Batis (commander)

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Batis († around November 332 BC ) was the Persian city commander of Gaza , which he held in the autumn of 332 BC. Defended against Alexander the great .

After the conquest of Tire in 332 BC. Alexander moved further south towards Egypt . On the way there, however, he first had to conquer Gaza, which was owned by Dareios III. Loyal Batis was defended with Arab mercenaries. The ancient city was situated on a hill and was well fortified. Alexander therefore had the siege equipment brought by Tire. Even so, the siege of Gaza dragged on for two months. Alexander's soldiers heaped up a hill on the southern city wall and placed their catapults on it in order to be able to bombard the city more effectively from this elevated position. They also dug under Gaza's walls with tunnels to bring it down. According to Arrian , Alexander suffered a serious wound on his shoulder during the fighting, and several other sources say. In the end, however, the city wall was ripe for a storm and sunk into the tunnels that some Macedonians could climb the hill and use ladders to enter the city. Then they opened the city gates, whereupon Alexander's entire armed forces marched in and Gaza despite bitter resistance around the end of October 332 BC. Brought under their control. According to the Alexander historian Curtius Rufus, 10,000 men are said to have died on the part of the defenders . Most of the men of Gaza were killed in this way, and the Macedonian conqueror sold their wives and children into slavery. Soon, however, Alexander ordered the city to be repopulated.

From the sources preserved, Arrian, Plutarch and Diodorus do not report anything about Batis' fate after the fall of Gaza. Curtius Rufus and a fragment of Hegesias state, however, that Alexander cruelly killed the Batis. According to this portrayal, Batis, described as an "ugly, fat negro," had his feet pierced and tied to a chariot. Then Alexander had him dragged to death, just as the Homeric Achilles once dealt with Hector .

However, Hegesias was criticized for his lurid stories even in antiquity. Many younger historians consider the accounts of the punishment of Batis to be implausible and not historical. They could be part of the later roman-like decoration of Alexander's deeds. In general, the extent of the brutality of this story is an exception in the traditions of Alexander. Some historians such as Robin Lane Fox , however, consider the core of the tradition to be true. Fox points out in this connection that Alexander exercised very cruel retaliation, especially if he had previously been wounded - as was the case with the siege of Gaza.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ So the name form in Arrian ( Anabasis 2, 25, 4); in Curtius Rufus (4, 6, 7ff.) Betis , in Hegesias ( FGrH 142 F5) Baitis , in Josephus ( Jüdische Antiquities 11, 320) Babemesis .
  2. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 2, 25, 4; Curtius Rufus 4, 6, 7.
  3. ↑ Diodorus 17, 48, 7.
  4. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 2, 27, 1ff.
  5. ^ Curtius Rufus 4, 6, 30.
  6. ^ Siege and capture of Gaza: Arrian, Anabasis 2, 25, 4-27, 7; Curtius Rufus 4, 6, 7-31; Diodorus 17, 48, 7; Plutarch , Alexander 25, 4f .; Hegesias, FGrH 142 F 5; Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 11, 320 and 11, 325.
  7. ↑ Curtius Rufus 4, 6, 26-29; Hegesias, FGrH 142 F 5.
  8. ↑ For example WW Tarn, Alexander the Great , German Darmstadt 1968, p. 549ff.
  9. ^ Robin Lane Fox, Alexander the Great , p. 242.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Batis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Eunuch, Persian commander of Gaza
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 332 BC Chr.