Eudemus (; died 316 BC) was one of

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 ...

's generals. In 326 BC, he was appointed by Alexander as one of the commanders of the troops in India along with

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 later ...

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 ...

and

Taxiles Taxiles or Taxilas ( lived 4th century BC) was the Greek chroniclers' name for the ruler who reigned over the tract between the Indus and the Jhelum (Hydaspes) Rivers in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander the Great's expedition. His real ...

. After Alexander's death, Eudemus assassinated Porus and effectively controlled Alexander's northern Indian territories until he became involved in the

Wars of the Diadochi The Wars of the Diadochi (, Romanization of Greek, romanized: ', ''War of the Crown Princes'') or Wars of Alexander's Successors were a series of conflicts fought between the generals of Alexander the Great, known as the Diadochi, over who would ...

during which he was captured and killed by

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� ...

Biography

In 326 BC, Eudemus was appointed by Alexander the Great to the command of the troops left in

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, after the murder of the Alexander-appointed

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 ...

Philip (son of Machatas) by his own mercenary troops in 326 BC. Alexander dispatched letters to India to Eudemus and also to Taxilas telling them to take charge of the district formerly under Philip, until Alexander could send a satrap to govern the district. According to

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

after Alexander's unexpected death in 323 BC, Eudemus assassinated the Indian king

. As a result, Eudemus became very powerful and in 317 BC, he was able to support

Eumenes of Cardia 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 ...

in his war against

by providing a force of 500 cavalry, 300 infantry, and 120 war elephants. Eudemus and his troops saw active service in the first

Battle of Gabiene Battle of Gabiene was the second great battle between Antigonus I Monophthalmus, Antigonus Monophthalmus and Eumenes, two of Alexander the Great's successors (the so-called Diadochi). The battle was fought near Gabiene in Persia in the winter o ...

, although his troops suffered considerably from an attack by Antigonus: :"On his left wing Eumenes stationed Eudemus, who had brought the elephants from India" Diodorus Siculus, XIX-27 :"Antigonus, now that a break was thus caused in the line of the enemy, charged through with a detachment of cavalry, striking on the flank the troops who had been stationed with Eudemus on the left wing. Because the attack was unexpected, he quickly put to flight those who faced him, destroying many of them". Diodorus Siculus XIX-30 Ceteus, the general of Eudemus' Indian troops, died in the action. It seems nevertheless that Eudemus was jealous of Eumenes and joined in the conspiracy of Antigenes and

Teutamus :'' Teutamus'' is also a spider genus (Liocranidae) Teutamus (; lived 4th century BC) was a Macedonian officer, who, in 319 BC, shared with Antigenes the command of the select troops called the Argyraspids. Etymology The name ''Teutamos'' appear ...

against him. As a result, Eumenes was betrayed to Antigonus by these officers under his command. Eumenes lost control of his army's baggage camp which included all the loot of the most decorated Macedonian veterans (called the ''Argyraspides,'' or Silver Shields). This treasure had been accumulated over 30 years of successful warfare. Antigonus responded to a request for the return of the baggage train sent by Teutamus, one of their commanders, by demanding they give him Eumenes. The Silver Shields agreed to this. Following the surrender of Eumenes, Eudemus was put to death by order of Antigonus, to whom Eudemus had always shown a marked hostility:Diodorus, xix. 15, 27, 44;

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'', ...

, ''

Parallel Lives * Culture of ancient Greece Culture of ancient Rome Ancient Greek biographical works Ethics literature History books about ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Cultural depictions of Cicero ...

'', "Eumenes"
16
/ref> :"Now that Antigonus had unexpectedly mastered Eumenes and all the army that had been opposing him, he seized Antigenes, the commander of the Silver Shields, put him into a pit, and burned him alive. He slew Eudemus, who had brought the elephants from India." Diodorus Siculus, XIX-44

Notes

References

* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, (1867) {{DEFAULTSORT:Eudemus Generals of Alexander the Great Generals of Eumenes Year of birth unknown 4th-century BC births 316 BC deaths