Tagos

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The Tagos ( Greek ταγός ) was the military leader of the Thessalian League in ancient Greece .

Classical Thessaly was subdivided into the four landscapes (tetras) Thessaliotis, Phthiotis, Pelasgiotis and Hestiaiotis. The landscapes of Mali and Magnesia came under the rule of Thessaly at a later time.

The officially non-hereditary office of the Tagie ( ταγεία tageia ) originally corresponded roughly to that of an early medieval duke , as it is sometimes translated in the historical literature. The Thessalonian Poleis , united in a league, determined a commander for their united army in times of crisis. However, this office was subject to an increasing change in meaning and was equated by various ancient scribes with that of a de facto ruler of Thessaly, which is why Herodotus , Thucydides and Plutarchus among others used the title basileus and later Diodorus the des archon as a synonym for the des Tagos . The Roman author Justin used the Latin term dux , from which the title of duke arose in the Romance languages.

The ruler of Larisa , Aleuas the Red , who divided Thessaly into the four military districts (tetras) of Thessaliotis, Phthiotis , Pelasgiotis and Hestiaiotis, is considered to be the founder of the military constitution and thus the first day of the Thessalian Confederation . With the takeover of the Tagie by the tyrant Jason of Pherai around the year 374/5 BC. In fact, this office was hereditary with his family. While Jason himself had received this office according to the Thessalian nomos , it was taken over by his brothers Polydoros and Polyphron after his murder in 370 BC. In dynastic succession. Polydorus was murdered shortly afterwards by Polyphron, who, according to Xenophon, wanted to develop the Tagie into a veritable tyranny over all of Thessaly. Polyphron was murdered in retaliation after just one year by his nephew Alexandros , who in turn was murdered by his wife's brothers after an eleven year reign.

These conflicts resulted in the turn of the Thessalian cities, especially those hostile to tyrants, to the Macedonian King Philip II , who probably after his victory in the battle of the crocus field in 352 BC. Was recognized as the new Tagos. From then on, the Tagie and with it the rule over Thessaly remained connected with the Macedonian kingdom in personal union, which continued until the Roman conquest in the 2nd century BC. Chr. Remained. Thessaly was particularly famous in antiquity for its horse breeding, and its cavalry was an important addition to the Macedonian army. Already in the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. It was of decisive importance and also played a prominent role in the army of Alexander the Great during the Asian campaign (334–330 BC).

Namely known tagoi were:

The continuation of the Tagie after Alexander the Great is uncertain, at least no other officials are known after him.

literature

  • Henry T. Wade-Gery: Jason of Pherae and Aleuas the Red. In: The Journal of Hellenic Studies . Vol. 44, No. 1, 1924, pp. 55-64, doi : 10.2307 / 625700 .
  • Marta Sordi: La Lega tessala fino ad Alessandro Magno (= Studi Pubblicati dall'Istituto Italiano per la Storia Antica. Vol. 15, ZDB -ID 1490736-7 ). Istituto Italiano per la Storia Antica, Rome 1958.
  • Guy T. Griffith: Philip of Macedon's Early Interventions in Thessaly (358-352 BC). In: The Classical Quarterly . Vol. 20, No. 1, 1970, pp. 67-80, doi : 10.1017 / S0009838800044621 .
  • Thomas R. Martin: Diodorus on Philip II and Thessaly in the 350s BC In: Classical Philology. Vol. 76, No. 3, 1981, pp. 188-201, JSTOR 269453 .
  • Bruno Helly: Un titre méconnu άρχων, άρχος, τέτραρχος of Thessaly. In: Bruno Helly: L'Etat thessalien. Aleuas le Roux, les tétrades et les tagoi (= Collection de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée . Vol. 25 = Collection de la Maison de l'Orient Méditerranéen. Série Épigraphique. Vol. 2). Maison de l'Orient Méditerranéen, Lyon 1995, ISBN 2-903264-17-1 , pp. 39-68, online .

Remarks

  1. ↑ Xenophon , Hellenika 6, 1, 8.
  2. ↑ See Alexander Demandt : Alexander the Great - Life and Legend . Munich 2009, p. 354.
  3. ↑ Herodotus, 5, 63; Thucydides 1, 111, 1; Diodorus 16, 14, 2.
  4. ^ Justin 8, 2, 1.
  5. ↑ Hellanikos , FGrHist 601a F1; Aristotle , fragments 497-498; ed. by V. Rose: Aristotelis qui Ferebantur Librorum Fragmenta (Leipzig 1886); Plutarch, Moralia 492a – b = De fraterno amore 21. On the division of Thessaly into four parts see also Demosthenes , second speech against Philip (6), 22 and third speech against Philip (9), 26.
  6. ↑ One to the year 353/2 BC An inscription from Athens dated to the 3rd century BC, documenting the reception of a Thessalian embassy, ​​mentions polemarchoi of each of the tetrads as well as pezarchoi . See Inscriptiones Graecae II² 175 .
  7. ↑ Xenophon, Hellenika 6, 1, 18-19.
  8. ↑ Xenophon, Hellenika 6, 4, 29-37.
  9. ↑ Demosthenes, First Olynthic Speech (1), 22; Justin 8, 2, 1. For the recognition of Alexander the Great as Tagos in 336 BC. See Justin 11, 3, 2.
  10. ↑ The Athenians tried around 455/4 BC. Chr. The exile Orestes, son of the "king" Echekratides, led back to Thessaly. Thucydides 1, 111, 1.
  11. ^ Wilhelm Dittenberger : Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum , 3rd edition, No. 274 .