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This passage is the best instance of the division of power among the officers of the Persian Empire (cf. Xen. Cyr. viii. 6. 1 and App. VI, § 7). Tabalus commands the garrison (cf. Mithrines at Sardis in Arr. Anab. i. 17. 3), Mazares (cc. 156-7) the field forces, while Pactyas has civil authority. If κομίζειν = ‘manage’, this sense is common in Homer, e.g. Il. vi. 490τὰ σ᾽ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε”, but rare later; Pactyas would then be a satrap with limited powers. But κομίζειν may have its ordinary sense, ‘bring,’ i.e. to Ecbatana. In any case the position and behaviour of Pactyas resemble those of Harpalus under Alexander.

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