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Peithon, son of Agenor

 

 
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Peithon, son of Agenor (?-312 BCE) was an officer in the expedition 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....
 to 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....
, who became satrap of the Indus from 325 to 316 BCE, and then satrap of Babylon, from 316 to 312 BCE, until he died at the Battle of Gaza
Battle of Gaza (312 BC)

The Battle of Gaza was a battle of the Diadochi#Third War of the Diadochi, 314-311 BC between Ptolemy I of Egypt and Demetrius I of Macedon ....
 in 312 BCE.

hon was very successful in his Indian campaigns, first mentioned as the commander of a 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....
 battalion in January 325 in the battles against the Mallians (Indian Mālava) in the southern Punjab.

r these deeds, Alexander named him viceroy of the Indus area, around 325 BCE, to the east of the territory held in the Paropamisadae
Paropamisadae

Paropamisadae or Paropamisus was the ancient Greek name for a region of the Hindu-Kush in eastern Afghanistan, centered on the cities of Kabul and Kapisa ....
 by the satrap Oxyartes
Oxyartes

Oxyartes was a Bactrian, father of Roxana, the wife of Alexander of Macedon. He is first mentioned as one of the chiefs who accompanied Bessus on his retreat across the Amu Darya into Sogdiana ....
 and to the south of the territories where Philip, son of Machatas was satrap:

"He (Alexander) appointed Peithon viceroy of the land extending from the confluence of the Indus and Acesines as far as the sea, together with all the coast-land of India" Arrian Anabasis Book 6b


Later, Peithon managed putting down the revolt of king Musicanus
Musicanus

Musicanus was an Indian king at the head of the Indus, who raised a rebellion against Alexander the Great around 323 BCE. Peithon, son of Agenor, one of Alexander's generals, managed to put down the revolt:...
 (Indian: Mūshika) at the head of the Indus:

"Meantime he was informed that Musicanus had revolted.






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Peithon, son of Agenor (?-312 BCE) was an officer in the expedition 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....
 to 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....
, who became satrap of the Indus from 325 to 316 BCE, and then satrap of Babylon, from 316 to 312 BCE, until he died at the Battle of Gaza
Battle of Gaza (312 BC)

The Battle of Gaza was a battle of the Diadochi#Third War of the Diadochi, 314-311 BC between Ptolemy I of Egypt and Demetrius I of Macedon ....
 in 312 BCE.

Officer

Peithon was very successful in his Indian campaigns, first mentioned as the commander of a 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....
 battalion in January 325 in the battles against the Mallians (Indian Mālava) in the southern Punjab.

Satrap of the Indus (325-316 BCE)

After these deeds, Alexander named him viceroy of the Indus area, around 325 BCE, to the east of the territory held in the Paropamisadae
Paropamisadae

Paropamisadae or Paropamisus was the ancient Greek name for a region of the Hindu-Kush in eastern Afghanistan, centered on the cities of Kabul and Kapisa ....
 by the satrap Oxyartes
Oxyartes

Oxyartes was a Bactrian, father of Roxana, the wife of Alexander of Macedon. He is first mentioned as one of the chiefs who accompanied Bessus on his retreat across the Amu Darya into Sogdiana ....
 and to the south of the territories where Philip, son of Machatas was satrap:

"He (Alexander) appointed Peithon viceroy of the land extending from the confluence of the Indus and Acesines as far as the sea, together with all the coast-land of India" Arrian Anabasis Book 6b


Later, Peithon managed putting down the revolt of king Musicanus
Musicanus

Musicanus was an Indian king at the head of the Indus, who raised a rebellion against Alexander the Great around 323 BCE. Peithon, son of Agenor, one of Alexander's generals, managed to put down the revolt:...
 (Indian: Mūshika) at the head of the Indus:

"Meantime he was informed that Musicanus had revolted. He dispatched the viceroy, Peithon, son of Agenor, with a sufficient army against him, while he himself marched against the cities which had been put under the rule of Musicanus. Some of these he razed to the ground, reducing the inhabitants to slavery; and into others he introduced garrisons and fortified the citadels. After accomplishing this, he returned to the camp and fleet. By this time Musicanus had been captured by Peithon, who was bringing him to Alexander." Arrian Anabasis Book 6b


Peithon was confirmed in his position at the Partition of Babylon
Partition of Babylon

The Partition of Babylon designates the attribution of the territories of Alexander the Great between his generals after his death in 323 BCE....
 following the death of Alexander in 323 BCE:

