A Historical Commentary on Arrian's History of Alexander: Volume I Books I-III

422 Pages·1998·9.31 MB·English

by  Albert B. Bosworth

A HISTORICAL
COMMENTARY ON
ARRIAN'S
HISTORY OF
ALEXANDER
BY
A. B. BOSWORTH

VOLUME!
COMMENTARY ON BOOKS I-III
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PREFACE
ALEXANDER THE GREAT has never lacked historians in any age, but his
own historians have been less fortunate. Little of the massive modern
literature on Alexander has been devoted to the extant primary
histories, and over the last century the main thrust of historiographical
research has been to attempt to reconstruct the lost works produced in
the first generation after Alexander’s death. As a result the extant
histories of his rcign have been regarded morc as compilations of lost
source material than as literary works in their own right. Arrian is
perhaps the most notable victim of this tendency. Although he is
universally regarded as the most authoritative historian of Alexander,
his authority mainly rests on his choice of Ptolemy as his principal
source. ‘Ptolemy/Arrian’ is his conventional label, evoking the image
of a copyist rather than a creative, critical writer. Nothing illustrates
better the neglect of Arrian the writer than the fact that, when this
Commentary was begun, the last commentary of any kind on his
history of Alexander was K. Abicht’s school edition of 1871, which
understandably concentrated on matters of language, and there was no
historical commentary at any level. I have thereforé made it a priority
to place Arrian the writer at the centre of my own work. The
Introduction is devoted entirely to the life and historical work of
Arrian, and I have not thought it necessary to give any introduction to
the actual history of Alexander’s reign. There is already an excellent
general introduction in Professor Brunt's recent Loeb edition, and I
have made a conscious effort to avoid a biographical approach to
Alexander. My main aim is to elucidate Arrian's view of Alexander
and the view of Arrian's sources, in so far as it can be disentangled, and
to avoid imposing my own moral judgment. That is, I realise, a counsel
of perfection, but so much scholarship on Alexander has been written
with a political or ethical partt pris that there is now an urgent need to
establish the facts themselves and to determine how the historical
tradition was shaped in antiquity. Both these tasks can be attempted in
the relatively neutral context of a historical commentary.
The first aim of the Commentary is to elucidate Arrian’s qualities as
a writer and historian and the second to criticise the material he
presents. The principal too! of criticism is source comparison, and'in
the body ofthe Commentary Arrian's material isjuxtaposed consistently
with the so-called ‘vulgate’ tradition, the material common to Curtius
Rufus and Diodorus Siculus. Asa result I have rejected Arrian’s account
far more often than is conventional, partly because of the bias of his
sources but also because of the low estimate of Arrian's technical
abilities which must result from close study of his work. The postulates
v
vi PREFACE
of ancient and modern historiography are different, and, though one
cannot blame Arrian for his encomiastic approach to his subject matter
and his carelessness and superficiality in handling his material, they are
aspects which must be constantly kept in mind. I have learned to be as
suspicious of Arrian as of any other Alexander source and I may at
times be hypercritical, but I hope the approach serves as a corrective to
the unqualified acceptance of Arrian which has been and remains the
worst evil of Alexander scholarship.
In the Commentary I have tried to keep my exposition firmly tied to
the context in Arrian and have avoided long excursuses. The result is
that there is no single comprehensive discussion of major issues such as
Alexander's relationship with the Greeks of Asia Minor or the
organisation of the Macedonian army. Instead there are a number of
passages of commentary linked together by cross-references and listed
together in the general index, which cumulatively give a comprehensive
discussion. I have also combined the general bibliography of short titles
with more specific sectional bibliographies so that the reader has a
general survey of Alexander literature and in addition a summary of
literature for each specific problem. The text was substantially finished
in 1977. I have when possible referred to articles which appeared
subsequently but certain major works could not be used. I would
mention specifically N. G. L. Hammond and G. T. Griffith, A History of
Macedonia ii (Oxford 1979), and D. W. Engels, Alexander the Great and the
Logistics of the Macedonian Army (Berkeley 1978).
Ihave many debts. Professor P. A. Brunt initiated me into Alexander
studies at Oxford and has given me every support and encouragement
in the years since. I am also glad to acknowledge, like so many scholars
of my generation, the stimulus provided by the work of Professor E.
Badian and the personal interest which he has shown in my writing;
the Commentary owes much directly and indirectly to his painstaking
and penetrating criticism. My own University has been most generous
in granting me two periods of study leave which enabled me to make
use of the unrivalled libraries and expertise in ancient history of the
University of Oxford and the equally unrivalled peace and academic
challenge of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Without
the hospitality of those institutions this book could not have been
written, and I could not have begun without the facilities of the Reid
Library of the University of Western Australia whose librarians have
indefatigably acquired for me the most csoteric literature from all
corners of the globe. Iam grateful to my colleagues who have cheerfully
endured my inroads on their books and their ears, to my typists Jenny
Stamopoulos and Kit Hayles, who coped with two successive drafts of
my manuscript with exemplary proficiency and courtesy, and to Anne
Raynor, to whose cartographic skill I owe the bases for the maps.
Finally I must express my appreciation to the Oxford University Press
PREFACE vii
for its impeccable professional standards, and not least for its continued
tolerance of a project that showed an alarming tendency towards
exponential growth.
A.B.B.
April 1980

