#articles on the Chiliarchy

[jeannereames]

As Chilliarch / official second-in-command / right-hand man to the king, what would Hephaistion (or anyone else in that position) have been expected to do? Like if there was an actual “job description” for the role, what historically do you think it would have entailed? From what I can gather, he was essentially expected to:

Field requests to the king or handle them himself otherwise(?)

Oversee internal structural matters, from administration to cultural integration

Curious to know what else would have fallen under his purview.

It also seems to have been a civilian position, i.e., would that mean he'd still have to serve on the battlefield if called for it?

So, this would be a rather complicated, extended answer. Ergo, I’m going to duck this one with a “It’s too long to address as a post." It’s literally part of the book I’m writing. :-D

A couple of quick comments. The Chilliarchy appears to have been based on the Persian office of hazarapatish. Dandamaev and Lukonin address this role in their very important The Culture and Social Institutions of Ancient Iran. In this, they try to give solid definitions of institutions that were fluid and changed over time, which is my main critique of what is otherwise an EXCELLENT book on Achaeminid Persia. Go Forth and Purchase, if you’re interested.

How Hephaistion modified the hazarapatish role or planned to (he didn’t hold it very long before he died, I suspect), is hard to say. It seems to have been a largely civil-service role that had a limited military aspect. But it changed, morphing over time as necessary.

Below are three articles, including one of mine. Don’t go back to my dissertation; there are some wrong things in that. The article is better, but I’ll still modify some of it. Although the Charles article was published after mine, he doesn’t cite mine, but he’s also not focused entirely on ATG. Listed from most recent to earlier.

Michael Charles, “The Chiliarchs of Achaemenid Persia: Towards a Revised Understanding of the Office,” Phoenix 69 (2015) 279-303. (This one does not appear to be available free.)

Jeanne Reames, “The Cult of Hephaistion,” in, Responses to Oliver Stone's Alexander: Film, History, and Cultural Studies, Paul Cartledge and Fiona Greenland, eds. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2010. (The second 2/3rds discusses Hephaistion's military and diplomatic role, including the chiliarchy.)

Andrew W. Collins, “The Office of Chiliarch under Alexander and the Successors,” Phoenix 55 (2001): 259–83.