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JASON

 
 

Jason of Pherae was the ruler of Thessaly during the period just before Philip II of Macedon came to power. He had succeeded Lycophron I of Pherae, possibly his father, as tyrant of Pherae and was appointed tagus, or king, of Thessaly in the 370s and soon extended his control to much of the surrounding region. Controlling a highly trained mercenary force as well as the famous Thessalian cavalry, Jason briefly transformed Thessaly into a powerful Greek state and even spoke of invading the Persian Empire. The figure of Jason makes a sudden appearance in the history of classical Greece with Xenophon swiftly mentioning his name during his commentary on Theban hegemony during the 370s. From seemingly out of nowhere arose a very ambitious proto-Philip general with a large and competent army. There was a very realistic threat posed by Jason to his neighbours and arguably to all of Hellas. Whether or not Jason had ambitions to rule over the entire Greek peninsula—as Philip II would after Chaeronea—can only be left to speculation. Regardless, Jason epitomises how one autocrat could suddenly rise to power through mercenary employment and threaten, both politically and militarily, his neighbouring poleis. Jason was assassinated in 370 by a group of unidentified young men. Diodorus Siculus, records that Jason's assassination was motivated either by the desire for fame or on the orders of his brother Polydorus. Eventually Alexander, possibly his son, inherited the title of tagus and ruled harshly before finally being defeated by the Thebans. The inventor of hemithorakion (half-armour equipment) is believed to be Jason of Pherae. He was a potentially major figure in Greek history whose potential remained unrealized because of his early death. It is clear that he intended to create a regional empire in northern and eastern Hellas similar to the empire Dionysius I created in the west, and his career before it was cut short by assassins indicated that he had the talent and resources to do so. If he had lived longer, his empire might have assumed the dominant influence in Greece which shortly afterwards was achieved by Macedonia.

 
 

 
     

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