The Strategos

by H A CULLEY

  However, before he could recruit any more men he was going to have to solve his money problems. He only had twenty coins left so he was going to have to get more - a lot more. As he was near the Dacian border and he didn’t want to upset the Thracians, he decided that a raid into Dacia was called for. It would also test his new command to see how well it performed together.

  -o0o-

  Three weeks later Parmenion’s band reached Odessa, Dacia’s major port on the Euxine Sea. He had chosen this as his target because it was the location of the county’s main mint and there was a steady stream of gold and silver entering the port from the mines and, conversely, of minted coins being distributed from there. Although gold and silver in its raw form could be traded for food, spare horses and other necessities, it was a laborious process as it had to be tested for purity and weighed. Most therefore preferred to be paid in coin. He therefore decided to attack a convoy of newly minted coinage from Odessa.

  Although he had tried to travel by less frequented routes, rumours of a large band of armed men had started to circulate in this part of Dacia and the convoys of gold, silver and minted coins were now being given larger escorts. Parmenion, Orestes, Kionos and Calisto left Demetrius in charge and went to spy on one of the convoys as it left Odessa. It consisted of three small, but evidently heavy, carts pulled by four oxen each with a hundred hoplites as a vanguard and another as the rearguard. Only the three officers were mounted. However, the commander evidently wasn’t very experienced as he hadn’t deployed scouts, either in advance of the convoy or to the flanks. That would make ambushing the next convey much easier, provided it had the same commander.

  Unfortunately, that didn’t prove to be the case and a week later the convoy commander put out four mounted scouts two hundred yards in advance of the escort and files of ten hoplites each on either flank. This time there were four carts. Parmenion realised that he would have to change his plan and galloped back to the ambush site to brief his unit commanders.

  The four mounted Dacians appeared around the bend in the track just after it entered the wood. All four were nervous and stuck close together in the belief that this gave them mutual protection. They wore no armour, just tunics, tight leggings and cloaks, two had bronze helmets and two just wore Phrygian caps; all wore leather riding boots. They each carried a round shield, smaller than those used by hoplites, made of wood with a bronze band around the edge, and an eight-foot long spear. Each man also had a short bronze sword in a leather scabbard hanging from a belt around his waist.

  Ten arrows struck the four men before they were aware of what was happening and they collapsed to the ground. Several Scythian men ran out of the bushes and dragged the corpses into the undergrowth. One was only wounded but someone quickly cut his throat. Four boys ran out to grab the reins of the horses and they led them off down an animal track deeper into the wood. Remounts had been difficult to come by so these would help to replace those horses who had gone lame, were sick or had died.

  Just as everyone had vanished from sight the vanguard – a mixture of axemen and swordsmen - appeared around the bend. Parmenion waited until the convoy had trundled past and then, as the last of the rear guard cleared the group of his men who he had posted to prevent anyone escaping back the way they had come, a single blast rang out on a keras. The horse archers had dismounted and left their mounts in a clearing a quarter of a mile away with those Scythian boys who were too young to fight. Now perched on branches of the trees lining the track, they started to pepper the vanguard and the rearguard with volley after volley of arrows.

  Half of Parmenion’s heavy cavalrymen had dismounted and attacked the flank guards on foot, quickly overcoming them by sheer weight of numbers. It was then that Parmenion got a surprise. The carts of coins were covered by canvas stretched over wooden hoops. Suddenly these were pulled off by the drivers to reveal twenty archers in each cart sitting on top of the bags of coins. They started to pick off the Scythian archers in the trees and the latter were forced to divert their attention to the Dacian bowmen. Their infantry counterparts then charged into the undergrowth and attacked the mercenaries and, for a moment, the battle was evenly balanced.

  Then Parmenion led the remainder of his heavy cavalry in a charge down the track and dealt with both carters and the Dacian archers, who had now abandoned the carts and were sheltering beside them, popping up to fire off the occasional arrow. Some of the Dacian footmen were forced back onto the track and the cavalrymen also dispatched them. That was the turn of the tide and ten minutes later the last of the convoy’s escort fled back towards Odessa.

