Peithon (son of Agenor)


Peithon , son of Agenor was an officer in the expedition of Alexander the Great to India, who became satrap of the Indus from 325 to 316 BCE, and then satrap of Babylon, from 316 to 312 BCE, until he died at the Battle of Gaza in 312 BCE.

Officer

Peithon was very successful in his Indian campaigns, first mentioned as the commander of a phalanx battalion in January 325 in the Mallian Campaign in the southern Punjab.

Satrap of the Indus (325–316 BCE)

After these deeds, Alexander named him viceroy of the Indus area, around 325 BCE, to the east of the territory held in the Paropamisadae by the satrap Oxyartes and to the south of the territories where Philip, son of Machatas was satrap:
Later, Peithon managed putting down the revolt of king Musicanus at the head of the Indus:
Peithon was confirmed in his position at the Partition of Babylon following the death of Alexander in 323 BCE:
According to the text of the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BCE, Peithon was again confirmed in his dominion over the area beyond the Hindu-Kush:
According to other sources, he was also at one point satrap of the Punjab.
In 317 BCE, another Peithon, the satrap of Media, tried to control the eastern rulers of the Empire. Macedonians troops from India were sent west to combat him, weakening the Greek positions in India. Peithon, son of Agenor, left India in 316 BCE for Babylon.
About that time, Chandragupta Maurya began reconquering the northwestern territories held by the Greeks.

Satrap of Babylon (315–312 BCE)

In 315 BCE, Peithon, son of Agenor, was named satrap of Babylonia by Antigonus Monophthalmus, and participated on his side in his fight against Cassander and Ptolemy in 314 BCE. Peithon was together with Nearchus, a former admiral of Alexander, assisting Demetrius, the son of Antigonus. At the Battle of Gaza in autumn 312 BCE, the Egyptian side under Ptolemy won, and Peithon was killed in action.
It is unknown what happened in India right after his departure, but ancient sources reported that the prefects of Greek territories were assassinated in the Indian uprisings led by Chandragupta Maurya: