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Eumenes of Cardia (362 – 316 ) was a
Greek general and satrap. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great
serving as both Alexander’s personal secretary and as a battlefield
commander. He later was a participant in the Wars of the Diadochi as a
supporter of the Macedonian Argead royal house. He was executed after the
Battle of Gabiene in 316 .
Plutarch writes Eumenes' biography pairing him with the Roman, Sertorius. Nepos rates him among the greatest leaders.
Early career:
Eumenes was a native of Cardia in the Thracian Chersonese, although he was
suspected to be Scythian. At a very early age, he was employed as a private
secretary by
Philip II of Macedon and after Philip's death in 336 by Alexander the
Great, whom he accompanied into Asia. After Alexander's death in 323, Eumenes
took command of a large body of Greek and Macedonian soldiers fighting in
support of Alexander's son, Alexander IV.
Satrap of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia (323-319)
In the ensuing division of the empire in the Partition of Babylon in 323,
Cappadocia and Paphlagonia were assigned to Eumenes; but as they were not yet
subdued, Leonnatus and
Antigonus were charged by
Perdiccas with securing
them for him. Antigonus, however, ignored the order, and Leonnatus vainly
attempted to induce Eumenes to accompany him to Europe and share in his
far-reaching designs. Eumenes joined Perdiccas, who installed him in
Cappadocia.
Summary:
Born: Cardia (in the Thracian Chersonese)
Died: Gabiene (in Persia)
Allegiance: Macedonian Empire
Years of service: fl. 362 – 316
Rank: Personal secretary of Alexander the Great - General - Satrap of
Cappadocia and Paphlagonia
Battles/wars: Wars of Alexander the Great (336 - 323) - First Diadochi War
(322-320) - Battle of the Hellespont (321) - Battle of Orkynia (319) - Second
Diadochi War (318-315) - Battle of Paraitakene (316) - Battle of Gabiene (315)
Spouse(s): Artonis, daughter of Achaemenid satrap Artabazus II
Battle of the Hellespont (321)
When Craterus and Antipater, having subdued Greece in the Lamian War,
determined to pass into Asia and overthrow the power of Perdiccas, their first
blow was aimed at Cappadocia. Craterus and Neoptolemus, the satrap of Armenia,
were completely defeated by Eumenes in the Battle of the Hellespont in 321.
Neoptolemus was killed, and Craterus died of his wounds.
After the death of Perdiccas:
After the murder of Perdiccas in Egypt by his own soldiers i 320, the
Macedonian generals condemned Eumenes to death at the Conference at
Triparadisus, assigning Antipater and Antigonus as his executioners. Eumenes
first traveled to Mount Ida where there was a royal stable. Eumenes took a
large number of horses to replenish his Cappadocian cavalry. He took the time
to file an account with the overseers of the stables despite his outlaw status.
Upon hearing this, Antipater was greatly amused, however, it is clear that
Eumenes made this move to show that he was acting under the law and in the
service of the Argead House.
Since he would be facing a force superior in infantry, Eumenes decided to
travel to the plains of Sardis where his advantage in cavalry would be
decisive. He had also hoped to win the support of Cleopatra of Macedon, who was
present in the city at the time. Cleopatra and Eumenes had been friends since
childhood, however, Cleopatra was not willing to back what seemed to be a
losing cause and implored Eumenes to leave the area lest she incur the wrath of
Antipater. Eumenes obliged her and moved north into Phrygia to winter. Despite
his superior military skills, Eumenes’ Macedonian generals approached him
about one of them taking overall command. Eumenes retorted that
“formalities and technicalities would not protect them from death and
destruction”. To further guarantee the loyalty of subordinates, Eumenes
sold off the estates of Phrygia to them and provided military support to claim
the purchased land from the, obviously, unwilling and disgruntled Phrygian
property owners. This revenue was used to pay his soldiers.
