Harpagus (also known as
Harpagos or
HypargusHypargos or Hypargus may refer to:*Hypargus, an ancient name of the town of Parga in western Greece.*Hypargus, also known as Hypargos, is a scientific name:**Pseudodrephalys hypargus, a butterfly species...
), (
AkkadianAkkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
:
ArbakuArbaces, according to Ctesias, one of the generals of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria and founder of the Median empire about 830 BC. From the inscriptions of Sargon II of Assyria we know one Arbaku of Arnashia as one of forty-five chiefs of Median districts who paid tribute to Sargon in 713...
,
ArbacesArbaces, according to Ctesias, one of the generals of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria and founder of the Median empire about 830 BC. From the inscriptions of Sargon II of Assyria we know one Arbaku of Arnashia as one of forty-five chiefs of Median districts who paid tribute to Sargon in 713...
), was a
MedianThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
generalA general officer is an officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is simply called general.-All general officer...
from the
6th century BCEThe sixth century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.In India, Panini, sometime during this century, composed a grammar for Sanskrit, which is the one of oldest extant grammar of any language after 15 other proto-dravidian languages like Brahmi.In the Near East,...
, credited by
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
as having put
Cyrus the GreatCyrus the Great , also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder, was the first Zoroastrian Persian Shāhanshāh...
on the throne through his defection during the battle of
PasargadaePasargadae , the capital of Cyrus the Great and also his last resting place, was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an archaeological site and one of Iran's five UNESCO World Heritage Sites....
.
According to
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
'
HistoriesThe Histories of Herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in Western literature. Written from the 450s to the 420s BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that...
, Harpagus was a member of the
MedianThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
royal house in service to King
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
, the last king of
MediaThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
.
When word reached
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
that Cyrus was gathering his forces, he ordered Harpagus, as his primary general, to lead the army against Cyrus.
Harpagus (also known as
Harpagos or
HypargusHypargos or Hypargus may refer to:*Hypargus, an ancient name of the town of Parga in western Greece.*Hypargus, also known as Hypargos, is a scientific name:**Pseudodrephalys hypargus, a butterfly species...
), (
AkkadianAkkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
:
ArbakuArbaces, according to Ctesias, one of the generals of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria and founder of the Median empire about 830 BC. From the inscriptions of Sargon II of Assyria we know one Arbaku of Arnashia as one of forty-five chiefs of Median districts who paid tribute to Sargon in 713...
,
ArbacesArbaces, according to Ctesias, one of the generals of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria and founder of the Median empire about 830 BC. From the inscriptions of Sargon II of Assyria we know one Arbaku of Arnashia as one of forty-five chiefs of Median districts who paid tribute to Sargon in 713...
), was a
MedianThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
generalA general officer is an officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is simply called general.-All general officer...
from the
6th century BCEThe sixth century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.In India, Panini, sometime during this century, composed a grammar for Sanskrit, which is the one of oldest extant grammar of any language after 15 other proto-dravidian languages like Brahmi.In the Near East,...
, credited by
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
as having put
Cyrus the GreatCyrus the Great , also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder, was the first Zoroastrian Persian Shāhanshāh...
on the throne through his defection during the battle of
PasargadaePasargadae , the capital of Cyrus the Great and also his last resting place, was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an archaeological site and one of Iran's five UNESCO World Heritage Sites....
.
Biography
According to
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
'
HistoriesThe Histories of Herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in Western literature. Written from the 450s to the 420s BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that...
, Harpagus was a member of the
MedianThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
royal house in service to King
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
, the last king of
MediaThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
.
When word reached
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
that Cyrus was gathering his forces, he ordered Harpagus, as his primary general, to lead the army against Cyrus. After a three-day battle on the plain of
PasargadaePasargadae , the capital of Cyrus the Great and also his last resting place, was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an archaeological site and one of Iran's five UNESCO World Heritage Sites....
, Harpagus took his revenge for the death of his son when he turned on the battlefield in favor of Cyrus, resulting in
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
' defeat and the formation of the
Persian EmpireThe Achaemenid Empire or Persian Empire was the successor state of the Median Empire, ruling over significant portions of what would become Greater Iran. The Persian and the Median Empire taken together are also known as the Medo-Persian Empire, succeeding the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
.