CONTENTS
PREFACE
LIST OF MAPS
ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SHORT TITLES
INTRODUCTION
1. The Life and Work of Arrian
2. The History of Alexander
g. Arrian's Historical Methods
4. Arrian’s Style and Popularity
5. Text, Translations, and Editions
COMMENTARY
Praefatio
Book I
Book II
Book III
INDEXES
LIST OF MAPS
Sacing
page
THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGNS OF 335 B.C. 52
THE TROAD AND THE GRANICUS 108
CILICIA AND THE PLAIN OF 1SSUS 198
THE AREA OF GAUGAMELA 294
THE APPROACH TO PERSEPOLIS 326
THE PURSUIT OF DARIUS AND CAMPAIGNS IN THE ELBURZ 340
ABBREVIATIONS AND
BIBLIOGRAPHY
OF SHORT TITLES
AAA
Ἀρχαιολογικὰ Ἀνάλεκτα ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν: Athens Annals of
Archaeology
Abh. Berl. Akad.
Abhandlungen der preuBischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, phil.-hist.
Abteilung
ABSA
The Annual of the British School of Archaeology at Athens
AE
L' Année épigraphique
AHR
American Historical Review
AJA
American Journal of Archaeology
AJP
American Journal of Philology
Alexandre le Grand: image Alexandre le Grand: image et réalité, Entretiens sur l'Antiquité
el réalité classique xxii (Fondation Hardt, Geneva 1976)
Andreotti. J! problema R. Andreotti, J| problema politico di Alessandro Magno (Parma
politico 1933)
px. ἘΦ. Ἀρχαιολογικὴ ᾿Εφημερίς
Ath, Mitt, Milleilungen des deulschen | archüologischen — Instituts: athenische
Abteilung
AS Antike Schlachtfelder in Griechenland, ed. J. Kromayer and G. Veith
(4 vols.: Berlin 1903-31)
ATL The Athenian Tribute Lists, by B. D. Merritt, H. T. Wade-Gery,
and M.F. McGregor (4 vols.: Cambridge and Princeton
1939-53)
Badian, Ane. Soc. & Inst. E. Badian, ‘Alexander & the Grecks of Asia’ in Ancient Societies
and Institutions: Studies presented to V. Ehrenberg (Blackwell,
Oxford 1966)
Badian, Studies E. Badian, Studies in Greek and Roman History (Oxford 1964)
BCH Bulletin de Correspondance hellénique
BE J. and L. Robert, Bulletin Épigraphique (published initially in
REG and reprinted as a series with indexes, Paris 1972— )
Bellinger — A. R. Bellinger, Essays on the Coinage of Alexander the Great
(Numismatic Studies xi: New York 1963)
Beloch K. J. Beloch, Griechische Geschichte (and edn.: 4 vols, : Strassburg—
Berlin and Leipzig 1912-27)
Bengtson, Strategie H. Bengtson, Die Strategie in der hellenistischen Zeit (Münchener
Beitrige, vols. xxvi (1937); xxxii [1944]; xxxvi (1952])
Berve H. Berve, Das Alexanderreich auf prosopographischer Grundlage
(2 vols.: Munich 1926)
BMC Arabia G. F. Hill, Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Arabia, Mesopotamia and
Persia. British Museum Catalogue (London 1922)
