Lysimachus
Lysimachus | |
---|---|
Hellenisticmarble bust of Lysimachus at theEphesus Archaeological Museum,dated circa 300 BC. | |
King ofThrace | |
Reign | 306–281 BC |
Predecessor | Alexander IV |
Successor | Ptolemy Keraunos |
King ofAsia Minor | |
Reign | 301–281 BC |
Predecessor | Antigonus I Monophthalmus |
Successor | Seleucus I Nicator |
King ofMacedon withPyrrhus of Epirus | |
Reign | 288–281 BC |
Predecessor | Demetrius I Poliorcetes |
Successor | Ptolemy Keraunos |
Born | c. 360 BC[1][2] CrannonorPella |
Died | February 281 BC (aged approximately 79) Corupedium, nearSardis (modern-daySalihli,Manisa,Turkey) |
Burial | |
Consort | |
Issue Among others | |
Father | Agathocles |
Lysimachus(/lɪˈsɪməkəs/;Greek:Λυσίμαχος,Lysimachos;c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was aThessalian[3]officer andsuccessorofAlexander the Great,who in 306 BC, became king ofThrace,Asia MinorandMacedon.
Early life and career
[edit]Lysimachus was born in circa 360 BC, to a family ofThessalianstock but they were citizens ofPellainMacedonia.[3][4]He was the second son ofAgathocles[5]and his wife; there is some indication in the historical sources that this wife was perhaps named Arsinoe, and that Lysimachus' paternal grandfather may have been called Alcimachus. His father was a nobleman of high rank who was an intimate friend ofPhilip II of Macedon,who shared in Philip II’s councils and became a favourite in theArgead court.[6]Lysimachus and his brothers grew up with the status of Macedonians; all these brothers enjoyed with Lysimachus prominent positions in Alexander’s circle[6]and, like him, were educated at the Macedonian court inPella.[7][8]
Pausaniasand the historianJustinboth record a story that Alexander had Lysimachus thrown to a lion as a punishment. According to Justin this was because Lysimachus had smuggled poison to a person Alexander had condemned to a slow death. Both Pausanias and Justin report that Lysimachus overcame the lion with his bare hands and subsequently became one of Alexander's favorites.[9][10]Some coins issued during Lysimachus's appointment had his image on one side and a lion on the other.
He was probably appointedSomatophylaxduring the reign of Philip II.[7]During Alexander'sPersiancampaigns, in 328 BC he was one of his immediate bodyguards.[11]In 324 BC, inSusa,he was awarded a ceremonial crown in recognition of his actions inIndia.[12]After Alexander's death in 323 BC, he was appointed to the government of Thrace asstrategos[13]although he faced some difficulties from the Thracian kingSeuthes.[11]
Diadochi
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/LysimachusCoinWithHornedAlexander.jpg/150px-LysimachusCoinWithHornedAlexander.jpg)
In 315 BC, Lysimachus joinedCassander,PtolemyandSeleucusagainstAntigonus,who, however, diverted his attention by stirring up Thracian andScythiantribes against him.[14]However, he managed to consolidate his power in the east of his territories, suppressing a revolt of the cities on theBlack Seacoast.[11]
In 309 BC, he foundedLysimachiain a commanding situation on the neck connecting theChersonesewith the mainland,[14]forming a bulwark against theOdrysians.
