Parmenion

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Parmenion (* around 400 BC ; † late 330 BC in Ekbatana , a city in Media ) was a Macedonian general. He first served King Philip II of Macedon and later his son Alexander . He was considered one of the most capable Macedonian generals.

Life

Parmenion had three sons: Philotas , Nikanor and Hector and at least one daughter, who married the general Attalus and then Koinos . Parmenion seems to have had good relations with the families of the Macedonian highlands. All three sons died during Alexander's Persia campaign .

Parmenion supported Philip in his accession to power, whereby he also eliminated a supporter of Philip's brother and predecessor Perdiccas . Then Parmenion fought in 356 against the Illyrians , who were a constant threat to the northern border of Macedonia. In doing so, Parmenion showed great skill and was unanimously recognized by Philip. Parmenion also excelled in Philip's submission to the Greek city-states , including Athens and Thebes . In battle, Parmenion usually commanded the infantry on the left flank, and his son Philotas was one of the cavalry commanders.

336 BC He was sent to Asia Minor together with Attalus and 10,000 men to prepare for the war planned by Philip against the Persians . He was struggling with varying degrees of success when the news of Philip's death suddenly reached him. Attalus, who was hostile to Alexander, was murdered by Parmenion, although he was related by marriage to him. Parmenion thus made it clear that he supported Alexander's claim to the throne without reservation. In the following years the Macedonians in Asia Minor were so hard pressed by the Persians, who were under the command of the Greek Memnon , that they had to retreat. In the winter of 335/334 BC Parmenion met Alexander and led the Macedonian-Greek army over the Hellespont . He became second in chief and was given command of the entire infantry: 12,000 Macedonians, 7,000 allies and 5,000 mercenaries.

During the Persian campaign, however, Parmenion often clashed with Alexander: On Granikos, for example, Parmenion advised against an early attack, in Miletus he was against the return of the fleet and later, when the Persian king Darius III. Alexander offered all the land west of the Euphrates as well as vast amounts of gold, Parmenion is said to have declared that if he were Alexander he would accept the offer. Alexander replied that he would do the same if he were Parmenion ( Arrian , Anabasis, 2.25). However, many utterances after the fall of Parmenion may have been simply ascribed to Parmenion by contemporary or later historians in order to portray Alexander more positively. It remains undeniable that many of the successes of the Macedonian army can be traced back to Parmenion's fate.

Although Parmenion continued to take on important tasks, he was again in command of the left wing at Issus , but on the other hand Alexander's tendency to break away from the influence of the aging general, whom he may also accuse of diminishing his own fame, was unmistakable. Yet Parmenion fulfilled all the tasks that were assigned to him; after the battle of Issus he even managed to take possession of the Persian state treasure. Alexander also does not seem to have doubted his loyalty, because at Gaugamela Parmenion commanded the troops on the left flank, which were hard pressed during the battle. Parmenion commanded the rear guard on the march to Persepolis . He had also advised Alexander against the pillage of the Persian royal palace, but Alexander probably wanted to set an example in the sense of the propagated "campaign of revenge" against Persia.

When Alexander took up the pursuit of Darius, he left Parmenion as strategos of media in Ekbatana . Parmenion, who was strictly old-Macedonian and did not share Alexander's (perhaps only apparent) enthusiasm for the Orient, was there at the end of 330 BC. Murdered by his officers while walking. The reason was the execution of Philotas: after Philotas, who was moving with Alexander, the last surviving son of Parmenion, had participated in a conspiracy against Alexander and had already behaved defeatistically, he was then executed. In order to avoid the feared revenge of Parmenion, who remained with parts of the army in Ekbatana, Alexander gave the death order. This event (like some others) casts a deep shadow on the character of Alexander, since Parmenion has achieved great merits and was arguably the most capable general of Alexander. From a real-political point of view, after the execution of Philotas, Alexander probably had no other choice, although it is speculative whether Alexander would have got rid of Parmenions sooner or later anyway. However, this act certainly strengthened Alexander's position of power, whose relationship with Parmenion had never been cordial and whose support when Alexander took over government he was rewarded with great influence in the army.

literature

Parmenion is mentioned in every relevant account of Philip and Alexander, see the references in the articles there.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ See also Waldemar Heckel: The Marshals of Alexander's Empire. London 1992, p. 11 ff.
personal data
SURNAME Parmenion
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Macedonian general
DATE OF BIRTH around 400 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 330 BC Chr.
Place of death Ekbatana , a city in media