Abulites () was the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...

(governor) of

Susiana Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital of Elam and the winter ca ...

during the reign of

Darius III Darius III ( ; ; – 330 BC) was the thirteenth and last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC. Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Darius was a distant member of the Achaemenid dynasty. ...

(336–330 BC), and retained the satrapy as a Hellenistic satrap under

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

until circa 324 BC, when he was executed for

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

Surrender to Alexander

He may have been of

Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...

ite origin, although his son, Oxathres (

Gatha ''Gāthā'' is a Sanskrit term for 'song' or 'verse', especially referring to any poetic metre which is used in legends or folklores, and is not part of the Vedas but peculiar to either Epic Sanskrit or to Prakrit. The word is originally derived ...

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

: ''Huxšathra''), bears an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

name, "one that seems distinctly

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

". After the

Battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela ( ; ), also called the Battle of Arbela (), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Ancient Macedonian army, Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Army, Persian Army under Darius III, ...

(331 BC), the Mesopotamian province of the Achaemenid Empire quickly fell to

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

. Thereafter, Abulites had no choice but to surrender nearby

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

. After entering Susa, Alexander captured "a vast collection of treasure, including 50,000 talents of silver in

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is Casting, cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedu ...

s". Treasure from Xerxes' campaign in mainland Greece was found and taken as well. Some statuary from Athens, such as the bronze statue of Harmodius and Haristogiton, "the Tyrant-slayers", was recovered by Alexander in

. Susa was the co-capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, but the "hoarding of specie" does illustrate the "shortsightedness of Achaemenid

fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection ( taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variab ...

" according to C. J. Brunner. As Alexander was preparing to move into

Persis Persis (, ''Persís;'' Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, ''Parsa''), also called Persia proper, is a historic region in southwestern Iran, roughly corresponding with Fars province. The Persian ethnic group are thought to have initially migrated ...

, he left a garrison under the Macedonian Xenophilus (who replaced the Persian commandant Mazarus), and reconfirmed Abulites as satrap of Susania, "holding civil jurisdiction". Abulites remained satrap until Alexander's return from his Indian campaign; in the meantime, Abulites may "have moved to assert his independence". Though this remains unclear, Abulites and his son were "promptly arrested and executed". "Immediately afterwards", Alexander organized the mass weddings at Susa, "thus again showing his commitment to the ideal of Greek and Persian partnership".

Gedrosian desert and coinage

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

(''Alex.'' 68.7) relates a story in which Abulites was requested by Alexander to bring supplies after the disastrous crossing of the Gedrosian desert, but Abulites instead brought huge amounts of coinage, about 3000 tales (86 tons). In a rage, Alexander threw the coins at horses, asking what help this would be to a hungry army. Alexander shouted "What good have you done having brought ''this''?". Thereafter Abulites was jailed by Alexander. Some of these coins may have been the "

Porus Porus or Poros ( ; 326–321 BC) was an ancient Indian king whose territory spanned the region between the Jhelum River (Hydaspes) and Chenab River (Acesines), in the Punjab region of what is now India and Pakistan. He is only mentioned in Gr ...

" coins of Alexander, struck in 325-323 BC in

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

, which often bear the initials "AB" and "Ξ", possibly identified with the initials of Abulites and his associated Macedonian general Xenophilus.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abulites 4th-century BC deaths Satraps of the Achaemenid Empire Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire People executed by Alexander the Great Year of birth unknown Deaths by javelin