Stasanor ( grc, Στασάνωρ; lived 4th century BC) was a native of Soli in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

, who held a distinguished position among the officers of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

Stasanor, officer of Alexander

Stasanor probably entered the service of Alexander after the siege of Tyre in 332 BC, but the first occasion on which his name is mentioned is during the campaign in

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...

, when he was detached by Alexander with a strong force to reduce Arsames, the revolted

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...

Aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

. This service, in conjunction with

Phrataphernes Phrataphernes (Median: ''Fratafarnah'', grc, Φραταφέρνης; lived 4th century BC) was a Persian who held the government of Parthia and Hyrcania, under the king Darius III Codomannus, and joined that monarch with the contingents from the p ...

, he successfully accomplished, and rejoined Alexander at

Zariaspa ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

in the autumn of 328, bringing with him Arsames himself as a captive, as well as Barzanes, who had been appointed by

Bessus Bessus or Bessos ( peo, *Bayaçā; grc-gre, Βήσσος), also known by his throne name Artaxerxes V ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης; died summer 329 BC), was a Persian satrap of the eastern Achaemenid sa ...

satrap of

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

Stasanor the Satrap

As a reward for this exploit Stasanor obtained the satrapy of Aria, which was, however, soon after changed for that of

Drangiana Drangiana or Zarangiana ( el, Δραγγιανή, ''Drangianē''; also attested in Old Western Iranian as 𐏀𐎼𐎣, ''Zraka'' or ''Zranka'', was a historical region and administrative division of the Achaemenid Empire. This region comprise ...

, in the command of which he remained during the whole of Alexander's campaign in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. On the king's return, Stasanor was one of those who met him in Carmania with a very opportune supply of camels and other beasts of burden, but returned to resume the charge of his province when Alexander continued his march towards

Persis Persis ( grc-gre, , ''Persís''), better known in English as Persia ( Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, ''Parsa''; fa, پارس, ''Pârs''), or Persia proper, is the Fars region, located to the southwest of modern-day Iran, now a province. T ...

. In the first partition of the provinces after the death of Alexander in 323, Stasanor retained his former satrapy of Drangiana, but in the subsequent division at

Triparadisus Triparadeisos or Triparadisus ( el, Τριπαράδεισος) was a settlement in Lebanon near the sources of the Orontes. A paradeisos was a hunting reserve or pleasure-ground for the nobility of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, normally a w ...

in 321, he exchanged it for the more important government of Bactria and

Sogdiana Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empi ...

. Here Stasanor appears to have remained quiet for some years, taking no open part, so far as we are informed in the contest between Eumenes and Antigonus. After the victory of Antigonus, although Stasanor had apparently inclined in favour of Eumenes, Antigonus found it prudent to pardon him and in 316 BC, left him in the undisturbed possession of his satrapy since Stasanor had secured the attachment of the native population by the justice and moderation of his rule, and thus firmly established his power in the satrapy.

Fate

From this time Stasanor's name does not appear again in history.

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

however explains that around 305 Seleucus attacked and conquered Bactria, probably in a conflict with Stasanor or possibly his successor: :Seleucos made many wars in the Orient after the division of the Macedonian kingdom between allies. At the beginning, he took Babylon; from there, his strengths increased by victory, he took over the Bactrians. He then went to India, which, after the death of Alexander, had assassinated his prefects, as if shaking the burden of servitude. Justin XV.4 "Multa in Oriente post diuisionem inter socios regni Macedonici bella gessit. 11 Principio Babyloniam cepit ; inde auctis ex uictoria uiribus Bactrianos expugnauit. 12 Transitum deinde in Indiam fecit, quae post mortem Alexandri, ueluti ceruicibus iugo seruitutis excusso, praefectos eius occiderat.
Justin XV.4
/ref>

References

* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

''
"Stasanor"

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, (1867)

Notes

{{Hellenistic satraps Ancient Greek generals Generals of Alexander the Great Ancient Cypriots Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire 4th-century BC Greek people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown

Stasanor, officer of Alexander

Stasanor the Satrap

Fate

See also

References

Notes