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Sophaenetus
Sophaenetus () was one of the leaders of the Ten Thousand, an army of Greek mercenaries in the service of Cyrus the Younger, in 401–400 BC.Christopher J. Tuplin"Sophaenetus" ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2012). Consulted online on 16 June 2023. A native of Stymphalus, he was an older man when he recruited and led one thousand hoplites to join Cyrus.Klaus Meister"Sophaenetus" ''Brill's New Pauly'' (Brill Online, 2006). Consulted online on 16 June 2023. He led the army back to the Black Sea and from Trapezus to Cerasus by ship. At Cotyora, he was fined 10 '' minae'' for mishandling funds. The main source for Sophaenetus' career is the ''Anabasis'' of Xenophon. Writing in the fifth century AD, Stephanus of Byzantium cites on four occasions a certain ''Anabasis Kyrou'' written by Sophaenetus. This is generally presumed to be the same person as mentioned by Xenophon. Stephanus cites him for the names of several places in Asia Minor. The ''Ana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ten Thousand
The Ten Thousand (, ''hoi Myrioi'') were a force of mercenary units, mainly Greeks, employed by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Battle of Cunaxa and back to Greece (401–399 BC) was recorded by Xenophon, one of their leaders, in his work '' Anabasis''. Campaign Between 401 and 399 BC, the Ten Thousand marched across Anatolia, fought the Battle of Cunaxa, and then marched back to Greece. Xenophon stated in '' Anabasis'' that the Greek heavy troops routed their opposition twice at Cunaxa at the cost of only one Greek soldier wounded. Only after the battle did they hear that Cyrus had been killed, making their victory irrelevant and the expedition a failure. The Ten Thousand found themselves far from home with no food, no employer, and no reliable allies. They offered to make their Persian ally Ariaeus king, but he refused on the grounds that he was not of royal blood and would not f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bibliotheca Historica
''Bibliotheca historica'' (, ) is a work of Universal history (genre), universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, and describe the history and culture of Egypt (book I), of Mesopotamia, India, Scythia, and Arabia (II), of North Africa (III), and of Greece and Europe (IV–VI). In the next section (books VII–XVII), he recounts human history starting with the Trojan War, down to the death of Alexander the Great. The last section (books XVII to the end) concern the historical events from the Diadochi, successors of Alexander down to either 60 BC or the beginning of Julius Caesar, Caesar's Gallic War in 59 BC. (The end has been lost, so it is unclear whether Diodorus reached the beginning of the Gallic War, as he promised at the beginning of his work, or, as evidence suggests, old and tired from his labors he stopped short at 60 BC.) He selected the name "Bibliotheca" in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyrus The Younger
Cyrus the Younger ( ''Kūruš''; ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his elder brother, Artaxerxes II, from the Persian throne. The history of Cyrus and of the retreat of his Greek mercenaries is told by Xenophon in his '' Anabasis''. Another account, probably from Sophaenetus of Stymphalus, was used by Ephorus. Further information is contained in the excerpts from Artaxerxes II's physician, Ctesias, by Photius; ''Plutarch’s Lives'' of Artaxerxes II and Lysander; and Thucydides' ''History of Peloponnesian War''. These are the only early sources of information on Cyrus the Younger. Biography According to Xenophon, Cyrus the Younger was born after the accession of his father in 424 BC. He had an elder brother, Arsicas (whose name changed to Artaxerxes II when he ascended the throne), and two younger bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephanus Of Byzantium
Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epitome is extant, compiled by one Hermolaus, not otherwise identified. Life Nothing is known about the life of Stephanus, except that he was a Greek grammarian who was active in Constantinople, and lived after the time of Arcadius and Honorius, and before that of Justinian II. Later writers provide no information about him, but they do note that the work was later reduced to an epitome by a certain Hermolaus, who dedicated his epitome to Justinian; whether the first or second emperor of that name is meant is disputed, but it seems probable that Stephanus flourished in Byzantium in the earlier part of the sixth century AD, under Justinian I. The ''Ethnica'' Stephanos' work, originally written in Greek, takes the form of an alphabetical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greek Military Writers
