«Es leben die Soldaten, / der Bauer gibt den Braten, / der Winzer gibt den Most, / das ist Soldatenkost…» Die «Zehntausend» des Xenophon und die Logistik der Söldnerarmee im Gebirge
Journal Title: Philia: International Journal of Ancient Mediterranean Studies - Year 2018, Vol 4, Issue
Abstract
In his Anabasis (written around 380 B.C.) Xenophon of Athens describes a Greek Army of at least 13.000 mercenaries, the so called ‘Ten Thousand’ or ‘Cyreans’, on their march back from Cunaxa in Babylonia to the sea on the Euxine coast. How could such a large army (and its followers and train) be fed throughout the route, especially in winter 401/400 from their entry into Carduchia, then continuing into western and northern Armenia and traversing central Anatolia as far as the Pontic coastal mountains? How was the army supplied, and what role did the officers play in provisioning the Ten Thousand? Was there any administration and organization of logistics? What role did villages and village clusters play in the mountains? Is Xenophon to be trusted when he finally, in Trapezunt, does not even mention hunger and thirst as a reason for human losses on the march? Certainly not: Book IV of the Anabasis definitely includes episodes of suffering from hunger as a reason for illness and death.
Authors and Affiliations
Oliver Stoll
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP428873
- DOI -
- Views 142
- Downloads 0
New Epigraphic Documents from Northeast Phrygia
This paper presents the initial results of an epigraphic survey carried out in 2015 in northeast Phrygia, today encompassing Mihalıççık County located between the Sakarya (Sangarios) river to the north and the Porsuk (Te...
Deux palmarès d’Olympie
Inventories of the victories of champions from the Imperial period found at Olympia are very rare. The inscription of Leon of Rhodes (Neue Inschriften von Olympia 30) is remarkable in every way, by its form, its writing,...
Roman Funerary Steles and Byzantine Inscriptions in the Museum of Şanlıurfa
This article presents 22 stone objects from the Museum of Şanlıurfa (ancient Edessa) in southeastern Turkey. There are three groups of objects: a dedication from Edessa, funerary steles from Zeugma, and Byzantine inscrip...
News from the Xenoi Tekmoreioi
In this article I provide a new edition and line-by-line commentary of one of the texts inscribed by the cultic association of the Xenoi Tekmoreioi in the Pisidian-Phrygian border region in the 3rd c. AD. The edition is...
Weχssere und so weiter: vom zögerlichen Auftauchen einer lykischen Dynastie
Beside the long-known dynasts Weχssere I and II on coins and Waχssepddimi on the Inscribed Pillar in Xanthos, there were more dynasts with similar names on coins, but long unrecognised due to wrong readings. These are an...