Meleager (general)

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Meleager (general)

Meleager (Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: Me?ea???? Meleagros; died 323 BC), son of Neoptolemus, was a 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 officer of distinction in the service of 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....
. He is first mentioned in the war against the Getae

Getae

The Getae was the name given by the Greeks to several Thracian tribes that occupied the regions south of the Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria, and north of the Lower Danube, in Romania....
(335 BC); and at the passage of the Granicus

Battle of the Granicus

The Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire. Fought in Northwestern Asia Minor, near the site of Troy, it was here where Alexander defeated the forces of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor, including a large force of Greek mercenaries led by Memno...
in the following year (334 BC), we find him commanding one of the divisions (ta?e??) of the phalanx

Phalanx formation

The phalanx is a rectangular mass military tactical formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pike , or similar weapons....
, a post which he afterwards held apparently throughout the campaigns in Asia. He was appointed, together with Coenus

Coenus

For other uses, see CoenusCoenus , a son of Polemocrates and son-in-law of Parmenion, was one of the ablest and most faithful generals of Alexander the Great in his eastern expedition....
and Ptolemy

Ptolemy (son of Seleucus)

Ptolemy son of Seleucus from Orestis or Tymphaia, was one of the select officers called Somatophylax, or guards of the king's person; he combined with that distinguished post the command of one of the divisions of the Phalanx formation....
the son of Seleucus, to command the newly-married troops which were sent home from Caria

Caria

Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionians and Dorians Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there....
to spend the winter in Macedon

Macedon

Gordium

Gordium was the Capital_ of ancient Phrygia. It was located at the site of modern Yassih?y?k, about 70-80 km southwest of Ankara , in the immediate vicinity of Polatli district....
in the following summer (333 BC).

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Meleager (Greek

Greek language

Macedon

Alexander the Great

Getae

Battle of the Granicus

Phalanx formation

Coenus

For other uses, see CoenusCoenus , a son of Polemocrates and son-in-law of Parmenion, was one of the ablest and most faithful generals of Alexander the Great in his eastern expedition....
and Ptolemy

Ptolemy (son of Seleucus)

Caria

Macedon

Gordium

Battle of Issus

The Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The invading troops led by the young Alexander the Great of Macedonia, outnumbered more than 2:1, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Persia of Achaemenid Empire Persian Empire in the second great battle for primacy in Asia....
and Gaugamela

Battle of Gaugamela

The Battle of Gaugamela took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III of Persia of Achaemenid Empire Persian Empire....
; associated with 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....
in the important task of dislodging the enemy who guarded the passes into Persia

Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
; and again bearing a part in the passage of the Hydaspes, and in various other operations in India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
. But notwithstanding this long series of services we do not learn that Alexander promoted him to any higher or more confidential situation, nor do we find him employed in any separate command of importance.

Meleager had to wait for the discussions which ensued after the death of Alexander to have at last his chance, which he proved ready to grab (323 BC). His conduct on that occasion is differently related. According to Justin

Junianus Justinus

'Justin' was a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire. His name is mentioned only in the title of his own history, and there it is in the genitive, which would be M....
, he was the first to propose in the council of officers, that either Arrhidaeus

Philip III of Macedon

Philip III Arrhidaeus , king of Macedon from June 10, 323 BC until his death, was a son of King Philip II of Macedon by Philinna of Larissa, allegedly a Thessaly dancer, and a half-brother of Alexander the Great....
or Heracles

Heracles (Macedon)

Heracles of Macedon was a reputed illegitimate son of Alexander the Great of Macedon by Barsine, daughter of Satrap Artabazus of Phrygia of Phrygia....
the son of Barsine

Barsine

Barsine was daughter of Artabazus of Phrygia, satrap of Phrygia, and wife of Mentor of Rhodes of Rhodes and after his death, Mentor's brother, Memnon of Rhodes....
should at once be chosen king, instead of waiting for the chance of Roxana

Roxana

Roxana , was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. She was born earlier than the year 341 BC, though the precise date remains uncertain....
bearing a son

Alexander IV of Macedon

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

Quintus Curtius Rufus

Quintus Curtius Rufus was a Ancient Rome historian. It is generally thought that he has written his works during the reign of the Emperor Claudius or Vespasian....
, on the contrary, represents him as breaking out into violent invectives against the ambition of 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 ....
, and abruptly quitting the assembly, in order to excite the soldiery to a tumult. Diodorus

Diodorus Siculus

Diodorus Siculus , was a Roman Greece historian who flourished in the 1st century BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agira in Sicily ....
, again, states that he was sent by the assembled generals to appease the clamours and discontent of the troops, but instead of doing so he himself joined the mutineers. In any case it is certain that Meleager early assumed the lead of the opposition to Perdiccas and his party; and placed himself at the head of the infantry, who had declared themselves (possibly at his instigation) in favour of the claims of Arrhidaeus to the vacant throne. Meleager even went so far as to order the execution of Perdiccas, but this project was disconcerted by the boldness of the regent

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....
: and the greater part of the cavalry, together with almost all the generals, sided with Perdiccas, and, quitting Babylon

Babylon

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
, established themselves in a separate camp without the walls of the city. Matters thus seemed tending to an open rupture, but a reconciliation was effected, principally by the intervention of Eumenes

Eumenes

Eumenes of Cardia was a ancient Greece general and scholar. He participated in the wars of the Diadochi as a supporter of the Macedonian Argead dynasty royal house....
, and it was agreed that the royal authority should be divided between Arrhidaeus and the expected son of Roxana, and that in the mean time Meleager should be associated with Perdiccas in the regency. It was, however, evidently impossible that these two should long continue on really friendly terms, and Meleager proved no match for Perdiccas. Perdiccas contrived to lull his rival into fancied security, while he made himself master both of the person and the disposition of Philip Arrhidaeus, of which he immediately took advantage, and hastened to strike the first blow. The whole army was assembled under pretence of a general review and lustration, when the king, at the instigation of Perdiccas, suddenly demanded the surrender and punishment of all the leaders in the late disorders. The infantry were taken by surprise, and unable to offer any resistance; 300 of the alleged mutineers were singled out, and instantly executed; and though Meleager himself was not personally attacked, he deemed it necessary to provide for his safety by flight, and took refuge in a temple, where he was quickly pursued and put to death by order of Perdiccas.