Clitus "the Black" (c.375-328) was an officer of the Macedonian army lead by Alexander the Great. He saved Alexander's life at the Battle of the Granicus but was later killed by Alexander in a drunken quarrel. Alexander the Great fighting the Persian king Darius (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ... The Battle of the Granicus River in May, 334 BC was the first major victory of Alexander the Great against the Persian Empire. ...

The death of Clitus took place at a conference of generals at what is now the town of Samarkand. Most of the members were rather drunk, and Alexander announced a reorganization of commands. Specifically, Cleitus was being given orders to take 15,000 of the defeated Greek mercenaries who formerly fought for the Persian King north to fight the steppe nomads in Central Asia. Samarkand (Samarqand or Самарқанд in Uzbek, in Persian سمرقند) (population 400,000) is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan, capital of Samarqand Province. ... Mercenary (disambiguation). ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (from Russian step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally reckoned as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Clitus knew that he would no longer be near the King and would be a forgotten man. Furious at the thought of commanding what he saw as second-rate men, fighting nomads in the middle of nowhere, he spoke his mind. It is known that he said that Alexander was not the legitimate King of the Macedonians. Alexander called for his guards, but they did not want to intervene in a quarrel fetween friends. Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ...

Alexander threw apples at Clitus and called for a sword, but friends of the two men had removed the sword and hustled Clitus out of the room. Not leaving well enough alone, Clitus came right back and spouted more insults. Alexander had by then got hold of a spear, and killed Clitus on the spot.

External links

• Livius, Clitus by Jona Lendering