SCYTHIAN VICTORY OVER ZOPYRION, A MILITARY COMMANDER OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
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SCYTHIAN VICTORY OVER ZOPYRION, A MILITARY COMMANDER OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
In 331 BC a new intervention against the lands located in the south of modern Ukraine began. This time it was led by ethnarch of Alexander the Great in Thrace — the commander called Zopyrion. Having collected an army of 30,000 warriors, he set off to the lower reaches of the Danube towards Scythia.
The first target of the Macedonian commander was Olvia, situated on the Crimean Peninsula. At the time the city was a military ally of the Scythian tribes. Having conquered Olvia, Zopyrion intended to leave Scythians with no support. Historical sources report that the approach of the Macedonian commander's army took Olvia citizens unawares and they were not ready for defence. It is mentioned that before the attack of the Macedonians the city had been affected by internal controversies, therefore, the troops of the city-state were not able to stop the enemy troops far from the city. The level of danger was assessed properly only when Zopyrion came close to the walls of Olvia. As a result, many Olvia citizens were captured by Macedonians. That tragic fact was confirmed by the excavations, during which on the territory of the ancient city a mass grave was found. And chronologically it belonged to the times of the city seizure by the ethnarch of Thrace. The grave contained the skeletons of young people, who had been killed.
However, the chronicles say that at that complicated time for Olvia there was one citizen called Kallinik, who managed to organize the city dwellers and defend their homes.
View of Olvia excavation. Mykolayiv region, Ukraine
The talented organizer was able to convince the citizens to forget their arguments and unite their forces to defend their city. For the sake of the victory Kallinik offered a step that was unusual for the slavery age — at his request citizens freed their slaves and provided them with the citizen rights. Moreover, authorized ambassadors were urgently sent by Olvia to sign a new alliance with the Scythians.
Then the events developed in a highly adverse way for the Macedonians. Fulfilling their alliance obligations, Scythian troops backed Olvia. The rumours of their approach became a warning to Zopyrion. After a meeting with his field commanders, he decided to terminate the seizure and return to Thrace. That was the fatal error made by the Thracian ethnarch. The retreat to the vast steppes of the Black Sea region was a failure and the Macedonian army was entrapped by the numerous Scythian tribes. Realizing that it was impossible to escape, Zopyrion had to fight, and that fight turned out a complete failure and destruction for him. The commander also shared the fate of his warriors.
It should be mentioned that Scythians did not stop there. After Zopyri-on's army, they destroyed the city of Nikony, which served the quarters to the Macedonian troops. After that the Thracian tribes, feeling that the power of Macedonia was weak, rebelled against Alexander. The deadly war burst out. Nonetheless, the Scythians fairly believing that they did not need to conquer any new lands, abstained from that war. Soon the union of the Scythian tribes sent an ambassador to Alexander the Great. They entered a peace treaty between Scythians and Olvia on the one part and Macedonia kingdom, on the other.
Olvia, ruins of an ancient residential area
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