Karanos (General)

Karanos ( Greek  Κάρανος ; † probably 329 BC near Samarqand ) was a Macedonian officer and companion (hetairos) of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.

During the Asian campaign , Karanos took over in the spring of 331 BC. In Egypt command of the allied Greek foot troops ( Corinthian League ). At the battle of Gaugamela in the autumn of the same year, however, he led a division of the Greek cavalry stationed on the left wing; the Greek infantry was positioned behind the battle line as a reserve. All federal troops were in 330 BC Dismissed from the army in Ekbatana and Karanos took over a unit of the mercenary cavalry. In the same year he took part in the fight against Satibarzanes in the Areia province . In the following year he was assigned to the command of the Pharnuches to fight the hospital with 800 mounted mercenaries . By this they were attacked at Polytimetus (Serafshan) and defeated; just over 2,000 men fell. It is unclear whether Karanos was one of the few survivors, in any case he was not mentioned afterwards.

See also

• Army of Alexander the Great

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Arrian , Anabasis 3, 5, 6. Called "Kalanos" here.
2. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 12, 4. Called here "Koiranos".
3. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 28, 2. Curtius Rufus 7, 4, 33-40.
4. ↑ Ptolemaios , FGrHist 138 F34 = Arrian, Anabasis 4, 5, 3-9; Curtius Rufus 7, 7, 31-39.

literature

• 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. 78.