Did Alexander know the Persian language?

[jona]

Hi YiannisJust a message to let you know that I've read yours - we're in disagreement, but it doesn't really matter.Jona

[Link]

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD)
PAE-¦ONES
PAE-¦ONES (Paiones, Hom. Il. 845, xvi. 287, xvii. 348, xxi. 139; Herod. iv. 33, 49, v. 1, 13, 98, vii. 113, 185; Thuc. ii. 96:; Strab. i. pp. 6, 28; vii. pp. 316, 318, 323, 329, 330.331; Arrian, Anab. ii. 9. -º 2, iii. 12. -º4; Plut. Alex. 39; Polyaen Strat. iv. 12. -º 3; Eustath. ad Hom. Il. xvi. 287; Liv. xlii. 51), a people divided into several tribes, who, before the Argolic colonisation of Emathia, appear to have occupied the entire country afterwards called Macedonia, with the exception of that portion of it which was considered a part of Thrace. As the Macedonian kingdom increased, the district called PAEONIA [p. 512] (Paionia, Thuc. ii. 99; Polyb. v. 97, xxiv. 8; Strab. vii. pp. 313, 318, 329, 331; Ptol. iii. 13. -º 28; Liv. xxxiii. 19, xxxviii. 17, xxxix. 54, xl. 3, xlv. 29; Plin. iv. 17, vi. 39) was curtailed of its dimensions, on every side, though the name still continued to be applied in a general sense to the great belt of interior country which covered Upper and Lower Macedonia to the N. and NE., and a portion of which was a monarchy nominally independent of Macedonia until fifty years after the death of Alexander the Great. The banks of the wide-flowing Axius seem to have been the centre of the Paeonian power from the time when Pyraechmes and Asteropaeus led the Paeonians to the assistance of Priam (Hom. ll. cc.), down to the latest existence of the monarchy. They appear neither as Macedonians, Thracians, or Illyrians, but professed to be descended from the Teucri of Troy. When Megabazus crossed the river Strymon, he conquered the Paeonians, of whom two tribes, called the Siropaeones and Paeoplae, were deported into Asia by express order of Dareius, whose fancy had been struck at Sardis by seeing a beautiful and shapely Paeonian woman carrying a vessel on her head, leading a horse to water, and spinning flax, all at the same time. (Herod. v. 12--16.) These two tribes were the Paeonians of the lower districts, and their country was afterwards taken possession of by the Thracians. When the Temenidae had acquired Emathia, Almopia, Crestonia, and Mygdonia, the kings of Paeonia still continued to rule over the country beyond the straits of the Axius, until Philip, son of Amyntas, twice reduced them to terms, when weakened by the recent death of their king Agis; and they were at length subdued by Alexander (Diodor. xix. 2, 4, 22, xvii. ; after which they were probably

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after which they were probably submissive to the Macedonian sovereigns. An inscribed marble which has been discovered in the acropolis of Athens records an interchange of good offices between the Athenians and Audoleon, king of Paeonia, in the archonship of Diotimus, B.C. 354, or a few years after the accession of Philip and Audoleon to their respective thrones. The coins of Audoleon, who reigned at that time, and adopted, after the the death of Alexander, the common types of that prince and his successors,--the head of Alexander in the character of young Heracles, and on the obverse the figure of Zeus A+½tophorus,--prove the civilisation of Paeonia under its kings. Afterwards kings of Paeonia are not heard of, so that their importance must have been only transitory; but it is certain that during the troublous times of Macedonia, that is, in the reign of Cassander, the principality of the Paeonians existed, and afterwards disappeared. At the Roman conquest the Paeonians on the W. of the Axius were included in Macedonia Secunda. Paeonia extended to the Dentheletae and Maedi of Thrace, and to the Dardani, Penestae, and Dassaretii of Illyria, comprehending the various tribes who occupied the upper valleys of the Erigon, Axius, Strymon and Augitas as far S. as the fertile plain of Siris. Its principal tribes to the E. were the Odomanti, Aestraei, and Agrianes, parts of whose country were known by the names of Parstrymonia and Paroreia, the former containing probably the valleys of the Upper Strymon, and of its great tributary the river of Str+¦mitza, the latter the adjacent mountains. On the W. frontier of Paeonia its subdivisions bordering on the Penestae and Dassaretii were Deuriopus and Pelagonia, which with Lyncestis comprehended the entire country watered by the Erigon and its branches. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. pp. 212, 306, 462, 470.) [E. B. J.]This text is based on the following book(s):
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, illustrated by numerous engravings on wood. William Smith, LLD. London. Walton and Maberly, Upper Gower Street and Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row; John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1854.http://www.maknews.com/html/articles/sk ... slavs.html

[Dr. Pal]

Dear Pela,My common sense tells me that Alexander understood the Persian language. I have felt that the Persian Boy of Renault is not only Bagoas but also (to some extent) Alexander himself. Frankly I felt very happy to find quotations from W.H. Smith's book which I admire so much. It was written at the same time as Droysen's work. Do you have a personal copy? Herodotus talks about the Makedni which may be related to Magadh or Magan. Regards,Dr. Pal

[yiannis]

Magadh? Like the region in India?This language?:
http://www.webster-dictionary.org/defin ... 0languages

[Dr. Pal]

Dear Yannis,I have written (see my website http://www.geocities.com/ranajitda) that the Bihar region of Eastern India became known as Magadh only after the 3rd century BC. Early Magadh was in southeast Iran which corresponds to Magan of the Sumerian records. Dilmun, Magan and Melukkha were almost always mentioned together and in my opinion these three states were somehow interconnected. Melukkha was the name of the Indus civilization.
Regards,Dr. Pal

[Link]

Hello Dr. Pal, I agree it is good sense. There was a lot of cultural/verbal contact esp. when Xerxes was just passing through Macedonia on his way to Hellas generations before.I have not read Renault's PB but I did read her FFH once, I recall Al complaining to Aristotl in Macedonian when he was being taught in Grek,and a lot of boy scout stuff, her nature of Al. has a few strange spots but is passable as she sort of describes some of the sources. Smith's book I don't have. Herodotus definitly knew who Macedonians were, Makedni/Magedni may have a connection with Magadh/Magan, and Magi might be related too. What I see is that modern and ancient Macedonian has a connection with the Sanscrit language(and this influenced all places in between) from somewhere way back. This is Indo-European.RegardsOLD MACEDONIANGLISH Koen iyas sam gnayan aza to shwo iyasWhen i's am knowan as to what i's vizden aza tia gorosali gramatik rekoi odviewed as the colossal gramatik reckons ofMakedonsi histori, verieve moy velot sestra,Makedon's history, believe my word sister,brator, keyull gnayall totalno onadto shwo iyas brother, you'll knowall totally on to what i's vidu aza chisto voda. viewed as chaste water.