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BCAD 500, ending with the expansion of Islam in late antiquity. The three-age system periodises ancient history into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, with recorded history generally considered to begin with the Bronze Age. The start and end of the three ages vary between world regions. In many regions the Bronze Age is generally considered to begin a few centuries prior to 3000 BC, while the end of the Iron Age varies from the early first millennium BC in some regions to the late first millennium AD in others. During the time period of ancient history, the world population was exponentially increasing due to the Neolithic Revolution, which was in full progr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greek Mercenaries
There is evidence of mercenaries (''misthophoroi (plural), misthios (singular male), misthia (singular female)'' in Greek) being hired in Ancient Greece from the 6th century BC. The tyrants of that time hired bodyguards from other city-states. It is not known if earlier Aegean armies and navies, such as the Minoans and Mycenaeans, used mercenaries. Mercenary troops from Caria and Ionia are known to have fought with Psamtik I against the Assyrians. These were the "bronze men from the sea" whose arrival in Egypt, according to Herodotus, was foretold to Psamtik by an oracle. They entered the country as raiders but Psamtik made a truce with them and hired them to his cause. Afterwards, he granted land to them alongside the Nile and they are traditionally held to have been the first Greeks to settle in Egypt. In the 5th century BC, Arcadian soldiers fought for Xerxes I in 480 when he led the Persian invasion of Greece. Later in the century, many Greek mercenaries were employ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greek Generals
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BCAD 500, ending with the expansion of Islam in late antiquity. The three-age system periodises ancient history into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, with recorded history generally considered to begin with the Bronze Age. The start and end of the three ages vary between world regions. In many regions the Bronze Age is generally considered to begin a few centuries prior to 3000 BC, while the end of the Iron Age varies from the early first millennium BC in some regions to the late first millennium AD in others. During the time period of ancient history, the world population was exponentially increasing due to the Neolithic Revolution, which was in full pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5th-century BC Greek Historians
The 5th century is the time period from AD 401 (represented by the Roman numerals CDI) through AD 500 (D) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The 5th century is noted for being a period of migration and political instability throughout Eurasia. It saw the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which came to a formal end in 476 AD. This empire had been ruled by a succession of weak emperors, with the real political might being increasingly concentrated among military leaders. Internal instability allowed a Visigoth army to reach and ransack Rome in 410. Some recovery took place during the following decades, but the Western Empire received another serious blow when a second foreign group, the Vandals, occupied Carthage, capital of an extremely important province in Africa. Attempts to retake the province were interrupted by the invasion of the Huns under Attila. After Attila's defeat, both Eastern and Western empires joined forces for a final assault on Vandal North Africa, but t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anabasis Of Alexander
The ''Anabasis of Alexander'' (, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; ) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The ''Anabasis'' (which survives complete in seven books) is a history of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, specifically his conquest of the Persian Empire between 336 and 323 BC. The ''Anabasis'' is by far the fullest surviving account of Alexander's conquest of the Persian empire. It is primarily a military history, reflecting the content of Arrian's model, Xenophon's ''Anabasis''; the work begins with Alexander's accession to the Macedonian throne in 336 BC, and has nothing to say about Alexander's early life (in contrast, say, to Plutarch's ''Life of Alexander''). Nor does Arrian aim to provide a complete history of the Greek-speaking world during Alexander's reign. Historical Background Both the unusual title "Anabasis" (literally "a journey up-country from the sea") and the work's seven-book struct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrian
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Scholars have generally preferred Arrian to other extant primary sources, though this attitude has changed somewhat in light of modern studies into Arrian's method. Arrian's life Arrian was born in Nicomedia (present-day İzmit), the provincial capital of Bithynia. Cassius Dio called him Flavius Arrianus Nicomediensis. Sources provide similar dates for his birth, within a few years prior to 90, 89, and 85–90 AD. The line of reasoning for dates belonging to 85–90 AD is because of Arrian being made a consul around 130 AD, and the usual age for this, during this period, being 42 years of age. (ref. pp. 312, & SYME 1958, ''ibid.''). His family was from the Greek provincial aristocracy, and his full name, ''L. F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
