As in previous periods, the residence of the satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia was in Dascylium, on the edge of Lake Manyas (Dascylitis), which was accessible to warships by way of the Rhyndacus {Hell. Oxyr. 22.3—4). It was defended by a stronghold (22.3; khorion okhyron), furnished with a garrison (Arrian 1.17.2), and famous for the immense paradise, teeming with fisii and game, in which Pharnabazus took great delight (Xenophon, Hell. IV. l.15-16). In 334, its satrap was Arsites, who may have been in place beginning with the exile of Artabazus (who had taken refuge at the court of Macedon after his abortive revoU against Artaxerxes III around the middle of the 350s; chap. 15/9). If we carefully follow the argument of Diodorus’s text on Mentor’s operations in Asia Minor after the reconquest of Egypt (XVI.52), it appears that his mission was limited to setting the affairs of the satrapy of Dascylium back in order. This is the context of his fights with Hermias of Atarnaeus and other petty local chieftains in the Troad and Aeolis (chap. 15/9) , as well as the recall from exile of Artabazus, Memnon, and all of their abundant progeny. Artabazus did not regain his post at Dascylium, but he became an influential adviser to the Great King and enjoyed an exalted position alongside him in the court hierarchy (cf. Arrian III.23.7). Meanwhile, the family remained solidly settled in the region. For one thing, Arsites himself may have been a relative. For another, we know that iVIemnon had land and estates in the Troad in 334 (cf. Polyaenus IV.3.15 and Airian 1.17.8; khom ton Mcmnonos); it is possible that he received them from his brother Mentor (as a reward from Artaxerxes), who disappears from the scene after his victories. In this connection, it is not uninteresting to note that when one of the Companions of Alexander arrived at the sanctuary of Athena Ilias, before the battle of Granicus, he “noticed in front of the temple a statue of Ariobarzanes, a former satrap of Phrygia, lying fallen on the ground” (Diodorus XVII. 17.6<-). Just like Xerxes (Herodotus VII.43), Ariobarzanes sacrificed to the goddess; but he had gone further by placing a statue there, thus placing a Greek sanctuary under the goddess’s protection and in the process causing prestige to redound to himself His statue also served to mark a territory, the Troad, to which his ancestors in Dascyliuni had always laid claim in opposition to the ambitions of the satraps of Sardis.
In addition to being charge of the Tioad, the satrap of Dascylium had responsibility for part of Mysia (which may have been placed under the authority of a lieutenant governor or even, for a time, a satrap of its own [Orontes]: chap. 15/5). The Paphlagonians also were a dependency of Dascylium; they were famous for their cavalry (Xenophon, Anah. V.6.8) and had provided a contingent to Cyrus the Younger (1.8.5; Diodorus XIV.22.5); in 334, they placed themselves under the orders of the satrap Arsites (Diodorus XVII. 19.4). According to Quintus Curtins and Arrian, the Paphlagonians rushed an embassy to Alexander while he was staying at Ancyra, a town near Gangra, which is believed to be the capital of the lieutenant governor of Paphlagonia. They ofiFeied their people s submission and requested that Alexander not invade the country; the king ordered them to place themselves under the authorit)' of Galas, whom he had named satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia in place of Arsites some months earlier (Arrian 11.4.1-2; cf 1.17.1 and Quintus Curtins III.1.24). Quintus Curtins adds that the Paphlagonians sent hostages to Alexander and "obtained freedom from the obligation of paying tribute, which they had not rendered even to the Persians” (1.23-0'), while the king “order[ed] the inhabitants of the territory Arsites ruled to pay the same taxes as they used to pay to Darius,” apparently including “natives who came down from the hills” (Arrian 1.17.1-0). This interpretation is difficult to confirm, because we have no information on the region after the events relating to the passage of Agesilaus and Datames’ campaign against Thuys. Nonetheless, it is doubtful that the Paphlagonians, who sent a contingent to Galas, no longer paid tribute in 334. It seems more likely that Quintus Curtius’s source was referring to the well-known fact that Paphlagonia, which had not been invaded by Alexander, was included among the unsubmissive countries in 323 (cf Diodorus XVIII.3.1). In the eyes of the fourth-century Greek authors, the region had always been considered independent of the Persians —a generalization that is obviously inappropriate. During the Persian counterattack after Issus, Paphlagonia was one of the reeruiting bases used by Darius’s generals (Quintus Curtius IV 1.34; 5.13). The discovery of a Greco-Persian relief in the region (fig. 55) even seems to imply the presence of an imperial diaspora. The Paphlagonian marriage of Camisares, the father of Datames (Nepos, Dat-1-3), and the matrimonial designs of Spithridates (Xenophon, Hell. IV. 1.4-5) in themselves suggest that connections were common and fairly close behveeii the representatives of the imperial diaspora and the Paphlagonian aristocracy.
