Alexander & the Veneti

We haven’t done much with the Paphlagonian Veneti lately so here is a little piece from the History of Alexander the Great by Quintus Curtius Rufus (or, if you will, Historiarum Alexandri Magni Macedonis Libri Qui Supersunt, that is, “All the Books That Survive of the Histories of Alexander the Great of Macedon”).

french

Medieval French edition – colourful, if perplexing

Rufus was most likely a first century historian and is a mystery man himself.  Nothing is known of him other than the fact that he wrote the above referenced book (some people suggest that Quintus Curtius Rufus was a pseudonym).  Be that as it may, here is the passage of interest (from the John C. Rolfe translation):

Book 3, chapter 1, paragraphs 22-24

“And now he had arrived at the city of Ancyra, from which, after having numbered his forces, he entered Paphlagonia; next to this were the Heneti, from whom some believe that the Veneti derive their origin.  All this region yielded to Alexander, and gave hostages and obtained freedom from the obligation of paying tribute, which they had not rendered even to the Persians.  Calas was made governor of that region, and Alexander himself, taking the troops that had lately arrived from Macedonia, made for Cappadocia.”

quintususe

Quinti Curtii Rufi de rebus gestis Alexandri Magni libri decem : duo priores et finis decimi desiderantur (Codex Parisiensis 5716)

(Iamque ad urbem Ancyram ventum erat, ubi numero copiarum inito Paphlagoniam intrat: huic iuncti erant Heneti, unde quidam Veneto trahere originem credunt.  Omnnis haec regio paruit regi; datisque obsidibus, tributum, quod ne Persis quidem tulisswent, pendere ne cogerentur impetraverunt.  Calas huic regioni praepositus est: ipse, adsumptis qui ex Macedonia nuper advenerant, Cappadociam petiit.)

The reference to the Heneti as being the origin of the (Adriatic) Veneti is the same reference that is made in the musings of Strabo where he speculates that the Adriatic Veneti are likely to have come instead from Bretagne.

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January 29, 2016

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