Ophellas

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Cyrenean coin from the reign of Ophellas (around 322–313 BC)

Ophellas (* around 355 BC in.. Pella ; † .. 308 BC in Carthage ) was a Macedonian officer under Alexander the Great and the Diadochi , Ptolemy I . From 322/321 onwards he was governor of Cyrenaica . Ophellas was murdered on a campaign against the Carthaginians .

Life

Ophellas was born in Pella, the capital of Macedonia, as the son of the Macedonian nobleman Silenus (Seilenos). As a companion of Alexander the Great, he took part in the Alexanderzug and was involved as a liturgical trierarch in building his fleet. Soon after Alexander's death he was in the service of Ptolemy I, who had taken control of Egypt . Ptolemy commissioned Ophellas in 322 or 321 to eliminate the mercenary leader Thibron, who had stolen the Babylonian tax revenues and established himself in Cyrenaica.

Ophellas undertook the campaign with a considerable land and sea force. Thibron was defeated, captured and handed over to the residents of Taucheira , who tortured him and then took him to Cyrene for execution . Now the city of Cyrene and the surrounding cities lost their independence and were incorporated into the kingdom of Ptolemy after Ophellas had eliminated the democratically minded forces that had allied themselves with Thibron. Ptolemy appeared personally in Cyrene before the end of the conflict and made arrangements for the future status of the city. Ophellas became its provincial governor in Cyrenaica and commander of the Egyptian occupation in Cyrene. 313/312 BC In BC Cyrenaica fell briefly from the Ptolemaic Empire, but was recaptured and then placed under its administration again.

Apparently in the period 312-309, Ophellas made himself factually independent and sought to establish an independent rule. To this end, he allied himself with Agathocles , ruler of Syracuse . Agathocles was then at war with Carthage. When the Carthaginians besieged him in Sicily, he had embarked on a bold relief offensive to Africa, which, however, came to a standstill after a while. Therefore, he concluded an alliance with Ophellas. The two agreed to unite their forces against Carthage. After the destruction of the Carthaginian power, Agathocles was to return to Sicily, henceforth rule the island undisturbed and let Ophellas rule over the previous North African empire of the Carthaginians. Agathocles' son Herakleides remained hostage with Ophellas.

The Carthaginian dominion in North Africa at the time of Ophellas

Ophellas recruited numerous mercenaries in Greece, especially in Athens , who intended to settle with their families in the empire to be conquered. He had a special relationship with Athens as he was married to a noble Athenian named Eurydice, who is said to be descended from Miltiades . In the summer of 308, he and his force set out west. The army comprised more than 10,000 foot soldiers, 600 mounted soldiers, 100 chariots and 10,000 civilians who wanted to become settlers after the hoped-for victory.

The very arduous, hard-hitting march through impassable desert terrain lasted two months. After the union with the troops of Agathocles, the relationship between the two generals was initially good, at least externally, but a conflict soon arose. Before his troops, Agathocles accused Ophellas of treason. Ophellas, completely surprised, could only offer weak resistance; he fell fighting against the superior forces of Agathocles. His armed force, which had become leaderless, was incorporated into the army of Agathocles. Now Ptolemy could take possession of the Cyrenaica again.

The death of the ophella is judged differently by research. The extremely hostile tradition of Agathocles, the presentation of which is preserved in Diodor's report , describes the process as pure insidiousness of Agathocles and suggests that he planned from the beginning to lure Ophellas into a trap. But it is also possible that there was a dispute over the high command, in which neither side wanted to give in, so that the conflict came to a violent end. It should also be noted that Agathocles had a good relationship with Ptolemy, whose stepdaughter he later married. The elimination of the ophellas was very much in the interests of the Egyptian ruler. It is therefore conceivable that Agathocles, in agreement with Ptolemy, eliminated the rebel Ophellas.

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literature

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Remarks

  1. ↑ Arrian , Historia successorum Alexandri 1.17; Arrian, indica 18.3; Diodorus 20.40.1.
  2. ^ The Fragments of the Greek Historians 239 B 10.
  3. ↑ Diodorus 18: 21, 7-9.
  4. ↑ Diodorus 19, 79, 1-3.
  5. ↑ Suda delta, 431, gives different information on the degree of independence of the ophella ; Diodorus 20,40,1; Iustin 22,7,4; Orosius 4, 6, 29.
  6. ^ The State Treaties of Antiquity III, 432.
  7. ↑ Polyainos , Strategika 5,3,4.
  8. ↑ Plutarch , Demetrios 14,1; Diodorus 20.40.5.
  9. ↑ Theophrastus , Natural history of plants 4,3,2.
  10. ↑ Diodorus 20.40-44.
  11. ↑ Werner Huss, Geschichte der Karthager, Munich 1985, p. 194 suspects that Agathocles had planned this process from the beginning, while Sebastiana Nerina Consolo Langher, Agatocle. Since capoparte a monarca fondatore di un regno tra Cartagine ei Diadochi, Messina 2000, p. 189 rejects this interpretation and Berve, RE XVIII, 1, col. 634 does not want to prefer any of the possibilities.
personal data
SURNAME Ophellas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Macedonian officer under Alexander the Great and Ptolemy I.
DATE OF BIRTH around 355 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH Pella
DATE OF DEATH 308 BC Chr.
Place of death at Carthage