In 306/305 BC, Lysimachus followed the example of Antigonus and assumed theroyal title.[15]
In 302 BC, when the second alliance between Cassander, Ptolemy and Seleucus was made, Lysimachus, reinforced by troops from Cassander, entered Asia Minor, where he met with little resistance. On the approach of Antigonus he retired into winter quarters nearHeraclea,marrying its widowed queenAmastris,a Persian princess. Seleucus joined him in 301 BC, and at theBattle of IpsusAntigonus was defeated and slain. Antigonus' dominions were divided among the victors. Lysimachus' share wasLydia,Ionia,Phrygiaand the north coast of Asia Minor.[16]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Diadochi_EN.png/300px-Diadochi_EN.png)
Feeling that Seleucus was becoming dangerously powerful, Lysimachus now allied himself with Ptolemy, marrying his daughterArsinoe IIof Egypt. Amastris, who had divorced herself from him, returned to Heraclea. When Antigonus' sonDemetrius Irenewed hostilities (297 BC), during his absence in Greece, Lysimachus seized his towns in Asia Minor, but in 294 BC concluded a peace whereby Demetrius was recognized as ruler of Macedonia. He tried to carry his power beyond theDanube,but was defeated and taken prisoner by theGetaekingDromichaetes(or Dromihete), who, however, set him free in 292 BC on amicable terms in return for Lysimachus surrendering the Danubian lands he had captured.[11]Demetrius subsequently threatened Thrace, but had to retire due to a sudden uprising inBoeotiaand an attack from KingPyrrhus of Epirus.[14]
In 287 BC, Lysimachus and Pyrrhus in turn invaded Macedonia and drove Demetrius out of the country. Lysimachus left Pyrrhus in possession of Macedonia with the title of king for around seven months before Lysimachus invaded.[14]For a short while the two ruled jointly but in 285 BC Lysimachus expelled Pyrrhus, seizing complete control for himself.[17]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Lysimachus.jpg)
Later years
[edit]Domestic troubles embittered the last years of Lysimachus’ life. Amastris had been murdered by her two sons; Lysimachus treacherously put them to death. On his return, Arsinoe II asked the gift of Heraclea, and he granted her request, though he had promised to free the city. In 284 BC Arsinoe, desirous of gaining the succession for her sons in preference to Lysimachus’ first child,Agathocles,intrigued against him with the help of Arsinoe's paternal half-brotherPtolemy Keraunos;they accused him of conspiring with Seleucus to seize the throne, and Agathocles was put to death.[14]
This atrocious deed by Lysimachus aroused great indignation. Many of the cities of Asia Minor revolted, and his most trusted friends deserted him. The widow of Agathocles and their children fled to Seleucus, who at once invaded the territory of Lysimachus in Asia Minor. In 281 BC, Lysimachus crossed theHellespontintoLydiaand at the decisiveBattle of Corupediumwas killed. After some days his body was found on the field, protected from birds of prey by his faithful dog.[18]Lysimachus' body was given over to another son,Alexander,by whom it was interred atLysimachia.[14]
Marriages and children
[edit]Lysimachus was married three times and his wives were:
- First marriage:Nicaea,a Greek (Macedonian) noblewoman and daughter of the powerfulRegentAntipater.Lysimachus and Nicaea married in c. 321 BC. Nicaea bore Lysimachus three children:
Nicaea most probably died by 302 BC.
- Second marriage: Persian PrincessAmastris.Lysimachus married her in 302 BC. Amastris and Lysimachus’ union was brief, as he ended their marriage and divorced her in 300/299 BC.
- Third marriage:Ptolemaic Greek PrincessArsinoe II.Arsinoe II married Lysimachus in 300/299 BC and remained with him until his death in 281 BC. Arsinoe II bore Lysimachus three sons:
From anOdrysian concubinehe had a son borne to him calledAlexander.[23]
Family tree of Lysimachids
[edit]Alcimachus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Agathocles of Pella counselor ∞ Arsinoe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alcimachus of Apollonia diplomat | 1.Nicaea of Macedon daughter of Antipater regent of Mecedon | Lysimachus king of Thrace, Asia Minor, Macedonia ∞ 2.Amastrine | 3.Arsinoe II daughter of Ptolemy Iof Egypt | Autodicus somatophylax ∞Adeia | Philip soldier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alcimachus nobleman | (1)Eurydice ∞Antipater I of Macedon | (1)Agathocles prince ∞Lysandra(daughter ofPtolemy Iof Egypt) | (1)Arsinoe I ∞Ptolemy IIof Egypt | (3)Ptolemy I Epigonus king of Telmessos | (3)Lysimachus prince | (3)Philip prince | (illeg.) Alexander | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lysimachus king of Telmessos | Epigonos prince | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ptolemy II king of Telmessos | Antipater Epigonos prince | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Berenice priestess | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^The Pimlico Dictionary Of Classical Civilizations:"Lysimachus (360–281 BC), one of the close companions of Alexander the Great, assumed the title of king in305 BC"
- ^The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage:"Lysimachus (c. 360–281 BC), another diadoch and a past bodyguard of Alexander, received the greater part of Asia Minor. "
- ^abSear, David R. (1978).Greek Coins and Their Values, Volume 2.Seaby. p. 634.ISBN9780900652509.
Lysimachos, 323–281 B.C. (one of the most remarkable of the 'Successors' of Alexander, Lysimachos was of Thessalian stock and was a bodyguard of the great Macedonian King.
- ^Traver, Andrew G. (2002).From Polis to Empire, the Ancient World, C. 800 B.C.-A.D. 500: A Biographical Dictionary.Greenwood Publishing Group. p.236.ISBN9780313309427.
Lysimachus was a citizen of Pella in Macedonia, although his father was said to have been a Greek from Thessaly.
