Battle of Pandosia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Battle of Pandosia was fought in 331 BC between a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
force led by Alexander I of Epirus against the Lucanians and
Bruttians The Bruttians (alternative spelling, Brettii) ( la, Bruttii) were an ancient Italic people. They inhabited the southern extremity of Italy, from the frontiers of Lucania to the Sicilian Straits and the promontory of Leucopetra. This roughly corresp ...
, two southern
Italic tribes The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. The Italic peoples are descended from the Indo-European speaking peoples who inhabited Italy from at leas ...
. The Italic army soundly defeated the invading Greeks and killed Alexander during the battle.


Background

Alexander had arrived in Southern Italy with his army in 334 or 333 BC. He desired to emulate the conquests in the east by his nephew, Alexander the Great, in the west. A call for help from
Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...
, which was at war with the Bruttians, provided the occasion for the expedition. Ancient historians also allege that Alexander was warned by the oracle of
Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...
at
Dodona Dodona (; Doric Greek: Δωδώνα, ''Dōdṓnā'', Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη, ''Dōdṓnē'') in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BCE according to Herodotus. Th ...
that he should beware of the river
Acheron The Acheron (; grc, Ἀχέρων ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ell, Αχέροντας ''Acherontas'') is a river located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . Its source is ...
and the city Pandosia. Alexander assumed the oracle meant the river and city in
Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...
. This encouraged him further to leave for Southern Italy, so he would be as far away from the river and city in Epirus as possible. He won a war with the Bruttians and the Lucanians in Southern Italy and captured several cities. Justin mentions he made alliances with Metapontum, the
Peucetians The Peucetians ( grc, Πευκέτιοι, Peukétioi; la, Peucetii; later also grc, Ποίδικλοι, Poidikloi, links=no; la, Poediculi, links=no) were an Iapygian tribe which inhabited western and central Apulia in classical antiquity. Tw ...
, and
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. Livy writes the alliance with Rome was made after Alexander had driven the Samnites into Lucania, marched into Lucania from
Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order, dating from about 550 to 450 BC, whi ...
and defeated the Samnites and Lucanians in a
pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...
. The campaign against the Bruttians and Lucanians was followed by two separate campaigns against the
Messapians The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respective ...
and the
Daunians The Daunians ( el, Δαύνιοι, Daúnioi; la, Daunii) were an Iapygian tribe that inhabited northern Apulia in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Messapians, inhabited central and southern Apulia respectiv ...
.
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 ...
does not mention the cities Alexander conquered, but
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
is more specific. According to him, he took the Tarantine colony Heraclea from the Lucanians;
Sipontum Siponto ( la, Sipontum, grc-gre, Σιπιούς) was an ancient port town and bishopric in Apulia, southern Italy. The town was abandoned after earthquakes in the 13th century; today the area is administered as a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' ...
which belonged to the Daunians; the Bruttian towns Cosentia, Terina and several more Messapian and Lucanian towns. He sent three hundred noble families back to Epirus as hostages. However, the Bruttians and the Lucanians raised reinforcements from their neighbors and declared war on him again. Metapontum must have been one of the cities he captured from the Messapians, for otherwise an alliance with the city would not have been possible. Michael P. Fronda argues the mention of an alliance with Metapontum is curious and implies conquest rather than liberation from the Messapians. Tarentum probably would have welcomed the seizure of Metapontum and Heraclea initially because it gave them an opportunity to extend their dominion over those two cities. Later on the relations between Tarentum and Alexander clearly became strained however. Strabo writes that Alexander tried to transfer a panhellenic festival from Heraclea to
Thurii Thurii (; grc-gre, Θούριοι, Thoúrioi), called also by some Latin writers Thurium (compare grc-gre, Θούριον in Ptolemy), for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Tarentine gulf, within a sho ...
out of enmity with Tarentum. Furthermore, he claims the defeat of Alexander at Pandosia was blamed on Tarentum. Ian Spence thinks he probably no longer received support from Tarentum when he was at Pandosia.


Battle

In 331 BC, Alexander positioned himself near Pandosia, which was located on the border of Lucania and Bruttium. This position was advantageous because it allowed him a multitude of routes to invade the territory of Bruttians and Lucanians. Strabo describes the location of Pandosia as "above" Cosentia, but still in Bruttium. Alexander had encamped his army on three hills which stood a small distance apart from each other. He was accompanied by two hundred Lucanian exiles. After continuous rainfall the fields were flooded and the three hills became isolated. The three parts of the army were now unable to reinforce each other. At this time the Lucanians and Bruttians attacked, surprised, and destroyed the two parts of the army which were separated from the king. They proceeded to blockade the remaining hill where Alexander encamped. The Lucanian exiles sent messengers to their countrymen and promised that they would turn over Alexander, dead or alive, on the condition that they would be restored to their property. Alexander managed to break out of the siege with a small group, killing the Lucanian general in the process. He rallied his forces and intended to escape through a river ford. When he heard the river was called the Acheron (possibly a small tributary of the Neaethus) he remembered the warning of the oracle. He had failed to realize there was a city and river of the same name in Italy. He hesitated to cross, but when he saw the Lucanians approaching in pursuit, he directed his horse through the stream. A Lucanian exile caught up to him and threw a javelin which impaled the king.


Aftermath

According to Justin, the city of
Thurii Thurii (; grc-gre, Θούριοι, Thoúrioi), called also by some Latin writers Thurium (compare grc-gre, Θούριον in Ptolemy), for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Tarentine gulf, within a sho ...
ransomed the body of Alexander at public expense and buried it. Livy gives a different account and describes that his body was mutilated and cut in half by the victors. They sent one half to Cosentia and pelted the other half with javelins and stones. An anonymous woman persuaded them to stop because she hoped to exchange the body of the king for the return of her husband and children, who were sent to Epirus as hostages. She had the remains of the corpse cremated at Cosentia and sent back the bones to the Epirote garrison at Metapontum. From there they were sent back to Epirus, to Alexander's wife Cleopatra and his sister Olympias. The Battle of Pandosia's significance is threefold. First, it marks the beginning of the end for Greek colonization in Southern Italy. After the battle, Greek colonization of Italy ceased, and existing Greek city states found themselves under pressure from the Oscan tribes. Second, the battle marked the first time in over a hundred years that the massively successful Greco-Macedonian
phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...
battle formation saw defeat. The Italians defeated the phalanx by forcing the Greek forces to do battle on uneven, hilly territory. The Italian fighters, armed only with short swords and small shields, fought in small companies (later called "maniples" in Latin), that featured maximum speed and manoeuvrability. They easily outflanked the less manoeuvrable Greek fighters in phalanx formation. Until the end of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, gladiator shows featured a style of fighter bearing the distinctive Southern Italian battle gear. The Romans called this style, unsurprisingly, the Samnite. Lastly, the battle is generally credited as the one which showed the Romans how to defeat Greek armies. The Romans later employed modified Samnite tactics with great success as they subdued the Mediterranean.


Notes


References


Sources


Primary sources

* * * * *


Secondary sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Pandosia 331 BC Pandosia Pandosia 330s BC conflicts