Amynta ( dr. Greek Ἀμύντας , son of Antiochus; 4th century BC ) - Macedonian commander who joined the Persians
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Biography
Probably, it was this Amynta, the son of Antiochus, who was sent by King Philip II to Boeotia in 338 in order to prevent the conclusion of a military alliance between Athens and Thebes .
Following the death of King Philip in 336 BC. e. Aminta, fearing the revenge of his eldest son Alexander for his proximity to the executed cousin of the new king Aminte IV , fled the country to the possession of the Persians. After the battle of Granik in 334 BC. e. Amynta took part in preparing a conspiracy at the Macedonian headquarters to assassinate Alexander when he was in the Lycian city of Phaselis . Aminta kept in touch with Antipater’s son-in-law Alexander Linkestiyets , to whom the Persians promised help in the occupation of the Macedonian throne. However, this plot was uncovered with the help of Parmenion , after the envoy of Darius III fell into the hands of the Macedonians in Phrygia .
On the eve of the battle of Issus in 333 BC e. Aminta was the only one who advised Darius III to expect Alexander on the plains west of Cilicia in order to take advantage of the numerical superiority of the Persian army in open space. However, Darius did not heed Aminta's arguments.
After the defeat of the Persians, Amynta with several thousand Greek mercenaries crossed the ships captured in Tripoli through Cyprus to Egypt in order to capture this rich and vulnerable country. He previously convinced his warriors that "the Persian garrison was left without a leader and weak, that the Egyptians were always hostile to their praetors and would accept the Greeks not as enemies, but as friends." Entering the bordering Egyptian city of Pelusius , Aminta told the locals that he had been sent by Darius to replace the deceased satrap Sawak . Then Aminta climbed the river to Memphis , where with the help of the rebellious Egyptians inflicted serious damage on the Persians. However, then his people, engaged in robbery, scattered around the district. Taking advantage of their “carelessness of the winners” and fragmentation, the Persians, inspired by the new satrap Mazak, decided to leave the city on a sortie and killed the mercenaries together with their leader to the last man.
Literature
- Primary sources
- Arrian Anabasis Alexandra (I.17.9, I.25.3, II.6.3,6, II.13.2-3)
- Diodorus of Sicily . Historical Library (XVII.48.3-5)
- Quintus Curtius Rufus . The history of Alexander the Great (III.8.2-12, III.11.18, IV.1.27-32)
- Plutarch . Comparative biographies : Alexander (XX)
- Research
- Aminta (son of Antiochus ) . - in Smith 's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
- In fiction
- Character of the novel by Lyubov Voronkova "In the depths of centuries"