Sibyrtius ( grc, Σιβύρτιος ''Sivyrtios''; lived 4th century BC) was 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 ...

officer from

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

in the service 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 ...

, who was the satrap of

Arachosia Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the In ...

and Gedrosia shortly after the death of Alexander until about 303 BC. After serving in Alexander's army for a number of years, Sibyrtius was appointed by Alexander, on his return from

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 ...

(326 BCE), governor of the province of Carmania. Shortly after, Sibyrtius exchanged this post for the more important

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 ...

y of

and Gedrosia, to which he succeeded on the death of Thoas (Θόας). Following the death of Alexander in 323, Sibyrtius, in common with most of the other governors of the remote eastern provinces, retained possession of his satrapy, which was again confirmed to him in the second partition 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. In the subsequent divisions involving the eastern satraps, Sibyrtius was one of those who supported

Peucestas Peucestas ( grc, Πευκέστας, ''Peukéstas''; lived 4th century BC) was a native of the town of Mieza, in Macedonia, and a distinguished officer in the service of Alexander the Great. His name is first mentioned as one of those appointed t ...

against

Peithon Peithon or Pithon ( Greek: ''Πείθων'' or ''Πίθων'', 355 – 314 BC) was the son of Crateuas, a nobleman from Eordaia in western Macedonia. He was famous for being one of the bodyguards of Alexander the Great, becoming the lat ...

and Seleucus, and afterwards accompanied Peucestas when he joined Eumenes in Susiana in 317. His attachment was to Peucestas and not to Eumenes, and in Peucestas' subsequent intrigues against his commander-in-chief, Sibyrtius supported him so strongly that he incurred Eumenes' strong resentment, who threatened to bring him to trial; a fate from which he only escaped by a hasty flight. Sibyrtius' open rupture with Eumenes had the advantage of securing him the favour of Antigonus, who, after the defeat of his rival, confirmed Sibyrtius in his satrapy, and placed under his command a large part of the select body of troops termed

Argyraspids The Argyraspides ( mkd, Аргираспиди, translation=Silver Shields) were elite Macedonian soldiers who carried silver-plated shields, hence their name. The original unit were hypaspists serving in the army Alexander the Great. During the ...

. Antigonus adopted this measure with the ostensible object of guarding the Eastern provinces against the neighbouring Indians, but according to

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which ...

, Antigonus no longer wished to have this group of troops in his domain at all; their turbulent and disaffected spirit was well known. Embassy of Megasthenes

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...

mentions that

Megasthenes Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but ha ...

, the historian and ambassador of Seleucus to the court of Chandragupta, lived with Sibyrtius, suggesting the latter may have remained at his post as satrap for quite a long time:A.B. Bosworth, 'The Historical Setting of Megasthenes' Indica', CPh 91 (1996), 113-27 :Megasthenes lived with Sibyrtius, satrap of Arachosia, and often speaks of his visiting Sandracottus, the king of the Indians.

Notes

References

*A.B. Bosworth, 'The Historical Setting of Megasthenes' Indica', CPh 91 (1996), 113-27 * 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 ...

''
"Sibyrtius"

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) *Stoneman, R., The Greek Experience of India (Princeton, 2019). {{Hellenistic satraps Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire Ancient Cretan generals Generals of Alexander the Great 4th-century BC Greek people Governors of Antigonus I Monophthalmus