- ^Lund,Lysimachus: A Study in Early Hellenistic Kingship,p. 3
- ^abLund,Lysimachus: A Study in Early Hellenistic Kingship,p.2
- ^abHeckel,Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire,p. 153
- ^Lysimachus had an elder brother calledAlcimachus of Apolloniaand had two younger brothers calledAutodicusandPhilip.He had two known nephews through his brother Alcimachus calledAlcimachusandPhilip;his known great-nephew wasLysippusthe grandson of his brother Alcimachus and his known sister-in-law wasAdeiathe wife ofAutodicus
- ^http://www.attalus.org/translate/justin1.html#15.1Justin, Epitome of Pompey Trogue’s “Philippic histories”, XV, 3, 1–9: Retrieved 18 January 2019
- ^Pausanias, Description of Greece, 1.9.5
- ^abcdHornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Tony (2000).Who's Who in the Classical World.Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 238.ISBN0192801074.
- ^Heckel,Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empirepp. 153-154. "Near Sangala in India some 1,200 of Alexander's troops were wounded, among them Lysimachus the Somatophylax. He had earlier boarded a thirty-oared vessel at the Hydaspes (in the company of two other Somatophylakes), before the battle with Porus, though his role in the actual battle is not attested; presumably he fought in the immediate vicinity of Alexander himself. When Alexander decided to sail down the Indus river system to the Ocean, Lysimachus was one of those from Pella charged with a trierarchy in the Attic fashion. He is named by Arrian in the only complete list of Somatophylakes. At Susa in spring 324 BC, Lysimachus and the rest of the Somatophylakes were crowned by Alexander, though unlike Leonnatus, Lysimachus appears to have earned no special distinction."
- ^Heckel,Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empirep. 155. "In 323 Lysimachus was assigned control of Thrace, and was probablystrategosrather than satrap. The subordinate position ofstrategosmay account for the failure of the sources to mention Lysimachus in the settlement of Triparadeisus; his brother Autodicus was, however, named as a Somatophylax ofPhilip IIIat that time. "
- ^abcdefpublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Lysimachus".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 184. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^Heckel,Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire,p. 155. "In 306 or 305 BC, he assumed the title of" King ", which he held until his death at Corupedium in 282/1 BC."
- ^Williams, Henry Smith.Historians History of the World(Volume 4), p. 450.
- ^Williams, Henry Smith.Historians History of the World(Volume 4), p. 454.
- ^Williams, Henry Smith.Historians History of the World(Volume 4), p. 505.
- ^abcdefBengtson,Griechische Geschichte von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit,p.569
- ^abcHeckel,Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire,p.175
- ^Billows,Kings and colonists: aspects of Macedonian imperialism,p. 110
- ^Ptolemaic Genealogy: Ptolemy ‘the Son’, Footnotes 9 & 12
- ^Pausanias, 1.10.4
Bibliography
[edit]Primary sources
[edit]- Arrian,Anabasisv. 13, vi. 28
- Justinxv. 3, 4, xvii. I
- Quintus Curtius RufusHistory of Alexander the GreatV. 3, x. 30
- Diodorus SiculusBibliothekexviii. 3
- PolybiusHistoriesv. 67
- Plutarch,Life of Demetrius,31. 52,Life of Pyrrhus,12
- Appian,Syriaca,62
Secondary sources
[edit]- Hunerwadel,Forschungen zur Gesch. des Könige Lysimachus(1900)
- Possenti,Il Re Lisimaco di Tracia(1901)
- Ghione, "Note sul regno di Lisimaco"Atti d. real. Accad. di Torinoxxxix (1903)
- R.A. Billows,Kings and colonists: aspects of Macedonian imperialism,BRILL, 1995
- H.S. Lund,Lysimachus: A Study in Early Hellenistic Kingship,Routledge, 2002
- W. Heckel,Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire,Wiley-Blackwell, 2006
- Lysimachus’ article at Livius.org
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Ptolemy Ceraunus
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Unknown wife of Ptolemy Ceraunus
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Ptolemy ‘the Son’
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Lysimachus
- Lysimachus' Dog & Nisaean Horses– Informative but non-scholarly essay on Lysimachus (Annotated with Sources)
- 360s BC births
- 281 BC deaths
- 4th-century BC Macedonians
- 3rd-century BC Macedonian monarchs
- 4th-century BC monarchs
- Ancient Greeks killed in battle
- Ancient Macedonian generals
- Ancient Pellaeans
- Ancient Thessalians
- Deaths by javelin
- Hellenistic generals
- Hellenistic Macedonia
- Hellenistic-era monarchs
- Hellenistic Thrace
- Ancient Macedonian monarchs killed in battle
- Non-dynastic kings of Macedonia (ancient kingdom)
- Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire
- Somatophylakes
- Trierarchs of Nearchus' fleet