After the Conference at Triparadisus:
Following the Conference at Triparadisus, Antigonus first placed a bounty on
the Greek general’s head of 100 talents of gold. News of this came
immediately after Eumenes’ financial rewards, so his officers and men were
outraged and redoubled their efforts to protect their leader, assigning a large
bodyguard of 1000 men to protect him at all times. Eumenes was also granted the
privilege of wearing a purple hat and cloak, an honor usually only granted to a
Macedonian king. In 319, Antigonus marched his army into Cappodocia and engaged
Eumenes at the Battle of Orkynia. Here,
Eumenes was defeated due to an unknown act of a traitor who was possibly bribed
by Antigonus. Although defeated, Eumenes swiftly acted to chase down and
execute this traitor, which restored the faith of his men. Following this
battle, Antigonus neglected to address the dead and immediately set off in
pursuit for Eumenes. Determined to follow tradition, Eumenes made the bold and
unexpected move to regain the battlefield so that he could construct a proper
funeral pyre for the dead. This action greatly impressed Antigonus.
Remainder of the Campaign:
The remainder of the campaign turned into a battle of maneuver, with Eumenes
avoiding further battle with Antigonus. At one point Eumenes was in position to
capture the baggage of Antigonus’ forces. Eumenes knew that he would not
be able to prevent his soldiers from plundering this loot if they found out
about it, and also that doing so would decrease the essential mobility of his
forces. Eumenes dispatched a private message to his old friend, the general
Menander, advising him to move the baggage uphill so that its capture would be
impossible. Menander immediately followed this advice. He and all of his fellow
officers were shocked by this move and thought Eumenes to be a paragon of
virtue. Only Antigonus knew of Eumenes’ real motives. This action is also
ironic when compared to the actions Antigonus had to take to finally defeat
Eumenes.
The following winter, Eumenes disbanded his army, save for a small, crack force
of 500 cavalry and 200 heavy infantry and holed up in Nora, a strong fortress
on the border between Cappadocia and Lycaonia. Antigonus arrived shortly and
decided to enter into negotiation with Eumenes instead of undergoing a lengthy
siege. Antigonus wanted to acquire Eumenes as his own officer and so first
demanded that Eumenes address him as a superior officer, to which Eumenes
replied “while I am able to wield a sword, I shall thank no man greater
than myself”. During negotiations, Eumenes was unable to secure a deal he
thought fitting, and so was willing to hold out longer for a more favorable
position in the imperial hierarchy.
Antigonus then departed with his army, leaving behind only forces sufficient to
blockade Nora. In the cramped city, Eumenes was forced to come up with novel
solutions so that his men and horses remained in fighting shape including;
emptying large rooms where men exercised on a set schedule, and creating a
suspension device, likened to an ancient treadmill, on which horses could run.
Eumenes held out for more than a year until the death of Antipater threw his
opponents into disarray.
The Second War of the Diadochi:
Antipater had left the regency to his friend
Polyperchon instead of
his son Cassander.
Cassander, therefore, allied himself with Antigonus, Lysimachus and Ptolemy,
while Eumenes allied himself with Polyperchon. He was able to escape from Nora
by tricking the Antigonid diplomat, his friend and country man Hieronymus of
Cardia, sent to negotiate his surrender, into having him swear an oath of
loyalty to the two kings, Philip III and Alexander IV instead of Antigonus
himself. By swearing an oath to an infant and a developmentally disabled man,
this, essentially, gave Eumenes free reign to act in whatever manner he saw as
in the best interest of the Argead Dynasty, and, therefore, himself. Eumenes
acted quickly to muster his army, and marched into Cilicia where he made an
alliance with Antigenes and Teutamus, the commanders of the famous Macedonian
Silver Shields.
Eumenes again demonstrated his cleverness and was able to secure control over
these men by playing on their loyalty to, and superstitious awe of, Alexander.
He claimed that Alexander had visited him in a dream and told him that he would
be present with them at every battle. Eumenes even went so far as to set up a
tent for the late conqueror complete with a throne. He used the royal treasury
at Kyinda to recruit an army of mercenaries to add to his own troops. In 317,
Eumenes left Cilicia and marched into Syria and Phoenicia, and began to raise a
naval force on behalf of Polyperchon.