  For a moment Parmenion considered letting them go, but he didn’t want to be pursued all the way back to Thrace. His light cavalry hadn’t been employed up to that point and they were eager to play their part. They swooped after the fleeing Dacians and within the space of three miles they had killed every last one of them.

  The bags of coins were transferred from one of the carts to the others to make room for Parmenion’s ten wounded, but first it was used to collect the dead Dacians. He left them dumped in a clearing and prayed to the gods that they would remain undiscovered for a while. Two hours later the convoy, now with its new escort, started on the long journey back into Thrace.

  -o0o-

  Parmenion led his hipparchia of two hundred and fifty heavy cavalry, a hundred horse archers and a hundred and fifty light cavalry over the last rise before Pella came into view in early January 379 BC. He was two weeks late but he felt that the delay had been worth it in order to finish recruiting the remainder of his Thracian horsemen. He had also purchased enough remounts for every man and woman to have two horses. Some of these were being ridden by the thirty Scythian boys who were now being trained as ephebes.

  Pella was situated on the south-west slope of a hill and was surrounded by a marsh. Parmenion and his band therefore approached down the hill towards the main gate. Cavalry were not an unusual sight on the streets of Pella but horse archers were, and so were Scythians. Parmenion therefore wisely decided that his hipparchia should camp outside the city until proper arrangements for their reception and accommodation had been made.

  Leaving Demetrius in charge of constructing the temporary camp, Parmenion rode into the city to find either the strategos, Zoilus, or the cavalry taxiarch, Alcetas. He was accompanied by Orestes and Kionos, their skeuphorii, and an escort of ten Thracian cavalrymen. They were met at the palace by the same clerk who they had clashed with the first time they had gone to the palace; this time, however, the man was all obsequious deference, which Parmenion found nauseating.

  After a few minutes an aide arrived to escort them to see Alectas.

  ‘Well, Parmenion, I see you’ve returned at last. However, I understand that you have brought a band of thieving Scythians instead of the Greek cavalrymen you were supposed to recruit, and half your men are reportedly women. They’re no use to me.’

  ‘I have brought you a hipparchia of cavalry, as I promised. Two ilia are of heavy Greek cavalry, one is light cavalry and the fourth is made up of horse archers. They are superb at skirmishing and scouting and I guarantee that my hipparchia are ideal for deployment as the vanguard of an army, or for foraging and setting ambushes. In fact they have already been tested in battle. Oh, don’t worry. It was in Dacia, not in Thrace or Macedon,’ he added, having seen the alarm on Alectas’ face.

  ‘Well, it’s immaterial now how good they are. The king has called off the campaign to recover Chalkidike in order to deal with trouble from the Illyrians on the northern border. Your services are no longer required.’

  Chapter Three – B order Conflict

  379-8 BC

  King Amyntas sat in the audience chamber next to his queen, Eurydice, and the eldest of their three sons – the thirteen year old Alexander. Their two younger sons, Perdiccas and Philip, were too young at four and three respectively to be present. The bored Alexander wished that he wasn’t old enough to attend either. The endless petitions for divorce
due to infidelity or judgements over land disputes drove him to distraction. Unlike him, his sister, Eurynoe, would have liked to be involved in politics, but she didn’t get on with her mother and Eurydice had managed to keep her excluded up to now. However, at twelve, Eurynoe was beginning to be something of a headache for her equally strong-willed mother.

  Then something happened which perked up Alexander’s interest. A young Greek who couldn’t have been more than twenty or so marched into the chamber accompanied by another young man. Each wore a military exomis and bronze cuirasses embossed with mythical creatures. The helmets they carried under their arms indicated that they were a hipparchos and a lochagos respectively. He thought that this was strange because the senior cavalry officers he had met were a lot older and, in any case, he was sure that he knew all of them. The anger that momentarily marred Alcetas’ handsome features and the deadpan look on Zoilus’ face intrigued him. Perhaps it might have been worth his while coming with his father to today’s audience after all.

