Parmenion: a note on the aristocracy in the Macedonian court during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III
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| Parmenion: an aristocrat in the Macedonian court during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III Parmenion: A note on the aristocracy in the Macedonian court during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III Parmenion: an aristocrat in the Macedonian court during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III In this paper I examine the life and career of the Macedonian general Parmenion as a case study for aristocratic function at the Macedonian court during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III., I particularly focus on the dynamics of court politics in the period of Macedonian integration. Other than Heckel's prosopography (1992, 2006) there has been no thorough study of individual aristocrats and their role in Macedonian society, so I aim to provide a more nuanced view of aristocrats at the Macedonian court. I also endeavor to demonstrate that there were not just two power blocks in Macedonia (the king and the aristocracy) as often seems assumed, particularly during the reign of Alexander III. Although Parmenion's birthplace is unknown, most suggest that it was outside of Lower Macedonia. Yet by the first years of Philip's reign, Parmenion was among the most influential aristocrats in the Macedonian court and continued to be so until his execution in 330. Parmenion developed a following among members of the Macedonian court, particularly among those who did not come from Lower Macedonia. . More broadly I explore the role of aristocratic factions in the integration of Upper and Lower Macedonia. IMacedonian court politics consistedi of two distinct typessets of relationships:, the verticall (between the king and each aristocrat), and the horizontall (between thet aristocrats themselves). During the reigns of Philip and Alexander, aristocrats vied for power and influence beneath the king through marriage alliances and through patronage of younger aristocrats. The Macedonian page system and direct royal patronage furthered the integration of Macedonia, but thean aristocratic patronage system also played no less a role in incorporating new peoples into the empire and providing a place for them at court. Relationships between the aristocrats eased the integration of the Upper Macedonia into the Argead kingdom, but also created another area of power struggle at court. Politics in Macedonia prior to Philip's reign functioned in the same fashion:, below the king existed a number of factions, each nominally headed by senior or favored aristocrats. Ultimately every aristocrat owed allegiance to the king, but they also existed in this second array of relationships. Kings then playeded these factions off of each other and exploitededp conflicts between the aristocrats in order to prevent a united aristocracy.This division was also enabled by the continuous competition for the favor of the king on the part of the aristocracy. Conversely, the nobility competed for favor, which resulted in a hierarchical, but unstable court. Examining Parmenion’s career sheds light on these nuances for the last period of the Argead kingdom.. 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II (Oxford 1979) Hatzopoulos, M.B., Macedonian Institutions Under the Kings 2 vols. (Athens 1996) Heckel, W., “The Conspiracy Against Philotas”, Phoenix 31.1 (1977), pp. 9-21 ––––, The Marshals of Alexander’s Empire (New York 1992) ––––, and L.A. Tritle (eds.), Crossroads of History: The Age of Alexander (Claremont 2003) Robinson, C.A., “Alexander the Great and Parmenio”, AJA 49.4 (1945), pp. 422-424 Worthington, I., Worthington, 'Alexander's Destruction of Thebes' in W. Heckel, L.A. Tritle (eds.) Crossroads of History: The Age of Alexander (Claremont 2003), pp. 65-86 ––––, Alexander the Great: Man and God (London 2004) ––––, Philip II, (New Haven 2008) Directory: meeting -> 2011 -> program -> abstracts meeting -> Burkina faso unité- progrès- justice national report at the meeting -> A history of russian administrative boundaries (XVIII xx centuries). 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