When it was ready he sent the fleet west to reinforce Polyperchon, but it was
met by Antigonus's fleet off the coast of Cilicia, and the fleet of Eumenes
changed sides. Meanwhile, Antigonus had settled his affairs in Asia Minor and
marched east to take out Eumenes before he could do further damage. Eumenes
somehow had advance knowledge of this and marched out of Phoenica, through
Syria into Mesopotamia, with the idea of gathering support in the upper
satrapies.
Eumenes in the East:
Eumenes gained the support of Amphimachos, the satrap of Mesopotamia, then
marched his army into Northern Babylonia, where he put them into winter
quarters. During the winter he negotiated with Seleucus, the satrap of
Babylonia, and Peithon, the satrap of Media, seeking their help against
Antigonus. Unable to sway Seleucus and Peithon, Eumenes left his winter
quarters early and marched on Susa, a major royal treasury, in Susiana. In
Susa, Eumenes sent letters to all the satraps to the north and east of Susiana,
ordering them in the kings' names to join him with all their forces. When the
satraps joined Eumenes he had a considerable force, with which he could look
forward with some confidence to doing battle against Antigonus. Eumenes then
marched southeastwards into Persia, where he picked up additional
reinforcements. Antigonus, meanwhile, had reached Susa and left Seleucus there
to besiege the place, while he himself marched after Eumenes. At the river
Kopratas, Eumenes surprised Antigonus during the crossing of the river and
killed or captured 4,000 of his men. Antigonus, faced with disaster, decided to
abandon the crossing and turned back northward, marching up into Media,
threatening the upper satrapies. Eumenes wanted to march westward and cut
Antigonus's supply lines, but the satraps refused to abandon their satrapies
and forced Eumenes to stay in the east. In the late summer of 316, Antigonus
moved southward again in the hope of bringing Eumenes to battle and ending the
war quickly. Eventually, the two armies met in southern Media and fought the
indecisive Battle of Paraitakene.
Antigonus, whose casualties were more numerous, force marched his army to
safety the next night.
During the winter of 316-315 , Antigonus tried to surprise Eumenes in Persis by
marching his army across a desert and catching his enemy off guard;
unfortunately, he was observed by some locals who reported it to his opponents.
A few days later both armies drew up for battle. The Battle of
Gabiene was as indecisive as the previous
battle at Parataikene.
According to Plutarch and Diodorus, Eumenes had won the battle but lost control
of his army's baggage camp thanks to his ally Peucestas' duplicity or
incompetence. In addition to all the loot of the Silver Shields (treasure
accumulated over 30 years of successful warfare including gold, silver, gems
and other booty), the soldiers' women and children were taken and Eumenes' army
wished to negotiate their return. Teutamus, one of their commanders, sent the
request to Antigonus who responded by demanding they give him Eumenes. The
Silver Shields complied, arrested Eumenes and his officers, and handed them
over. The war was thus at an end. Eumenes was placed under guard while
Antigonus held a council to ponder his fate. Antigonus, supported by his son
Demetrius, was disinclined to kill Eumenes, but most of the council insisted
that he execute Eumenes and so it was decided.
Death:
Antigonus, according to Plutarch, starved Eumenes for three days, but finally
sent an executioner to dispatch him when the time came for him to move his
camp. Eumenes' body was given to his friends, to be burnt with honor, and his
ashes were conveyed in a silver urn to his wife and children.
Legacy:
Despite Eumenes' undeniable skills as a general, he never commanded the full
allegiance of the Macedonian officers in his army and died as a result. He was
an able commander who did his utmost to maintain the unity of Alexander's
empire in Asia, but his efforts were frustrated by generals and satraps both
nominally under his command and under that of his enemies. Eumenes was hated
and despised by many fellow commanders—certainly for his successes and
supposedly for his non-Macedonian (in the tribal sense) background and prior
office as Royal Secretary. Eumenes has been seen as a tragic figure, a man who
seemingly tried to do the right thing but was overcome by a more ruthless enemy
and the treachery of his own soldiers.Historie is an award-winning historical
fiction manga series that tells the life story of Eumenes, in a fictional way.