  The young hipparchos and his Companion halted in front of the dais on which the royal family sat and both bowed to them.

  ‘The Amphipolitan Parmenion and his Companion, Orestes, crave a hearing from the noble King Amyntas and Queen Eurydice.’ The voice of the chamberlain boomed around the marble chamber.

  Eurydice was the daughter of Sirrus, the ruler of Lyncestis, which was a small buffer state between Macedon and Illyria. In the past the kings of Macedon had laid claim to it but had never managed to conquer it. By marrying Sirrus’ daughter, Amyntas had secured a lasting peace with Lyncestis and an ally against Illyria. It was hardly a love match; Amyntas was now in his early seventies whilst his wife was still in her late twenties. Rumours abounded that, whilst Alexander and their daughter Eurynoe looked like their father, the two younger boys didn’t. The name that was being linked increasingly with the queen was Ptolemy of Aleros, a minor noble from a city just to the south of Pella.

  ‘Basileus and basilissa,’ Parmenion began with a bow to each, having been warned to pay due respect to Eurydice as she held the real power in Macedon. ‘I was charged by Strategos Zoilus and Taxiarch Alcetas to raise a hipparchia of mercenary cavalry to join your campaign to reconquer Chalkidike. This I have done, but I have now been told by Alcetas that the services of my soldiers and I are no longer required as the Illyrian border has now become the priority.’

  Parmenion paused for effect but spoke again just as Alcetas opened his mouth to interrupt.

  ‘I have tried to discuss the value of my hipparchia in the campaign in the north with Strategos Zoilus but I have been prevented from seeing him by Alcetas. I’m not sure why my cavalry were necessary for a campaign mainly involving besieging cities in Chalkidike, whereas they are not required to fight in a mobile war with the Illyrians. I beg your indulgence, basileus and basilissa. Please allow me to demonstrate to you the expertise of my warriors so that you may be convinced of their continuing value to your army.’

  ‘Basileus, these so called warriors are a mixed bag of adventurers and barbarians. They include Scythians and, worst of all, many of the latter are female amazons.’

  Alcetas had spoken in haste and had neatly shot himself in the foot. He had omitted to include his plea to the queen as well, and he had denigrated the value of females as soldiers. Eurydice went puce and shot Alcetas a look of pure venom.

  ‘You forget yourself, taxiarch. You don’t interrupt the king before he can reply and you don’t speak unless your opinion is asked for,’ she spat at him. ‘Your failure to address me as well as my husband won’t be easily forgotten, not will your denigration of women in general and as soldiers in particular. I seem to remember that the Amazons of antiquity were fearsome warriors who were a match for any man.’

  Amyntas looked at his wife in surprise. He had never heard her speak with such passion. She was normally so careful and measured every word she spoke, which was one of the reasons that he valued her opinion so highly. In fact, she was by far the stronger personality and he normally did what she advised. However, the suggestion that women could make good soldiers alarmed him. It went against everything he had been brought up to believe in. He might listen to what Eurydice said to him in private but he would never allow her to appear the more powerful in public. Women were, in his view, and that of every Greek male, put on the earth to bear children and manage the home.

  He therefore held up his hand to stop her before she said anything further to embarrass him.

  ‘I would like to hear what you have to say, Parmenion, but not here and not now. I will send a messenger to your camp when I am ready to meet you again.’

  Parmenion was disappointed, but he was encouraged by the queen’s obvious support and the fact that he had secured another meeting with the king; presumably this time it would be in closed session with just his military commander present. He was, however, worried about the blatant dislike displayed by the cavalry commander. The dressing down in public by Eurydice wouldn’t have helped either. It didn’t bode well for their future relationship, even if he did manage to convince Amyntas to engage him.