On the coast, the main town was Sinope, which had several dependent tributary cities: Trapezus, Cerasus, and Cotj'ora (Xenophon, Anah. IV.8.22; V.3.Z; V5.3). Sinope had a rich and famous port and thus was broadly open to the sea; the town was also closely linked to the back country and exported its timber resources (Strabo XII.3.12). Cappadocian ocher was exported by way of Sinope as well {XII.2.10). Isocrates’ phrase {Phil - 120: “Asia from Cilicia to Sinope”) illustrates the extent of its commercial relations—as far as southern Asia Minor—and this is also attested by discoveries of coins.
Fig. 55. Persian relief from Paphlagonia.
It was also at Sinope that the rebellious Dataines had coins struck in his name; around 332, some Persian
Generals also issued coins there, with Aramaic legends. Between 534 and 330, the Sino-peans continued to consider themselves subjects of Darius (Arrian III.24.4;-0- Quintus Curtins VI.5.6); they were not considered to be "part of the Greek league” {to koinon ton Hellenon) by Alexander. Let us note finally that Iranian personal names frequently appear on the seals marking ownership of amphorae from the city.
Bithynia, another country on the Black Sea coast, was in principle a dependency of Dascylium; it was west of Paphlagonia and its best-known town was Heraclea, in the territory of the Mariandynians (cf. Strabo XII.3.4, 9; Xenophon, Anab. VI.2.1). We know little about relations between the Bithynian leaders and the satrap of Dascylium. In 400, Pharnabazus sent a cavalry troop to aid the Bithynians against the Greek mercenaries {Anab. VI.4.24). In other circumstances, however, we find the same Pharnabaziis at war with the Bithynians {Hell. III.2.2). Their relations with the satrap of Dascylium must have been as irregular and contradictory as the relations between Dascylium and the various Paphlagonian chieftains (chap. 15/5). In 334, the region seems to have been ruled by the local prince Bas; and Galas, the Macedonian satrap of Dascylium, led an unsuccessful expedition against Bas, in the course of which Galas met his end. Bas was succeeded by his son Zipoithes. Heraclea always exhibited great loyalty to the Achae-menid authority. In the course of the fifth century, the Heracleans at first refused to pay tribute to Athens, “because of their friendship toward the Persian kings” {oh amicitiam regum persicorum; Justin XVI.3.9), and then yielded to Athenian threats. Around 364, Clearchus took power with the help of a force led by Mithradates, son of Ariobarzanes, the. satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, and he renewed a traditional policy of alliance with the Achacinenid authorities, as is illustrated in particular by the sending of several embassies to Artaxerxes II and III. His “Persianization” is demonstrated by the discovery of a portrait carved in Persian style that probably represents the tyrant himself. Clearchus’s successors did not modify the substance of his policy, not even after the victory at the Granicus. According to the local historian Memnon, Dionysius of Heraclea actually profited from the battle at the Granicus {FGrH 434 F4); the requests presented to Alexander by the Heraclean exiles obviously fell on deaf ears.
I he satrapal court at Dascylium had certainly been wide open to Greek influences for several generations. This is eloquently evidenced by many “Greco-Persian” stelas.
Fig. 56a-c. “Greco-Persian” objects from Dascyliwn.
Bullas, and seals (fig. 56a-c). At this point, we cannot help recalling that around 360 the satrap Artabazus married a sister of the two Rhodians, Mentor and Memnon. The marriage was fruitful, producing eleven sons and ten daughters, including Pharnabazus, who fought alongside his uncle Memnon on the Asia Minor front in 334-333 before succeeding him as commander of naval operations. One of the daughters was Barsine, who successively married her uncles Mentor and Memnon before becoming a Companion of Alexander, to whom she may have given the famous Heracles. According to Plutarch {Alex. 21.9'0-), “she had been instructed in the Grecian learning” {paideia hel~ lenike). The societal promotion of the two Rhodians is all the more remarkable in that through his mother, Apame, Artabazus was grandson of Artaxerxes 1.
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