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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §19.48.1-19.48.8

Reorganization of Satrapies and Seizure of Susa's Treasure

Passage 125 of 301 · Greek

Summary

Antigonus entered Persis and reorganized the satrapies, sending the mutinous Silver Shields who betrayed Eumenes to dangerous missions for their elimination. He then secured a vast amount of treasure in Susa, significantly increasing his wealth.

§19.48.1ὁ δʼ Ἀντίγονος ἐπειδὴ τάχιστʼ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν Περσίδα, τιμῆς μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων ἠξιώθη βασιλικῆς ὡς ἂν κύριος ὢν ὁμολογουμένως τῆς Ἀσίας, αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ τῶν φίλων συνεδρεύσας ἐβουλεύετο περὶ τῶν σατραπειῶν.
Antigonus, as soon as he came into Persis, was deemed worthy of royal honor by the inhabitants as being admittedly master of Asia, but he himself, having held a council with his friends, deliberated about the satrapies.
τὴν μὲν οὖν Καρμανίαν εἴασεν ἔχειν Τληπόλεμον καὶ τὴν Βακτριανὴν ὁμοίως Στασάνορα· οὐ γὰρ ῥᾴδιον ἦν τούτους διʼ ἐπιστολῆς ἐκβαλεῖν, εὖ τὰ πρὸς τοὺς ἐγχωρίους πεπολιτευμένους καὶ πολλοὺς ἔχοντας συναγωνιστάς.
Now, Carmania he permitted Tlepolemus to hold, and Bactriana likewise Stasanor; for it was not easy to eject these men by means of a letter, since they had conducted themselves well toward the inhabitants and had many fellow-combatants.
§19.48.2εἰς δὲ τὴν Ἀρίαν ἀπέστειλεν Εὔιτον· τελευτήσαντος δὲ μετʼ ὀλίγον χρόνον ἀντικατέστησεν Εὐαγόραν, ἄνδρα κατʼ ἀνδρείαν καὶ σύνεσιν θαυμαζόμενον.
And into Aria he dispatched Evitus; but since he died a short time after, he appointed Evagoras in his place, a man admired for his courage and intelligence.
Ὀξυάρτην δὲ τὸν Ῥωξάνης πατέρα τὴν ἐν Παροπανισάδαις σατραπείαν εἴασεν ἔχειν, καθὰ καὶ πρότερον εἶχεν· οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτον ἦν ἐκβαλεῖν δυνατὸν ἄνευ χρόνου πολλοῦ καὶ δυνάμεως ἁδρᾶς.
And Oxyartes, the father of Roxane, he permitted to hold the satrapy in Paropanisadae just as he had held it before; for it was not possible to eject this man either without a long time and a strong force.
§19.48.3μετεπέμψατο δὲ καὶ Σιβύρτιον ἐξ Ἀραχωτῶν, εὖ διακείμενον τὰ πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ τήν τε σατραπείαν ἔχειν συνεχώρησε καὶ τῶν ἀργυρασπίδων συνέστησε τοὺς ταραχωδεστάτους, τῷ μὲν λόγῳ πρὸς τὰς ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ χρείας, τῷ δʼ ἔργῳ πρὸς ἀπώλειαν· κατʼ ἰδίαν γὰρ ἐνετείλατο κατʼ ὀλίγους αὐτῶν εἰς τοιαύτας χρείας ἀποστέλλειν ἐν αἷς ἔμελλον ἀπολεῖσθαι.
And he also summoned Sibyrtius from Arachosia, who was well-disposed toward him, and agreed that he should hold his satrapy and placed under his command those of the Silver Shields who were most turbulent, in word for the needs in war, but in deed for their destruction; for he privately ordered him to send them out a few at a time for such duties in which they were bound to perish.
§19.48.4ἐν δὲ τούτοις εἶναι συνέβαινε καὶ τοὺς Εὐμενῆ παραδόντας, ὥστε τῶν εἰς τὸν στρατηγὸν παρανομημάτων συντόμως αὐτοῖς ἐπιστῆναι τιμωρίαν· αἱ γὰρ ἀσεβεῖς χρεῖαι τοῖς μὲν δυνάσταις διὰ τὴν ἐξουσίαν γίνονται λυσιτελεῖς, τοῖς δʼ ὑπακούσασιν ἰδιώταις μεγάλων κακῶν ὡς ἐπίπαν αἴτιαι καθίστανται.
And it happened that those who had betrayed Eumenes were also among these, so that punishment for their lawless acts against their general came upon them swiftly; for impious services become profitable to rulers because of their power, but to the private citizens who have obeyed they generally turn out to be the cause of great evils.
§19.48.5ὁ δʼ οὖν Ἀντίγονος ὁρῶν τὸν Πευκέστην παρὰ τοῖς Πέρσαις μεγάλης ἀποδοχῆς τυγχάνοντα τὸ μὲν πρῶτον παρείλετο τὴν σατραπείαν αὐτοῦ.
However, Antigonus, seeing that Peucestas was meeting with great favor among the Persians, first deprived him of his satrapy.
τῶν δὲ ἐγχωρίων ἀγανακτούντων, ἑνὸς δὲ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων Θεσπίου καὶ παρρησίαν ἀγαγόντος ὡς οὐχ ὑπακουσομένων Περσῶν ἑτέρῳ, τοῦτον μὲν ἀπέκτεινεν, Ἀσκληπιόδωρον δὲ κατέστησε τῆς Περσίδος ὕπαρχον καὶ τοὺς ἱκανοὺς στρατιώτας παρέδωκεν· Πευκέστην δʼ εἰς ἄλλας ἐλπίδας ἀγαγὼν καὶ κενῶς μετεωρίσας ἐξήγαγεν ἐκ τῆς χώρας.
And when the inhabitants were indignant, and one of the most prominent, Thespius, spoke out boldly that the Persians would not obey another ruler, he put this man to death, and appointed Asclepiodorus governor of Persis and handed over to him a sufficient body of soldiers; but Peucestas, after leading him on with other hopes and raising his expectations in vain, he led out of the country.
§19.48.6ποιουμένου δʼ αὐτοῦ τὴν πορείαν ἐπὶ Σούσων ἀπήντησεν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῷ Πασιτίγρι ποταμῷ Ξενόφιλος ὁ κυριεύων τῶν ἐν Σούσοις χρημάτων, ἀπεσταλμένος ὑπὸ Σελεύκου πᾶν ποιῆσαι τὸ προστασσόμενον.
While he was making his journey toward Susa, Xenophilus, who was in control of the treasure in Susa, met him at the Pasitigris River, having been sent by Seleucus to do everything commanded.
τοῦτον μὲν οὖν προσδεξάμενος προσεποιεῖτο τιμᾶν ἐν τοῖς μεγίστοις τῶν φίλων, εὐλαβούμενος μὴ μετανοήσας πάλιν αὐτὸν ἀποκλείσῃ· §19.48.7αὐτὸς δὲ παραλαβὼν τὴν ἐν Σούσοις ἄκραν κατέλαβεν ἐν αὐτῇ τήν τε χρυσῆν ἀναδενδράδα καὶ πλῆθος ἄλλων κατασκευασμάτων, τῶν πάντων συναγομένων εἰς μύρια καὶ πεντακισχίλια τάλαντα.
This man he received and pretended to honor among his greatest friends, taking precautions lest he, changing his mind, should lock him out again; and he himself, having taken over the citadel in Susa, found in it the golden vine and a multitude of other treasures, all of them amounting to fifteen thousand talents.
§19.48.8ἠθροίσθη δʼ αὐτῷ καὶ ἄλλο πλῆθος χρημάτων ἔκ τε τῶν στεφάνων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων δωρεῶν, ἔτι δὲ ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων· ταῦτα γὰρ ἦσαν πεντακισχίλια τάλαντα, καὶ κατὰ τὴν Μηδίαν ἄλλα τοσαῦτα χωρὶς τῶν ἐν Σούσοις θησαυρῶν, ὥστε τὰ πάντα συναχθῆναι τάλαντα δισμύρια πεντακισχίλια.
There was also gathered for him another great amount of money from crowns and other gifts, and besides from booty; for these amounted to five thousand talents, and in Media another equal amount, besides the treasures in Susa, so that in all twenty-five thousand talents were gathered.
καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ Ἀντίγονον ἐν τούτοις ἦν.
And such was the state of affairs concerning Antigonus.

