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Battle of Cretopolis

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Battle of Cretopolis (Kretopolis)
Part of the Diadochi Wars
Date319 BC
Location
near Cretopolis (in Pisidia/Asia Minor)
(modern-day Büğdüz, Burdur, Turkey)
Result Antigonid victory
Belligerents
Antipater and
Antigonus		 Remnant Perdiccan Faction
Commanders and leaders
Antigonus Monophthalmus Alketas (Perdiccas's brother)
Attalos (Perdiccas's brother-in-law)
Dokimos
Polemon (Attalos's brother)
Strength
40,000 infantry[1]
7,000 cavalry[1]
30 elephants		 c. 20,000
Casualties and losses
very low low

The Battle of Cretopolis (Kretopolis) was a battle in the wars of the successors of Alexander the Great (see Diadochi) between general Antigonus Monopthalmus and the remnants of the Perdiccan faction. It was fought near Cretopolis in Pisidia (a region of Asia Minor) in 319 BC and resulted in another stunning Antigonid victory (the second one that year).[2]

Background

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his generals immediately began squabbling over his huge empire. Soon the squabbling degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim a portion of Alexander's vast Empire. One of the most talented successor generals (Diadochi) was Antigonus Monophthalmus, so called because of an eye he lost in a siege. After the second partition of the Empire, the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC, Antipater, the new regent of the Empire, made Antigonus strategos of Asia and charged him with hunting down and defeating the remnants of the Perdiccan faction. Antigonus took command of the Royal Army and after being reinforced with more reliable troops from Antipater's European army he marched against their enemies in Asia-Minor.[3] He first marched into Cappadocia against Eumenes whom he defeated at the Battle of Orkynia. Eumenes escaped to the fortress of Nora where Antigonus invested him.[4]

Prelude

Leaving the siege of Nora to a subordinate[5] Antigonus then marched against the remaining Perdiccans who had gathered their forces in Pisidia near town called Cretopolis. Alketas (a brother of Perdiccas), Attalos (Perdiccas brother-in-law), Polemon (Attalos's brother) and Dokimos had gathered their forces in a pass[6] near Cretopolis. Antigonos decided to use the element of surprise, and forcemarched his army to Cretopolis in seven days (a march of close to 300 miles).[7] In this way Antigonus took his enemies by complete surprise: the first warning they had that Antigonus was nearby was the trumpeting of his elephants.[6] Antigonus occupied a couple of hills overlooking Alketas's position.[7]

Battle

The Perdiccans were caught totally unprepared, they faced an assault in front and along the pass, and in the flank from the hills overlooking the pass. Leaving Attalos and Dokimos to draw up the phalanx, Alketas took the cavalry and the peltasts and attacked Antigonus's troops on the ridge, trying desperately to dislodge them.[8] During the fight for the ridge Antigonus charged with 6,000 cavalry into the pass and caught Alketas in the flank; at this Alketas was forced back from the ridge and just barely made it back to the phalanx, with the loss of most of his men.[9] Unfortunately for the Perdiccans they did not have enough time to get their phalanx drawn up, and facing Antigonus's cavalry charge their men simply surrendered.[10]

Aftermath

Alketas managed to escape with a guard of Pisidians, who were particularly loyal to him, and made his way to the almost impregnable city of Termessos (here he would commit suicide when he heard the people of the city planned to hand him over to Antigonus); His colleagues Attalos, Polemon and Dokimos were captured by Antigonus, along with the rest of the army, close to 16,000 foot and 900 horse.[11] Antigonus could now claim to have destroyed the Perdiccan faction, but unfortunately for him Eumenes was not done causing trouble (see: Second War of the Diadochi).

References

  1. ^ a b Diodorus, Bibliotheca Historica XVIII 45,1.
  2. ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XVIII 44–45; Polyainos, strategemata IV 6,7.
  3. ^ Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the one-eyed and the creation of the Hellenistic State, p.72.
  4. ^ Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the one-eyed and the creation of the Hellenistic State, p.77; Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XVIII 41, 1–3; Plutarch, Eumenes, 10,2–4.
  5. ^ Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the one-eyed and the creation of the Hellenistic State, p.77; Diodorus, Bibliotheca Historica XVIII 41, 5–7; Plutarch, Eumenes, 10,2–4.
  6. ^ a b Polyainos, strategemata IV 6,7.
  7. ^ a b Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XVIII 44,2.
  8. ^ Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the one-eyed and the creation of the Hellenistic State, p.79.
  9. ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XVIII 44,4–5.
  10. ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XVIII 45,2; Polyainos, Strategemata, IV 6.7.
  11. ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XVIII 45,1–4.

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