Simmias (son of Andromenes)
Simmias ( Greek Σιμμίας ; † 330 BC ) was an officer of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. He was the second of four sons of Andromenes; his brothers were Amyntas , Attalus and Polemon .
During the Asian campaign , the eldest of the brothers, Amyntas, drove a taxi for the pezhetairoi of the Macedonian phalanx. Because Amyntas in 332 BC When he was sent from Gaza to his Macedonian homeland to recruit new recruits, according to Arrian , Simmias took over the command of his brother's taxis, which he had used in the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. Also cited. According to Diodor and Curtius Rufus, however, the officer Philippus, son of Balakros , who had already led a taxi on Granikos (334 BC) , was in command of the Amyntas battalion. In historical research there is therefore the assumption that Simmias, probably due to his too young age and inexperience, only played a subordinate role in his brother's battalion and that the leadership of this unit in the important battle of Gaugamela was entrusted to the much more experienced Philip.
Amyntas did not return until the late 331 BC. BC returned with reinforcements to Alexander's army and took over his command again. After he died the following year, the third brother Attalos took over the command without Simmias being mentioned again, either because he himself had already died or was deemed incapable of leadership.
Individual evidence
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. 249.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Simmias |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Macedonian officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 330 BC Chr. |