Notes

  1. 19.48.1ὡς ἂν κύριος ὢν — The conjunction ὡς is accompanied by ἄν and the participle ὤν, implying a subjective reason or assumption ("as being presumably" or "on the ground that he was likely") rather than an absolute fact.
  2. 19.48.1εὖ τὰ πρὸς τοὺς ἐγχωρίους πεπολιτευμένους — The perfect middle-passive participle πεπολιτευμένους (used intransitively to mean "having conducted themselves" or "having governed") modifies the preceding accusative pronoun τούτους, which is the logical object of the infinitive ἐκβαλεῖν dependent on the impersonal ἦν.
  3. 19.48.4ἐν δὲ τούτοις εἶναι συνέβαινε καὶ τοὺς Εὐμενῆ παραδόντας — The impersonal verb συνέβαινε ("it happened that") is followed by an accusative and infinitive construction, where τοὺς παραδόντας is the subject and εἶναι is the infinitive. τούτοις is a dative referring to the Silver Shields mentioned in the preceding section.
  4. 19.48.5τῶν δὲ ἐγχωρίων ἀγανακτούντων, ἑνὸς δὲ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων Θεσπίου καὶ παρρησίαν ἀγαγόντος — Two genitive absolute constructions with different subjects (τῶν ἐγχωρίων and Θεσπίου) are coordinated by δέ. Furthermore, inside the ὡς clause dependent on Θεσπίου, another genitive absolute (Περσῶν... ὑπακουσομένων) is nested.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §19.48.1-19.48.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:19.48.1-19.48.8

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