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28-849: Cleitus , Clitus or Kleitos (Greek: Κλείτος ) may refer to: People with the name [ edit ] Cleitus the Black ( c. 375–328 BC), Macedonian officer and friend of Alexander the Great, killed by the latter after an argument Cleitus the White (died 318 BC), Macedonian officer who rose to prominence after Alexander the Great's death Cleitus (Dardania) ( fl. 335–295 BC), Illyrian king Kleitos Kyrou , (1921–2006), Greek poet and translator Other uses [ edit ] Cleitus (mythology) , multiple figures in Greek mythology Kleitos, Kozani ,

56-497: A banquet during a feast day for Dionysus in the satrapial palace at Maracanda (what is now the city of Samarkand ). At this banquet a dispute arose between generals in Alexander's command and Alexander himself. Most of the members were intoxicated from drinking wine, and Alexander announced a reorganization of commands. Specifically, Cleitus was given orders to take 16,000 of the defeated Greek mercenaries who formerly fought for

84-571: A crucially important part of nomadic life on the Eurasian steppe. Although Eurasian nomads usually considered themselves the descendants of a single ancestor, they also welcomed outsiders to join their tribe. One could do this by becoming a "sworn brother" of a powerful tribal figure, or by forsaking one's own lineage, and becoming a noker . Alliances could also be established through intermarriage. Eurasian steppe nomads practiced exogamy , by marrying off women from their tribe to outside groups. It

112-708: A village in the Kozani municipality, Greece See also [ edit ] Cletis (disambiguation) Cletus (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Cleitus . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cleitus&oldid=1120340586 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Greek-language text Short description

140-648: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Cleitus the Black Cleitus was made a commander of the Greek Cavalry under Philip II , a position he would retain under Alexander the Great . At the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC, when Alexander was being assailed by both Rhosaces and Spithridates , Cleitus severed Spithridates's arm before

168-471: Is shown that Alexander grieved for the death of Cleitus. It is said that after killing Cleitus, Alexander "propped the pike against the wall with the intention of falling upon it himself, thinking that it was not proper for him to live who had killed his friend when under the influence of wine". The motives of Cleitus in this quarrel have been interpreted in various ways. Cleitus may have been angered at Alexander's increasing adoption of Persian customs. After

196-542: The Eurasian Steppe . History largely knows them via frontier historical sources from Europe and Asia . The steppe nomads had no permanent abode, but travelled from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock. The generic designation encompasses the varied ethnic groups who have at times inhabited steppe regions of present-day Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , Mongolia , Russia , and Ukraine . They domesticated

224-871: The Magyars in the Early Middle Ages , the Mongols and Seljuks in the High Middle Ages , the Kalmuks and the Kyrgyz and later the Kazakhs up to modern times. The earliest example of an invasion by a horse people may have been by the Proto-Indo-Europeans themselves, following the domestication of the horse in the 4th millennium BCE (see Kurgan hypothesis ). The Cimmerians were

252-487: The bridle , bit , stirrup , and saddle . The very rapid rate at which innovations crossed the steppelands spread these innovations widely, making them available for copying by settled peoples living in areas bordering the steppes. During the Iron Age , Scythian cultures emerged among the Eurasian nomads, which were characterized by a distinct Scythian art . Scythia was a loose state or federation covering most of

280-599: The Enaree may have arisen accidentally through excessive horseback riding, or they may have consumed fermented mare urine, which could have altered their hormonal profiles and facilitated the transition to a feminine gender. The Scythians may have adopted this gender tradition from other Central Asian steppe or Siberian societies. Similar transgender phenomena have also been documented among Turkic peoples in Central Asia, as well as in other nomads from Siberia. There

308-618: The Parthian Empire in the region later named as Sakastan . The western Iranians, the Alans and Sarmatians, settled down and became the ruling elite of several eastern Slavic tribes and some of these Iranians also assimilated into the Slavic cultures, while others retained their Iranian identity, and their languages are spoken today by the modern Ossetian people . Various peoples also expanded and contracted later in history, including

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336-475: The Persian satrap could bring it down on Alexander, thus saving his life. He would later be promoted to one of the two commanders of the companion cavalry following the trial and execution of Philotas . In 328 BC, Artabazos resigned his satrapy of Bactria , and Alexander gave it to Cleitus. On the eve of the day on which he was to set out to take possessions of his government, Alexander organized

364-454: The Persian king north to fight steppe nomads . Cleitus knew that he would no longer be near the king and would be a forgotten man. Furious at the thought of commanding what he saw as second-rate soldiers and fighting nomads in the middle of nowhere, he spoke his mind. To make matters worse, when Alexander arrogantly boasted that his accomplishments were far greater than that of his father, Phillip II , Cleitus responded by saying that Alexander

392-517: The cause of instability in the Steppe nomadic cultures. Later scholars argued that peace along China's northern border largely depended on whether the nomads could obtain the essential grains and textiles they needed through peaceful means such as trade or intermarriage. Several tribes organized to form the Xiongnu , a tribal confederation that gave the nomadic tribes the upper hand in their dealings with

