What is "asander"

Asander (in Greek Άσανδρoς; lived 4th century BC) was the son of Philotas and brother of Agathon. He was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and satrap of Caria after Alexander's death.

In 334 BC Alexander appointed him governor of Lydia and the other parts of the satrapy of Spithridates, and also placed under his command an army strong enough to maintain the Macedonian authority. At the beginning of 328 BC, Asander and Nearchus led a number of Greek mercenaries to join Alexander, who was then located at Zariaspa.

In the division of the empire after the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Asander obtained Caria for his satrapy, in which he was afterwards confirmed by Antipater. At the command of Antipater he fought against Attalus and Alcetas, both supporters of Perdiccas, but was defeated by them.

In 317 BC, while Antigonus was engaged in Persia and Media, Asander increased his power in Asia Minor, and was undoubtedly a member of the alliance which was formed by Ptolemy, ruler of Egypt, and Cassander, ruler of Macedonia, against Antigonus. In 315 BC, when Antigonus began his operations against the forces allied against him, he sent a general named Ptolemy, a nephew of his, with an army to relieve Amisus, and to expel from Cappadocia the army loyal to Asander which had invaded that country. However, as Asander was supported by Ptolemy and Cassander, Asander was able to maintain his control of his territories.

In 313 BC Antigonus decided to march against Asander and forced him to conclude a treaty with him under which he was required to surrender his whole army, to restore the areas he had expanded into back to the satraps who had previously controlled those areas, to regard his satrapy of Caria as subject to the gift of Antigonus, and to surrender his brother Agathon as a hostage. After a few days Asander breached this humiliating treaty. He managed to get his brother out of the hands of Antigonus and sent ambassadors to Ptolemy and Seleucus seeking their assistance. Antigonus was, not surprisingly, indignant at these acts and immediately sent out an army to restore the territories covered by the treaty by force of arms. Caria also appears to have been conquered and from this time Asander disappears from the historical record.

Asander named Philocaesar Philoromaios (, Asander, lover of Caesar lover of Rome, 110 BC – 17 BC) was an aristocrat and a man of high rank of the Bosporan Kingdom.

Asander was of Greek and possibly of Persian ancestry. There is not much is known on his family and early life. He started his political and military career as a general under Pharnaces II, King of Pontus and the Bosporan. According to some scholars, Asander married as his first wife a woman called Glykareia. She is known from one surviving Greek inscription:

By 47 BC, Asander married as his second wife the daughter of Pharnaces II from his Sarmatian wife, Dynamis. She was a granddaughter of King Mithridates VI of Pontus and from his first wife, his sister Laodice. In 47 BC, Asander revolted against Pharnaces II, who had appointed him as regent of the Bosporan Kingdom, during the war against General of the Roman Republic, Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus. He hoped by deserting and betraying his father-in-law, Asander would win favor with the Romans and they could help him become Bosporan King. Pharnaces II was defeated by the Romans. He fled and took refuge from the Romans with his supporters. Asander found Pharnaces II and put Pharnaces II and his supporters to death.

Asander became Bosporan King and was able to retain the throne with his wife Dynamis as Queen. This was so, until Roman Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar commanded a paternal uncle of Dynamis, Mithridates II to declare war on the Bosporan Kingdom and claimed the kingship for himself. Asander and Dynamis were defeated by Mithridates II and had gone into political exile. However, after the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, the Bosporan Kingdom was restored to Asander and Dynamis by Julius Caesar’s great nephew and heir Octavian (future Roman Emperor Augustus). Dynamis bore Asander a son called Aspurgus. There is a possibility that Asander and Dynamis may have had other children.

According to the Greek geographer Strabo, Asander during his reign as King, had constructed a large wall or ditch which was 360 stadia in length across the Isthmus of the Crimea (modern Isthmus of Perekop). The purpose of the constructed wall was to protect the peninsula against attacks from nomads.

From 44 BC until his death in 17 BC, Asander ruled as a strong king of the Bosporan, although at times, in his reign he had experienced very uneasy times. In 17 BC, Asander died of voluntary starvation from despair at the age of 93, when he witness his troops desert him to the Roman usurper, Scribonius. Scribonius, pretended to be a relative of Dynamis, so he could seize his throne.

Dynamis was compelled to marry Scribonius. The Roman statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa discovered the deception of Scribonius, intervened in the situation and appointed Polemon I of Pontus as the new Bosporan King. Dynamis and Polemon married in 16 BC. Dynamis died in 14 BC. Polemon ruled until his death in 8 BC. Polemon was succeeded by Aspurgus.