Myth
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
accounts for the turn of Harpagus' support to a version of the cannibal feast of
ThyestesIn Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops, King of Olympia, and Hippodamia and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. Thyestes and his twin brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus in their desire for the throne of Olympia...
. He reports that
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
, after having a dream that his daughter,
MandaneMandana of Media was a Princess of Media and, later, the Queen consort of Cambyses I of Anshan and mother of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persia's Achaemenid Dynasty.-Mandana in Herodotus' Histories:...
, would give birth to a king who would overthrow him, ordered Harpagus to expose the child at birth. Harpagus, reluctant to spill his own royal blood, gave the child (Cyrus) to a shepherd named Mitradates, who raised him as his own son.
Ten years later, when Cyrus was discovered alive,
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
punished Harpagus for his disobedience by killing Harpagus' only son and feeding him to the courtier during a banquet. It is said that Harpagus did not react during the banquet, other than to gather the pieces of his son and remove them for burial.
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
then asked his
MagiMagi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BCE, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which was – in the main – the ability to read the stars, and manipulate...
(priests) for their advice about the fate of Cyrus. They told him that the boy, who had been discovered while playing
king of the mountainKing of the Hill , is a game, the object of which is to stay on top of a large hill or pile as the "King of the Hill"...
with his friends, had fulfilled the prophecy of becoming a king, albeit in play, and was no longer a danger. On their advice,
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
sent Cyrus to his parents, Cambyses I and
MandaneMandana of Media was a Princess of Media and, later, the Queen consort of Cambyses I of Anshan and mother of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persia's Achaemenid Dynasty.-Mandana in Herodotus' Histories:...
, in
AnšanAnshan , a site on the Iranian plateau, 36 km northwest of modern Shiraz in the Zagros mountains of the Fars province, southwestern Iran, was one of the early capitals of Elam, from the 3rd millennium BC.- History :Before 1973, when it was identified as Tall-i Malyan, Anshan had been assumed by...
(southwestern
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
near
ShirazShiraz is the sixth most populous city in Iran and the capital of Fars Province. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Rudkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river. Shiraz has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for more than a thousand years.The earliest reference to the city,...
).
Harpagus bided his time, sending gifts to Cyrus to keep contact with him, as he worked to turn the nobles of Media against
AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
. When they were ready, he sent a message to Cyrus, hidden in the belly of a hare, informing him the
MediansThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
would mutiny on the field, should he take arms against his grandfather.
Harpagus in historical texts
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
,
The HistoriesHistories or, in Latin, Historiae is the name of several works from Antiquity:* The Histories of Herodotus, by Herodotus* The Histories, by Timaeus of Tauromenium* Histories, by Polybius* Histories, by Tacitus...
:
"AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
, as soon as Cyrus was born, sent for Harpagus, a man of his own house and the most faithful of the MedesThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
...."
"When Cyrus beheld the Lydians arranging themselves in order of battle on this plain, fearful of the strength of their cavalry, he adopted a device which Harpagus, one of the MedesThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
, suggested to him. He collected together all the camels that had come in the train of his army to carry the provisions and the baggage, and taking off their loads, he mounted riders upon them accoutred as horsemen. These he commanded to advance in front of his other troops against the Lydian horse..."
"AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
, meanwhile, took the son of Harpagus, and slew him, after which he cut him in pieces, and roasted some portions before the fire, and boiled others..."
"When Cyrus grew to manhood, and became known as the bravest and most popular of all his compeers, Harpagus, who was bent on revenging himself upon AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
, began to pay him court by gifts and messages..."
"Upon MazaresMazares was a Median general who defected to Cyrus the Great when the latter overthrew his grandfather, Astyages and formed the Persian Empire.-Mazares in Herodotus' Histories:...
' death, Harpagus was sent down to the coast to succeed to his command. He also was of the race of the MedesThe Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media...
, being the man whom the MedianIn probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the number separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest...
king, AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
, feasted at the unholy banquet, and who lent his aid to place Cyrus upon the throne..."
"After conquering the Ionians, Harpagus proceeded to attack the Carians, the Caunians, and the Lycians. The Ionians and Aeolians were forced to serve in his army..."
The Chronicle of Nabonidus:
"King AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
called up his troops and marched against Cyrus, king of AnšanAnshan , a site on the Iranian plateau, 36 km northwest of modern Shiraz in the Zagros mountains of the Fars province, southwestern Iran, was one of the early capitals of Elam, from the 3rd millennium BC.- History :Before 1973, when it was identified as Tall-i Malyan, Anshan had been assumed by...