420-576: The death of King Darius III , Alexander was legally King of the Persian Empire. Alexander was now employing eunuchs and was tolerant of such Persian customs as proskynesis , which was considered degrading by many in the Macedonian army. Satrap at Partition of Babylon; possibly Nicanor of Stageira Satrap at Partition of Babylon Steppe nomads Eurasian nomads form groups of nomadic peoples who have lived in various areas of

448-536: The earliest invading equestrian steppe nomads that are known in Eastern European sources. Their military strength was always based on cavalry , and they were among the first to have developed true cavalry. Historically, areas to the north of China including Manchuria , Mongolia and Xinjiang were inhabited by nomadic tribes. Early periods in Chinese history involved conflict with the nomadic peoples to

476-401: The horse around 3500 BCE, vastly increasing the possibilities of nomadic lifestyle, and subsequently their economies and cultures emphasised horse breeding , horse riding , and nomadic pastoralism ; this usually involved trading with settled peoples around the edges of the steppe. They developed the chariot , the wagon , cavalry , and horse archery , and introduced innovations such as

504-521: The iron tribute paid by the Kyrgyz to make weapons, armor and saddle parts. Turks were nomadic hunters and would sometimes conceal military activities under the pretense of hunting. Their raids into China were organized by a khagan and success in these campaigns had a significant influence on a tribal leader's prestige. In the 6th century the Göktürk Khaganate consolidated their dominance over

532-762: The northern steppe region through a series of military victories against the Shiwei , Khitan , Rouran , Tuyuhun , Karakhoja and Yada . By the end of the 6th century, following the Göktürk civil war , the short-lived empire had split into the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates , before it was conquered by the Tang in 630 and 657, respectively. Nomadism persists in the steppe lands, though it has generally been disapproved of by modern regimes, who have often discouraged it with varying degrees of coercion. Social networks were

560-551: The settled agricultural Chinese people. During the Tang dynasty , Turks would cross the Yellow River when it was frozen to raid China. Contemporary Tang sources noted the superiority of Turkic horses. Emperor Taizong wrote that the horses were "exceptionally superior to ordinary [horses]". The Xiajiasi (Kyrgyz) were a tributary tribe who controlled an area abundant in resources like gold , tin and iron . The Turks used

588-615: The steppe, that originated as early as the 8th century BCE, composed mainly of people speaking Scythian languages and usually regarded as the first of the nomad empires . The Scythians were Iranic pastoralist tribes who dwelled the Eurasian Steppes from the Tarim Basin and Western Mongolia in Asia to as far as Sarmatia in modern day Ukraine and Russia . The Roman army hired Sarmatians as elite cavalrymen. Europe

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616-422: The vicinity of Alexander. Alexander then called for his trumpeter to summon the army; the alarm was not sounded. Nevertheless, Cleitus managed to return to the room to utter more grievances against Alexander (it is possible that Cleitus had not even left the room). But sources agree that at this point Alexander retrieved a pike and threw it at Cleitus's chest, killing him. In all of the four major known texts, it

644-559: The war-like nature of steppe society. Among the Scythians , a third gender existed, known as the Enaree . The Enaree were described by a Greek historian as males with feminine characteristics, who wore female clothing and adopted women's mannerisms. These transgendered individuals belonged to the most highly esteemed elements of Scythian society, and were believed to have had excellent shamanistic abilities. The transgender features of

672-787: The west of the Wei valley . Texts from the Zhou dynasty (c. 1050–256 BCE) compare the Rong , Di and Qin dynasty to wolves , describing them as cruel and greedy. Iron and bronze were supplied from China. An early theory proposed by Owen Lattimore suggesting that the nomadic tribes could have been self-sufficient was criticized by later scholars, who questioned whether their raids may have been motivated by necessity rather than greed. Subsequent studies noted that nomadic demand for grain , textiles and ironware exceeded China's demand for Steppe goods. Anatoly Khazanov identified this imbalance in production as

700-482: Was a feature of ancient Eurasian nomad culture. Steppe societies placed a premium on the value of young males, as shown by their harsh treatment of older people. The Alans held their elderly in low regard, and the Saka customarily executed people once they were too old to work. The Xiongnu often withheld food from older people during times of need or conflict. Hsu argues that these phenomena can best be explained by

728-413: Was also common for nomadic men to marry foreign princesses. These marriages were an important part of the empire-building process. Eurasian steppe nomads shared common Earth-rooted cosmological beliefs based on the themes of sky worship. Ancient Turkic origin myths often reference caves or mines as a source of their ancestors, which reflects the importance of iron making among their ancestors. Ageism

756-703: Was exposed to several waves of invasions by horse people, including the Cimmerians . The Scythians and Sarmatians enjoyed a long age of dominion in the 1st Millennium BCE, but at the start of 1st Millennium CE they were displaced by waves of immigrations of other people, to the East, in the steppes east of the Caspian Sea . They were dislocated by the Yuezhi people and were forced to assimilate into them, and many of these Eastern Scythians ( Saka ) moved and settled in

784-490: Was not the legitimate king of the Macedonians, and that all of his achievements were due to his father. Alexander called for his guards, but they did not want to intervene in a quarrel between friends. Alexander threw an apple at Cleitus' head and called for a dagger or spear, but the party near the two men removed the dagger, restrained Alexander, and hustled Cleitus out of the room. The Hypaspists had conveniently left

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