Sisimithres

Sisimithres ( Greek Σισιμίθρης ) or Chorienes ( Χοριήνης ) was a Sogdian territorial lord whose castle was difficult to access in the late year 328 BC. Could be conquered by Alexander the great .

Confrontation with Alexander the Great

In the autumn of 328 BC Alexander moved into Nautaka (Shahrisabz) coming from Marakanda (Samarqand) . Here he learned about the nearby rock castle of Sisimithres, who refused to submit to him. Already in the spring of the same year Alexander had conquered the rock castle of Ariamazes , the so-called Sogdian rock , which was considered impregnable , which he now intended to repeat on the rock of Chorienes. The exact geographical location of this second Sogdian rock is unclear; but if it was close to Nautaka, it must be located in the mountainous region of southern Uzbekistan on the Qashqadaryo river or in western Tajikistan around Punjakent . However, it is also believed to be with the Kuh-i-Nur castle in a mountain range south of Faizabad in northeast Afghanistan . According to Arrian , the rock measured 20 stages in height with a circumference of 60, Strabo gives 15 stages in height and 80 in circumference. It was protected by a deep ditch.

After Alexander had rallied with his army in front of the rock, he began a siege that lasted several weeks. While he stormed the rock faces during the day, at night under the command of Perdiccas , Ptolemy and Leonnatos, he had the trench filled with stone and felled tree trunks in order to make the ground up to the rock accessible for his troops and siege machines. Before it came to the final storm, however, Sisimithres signaled his unconditional willingness to surrender. This was mediated by his compatriot Oxyartes , who by the way considered him the greatest coward on earth. For his task, Sisimithres was graciously accepted into Alexander's favor and left as his vassal in possession of his castle and his land (Gazaba), which caused some displeasure among the Macedonian companions of the conqueror. This justified his actions by the trust that Sisimithres had shown more in his grace than in his own walls, but he had to hand over two of his sons as hostages in the allegiance of Alexander. As a further concession to Alexander, Sisimithres opened the storerooms of his rock castle for his troops, who had suffered from persistent winter storms and hunger for several weeks. By adding 2,000 camels and several herds of sheep and cattle, he had to ensure the army was fed for another two months.

At the end of the reconciliation, Sisimithres held a large banquet on his rock , at which he had thirty virgins, including his daughters, dance. According to Curtius Rufus , it was here that Alexander became aware of Roxane , who was dancing with him and whom he married shortly afterwards. A little later, Sisimithres received 30,000 cattle from Alexander as a thank you for the hospitality and entertainment they showed.

literature

AB Bosworth: A Missing Year in the History of Alexander the Great , In: The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Vol. 101 (1981), pp. 17-39.
Waldemar Heckel : Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great. Prosopography of Alexander's empire . Blackwell, Oxford 2006, p. 250, ISBN 978-1-4051-1210-9
Alexander Demandt : Alexander the Great - Life and Legend . Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59085-6 , pp. 239f.

swell

Arrian , Anabasis 4, 21.
Curtius Rufus 8, 2 and 4.
Plutarch , Alexander 58.
Strabo 11, 11, 4.
Metz epitome 19 and 24-31.

Remarks

↑ Curtius Rufus and Plutarch only use the first form of the name, while Arrian was only known to the second. In the Metzer Epitome, however, both names appear, which is why it cannot be ruled out that the term "Chorienes" means the modification of a ruler title or a place name.
↑ For the dating see Bosworth, pp. 36–37.
↑ See Demandt, p. 239. After Franz Xaver von Schwarz: Alexander the Great Campaigns in Turkestan (1893), pp. 83-85.
↑ According to Curtius Rufus, Oxyartes was commissioned by Alexander to mediate, which implies that he belongs to his entourage. According to Arrian, however, it was Sisimithres who commissioned Oxyartes, who therefore must have belonged to the entourage of the lord of the castle. In any case, his daughter Roxane was born in the spring of 328 BC. After the fall of the first Sogdian rock from Ariamazes into the allegiance of Alexander.
↑ According to Arrian ( Anabasis 4, 19, 4–5), Alexander Roxane married immediately after taking the first Sogdian rock, in the spring of 328 BC. Chr.

personal data
SURNAME	Sisimithres
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Chories
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Sogdian territorial lord
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	4th century BC Chr.

[1] Curtius Rufus and Plutarch only use the first form of the name, while Arrian was only known to the second. In the Metzer Epitome, however, both names appear, which is why it cannot be ruled out that the term "Chorienes" means the modification of a ruler title or a place name.

[2] For the dating see Bosworth, pp. 36–37.

[3] See Demandt, p. 239. After Franz Xaver von Schwarz: Alexander the Great Campaigns in Turkestan (1893), pp. 83-85.

[4] According to Curtius Rufus, Oxyartes was commissioned by Alexander to mediate, which implies that he belongs to his entourage. According to Arrian, however, it was Sisimithres who commissioned Oxyartes, who therefore must have belonged to the entourage of the lord of the castle. In any case, his daughter Roxane was born in the spring of 328 BC. After the fall of the first Sogdian rock from Ariamazes into the allegiance of Alexander.

[5] According to Arrian ( Anabasis 4, 19, 4–5), Alexander Roxane married immediately after taking the first Sogdian rock, in the spring of 328 BC. Chr.