(southwest IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
), in order to meet him in battle. The army of AstyagesAstyages Kurdish Azhdihak or Ajdihak, ; spelled by Herodotus as Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Akkadian: Ištumegu), was the last king of the Median Empire, r...
revolted against him and in fetters they delivered him to Cyrus. Cyrus marched against the country EcbatanaPlease update as needed.Ecbatana is supposed to be the capital of Astyages , which was taken by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great...
; the royal residence he seized; silver, gold, other valuables of the country EcbatanaPlease update as needed.Ecbatana is supposed to be the capital of Astyages , which was taken by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great...
he took as booty and brought to AnšanAnshan , a site on the Iranian plateau, 36 km northwest of modern Shiraz in the Zagros mountains of the Fars province, southwestern Iran, was one of the early capitals of Elam, from the 3rd millennium BC.- History :Before 1973, when it was identified as Tall-i Malyan, Anshan had been assumed by...
."
Military career
After the defeat of Astyages (550 BC) started Harpagus - according to Herodotus - a military career under the new ruler Cyrus II:
- Harpagus suggested using camels as the front line against the Lydians
Lydians were the inhabitants of Lydia, a region in western Anatolia. Their capital was at Sardis. Their recorded history of statehood, which covers three dynasties,manyak,sharmoot,haywaan came to an abrubt end after a military defeat in the 6th century BC, while the account of their roots, mixed...
in Cyrus II's war against CroesusCroesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 546 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
, thereby scattering the LydianLydian may refer to:* Lydian language, an ancient Anatolian language* Lydian script* Lydian mode, one of the modes derived from ancient Greek music* Lydian , a decorative typeface* Lydia, an ancient kingdom in western Anatolia...
cavalry (the horses panicked at the smell of the dromedariesThe dromedary or Arabian camel is a large even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. Its native range is unclear, but it was probably the Arabian Peninsula...
).
- Following a revolt by the Lydians and the death of Cyrus II's infantry commander, General Mazares
Mazares was a Median general who defected to Cyrus the Great when the latter overthrew his grandfather, Astyages and formed the Persian Empire.-Mazares in Herodotus' Histories:...
, Cyrus II turned over the conquest of Asia Minor to Harpagus, who went on to serve as Cyrus II's most successful general.
- The Median general followed his victory at Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
by conquering IoniaIonia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
, PhoeniciaPhoenicia what is now modern day Lebanon, 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 Palestine...
, CariaCaria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
, LyciaLycia was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
and many other regions of Asia Minor (except MiletusMiletus was an ancient city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
which had earned the favor of Cyrus II through their great sage ThalesThales of Miletus , was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Asia Minor, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition...
's advice to stay neutral in the LydianLydian may refer to:* Lydian language, an ancient Anatolian language* Lydian script* Lydian mode, one of the modes derived from ancient Greek music* Lydian , a decorative typeface* Lydia, an ancient kingdom in western Anatolia...
war).
- Though feared in battle, Harpagus is said to have followed Cyrus's policy of tolerance and freedom of religion toward those he conquered.
- Harpagus was also known for innovations in engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
techniques, specifically, the use of earthworkEarthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed rock. Engineers need to concern themselves with issues of geotechnical engineering and with quantity estimation to ensure that soil volumes in the cuts match those of the fills, while minimizing...
ramps and mounds during sieges (a method later employed by Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
during his siege of Tyre) and for the use of mountain climbers to scale opponents' walls.
- Despite Harpagus' reputation for mercy, the residents of Xanthos
Xanthos was the name of a city in ancient Lycia, the site of present day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey, and of the river on which the city is situated...
in LyciaLycia was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
committed suicide rather than surrender to him, saying that they had never been conquered.
- The Phoenicians
Phoenicia what is now modern day Lebanon, 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 Palestine...
also did not wait for Harpagus' victory, stealing away on ships, abandoning their homeland for their colony of CarthageCarthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian...
.
Later life
After the completion of his conquests, Harpagus was appointed
SatrapSatrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of ancient Median and Persian empires, including the Achaemenid Empire and in several of their heirs, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....
of Asia Minor. His descendents are claimed as the royal family of
LyciaLycia was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
in what is now southwest
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
.
External links