"To the colonies settled in India, Python, the son of Agenor, was sent." Justin XIII.4


According to the text of the Partition of Triparadisus
Partition of Triparadisus

The Partition of Triparadisus was a power-sharing agreement passed at Triparadisus in 321 BCE between the generals of Alexander the Great, in which they named a new regent and established the repartition of their satrapies....
 in 321 BCE, Peithon was again confirmed in his dominion over the area beyond the Hindu-Kush:

"The country of the Parapamisians
Paropamisadae

Paropamisadae or Paropamisus was the ancient Greek name for a region of the Hindu-Kush in eastern Afghanistan, centered on the cities of Kabul and Kapisa ....
 was bestowed upon Oxyartes
Oxyartes

Oxyartes was a Bactrian, father of Roxana, the wife of Alexander of Macedon. He is first mentioned as one of the chiefs who accompanied Bessus on his retreat across the Amu Darya into Sogdiana ....
, the father of Roxane
Roxane

Roxane may be* An alternative spelling for the female given name Roxanne* Roxane, a brand name of the drug roxatidine* 317 Roxane, an asteroid...
; and the skirts of India adjacent to Mount Parapamisus
Paropamisadae

Paropamisadae or Paropamisus was the ancient Greek name for a region of the Hindu-Kush in eastern Afghanistan, centered on the cities of Kabul and Kapisa ....
, on Peithon the son of Agenor. As to the countries beyond that, those on the river Indus, with the city Patala
Patala

Patala is a town and a nagar panchayat in Ghaziabad district in the Indian States and territories of India of Uttar Pradesh....
 (the capital of that part of India) were assigned to Porus
Porus

King Porus was the King of Pauravas. The state falls within the territory of Punjab region located between the Jhelum River and the Chenab rivers in the Punjab region and dominions extending to the Beas ....
. Those upon the Hydaspes, to Taxiles
Taxiles

Taxiles was the Greece chroniclers' name for a prince or king who reigned over the tract between the Indus River and the Hydaspes Rivers in the Punjab region at the period of the expedition of Alexander the Great, 327 BC....
 the Indian." Arrian "Anabasis, the Events after Alexander"


According to other sources, he was also at one point satrap of the Punjab.

In 317 BCE, another Peithon
Peithon

Peithon or Pithon was the son of Crateuas, a nobleman from Eordaia in western Macedonia. One of the bodyguards of Alexander the Great, later satrap of Medes and one of the diadochi....
, the satrap of Media
Medes

The Medes were an Ancient Iranian peoples who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area was known in Greek as Media or Medea ....
, tried to control the eastern rulers of the Empire. Macedonians troops from India were sent west to combat him, weakening the Greek positions in India. Peithon, son of Agenor, left India in 316 BCE for Babylon (Diod. XIX, 56, 4).

About that time, Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya , sometimes known simply as Chandragupta , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in bringing together most of the Indian subcontinent....
 began reconquering the northwestern territories held by the Greeks.

Satrap of Babylon (315-312 BCE)

In 315 BCE, Peithon, son of Agenor, was named satrap of Babylonia
Babylonia

Babylonia was a state in Lower Mesopotamia , Babylon as its franklin. Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad....
 by Antigonus Monophthalmus, and participated on his side in his fight against Cassander
Cassander

Cassander , King of Macedon , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the short-lived Antipatrid dynasty....
 and Ptolemy
Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
 in 314 BCE. Peithon was together with Nearchus
Nearchus

Nearchus or Nearch was one of the officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. His celebrated voyage from India to Susa after Alexander the Great's expedition in India is preserved in Arrian's account, the Indica ....
, a former admiral of Alexander, assisting Demetrius, the son of Antigonus. At the Battle of Gaza
Battle of Gaza (312 BC)

The Battle of Gaza was a battle of the Diadochi#Third War of the Diadochi, 314-311 BC between Ptolemy I of Egypt and Demetrius I of Macedon ....
 in autumn 312 BCE, the Egyptian side under Ptolemy won, and Peithon was killed in action.

It is unknown what happened in India right after his departure, but ancient sources reported that the prefects of Greek territories were assassinated in the Indian uprisings led by Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya , sometimes known simply as Chandragupta , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in bringing together most of the Indian subcontinent....
:

"India, after the death of Alexander, had assassinated his prefects, as if shaking the burden of servitude. The author of this liberation was Sandracottos (Chandragupta), but he had transformed liberation in servitude after victory, since, after taking the throne, he himself oppressed the very people he has liberated from foreign domination" Justin XV.4.12-13


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