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Memnon of Rhodes (c. 380 – 333) was a
prominent Rhodian Greek commander in the service of the Persian Achaemenid
Empire. Related to the Persian aristocracy by the marriage of his sister to the
satrap Artabazus II,
together with his brother Mentor he served the Persian king for most of his
life, and played an important role during the invasion of Alexander the Great
and the decades before that. Carl Otis Schuster notes that though often
inaccurately described as "simply a mercenary", Memnon was arguably
the toughest defender of the Persian Empire Alexander had to face, and was
nearly successful in putting a halt to him.
Biography:
Under the governor of Phrygia: Not much is known about Memnon's early life.
Born in c. 380 in Rhodes, Memnon would serve the Persian Empire for most of his
life. He started his career in 358 by serving together with his brother Mentor
under the Persian satrap (governor) Artabazos II of Phrygia. During his service
to the Persian satrap, Artabazos allowed Memnon to marry his daughter Barsine.
In about 358, Artabazos staged a rebellion against the then ruling Persian
Achaemenid king
Artaxerxes II (r. 404–358), with Memnon and Mentor as his generals.
When the revolt failed, Memnon and Artabazos II fled to Pella, the capital of
Macedonia, whereas Memnon's brother Mentor fled to Egypt. Eventually Mentor
returned to Persian service in about 343. In Macedon During his exile in
Macedon, Memnon got acquainted with Philip II and the young prince Alexander
(later Alexander the Great), who was seven years old at the time. According to
Plutarch, Memnon and Alexander had lengthy discussions, with Alexander
reportedly having keen interest in Persia's military strength and tactics,
amongst others. Though Schuster notes that the details of the conversations
between Memnon and Alexander are difficult to verify, he does add that Memnon
managed to get a proper impression of Philip II as a ruler, military leader and
diplomat during his time in Pella. Moreover, it convinced him of Philip II's
intentions to invade Persia, and he got a proper realization of the deep-seated
Greek dissatisfaction vis-a-vis the Macedonian hegemony over Greece, including
the political issues that came along with it for the Macedonians. Through the
"influence" of his brother, after a stay of about three to four years
in Macedon, Memnon re-entered the Persian service, "with a clear
understanding of Macedonia's military capabilities".
Defense of the Achaemenid Empire :
Campaigns against Philip II:
When Mentor died in c. 340, Memnon married his widow Barsine. In 339, Memnon
helped to defend Byzantium against an assault by Philip II. In 336 Philip II
sent Parmenion, with Amyntas, Andromenes and Attalus, and an army of 10,000 men
into Anatolia to make preparations for an invasion to free the Greeks living on
the western coast and islands from Achaemenid rule. At first, all went well.
The Greek cities on the western coast of Anatolia revolted until the news
arrived that Philip had been murdered and had been succeeded by his young son
Alexander.
The Macedonians were demoralized by Philip's death and were subsequently
defeated near Magnesia by the Achaemenids under the command of Memnon of
Rhodes.
Campaigns against Alexander the Great:
When Philip's son Alexander invaded the Persian Achaemenid Empire in 334,
Memnon, aware of the political issues the Macedonians dealt with, urged king
Darius III (r.
336–330) to orchestrate a rebellion in Greece and he advised the Persian
satraps to lay waste to the land that Alexander would have to pass, depriving
his army of food and supplies. This would make it harder for Alexander and his
army to survive on their long journey before the battle. The satraps did not
trust Memnon because of his nationality, and did not ravage their territories.
Initially hesitant, Darius made Memnon the commander of the western satrapies
(provinces) after the defeat at the Battle of
Granicus. During the defense of Halicarnassus, Memnon was the leading
commander, and nearly defeated Alexander's attack. He then started using the
empire's naval superiority against Alexander and started negotiations with
Sparta in order to take the war to mainland Greece. He began a campaign to
capture the Aegean islands using the Persian fleet and led a direct assault on
Macedonia, while Alexander was resting at Phaselis. Memnon managed to capture
the island of Chios and most of Lesbos.
Demosthenes, after hearing of Memnon's successes, began to prepare Athens for a
revolt against Alexander, along with other Greek cities, while Sparta began to
prepare for war. By a stroke of fortune for Alexander, Memnon died during the
siege of Mytilene, after transferring command to his nephew, Pharnabazus.
Memnon's widow Barsine later became a mistress to Alexander and bore him a son,
Heracles.
After Alexander's death, Heracles contended for the throne with Nearchus'
initial support (who himself had married Barsine's daughter by Mentor). Their
bid met insufficient support, and Barsine and Heracles were murdered in 309 by
Polyperchon.
Assessment:
Many scholars maintain that had Memnon's campaign been successful, Alexander
would have had difficulty in continuing his campaign in Asia, and might have
soon been defeated. Memnon's naval campaigns and the uprising he orchestrated
in Sparta posed the greatest danger to Alexander since he had become king.
Schuster notes that if Memnon hadn't died at Mytilene, "Alexander might
have been forced to abandon Asia Minor and return home to defend his
throne". Thus, when Alexander realized he had nearly been defeated, he
decided to invade Achaemenid Phoenicia first before moving into the empire's
interior. It was not until after the major Persian defeat at the Battle of
Issus that Memnon's strategy was revitalised and finally put into action, but
by then the advantage had been lost, and Alexander showed himself willing to
forfeit Greece if necessary in favor of his greater goals.
