He sent
Hieronymus of Kardia, a friend of Eumenes, to make terms with him.
Hieronymus proffered a written agreement to Eumenes, which Eumenes
amended, and thus appealed to the Macedonians who were besieging him
to decide between the two forms, as to which was the most just.
Antigonus for decency's sake had mentioned the names of the royal
family of Macedonia in the beginning of his agreement, but at the end
of it demanded that Eumenes should swear fealty to himself. Eumenes
corrected this by inserting the names of Queen Olympias and all the
royal family, and then took a solemn oath of fealty, not to Antigonus
alone, but to Olympias and all the royal house of Macedonia. This form
was thought more reasonable by the Macedonians, who swore Eumenes
according to it, raised the siege, and sent to Antigonus that he also
might swear in the same form as Eumenes. After this Eumenes delivered
up all the Cappadocian hostages in Nora, soon collected a force of
little less than a thousand men, from his old soldiers who were still
roaming about that country, and rode off with them, as he very rightly
distrusted Antigonus, who as soon as he heard of what had happened,
sent orders to the Macedonians to continue the siege, and bitterly
reproached them for allowing Eumenes to amend the form of oath
tendered to him.
XIII. While Eumenes was retreating he received letters from the party
in Macedonia opposed to Antigonus, in which Olympias begged him to
come and take the son of Alexander, whose life was threatened, under
his protection; while Polysperchon and Philip, the king, bade him take
the command of the army in Cappadocia and make war against Antigonus,
empowering him out of the treasure at Quinda to take five hundred
talents, as compensation for his own losses, and to make what use he
pleased of the remainder for the expenses of the war.
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