The Toponym Stt in the Satrap Stela (Urk. II. 13.4): On the Perception of the Argeadai Empire in the Orient
In: Vestnik drevnej istorii, 2002, Heft 2, S. 3-19
Online
academicJournal
- print; 17
Zugriff:
The paper suggests an interpretation of a passage of the so-called Satrap Stela (an Egyptian hieroglyphic source from the time of Ptolemy's satrapy in Egypt in 310s BC) reading as follows: «[When] he (Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great and Roxane and nominal Pharaoh of Egypt. - I.L.) was a King in Two Lands [and] in foreign countries, [when] His Majesty was in Asia, there was a great ruler in Egypt [whose] name was Ptolemy (iwf m nsw m t?wy??swt iw hmf m-hnt Stt iw wn wr-? m B?kt Ptrwmis rn.f). The peculiarity of the passage is the apparent use of the word Stt to denote Macedonia (Alexander IV and Roxane had been staying there since early 310s BC and the text is dated dated 311 BC). This same toponym is applied to the Achaemenian empire in another passages of the Satrap Stela (ibid. 14.9-10, 16.14) and the Stela of Naples (ibid. 3.11-16, 4.3-4). The toponym's use in the passage under consideration can be explained through the inclusion of Macedonia in the conception of the Achaemenian empire held by those compiling the Stela. The conception of Alexander / the two-corned Iskandar as a successor of the Achaemenids and a noble ruler of Iran is widely attested in the medieval oriental tradition. Such a conception seems to date from early Hellenistic period, when it must have been common in all the oriental countries conquered by Alexander, including Egypt. Inhabitants of these countries must have perceived all of Alexander's possessions, including Macedonia, as a unity reproducing in its greater part the former Achaemenian empire. In line with this, Macedonia and Greece were really formally adjoined by Alexander to his oriental possessions in early 324 BC (cf. Arr. Anab. VII. 11, 9, Curt. X. 3. 13-14). Hence the compilers of the Stela could extend the designation of the former Achaemenian empire to include Macedonia, the latter being looked upon as a component of its new form under Argeadai' rule.
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The Toponym Stt in the Satrap Stela (Urk. II. 13.4): On the Perception of the Argeadai Empire in the Orient
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Autor/in / Beteiligte Person: | LADYNIN, I. A |
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Zeitschrift: | Vestnik drevnej istorii, 2002, Heft 2, S. 3-19 |
Veröffentlichung: | Moskva: Nauka, 2002 |
Medientyp: | academicJournal |
Umfang: | print; 17 |
ISSN: | 0321-0391 (print) |
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