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Memnon of Rhodes (d.334) was one of the few
successful Persian commanders during the wars against Philip II of
Macedon and Alexander the Great, despite have started his military career
as a rebel against Artaxerxes III. Memnon
was the son of Timocrates of Rhodes, a Greek who had worked for the Persians in
the 390s and helped trigger the
Corinthian War , in
order to distract the Spartans from their ongoing campaign in Asia Minor.
Memnon first comes to our attention during the Satrap's Revolt of the 350s. His
brother Mentor was a senior military commander under the rebel satrap Artabazus
of Phrygia while their sister was married to the satrap. By around 354 the
Persians had reoccupied Phrygia, and the brothers were forced to flee into
exile. Mentor went to Egypt, where he entered the service of Nectanebo II of
Egypt. Memnon fled to Macedon. In 346/5 Mentor betrayed the port of Sidon to
the Persians. After his capture he was pardoned and entered Persian service,
where he played a major role in the Persian conquest of Egypt of 343. As a
reward he became commander-in-chief of the Western Satrapies, and was able to
get his brother Memnon pardoned. Memnon then entered Persian service.
Memnon didn’t inherit his brother's post as commander-in-chief in the
west, but he was appointed as commander in the Troad, in the north-west of Asia
Minor. This province was on the Asian side of the Hellespont, and meant that
Memnon was in the front line when the Macedonians began to threaten the Persian
Empire. Memnon kept his post during the short reign of Artaxerxes IV and into
the reign of Darius III,
the final Persian emperor. In 336 Philip II sent 10,000 men under one of
his most trusted generals, Parmenion, to invade Asia
Minor and create a bridgehead for the main Macedonian invasion. Permenion
quickly conquered large parts of western Asia Minor, reaching as far south as
Ephesus. Darius responded by giving Memnon enough money to hire 5,000
mercenaries. He then intercepted the Macedonians at Magnesia, near the Meander
River, and inflicted a defeat on them. Parmenion retreated back to Abydus on
the Asian side of the Hellespont to defend the Macedonian bridgehead. Next
Memnon attempted to lift the Macedonian sieges of Gryneion and Pitane, in
Aeolia on the western coast of Asia Minor. He saved Pitane, but Gryneion fell.
He then moved north and tried to win over the important independent trading
city of Cyzicus, located on an island on the southern side of the Sea of
Marmora. These efforts failed, but he had more luck in battle against
Parmenion's replacement Calas, defeating him in a battle in northern Anatolia.
Calas retreated to the Greek city of Rhoeteum in the Troad. Memnon might have
completed the campaign of 335 by retaking Ephesus. The situation changed
dramatically in 334. Philip had been assassinated late in 336 and succeeded by
his son Alexander. Alexander needed 335 to secure his authority in Greece and
Macedonia, but by 334 he was ready to resume his father's invasion of the
Persian Empire. Early in the spring Alexander crossed the Hellespont. His early
arrival meant that Memnon's original plan, which was based on gathering in the
harvest and storing it in the most defensive cities and starving the
Macedonians out, had to be abandoned. Memnon and the local Persian satraps held
a meeting soon after Alexander's. Memnon advocated a scorched earth strategy,
but he was overruled. The satraps insisted on seeking out battle, hoping to
defeat the Macedonian invasion before it could truly get underway. Memnon and
the satraps assembled quite a sizable army, and advanced to the River Granicus,
where they could block Alexander's planned advance on the important city of
Dascylium. The resulting battle of the
Granicus in May 334 was the first of Alexander's major battlefield
victories over the Persians. Memnon fought in the battle, commanding a force of
cavalry. Memnon and the entire Persian cavalry force fled from the scene after
Alexander broke through the Persian line. Memnon performed bravely in the
battle, and in its aftermath was appointed as commander of all Persian forces
in southern Asia Minor. His next task was to try and defend the key naval base
at Halicarnassus. He strengthened the defences, made sure that there was plenty
of food in the city, and prepared for a lengthy siege. Alexander was held up
for some time outside the city, but after the failure of a sortie aimed at the
Macedonian rams and catapults Memnon decided that the city couldn't be held. He
withdrew most of his force to Kos, leaving a Persian garrison to protect the
harbour defences. Alexander took the city, but the harbour was blocked until
332.
The last phase of Memnon's career was the most dangerous for Alexander. He
decided to move west into the Aegean, to threaten Greece and Alexander's links
home. It was also possible that he could stir up anti-Macedonian revolts in
Greece. He had 300 ships and 10,000 mercenaries for this campaign. Memnon began
by bribing the leaders of Chios to change sides. He then moved to Lesbos, where
he was able to capture Pyhrra, Arissa and Methymna. However the key city of
Mytilene held out, and Memnon was forced to besiege it. Alexander was forced to
react to these successes by summoning a number of fleets to defend key points
around the Aegean, but the danger was averted by the death of Memnon during the
siege. He died of illness at some point in May-June, well before the surrender
of Mytilene in August 333. With his death the drive went out of the Persian
campaign in the Aegean. Darius withdrew the mercenaries from the fleet, which
withdrew to Kos.
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