Family:
Pharnabazus III, Persian satrap of Phrygia, was his brother-in-law, as Eumenes
married Artonis, the daughter of Persian satrap Artabazus II and sister of
Pharnabazus III. "For Barsine, the daughter of Artabazus, who was the
first lady Alexander took to his bed in Asia, and who brought him a son named
Heracles, had two sisters; one of which, called Apame, he gave to Ptolemy; and
the other, called Artonis, he gave to Eumenes, at the time when he was
selecting Persian ladies as wives for his friends." —?Plutarch, The
Life of Eumenes.
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Eumenes of Cardia was a Greek who served
both Philip II and Alexander the Great as secretary and archivist. In 330 he
became Alexander’s principal secretary and keeper of the Royal Journal. As
such he was one of Alexander’s clossest associates, but his main claim to
fame was his career after the death of Alexander. In the settlement of Babylon
that followed Alexander’s death, Eumenes was made satrap of the as yet
unconquered provinces of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia, then still held by the
ex-Persian satrap Ariarathes.
He was helped to conquer his satrapy by Perdiccas, the regent of the kingdom,
and became a loyal follower of Perdiccas. Fighting soon broke out between
Alexander’s successors. The first round saw Perdiccas and Eumenes taking
on most of their colleagues. Perdiccas left Eumenes in charge in Asia Minor,
while he led an expedition against Ptolemy in Egypt. Eumenes’s first task
was to prevent Craterus leading his army across the Hellespont. He failed in
this, partly because Neoptolemus, the governor of Armenia, deserted him at a
crucial moment. Eumenes then retreated back towards his own satrapy.
In 321 he met and defeated Craterus and Neoptolemus in a battle on the border
of Cappadocia. Eumenes is said to have killed Neoptolemus in hand to hand
combat. Sadly for Eumenes the victory counted for nothing, for soon afterwards
Perdiccas was murdered by his own officers. Ptolemy then took over
Perdiccas’s army, and persuaded them to condemn Eumenes. In the settlement
made at Triparadisus in 320, Antigonus was given the task of hunting down
Eumenes. Eumenes was quickly forced back through Cappadocia, until he was
besieged with a small number of followers in the fortress of Nora, in the
northern Taurus. His fortunes were revived by the death of Antipater.
Antigonus decided that he wanted Eumenes’s help in the fight against
Antipater’s nominated successor Polyperchon. Eumenes
agreed to join Antigonus, and was released. He very quickly changed sides.
Eumenes was generally a support of the idea of a unified empire and of the
legitimate kings, partly because as a Greek he had a limited claim on the
loyalty of his Macedonia troops. In an attempt to preserve that loyalty,
Eumenes encouraged a cult of Alexander, holding councils in the presence of
Alexander’s regalia. In 319 Polyperchon represented the legitimate power
because he had possession of the kings. He offered Eumenes the post of
Strategos (general) of Asia, and accepted.
The Second Diadoch War quickly became two unrelated wars. Antigonus defeated
the loyalist’s fleet at a battle in the Bosporus (318), isolating Eumenes
from Polyperchon. Over the next two years Eumenes was slowly forced east. He
briefly occupied Phoenicia, taking it off Ptolemy, who had only recently
conquered it himself. Antigonus then forced him out again, into Iran. Their
armies clashed at Paraetacene in 317, where Eumenes won a minor victory, and at
Gabiene in 316. On the first day of fighting at Gabiene the result was
undecided, but Antigonus captured Eumenes’s baggage. After the battle,
Eumenese attempted to persuade his troops to fight again on the next day, but
one of his best units, the veteran Silver Shields, decided to sell their
commander to Antigonus in return for their baggage and wives. After a brief
delay Eumenes was executed.
A surprisingly able general, Eumenes was never particularly popular with his
Macedonian troops, who did not like being commanded by a Greek. Of all the
successors he was perhaps the one who remained most loyal to Alexander’s
vision of a union between east and west.
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