BMC Caria B. V. Head, Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Carta, Cos, Rhodes, etc.,
British Museum Catalogue (London 1896)
xi
ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
BMC Phoenicia G. F. Hill, Greek Coins of Phoenicia, British Muscum Catalogue
(London 1910)
Briant, Antigone le Borgne P. Briant, Antigone le Borgne : les débuts de sa carritre et les problàmes
de l'assemblée macédonienne (Paris 1973)
Brunt, Arrian P. A. Brunt, Arrian i (Loeb Classical Library: Cambridge and
London 1976)
Busolt-Swoboda GS G. Busolt and H. Swoboda, Griechische Staatskunde (9rd edn.:
Munich 1920-6)
Casson, Ships ond L. Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (Princeton
Seamanship 1971)
CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
CIS Corpus Inscriplionum Semiticarum
Cook, Troad J. M. Cook, The Troad: an archaeological and topographical study
(Oxford 1973)
Corinth Corinth; resulls of excavations conducted by the American School of
Classical Studies at Athens (Cambridge and Princeton 1929- )
C Phil. Classical Philology
CQ, Classical Quarterly
CRAI Comptes rendus de l'Académie des inscriptions el belles-lettres
ew The Classical World
Delbrück H. Delbrück, Geschichte der Kriegskunst im Rahmen der politischen
Geschichte (3rd cdn.: Berlin 1920)
Denkschr. Akad, Wien Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien
Droysen J. G. Droysen, Geschichte des Hellenismus (2nd. edn.: Gotha
1877-8)
Ehrenberg, AL & the V. Ehrenberg, Alexander and the Greeks (Blackwell, Oxford 1938)
Greeks
Ellis, Philip I
J. R. Ellis, Philip II and Macedonian Imperialism (London 1976)
FGrH
F. Jacoby, Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (Berlin and
Leiden 1923- )
Fuller J. F. y Fuller, The Generalship of Alexander the Great (London
1958
Gomme, HCT A. W. Gomme, A Historical Commentary on Thucydides (vols.
i- :Oxford 1945-. )
Grazer Beitr. Grazer Beitrüge : Zeitschrift für die klassische Altertumswissenschaft
GRBS Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies
Greece ὦ the E. Greece and the Eastern Medilerranean in History and Prehistory,
Medilerranean Studies Presented to Fritz Schachermeyr, ed. K. H. Kinzl
(Berlin 1977)
Grundmann H. R. Grundmann, Quid in elocutione Arriani Flerodoto debeatur
(Berliner Studien H (1886])
Habicht, Chr. Habicht, Gotlmenschentum und griechische Stádle (Zetemata
Gottmenschentum? XIV: end edn.: Munich 1970)
Hamilton, Al J. R. Hamilton, Alexander the Great (London 1973)
Hamilton, Plut. Al J. R. Hamilton, Plularch, Alexander : a Commentary (Oxford 1969)
Hammond, Epirus N. G. L. Hammond, Epirus: The Geography, the Ancient Remains,
the History and the Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas (Oxford
1970)
xii