Asander or Asandros (; lived 4th century BC) was the son of

Philotas Philotas (; 365 BC – October 330 BC) was the eldest son of Parmenion, one of Alexander the Great's most experienced and talented generals. He rose to command the Companion Cavalry, but was accused of conspiring against Alexander and executed. ...

and brother of

Parmenion Parmenion (also Parmenio; ; 400 – 330 BC), son of Philotas, was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. A nobleman, Parmenion rose to become Philip's chief military lieutenant and Alexander's ...

and

Agathon Agathon (; ; ) was an Athenian tragic poet whose works have been lost. He is best known for his appearance in Plato's '' Symposium,'' which describes the banquet given to celebrate his obtaining a prize for his first tragedy at the Lenaia in 4 ...

. He was a Macedonian general 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 ...

, and

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 ...

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

from 334 BC as well as satrap of

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

after Alexander's death. During Alexander's reign Asander's position suffered for a period following Parmenion's execution, he was sent to

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

to gather reinforcements during this time, and a year later was sent to

Bactra Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 20 ...

Rule

Satrap of Lydia

In 334 BC Alexander appointed him governor of

and the other parts of the

y of Spithridates, and also placed under his command an army of cavalry and light infantry strong enough to maintain the

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

ian authority. At the beginning of 328, Asander and

Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos (; – 300 BC) was one of the Greeks, Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and ending at t ...

led a number of Greek mercenaries to join Alexander, who was then located at Zariaspa.

Satrap of Caria

In the division of the empire after the death of Alexander in 323, Asander obtained

for his satrapy, in which he was afterwards confirmed by

Antipater Antipater (; ; 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general, regent and statesman under the successive kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander ...

. While acting as satrap of Caria he fought at the command of Antipater against

Attalus Attalus or Attalos may refer to: People *Several members of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon **Attalus I, ruled 241 BC–197 BC **Attalus II Philadelphus, ruled 160 BC–138 BC **Attalus III, ruled 138 BC–133 BC *Attalus, father of Ph ...

and

Alcetas Alcetas ( Greek Ἀλκέτας; died 320 BC) was the brother of Perdiccas and the son of Orontes from Orestis. He is first mentioned as one of Alexander the Great's generals in his Indian expedition. On the death of Alexander, Alcetas was a ...

, both supporters of

Perdiccas Perdiccas (, ''Perdikkas''; 355BC – 320BC) was a Macedonian general, successor of Alexander the Great, and the regent of Alexander's empire after his death. When Alexander was dying, he entrusted his signet ring to Perdiccas. Initially ...

, but was defeated by them. He also supported the Iranian colonists in Caria by increasing the position of local Zoroastrians. In 317, while

Antigonus Antigonus or Antigonos (), a Greek name meaning "comparable to his father" or "worthy of his father", may refer to: Rulers * Three Macedonian kings of the Antigonid dynasty that succeeded Alexander the Great: ** Antigonus I Monophthalmus (382� ...

was campaigning against

Eumenes Eumenes (; ; ) was a Ancient Greece, Greek general, satrap, and Diadoch, Successor of Alexander the Great. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as Alexander's personal secretary and later on as a battlefield commander. Eume ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

, Asander increased his power in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, expanding into

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

and

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

; and was undoubtedly a member of the alliance which was formed by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, ruler of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and

Cassander Cassander (; ; 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and '' de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the ...

, ruler of Macedonia, against Antigonus. In 315, when Antigonus began his operations against the forces allied against him, he sent a general named

, a nephew of his, with an army to relieve

Amisus Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

, and to expel from Cappadocia the army loyal to Asander which had invaded that country. However, as Asander was supported by Ptolemy and Cassander, he was able to maintain his control of his territories. In 313 Antigonus decided to march against Asander and forced him to conclude a treaty with him under which he was required to surrender his whole army, to restore the areas he had expanded into back to the satraps who had previously controlled those areas, to regard his satrapy of Caria as subject to the gift of Antigonus, and to surrender his brother

as a hostage. After a few days Asander breached this humiliating treaty. He managed to get his brother out of the hands of Antigonus and sent ambassadors to Ptolemy and

Seleucus Seleucus or Seleukos (Ancient Greek: Σέλευκος) was a Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonian Greek name, possibly meaning "very bright" or “very white”. It is likely related to the ancient name Zaleucus (Ancient Greek language, Ancient ...

seeking their assistance. Antigonus was indignant at these acts and immediately sent out an army to restore the territories covered by the treaty by force of arms. Caria also appears to have been conquered and from this time Asander disappears from the historical record.

Coinage

During his tenure in Caria, Asander minted several types of coins at

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

, in the names of

and Philip III Arrhidaeus. File:KINGS of MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios. 323-317 BC. Æ Unit (18mm, 5.23 g, 3h). In the name and types of Alexander III. Miletos mint. Struck under Asandros, circa 323-319 BC.jpg, Coin of Philip III Arrhidaios, Miletos mint. Struck under Asandros, circa 323-319 BC, in the name and types of

. File:KINGS of MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios. 323-317 BC. Æ Unit (19mm, 4.95 g, 10h). Miletos mint. Struck under Asandros, circa 323-319 BC.jpg, Coin of Philip III Arrhidaios, Miletos mint. Struck under Asandros, circa 323-319 BC File:KINGS of MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios. 323-317 BC. Miletos mint. Struck under Asandros, circa 323-319 BC.jpg, Coin of Philip III Arrhidaios, Miletos mint. Struck under Asandros, circa 323-319 BC File:KINGS of MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios. 323-317 BC. Struck under Asandros, circa 323-319 BC.jpg, Coin of Philip III Arrhidaios, Miletos mint. Struck under Asandros, circa 323-319 BC

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asander Ancient Greek generals Ancient Macedonian generals Generals of Alexander the Great Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire 4th-century BC Macedonians Hellenistic generals Upper Macedonians