont

Hellespont was the ancient name of the narrow strait, now known by the modern European term 'Dardanelles'. It was so called from Helle , the daughter of Athamas, who was drowned here in the mythology of the Golden Fleece....
in 321 BC. Neoptolemus was killed, and Craterus died of his wounds.

After the murder of Perdiccas in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
by his own soldiers (320 BC), the Macedonian generals condemned Eumenes to death, assigning Antipater and Antigonus as his executioners. Eumenes, betrayed to them by one of his own officers, fled to Nora, a strong fortress on the border between Cappadocia and Lycaonia

Lycaonia

In ancient geography, Lycaonia was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor, north of Mount Taurus. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to the south it extended to the chain of Mount Taurus, where it bordered on the country popularly called in earlier times Cilicia...
, where he held out for more than a year, until the death of Antipater threw his opponents into disarray. Antipater had left the regency

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "reigning", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present or debilitated....
to his friend Polyperchon

Polyperchon

Polyperchon son of Simmias from Tymphaia in Epirus , was a Macedonian general who served under Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great, accompanying Alexander throughout his long journeys....
instead of his son Cassander

Cassander

Cassander , King of Macedon , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the short-lived Antipatrid dynasty....
. Cassander therefore allied himself with Antigonus and Ptolemy

Ptolemy I Soter

Ptolemy I Soter was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty....
, while Eumenes allied himself with Polyperchon. He was therefore able to escape Nora, and his forces were soon threatening Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
and Phoenicia

Phoenicia

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and the Palestinian territories....
.

In 318 BC Antigonus marched against him, and Eumenes withdrew east to join the satraps of the provinces beyond the Tigris River. After two indecisive battles at Paraitacene

Battle of Paraitacene

The Battle of Paraitacene was a battle in the wars of the successors of Alexander the Great between Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Eumenes....
(317 BC) and Gabiene

Battle of Gabiene

Battle of Gabiene was a second great battle between two of Alexander the Great's successors: Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Eumenes in the wars of the Diadochi....
(316 BC), Eumenes was betrayed to Antigonus by his own soldiers.

According to Plutarch

Plutarch

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 ? 120 ? commonly known in English as Plutarch ? was a Ancient Rome historian , biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonism....
and Diodorus, Eumenes had won the battle but lost control of his army's baggage camp. This baggage was all the loot which the Macedonian veterans (called the Argyraspids, or Silver Shields) had accumulated over 30 years of successful warfare. It contained not only gold and gems but the Greeks' women and children. Antigonus sent a message to the Silver Shields saying he would give back all their baggage if they gave him Eumenes. The Silver Shields handed over Eumenes. Antigonus, after some consideration, had his enemy executed.

The Macedonians in his army were openly skeptical of Eumenes. Despite his undeniable skills as a general, he never commanded their full allegiance and died as a result. He was an able soldier who did his utmost to maintain the unity of Alexander's empire in Asia; but his efforts were frustrated by the generals and satraps, who hated and despised him as a non-Macedonian general and mere secretary. Eumenes is a tragic figure, a man who seemingly tried to do the right thing but was overcome by a more ruthless enemy and the treachery of his own soldiers.

Eumenes

See also

External links