Hystaspes the Bactrian

Hystaspes ( Persian گشتاسب; Greek  Ὑστάσπης ) was a Persian nobleman and follower of Alexander the great in the 4th century BC.

Hystaspes was with a granddaughter of the great king Artaxerxes III. married and served the great king Darius III. as a general. After this 330 BC Was murdered, Hystaspes fell in Medien in the captivity of Alexander the great, in whose wake, however, like many other Persians, was taken in. In 324 BC In BC Alexander intended to set up a new fifth division (hipparchia) of the Hetairenreiterei . However, this should not be formed from Macedonian, but from Persian companions ( hetairoi ) and Hystaspes should become their leader. It is unclear whether this troop was ready for action before Alexander's death the following year, at least Hystaspes is not mentioned afterwards.

In Arrian Hystaspes is called "the Bactrians" why in historical research, beginning with Helmut Berve , you suspect that he is a descendant of Hystaspes the Great King, son Xerxes I could be that in the 5th century. Officiated as satrap of Bactria . However, this assumption is also being called into question by Pierre Briant , among others .

See also

• Army of Alexander the Great

Individual evidence

1. ^ Curtius Rufus 6, 2, 7.
2. ^ Arrian , Anabasis 7, 6, 5.
3. ↑ Diodor 11, 69, 2. See Bosworth, p. 13.
4. ↑ Pierre Briant: From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. 2002, p. 1033.

literature

• AB Bosworth: Alexander and the Iranians. In: The Journal of Hellenic Studies. Vol. 100, 1980, pp. 1-21.
• Waldemar Heckel : Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great. Prosopography of Alexander's empire . Blackwell, Oxford 2006, ISBN 978-1-4051-1210-9 , p. 142.