Peithon or Pithon (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: ''Πείθων'' or ''Πίθων'', 355 – 314 BC) was the son of Crateuas, a nobleman from Eordaia in western

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 ...

ia. He was famous for being one of the bodyguards 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 ...

, becoming the later

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 ...

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 ...

, and claiming to be one of the

diadochi The Diadochi were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Wars of the Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period from the Mediterran ...

Biography

Peithon was named one of the seven (later eight)

Somatophylakes ''Somatophylakes'' (; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece. The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. They ...

"bodyguards" of Alexander in 335 BC. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Peithon was made the satrap of Media, the strategically important region that controlled all roads between east and west. The satrapy was too large for one man; Peithon would be very powerful, and could destabilize the entire empire. Therefore, he had to give up the northern part, which was given to Atropates; from then on the region was known as

Media Atropatene Atropatene (; ; ), also known as Media Atropatene, was an ancient Iranian kingdom established in by the Persian satrap Atropates (). The kingdom, centered in present-day Azerbaijan region in northwestern Iran, was ruled by Atropates' descenda ...

. The soldiers who remained in the eastern part of Alexander's realm after his death grew agitated by their lengthy stay abroad, and began spontaneous revolts. The regent Perdiccas sent Peithon to subdue the revolts. He was given a contingent of

ians. Peithon easily defeated his opponents and accepted their capitulation. His men, however, having hoped to plunder, massacred their opponents. After Peithon returned to Media, Perdiccas began to distrust him. During the

First War of the Diadochi The Wars of the Diadochi (, 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 rule his empire followi ...

, Perdiccas ordered Peithon to reinforce him and help him invade

Ptolemaic Egypt Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty * Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining ...

and fight against

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 ...

. In summer 320 BC, Peithon,

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 ...

, and Antigenes murdered Perdiccas and started negotiating with their opponents. Ptolemy suggested that Peithon be made the new regent, but the other diadochi would not accept this. Therefore,

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 ...

was chosen to be the new regent. After the death of Antipater (the Regent of the Empire), Peithon tried to expand his power over the eastern satrapies. He invaded the satrapy of

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

, killed its Satrap

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

, and made his brother Eudemus the new satrap. The other satraps in inner Asia were quick to perceive their danger and united all their forces under Peucestas (also a former Somatophylax), the satrap of Persia, who defeated Peithon, and drove him from Parthia. Peithon returned to Media, and then went on to Babylon to try to persuade

to back him in an attempt to reassert his authority. While in Babylon

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 ...

and his army arrived from the west, Eumenes was gathering forces for a showdown with Antigonus Monopthalmus, the

Strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

of Asia. Peithon and Seleucus rejected Eumenes's request to join his cause (he claimed to be fighting for the kings Alexander IV and Philip III). Eumenes, then, went on to Susiana, where he found the forces of the upper satrapies under Peucestas. Peithon joined the army of Antigonus, who had come east in pursuit of Eumenes. During the battles of Paraitakene and Gabiene Peithon commanded the left flank of Antigonus's army. At Paraitakene he almost lost the battle by charging the enemy without orders, but he redeemed himself at Gabiene by winning the battle on the left flank. After the Second War of the Diadochi, Peithon was among the most powerful diadochi in the eastern part of the empire and he started to build his power again. Antigonus felt threatened by Peithon's growing power so he tricked him into coming to his court, where he had him executed.Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica'', XIX 46,5-6; Polyainos, ''Strategemata'' 6,14.

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External links

Peithon (1)
by Jona Lendering, at Livius.org {{MacedonKings 4th-century BC regents Somatophylakes Ancient Macedonian generals Generals of Alexander the Great Regents of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Ancient Eordaeans Trierarchs of Nearchus' fleet Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire 4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC Macedonians 350s BC births 310s BC deaths