  -o0o-

  Parmenion had expended over half of the coins he had stolen from Dacia, but he had enough left to pay his men and women and to maintain and feed them for another six months, if necessary. His exploits were the talk of Pella and he was left in no doubt that the Dacians knew only too well who had robbed them. He realised that he had been lucky. Convoys of newly minted coins were only sent out twice a year, but they were sent in two batches each time, just in case of trouble. If he hadn’t attacked the second convey he would have had to wait another six months for the next one.

  A week later, just when he was beginning to think that Amyntas had forgotten him, a messenger arrived summoning him to the palace. This time he was told to come alone for a private audience with Amyntas. He was therefore surprised when he was shown into a room containing Alcetas and two men he didn’t recognize and whom he was instantly wary of. He knew immediately that he had walked into a trap.

  ‘Thank you for coming Parmenion. You will have realised by now that it wasn’t Amyntas who sent you that message. Your exploits, and the initiative you have shown, seem to have impressed both our fool of a king and that scheming bitch of a wife of his. You are a hero to them and, unfortunately, to some of my more impressionable men. They have drawn unfavourable comparisons between you, the dashing adventurer, and me. I can’t have that.’

  He drew a dagger and started to pare his nails. If the action was meant to intimidate Parmenion it failed quite dismally and the letter started to laugh.

  ‘Are you threatening me, Alcetas? If any harm befalls me my men and, what’s worse for you, my Scythian women, will tear this place apart looking for you. Orestes is well aware that you detest me and he will jump to the right conclusion if I fail to return at a reasonable hour. I know that all that you have to defend Pella is the city watch and the king’s Companion cavalry. The rest of Macedon’s army is citizen levy that will take time to muster. Besides Amyntas and Eurydice will want to know the reason and will no doubt hand you over to avoid a blood bath.’

  Alcetas didn’t look quite so certain of himself now. He was in a quandary. If he let Parmenion go the king, and worse, his queen would get to hear of the incident and he would be called to account. On the other hand, if Parmenion disappeared or turned up dead there was bound to be trouble and his part would be discovered. He hadn’t thought things through properly before acting. It was why he was no more than a mediocre soldier and, like many of Macedon’s senior officers, owed his position to family influence and wealth; something that Parmenion was determined to change.

  Whilst Alcetas was pondering his options the sound of raised voices permeated the room from the corridor outside.

  ‘You know who I am,’ an angry treble voice could be heard quite clearly. ‘Now get out of my way or I’ll have you arrested for treason.’

  One of the guards placed outside the door muttered indi
stinctly but it sounded as if he was pleading that he had orders that the taxiarch wasn’t to be disturbed. Silence followed and Alcetas turned his attention back to Parmenion.

  ‘I’ll have to take my chances I think. I can’t release you now; you’ll find some way of bleating to the king or that idiot of a strategos, Zoilus. He should never have given you the commission in the first place.’

  He was interrupted by the sound of the double doors to the room crashing open and the thirteen year old Alexander strode into the room followed by four of the king’s Companions. Two fearful looking cavalrymen were being disarmed by four more Companions in the corridor. The two who had stood with swords in their hands behind Parmenion turned in alarm and they too were quickly disarmed and taken away to be dealt with later.

  ‘I thought I saw you enter the palace, Parmenion. I had just returned from riding when you arrived. I knew my father hadn’t yet summoned you so my curiosity was aroused. My suspicions were confirmed when those fools in the corridor tried to stop me from entering this room. My apologies on behalf of my father for any indignities you have suffered.’

  ‘Thank you Alexander. I fear that I wouldn’t have been allowed to live much longer had you not arrived when you did.’

  The prince turned his attention to the taxiarch, who had been seized by two of the Companions, who were all nobly born and served as the king’s bodyguards. Unlike the cavalrymen who served Alcetas, they were loyal to the royal house and were commanded directly by the king.

  ‘You have made one mistake too many, Alcetas. I know that you are well connected and my father depends on the support of your family and your friends, so you have placed me in a difficult position. What do you think, Parmenion?’