Jerome of Cardia

Cardia on the map of Chersonesus of Thrace

Born in Cardia , was a fellow countryman and friend of one of the dyadohs - Eumenes . According to the assumption of Felix Jacobi during the life of Alexander worked in the office of the Macedonian king (headed by Eumenes), which explains his access to the state archives. He took part in the campaign of Alexander against the power of the Achaemenids ^[1] . Jerome was probably present in Babylon at the death of the great conqueror in 323 BC. e. and it was he who owned the detailed description of the majestic funeral procession used by Diodorus of Sicily , which was to deliver the body of the king to Alexandria ^[3] .

After the death of Alexander, Jerome followed Eumenes, who received Cappadocia and Paphlagonia (actually not yet conquered) from the regent Perdikka in control. In a conflict that soon broke out, Perdiccas was killed, and Antigonus One-Eyed became the main opponent of Eumenes. Forced to retreat, lock himself up with small forces in the impregnable fortress of Norah and withstand a prolonged siege (320-319 BC), Eumenes sent the embassy led by Jerome to the new regent Antipater , "to discuss the conditions of surrender" ^[4] . However, Antigonus, who had plans to seize the supreme power and possessed most of the Asian satrapies of Alexander’s empire, suddenly decided to reconcile with Eumenes after the death of Antipater. Calling Jerome to himself, he first tried to draw him to him with “expensive gifts,” and then sent him as a messenger to Eumenes, urging him to become “friend and ally” ^{[5] [6]} .

Eumenes, after a successful retreat from Nora, received support from the new ruler of Macedonia, Polyperchon, and resumed the struggle. Jerome took part in the decisive battle with Antigonus at Gabien (316 BC), in which he was wounded and captured ^[7] . Eumenes was also captured and killed, and Jerome apparently went to the service of Antigonus: Diodorus of Sicily reports that Antigonus entrusted him with supervision of asphalt production on the Dead Sea as a source of treasury income. However, it was not possible to organize production due to the attacks of the Nabataeans ^[8] . Jerome participated in the battle of Ips (301 BC) ^[9] , after the death of Antigonus the One-Eyed in which he continued to serve the Antigonids .

In 293 BC e. after leading Thebes to rebellion against the Macedonian rule, Thebes son of the One-Eyed Antigon, Demetrius Poliorket, appointed Jerome the garmost (ruler) of Boeotia ^[10] . After Demetrius left Macedonia under the onslaught of Lysimachos and Pyrrhus , Jerome supported his son Antigonus Gonathos , who fought for his father’s throne, and waited for his final accession. He spent his last years at the royal court, where, apparently, he wrote his works. Lucian of Samosatus , referring to the unsaved work of Agatarchid, reports that Jerome of Kardia lived to be 104 years old, moreover, "until his last day he remained a living interlocutor, retained the severity of all his senses and impeccable health" ^[11] .

The works of Jerome of Kardia came to us only in the transmission of other sources. The exact names of his works remain unknown, although in antiquity it was customary to single out the so-called “History of the Diadoch” ^[4] and “Treatise on the Epigones” ^[12] , which were based not only on personal experience and copyright evidence of many events, but also materials valuable documents, stories of contemporaries ^[1] . The court calls his work "History after Alexander."

It is reliably known that the works of Jerome of Kardia became the main source for a number of authors who described the period of the wars of the dyadohs: Diodorus of Sicily (“The Historical Library ”), Appian (“Syrian Affairs” and “Mithridates Wars”), Plutarch ( biography of Demetrius , Eumenes and Pyrrhus ), Arriana ("About the events after Alexander ” ^[13] ). Pausanius and Pompey Trog also probably borrowed information from his writings. Jerome’s legacy is so significant that today it mainly forms the general idea of ​​the era of early Hellenism ^[14] .

Britannica notes that Jerome of Kardia used official documents and was accurate with facts. His works were distinguished by a high scientific level and a pragmatic approach to writing history, characterized by a consistent and balanced presentation ^[14] . However, Pausanias rebukes Jerome for “writing under the influence of a hatred of all kings except Antigone ”, which“ beyond merit ”he praised. Pausanias explains the prejudice towards Lysimachus by the fact that Lysimachus destroyed the native Jerome Cardia ^[15] .

Apparently, Jerome the Cardian was the first Greek historian to touch on the history of Rome , which by that time had not yet extended its authority outside Italy ^[12] . In addition, in his writings for the first time the term “ Galata ” ( dr. Greek Γαλάται ) is used in relation to the Celts who invaded the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor ^[16] .

• The character of the novel by L. R. Vershinin "The Oikumena Hardness" (1998).

• Smirnov S.V. Python, Seleucus and the tradition of Jerome from Cardia // Mnemon. Research and publications on the history of the ancient world. - SPb. : Institute of History, St. Petersburg State University, 2014. - Vol. 14 . - S. 161-170 . - ISSN 1813-193X .
• Jerome // Antique Writers: Dictionary. / Comp .: B. Bravo, E. Vipshitskaya-Bravo. - SPb. : Doe, 1999 .-- 448 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-8114-0104-3 .
• Hieronymus, Greek historian // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• This article (section) contains text taken (translated) from the article “Hieronymus of Cardia” from the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica , which went into the public domain .