Abdalonymos

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Abdalonymos ( Abd-elonim , ie "servant of the gods"; called by Diodor Ballonymos (Βαλλώνυμος)) was a city king of Sidon (since 332 BC).

Life

Abdalonymos came from the old royal house of Sidon, but was so impoverished that he had to eke out his life as a gardener. At the time of the campaign of Alexander the Great against the Persian king Dareios III. Straton (Abdastart) ruled Sidon. After Alexander emerged victorious from the Battle of Issus (November 333 BC), he moved south to subdue the coastal cities of the Phoenicians . Several princes of Phoenician cities, including Straton, surrendered without offering any resistance. Nevertheless, Straton was deposed because he had previously given his overlord Darius III. had supported against Alexander and therefore could not gain the confidence of the Macedonian conqueror.

Now Alexander's friend Hephaestion should choose a new king for Sidon. First he offered the crown to two wealthy brothers with whom he lived. But these refused, since according to their national customs only someone of royal blood could become ruler. Instead, they suggested Abdalonymos, who was pulling weeds when he was picked up and dressed regally. At first Abdalonymus believed that he was being mocked, but he was led to Alexander, who allegedly recognized a certain noble dignity in the poor gardener. But the conqueror of the world wanted to know how Abdalonymus had endured his poverty. He replied that despite his meager life he had lacked for nothing and that he would lead the government in the same spirit. Satisfied with this statement, Alexander confirmed him as King of Sidon (around January 332 BC) and also gave him the fortune of his predecessor Straton. In addition, Abdalonymos received some areas in the area around the city to expand his empire.

This story is admittedly an anecdote embellished with motifs from the Cynical school of philosophy that is not mentioned at all by the reliable Alexander biographer Arrian ; but it should nonetheless be essentially based on truth. Abdalonymos' survey was apparently welcomed by the common urban population, but rejected by the wealthier classes. According to Plutarch , Abdalonymus was accepted under Alexander's Hetairoi . Nothing more is known about his government than that he sent Alexander perfumes and balms as gifts.

Abdalonymos probably died around 312 BC. His son followed him on the throne, of whose name only the ending […] timos is known. The so-called Alexander sarcophagus was probably made by order of Abdalonymos.

The story of Abdalonymos' elevation found its way into the opera: At Maria Theresa's request, the Italian librettist Pietro Metastasio wrote a textbook Il re pastore based on the report by the Alexander historian Quintus Curtius Rufus , whose most important setting was Mozart 's opera of the same name (premiered April 23, 1775 in Salzburg ).

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Diodorus 17:46, 6.
  2. ↑ Perhaps a title in the hierarchy at court.
  3. ↑ Justin 11:10 , 8f .; Curtius Rufus 4, 1, 15-26; Diodorus 17, 47, 1-6 (who erroneously moved the plot to Tire ); Plutarch , Moralia 340d (who mistakenly relocated the event to Paphos ).
  4. ^ So Lauffer, Alexander the Great , p. 82.
  5. ↑ Diodorus 17:47, 6.
  6. ^ Curtius Rufus 4, 1, 19 and 4, 1, 24.
  7. ↑ Plutarch, Moralia 340d.
  8. ^ Iulius Pollux , Onomastikon 6, 105.
  9. ^ Waldemar Heckel , Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great , p. 1.
  10. ↑ Waldemar Heckel rejects this theory, Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great , p. 1 with reference to Andrew F. Stewart: Faces of Power. Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politics. University of California Press, Berkeley et al. 1993, ISBN 0-520-06851-3 , pp. 294 f.
  11. ↑ Alexander Demandt : Alexander the Great. Life and legend. CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59085-6 , p. 153 f.
personal data
SURNAME Abdalonymos
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Sidon
DATE OF BIRTH before 332 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH around 312 BC Chr.