Attalus (Diadoche)

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Attalus ( Greek  Ἄτταλος ; † 316 BC ) was a Macedonian soldier of Alexander the Great and a general in the early Diadoch Wars .

He was one of Andromenes' four sons, his brothers were Amyntas , Simmias and Polemon . The brothers had already been brought to the Macedonian court in Pella by King Philip II , where they were given important positions. Attalus even became a bodyguard ( somatophlax ) of the king and was one of those who in 336 BC. Killed the assassin Pausanias . Because Alexander's campaign in Asia he fought as a soldier in the department (taxis) of his brother Amyntas. In the affair of the Dimnos assassination plan , the brothers got into 330 BC. Were suspected of participating in the conspiracy, but were acquitted of all suspicions after a defense of Amyntas. In 328 BC In Bactria , Attalus is mentioned as the leader of a detachment of infantrymen (pezhetairoi) and in the investigation of the page conspiracy .

Attalus was married to Atalante, sister of the high-ranking general Perdiccas . The period of the marriage is not recorded, but it could have been before the Asian campaign. Consequently, after the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Attalus supported His brother-in-law as regent of the Alexander Empire . With him he moved in 321 BC. From Babylon to Asia Minor to subdue the revolting Pisidians there. He was then commissioned with his brother Polemon to take over Alexander's funeral procession in Syria in order to lead him to Macedonia. The general Arrhidaios, however, who had led the funeral procession until then, was able to escape Attalus' grasp and, with the help of Ptolemy, bring the conqueror's corpse to Egypt .

In the First Diadoch War, Attalus commanded a fleet against the coast of Egypt, while Perdiccas advanced a land army against the Nile . But there arose in 320 BC. Their own soldiers against the regent and murdered him while Attalus was with the fleet in front of Pelusium . His wife, who was in the camp, was also murdered by the mutineers. Attalus turned with his ships to Tire , where he was received by the like-minded city commander, who handed him a treasure trove of 800 talents. In Tire the surviving followers of Perdiccas gathered around him, with whom he carried out attacks from the sea on several Rhodesian colonies on the coast of Asia Minor, which, however, failed due to their strong defense. He then allied himself with his surviving brother-in-law Alketas , with whom he now jointly took over the leadership of the Perdiccans. They landed successfully on the coast of Karia , where they defeated an army from Asandro . In the spring of 319 BC They advanced to Pisidia, where they were surprised and defeated by Antigonus Monophthalmos near Cretopolis . Alketas then committed suicide, while Attalus and several other generals were taken to a dungeon on a rock castle in Phrygia .

In 316 BC After a revolt, the prisoners succeeded in taking control of their prison. There they were immediately besieged by an Antigonid army under the leadership of the Stratonike . While some generals such as Dokimos and Philotas transferred to the retinue of Antigonus, Attalus continued the resistance. After four months of siege, the fortress was stormed and Attalus was killed.

literature

  • Waldemar Heckel : On Attalos and Atalante. In: The Classical Quarterly . NS 28, 1978, pp. 377-383.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Diodorus 16, 94, 4.
  2. ↑ Arrian , Anabasis 3, 27, 1-3.
  3. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 4, 22, 1.
  4. ↑ Arrian, Tà metà Aléxandron FGrHist 156 F9 §25.
  5. ↑ Diodorus 18, 37, 2-4.
  6. ↑ Arrian, Tà metà Aléxandron FGrHist 156 F11 §39.
  7. ↑ Arrian, Tà metà Aléxandron FGrHist 156 F11 §42.
  8. ↑ Diodorus 18:39, 7; Polyainos , Strategika 4, 6, 7.
  9. ↑ Diodorus 19, 16, 4.
personal data
SURNAME Attalus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bodyguard of Philip II, Diadoche, brother-in-law of Perdiccas and Alketas
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 316 BC Chr.