A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 Volume Set. Группа авторов. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

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obituary (1.9). The Empire of the Great King (Artaxerxes II) was regarded with a certain distance. Tissaphernes, for instance, was given the prototypical role of a devious politician. The events around the battle of Cunaxa still disguise the perception of Tissaphernes' well‐calculated policy of power as described in Xenophon's Hellenica. His rival, Pharnabazus, instead was portrayed as a noble character who was committed to his family tradition and the king, while being aware of the conflicts that went along with his loyalty (cf. Hellenica 3.4.5–4.6 with 4.1.29–1.40) (Tuplin 2004; Stoll 2013).

      A literary analysis of prudent leadership can be found all along in Xenophon's works. However, in his Cyropaedia he projected all his ideals of military cautiousness and smart guidance, along with philosophical wisdom, economic understanding, and statesman‐like awareness, onto one person. There Xenophon illustrates the development of a universal monarchy on a morally and institutionally stable basis exemplified by a mostly fictional story of the founder of the Persian Empire, king Cyrus the Great. Thus, at a time when Greece was divided by internal conflicts and the ascent of Philipp II of Macedonia was still not yet to be foreseen. According to the underlying logic, the main institutions that Herodotus attributed to Darius are presented as creations of Cyrus. His fairness in warfare, his clemency as a judge, and his moral integrity make him into a character worth admiring. Novelistic parts contribute to an oriental ambiance, but they lack the dark and brutal atmosphere so typical of the scenes at court in the contemporary Persica. Cicero fittingly referred to the Cyropaedia as an exemplary model of a “just rulership” (iustum imperium: Ad Quintum fratrem 1.1.23). Its reception history was striking, but its tendency toward idealization was equally noticeable. Plato's snappy critique hit the blind spot: the integrity of the state depended on the integrity of a king who was not capable of guaranteeing a good line of succession (Nomoi 3.694c/695b). Xenophon himself had not managed to get rid of the contemporary tendencies to hold contempt against the Persian Empire, for there lies a deep gap between the fictitious past and the author's own period, when the Persian Empire is characterized by a typical set of clichés including decadence and decline (final chapter 8.8) (Walser 1984; Flower 2017).

      An important contribution to Persian history within the frame of a Greek history was made by Ephorus of Cyme. His work, which originated in the time of Philipp II and made use of the different Persica of the fourth century is lost but was of great influence for later authors such as Diodorus and Strabo. Ephorus developed the idea that in 480–479 BCE Greece had been threatened by a unified attack of Persians and Carthaginians (FGrH 186 F 70). Unfortunately, the Philippica of Theopompus of Chios, written soon after Ephorus' work, are also lost. The author was admired and feared for his rigid moral judgments. The work focused on Philipp II but also concerned the Persian Empire of the fourth century and depicted the luxurious lifestyle of the Great King's court. When Alexander took up the military operation against the Great King already initiated by his father, the conquerors conceptualized the Persian Empire according to the conventional ideas developed by Greek tradition in the fourth century BCE (Marincola 2007; Parmeggiani 2014).

      It was only after Alexander's death that an entire series of publications emerged, written mostly by companions of the king or at least by people who took part in the great campaign. All these accounts are preserved only thanks to their quotation in later works. This makes it difficult to determinate their chronological order and their reciprocal intertextuality. The staging of the military campaign in a fascinating way, exhibiting a world full of marvels and interesting encounters, started off relatively early with the novelistic work of Onesicritus. He is known for his marvelous tales about India where Alexander appeared as a wise man in arms (FGrH/BNJ 134 F 17) (Müller 2011; Winiarczyk 2011). The reception of the work of Nearchus (FGrH/BNJ 133) was also mainly due to his reports about India and his account about the passage of a fleet led by him from the mouth of the river Indus to the Persian Gulf. Most important for the image of the Persian Empire was the work of Cleitarchus, whose father Dinon had already become known through his Persica. Cleitarchus should better not be regarded an eye‐witness. His history of Alexander with its flowery novelistic style found a great number of readers (FGrH 137). It is considered the main source of the historical tradition used by Diodorus, Trogus/Iustinus, Curtius (and partly Plutarch), referred to as Vulgate. There Alexander begins to develop increasingly despotic traits along with his victories over Darius III, whereas in comparison with the accounts of Plutarch and Arrian, his enemy is described as a far more noble person. The latter authors both give a rather euphemistic and idealizing account of Alexander's personality. With the work of Ptolemy (FGrH 138), Arrian had deliberately chosen an adequate main source. While recalling Alexander's great deeds, Ptolemy managed to bring in the appraisal of his own merits and, what was more, he also managed to find a way of legitimizing his political ideas in the later struggle for power after Alexander's death. The crucial question of priority between the writings of Cleitarchus and Ptolemy cannot be definitely decided although a recently published papyrus (POxy LXXI, 4808) suggests a later date for the former. Arrian's second important source, Aristobulus' history (FGrH/BNJ 139), is considered the latest report of one of Alexander's companions. It also presented an idealistic image of Alexander and described the marvels of the remote countries in the east (Gilhaus 2017).

      The main focus of Hellenistic historiography was concentrated on the wars in the aftermath of Alexander the Great, the development of the Hellenistic empires,