Hamilcar Rodan [1] , or Hamilcar Rhodes [2] ( lat. Hamilcar Rhodanus ) - Carthaginian sent to Alexander the Great as a secret agent or ambassador [3] , whose mission took place after 332 BC. e. [3]
Mission Background
Phenicia at the time of the campaign of Alexander the Great against the power of the Achaemenids for two centuries was under the rule of Persian kings. Phoenician cities flourished, taking full advantage of internal self-government. The failure of the Persians already at an early stage of hostilities in Asia Minor revealed the deep internal weakness of their great power. Therefore, after the battle of Issus, most Phoenician cities surrendered to Alexander's army without a fight. The exception was Tyr , who, verbally recognizing the power of the Macedonian king, refused to let him in and his troops [4] . Only after a heavy 7-month siege did Alexander manage to capture a well-fortified and powerful fleet city.
Tire was the metropolis of Carthage , founded supposedly back in the 9th century BC. e. The cities maintained commercial and religious ties: for example, the Carthaginian delegation participated annually in festivities dedicated to Melkart , the patron god of Tire [5] . After the siege began, the Tyrians sent part of the children and women to Carthage. The Carthaginians, whose fleet dominated the Western Mediterranean at that time, promised them military assistance, but could not provide it, since they themselves were attacked by Syracuse . During the assault on the city, the Macedonians captured the Carthaginian ambassadors, whom the king spared, but told them that he was declaring war on Carthage, so far “postponed” for the future [6] .
Mission objectives and circumstances
According to Roman authors , the Carthaginians were frightened by the fall of their metropolis, the rapid advance of Alexander’s troops, the founding of Alexandria near their borders [7] . They suspected the great conqueror of the desire to annex to his power and Africa west of Egypt . It was decided to send an agent to Alexander who could find out his plans, for which Hamilkar Rodan, “a husband outstanding in eloquence and wit”, was chosen [8] . He appeared to the Macedonians under the guise of an exile , through Parmenion gained access to the king and was able to rub his confidence in him [9] . Having expressed a desire to accompany Alexander’s army as an ordinary soldier [7] , Hamilkar was able to regularly inform fellow citizens about the actions of the Macedonians. He sent his messages on wooden tablets , topped with a layer of pure wax . After the death of Alexander the Great, Hamilkar returned to his homeland, but was unjustly accused of treason and executed [7] [8] . The Carthaginian Embassy to Alexander the Great, but without specifying the name of Hamilcar Rodan, is also mentioned by a number of other sources [10] [11] .
Notes
- ↑ Sextus Julius Frontina - Hamilcar Rod and n.
- ↑ Armandi, Pierre Damiano. The use of elephants in the First Punic War // Military history of elephants = Histoire militaire des elephants. - SPb. : Faculty of Philology and Arts, St. Petersburg State University, Nestor-Istoriya, 2011. - 384 p. - (Historia Militaris). - 800 copies. - ISBN 978-5-8465-1173-6 .
- ↑ 1 2 Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology , Hamilcar.
- ↑ Shifman I. Sh . Carthage . - SPb. : Publishing House of St. Petersburg University, 2006. - S. 44–46. - 518 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-288-03714-0 .
- ↑ Shifman, 2006 , p. 136-137.
- ↑ Quintus Curtius Rufus . History of Alexander the Great of Macedon , IV, 2, 7; 3, 19-20; 4, 18.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Mark Unian Justin . Epitome of the composition of Pompey Trog, “The History of Philip,” XXI, 6, 1-7.
- ↑ 1 2 Pavel Oroziy . History Against the Gentiles, IV, 6, 21-22.
- ↑ Sextus Julius Frontin. Strategies, I, 2, 3.
- ↑ Arrian . Campaign of Alexander, VII, 15, 4.
- ↑ Diodorus of Sicily . Historical Library , XVII, 113, 2.
Literature
- Hamilcar // The Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities / ed. F. Lubker ; Edited by members of the Society of Classical Philology and Pedagogy F. Gelbke , L. Georgievsky , F. Zelinsky , V. Kansky , M. Kutorgi and P. Nikitin . - SPb. , 1885.
- Hamilkar Rodan - in Smith 's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.